Not Particularly Welcome
Can't say I'm particularly glad about it.
The notice arrived by registered mail.
It took Jihyun twice as long as usual to open the envelope.
"…Grade Evaluation Division."
"Where?"
"The Association's Grade Evaluation Division. They said the case officer was changing yesterday — looks like this department took it over."
The Association's Grade Evaluation Division.
The laziest freeloaders in the whole Association, and somehow also the department with the least clout.
Wonder what it says.
Nayeon's a C-rank Hunter who charged in and pulled people out — maybe they're calling her in for a re-evaluation?
"Who's it addressed to? Master?"
"…No."
Jihyun turned the notice toward me.
Name: Kang Byeori
Age: 10
Gender: Female
Rank: Pending Evaluation
"Huh?"
That's me.
Why?
Nayeon was the one who stood out that day. She was the one who grabbed a sword and bolted in, the one who — clumsy as it was — pulled people out.
…No. Wait a second.
Nayeon already has a rank. The circumstances are weird in a lot of ways, sure — but she's an officially certified Hunter with the Association, and she rescued their own people. Hauling someone like that in first would look terrible.
Whereas me?
Rank: none. Merit: none.
From a third party's perspective, what am I?
A little kid who was goofing around and somehow wandered into a Rift.
…Yeah. Perfect scapegoat material.
Ah, about that incident? We looked into it, and it wasn't a failure of our response — some kid from a subcontracted guild was messing around and wandered into the Rift. That's what happened.
Anyway, not our fault!
The responsibility lies with the subcontracted guild that brought a minor to a dangerous site and failed to supervise her properly!
If they spin it like that, a tiny guild like ours has no real way to push back. Even if Jihyun plays the "fifteen minutes of zero response" card, "a kid caused an accident" is going to sound more convincing.
"Ugh…"
Come on. The Grade Evaluation Division, of all places.
I was going to end up there eventually, but I never thought it'd go down like this.
Should I call this an honor…?
"G-give me that!"
Nayeon snagged the notice like she was snatching it midair. She read about a line, then looked at me.
"I told you not to go th—"
The words cut off.
Nayeon chewed her lip, then let her head droop.
"No. Never mind…"
The hand holding the notice sank a little.
"Sorry for getting mad, Byeori."
"…?"
That was her being mad?
I blinked blankly while Nayeon stroked my head. Meanwhile Jihyun was already on her third read-through of the notice.
"Deadline is four days. Location is the Measurement Lab at Association HQ. Companion required… There's one more line on the back. Ah — it says Senior's re-evaluation is also under review."
"Hweh?! M-me too?"
Four days…?
Since when is the Association this efficient? They drag even tiny agenda items out for weeks or months, and now they're summoning us by registered mail?
Feels like someone's applying pressure from behind the scenes.
"What's the companion for?"
"Since she's a minor, they probably want a guardian-type figure attached. And we need to look into Senior's re-evaluation anyway, so Senior should go."
At Jihyun's words, Nayeon fidgeted for a long moment before nodding.
"Ugh… Looks like I'm going back there again…"
Doesn't seem like a place she's particularly fond of.
"Byeori."
"Yeah."
"How do you think these people are going to play this?"
Again.
She's been asking me this kind of thing a lot lately.
"I doubt they're just trying to slap a rank on me."
"…Then?"
"They want to figure out what that kid found inside the cordon that day was — and whether they can pin the accident on her. The rank is just something they tack on while they're at it."
"Nngh… Figured as much, huh?"
Jihyun set down her pen.
"…What if we just don't go?"
"Guild activity suspension, most likely. No activity means no commissions, and no commissions means—"
"Rent."
"Yeah. Something like that."
From the kitchen, Nayeon yelled, "Why does it always come back to rent?!" Neither of us answered.
And whose fault is it that we're worrying about rent in the first place!
Before I knew it, it was the night before the evaluation.
I sat on the couch and stared at my hands.
"Mmh…"
This body. An Ego Sword.
Unlike ordinary people, I'm a strategic weapon at the level of national power — a mashup of every S-rank signature technique imaginable.
If I go into the measurement at full power, I'll almost certainly come out with some ridiculous rank.
But I don't want a rank that's too low, either.
Our guild is a freak show as it is: one C-rank Hunter and one civilian secretary. If I join at a reasonably solid rank, we could pull in more than double the commissions we get now.
Just right.
A rank that doesn't raise suspicion and doesn't look incompetent…!
"Byeori, still awake?"
"I-I was just about to sleep!"
"If you're scared, want to sleep with Unnie? Co~me on."
"…I'm not scared!"
The shadow lingering in the door crack finally withdrew.
I waited until every room had gone completely quiet, then slipped out at a very late hour.
Rumors had been circulating since daytime. That elementary-school kid from the D-rank Rift a while back was at this latest Rift too~ She even came out from the inside~, that kind of thing.
I climbed up in front of the computer and wrote a post on the gallery.
Naturally.
Like it wasn't about me.
Heh.
People are taking the bait…!
Views and comments ballooned in no time. The content itself was nothing special, but as a rumor post dropped at the perfect hour, the heat was pretty intense.
The "kids will be kids" crowd. The "why didn't that guild look after the brat" crowd. The "the Association's just going to pin their own response failure on whoever's convenient" crowd. The crowd yelling NSFW out of nowhere, and the crowd dropping links claiming my channel has something insanely hot if you click.
…There's even some psycho sexually harassing me in here.
I reported a few of the comments and left it alone.
No idea how much pull this post will actually have.
But once something burns as an issue like this, even if our guild gets unfairly dragged, defensive reactions tend to show up.
And if it doesn't work?
Oh well. Too bad…
Association Headquarters was huge.
The lobby ceiling was so high I nearly toppled over backward just trying to look up at it.
"Whoa! Careful!"
"I didn't fall."
"What do you mean you're fine, you almost fell!"
"Senior. Your voice."
Nayeon had been like this since morning.
She hadn't let go of my hand from the moment we left the house. On the subway she clung to my shoulder, and once we got inside she was walking with me out in front entirely.
…Not sure if she's protecting me or using me as a shield.
"Nervous?"
"Me? No way."
"Your hands are clammy."
"Th-that's because it's hot out!"
Well, it was hot, sure.
Anyway, we were waiting in a full-body state of tension when the Measurement Lab staffer approached.
A neatly dressed person in a full suit. The card around their neck read Grade 3, and they carried a clipboard stacked with impressively official-looking forms.
"Kang Byeori, correct?"
"Here's the registration card."
Before I could answer, Jihyun held out the registration card.
That thin scrap of paper the broker had made. The examiner took it, then tapped an empty field at the bottom with a fingernail.
"This is blank."
"…Ah."
"That's what you're here to fill in today. It's not hard, so try not to be nervous."
Easy for them to say…
"Hwing."
Their tone is so stiff!
This really does feel like an interrogation!
They studied me for a moment, then opened a file folder.
"Hm. You've also submitted the guild's own records."
Jihyun nodded along. The examiner flipped pages, then stopped at one spot.
"…From 07:41 to 08:02."
"Yes."
"The subject's movements aren't recorded here."
Jihyun's fingertips paused briefly on the corner of the file.
Ah.
That. The part I told her to leave out.
"I was at the observation team's tent during that time."
"And?"
"I was the one in charge of the records, and I wasn't at my post, so I didn't see anything. I can't write down what I didn't see."
Oh. Nice improvisation.
The examiner jotted something brief on the clipboard.
"…Not wrong. Well done."
Jihyun let out a soft breath.
"……"
That was close.
If it'd just been me and Nayeon here, that situation would've completely wrecked us.
And it would've been because of the idea I suggested…
Ugh.
Paperwork really should be left to the people who do paperwork.
I reflected on myself for pretending to know things I didn't.
Always be humble. Humble again.
After changing into measurement clothes, the lab itself was smaller than I'd expected.
The white circle on the floor was about three of my strides across.
Six machines ringed its perimeter, all of them looking down at me.
Ugh, what are you staring at.
You're tools without even an ego!
I glared at them — then wilted again under the bleak atmosphere.
"……"
Not exactly the same, but…
This reminds me of right after I became a sword, getting put through all those inspections.
…Can't say I'm particularly glad about it.
"Stand inside the circle. Hands down. Do not move."
"O-okay."
"Starting with number one."
What's number one and what's number two.
They don't tell you what they're measuring, and they don't tell you what comes out.
I just stood at attention while the machines beeped and measured something.
And then — when they started the third test — something twinged in my chest.
"…Ngh?"
The place that broke…
This isn't even that Rift. Why?
On the equipment screen, some unreadable gauge ticked up one notch.
The examiner looked at the screen and picked up a pen to record something.
…Probably not anything good.
I exhaled.
Slowly.
Very slowly.
As the twinge subsided, the gauge began to drop by tiny increments.
Half a notch.
One notch…
"……"
The examiner frowned and rapped the machine with the back of their hand.
"Number three again."
This time the gauge didn't move.
"One more."
Still nothing.
The examiner nodded and wrote something on the clipboard.
I couldn't see what the words were, but it was clearly better than whatever they'd been about to write before.
The next test was in the room next door.
In the hallway on the way over, we passed people waiting for their turn.
Someone rolling a blue spark between their fingertips. Someone floating three steel spheres in the air and spinning them around.
…One thing's certain: I'm the youngest here by a mile.
I understood why everyone kept glancing at me.
"Class is undisclosed. Standard practical, then. Pick something you're familiar with from over there."
On the rack hung wooden swords, spear shafts, bows — and at the end, even some unidentifiable ball-like thing.
No need to think about it.
"Wooden sword."
"Wooden sword. Right. Hit those three targets in order."
"…That's it?"
"That's it."
I took the wooden sword.
Light, of course.
Alright. Let's try this.
Just basic hits. Nothing more.
…But how hard is that, exactly?
I gripped the wooden sword like I knew what I was doing, then deliberately adjusted it into a clumsy hold.
Like a little kid swishing a sword around at a kendo dojo.
First strike: clean. Second: clumsy. Third: I let it slip on purpose and just tapped the target.
The targets wobbled awkwardly and went still.
Hmm. Pretty perfect acting, if I do say so myself.
"……"
The examiner came over and took the wooden sword back. They ran a hand over the grip once.
"No sweat."
"…Sorry?"
"No, it's fine. Good work."
…What was that just now?
The verdict came on the spot.
"D-rank."
Oh, for crying out loud.
Me — once an S-rank legendary blade — a D-rank Hunter!
"You may file for a re-evaluation if you object."
"I don't."
The fastest answer of my entire life.
Re-evaluation? That's for people who got a rank they don't deserve.
I'm reasonably satisfied. The best case would've been scraping a C-rank and co-leading the guild with Nayeon, but this isn't bad either.
Beside me, Nayeon started with "No way our Byeori is D-rank, that doesn't make—" before Jihyun grabbed her arm and sat her back down.
…Seriously, thank god we brought Jihyun.
The examiner flipped to the last page. Three checkbox fields were printed there.
☐ Confirmed ☐ Cause Unknown ☐ Further Investigation
So that phrase the Association always had on their lips wasn't some improvised excuse — it was a pre-printed field on the form all along.
The pen paused, then moved to one side.
"There was an initial anomaly on measurement three. It didn't appear on re-measurement."
"So there's no problem, then?"
Jihyun asked.
"There's no problem."
A check mark somewhere.
"But this is the manual."
The examiner organized the papers into an envelope.
"This goes upstairs. You'll receive a copy within three days."
"Ah… okay."
"Ah. And a separate inventory of affiliated equipment is due by next week. You can proceed with the Guildmaster's re-evaluation when you submit that."
"Affiliated equipment meaning…"
"Things like the swords brought onto the site that day."
One mountain after another. Exactly that.
On the ride back, I stared at the registration card.
Where there had been a blank, a single character was now stamped in.
Name:Kang Byeori
Rank:D
D.
An Awakened barely distinguishable from a civilian, for all practical purposes.
…Well. Not bad.
When I was a sword, I got locked in as S-rank from the start and just kept falling day after day.
This time, the only direction left is up, right?
"Byeori, don't let it get you down! What does rank even matter!"
"I'm not down."
"Really? You're really not down?"
"Yeah."
"Unnie will raise you up later for sure! Okay? I'll make you the greatest Hunter in the world!"
"…Yes, Master."
Truly reliable, our Master.
I rode back in a blank state of mind, and only once we stepped into the guild office did one thing hit me.
"Ah."
A test other people grind their teeth over trying to score well on.
And the little kid who took it didn't have a single drop of sweat on her hands?
No look of disappointment after making mistakes, either?
"Nngh…"
Gotta be careful.
It slid by today, but I almost invited unnecessary suspicion.
More worrying is next week's equipment inventory submission and Nayeon's re-evaluation.
…Hopefully nothing happens.