The Holy Arrow and the Guild's Cruel Test
The two of us were wandering the village streets when Estelle suddenly stopped, her lips curving into a teasing grin.
“We should start taking on quests, right?”
“Huh?”
“Any quests you get from the Adventurer’s Guild and complete? You get paid for them.”
“Ah… I know what that is, but are we supposed to do that?”
“We need funds for our activities, of course. You just don’t think about stuff like that, do you, ♡”
“But I’m the hero. Doesn’t the empire support heroes like me?”
Estelle shook her head.
“We haven’t done anything noteworthy yet, so we didn’t receive anything at the last regular report meeting. I did get the initial support funds, but it’ll only last us two months at most.”
“Oh, is that so?”
Of course there’s no such thing as a free lunch. You need achievements to get support.
Just like how Levius pocketed a million gold as a reward for his exploits, the support money matches the level of activity you put in.
As I was thinking that, Estelle gave me a wink.
“You weren’t planning on using me to rake in money, were you, Hero?”
“What kind of nonsense is that?”
“You were going to sell me off to a brothel and use the gold to buy me. ♡ Oh no, what’s going to happen to me then? ♡ If that’s the order of that pathetic hero, I’ll have no choice but to obey~.”
…She’s insane.
Estelle wiped that arrogant smile off her face and got serious.
“Your strength is still pretty low, so let’s start with easy quests and build up from there. We’ll get stronger, kill monsters, and earn money.”
“…Yes.”
One more day without sexually harassing a human and my mouth feels like it’s full of thorns. By Estelle.
This bitch is going to die one day, and I’m carving this sentence into her tombstone.
“Then shall we head to the closest village to register as adventurers? The pathetic hero becomes a basic E-rank adventurer, ♡”
Estelle took my hand and led me toward the nearest village. From the size, it was clearly bigger than the one I used to live in. Not a city, just a decent town.
We walked the main street. Every time Estelle passed by, people turned their heads to look at us. She was beautiful, and standing there silently, she looked like a pious priestess. A priestess in this village would be something special.
“Hero.”
“…Ah, sorry.”
When did she go so far?
“You really… can’t even look away for a second without getting lost, can you?”
“Haha….”
How did she know? I had a track record of getting lost in big department stores or malls back in my world.
“If I don’t look after you, I’ll have no choice. Want me to call you ‘Mom,’ my Mama’s-boy hero~?”
“…No thanks.”
“Fufu.”
Estelle laughed as if she found it hilarious and kept walking. She stopped in front of a particularly tall building in the village.
“This is the Adventurer’s Guild.”
“That’s the sign, huh?”
In front of the building was a sign with crossed swords and shields. Estelle nodded.
“That’s the symbol for the Adventurer’s Guild. Don’t forget it, dummy ♡”
“…Yes.”
We stepped inside. The burly guys inside all looked at us. Great.
“What kind of people are all of you?”
There were others who weren’t scary-looking, and there were female adventurers too, but when they saw our intense presence, the others got overshadowed.
Several intimidating adventurers turned their eyes to Estelle and whistled.
“Whoa.”
“Hey, this sis is something else. Look at her.”
“A nun? Or a priestess? Either way, how about joining our party?”
Even though their intentions were crystal clear, Estelle didn’t even blink. She just smiled sweetly and headed to the counter.
Following behind her, the receptionist greeted us.
“Welcome! Is this your first time at the Adventurer’s Guild?”
“Yes, we’re here to register as adventurers.”
Estelle answered with her silky-smooth voice. The receptionist’s eyes went wide. Of course mine did too. That voice was insanely pretty.
“You can even make that kind of voice?”
Then why are you talking to me like that, you bitch?
“Are you two registering together?”
“Yes, please.”
“Understood. Please fill out your names and basic information here.”
The receptionist handed us a quill and paper. Oh, the symbol of the medieval era, a quill. I took it and looked at the paper, then doubted my eyes.
“?”
How was I supposed to read this? Wait, I can read, right?
“No way.”
Thinking about it, medieval people had high illiteracy rates. And my body was that of a commoner…?
Shit, she probably thinks I can’t even read. This is something even the frustrated saint couldn’t complain about.
“Hero, are you done?”
Estelle asked with her still-unfamiliar pretty voice. I answered honestly.
“…I can’t read it.”
Her eyes widened a little, then the corners curved like a new moon.
“That’s fine. I’ll write it for you. Just tell me what to write.”
She was being so kind in front of others. I wished she’d always talk to me like that.
Estelle wrote exactly what I told her. Age was seventeen based on my friend’s comment, and the place was…
“What was the name of the village I used to live in.”
Instead of me worrying, Estelle naturally wrote the village name. How did she know? She had been to our village too, right? It made sense.
Estelle finished writing everything and handed the papers to the receptionist.
“Abel and Estelle. Confirmed.”
She didn’t even react when she saw the hero and the saint. Interesting. Thinking about it, I hadn’t been the hero for long.
“Since this is your first registration, you’ll start as F-rank. Look at the board over there for quests that match your rank and follow the procedure…”
“Can we do the promotion exam right now?”
“Oh, of course it’s possible… wait.”
Estelle asked with her sweet voice. The receptionist almost gave a natural answer but froze. When she asked back with a stunned voice, Estelle smiled gently.
“The promotion exam… possible?”
“Ah… I’m sorry, but Estelle, you need to have achievements to pass the exam.”
“If I have enough strength, isn’t that enough?”
“That’s true, but the two of you have no proven record.”
“Then prove it? I thought if you just prove it, you can get promoted without quests.”
When Estelle asked, the receptionist looked at her like she was confused.
“Why do you even need to promote from F-rank?”
“Um, hero, do you only want to catch mice in the sewers?”
“Huh?”
“That’s all F-rank adventurers can do. You need a higher rank so the pathetic hero can take more challenging quests ♡”
Oh, I see. She already had it all planned.
“Then you want the proof exam?”
“Yes.”
“Understood. Please head upstairs, the two of you.”
“Thank you, you’re so kind.”
When Estelle smiled gently, the receptionist’s breath hitched. Women are supposed to be the strongest weapon, but even women can fall for this…?
We followed Estelle upstairs. Another receptionist greeted us.
“Welcome. Estelle, Abel. We’ll escort you straight to the proof room.”
“Yes.”
In the room we entered, there was a large crystal.
The moment I saw it, I thought, That looks like a sex file pilot.
A perfectly round, blue crystal floated in the room.
“This is a high-purity magic crystal. The proof exam is based on how much damage it can take.”
Based on how much damage? Then I guess I had to smash it. But the crystal in front of me didn’t look like something that could be broken easily.
“It looks pretty solid.”
“It’s been chipped quite a bit.”
“No one’s smashed it yet?”
“Proceed as you wish. Who would like to go first?”
“I’ll go first, hero.”
“Go ahead.”
Estelle stepped forward and held out her palm.
“Holy Arrow.”
A pure white arrow appeared and struck the crystal. A large chunk broke off.
“…Oh.”
That chunk was pretty big. Quite a bit smashed.
The receptionist watching for the exam looked surprised.
“Excuse me, if it’s not a bother, could you tell me what you were doing?”
Estelle just smiled instead of answering. Sorry, receptionist. She probably doesn’t want to say.
“What’s the judgment?”
“…Ah, yes. Let me weigh the broken crystal.”
The receptionist grunted and lifted it. It was heavy?
“Want me to hold it?”
“Oh, thank you.”
Let’s see. I grabbed it with both hands and lifted it.
Whoa, shit. It’s insanely heavy.
But I’m the hero, so I couldn’t show how pathetic I am. I pretended and placed it on the scale.
The receptionist looked at the weight and was surprised again.
“…This is enough for an S-rank judgment. However, S-rank adventurers need achievements….”
“It’s fine. A-rank is enough.”
“Understood! Estelle will be registered as A-rank right away!”
Now it’s my turn. I drew the holy sword. The receptionist looked at it with wide eyes.
“You’re using such a large holy sword. You have great strength.”
“…Yes.”
Actually, it’s super light. But I couldn’t say that.
I held the holy sword straight and stood ready.
Just swing it and cut, right?
I raised it high and swung with all my strength. There was a clang, and the holy sword hit the crystal. I was shocked.
“…?”
What the hell? Did it not break?
The crystal didn’t even crack, let alone break off pieces. The receptionist was stunned, and Estelle started giggling.
“Do it again?”
“Y-yes… try it.”
This time I did it properly. I squeezed out every last bit of strength and brought the holy sword down with all my might.
Klang!
A tiny fragment fell from the crystal. Smaller than my pinky finger. It was pathetic compared to the pieces Estelle had broken.
“……”
“Hehe, hahaha ♡ Just as pathetic ♡”
Shut up, bitch.
“Ah… um, Abel is definitely not F or E-rank! E and F-rank adventurers can’t even scratch this crystal. We’ll promote you to D-rank!”
I became a D-rank adventurer. Like a fucking failure.
#
“Shit.”
“Oh? Hero. Heroes aren’t allowed to use bad words ♡”
But you, the saint, say all kinds of things.
“Anyway, you could only break that crystal… You’re trash, ♡ pathetic ♡ human even worse than a bug ♡”
“……”
When are you going to shut up, Solaria Goddess?
“Hm? You’re allowed? Thank you. I’ll immediately deliver divine judgment….”
“Wait, didn’t I just get hit once and lose?”
According to the proof exam results, Estelle was at least the same level as an S-rank adventurer. I was only D-rank. It was obvious what would happen if we fought.
“It’s fine, hero. We achieved our goal.”
“What kind of nonsense is that?”
“I’m an A-rank adventurer now, right? I can freely choose quests that match your level.”
“Ah.”
Yeah, that makes sense. Since I’m following you anyway?
“So what are we doing, bitch?”
“First, let’s take this quest. It should match your level ♡”
The quest she picked read:
[Defeat the pack of forest wolves causing damage to the ranch! Required adventurer rank: D]