The EX-Rank You (3)
The letter from the Emperor of the Empire arrived faster than expected.
I have personally read the letter you sent. To be honest, I find your words difficult to believe. I intend to investigate whether she truly appeared in your guild. This is an extremely important matter to me as well, so I will verify it with great care. Until then, please keep her with you for a little while longer.
— Emperor of the Empire, Athalia Stardust
I stared at the imperial seal on the parchment and let out a small sigh.
Area-Wide Great Heal
“….!!!”
“What the—?”
“Huh…? My eyes… I can see again…!”
“My finger… my finger grew back!!”
“O almighty Anonymous One, I am truly grateful for this healing you have bestowed upon me. I shall advance even further. My goddess is now you, Anonymous. Please accept my prayers…”
“Heuuung… it tingles…”
Some guild members were extremely excited. Others… seemed to have gone just as insane as the academy students.
Arthur instantly quelled the chaos.
“Enough—”
“What are you doing in front of our benefactor!”
“Show gratitude to our benefactor!”
Clack.
Every single guild member turned toward me, clasped their hands, and began to pray.
“You are the goddess of our guild! Please accept our prayers!”
“…Eh…?”
You are receiving prayers while possessing a physical body.
One of the conditions to become a god has been fulfilled.
Authority: Miracle has evolved into a Great Miracle.
When receiving prayers while possessing a physical body, faith acquisition increases by 200%.
“……!!!”
“…Pray more!! Hurry up and pray harder!”
The guild members looked bewildered at my sudden change in attitude, but they obediently continued praying as instructed. By the time the prayers finally ended, my ears were burning red.
“Ahem… And here. One hundred and eighty demon horns and one hundred and eighty demonic horns. All accounted for.”
“Good heavens… You really completed that many demon subjugation quests?”
“Huh? They were pretty easy, though? The travel time took longer than the actual fights.”
Guild Master Arthur examined every horn I had brought, then suddenly flinched. He had spotted a skull with five horns sprouting from it.
“…Isn’t this a Pentagram Demon?”
“Don’t tell me you… caught it alone…?”
I smiled brightly at Arthur, who was trembling while clutching the Pentagram Demon’s skull.
“Aww~ That one just died when I punched it. Demons these days have no stamina. No stamina at all.”
“Back in my day, we used to have proper fistfights, y’know? Magic duels too, y’know? But nowadays they’re all so soft and squishy… Tsk tsk…”
Arthur ignored the old-man aura slowly oozing out of me and fell deep into thought.
‘A Pentagram Demon normally requires twenty A-rank adventurers and two S-rank adventurers working together just to barely defeat it…’
‘It’s the kind of demon that only appears after an entire village is sacrificed as tribute.’
‘And she killed one with a single punch…?’
‘…This person is undoubtedly EX-rank. And most likely the one known as the Nameless One…’
‘I was told she sacrificed herself twenty years ago in the war against the Demon King…’
‘Is there some truth I don’t know about hidden here…?’
I kept rambling on about the old days.
“So yeah? Tough demons have the best punch feel. Especially the Four Heavenly Kings? Man… those guys were absolutely perfect~”
Arthur felt blood trickling from his ears. I had moved on from talking about demons to sharing my full adventurer stories.
‘It’s nice that she’s telling adventure tales, but this person is the real deal.’
‘The old-man energy is off the charts… As expected from the supporter of the Hero Party from twenty years ago…’
‘She even mastered the art of killing people with stress and pent-up anger…’
“Hm? Arthur? You listening?”
“Y-yes… I’m listening. Haha…”
“Oh, and can I take a few of these horns with me?”
“Feel free to take as many as you like.”
“Really…?”
The horns vanished in an instant—teleported straight into my inventory. Then I started doing something even stranger. I took the strongest skulls among the demons and demonic beings I had hunted and fastened them to my belt like accessories.
“Uh… um… what… exactly are you…?”
“…? Can’t you tell just by looking?”
“Ah… yes… I seem to be lacking in vision lately…”
“Heh. I’ll tell you specially. These are fashion items!”
……?
Fashion items my ass. If that counts as fashion, then demon punk must have arrived in this world. I seriously started doubting whether this person really was the Nameless One. Her behavior was just plain weird. Yet she was also kind to people, so I couldn’t tell if she was a good person or just completely unhinged.
After thinking about it for a while, Arthur finally spoke.
“It… really suits you… Yes, truly…”
“As expected of the guild master. Also, dispose of the remaining demon horns however you see fit and adjust my rank accordingly.”
“…By the authority of the guild master, I shall grant you A-rank.”
“Your alias shall be… Demon Slayer.”
“…..? Why would I be called Demon Slayer…?”
“It’s nothing. It’s a truly fitting alias.”
Calling someone who treats a Pentagram Demon skull as a fashion item “Demon Slayer” felt almost cute. Still, demon horns were used in all sorts of places, so I’d probably make a lot of money.
“Well… as long as it looks good on me, it’s fine.”
“And I probably won’t be coming here for a while. So I’ll be going now? See you next time~”
“W-wait a moment!!”
I disappeared in the blink of an eye. Arthur stared blankly at the spot where I had been.
-----------------------------
Wearing the inquisitor outfit that was decades out of fashion and proudly displaying a Pentagram Demon skull on my belt, I strode confidently toward the academy’s main gate.
That was when the academy guards and soldiers stopped me.
“Halt! Stop right there! What business do you have at the academy?”
“If you intend to cause any disturbance, you will be immediately eliminated. Answer carefully.”
I couldn’t understand why the guards and soldiers were looking at me with such extreme wariness.
“…What? I look perfectly normal, don’t I?”
“Stop muttering and answer! What is your purpose here?”
“…I’m here to take the academy professor examination…”
“…? Dressed like that…?”
“What am I supposed to do about my old clothes!”
“I don’t think the clothes are the main issue here… Sigh… Please present your identification.”
It was annoying, but I responded diligently. However, I was deeply disappointed in these people who couldn’t appreciate my fashion sense.
‘Ha… Has it only been a few days since I last saw the academy and everyone’s eyes have already gone bad…?’
‘They can’t even recognize this amazing fashion. Their eyes must be crooked.’
‘Sigh… If it were Ian, he would immediately understand my fashion sense.’
‘I really want to see Ian soon. He’s going to be so shocked when he sees me, right?’
While I was thinking about teasing Ian, the academy guard gave me the signal that I could enter.
“…You may enter. Please refrain from causing any trouble inside.”
“Hmph!”
“Sigh… Are the professors all gradually losing their minds these days…?”
-------------------------------
On the day of the academy professor examination, the plaza was packed with people hoping to become professors. Each prospective professor had a very distinct style. One person was dressed like a scientist, while another man walked around carrying three sword hilts. They had clearly dressed to make their intended professorship obvious at a glance.
“Those taking the poison specialist professor exam, please follow the man wearing the hat on the left!”
“Kukuku, that’s me…”
“Those taking the holy magic professor exam, please head to the empty lot behind the plaza!”
“Understood.”
“…Finally, is there anyone here for the demon hunting specialist instructor exam?”
“……..”
“…Looks like no one again this time…”
The receptionist was just about to turn away when—
“Wait! I’m here to take the demon specialist instructor exam!”
I shouted in a voice loud enough for the entire plaza to hear.
“…There are still people who want to become demon hunting specialist instructors?”
“I thought no one had applied since the end of the war twenty years ago.”
“That masked woman wants to be a demon specialist instructor… Suspicious.”
“…..! Th-that thing on her belt… Isn’t that a demon skull…?”
“…She’s insane! And it’s a Pentagram Demon at that…! Just who the hell is she??”
Everyone who had come for the professor exams was stunned by my appearance. They were especially shocked that I had turned a Pentagram Demon skull into nothing more than a fashion item.
The receptionist stared blankly at me for a moment before calling out.
“Ah… yes… Please follow me…”
Click. Click.
I followed the receptionist. We eventually arrived at the training grounds located in the academy plaza. Several official professors were already waiting there. As soon as I arrived, a combat techniques professor with a face full of scars stepped forward.
“We will now begin the exam to become a demon hunting specialist instructor.”
“First, you must bring the horns of the demons you have slain.”
“The higher-ranking the demon, the more bonus points you will receive.”
“I will give you one week starting now! Return here after one week has passed!”
“That is the first test!”
After hearing those words, I walked up to the professor and asked.
“Can I do it right now?”
“…? Pardon?”
I began pulling ten demon horns with four spikes each out of my inventory. The other professors watching me started to freeze up and stiffen.
“Ah… and the two skulls on my belt are my fashion items… so it would be a bit wasteful to hand them in. Would it be okay if I use these instead?”
The combat techniques professor fell into thought after hearing me.
…Just who is this person? A four-horned demon is definitely an Evil Demon. It’s the kind of demon that twenty A-rank adventurers would barely be able to defeat… And she has ten of those horns? Plus the two skulls on her belt are clearly from a Pentagram Demon. There’s no way a powerhouse like this would suddenly appear out of nowhere. I need to report this to the headmaster.
While the combat techniques professor was thinking, the surrounding instructors were also buzzing.
“That… that’s an Evil Demon, isn’t it?”
“And she appeared out of nowhere. She must have used spatial magic! Spatial magic is supposed to be one of the highest tiers along with time magic…!”
“…More than that, her clothes are bothering me. That looks like an inquisitor’s outfit…”
“And that thing on her belt is a Pentagram Demon…?”
“……??”
“Professor Tallen. Are you sure you’re not seeing things?”
“That is definitely a Pentagram Demon!! To use such a top-tier demon as decoration…”
“Haha… The demon hunting specialist instructor we’re getting after twenty years is quite a dangerous individual…”
Everyone nodded in agreement with the holy magic professor’s words.