33. Wonder If He Can Lead a Woman Properly
33. Wonder If He Can Lead a Woman Properly
"......."
"Hmm."
"......."
The kid looked a bit off today.
Should I say he was quieter than usual?
He wasn't exactly the chatty or noisy type to begin with, but... even for a lesson, he was way too quiet.
He was so much quieter than usual that I couldn't help but get curious.
He wouldn't be like this for no reason.
"The kingdom started growing explosively from this point on. The conquered country is now located in the south....... Noah, are you listening?"
"Ah."
"...Sigh."
I tried to continue the lesson, but Noah couldn't focus properly.
It was impossible to continue the lesson right now.
"What's going on?"
"Ah... um.... I've ended up doing something this time. It's a bit troublesome."
"...?"
"It happened by chance, but it's quite a difficult task for me to handle...."
"What kind of task?"
So I asked him.
He's just a 17-year-old kid, after all.
I'm an adult, so I should be able to help him out a little, or at least give him some advice.
I was even more inclined to do so because I'd never seen Noah this troubled before.
It was only natural, since he wasn't the type to be like that.
"Do you remember Katrina?"
"Why that young lady?"
"Katrina is doing something this time, and I ended up helping her out a little."
"...Katrina?"
"Yes."
I was surprised by the story that followed.
Was that the kind of thing Katrina talked about when she called Noah over last time?
I expected it to be about dating, but helping her with something?
Even if I was skeptical, the very unexpected nature of his words made me curious.
I had given her advice to make the appointment directly and straightforwardly, after all.
And now, help?
"What is it?"
"Ah. Um.... It might not be a big deal, actually. You know what a guild is, right?"
"The Adventurer Guild?"
"Yes, that one. I think I'll be joining and doing some work there...."
"......Huh."
What is he talking about?
I was quite surprised that what Katrina talked about, what she asked for help with, was nothing other than something related to an adventurer.
I mean, she's a noble lady.
And she needs help with something like that?
...Why?
"Why?"
"I don't really know either. I think it has something to do with her family...."
"...Hmm. Sounds like noble business. Sounds like a pain."
"Haha.... Anyway, so we decided to join the Adventurer Guild tomorrow. There's one near the Academy, right?"
Just like Noah said, there was an Adventurer Guild near the Academy.
Not far from my house, actually.
Joining a guild probably means... he has to complete a few quests.
If you think about it, it's a kind of proof, isn't it?
A way to check how well they are doing, since they've entered the Academy.
I honestly agreed with the fact that you can't really tell what level someone is at just by attending classes and getting grades.
To begin with, someone like Noah.
Except for those with talent in fields like swordsmanship, commoner kids are basically bottom-tier, and noble kids basically take the middle ranks.
"Hmm......."
"For now, Iris is going to join with us tomorrow."
"...Huh?"
"Since Katrina is a spearman, I thought it would be good to have a mage. We work together at the Academy anyway. I thought it would be more comfortable."
"Ah......."
...This dense guy.
He's seriously frustrating.
He's so frustrating that I want to sigh right in his face.
"So you're going to solve quests as a trio?"
"Yes."
"Well... a 3-person party, that's enough. You're 1st-year Academy students, so it shouldn't be that hard."
"So I think I'll learn from you, Noona, like today, and then do quests the next day."
"Is that so?"
Well, what can I do.
He should have said from the beginning that he had prepared other party members.
Noah seems to think of her only as a friend, or at most a reliable colleague or acquaintance.
On top of that, it's for a quest.
Basically, you need to gather more people, and there's someone at the Academy who is at a similar level and is also a friend.
It was the natural result.
It's an unfortunate situation for Katrina, but it's actually much more dangerous for the two of them to attempt quests on their own.
"Then go do a good job."
"I have to. I did say I'd help. And I, um...."
"Why."
He's a guy who worries about things other than just Katrina's business.
What is he worried about now?
"It's just, I've never done anything like that before. I'm a little worried."
"...Sigh."
"It's basically fighting monsters and stuff, right? Usually, when you say Adventurer Guild?"
"I suppose so."
"All I've done since I was little is... just spar with kids my age using wooden swords, and spar with the village guards. At the Academy, it's just my master or other students."
"So your only worry is that you've never actually killed a monster?"
"That's about it."
"Hmm...."
Well, that was perfectly understandable.
Most people were like that.
It wasn't like you met monsters that often.
Well, a few decades ago... before I was born into this world as a Snow Woman.
Since then, most of the monsters have been cleared out.
The Empire's knights patrol periodically to deal with monsters, every city and village has basic guards, and finally, there are the adventurers who make money through monsters.
Actually, it's become difficult to see such monsters within cities and villages.
There was more pedantic stuff to say... but that's the gist of it.
"Didn't your master say you were fine?"
"Isn't that different? My master is the one teaching, but I don't know what my actual level is."
"Hmm."
"I don't want to hold them back or cause any problems."
He seems to have too many useless worries.
But it was better than the opposite, where someone is so overconfident that they're arrogant and end up dying.
In fact, there were many novice adventurers who didn't know anything and got themselves killed by acting out.
This is actually better.
But being too scared also felt unmanly.
Of course, Noah is usually like this.
He's secretly quite humble, after all.
"Sigh, well, we won't be able to study properly today anyway."
"Ah. I'm sorry. It's all because of me."
"No. It's fine. I didn't have much on my mind anyway. I'm more worried about you guys having to go to the Adventurer Guild tomorrow."
A reasonable worry, in its own way.
But at the same time....
...It makes me wonder if the Academy these days doesn't even teach the kids their own levels.
Back in my day, they taught us that properly.
Every time the brats whined, the old fogies would show them the difference in levels, and let them know where they stood.
It seems the Academy these days doesn't do that.
Are they coddling them too much?
I think kids need to be beaten a little to grow up properly....
Among the kids who grew up here, many ended up becoming knights or adventurers, and then they would naturally have to fight.
Even then, there are cases where they live confidently and arrogantly, only to get beaten up and die on their first outing.
It actually happens.
"Hmm.... What's your level? Honestly, that's a difficult topic. It's not like knights where ranks are clearly divided, and you haven't been evaluated by the guild yet."
"That's true...."
"But there is a rough way to check."
"What is it?"
"Things like swordsmanship levels are for stubborn old men to worry about; what matters is your level of handling your body and mana."
So, as a former adventurer and an Academy senior, I decided to give him some light advice.
This is studying, too, after all.
It's all advice that will become blood and flesh.
"Basically, Adventurers in the guild are divided into Gold Rank, Silver Rank, and Bronze Rank. These are the real, official adventurers. It refers to a level where you can be trusted with adventurers' quests."
"I've already heard about that part."
"But below that, below Bronze Rank, there are 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, and 3rd Grade adventurers in that order. 1st Grade is the highest."
I started by explaining the adventurers.
It was something he needed to know, and probably something he would hear when he went there tomorrow.
"These are the ranks you basically get right after you start as an adventurer. It's like an apprenticeship."
"Ah...."
"You take a promotion exam from 1st Grade to become an official adventurer, and then you become Bronze Rank."
It used to be a bit more barbaric in the past.
But as time passed, the guild became more professional.
When I first started as an adventurer, it was just lumped together under the name of apprenticeship, but now there are stages from 1st to 3rd Grade.
It's a loss if they just do it half-heartedly and end up dying, after all.
If the adventurer kids grow up well and solve quests for the guild, the guild makes more money in the process.
"Anyway. The deciding factor between an adventurer and 1st Grade is whether you can take down an Orc alone."
"An Orc?"
"Yes, of course, the Orc is just a representative example. An example for kids who use swords like you, or spears like Katrina. Mages and others would be different."
"Ah... so if I reach the level where I can take down an Orc alone, I become Bronze Rank?"
"There are other criteria, but usually, if you reach that level, you'll be fine for Bronze Rank."
"I see."
I explain it easily, but.
An Orc is quite a symbolic creature, after all.
Its physique, the hardness of its skin and muscles.
The strength that comes from such a body.
It's not as smart as a human, but it has enough intelligence to know how to use tools.
I used it as an example because it was quite a difficult opponent to face alone.
"In my opinion, by the standards of my time... I think by the time you're a 2nd-year student at the Academy, you'd be Bronze Rank. I don't know if it's still like that these days. By the end of the 1st year, they also test you on fighting monsters in earnest."
"Really?"
"Yes. The first semester of 1st year has so much to learn. From the second semester, you'll start doing it little by little. Of course, that's based on when I was at the Academy."
Of course, it's the Academy.
They learn more than what the guild helps with, and the quality is better.
The students have more talent than adventurers starting from scratch, after all.
I think by the end of the second semester of 1st year... they'll probably be around 1st Grade to 2nd Grade adventurers.
Of course, it's all a guess.
It might not be the case in reality.
"Since the second semester of 1st year has started. Probably... around 2nd Grade adventurer, I'd say. You have talent, and you've been training all summer."
"I'll have to hear it directly from the guild tomorrow, but.... I hope so. It would be a shame if I came out as 3rd Grade."
"Because you've worked that hard."
You've worked your ass off, after all.
It's only natural to want your level to rise as much as you've trained and suffered.
"...Ah, that was sudden. Thank you. I was supposed to study, but I ended up doing other studying instead."
"It's nothing. It wasn't difficult, I just explained what I know. It's better than nothing. Other kids are probably just having fun because it's the weekend, right?"
He really is a guy who worries about useless things.
I wonder if he'll even be able to lead a woman properly when he starts dating later.
It feels like he'll be the one getting dragged around every time.