Sevens Volume 9 Prologue

Prologue

Part 1

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──Spring had come to Centralle(セントラル), capital of the Bahnseim(バンセイム) Kingdom.

The scenery of the city was just like that of spring.  It’s filled with a crowd that was even more energetic than it was in winter.

At the palace of that Bahnseim Kingdom, there was a single girl who was sitting on the throne with an insolent attitude.

Her name was Celes Walt(セレス・ウォルト).

Her fingertips toyed with her slightly curly and long blonde hair. She was sitting with her legs crossed and a bored look on her face.

Celes, the crown princess, originally wouldn’t be allowed to sit on the throne.

She’d originally be given the capital punishment for this violation, but there wasn’t even a single person in this palace who would reproach her.

She had pale skin and a symmetrical face.  Despite her young age, she was a beauty.

Rather than adorable, it would be better to call her beautiful──one could feel a bewitching quality from her appearance.

She was a girl so beautiful that it seemed like she were emitting light from her body.  Her lustrous and pretty lips moved.

「──It seems you allowed that piece of trash to escape, and on top of that you got caught in a trap. Lionel, I had expected something from you, but this really is a let-down.」

In front of Celes there was a young man kneeling down on one knee with his head bowed.

The blue haired and blue eyed young man looked just like that girl’s biological big brother.

His name was Lionel Walt(リオネル・ウォルト).

He was the heir of the capital noble Walt House. If these two’s family trees were traced back, it would become clear that they shared the same ancestor.

Right now he was trembling, with sweat pouring off of him like a waterfall.  He looked like he was about to press his forehead down to the ground and grovel any second now.

「M-my greatest apologies! Lyle──that guy trapped me!」

Lyle──Lyle Walt(ライエル・ウォルト) was Celes’s biological brother.

He was a man who was the eldest son of the feudal lord Walt House.

Celes made an annoyed face.

「I told you to not make any moves on him, didn’t I? And yet you ignored my words and chased after that trash, and were defeated.  I wonder if you have the proper awareness for the commander of the special royal guard?」

Lionel was the commander of Celes’s special royal guard.

Although he didn’t have any troops yet. After all, he was the only member of the special royal guard, so it was natural for him to be treated as the “commanding officer”.

Lionel’s house, the capital noble Walt House, was once a noble house with the rank of lower seventh, which allowed them to pass down their title to their descendants.

But, the rank of lower seventh was the lowest position possible within the noble rank.

Then, Lionel had caught the eye of Celes and he obtained the title of baron and even a position in the special royal guard.

What Lionel feared was offending Celes.

「I swear that I will catch that guy without fail!」

Celes showed an exasperated face seeing Lionel saying such a thing. Even so, she was unbearably pleased in her heart.

(This guy is so stupid. Even though I told him not to make any moves, he prioritized his personal grudge and tried to catch that piece of garbage. But──it’s fine for you to be like this.)

For Celes, there wasn’t any problem at all, even if Lionel was incompetent.

Rather, it was exactly because he was incompetent that there was meaning in placing him by her side.

──A man with the spitting image of her biological brother.

It was a nice way to kill time for Celes, exposing this guys incompetence──it was just a sideshow for her.

The title of the commander of special royal guard that she granted him was also just a game for her.

「Even so, I can’t believe that he got himself thrown in prison while chasing Lyle.  This guy really is an idiot. It’s pretty funny though, so I’ll forgive him.」

If this man was her proper subordinate, Celes absolutely wouldn’t forgive him.

She would immediately execute him.

But, Celes forgave Lionel.

「I told you to not chase after him.」

Lionel’s gaze wandered around when Celes said that.

「B-but──」

It seemed he had a reason for chasing after Lyle.

(Is he still planning to do something? Well, I’ll keep that in reserve for my future entertainment.)

Celes was having fun inside her heart seeing Lionel’s conduct that was just too hopeless. Then a young man who was the member of her true royal guard reached out for the handle of his sword.

「Are you planning to go against Celes-sama’s order?」

The one who threatened Lionel with a low voice was a tall young man in his early twenties.

He had long and straight brown hair.

He had green eyes with a sharp look.

The name of this serious looking young knight was Baldoir Randbergh(バルドア・ランドバーグ).

Randbergh House was a family of knights that had served the Walt House for generations. Baldoir was the heir of its main house.

Right now he was Celes’s personal bodyguard.

He was a really capable knight and Celes’s favorite.

He was going to cut down the incompetent Lionel in this place.

Celes’s fun would decrease if Lionel was killed here, so she stopped him with her hand.

「Baldoir, take your hand off your sword.」

「Is that alright? This person has misused Celes-sama’s authority and did as he pleased. It will only harm Celes-sama later if we keep him alive.」

It was a reply that was just like the serious Baldoir.

Celes smiled.

「I said that I forgive him.」

「──Pardon my rudeness.」

Baldoir let go of his sword when Celes said that.

The trembling Lionel stroked his chest because he didn’t get killed.

Celes watched him as she stood up from the throne and walked toward the window.

Sunlight was shining in from the large window.

「Lionel, leave that piece of trash alone for a while.」

When Celes said that, Lionel turned toward Celes and fell on his knees with his body leaning forward.

「Celes-sama, that guy is dangerous! We should capture him immediately!」

Lionel was strongly conscious towards Lyle because they both possessed the same family name Walt──but that wasn’t all.

It was also because the woman he fell in love with was together with Lyle.

Celes also knew about that.

「Lionel, I wish that you won’t disappoint me further than this.」

Celes turned her back on Lionel so that her face couldn’t be seen from where he was.

Her tone was completely calm and rebuking, but her expression was smiling.

This extremely incompetent young man was a very nice way to kill time for her.

But, right now she was in the middle of thinking of a new way to have fun.

She couldn’t spend all her time caring about only Lionel.

「There are nobles who are in opposition toward my rise as the crown princess. Someone has to be dispatched to subjugate them. Are you, my special royal guard going to leave my side at this important time?」

「N-no, that’s──」

Baldoir and the other knights who were Celes’ true royal guards frowned seeing Lionel’s ambiguous attitude.

Lionel didn’t notice the irritation of the royal guards because of how dense he was.

That incompetence was extremely funny for Celes.

(I’m really glad that I picked you up at that time.)

「We’re going to crush the defiant nobles within the country. I will send an army from the kingdom for that. Of course, I’ll also ask Otou-sama to move out.」

The army of the Bahnseim Kingdom and the army of feudal lord noble Walt House were preparing to fight the defiant nobles within the country.

It was nothing more than a game for Celes.

She looked at the cane that was storing her rapier.

A yellow jewel was embedded on its tip. It was emitting a faint mysterious light.

Celes watched the jewel while whispering in a volume that couldn’t be heard by anyone.

「──Yes, I know.  From now on, it’ll be fun.」

Celes talked to the jewel and then she smiled at the townscape of the royal capital that was visible from the large window.

A voice that could only be heard by Celes came from the yellow Jewel.

『My cute Celes. It’ll be soon. Soon──this land will be dyed with blood once more.』

The woman’s voice sounded very pleasant, but at the same time it also sounded somewhat bewitching.

Celes replied toward the captivating whisper.

「I’m really looking forward to it──Agrissa(アグリッサ).」

It was the name of the woman who was once called the country toppling beauty that changed the continent into hell all by herself.

『It’s good that you’re also looking forward to it. But more importantly, your face is breaking into a grin you know?』

「Oh, I’m sorry. I’ve become the crown princess, so I have to keep appearances up slightly.」

『Indeed. Well, soon there won’t be any need to keep up appearances. Be patient until then.』

Celess’s face that was reflected on the glass window was sporting a hideous smile──.

.

The free city Beim(ベイム).

It was a metropolis that possessed a large harbor, ruled by merchants who obtained immense wealth from trade with other countries.

At the same time, it was also called the home of adventurers.

The reason there were many adventurers here is because this city is just that convenient for them.

Beim wasn’t ruled by royalty or nobles. The tax that was applied to the adventurers was shockingly small.

Work flowed in here one after another.

And the greatest attraction for the adventurers was the dungeon that existed in Beim.

Beim’s dungeon was predicted to have more than one hundred underground floors. It was an attractive way to earn money for the adventurers.

It was easy to encounter monsters inside a dungeon, so they could defeat a lot of them.

Then they would collect the magic stone and parts of the monster’s body to be sold after they got out of the dungeon.

Adventurers were also universally received in Beim. The adventurer guild here was famed for its support to adventurers that was far warmer compared to other adventurer guilds.

Because of that, this city was called the metropolis of merchants and adventurers.

That Beim was a metropolis that was surrounded by high walls──and that wasn’t all.

「So this is the freedom city Beim──it’s even more amazing than Centralle.」

I looked up at the tall buildings with admiration. I must have looked like a country bumpkin who came here from the countryside.

Sometimes the passing by residents of Beim were chuckling at me.

There were also people who looked at me condescendingly among them.

But, I──Lyle Walt ignored those eyes and admired this metropolis called Beim.

The streets inside the city were neatly paved with stone.

The streets were wide and clean.

The number of people and carriages coming and going was also many.

No, it was too many.

The population density here also seemed high.

And then, above all else, the buildings were all tall.

The styles of the buildings were varied, with some looking a bit unorganized, but all of the buildings on the main street were splendid and extravagant

I had seen several cities until now, but none of them was as splendid as Beim.

The voice of the Third came from the blue Jewel hanging from my neck while I was looking around in wonder.

It seemed he was surprised.

『What’s this place? This surpassed my imagination.』

It seemed that the size of Beim’s scale, as well as its splendor, had surprised him.

The Fourth was also similarly surprised, but what he spoke of was from the financial aspect.

『Just how much money are they using in order to maintain all of this?』

From the Fourth’s perspective, all of this must be more extravagant than necessary.

After all, the whole city looked sparkling.

It wasn’t like gold and silver were used abundantly, but nothing that entered my eyes looked cheap.

I heard that because there was no royalty or nobles in Beim,the major merchants were the ones who were paying for the maintenance of the public areas like the streets and such.

That might be why the atmosphere here was different from other cities.

The Fifth who was normally calm sounded somewhat suspicious.

『Just what have they done so that the city could be this developed?』

It seemed he wanted to say something about the development level of Beim.

But the Sixth was laughing loudly.

『The commerce here is profitable after all. Even so, it’s amazing that the city can develop this far without even any king or nobles.』

It was an unbelievable story for me.

The Seventh was also feeling suspicious, but it also felt like he was scheming something.

『This surpassed what I heard. Even so, if it’s developed to this degree──we can also expect much from it.』

The Third agreed with that opinion, but he also spoke that it was necessary to understand this city called Beim correctly.

『Seems so. But, this surpassed our expectations. If we don’t proceed carefully, we might get the rug pulled out from under our feet.』

When I thought that I also had to focus myself, Monica(モニカ) called out to me.

「Chicken dickwad. Enough running from reality, please do something about that.」

──The one who called me chicken dickwad was Monica, who tied her blonde hair into twintails and wears a red maid uniform.

Even though she acted like this, she was a machine called automata that was a legacy of the ancient people.  But, she was also a faulty product that called me, her master, a chicken dickwad.

That Monica was pointing in a direction where there were young men who acted even more like country bumpkins than me.

「So this is Beim!」

「We’re going to live here from now on!」

「Oi, that woman just now was super pretty!」

The noisy young men were dressed in slightly dirty shirts and trousers that were soaked with mud.

Rusty knives were hanging on their waist.

They were carrying large baggage looking completely like someone who came from the sticks──they were laughed at by the people around.

These young men seemed to take those people’s laughter as friendly smiles and responded by waving their hands.

They were actually getting made fun of, but they showed no sign of noticing.

It was painful watching it.

「I wonder if I’m also looking like that from the surrounding’s perspective?」

When I muttered that anxiously, Novem Forxuz(ノウェム・フォクスズ) hurriedly followed up for me.

She was a girl who accompanied me by herself when I was driven out by my family.

She was also my fiancée in the past.

Her trademark was her light brown hair that was tied into a side ponytail. She was always thinking of me first.

「It’s alright. Lyle-sama’s appearance is immaculate, so there is no problem at all. Besides, the stronghold of Lyle-sama’s family, the Walt House, is also a large city. There is nothing about Lyle-sama that can be made fun of.」

「No, you can’t guess where a person came from just by looking at their face right? The people around must be thinking that I’m the same as those guys.」

「It’s alright!」

「I-I see.」

「Yes! After all, Lyle-sama is the legitimate heir of Walt House who inherited their noble blood. Your refinement cannot be compared to any other man.」

Novem wouldn’t back down, so I was the one who backed down.

But it was a mistake to say that I had refinement because I had the blood of Walt House flowing in me.

After all, the ancestor of the feudal lord noble Walt House, the first head Basil Walt(バジル・ウォルト), was a barbarian as far removed as possible from the word “refinement”.

If we put a lot of stock in blood, then it would have meant that I who inherited the blood of the First was far away from being refined.

While I was talking with Novem, there was a woman who put her chin on my shoulder.

It was Miranda Circry(ミランダ・サークライ) who had light green hair and eyes, and acted like the big sister among my comrades.

「It’s not just the blood that decides everything there is to a human. Lyle is amazing is because of the results of his own effort, don’t you think so?」

Miranda often intentionally made a remark that opposed Novem.

Novem who was aware of that talked back.

「Yes, I understand that. But, Lyle-sama who inherited the blood of Walt House and is also working hard on top of that has nothing to be ashamed of at all.」

I was happy to be recognized, but it made me feel really embarrassed to be told such a thing.

A country bumpkin was being noisy at the side while the two were praising me and confronting each other.

「Everyone look! There is a stupidly huge fountain there!」

Shannon Circry(シャノン・サークライ) pointed at a fountain with her yellow eyes sparkling.

She had been in high spirits ever since we arrived at Beim.

Her difference from the country bumpkin young men was that the surroundings were smiling warmly when it was Shanon acting excited like that.

To them it looked like she was a little child getting excited.

Sophia Rowley(ソフィア・ラウリ) who had black hair and wore a robe tried to calm down Shannon in a panic.

「Shannon-san, please be quiet. Everyone is looking here.」

Shannon ignored Sophia and looked around.

「All the buildings are so big. The street is also wide, they look pretty for some reason.」

It was just as Shannon said.

The townscape of Beim had wide streets with big buildings lined up neatly.

It felt like we had become midgets here.

The red haired Aria Lockwarde(アリア・ロックウォード) was carrying several pieces of luggage on her shoulders while looking around.

She was on her guard against thieves and the like.

「There are a lot of people so let’s move quickly. Even so, there really are so many people.」

The walking speed of the people around us, and then the running speed of the carriages were fast.

The atmosphere felt really busy.

It felt like we would be yelled at about being in the way if we kept staying here, so we started moving together with our luggage.

The country bumpkin young men were also following us when we started moving.

The qilin May(メイ) pulled at my clothes to let me know.

「Lyle, those boys are also following us.」

Originally she was a sacred beast that was called a qilin, but right now she was taking the form of a girl.

Her clothes exposed a bit──no, a lot of her skin and gathered attention from the surroundings.

I turned around and directed my gaze to the leader of those young men, Erhart Baumann(エアハルト・バウマン).

His attire was extremely──unique.

He had disheveled black hair and a lean body, but with firm muscles and tanned skin.

There was nothing wrong with him until that far, but the problem was his attire.

Even though he was only wearing a tank top on his upper body, his lower body was wearing armor like a loin guard and leg guards.

Even though his upper body’s vital spots were completely exposed, his lower body was wearing a complete set of armor.

And then he was carrying a rusty greatsword with quality that looked poor on his back. He called the sword the demon sword Gram.

It seemed that the person himself was thinking that this getup was the best for him. He was walking with a proud look about his own appearance.

The elf girl who loved stories, Eva(エヴァ), was watching him.

She was tidying up her disordered hair from the long travel with an interested look.

She stared fixedly at Erhart──then she shook her head.

「He is no good. As I thought, Lyle is the main character of my story. I thought that perhaps he could be a hero in the making, but he really just doesn’t click.」

When Eva said that, Clara Bulmer(クラーラ・ブルマー) who had a bad relationship with Eva snapped at her.

She had a small build, blue hair, and red eyes, but it was her artificial left hand that attracted the most attention.

「I don’t think that you have the capability to tell heroes apart, though.」

Eva got angry being told that and drew near to Clara.

「You got quite a mouth on you, you bonehead!」

「Better to be a bonehead than a liar.」

The two started to quarrel, but they were always like this so I ignored them.

My other companions were only making  a face that said 「Again?」.

I called out to Erhart.

「So.  Why are you guys following us?」

When I asked that question, Erhart and others averted their gaze from me and replied.

「Haa? Why are you thinking that we’re walking behind you huh? It’s just you guys who are walking in front of us.」

They had been following behind us all the way here from outside Beim.

It was the Third who had deciphered their intention.

『Looks like they are excited to finally arrive in a big city, but they don’t actually know what to do now that they’re here. In the first place, it doesn’t look like they have made any plans for here on.』

As expected, there was no way they were that thoughtless.

The Third noticed my disbelief and laughed lightheartedly.

Surely this was him being his usual flighty self, no doubt about it.

『Eh, could it be you don’t believe me? Lyle really is still too green.』

We had arrived at Beim, so I guess we should register as adventurers here first?

Or perhaps we should look for an inn before that?

I told Erhart and his friends about our destination.

「Then, we’ll head to the adventurer guild.」

Beim’s adventurer guild was really big, fitting for the city that was called the home of adventurers.

The large building that was located at the center of Beim was the adventurer guild.

──That was what I heard anyway.

Erhart and others followed when we started walking toward the adventurer guild.

「That’’s right! The adventurer guild. We’re going to register there first!」

I looked back in surprise.

Then the young men looked at each other in understanding.

「It’ll be my first time going to the adventurer guild.」

「Where’s it located?」

「So we’re going to be adventurers with this, huh~」

It seemed they only thought about going to the adventurer guild for the first time after Erhart mentioned it.

Were they seriously thinking about their future?

The Third’s laughter came from the Jewel.

『Look! They weren’t thinking at all. This is just how the typical youths are.』

The Fifth corrected that opinion of the Third.

『It’s just that these guys are dumber than the average person.』

Aria also turned her gaze while I was looking at the young men in surprise.

「They feel really haphazard. Still, are they planning to keep following us like this?」

Sophia’s expression clouded.

「I’m worried that they’ll cause trouble for the people around them. They are strangers, but it’ll be troublesome if they are thought of as our companions.」

The young men had just left their birthplace and arrived in the big city, and yet they were more thoughtless than I imagined.

Even though they were strangers, this made me worried about whether they would really be alright.

「A-anyway, let’s go until the guild. After that they surely won’t follow around us anymore.」

Aria shrugged and laughed.

「I wonder about that. They might keep following us even after that.」

As expected that wouldn’t happen──or so I wanted to believe.

We arrived at Beim’s adventurer guild.

It was so big that all the guilds we had seen before this looked small compared to it.

In the first place, there were four doors prepared just for the entrance.

We entered from the entrance that had the words 「West Entrance」 written and searched for the counter.

The building itself was built in the shape of a cylinder. It looked like the inside was divided crosswise from the center.

There were a lot of people coming and going.

There weren’t only adventurers here, but also a lot of merchants and civilians.

The inside’s structure was also really pretty and functional.

The decorations weren’t overdoing it but wouldn’t make one bored watching them.  But, the counter caught my attention even more.

The long counter that was at the back of the area had a lot of staff lined up and talking with the adventurers.

The adventurers were making several lines waiting for their turn to come. There were also adventurers sitting on the sofa that was put near the wall.

May was watching all of those with admiration.

「I had thought that this is a big building, but I’m still amazed that there is this many people inside. Human really like being stuffed inside a box.」

That impression was really just like May, who wasn’t a human, I guess?

While I was thinking of where I should line up at, Novem pointed at the counter that was near the entrance instead of at the back of the area.

「Lyle-sama, it seems that place is the counter for asking information.」

She did well spotting it.

We headed to the information counter, but──Erhart and his friends cut in front of us.

「Uh oh, we’ll be the first one!」

The staff at the counter were looking at us, so I gestured that it was alright Erhart to go first.

The staff nodded slightly and replied to Erhart and his friends.

The staff’s age was around the mid-twenties, I guess?

「What can I help you with today?」

Erhart leaned on the counter with his elbows in order to talk with the staff. He looked a bit impatient.

「Aa~, err. We want to become adventurers! And then we’re going to complete quests like mad and become the number one adventurers in a flash──」

The staff cut off his story resolutely while he was passionately reciting his dream.

「Understood. Adventurer registration is it? In that case please go to the southern side. The registration of rookie adventurers is done there.」

The inside of the guild was divided into four. The staff explained how to head to the southern counter, but Erhart hit the counter and started complaining.

「Just do it here. You can do at least that much right? We’re busy.」

He was saying he was busy even though it was doubtful that they even had any plans on  what to do after this?

The staff looked like he was also used to this type of visitor.

「It’s the rule that the registration can only be done at the southern counter. It’s pointless no matter how much you complain here. ──Next group please.」

The staff ignored Erhart and his friends and called out to us.

It was awkward, but we couldn’t keep going along with Erhart’s group forever.

As the leader, I talked with the staff.

「We have registered as adventurers, but this is our first time in Beim.」

The staff gave us an explanation that he must have repeated many times until now.

「Then you must have your guild card with you. Please go to the south counter in that case. Adventurers who come from other place also have to receive a short course.」

It seemed that even registered adventurers had to receive a short course in Beim.

「So everyone is treated the same regardless of their experience?」

「It’s because this place has a lot of differences from adventurer guilds of other places.」

It would be pointless even if I grumbled here, so we immediately headed toward the south counter.

Then Erhart’s group that was watching us was also following behind.

This, could it be──they’re going to follow us till the end?

.

Part 2

Now then, about the adventurer registration and short course──there wasn’t anything particularly new from them.

The short course was a simple explanation about the guild.

It was explained that the south reception desk was often used by rookies and average adventurers.

Beim’s adventurer guild was divided into four, east, west, south, and north.

The south side was the general receptionist.

The north side was the receptionist for dungeon related things.

The west side seemed to be a bit unique. It was the place that handled mercenary related quests.

And then the east side was the receptionist for things related to the sea──like guarding a ship, etc. That side was handling naval-based quests.

After receiving the explanation, we handed our guild card and took care of the procedures.

A guild card was a set of two metallic cards. When the owner died, the name that was written on the metallic card would be scratched off. The rule was that one card was carried by the owner who had their name engraved on the cards, while the other card was entrusted to the guild.

And then, we finished listening to all the explanations without problem but──.

「Who can accept something like that!」

──Erhart was making a ruckus.

He complained after the short course was over and they received the next explanation separately.

The other rookies and adventurers who came from other places were going back, but Erhart’s group was complaining so we were left behind.

「Why can’t we receive quests huh!? In addition we also can’t enter into the dungeon, this isn’t like what we heard!」

Beim’s adventurer guild at first explained to the rookies and us adventurers who came from other places that our achievement before this wouldn’t be taken into consideration.

It didn’t matter how much achievement we had in other places, we would be treated as rookies in Beim. That was the way the adventurer guild of Beim did thing here.

A male staff around thirty years old was talking to Erhart.

「That’s why, the rookies still cannot be trusted. The guild can’t assign quests to such people and also doesn’t wish them to challenge the dungeon. Please obediently start from accomplishing quests like odd jobs.」

「If it’s us then we’ll be able to accomplish any kind of request, we’ll also bring back a mountain of treasure from the dungeon! There isn’t any need for us to do odd jobs!」

The staff was looking troubled at Erhart’s group that was full of spirit and nothing else.

A woman came at that timing.

Her age seemed to be in the early twenties. She had long and silky blonde hair, yellow eyes──her drooping eyes were giving her a gentle atmosphere.

Her distinctive trait was her beautiful face and her nice body──her adventurer guild uniform that was the same as the uniform the other female staff wore, was remodeled to emphasize her breasts .

It became a uniform that made her large breasts stand out.

Erhart and his friends were pouring their gazes on those large breasts.

It seemed the woman came here because she heard the commotion.

「Is something the matter?」

The male staff looked at Erhart’s group and sighed at how their gazes were fixed at the woman’s breasts.

「Marianne(マリアンヌ)-san, it seems they’re feeling humiliated because they’re treated as rookies.」

「My, is that so?」

The beauty with a gentle atmosphere was showing surprise, but Erhart’s group was quiet unlike what they had been like.

They were acting like gentlemen, perhaps because they were in front of a beauty.

「Even though I look like this, I have three Arts. I’ve mastered them. It’s just wrong to make someone like me do odd jobs right?」

Three Arts? It must be some kind of mistake.

He also didn’t look like he had any magic tool that could become a substitute for Arts.

Or perhaps he was meaning to say that he could use his Arts until the third stage?

Was he understanding it wrongly or perhaps he didn’t know anything about that from the start──it looked like he didn’t know anything about the common sense of adventurers.

The beautiful staff gave some praise as to not offend the feelings of Erhart’s group.

「That’s amazing! Only few people can manifest their Arts until the third stage. You must be really strong.」

「Y-yeah! That’s why, you can give us any kind of quest without worry. Give us quests that can make us stand out as adventurer.」

I’m amazing so treat me like a pro──this guy was really willful.

The beautiful staff was listening to Erhart talking with a smile, but then she made a sad face after Erhart finished boasting.

「I’m really sorry. It’s the rule so even we can’t do anything. But, let’s see──in Beim there is a “proficiency test” for the sake of measuring someone’s real strength. It’s a test in order to see the strength of the people who come from other places, how about you try participating in it if you are that confident?」

The male staff who had been keeping quiet while listening to the talk until now opened his eyes wide in shock and started to look panicked.

「N-no, that’s──」

The beautiful staff said 「Please leave this to me」and held back the male staff.

At that time, the beautiful staff──glanced at our way.

She wanted her words to be heard not by Erhart’s group alone, but also by us.

Measuring the strength of adventurers who came from other places.

──This was a talk that was intended toward us huh.

「The test is simple. The test this time is to challenge the dungeon that is located in Beim. To be more accurate, you will have to support the adventurers who receive the guild’s quest and challenge the dungeon. If your strength is recognized there, then Beim will recognize you as a fully fledged adventurer.

The eyes of Erhart’s group shined in expectation after they heard that.

「What. That’s simple. Just leave it to us. We’re going to make the guild acknowledge us as professionals, yeah! P-putting that aside, what is your name?」

Erhart asked the beautiful staff’s name shyly. It didn’t look like he understood the meaning of challenging a dungeon.

A cold voice that was directed toward the beautiful staff came from inside the Jewel.

『Could this be an attempt to get rid of a nuisance? Something like sending ignorant and troublesome youths into the dungeon to dispose them?』

The other ancestors were also agreeing with that opinion of the Fourth.

But, none of them expressed any pity or sympathy.

Those young men were choosing their own path. There wasn’t any need for us to persuade them and make them give up.

The beautiful staff put her hand on her chest and smiled.

「I’m sorry for the late introduction. I am──Marianne. A staff member of this guild.」

The beautiful staff with gentle manner, Marianne-san.

But the reaction of the ancestors was cold.

The Fifth didn’t sound interested, even so I got the feeling that he was feeling slightly irritated.

『This woman is sending ignorant youngsters to their death with a smile like that. Well, it’s not our business though.』

Erhart and his friends would surely die if they challenged a dungeon when they didn’t have any decent equipment like that.

Shannon was looking around in a dither.

「H-hey, aren’t we going to stop them?」

It seemed that Shannon knew that Erhart’s group was in danger and wanted to stop them.

But, Miranda-san was expressionless.

「It’s what they chose for themselves. Besides, I don’t want to look after them.」

Shannon asked for help from me with her gaze, but I had the same opinion so I pretended not to notice.

Erhart’s group asked Marianne-san.

「And, when is it that this test will start?」

「It’ll be two weeks later. I think the test will last for around a month.」

Erhart’s group was surprised hearing the words one month.

「O-one month!? It will take that long!?」

「It’ll be a large scale expedition. The objective of the adventurers who entered the test will be helping out with that expedition. It’s fine! All of you are strong, right?」

「O-ou! We’ll finish that kind of test in a flash!」

Marianne-san clapped and instigated Erhart’s group.

And then she sent her gaze to us.

「Now then, how about you adventurers over there? From what I see your party is quite experienced, isn’t that right?」

Did she judge that we were experienced as adventurers after seeing our appearance?

Then she should also know that Erhart’s group was just a group of amateurs.

This person──felt a bit dangerous.

I tightly grasped the Jewel.

Then the ancestors gave me advice as usual──or not.

『Oh, you’re already relying on us? How about you try thinking by yourself, Lyle.』

The Third pushed me away even though he knew what I wanted to ask.

But, the Fourth followed-up for him.

『Lyle, it’s not like the Third is pushing you away. Lyle should start thinking and acting by yourself soon.』

It seemed the Fifth also held the same opinion.

『It’s fine even if you accept the test or not. Your objective isn’t to become a first rate adventurer. It’s to defeat Celes.』

The Sixth was amused.

『I’m also interested in what you’re going to do to achieve your objective. Do whatever you like.』

The Seventh told me to decide by myself.

『Now, Lyle──what are you going to do if it’s you?』

I tightly grasped the Jewel once before letting it go and smiling at Marianne-san.

「I’ll pass.」

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