Chirp Chirp Chirp

With the rising of the sun, the once silent streets were filled with a cacophony of noises from the busy crowd. The empty roads which seemed to be deserted were now bustling with life. It was morning already.

Thanks to Helen-san, I wasn't able to rest very well. What she said pretty much played on repeat in my head like a broken record player. Because of it, I wasn't able to get much sleep.

Thankfully, the higher one's combat power is, the less rest one will need. And as an S-ranker, my body will still be in perfect condition even without sleeping for a whole week. Nevertheless it's still unpleasant not having a proper sleep.

After washing and changing myself, I went out of my room and found Yuna waiting for me. And by the looks of it, she hasn't had a proper sleep either.

I really didn't think that our little tour would look like a date to other people. I really made myself look like a fool back there.

Anyway, it's entirely my fault, I should go apologize to Yuna.

「Sorry about yesterday. I didn't think it would look like that way to other people.」Grey

「Ah... don't worry about it... all that matters is that we had fun... besides, it... doesn't bother me anyway...」Yuna

You're saying all that but it's so obvious that you're embarrassed about it... All's well that ends well, I guess.

Anyway, today is an important day for us. Yesterday, while we were sightseeing, we found a building where each isekai fan would do anything just to enter.

「Are you ready for today, Yuna?」Grey

「Un.」Yuna

「Then let's head there, to the Adventurer's Guild!」Grey

Immediately after eating breakfast, we headed to the Adventurer's Guild which was located some distance away from the Rabbit's Den.

The guild building was enormous in comparison to buildings adjacent to it, maybe larger than a two-story grocery store back on earth.

When we entered, we were greeted by all sorts of people. There's your stereotypical muscular adventurer, there were also slender ones, ones full of scars, those carrying staves, and many more.

And as expected, all the receptionists were women. There were male clerks in the counters which dealt with dismantling and miscellaneous things, but none in the counters at the front which dealt with reception.

Also, is it just me or all the receptionists are fair ladies. Helen-san back in the Rabbit's Den was quite fair too.

After observing the interior of the guild, we walked to a counter wherein we were greeted by a fox woman in her late teens.

「Good morning, how may I help you.」Receptionist

「Umm... we would like to register as adventurers.」Grey

Since Yuna is still bad at "negotiations", I'll be the one handling our registration. I guess I should teach her the basics of negotiations one of these days.

Anyway, is this even considered a negotiation?

「Registration, huh?」Receptionist

「Umm... Is there a problem?」Grey

「No, it's just that you two look so young... Well, I shouldn't judge a book by its cover. Who knows, maybe you two will become the rising stars of our guild.」Receptionist

Unsurprisingly, the receptionist lady was well-mannered, as she didn't judge us based on our age. I wonder, are all the receptionists here like her?

Also, shouldn't there a "Why is a brat registering here!?" type of cliche that's supposed to be happening right now? In the mangas and novels I've read, it always happens every time the protagonist registers as an adventurer.

But... by the looks of it, the adventurers here are just minding their own businesses. It seems like the odds of it happening is very low.

「By the way, my name's Tilda. Nice to meet you.」Tilda

「I'm Yuna, and the one spacing out is Grey. It's a pleasure.」Yuna

Ah... looked like I got lost in my own world again.

「Since you're registering, please fill out this form and we'll confirm its authenticity with a heartstone later. After that, there will be an examination. Also, there will be a 50 kiel registration fee, it's alright to not pay it immediately, we will just deduct it on the quest rewards you'll earn later.」Tilda

Having received both the instructions and the registration form from Tilda-san, we then filled it out with the information required such as name, age, sex, race, attribute, etc., there were also parts which was more about personal information but it was optional to fill it in.

Hmm... for abilities, I'll just put 『Storage』since there are people who already know of it, like Dale-san and Helen-san. As for the name, I guess I'll keep my surname a secret.

By the time I finished, so did Yuna. We then handed them back to Tilda-san and had them verified. And after paying a bronze coin for the registration fee, we were led to the examination room by another guild staff.

「Please wait for the examiner here.」Staff

「Ah, thanks.」Grey

Having completed his task, the staff bowed and went back to his work area.

「Hey, Grey, are you nervous?」Yuna

「Hmm? Not really. From what I know, the exam should just be a battle against a summoned creature and I doubt they'll summon one that we can't defeat. Plus, if we fail, we'll just become apprentice adventurers.」Grey

「Haah... I really envy your calmness.」Yuna

「Hm? If you're nervous, why don't we hold hands?」Grey

「W-W-Why so sudden?!」Yuna

「Well, I heard that holding hands can make people calm down. So I thought it might help you out.」Grey

「Th...Then I'll take you up on your offer...」Yuna

When I offered my hand, Yuna slowly placed her hands on top of mine and lightly held it, with our fingers interlocking with one another.

Before I noticed, Yuna's face turned bright red.

Hm? Did something happen?

While I was wondering what's wrong with her, Yuna suddenly tightened her grip on my hand.

She must be getting anxious, her grip is getting tighter by the second. I wish she doesn't crush my hand acciー Hm? my hand?

Driven by the sudden realization that appeared in my mind, I instinctively looked at our hands holding one another and then back to Yuna's flustered face.

Crap! I did it again! Why do I always act on impulse!? I really should've asked God to make my personality less impulsive... Ah... I wanna punch myself...

But even though acting on impulse can sometimes cause trouble for me, right now, I'm happy that it leads me to being able to experience things I haven't in my past life, like going on dates or holding hands.

Fate sure works in mysterious ways.

After waiting for a while, a burly aged man came towards us. His hair gray as ash and his eyes as sharp as a falcon's. He, without a doubt, is the strongest I've ever met, besides me and Yuna.

-----------------------------------

【Name】Gaston

【Race】Human

【Sex】Male

【Age】56

【Status】Healthy

【Mana Capacity】1,52 【Mana Quality】D

【Combat Power】992 【Threat Level】C

【Attribute】Null

【Class】Swordsman 【Art Proficiency】66%

【Physical Enhancement】70%

【Ability】---

-----------------------------------

He's a C-ranker.

「So you're the ones who are applying for today? You two look so young, I wonder if you'll be alright... Well, you can't judge a book by its cover after all」Gaston

Is he the examiner? He's huge! He could easily dwarf any bodybuilder back on Earth!

Also, is "don't judge a book by its cover" this guild's motto or something? I even heard Tilda-san say it.

I really wanna ask, but I don't want to be rude. If I ask him politely, maybe he'll giー

「What's up with you people and not judging a book by its cover. Is that your motto or something?」Yuna

Yuna, that's way too blunt! Even if you asked it in an innocent voice, it was still rude! And you didn't even sugarcoat!

That's one way to ask, but that's very rude! You might hurt someone's feelings, or worse, you might get in trouble! Also, aren't you very nervous just a moment ago?!

「Ah, so you're wondering about that.」Gaston

I was very nervous about how the examiner would react to Yuna's harsh remarks, but it seems that my worries we're all for naught, since the examiner didn't even have a shred of care about it.

In response to Yuna's question, the examiner told us a story of how that motto came to be. And it all started eight years ago.

One day, a young man who was barely 16 registered as an adventurer. The other adventurers mocked and made fun of him. In response to that, the young man challenged the adventurers in a duel. And the result? The young man one-sidedly crushed the adventurers.

From that day onwards, the adventurers never laid a hand on the newcomers, fearing the same tragedy might befall onto them. Today, the young man is still working as an adventurer, and an A-rank at that.

After hearing the story, it made more sense why I didn't experience that famous "Why is a brat registering here!?" type of cliche.

「Well, enough storytelling. It's time for your exams. Listen, the exam is a practical one. I will summon a creature and you'll have to defeat it. Depending on how well you fare, you will immediately become either an H, G, or F-rank adventurer. And if you fail, you'll only be an apprentice adventurer.」Gaston

「Hm? You can easily move up until F-rank if you pass? I thought you can only get up to H-rank when passing.」Grey

「That's how it was until a year ago. You see, the main headquarters issued a reform on the registration system, saying it's a waste of time for strong individuals to start from the lowest rank.」Gaston

「Then why didn't they do it for all the ranks.」Grey

「It's to build up trust. Even if an adventurer has the strength of A-rank, if they can't even do an F-rank quest properly, then having them as an A-rank is pointless.」Gaston

「I see...」Grey

The information is a bit different from what I received from God, but that makes it easier for us to reach our real ranks.

I guess information imprinted on my 『Memory』won't always be viable. Information never remains the same after all.

「Well then, I'll just start up the device for the exam. So wait 'til I call you.」Gaston

Right, we still have an exam. After all that talk, it seemed to have slipped out of my mind.

Another thing that slipped out of my mind is that Yuna and I are still holding hands! And with all that time, surely, the examiner must have noticed it too! I just wish he doesn't think anything weird of us.

After a few minutes, the device was up and running. The examiner then called us over to him so that we can initiate the exam.

That device looks interesting.

-----------------------------------

【〔Device〕】

【Name】Summoning Orb

【Description】

Can summon a creature that will obey the will of the one activating it. The said creature can only stay within a certain range from the device and its strength and form will depend on the mana stone used as a base and the amount of mana used.

-----------------------------------

I see... So it can't be used as a weapon of war since the summon can only stay at a certain range and the amount of mana needed is enormous.

But summoned creatures, huh. They're just basically reconfigured monsters with no corruption prowess whatsoever.

I haven't summoned one since the ones who'll be fighting will be the summons, and I really don't wanna rely on something I summoned to get stronger, and also, it just doesn't give you a sense of achievement.

「I will stop the exam if you can't continue, so you won't have to worry about your safety. Now, who wants to go first?」Gaston

When the examiner asked us, Yuna's grip on my hand tightened. It seems she's getting nervous again.

「Yuna, do you want me to go first?」Grey

「Ah, no. I'll go.」Yuna

「Are you sure?」Grey

「Yeah, after all, I can't have you always taking the lead for me all the time.」Yuna

「I see, then, good luck.」Grey

「Un.」Yuna

Having made up her mind, Yuna slowly let go of my hands and headed to where the examiner is.

She's right. Our real journey has just started, and there will be times that things will get hard for the both of us. At that time I don't know if I'll be by her side, that's why, before that happens, she needs to learn how to depend on herself.

And when the time comes that we find the perpetrator of the village's destruction, I'll help her out, but it will be up to her how she'll handle it.

Anyway, the future is still unsure and we won't know it until we experience it first hand. But if ever that time comes, I don't wanna see Yuna ever crying again.

Haah... but I could also say the same to myself. I should hurry up and advance from S-rank to Calamity Class. With my current strength, I wouldn't be able to clear any of the labyrinths.

Without me noticing, Yuna's exam has started.

Yuna's first opponent was a summoned goblin. After the instructor sent out a go signal, Yuna immediately fired 《Ice Lance》at it and killed it instantly.

「Ho～, looks like we got ourselves a promising adventurer here.」Gaston

The examiner then initiated the next test by summoning a G-rank creature far more powerful than a goblin, a centaur. But...

「《Ice Lance》」Yuna

... all it took has a single hit for it to be obliterated to oblivion.

Seeing Yuna kill the centaur easily, the examiner immediately summoned an F-rank ogrebut needless to say, the results were all the same.

Yuna then returned to where I am after she finished her exam.

「See, it's not that hard.」Grey

「Yeah, and thank you for helping me calm down. It really helped.」Yuna

Yuna thanked me, even though it's obvious that she's still embarrassed about it.

It's good to see her so honest, even though there are times she's way too honest. But seeing her embarrassed like this, makes me somewhat happy.

Shortly after Yuna returned, the examiner called for me and started the exam. And like Yuna's case, the exam was over in less than a minute.

With the exams all done, the examiner turned off the device and declared the results to us.

「Haah... Isn't it already obvious? Both of you, as of today, are now officially F-rank adventurers! Congratulations, Grey, Yuna!」Gaston

「Yay～....」Grey

「Un.」Yuna

While it may have looked like that I wasn't excited at all. At the back of my mind, I was celebrating it loudly.

Finally, something isekaish has happened!

「Come on, can you two show more excitement.」Gaston

「Sorry, it's just an exam for me.」Grey

That was a lie. The real reason was that I don't want Yuna to see a weird side of me.

「I'm an adult after all.」Yuna

Yep, that's something Yuna would say.

「Well whatever. By the way, I'm Gaston. I also happen to be the guildmaster of this place.」Gaston

So he's the guildmaster. That does make sense if you consider that he's a C-ranker.

「Anyway, it was amazing that you killed them instantly. On top of that, you weren't even fazed while being under my aura. Tell me, you're both at least C-rankers, aren't you? 」Gaston

It seems that he's been testing us even after the exam. No wonder the atmosphere felt a little bit different.

Someone of higher rank can exert pressure to those of lower ranks just by simply releasing their aura. The higher the gap in the ranks, the greater the pressure will be. That's also the sole reason that even if two people's combat power are just barely different, as long as their ranks are apart from each other, the one with higher rank will always be at an advantage.

「Anyway, you don't have to answer that question. I'm just glad that I got myself two promising adventurers. Now then, how about we finish your registrations.」Gaston

We walked out of the examination room and back into the reception counters. They then processed our guild cards with the results from the guildmaster.

「So you're both starting as F-ranks, huh. I gotta say, that's a big accomplishment for someone your age.」Tilda

「It was just luck.」Grey

「Luck you say?」Tilda

Doubting my answer, Tilda-san observed us intensely for a moment and heaved a light sigh.

「Well anyway, here's your guild cards. This might be a little late but, congratulations for passing!」Tilda

「Thank you, Tilda-san.」Grey

「Un, thank you.」Yuna

Now in my hands, is a white card containing my personal information and rank. A card I've always dreamt in my past life. I did it! I've finally become an adventurer!

CHAPTER 8 END