「Now then, you should have a rough understanding of each other’s abilities.」

Gran told the rank up test participants who were standing in the training field in front of him.

As for the people who heard it, some gave a small nod, others smiled and some listened to Gran’s words in frustration.

「Though I’ve said it many times, these mock battles are simply for you to know each other’s strengths for the bandit subjugation. You shouldn’t be too concerned about it. So, the next decision is who will be the leader of this temporary party……」

Muttering, Gran looked at the 6 faces one after the other. With each person wanting to be the leader, they held their breaths waiting to see who would be nominated. Meanwhile, Gran’s fixed his eyes on a certain person.

「Rei, you are now the leader.」

And he was told so.

「What?　Me?」

Rei put on a surprised face at Gran’s words. However, Gran nodded to that question without any hesitation.

「Ah. To be blunt, the level of your fighting strength can’t be called D rank at all. Anyhow, you have the ability to defeat an Orc King. However, in your case, in the end, you’re only an individual with high combat power, it has become a necessity for you to act alone. Though it might still be okay at E rank, every now and then at D rank, it will become necessary to work with other people in a group. Because of that, for people like you who are bad at social interaction, you have to do something about it to rank up. At the very least, you have to be able to have a minimum level of communication.」

As Gran pointed out his reasoning with his words, Rei could only keep his silence. He was aware that he wasn’t that good at dealing with other people. And if it was said that it was a requirement to rank up, Rei did not have the choice of not taking on the responsibility of a leader.

「I understand. I’ll assume the role of the leader.」
「I hope you all are ready. Rei will be the leader of the temporary party until the bandit subjugation for the rank up test is completed.」

At Gran’s words, everyone gave a nod.

……However, each of them had a different facial expression.

「Right, well then, I’ll give you the details of the bandit subjugation immediately. First of all, I’ve explained that the bandit hideout is about 2 days distance from the city of Gilm. I will guide you there. I mean, as I’m the examiner, I have to follow you anyway. We will depart tomorrow morning. We will meet at the front gate at the 9 o’clock bell. The guild will provide a carriage for travel. Any questions?」

At Gran’s words, Culotte spoke up.

「Though the guild will supply a carriage for us, what about other supplies? In particular, food and potions.」

Hearing Culotte’s question, Gran smiled with a grin.

「Only the carriage is provided by the guild. Other necessary supplies are to be provided for yourselves. Naturally, the supplies which each person prepares will be assessed, so be careful.」

Next to ask was Supervia.

「You said a group of bandits, how many are there specifically?」
「I’ve heard that there will be at least 20.」
「……I see. Minimum, is it.」

Supervia nodded in understanding at Gran’s reply. Because he was at the Orc subjugation, Rei was also able to understand.

「Are there any problems with the words ‘at least’?」

Arogan didn’t understand the reply and asked Supervia. He turned his eyes to Scola and Culotte, who were next to him, equally puzzled.

「It looks like there are a few people who don’t understand. Rei, this is your first job as the leader.」

Prompted by Gran, Rei spoke with a sigh.

「The fact that there is a minimum of 20 people means that there is likely to be more. That means there is a possibility there could be 40 or even 100.」

Arogan and Scola were frightened at those words.

However, Firuma continued from those words to reassure the two people.

「That said, as this mission has been selected for the guild rank up test, there probably won’t be an unreasonable number.」

To those words, the two people gave a big sigh of relief. However, Gran again spoke up with a nasty smile.

「Though this certainly is a guild test, however, safety isn’t guaranteed. You’ll die if you let your guard down. ……Now then, any other questions?」

To Gran’s words, nobody spoke up. Confirming that, Gran directed his eyes to Rei.

「Rei, 1 demerit. Since this is a request, you should have asked about the rewards as the leader.」
「……Ah, I understand.」

Seeing that pointed out, Rei gave a small nod.

Requests were a means for Rei to obtain magic stones, as for the rewards itself, he usually didn’t mind them because he didn’t really care about it.

「Though it seems like a small matter, there is a possibility of getting into a dispute with the client if the rewards aren’t agreed on first. ……Well, though you don’t need to worry about it if you take a request from the request board in the guild, above D rank, you may occasionally be asked for a request without going through the guild. In cases such as that, you should inquire about the reward before hand, don’t forget what I said. By the way, the reward for the rank up test this time is 1 silver coin per person.」

Everyone nodded at Gran’s words.

「Now then, we will leave it at that for today. Although I said this earlier, because we will be departing at the 9 o’clock bell, I want everyone to be there with their belongings prepared. And though I’m repeating this again, Rei, you are not allowed to bring your Griffon.」

With his words as a signal, everyone left respectively.

While watching the members of his temporary part leave, Rei involuntarily let out a sigh.

He had never thought that he would end up as the party leader, but even then, the problem was.……

(What to do with Set, is the question. Two days there, two days back. Including the time there, maybe a fifth day. Moreover, that’s assuming there’s no trouble. Assuming a margin of 2 days, that’s a whole week. ……I can’t shut Set in the stable for a whole week……in that case, I can only entrust him to an able person……no, wait.)

At that moment, what came to Rei’s mind was the figure of Milein. She knew their extra-ordinariness to some degree, further more, she was one of the few people who he had friendly contact with. He didn’t need to worry about her either as he had planted a Seed of Contract in her. Moreover, he understood by looking that Milein was quite considerably attached to Set.

「It seems the problem then is whether I can find them before tomorrow……」

Giving a small murmur, he walked back into the guild without hesitation.

「Lenora, I want to get in contact with Milein from Scorching Wind, is there a easy way?」

Though he looked around the inside of the guild when he re-entered, there was no sign of Milein or Scorching Wind. As it was already well into the day, the chances of bumping into adventurers in the guild was small. He called out to Lenora at the counter without feeling discouraged.

「Scorching Wind’s Milein-san, is it?　If it’s her, she should return to the guild this evening to hand in a request.」
「Do you know the approximate time?」
「No, as expected……I’m truly sorry.」
「Ahh, no. Don’t worry about it. I was also being unreasonable. Then, can I leave a message for when Milein gets back?」
「There’s no problem with that.」

To Lenora’s words, Rei let out a sigh of relief.

If he wasn’t able to leave a message, he would have had to wait in the guild until Scorching Wind came back.

Though most of the things he needed to go out were in the Misty Ring, he was still missing some things. He wanted to replenish his supplies as well as buy some useful items.

「Ah, Rei-kun. Are you trying to flirt with someone while I’m still here?」

While looking at Rei and listening to his interesting conversation with Lenora, Kenny, who was next to them, called out.

Rei shook his head with a wry smile at the situation.

「Not a message in that sense. As you know, I’m taking the rank up test, and it seems I can’t bring Set along as he is too strong. Having said that, I felt bad to keep Set in the stables for a week and thought about asking Milein to take care of him in the meantime. Fortunately, Milein is quite happy with Set.」
「I see. It certainly is a problem if you took that kid to the rank up test for D rank. I understand, I’ll relay the message for you.」
「Then, please tell them to come to the Dusk Wheat after they hand in their request. I’ll explain Set’s matter there.」
「Okay, leave it to me.」
「Tch. I feel like I’m being left out.」

As Lenora nodded at Rei’s words, Kenny turned her eyes to Rei, somewhat dissatisfied.

 

 

After finishing eating dinner at the Dusk Wheat Pavilion, he was relaxing in his room when there was a knock at his door.

「Rei, you there?　I got the message from the guild.」
「Ah, wait a moment.」

He put on the Dragon Robe that he had taken off to relax, slipped on the Shoes of Sleipnir and opened the door.

Aside from Milein, who he had been looking for, the other members of Scorching Wind, Sulunin and Ecryll, could also be seen.

「I roughly heard the story from Lenora. So you want to leave Set with us for a while?　For now, we’ve all come over as this involves all of Scorching Wind.」
「No Problem. Please come in.」

Nodding to Milein’s words, he invited the three people in front of his door into his room.

Though it was a bit uncomfortable to squeeze 4 people into a 1 person room, everyone either sat on the floor, chair or bed.

The first person to start speaking was naturally Milein.

「So, about Set-chan, are you serious about entrusting him to us?」

Though Milein asked that, her face was smiling, full of expectation. As Milein had become obsessed with Set, it was a good time ask them to take care of Set.

「Ah. Though you probably heard it from Lenora at the guild, I’m prohibited from taking Set into the rank up test. That said, I will be away for at least 5 days. I would feel bad for locking Set up in the stables for up to a week.」
「He has the Necklace of Subservient Monster and everyone likes him. If it’s Set-chan, surely he’ll be welcomed by everyone in the city?」
「Milein, that’s a little unreasonable.」

It was Sulunin, the brains of Scorching Wind, who replied to Milein’s words.

「Even if he’s wearing the Necklace of Subservient Monster, as expected, if a high rank monster like a Griffon is walking through the city without his master, even if the adventurers know Set, there is a possibility that residents who don’t know Rei or Set, or have just come to the city of Gilm, will panic.」
「Ehh~, even though Set-chan is so cute……」
「As what Sulunin has said is reasonable, I can always find someone else to take care of Set. Of course, there are advantages with watching Set. You can think of Set as an extra combat force and take requests while I’m on the rank up test. ……How about that?」

At Rei’s words, Milein welcomed it and her face clearly brightened up, Ecryll also seemed to agree as a smile floated onto her face. As Milein was about to speak up to commit to taking care of Set……Sulunin interjected again.

「Though we can certainly take care of a tamed monster for a short period of time, often there can be circumstances while looking after one……though I haven’t heard of such a story. However, in the case your tamed monster causes any problems, as the master, you have to take full responsibility……is my proposal understandable?」

「I have no problems with that. This is because I trust you guys, even if anything comes up, Set is clever.」

Hearing Rei’s words, Sulunin turned to Milein and gave a small nod.

「I understand. You can trust us to take up the task. As for the increase in combat power increasing……as Set is a Griffon, I have no complaints.」

With this, all members of Scorching Wind consented to taking care of Set for the duration that Rei was away from Set, subjugating bandits for the rank up test.

However, Rei and Scorching Wind all felt slightly guilty when Set heard it as he looked gave a small cry and looked at Rei with lonely eyes……

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