CH 88

Tauro and his team were reasonably well known in the Adventurer’s Guild Dansas branch as a group specializing in collecting medicinal herbs, but when the promising Aeris joined them, they began to stand out in a strange way.

Originally, It was a strange sight to see two adults attached to a child, but it was good because it was still a low-ranked team whose purpose was to collect medicinal herbs.

The addition of Aeris, who had multiple skills as a rearguard, was whispered by some to be a treasure trove.

“I don’t care. Everyone’s been promoted to F+ and doing well, so let’s surprise them when we get to E rank.”

Aeris was about to react to these whispers, so Tauro quieted her down.

“Speaking of which, why hasn’t Tauro… been promoted from F+?”

Shin asked, caught up in the unfamiliar name.

“Come to think of it, that’s right. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’d already moved up. I didn’t think I’d catch up.”　

Rumeya also questioned Shin’s words.

“Tauro is turning down the promotion to accommodate us.”

Tauro was horrified.

He had turned it down directly to Chloe so that no one would notice.

When did she notice it? Tauro wondered inwardly.

“…right? Tauro.”

(I should have expected it, I thought she was stalking me…)

Tauro was relieved, he was afraid of what would happen if his friends were stalking him.

“Even if I rank up alone, it won’t change what we have to do. Come on, let’s just pick a quest and go.”

The three of them nodded in agreement.

“He’s hiding his embarrassment.”

“That’s right. I think he’s hiding his embarrassment.”

“You two, you’d embarrass Tauro if you say that much.”

They said in a loud whisper, definitely on purpose.

“Stop it, I’m not embarrassed! And Shin, your follow is bad!”

Tauro blushed.

***

There are many benefits to being on a team at the Adventurers Guild.

Because you can receive team quests.

There are many quests you can’t do solo.

Tauro had always been a soloist, and most of his experience with team quests had been with soloists who had been recruited and hastily assembled.

I was deeply moved to think that I was one of them.

Among the team quests, there was a team quest for E ranks zone to the F ranks.　

It was to defeat Kobolds and Rabid Dogs.

By the way, I’ve received Kobold extermination before, but I’ve heard that it’s been increasing lately.

I guess the reason why they’ve expanded the scope to include E ranks is because they’re trying to clean up the area before higher-ranked species are born and we’re currently the only F rank team in the guild in this village.

As a result of the quest recruitment, there were two E rank teams and Tauro and his F rank team, making a total of three teams.

The three teams immediately set out together to the neighboring village, where the client was located.

“I don’t like the idea of these Rabid dogs running around.”

One of the E team members blurted out.

The Rabid dogs themselves are not that difficult to kill, but when they’re with Kobolds, they are a pain in the ass to get rid of.

They would run away when they found themselves at a disadvantage and depending on the quest, the mission might not be completed.

This time, we had to hunt down the rabid dogs as well.

If they escape, the reward will be affected.

“This time, we’ll hunt the Rabid dogs first and then take down the kobolds, okay?”

The leader of Team E suggested to the rest of the team.

“Yeah, I guess that’s a safe bet.”

“Okay, we’ll do the same.”

It’s true that an F-ranked team shouldn’t take the lead in a hunt, but that would affect the reward and more importantly, it wouldn’t have been good for the members.

Especially Aeris wouldn’t be convinced.

In that sense, I’m glad the E rank team suggested it.

“Well, how about I gather up all the rabid dogs when we get into battle?”

Rumeya suggested.

“Can you do that?”

The E-rank leader asked in surprise.

“I’ve successfully used ‘provoke’ on fleeing rabid dogs before, so I think it’s safe.”

“Provoke? What’s that ability?”

The “shield” skill isn’t a very popular skill.

As was the case with Rumeya, who’s the individual in question. The general idea was that the shield was only for temporary protection in battle and that attack was important and not a skill to actively raise.

Therefore, very few parties have a shield profession.

There are plenty of adventurers who have shields, but they’re not shieldsmen.

“You learn it when you improve your ‘shield’ skill, it’s the ability to gain enemies’ attention.”

“Shield’? You’ve got an unusual skill set…. Anyway, if you can do it, I’ll leave it to you.”

He didn’t make fun of him, but he couldn’t hide his surprise as he stared at the large shield Rumeya was holding.

After this, the E rank team was surprised by Rumeya’s performance in battle.