Volume 2 - CH 33

Act 2-33: Announcement of Hunter Rank Promotion

Barse’s Guild House, Guild Master’s room!

「Are you really sure about this?」

I asked with a serious expression, looking at the mountain of platinum coins right before me.

「Yeah! The hunter society is based on real strength, after all. You deserve at least this amount.」

There has to be more to it. Moreover, I honestly don’t want to borrow a favor from him.

Let’s not beat around the bush! I have met this short yet muscle-bound man a really long time ago. To be exact, my grandfather had brought me to meet this man. This man is one of the people that the current me has a hard time dealing with, other than Aaron Kaien.

I want to decline this money since I have already received the reward from the Sacred Martial Arts Tournament, but declining this money would be equal to not giving this personage any face. Since I plan to live a long, fulfilled life as a hunter, I definitely can’t afford to offend this man, who is akin to the hero of the hunters.

「Thank you! I shall receive this reward.」

The pouch held a hundred platinum coins. The moment I touched it…

「Using this chance, I’ll also raise your hunter rank from E to D. Look, this is your revised guild card.」

Ralph returned me the guild card he had borrowed from me a while ago.

""

「Eh? I’m not wishing for promotion though.」

If I’m not wrong, I have received the information about the requirement for applying to raise hunter rank, which is followed by an examination, when I registered as a hunter a while ago. Thus, for me to raise my hunter rank so easily like this might be something worth celebrating.

「As long as you fulfill the requirement for it, any branch guild master can raise your hunter rank to C. That’s why there is no need to worry about the procedure.」

「P-Please wait a minute!」

Are you kidding me? If I keep getting myself entangled with this troublesome status, it would surely be a great hindrance to my leisurely, slow-life plan to travel around the world.

「I understand your worry! You’re troubled since you can raise only one rank, right? Don’t worry about it! I’ll think of a proper way for you to raise your rank to C next time.」

What in the hell is this f*cking baldy old man on about?

「That’s not what I mea―」

I tried to refuse his offer for a promotion when Guild Master Ralph patted my right shoulder with a bright smile plastered on his face.

「Relax! I’ve already talked about this matter with Princess Rose. You’ll have a special status amongst hunters.」

He added a remark that would bring only more anxiety to me.

「But―」

「Lastly, not a single word about this incident’s truth will be leaked outside in accordance with the Princess’ wish. That’s what you wish for, right?」

「Indeed bu―」

「You must be tired after all this. Let’s take a rest.」

Guild Master Ralph didn’t even allow me to speak. He just stood and spoke one-sidedly to me, then left the room with a satisfied smile.

What in the hell happened just now? Things blew up beyond my prediction! And he said that he was already talking with that black-bellied princess(Rose) about this matter. That makes me even more anxious! Dammit! At this rate, my brilliant slow-life plan will get only further and further away from my grasp.

But, no one will talk about the truth behind this incident, huh! So, not even Arnold or Guild Master will tell the truth about this incident even if they are cross-examined. Well, I should be grateful since this means nobody will leak my personal information.

I left the room after getting a grip on myself. When I descended to the first floor, two men clad in robes stepped up to me with expressions as if they were entering enemy territory.

「THANK YOU very much for saving this city!」

「THANK YOU very much for saving us!」

Both of them bowed to me. They were familiar faces. One of them was the blonde man with thug-like eyes: Raiga; the other was the man with short black hair, who always wears a hood: Hook.

「No need to thank me! This course of events is something that would’ve eventually happened.」

Well, I had my reason for killing that f*cking small fry. My reason wasn’t something as worthless as a sense of justice or wanting to help others. I’m not some sort of champion of justice. In fact, even you might not understand my reason.

「No, my cockiness killed our comrades and invited that disaster to this city. Although I managed to clean up the mess after that, it was by borrowing your power, someone who I had insulted in the public. That’s too despicable, right?」

Raiga spoke without beating around the bush, his body trembling all over.

I see now! This youngster simply wants someone to blame him. Since there was no clear requirement or rule that prohibited someone from delving deep into the forest, no one blamed Raiga and his team for exploring that ancient ruin. Thus, no one blamed them for being the reason those monsters attacked this city. That might be why these youngsters can’t forgive their recklessness. But, that’s nothing more than their self-satisfaction; such a thing will leave only detrimental effects on them.

「Stop acting like spoiled children. The reason your comrades died was that both of you were TOO WEAK. That’s the only reason! Becoming stronger so that such a thing will never happen again is the only way for the two of you to recompense your deceased comrades.」

That’s all I can say to them. Whether they can brace themselves and move on or not completely depends on themselves.

After saying that, I turned around and left the Guild House.

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Character Design: Dandy Uncle, Arnold