Chapter 107: Promotion Exam 1
“Ren, if it’s you, I’m sure everything will be alright.”
“Don’t push yourself too hard.”
“Do your best~”
“Yes. It’s reassuring to know everyone will be here with me.”
“Yeah…They’re your fiancés after all… Don’t act like this inside though.”
“Oh, y-yes!”
Before entering the council room, each of them hugged and kissed me on the cheeks in turn. I accepted their affection like it was a natural thing to do but when I heard Griffith-san who appeared to be annoyed at our public display of affections, I immediately became flustered and pulled away from them.
Ahh! Before I knew it, I’ve adapted to Alsar’s custom! While it’s true I have several fiancés, I can’t believe I’d flirt with them openly just like a stupid couple! And right before an important exam to boot…
“Well… It’s good that you guys are close. Come on in now.”
Griffith-san was looking at me with a smile on his face but my face already became so hot it felt like I’d burst at any second now. I flapped my hands against the air to cool my heated cheeks, trying to pull myself together before I went through the door Griffith-san had opened for us.
“Come and take a seat quickly. Christian, the three of you will be sitting over there.”
There were 15 people in the council room, which was larger than the parlour I had been shown to before. The moment I stepped inside, I could feel the intense gaze coming from the people who were sitting at that U-shaped table. Griffith-san motioned for me to sit on a chair located in the middle of the room and so, I obediently sat there while the other three were sitting on a chair in a corner a little further from me. Unfortunately, they couldn’t sit by my side but still, just having them in the same room as me was reassuring enough.
“Since there are so many of us here, I will refrain from introducing our names individually. Please answer any question we ask of you dutifully and truthfully. Please note that we will know if you were to lie to us.”
“Yes.”
The elf who was sitting in the middle said that but it was true, I doubt I could remember the name of everyone here if they were to introduce themselves right now. I was glad they’d spare me the trouble. From the looks of it, excluding Griffith-san, there were two beastman and one elf. There were also three women.
I don’t have any intention to lie in the first place but I guess they must’ve some kind of magical device to detect lies?
I straightened my back and stared back at them with a serious look on my face.
“Now, would you mind introducing yourself first?”
“Self-introduction, is it…? My name is Ren Himukya Cleva. I’m an otherworlder who came to this world, Alsar, in May. Right now I’ve become an adopted son of Pedrel’s Guild Master, Malik Cleva and I’m engaged to three men.”
And then? Or rather, aren’t those basically everything I could say about myself?
“Next question, ──────? ────?”
After that, they asked me some more random questions. All in all, the questions they asked were similar to the questions one would ask at a job interview.
“Now then, what do you want to do after you become an A-rank adventurer?”
“If I become an A-rank adventurer, huh? …. Just by becoming an A-rank adventurer, it doesn’t make me a great person or anything. I will just do the same thing I’ve been doing, accepting and completing the quest.”
Eh? Is that the last question? Hm~ If I got promoted… I had thought about it for a while but I don’t think there will be any particular change in me. I’m just going to keep on taking the quest, just enough so I can live comfortably in Pedrel.
“Hmm. You’re not a very greedy one for a human, aren’t you?”
“No, I think I’m as greedy as everyone else. From now on and thereafter, I want to live a happy life with my father and my fiancés. I don’t want the people I’ve come to know to become unhappy. I want to eat delicious food and sleep comfortably in a soft bed.”
The elf who had been asking me questions since the beginning put his elbows on the desk and rested his chin on top of his crossed hands. He was staring at me curiously.
Not… Greedy? I think I have a very normal level of greed though.
“Pfft- Ha! Aspel is trying to promote an interesting kid, huh! Everyone, do you have anything else to ask? …… Okay then let’s proceed to the next stage.”
“Huh? Oh, okay.”
After I told him about my greed, suddenly he bursted out laughing.
Hmmm? I don’t think I said anything strange… Did I…?
He asked the other if they had any other questions but everyone didn’t have anything else to add. Anyway while I was being interviewed, I could see someone taking notes diligently and another person glaring at me intensely as if they didn’t want to miss a single thing I said or did. Some people just sat there, appeared to be daydreaming and some others were doing miscellaneous things.
That last question seemed to be the end of this interview and I was pointed at the door.
Huh? They said ‘next stage’ but where should I go from here?
I tilted my head to the side as I replied to them.
“Ren-kun, come here. The next test will be held on the training ground, right in this guild.”
“Yes.”
Griffith-san, who had been sitting along with the other representative, stood and walked to the door. He beckoned for me to follow him and so I also left my seat to follow him.
“Thank you very much. I’ll be going on ahead then.”
Before leaving the room, I turned around and bowed to the examiner(?). After bowing my head, I left the room and saw the rabbit-eared lady from before standing in the hallway.
“Now then, I will escort you from here on.”
“I have something to talk with them for a second, you go on ahead with her.”
After watching Griffith-san returning to the room, I went ahead with the rabbit-eared lady along with my three fiancés who came out after me.
ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
Griffith’s POV
“So what do you think?”
“I don’t think he’s an ambitious person.”
When I returned to the room, I saw they had begun the discussion.
“Isn’t it better if he has more greed?”
“We’d be in bigger trouble if he were.”
Well, we just had a quick glance before we got to see his actual practical skill so this discussion would be finished in a jiffy. In fact, the promotion actually depended on his practical skill.
But still… That… I had been wondering what kind of martial artist would come given he was Malik’s adopted son but he was actually a support magician and on top of that, he was very petite too. To be honest, as of now, I still didn’t think he had what it takes to be an A-rank adventurer. I had heard about his achievement in Calhea from the adventurers who had participated there along with the guild staff stationed there. I also checked the history of his guild card but… I was still not convinced yet.
“But still, isn’t he a bit too young?”
“The document says he’s 21 years old despite his appearance. Maybe he looks younger than other people because he’s an otherworlder.”
“I see. The youngest age to become an A-rank adventurer in history is 19 years old, right?”
“Yeah. It was【Silver Wolf】. He’s here with him too. It seems he’s a member of his party.”
“Yeah, those three are his fiancés and party members.”
Now they were talking about his physical appearance and though he might appear young, he seemed to be pretty solid on the inside. Oh and come to think of it, he came here with the youngest person to ever become an A-rank adventurer in history. I remembered he hadn’t told them his fiancés were also part of his party members too so I told them that bit of information.
“What? Those three?!”
“Oh dear… That’s… Really amazing, huh.”
“If he gets promoted then his party will become an all A-rank party.”
“This reminds me of the Empress’s party. Her party consisted of her spouses too.”
“Which reminds me, Silver Wolf is the Empress’s son too.”
“Anyway, let’s do the thing we’ve discussed yesterday.”
Everyone seemed surprised. Must be because all of his party members-slash-fiancés were a bunch of splendid people.
The youngest person to ever become an A-rank adventurer and the son of the Empress, 【Silver Wolf】. The eldest son of this country’s influential noble house and was said to be the closest one to become an S-rank adventurer as of now, 【Lightning Twin Sword Chris】. And above all else, the prince of this country, 【Ice Prince】.
Yeah, that’s definitely amazing. With this, if Ren-kun passed the test, he will become an A-rank adventurer despite being an otherworlder. Huh? Come to think of it, has there been an otherworlder within all A-rank adventurers so far?
While I was pondering to myself, the others seemed to have finished their discussion and they began to leave the room.
“But still… You guys really came up with the nastiest test, huh…”
I was the last one to leave the room and I gave the room a once-over in case something was left behind. Well I could go back to the room to take it if that was the case but still, I still do it anyway for caution’s sake.
There were several exams lined up but the last one was the most gruesome. The elf who was the guild master of the neighboring country, the one who had been questioning Ren-kun, he was the one who came up with the idea. To begin with, we didn’t have enough information regarding how to test a support magician since it had been decades since the last test was ever conducted. The only person who knew about it was the elf, the oldest person in this council.
I wonder if the test was like this too back then? I hoped Ren-kun would pass the test since he would represent Aspel though…
“Well…. Do your best, Ren-kun.”
T/N: The first and last question really gave me flashbacks over the job interview I’ve had…. Also since the elf is the oldest one, I guess Ren must’ve looked like an infant in his eyes?
Chapter 107: Promotion Exam 1
“Ren, if it’s you, I’m sure everything will be alright.”
“Don’t push yourself too hard.”
“Do your best~”
“Yes. It’s reassuring to know everyone will be here with me.”
“Yeah…They’re your fiancés after all… Don’t act like this inside though.”
“Oh, y-yes!”
Before entering the council room, each of them hugged and kissed me on the cheeks in turn. I accepted their affection like it was a natural thing to do but when I heard Griffith-san who appeared to be annoyed at our public display of affections, I immediately became flustered and pulled away from them.
Ahh! Before I knew it, I’ve adapted to Alsar’s custom! While it’s true I have several fiancés, I can’t believe I’d flirt with them openly just like a stupid couple! And right before an important exam to boot…
“Well… It’s good that you guys are close. Come on in now.”
Griffith-san was looking at me with a smile on his face but my face already became so hot it felt like I’d burst at any second now. I flapped my hands against the air to cool my heated cheeks, trying to pull myself together before I went through the door Griffith-san had opened for us.
“Come and take a seat quickly. Christian, the three of you will be sitting over there.”
There were 15 people in the council room, which was larger than the parlour I had been shown to before. The moment I stepped inside, I could feel the intense gaze coming from the people who were sitting at that U-shaped table. Griffith-san motioned for me to sit on a chair located in the middle of the room and so, I obediently sat there while the other three were sitting on a chair in a corner a little further from me. Unfortunately, they couldn’t sit by my side but still, just having them in the same room as me was reassuring enough.
“Since there are so many of us here, I will refrain from introducing our names individually. Please answer any question we ask of you dutifully and truthfully. Please note that we will know if you were to lie to us.”
“Yes.”
The elf who was sitting in the middle said that but it was true, I doubt I could remember the name of everyone here if they were to introduce themselves right now. I was glad they’d spare me the trouble. From the looks of it, excluding Griffith-san, there were two beastman and one elf. There were also three women.
I don’t have any intention to lie in the first place but I guess they must’ve some kind of magical device to detect lies?
I straightened my back and stared back at them with a serious look on my face.
“Now, would you mind introducing yourself first?”
“Self-introduction, is it…? My name is Ren Himukya Cleva. I’m an otherworlder who came to this world, Alsar, in May. Right now I’ve become an adopted son of Pedrel’s Guild Master, Malik Cleva and I’m engaged to three men.”
And then? Or rather, aren’t those basically everything I could say about myself?
“Next question, ──────? ────?”
After that, they asked me some more random questions. All in all, the questions they asked were similar to the questions one would ask at a job interview.
“Now then, what do you want to do after you become an A-rank adventurer?”
“If I become an A-rank adventurer, huh? …. Just by becoming an A-rank adventurer, it doesn’t make me a great person or anything. I will just do the same thing I’ve been doing, accepting and completing the quest.”
Eh? Is that the last question? Hm~ If I got promoted… I had thought about it for a while but I don’t think there will be any particular change in me. I’m just going to keep on taking the quest, just enough so I can live comfortably in Pedrel.
“Hmm. You’re not a very greedy one for a human, aren’t you?”
“No, I think I’m as greedy as everyone else. From now on and thereafter, I want to live a happy life with my father and my fiancés. I don’t want the people I’ve come to know to become unhappy. I want to eat delicious food and sleep comfortably in a soft bed.”
The elf who had been asking me questions since the beginning put his elbows on the desk and rested his chin on top of his crossed hands. He was staring at me curiously.
Not… Greedy? I think I have a very normal level of greed though.
“Pfft- Ha! Aspel is trying to promote an interesting kid, huh! Everyone, do you have anything else to ask? …… Okay then let’s proceed to the next stage.”
“Huh? Oh, okay.”
After I told him about my greed, suddenly he bursted out laughing.
Hmmm? I don’t think I said anything strange… Did I…?
He asked the other if they had any other questions but everyone didn’t have anything else to add. Anyway while I was being interviewed, I could see someone taking notes diligently and another person glaring at me intensely as if they didn’t want to miss a single thing I said or did. Some people just sat there, appeared to be daydreaming and some others were doing miscellaneous things.
That last question seemed to be the end of this interview and I was pointed at the door.
Huh? They said ‘next stage’ but where should I go from here?
I tilted my head to the side as I replied to them.
“Ren-kun, come here. The next test will be held on the training ground, right in this guild.”
“Yes.”
Griffith-san, who had been sitting along with the other representative, stood and walked to the door. He beckoned for me to follow him and so I also left my seat to follow him.
“Thank you very much. I’ll be going on ahead then.”
Before leaving the room, I turned around and bowed to the examiner(?). After bowing my head, I left the room and saw the rabbit-eared lady from before standing in the hallway.
“Now then, I will escort you from here on.”
“I have something to talk with them for a second, you go on ahead with her.”
After watching Griffith-san returning to the room, I went ahead with the rabbit-eared lady along with my three fiancés who came out after me.
ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
Griffith’s POV
“So what do you think?”
“I don’t think he’s an ambitious person.”
When I returned to the room, I saw they had begun the discussion.
“Isn’t it better if he has more greed?”
“We’d be in bigger trouble if he were.”
Well, we just had a quick glance before we got to see his actual practical skill so this discussion would be finished in a jiffy. In fact, the promotion actually depended on his practical skill.
But still… That… I had been wondering what kind of martial artist would come given he was Malik’s adopted son but he was actually a support magician and on top of that, he was very petite too. To be honest, as of now, I still didn’t think he had what it takes to be an A-rank adventurer. I had heard about his achievement in Calhea from the adventurers who had participated there along with the guild staff stationed there. I also checked the history of his guild card but… I was still not convinced yet.
“But still, isn’t he a bit too young?”
“The document says he’s 21 years old despite his appearance. Maybe he looks younger than other people because he’s an otherworlder.”
“I see. The youngest age to become an A-rank adventurer in history is 19 years old, right?”
“Yeah. It was【Silver Wolf】. He’s here with him too. It seems he’s a member of his party.”
“Yeah, those three are his fiancés and party members.”
Now they were talking about his physical appearance and though he might appear young, he seemed to be pretty solid on the inside. Oh and come to think of it, he came here with the youngest person to ever become an A-rank adventurer in history. I remembered he hadn’t told them his fiancés were also part of his party members too so I told them that bit of information.
“What? Those three?!”
“Oh dear… That’s… Really amazing, huh.”
“If he gets promoted then his party will become an all A-rank party.”
“This reminds me of the Empress’s party. Her party consisted of her spouses too.”
“Which reminds me, Silver Wolf is the Empress’s son too.”
“Anyway, let’s do the thing we’ve discussed yesterday.”
Everyone seemed surprised. Must be because all of his party members-slash-fiancés were a bunch of splendid people.
The youngest person to ever become an A-rank adventurer and the son of the Empress, 【Silver Wolf】. The eldest son of this country’s influential noble house and was said to be the closest one to become an S-rank adventurer as of now, 【Lightning Twin Sword Chris】. And above all else, the prince of this country, 【Ice Prince】.
Yeah, that’s definitely amazing. With this, if Ren-kun passed the test, he will become an A-rank adventurer despite being an otherworlder. Huh? Come to think of it, has there been an otherworlder within all A-rank adventurers so far?
While I was pondering to myself, the others seemed to have finished their discussion and they began to leave the room.
“But still… You guys really came up with the nastiest test, huh…”
I was the last one to leave the room and I gave the room a once-over in case something was left behind. Well I could go back to the room to take it if that was the case but still, I still do it anyway for caution’s sake.
There were several exams lined up but the last one was the most gruesome. The elf who was the guild master of the neighboring country, the one who had been questioning Ren-kun, he was the one who came up with the idea. To begin with, we didn’t have enough information regarding how to test a support magician since it had been decades since the last test was ever conducted. The only person who knew about it was the elf, the oldest person in this council.
I wonder if the test was like this too back then? I hoped Ren-kun would pass the test since he would represent Aspel though…
“Well…. Do your best, Ren-kun.”
T/N: The first and last question really gave me flashbacks over the job interview I’ve had…. Also since the elf is the oldest one, I guess Ren must’ve looked like an infant in his eyes?
