A few days had passed since the announcement of the Rank Up exam results, and Rei was still staying at the Dusk Wheat Inn.
He had removed his Dragon Robe and Sleipnir's Shoes in his rented room and was now lying on his bed with a relaxed expression, leafing through a book he had picked up at a bookstore. Its contents primarily focused on precautions regarding dungeons.
Since Gran had informed him that the location for the nomination request was a dungeon, Rei had returned to the shop where he previously bought books on monster dismantling to purchase this guide.
"A thief really is essential for a dungeon crawl, after all," he muttered.
According to the book, dungeons were almost always rigged with traps. Some were set by the more intelligent monsters inhabiting the depths, while others were natural phenomena that manifested spontaneously when the dungeon was formed.
"The Princess General spends her time on the battlefield, so I can probably assume she doesn't have any thief skills. The same goes for me. That leaves me with two choices: hire a thief here in the City of Gilm, or pray that one of her attendants has the necessary skills... though..."
He let out a sigh of partial resignation. Gran had explicitly stated that Rei was to accompany the Duke's Daughter alone for this nomination request. That effectively ruled out the possibility of hiring extra help in the city. His only remaining hope was that someone in the Duke's Daughter's entourage possessed those skills.
"Should I try to study so I can at least disarm the simple ones?"
Rei considered the idea, but there were only a few days left until the request began. It was clearly impossible to master the technical skills of a thief in such a short window.
"Sitting here thinking about it won't change anything. I might as well go move my body a bit."
Since he had been instructed not to take on any new subjugation requests for the time being, his only option was to head to the training ground and exercise just enough to keep his senses sharp.
Thinking it was better than doing nothing, he sat up energetically, prepared his gear, and left the inn. When he dropped by the stables to check on his partner...
"Here, Seto-chan. Eat this, too. Go on, eat up!"
For some reason, Mirene was already there, an adoring expression on her face as she fed Seto treats.
"Grrr."
Seto seemed perfectly happy to be pampered. Rei watched the scene with a wry smile before approaching the pair.
"Oh, Rei. I'm just visiting."
"I did say you could come see Seto whenever you liked, but... don't you have work today?"
At Rei's question, Mirene nodded slightly while stroking Seto's back.
"Yeah. We pushed ourselves pretty hard against some Forest Crawlers yesterday, so we're taking the day off."
"...I see. You worked hard."
Forest Crawlers were exactly what the name implied: giant, caterpillar-like monsters that lived in the forest. Even the small ones were two meters long, and it wasn't uncommon for mature specimens to exceed three meters. Their combat strength was only around Rank D—hardly a threat compared to a Treant—but because they looked like massive, squishy larvae, female adventurers loathed them like the plague. Furthermore, most vanguards hated the feeling of their blades sinking into the monsters' soft, rubbery flesh. For a swordsman like Mirene, they were the worst possible opponents.
"Right? That's why I'm playing with Seto-chan to relieve the stress. ...What about you, Rei? What's the plan?"
"I was thinking of heading to the Guild Training Ground to shake off some rust. I came to see if Seto wanted to come along... what do you think?"
Rei addressed the gryphon, who was still being petted by Mirene. He had asked fully expecting that Seto might prefer to stay and be spoiled, but the creature let out a sharp trill, indicating it wanted to go.
Mirene seemed to understand the response as well. She let out a disappointed sigh.
"Well, that's that. What about you, Mirene?"
"Hmm... you know what? I'll come too. I've wanted to have a mock battle with you for a while now. ...How about it?"
Mirene was genuinely curious about the combat strength of a man who could take down an Orc King—a monster of a higher rank than herself—in single combat. After a moment's consideration, she nodded.
"Besides, I wanted to spend a little more time with Seto-chan anyway," she added.
After leading Seto out of the stables, they made their way toward the Guild as they usually did. The only difference today was that there were two people accompanying the beast instead of one.
"Seto-chan, Seto-chan. Here, have some of this."
Usually, Rei would be the one buying snacks from the street stalls for Seto, but Mirene had eagerly usurped that role. Rei watched them as he bought a hot-dog-like roll for himself and took a bite.
"I thought you were making a fuss about being broke just a little while ago. Do you have money to spare now?"
"More or less. Remember that Treant subjugation request I did with Seto-chan while you were taking your Rank Up exam? We took down a Rare Species. The materials from that sold for a fortune... even if we didn't get a magic stone."
Hearing that, Rei guessed that the Rare Species must have been where Seto obtained its Poison Claw.
"Plus, the legs, silk, and magic stones from those Forest Crawlers yesterday brought in a decent sum. I have a bit of a cushion now."
As they walked, the usual crowd of residents and adventurers who knew Seto gathered around to greet them. Once they reached the Guild, Seto moved to the carriage and tamed monster waiting area and lay down without Rei needing to say a word. The warm, sun-drenched spot had already become Seto's unofficial reserved territory.
"Seto-chan, I'll be back in a bit. I'm going to go fight your master."
"Guru."
Seto trilled softly to see them off. Rei and Mirene bypassed the main Guild building and headed straight for the training grounds.
"It's pretty empty today," Mirene muttered, scanning the area.
There was only one group of five people training in the corner; otherwise, the grounds were vacant. Given that the five were working together in one spot, it was easy to assume they were a party.
"Well, it's the middle of the day. I'd expect as much."
In the early morning, there were often people doing light warm-ups before heading out on requests. Those here at this hour were likely those on a day off or those who had designated it a dedicated training day, just like Rei and Mirene.
"I suppose so. Well then, shall we warm up a bit before we start? Is that okay with you?"
"Yeah, no problem."
Rei nodded and withdrew the Death Scythe from his Misty Ring. Cries of surprise rose from the group of five nearby, but Rei was used to people reacting to his spatial storage. Ignoring the onlookers, he began his warm-up.
He swung the Death Scythe in slow, deliberate arcs—a downward strike, followed by an upward slash, transitioning smoothly into a horizontal slash. He handled the weapon with fluid grace, using the shaft like a staff to deliver phantom thrusts into the air. The display was almost like a ritual dance; not only the five spectators but even Mirene found themselves mesmerized by his movements.
"Wait, this isn't the time to be staring," Mirene said with a wry smile. She drew her longsword and began her own warm-up.
A few minutes later, once they were both limber, they nodded to each other and leveled their weapons. They were just about to square off when someone called out, as if they had been waiting for the perfect moment.
"Excuse me, do you have a moment?"
The speaker was one of the five people who had been in the training ground. He had a gentle, soft-featured face that gave the impression of a good-natured soul. He appeared to be in his late teens or early twenties—older than Rei, and roughly the same age as Mirene. To Rei, he was reminiscent of Arrogan or Superbia.
"What is it?" Mirene asked.
"You two are about to spar, right? If it's not too much trouble, would you mind if we watched?"
"...I'd appreciate it if you'd introduce yourself before making requests like that."
"Ah, sorry, sorry! I saw how skilled you both looked and just spoke without thinking. I'm Beamter. I'm the leader of the party over there, Bonds of the Earth. We're a Rank E party."
Beamter bowed his head, apologizing for his rudeness. Mirene gave him a faint smile.
"I'm Mirene. Leader of Scorching Wind."
"Scorching Wind? If I recall, that's a Rank C party... Wow. No wonder your swordplay looked so professional..."
As Beamter turned his admiring gaze toward him, Rei felt he had no choice but to follow suit.
"I'm Rei. A D-Rank Adventurer. I work solo."
"Rei...? I feel like I've heard that name somewhere... but still, being Rank D at that age is incredible. Anyway, would you mind if we observed the match? I'm Rank D myself, but the kids in my party are mostly Rank E and F. I've been wanting to show them a fight between high-rankers."
"High-rankers... I don't think Rank C is quite at the level where people start saying that," Mirene replied, sounding more like she was stating a fact than being humble.
Beamter shook his head vigorously. "Leading a Rank C party at your age is more than enough to be impressive to us. ...So, what do you say?"
"I don't mind, but... Rei?"
Mirene was likely used to this kind of attention as a rising star in the City of Gilm. She looked to Rei for his approval.
"Fine by me, as long as you stay out of the way."
"Thank you! I'll make sure they don't interfere."
Beamter bowed and ran back to his companions. Watching him go, Mirene turned to Rei with a playful smirk.
"That was a bit of a surprise. You're a man of many secrets, Rei, so I thought you'd refuse to let anyone watch you fight."
"A man of many secrets, huh? I suppose I can't deny that."
"Of course you can't. You're the one who embedded those things in us. ...Well, it did result in an unintentional power-up for my party, so I'm not complaining."
She was referring to the Seeds of Restraint he had used on Scorching Wind. The magic was harmless as long as they didn't speak of Rei's secrets; in fact, it provided benefits like flame resistance and increased power for fire-related spells.
As they spoke, Beamter returned with the four others.
"Sorry to keep you waiting. Come on, everyone."
"We're looking forward to it!" the group shouted in unison.
Looking closely at them, they were all boys and girls around Rei's age. One girl was clearly even younger than he was, which caught both Rei and Mirene off guard.
"Your party is quite young."
"Yeah. They're all from the same orphanage as me. I look after them," Beamter explained.
"Aww, look, Big Bro Bea is blushing!"
"I knew it. Big Bro Bea turns into a tomato when he's talking to a beautiful woman. I thought he didn't care about girls at all."
Beamter's face turned beet-red as he tried to defend himself against the teasing.
"Knock it off! Don't be rude to Mirene-san when she's being kind enough to let us watch. ...I'm very sorry."
"It's fine, don't worry about it. More importantly, it's dangerous, so please keep your distance."
"Okay!"
She's good with kids, Rei noted, impressed by Mirene's handling of the group. He shook off the distraction and leveled the Death Scythe.
"Alright, are you ready? Oh, and no magic for this one."
"Got it. Weapons only."
"Right. Then... Beamter-san, if you would."
"Ready... Begin!"
At the signal, Mirene kicked off the ground and surged forward with her longsword leveled. Rei met the charge with the Death Scythe, but instead of keeping her at range, he intentionally stepped forward to close the gap.
"What!?"
Mirene hadn't expected someone with a polearm to shorten the distance. She hesitated for a fraction of a second, and that was all the opening Rei needed to slip inside her sword's reach.
"Here I come!"
Seizing the moment, Rei swung the shaft of the scythe in a low arc meant to sweep Mirene's legs. Realizing his intent, Mirene leaped backward just in time. A heartbeat later, the heavy shaft whistled through the air where her feet had been.
"...You're as good as they say. Calling yourself Rank D is nothing short of a scam."
"I could say the same about you. I didn't think you'd see through that so easily."
"I am a C-Rank, you know. I won't go down that easily. Besides, if I lose in front of an audience, my reputation as a senior would be in tatters."
"Are you the type of person who cares about that?"
They exchanged light banter while using their eyes and body language to set feints, each searching for a crack in the other's defense.
At this rate, we'll just be at a stalemate all day. In that case...
Rei made a silent decision. He continued the conversation while deliberately, subtly, creating an opening. He allowed it to grow larger and larger. Mirene twitched every time the opening appeared, but she was too experienced to bite; she knew it was a lure.
However, the act of refusing the bait began to put its own pressure on her. She began to feel that no matter where she attacked, she would be countered. Is this safe? Is this a trap? If I don't go now... The thoughts raced through her mind until—
"Haaah!"
As if unable to withstand the psychological pressure any longer, she took a massive step forward. She delivered an overhead strike with a sharp kiai, which Rei caught on the unbladed side of the Death Scythe. He parried the strike, sliding her blade down the length of his shaft. Just as her sword reached the area near his hands, he twisted the scythe, entangling her blade and flicking it upward.
The longsword flew through the air. In the next heartbeat, the blade of the Death Scythe was pressed firmly against the neck of the now-unarmed Mirene.
"That's enough! The winner is Rei!"
Beamter's voice rang out across the grounds. The younger adventurers watching from the sidelines erupted into shouts of pure amazement. They had just watched a D-Rank adventurer soundly defeat a Rank C veteran.