"They were fragile things."
The pack of Bicorns had been ravaging the surrounding area for some time. Despite being ferocious horse-type monsters known for their poisonous horns, their lives melted away like butter on a hot griddle once they faced four adventurers aiming for B-Rank.
Watching the scene, Maruka murmured those words. Koan nodded, a faint smile playing on his lips as always.
"Individual Bicorns were never going to be a match for the strength of Rei-san and the others. Moreover, with a Gryphon like Seto pursuing them from behind, they couldn't even maintain a formation... Had they been slightly more intelligent monsters, they might have coordinated even in that situation, perhaps sacrificing a few to save the many."
"I see. In the end, they were merely low-rank monsters after all."
Maruka spoke softly, but Bicorns—classified as D-Rank individually and C-Rank as a pack—were by no means easy targets for ordinary adventurers. It was only because this group consisted of skilled C-Rank adventurers, and specifically because of the outliers known as Rei and Seto, that the matter was settled so effortlessly.
If the guild had commissioned ordinary adventurers for the Bicorn pack subjugation, there certainly would have been injuries, and in the worst-case scenario, fatalities.
The two horns growing from a Bicorn’s forehead possessed a deadly toxicity. Furthermore, the blows delivered by hooves from a body one size larger than a normal horse, or the fangs grown for tearing flesh despite being a horse-type monster, were significant threats.
"...At any rate, the Bicorn pack subjugation is complete. That means next is..."
Arnihit, who had been listening to Maruka, scanned the area. Meeting her gaze, the examiner Residence gave a small nod.
"I never expected them to struggle against a pack of Bicorns. After all, there is an Alias Holder among them."
"Then, from here on..."
"Yes, please proceed as planned."
Arnihit nodded at Residence's words, and Orchidée followed suit.
(Even if it is necessary for a guild exam... I do not much care for deceiving people.)
Maruka let out a small sigh. However, she understood that testing character was a requirement for becoming a high-rank adventurer. She said nothing more and headed toward Rei and the others with the rest of the group.
"Man, that was pretty easy. This is B-Rank? Well, given my skills, I guess it’s not that surprising."
Robre stood boastfully before the nearly thirty Bicorn corpses littering the ground.
The spear in his hand had claimed nearly five of them. Considering that achievement, it was only natural he felt like bragging.
"Rei killed overwhelmingly more than you did, though," Shtie pointed out.
"Even so, throwing spears as long-range attacks is just unthinkable to me. Especially considering the cost of the spears he's just tossing away. I'm amazed you have that much financial leeway."
Rei paid no mind to Robre's comments. He immediately set to work harvesting the tails—the Bicorn Proof of Subjugation Part—and the two horns, which were the most dangerous materials.
Under normal circumstances, he would have liked to skin them, extract the magic stones, and butcher the meat right here, but he judged there wasn't enough time for that during a Rank Up Exam.
As if understanding the situation, Seto used its claws to grip the Bicorn corpses Rei had defeated and brought them over to him.
(It can carry Bicorn corpses so easily, yet it couldn't fly with us on its back?)
Shtie watched Seto, tilting her head slightly as she murmured to herself.
Rei ignored the looks and continued lining up the Bicorn corpses, stripped of their horns and tails, on the grassland.
Even though they were a temporary party, these were monsters they had defeated together. Since they hadn't decided on the distribution yet, the materials, horns, tails, and Proof of Subjugation Parts were all gathered into a single pile.
"Good work, everyone. I judge that the Bicorn pack subjugation, the primary objective of this exam, is now complete."
"More importantly, I think there's something else we should be talking about," Robre muttered, glancing toward Maruka.
Maruka met his gaze but kept her expression neutral, remaining silent as she waited for Residence to continue.
Though she likely intended to hide it, Shtie also cast a brief glance at Orchidée.
Only Onz remained stoic, keeping his silence without a change in expression.
Residence took a magic whistle from his pocket and blew it, signaling for the carriage drivers to approach.
"I'll leave the distribution of the Bicorns to you. You won't be departing immediately anyway, so take some time to rest and decide among yourselves."
"Um, is it really okay for us to decide on our own? This is, well, a Rank Up Exam..."
Shtie asked tentatively, but Residence nodded to reassure her it was no problem before returning to his conversation with the nobles.
The participants watched them go before finally concluding that there truly was no catch. They began discussing how to divide the nearly thirty Bicorns—unaware that the nobles, starting with Residence, were discreetly observing their every move.
"So, what's the plan? Personally, I think it's easiest if everyone just keeps what they killed."
"Hey, if we do that, Onz-san's share will be way too small since he focused on support. You're bragging about the ones you killed, but that's only because Onz-san was checking the Bicorns and hindering their attacks to follow up for you."
"Guh—well, yeah, it's true I only got them because of the old man's cover... R-Right. Rei, what do you think? No matter how you look at it, you definitely killed the most. Especially counting Seto's contribution."
Robre pivoted the conversation toward Rei.
Hearing Robre's words, Shtie reflexively stopped moving. She had to admit that Rei had been the most active participant. However, if Rei decided to claim every Bicorn he had killed, she couldn't really object. From his perspective, it would be his rightful prey.
However, Shtie's concerns were immediately swept away by Rei's reply.
"Well, maybe we don't need to worry about who killed what. We should just split them evenly. I'll take the leftovers as Seto's share, though."
"...Well, if Rei says so, I guess I don't mind."
Robre sounded as if his expectations had been subverted. If his share were based on his individual kills, he would have received five. If split evenly, the number came to seven. He let a small smile play on his lips at the thought of the extra profit.
"Um, even though Robre was the one who asked, are you really sure?" Shtie asked. "If you took your kills as your share, you'd get a huge amount between you and Seto."
"I don't mind. As long as I get at least two magic stones, I'm fine. Besides, I am somewhat interested in the Bicorn meat."
"Guruuu."
Rei's interest in the meat was likely more for Seto's sake than his own. Indeed, Seto purred happily at Rei's words while eyeing the Bicorn corpses lying on the grass.
Though if asked if Rei himself had no interest in Bicorn meat, his answer would have been a definitive "no."
"Since Rei, our primary contributor, says so, I suppose that settles it. Robre, you're fine with that, right?"
"I don't like the feeling of being given a handout, but hey, profit is profit."
Though he seemed a bit dissatisfied, he clearly had no problem with his share increasing. Robre nodded in response to Shtie's question.
"How about you, Onz-san? I feel a bit bad since we left all the support to you..."
Onz had single-handedly carried the support role, covering for the reckless Robre and acting as a guard whenever a Bicorn approached the archer Shtie. He simply gave a silent nod, indicating he had no objections.
Thus, they adopted Rei's proposal for the distribution. They remained unaware that Maruka and Koan, who had been listening to their exchange, let out soft sighs of relief.
"Then it's nine for me and Seto, and seven for each of you. Now, what's next? I doubt we have time to do the skinning here."
Rei asked more for confirmation than anything else, and Residence naturally nodded.
"Sorry, but please take the Bicorns back yourselves."
"W-Wait a minute! You say take them back, but what are we supposed to do with seven of these things!?"
Bicorns were larger than normal horses and surely weighed well over 500kg. Seven of them would be 3.5 tons. Normally speaking, it was impossible for an individual to transport that much. Even with a carriage, it was too much weight.
...Yes. That is, if things were normal.
"Haa... Rei, can you help?"
"Understood. For now, I'll store everything in my Item Box and we can split them up back in the city."
"Yeah, that'll work."
"...Oh. I see."
At Shtie's words, Robre finally remembered the existence of the Item Box and breathed a sigh of relief.
Beside Robre, Rei began storing the Bicorn corpses into the Misty Ring one after another. Of course, he included the parts like the horns and tails that had been harvested earlier. In less than ten minutes, the entire slaughter site was cleared.
"Now then, we're returning to the city of Gilm. Once we arrive, we will hold individual interviews at the guild."
"...Hah!?"
"Eh?"
"What?"
Robre, Shtie, and Rei all shouted in surprise. Only Onz remained as he always was, staying silent without uttering a word.
Despite their reactions, Residence merely gave a small shrug and made to board his carriage.
"Hey, wait! Why do we have to do interviews!? The Rank Up Exam was supposed to be the Bicorn pack subjugation!"
"The subjugation was indeed part of the exam, but I never said it was the only part. That was merely one test. In the first place, there's no way a B-Rank Rank Up Exam would be decided solely by the subjugation of D-Rank monsters. Besides the interviews, there are also..."
At Residence's words, which trailed off meaningfully, Robre fell silent as if he didn't want to understand the implications.
Rei and Shtie, however, both nodded in realization. They hadn't expected the B-Rank Rank Up Exam to be quite so simple.
(It’s not that it was simple... I should judge that this was just one part of the exam, like Residence said. And then, a subsequent test is announced suddenly after the first one ends. It’s a spiteful way to do things.)
Rei murmured internally, glancing at Robre, who was grinding his teeth in frustration.
However, Rei didn't need to say anything to him. Robre had a clever partner by his side.
"Come on, Robre. Get in the carriage. You don't want to lose points for your behavior here, do you?"
Shtie whispered the latter part so only Robre could hear. His eyes widened, and he board the carriage with her.
It was the same gaudily decorated carriage they had arrived in. Rei also boarded the Duke Quento's House carriage where Maruka was waiting, and Onz likewise boarded the guild's carriage.
Once the three carriages were ready, they departed from the Bicorn slaughter site, with Seto moving alongside them on foot.