At first, Rei didn't understand what Daskar was saying.
But after thinking for a moment... once he grasped the meaning of those words, it made even less sense.
No, he understood what Daskar was saying. He got that part. What he couldn't understand was why—why was he being told to become an A-Rank adventurer out of nowhere?
"Um, is that some kind of joke?"
For a brief moment, Rei found himself thinking of terms like a Mireana joke or a Gilm joke in place of an American joke. But Daskar simply shook his head, his expression dead serious.
Nielson watched the exchange between Rei and Daskar with amusement while eating skewers.
For Nielson, the whole back-and-forth was the perfect entertainment to go with her skewers—though there wasn't a drop of alcohol anywhere to be found.
What made it especially entertaining for her was how rare it was to see Rei—someone who never usually lost his composure—this surprised and rattled.
Completely unaware that he was serving as Nielson's snack-time entertainment, Rei turned back to Daskar.
"Lord Daskar, if I'm not mishearing you, I believe you just told me to take the exam to become an A-Rank adventurer."
"That's right. To begin with, it's strange for someone of your strength to still be operating as a B-Rank adventurer."
Hearing that, Rei couldn't immediately argue back.
He already knew from experience that he was overwhelmingly powerful for a B-Rank.
Adventurer ranks consisted of nine tiers, from H to S.
H-Rank was for those who had just registered as adventurers and took on miscellaneous errand requests in town. They earned money there, outfitted themselves, and upon proving they possessed a certain level of combat ability, advanced to G-Rank.
S-Rank, on the other hand, truly stood at the pinnacle of adventurers—and only three such individuals currently existed.
Excluding those lowest and highest tiers, the remaining ranks ranged from G to A.
E through G were considered beginners, C through D veterans, and A through B first-rate.
In other words, Rei at his current B-Rank was, by classification, worthy of being called first-rate.
The majority of adventurers could only manage C or D-Rank at best. Rising above B-Rank was reserved for a truly select few of exceptional skill.
But even so, between B-Rank and A-Rank—even among the first-rate—there was a clear difference in class.
In that sense, there was no denying that Rei's current rank fell short of being truly first-rate.
Of course, since Rei held the alias of Crimson, he was treated as someone whose abilities far exceeded his rank.
Even so, the fact that he was still operating as a B-Rank adventurer was, in a way, tantamount to rank fraud.
"With the Antelme situation, if you'd been A-Rank, Rei, you might not have been targeted in the first place."
"I don't think that would've made any difference."
Rei replied to Daskar's words with absolute certainty that it would not have.
In reality, Antelme had seemed to know nothing about Rei.
If that was the case, then even if Rei had been an A-Rank adventurer, there was no guarantee Antelme would have known that and backed off.
From Antelme's perspective, he was someone of noble blood who held A-Rank—nearly the highest rank an adventurer could achieve.
Given the kind of man he was, he probably believed he could do whatever he pleased.
"...I suppose so."
Daskar had also been gathering various information about Antelme.
However, Antelme—who'd had his limbs severed by Rei—had his spirit completely crushed when the Magic Item that symbolized his strength was effortlessly destroyed.
Having the overwhelming gap in ability between them shoved in his face had likely been a major factor as well.
At first, Antelme had thought he was fighting on even footing. In reality, Rei had been holding back and fighting defensively specifically to break his spirit. For someone as prideful as Antelme, that had been a devastating blow.
Because of all that, the current Antelme had completely withdrawn into himself, to the point where even basic communication was difficult.
"In any case. Setting the Antelme situation aside, it's problematic to have someone of your caliber remain at B-Rank. You understand that, don't you?"
"Well... that's..."
Rei couldn't argue with Daskar's logic.
Even if the Antelme incident was a special case, there was no guarantee similar issues wouldn't arise in the future because of his rank.
...In reality, it was more common for him to be underestimated because of his appearance than his rank.
If he had Set with him, the fact that he kept a gryphon as a Tamed Monster deterred most people from looking down on him.
But when Rei was traveling alone, the concealment effect of the Dragon Robe meant no one would possibly think he was a capable fighter. It wasn't uncommon for impudent people to size him up as an easy target and pick a fight.
In Gilm, plenty of people knew Rei's face... but right now, a large number of people had gathered seeking work from the Expansion Construction.
Naturally, many among them didn't know what he looked like. Considering that, the possibility of trouble was always present.
(Rather than my rank, it really is my appearance, huh. It's been a few years since I came to this world, and there's no sign of me growing taller at all.)
Rei had grown accustomed to his current body, but as a guy, it was only natural to wish he were a bit taller.
That said, he judged that he didn't have the luxury to be dwelling on such things right now and turned his attention back to Daskar.
"I understand the A-Rank adventurer matter. But that would mean more interactions with nobles, right? Unfortunately, I don't have the best reputation among nobles, you know? ...Actually, Lord Daskar, the fact that you're talking to me so normally like this makes you the unusual one as far as nobles go."
Rei's words were neither flattery nor anything of the sort—they were the simple truth.
As Antelme himself demonstrated, most nobles were prideful people.
What would happen if such people crossed paths with Rei?
The answer was obvious without even thinking about it.
In that sense, people like Daskar, Elena, Vihera, and Ara were the exceptions.
"I understand that. But considering the current situation, I need you to become an A-Rank adventurer no matter what."
"...You're saying it won't work if I stay as I am?"
"That's right. The Crimson alias has grown tremendously in significance by now. ...There are quite a few things that can't be made public, so that information hasn't spread, but still."
In truth, a fair number of the requests Rei had received so far couldn't be brought to light.
But more than that, Rei had completed a great many requests, and it was equally a fact that he had become famous for them.
"And that's why I need to become an A-Rank adventurer?"
"That's part of it. A and B. The difference in rank is only one step, but the difference in influence is tremendous."
Rei nodded honestly at Daskar's words.
Among adventurers, both A and B-Rank were counted as first-rate, but A-Rank was overwhelmingly superior when it came to name recognition.
Also, Rei had a tendency to be targeted by nobles, and the response would differ greatly between A and B-Rank in those situations as well.
Looking at it that way, Rei moving up to A-Rank was undoubtedly the best possible choice.
...That said, becoming A-Rank would undoubtedly bring even more troublesome events than he already dealt with.
"What about Nomination Requests from nobles? I could just decide not to accept them from the start, but..."
"Naturally, since I'm telling you to move up to A-Rank in this situation, I've already thought it through. How about I prepare a proxy agent to handle interactions with nobles?"
"A proxy agent? That would help me, but would the other party accept it?"
From Rei's perspective, when someone tried to summon him—an Alias Holder adventurer—to make a request, only to have a proxy show up instead, he couldn't possibly imagine the noble being satisfied with that.
There would probably be some who'd accept it, but there were bound to be just as many who'd find it insulting.
If so, wouldn't preparing a proxy just create all sorts of problems?
It was only natural for Rei to think that way.
Besides, there was also the question of whether he could trust the proxy himself.
Being a proxy meant they would naturally handle various negotiations regarding requests with nobles.
In other words, if negotiations were left to the proxy, it would be the proxy who decided the compensation.
Of course, that only applied to personal requests that didn't go through the Guild. If they went through the Guild, he might not need to worry about that part.
"There will be those who aren't satisfied with a proxy. But as for the proxy, I can prepare one myself."
"...You, Lord Daskar? Why would you go that far for me?"
Rei was well aware that he was close to Daskar.
He had accepted requests from Daskar many times in the past, and he had also taken on work in the form of personal favors rather than official requests.
In a way, like Nomination Requests that didn't go through the Guild.
In that sense, there was no doubt that a bond of trust existed between them.
Rei also genuinely respected Daskar, who governed the city of Gilm without major issues—though not perfectly.
But even so, why Daskar would go to such lengths for him was something Rei simply couldn't understand.
"Think of this as a prior investment. You don't seem to realize how much benefit your existence has brought to Gilm, do you, Rei?"
Those words were neither exaggerated nor anything of the sort—they were pure fact.
Considering the benefits Rei's existence had brought to Gilm thus far, preparing one or two proxy agents was no problem at all for Daskar.
No, even that wouldn't be enough.
That was how much Daskar and Gilm had benefited from Rei.
"A prior investment, huh. Honestly, I'm not sure if I can live up to that, but... considering the current situation, it might be better to go along with it. You'll let me meet this proxy agent first, though, right?"
"Naturally. Since they'll be your proxy, I'll prepare someone you can be satisfied with."
Since Daskar was the one preparing them, there was no doubt they wouldn't be some questionable person.
But even so, personal compatibility was a real factor.
No matter how capable someone was, Rei wouldn't be able to work comfortably with a person whose personality clashed with his own.
To prevent that from happening, they needed someone whose personality was compatible with Rei's.
(With him going this far, I can't really refuse, can I?)
It was true that Rei had felt fine remaining a B-Rank adventurer.
But after Daskar, the lord of Gilm, had gone to such lengths for him, refusing was simply not an option.
Sensing that Rei was close to a decision, Daskar gave one final push by bringing up the benefits of being an A-Rank adventurer.
"Among the Guild's requests, there are some that only A-Rank adventurers can accept. Thinking about it that way, this isn't such a bad deal, wouldn't you say?"
"I can't deny that. Though, to be fair, there aren't that many requests restricted to A-Rank adventurers exclusively."
To be precise, since both B and A-Rank were classified as first-rate, there were a fair number of requests that only B-Rank and above could accept. But when it came to A-Rank exclusively... they did exist, but they were by no means plentiful.
When you thought about it, that was only natural. Having a massive number of requests that only A-Rank adventurers could accept would be extremely dangerous.
Of course, this was Gilm—a frontier town.
In that sense, it wouldn't be strange for there to be numerous requests geared toward A-Rank adventurers.
"I understand what you're saying. But becoming an A-Rank adventurer comes with its share of headaches too, right?"
"Of course."
To Rei, who asked once more, Daskar nodded as if it were a given.
If it were S-Rank, one could even refuse requests from the nation itself, but at A-Rank, that much wasn't possible.
"There are various troublesome aspects, but the noble issue can be resolved by sending a proxy. However... the real problem would be if an audience with the Royal Family came up."
"...That happens? At the end of the day, I'm just a humble adventurer, you know?"
"I can't call someone who holds an alias, keeps a gryphon as a Tamed Monster, and possesses an Item Box a humble adventurer."
Daskar replied effortlessly to Rei's words.
In fact, it was an undeniable truth that Rei's various traits easily caught the attention of others in all sorts of places.
(The Royal Family, huh. ...Thinking about Vihera, it's not that strange, is it?)
In Rei's mind, the beauty of Vihera—former princess of the Bestia Empire and his companion—came to mind.