"Rei-kun!? What in the world happened? You haven't shown your face at all these past few days!"
Rei, who had come to the Guild after being told to by Marina, was immediately spotted by Kenny.
There were still quite a few people in the Guild, but the fact that she found Rei so quickly showed just how sharp she was. Though it probably also helped that she wasn't currently attending to any other adventurers and had been focused on paperwork, allowing her to call out to him the moment she noticed him.
Lenora, who was helping an adventurer next to her, shot a glance at Kenny for suddenly raising her voice. But she needed to attend to her own adventurer more than deal with Kenny at the moment. She didn't forget to shoot her a sharp look for just an instant, though.
"I was out of town for a bit. Got back today."
"Typical Rei-kun, saying something like that at a time like this. ...Look around you. Some people are giving you looks of disbelief."
Told this, Rei surveyed his surroundings. Sure enough, he was drawing more attention than usual, and among the crowd, some who had apparently overheard his words were looking at him in exasperation.
But the real problem was...
(I can understand the exasperated looks, but some of them are giving me resentful looks too. Not quite hostility, though. What's that about? Well, I'm used to getting those kinds of looks since I party with Marina and Vihera.)
Both Marina and Vihera were beauties for whom the word "peerless" was a fitting descriptor. Rei, who partied with two such women, naturally drew jealous stares from men on a regular basis. In reality, it wasn't just those two—he also drew jealous looks from people with certain... niche tastes, like those who liked children, such as Byune—but Rei was oblivious to that fact.
"I'm getting some weird looks. Why?"
"People are betting on how your promotion exam will turn out."
"Is that sort of thing normal?"
"Pretty much. A-Rank adventurers stand at the pinnacle of all adventurers. It's only natural that they draw attention not just from other adventurers, but from many others as well. And when attention gathers, people will inevitably turn it into a betting opportunity. Especially since this isn't an ordinary exam—it's being held in the Forest of Magic."
"The exam hasn't even started yet, and there are already people glaring at me like I wronged them?"
"Rei-kun, you haven't been in Gilm for the past few days, have you? They probably bet on you failing the exam by not showing up in time. Oh, of course I bet on you passing. Honestly, I think everyone at the Guild bet on you passing."
Kenny beamed with a full smile.
The Guild staff naturally knew full well just how powerful Rei was. Given his strength, they understood that he would undoubtedly pass the promotion exam. They were confident that even with the exam being held in the Forest of Magic, Rei would be fine.
(Is it really okay for Guild staff who know my abilities to be betting? In normal terms, wouldn't that be insider trading? Seems like the kind of thing that would get you penalized... well, I guess they don't have rules like that here.)
Insider trading involved using important information from one's own company—such as buying stock in one's company before the announcement of a groundbreaking discovery was made public. Such practices were prohibited, but that was only in Japan. In Elgin, the legal framework for such things was not well established. Bribery, in fact, ran rampant.
"By the way, can I place a bet too?"
"Huh? Hmm... I'm not sure. I think that might be a bit difficult? I mean, I know you wouldn't do something like that, but some people might suspect you'd intentionally fail the exam to win the bet."
Anyone who knew Rei well could confidently say he would never do something so foolish. For one thing, Rei already possessed more wealth than he could spend at this point. And even if, by some astronomical chance, he lost his fortune, he could earn money simply by taking Guild requests or selling monster materials. If he wanted to earn money even more simply, he could hunt bandits and make as much as he wanted.
The reason Rei still wanted to bet on himself was that he understood this was essentially a kind of festival. Naturally, he wanted to participate in the festivities. ...In a way, Rei himself, as the one taking the promotion exam, was the centerpiece of the whole event.
"Let me ask if it's possible, at least. Who should I ask?"
"Hmm, here in the Guild... see, that adventurer over there."
Kenny indicated an adventurer Rei recognized from seeing him around several times. Not one of the adventurers who had flooded in with the Expansion Construction, but one who had been active in Gilm long before that.
"Got it. Also, I need to see Worker."
"Then while you're talking to him about the bet, I'll go check with the Guild Master. Getting to the stairs in the back with things the way they are now is going to be a bit tough, though."
"I figured."
Rei recalled when he had come to ask about the Rank Up Exam at Kenny's words. Back then, Kenny had knocked over a stack of documents or something, and he'd heard her scream. Praying that wouldn't happen again, Rei approached the adventurer Kenny had pointed out.
"Got a minute?"
"What is it?"
The Adventurer Man returned the greeting without any sign of surprise at being addressed by Rei. From his perspective, he knew Rei fairly well. He understood that Rei wouldn't resort to violence against him for no reason.
"I heard there's a betting pool going for my promotion exam. I'd like to get in on it."
"No, I think that's pretty much impossible, honestly."
"Because there's a chance I might intentionally fail the exam to win the bet? But if you think about it normally, you'd understand which is more profitable—winning the bet or passing the promotion exam."
"True enough. But if you bet, there's no guarantee you wouldn't stop the exam midway if things got dangerous, right?"
So that was the concern. Taken aback for a moment, Rei quickly shook his head to dismiss it.
"I'd be betting on myself passing the promotion exam and becoming an A-Rank adventurer. That shouldn't be a problem, right?"
"That's..."
The man fell silent at Rei's words. Indeed, there was no real reason to object to Rei betting on his own success. If anyone did object, it would only be those whose payouts would shrink if Rei passed. Though in the case of the Guild staff, they would probably just celebrate with Rei rather than hold any grudge. The same couldn't be said for everyone else who bet on him passing.
"Well?"
"Hold on a moment. Let me go check with the higher-ups."
"Sure, that works."
Rei's gaze caught sight of Kenny emerging from the back of the Guild counter just as he finished talking with the man. Rei told the adventurer he'd leave it to him, then headed toward the counter.
"Rei-kun, the Guild Master wants to see you right away. But, um... he seemed a little angry, so be careful."
"I figured."
Rei nodded in understanding at Kenny's words. From the Guild Master's perspective, Rei had vanished from Gilm for the past few days despite the promotion exam being scheduled for tomorrow. It was only natural that he'd be anxious.
(Then again, I can't imagine Worker being the type to panic.)
In Rei's eyes, Worker—who had succeeded Marina as Guild Master—was, whatever his capabilities, at least Marina's equal in composure, if not her superior. Rei simply couldn't picture Worker losing his head.
"So be careful when you talk to him. ...I'd escort you to his office myself, but I was told to stay on top of my work, so I have to prioritize that."
Kenny looked genuinely disappointed. Watching her from a distance, Lenora found it slightly puzzling. Knowing Kenny's personality, it wouldn't have been surprising if she'd gone ahead and escorted Rei to the second-floor office herself. But that thought quickly faded as Lenora refocused on her dealings with an adventurer, and she forgot all about it.
Leaving Kenny, who looked disappointed to her very core, behind, Rei headed deeper behind the counter.
(Is there less paperwork? It was only a slight difference, but it seemed like the stacks piled inside the counter had gotten smaller. Must be the result of the Guild staff's hard work, Rei thought as he walked forward. He hoped the paperwork would keep shrinking little by little, making it easier to navigate through here. But then again, he figured this amount might be within the margin of error. The paperwork was probably just temporarily light, and given time, the mountains would grow back.
Hoping the Guild staff would keep up the good fight, Rei climbed the stairs and arrived in front of the Guild Master's office.
"Worker, it's me. Rei."
"Come in."
After knocking and announcing himself, Worker's voice called out from within. Opening the door, Rei found Worker doing his work, just as expected. However, compared to when Rei had visited a few days ago, the number of paper towers in the room had decreased, and they were shorter than before.
(He's been working hard, huh.)
He thought so, but saying it out loud would probably lead to all sorts of complications, so he kept it to himself.
"Sorry for being absent so long. Honestly, I didn't think it would take this long."
"Indeed. Given the current situation, the examinee Rei disappearing could have caused quite an uproar."
Worker spoke with feeling, but didn't seem particularly frantic.
(Or maybe he's hiding it because I'm here? Or maybe he is panicking, but it's just hard for others to tell, and I can't pick up on it?)
Rei mulled this over while observing Worker, but continued the conversation regardless.
"Anyway, now that I'm back, there's no problem, right?"
"That's right. I'll give you the Magic Item for the Forest of Magic tomorrow. Please stop by the Guild tomorrow morning."
"Understood. So, who's going to the Forest of Magic with me?"
"We'll send one A-Rank adventurer with you. However, that adventurer will guide you to the Forest of Magic and then return to Gilm immediately. Is that acceptable?"
"Yeah, that's fine."
The Forest of Magic was where Rei had first awakened in this world. But it had already been several years since he emerged from it with Set. On top of that, since he had wandered from the Forest of Magic to Gilm without any real direction, if asked whether he could make his way back on his own with Set, he honestly wasn't sure. With enough time, he would naturally reach the Forest of Magic eventually. But given the current circumstances, he didn't have that kind of time to spare. It only made sense to have someone who knew the Forest of Magic well guide him there.
"Then, tomorrow morning."
Rei had expected to be nagged at length, but there was no real scolding to speak of. Relieved, Rei figured that since he had returned, there was no issue, and stepped out of the office. Worker, too, probably considered dealing with the remaining paper towers in his office the higher priority.
As Rei descended the stairs and made his way through the inside of the counter area, he spotted Kenny attending to an adventurer. Glancing over at Lenora, he saw she was also helping a different adventurer than before.
"Rei-san, this way, please."
Noticing Rei's situation, one of the Guild Staff Members offered, clearing a path for him to exit the counter. After thanking the man, Rei stepped out from behind the counter—just in time to see the Adventurer Man from earlier, the one who had gone to check with the higher-ups about whether Rei could join the betting pool, returning. Rei turned his steps toward him.