After storing the Crystal Dragon's corpse and placing the Dark World Tree's remains in the warehouse instead — though Rei wasn't sure whether calling it a "corpse" was even appropriate in this case — he returned to the Guild's office with Worker.
Worker then produced a set of documents.
There were only about ten pages or so, but when Rei had ranked up in the past, he had never had to fill out paperwork like this.
That alone showed just how special an A-Rank Adventurer was among adventurers as a whole.
Musing on this, Rei read through the documents and added his signatures one by one.
Upon signing the final page, the paperwork was at last complete.
"That's everything, right?"
"Yes. After this, we need to notify others of your promotion exam result — pass or fail. How would you like to handle that?"
"You do that too?"
"An A-Rank Adventurer is just that special. ...Your card will also be somewhat different from before."
Up through B-Rank, the Guild Card had remained unchanged ever since the day someone registered as an adventurer.
The only thing that changed was the rank printed on it, updating with each promotion.
"The fact that A-Rank Adventurers are special certainly shows there, huh."
"Indeed. However, there are other reasons why the Guild Card changes for A-Rank Adventurers."
With that, Worker explained the reasons behind the special Guild Cards.
An A-Rank Adventurer was, fundamentally, the highest-ranking existence among adventurers.
...In reality, S-Rank Adventurers existed above them, but reaching that rank was generally impossible for an ordinary adventurer.
Given that, an A-Rank Adventurer naturally commanded a high degree of credibility.
As far as Rei was concerned, though, given the incident with the A-Rank Adventurer who had picked a fight with him not long ago, being told they had "high credibility" wasn't something he could swallow without hesitation.
If anything, High-Rank Adventurers — precisely because their strength so far exceeded the norm — included many who were fittingly described as eccentrics.
That said, perhaps that was an open secret merely kept from public view.
Regardless, A-Rank Adventurers carried such high trustworthiness that some people would forge Guild Cards to impersonate them.
That was why Guild Cards with anti-counterfeiting measures, crafted with more advanced techniques than the standard ones, were issued.
Additionally, it stood to reason that making an A-Rank Adventurer's card recognizable at a glance would cut down on unnecessary trouble.
And though Worker didn't say it aloud, Rei suspected it was also meant to satisfy the pride that came with being an A-Rank Adventurer.
In Japan, among the many people who carried ordinary credit cards, using an exclusive card like a gold or black card was a sure way to draw attention.
In that sense, there was likely value in having A-Rank Adventurers carry a Guild Card that no one else possessed.
"I see. In that case, can I get the A-Rank Adventurer Guild Card right away?"
"That's right. It will take a few days."
"Then wouldn't it make sense to hold off on announcing that I passed the promotion exam until the card is ready?"
"If that's what you want, Rei, I'll do exactly that."
For Worker, the fact that Rei's promotion to A-Rank Adventurer was settled was the most important thing.
When to make the announcement was certainly significant as well.
Even so, having Rei's pass confirmed seemed to please him the most.
"So, that covers the Guild's business, right?"
"Yes. However, there is also the matter of dissecting the Dark World Tree. Fortunately, the Dark World Tree isn't a particularly difficult monster to dissect, so could you come back tomorrow?"
"Got it. ...By the way, are you going to examine the A-Rank Monsters' Magic Stones as well?"
"Yes, I'd like to do that if possible."
Rei told Worker to go right ahead.
Since he was already lending out the Crystal Dragon's Magic Stone, he figured he might as well sell as much favor as possible while the opportunity was there.
Naturally, Worker read Rei's intent perfectly.
But since Rei's thinking posed no problem, Worker actually welcomed it.
"Understood. I'll leave that part to you, then. But — sorry to repeat myself — if something happens and those Magic Stones go missing... you understand what'll happen, right?"
Rei pressed the point.
Anyone who knew Rei could easily have been overwhelmed by that intensity, but as expected of a Guild Master, Worker nodded without showing the slightest sign of agitation on the surface, whatever his inner thoughts might have been.
"Yes. I'll take full responsibility in that regard."
Seeing Worker's composed demeanor, Rei relaxed and said he understood.
Judging by Worker's appearance, he decided there was no need to worry for now.
Rei gave Worker a brief greeting and left the office.
Watching Rei's retreating figure from behind...
"Haaah..."
Worker exhaled a heavy breath.
A deep sigh of relief, finally released from the tension he had been holding.
While interacting with Rei, he hadn't let any tension or agitation show — but that was a skill in its own right.
As a Guild Master, it wasn't uncommon for him to meet High-Rank Adventurers who possessed overwhelming strength far surpassing his own.
Given that, showing fear while speaking with such individuals would, depending on the person, invite their contempt.
A Guild Master therefore needed the ability to never let fear show, no matter how powerful the opponent.
Worker had been employing precisely that technique while dealing with Rei just moments ago.
"Even so, Rei is still on the more favorable side, I suppose."
Murmuring that, Worker reached out for the mountain of documents on his desk.
When Rei came down to the Guild's first floor, the Guild Staff Members naturally noticed his presence first.
Even so, they kept their focus on their work — they were busy.
...Since the Guild Staff Members who had gone to the warehouse for dissection duty had to have their work covered by the remaining staff, the increase in workload was only natural.
Because the dissection team members were assigned relatively few documents, the amount per person wasn't all that large. But when enough people's share piled up, just as the saying went that dust accumulated into a mountain, it added up to a fair amount of work.
Mental "good work" to those Guild Staff Members, Rei made his way through the Guild hall, careful not to knock over the stacks of documents.
"Rei-san."
Someone called out to him.
It was Lenora, who handled Rei's affairs.
Being in charge of him, she was probably curious about what he planned to do next.
Rei made his way over to her.
Beside Lenora, Kenny — who had been processing paperwork — directed an envious gaze at her colleague.
That said, if she were to stop working and go talk to Rei right now, there was a real chance Rei himself would reprimand her.
On top of that, Lenora might scold her... and the other Guild Staff Members would likely have something to say as well.
For that reason, she had apparently decided to concentrate on her own work at least until the paperwork reached a natural stopping point.
Even so, the fact that her processing speed had visibly increased — driven by the desire to talk with Rei even a moment sooner — spoke to Kenny's considerable ability.
"Rei-san, what are you planning to do from here?"
"From here? For now, I'll head to the Lord's Manor and give Lord Daskar my report on the Forest of Magic. After that, I just want to go home and take it easy."
Elena and the others naturally knew Rei was returning today.
Given the current time, everyone except Elena and Ara was probably out working and not at Marina's house.
Even so, Marina's house was where Rei belonged now, and he wanted to relax there.
But Lenora shook her head at his words.
"No, I don't mean today — I mean going forward. Now that the promotion exam is over, what will you do from tomorrow on?"
"Ah, that. Honestly, I'm not sure. The Expansion Construction seems to have gotten to the point where it can manage without me to some extent."
For Rei, the fact that the Expansion Construction could proceed without him was a relief.
But the thought of no longer doing the work he had been doing left him with a faint, undeniable sense of loneliness.
(What to do from tomorrow on... huh)
Asked again by Lenora, nothing came to mind immediately.
At most, it would be things like leaving the dissection of the monsters he'd defeated in the Forest of Magic to the Guild, restocking the food supplies he'd eaten during the promotion exam, or replenishing his disposable spears — things of that level.
Since all of those could be done while helping with the Expansion Construction, there was nothing that made him want to go out of his way to do them.
(I'd been thinking about taking Elena and the others to the Forest of Magic, but even so, heading back there again right after yesterday would be a bit much.)
After leaving the Forest of Magic, he had slept deeply, and it seemed to him that his mental fatigue had fully recovered.
But that was only Rei's own perception — it hadn't actually been confirmed.
If he had an ability like viewing his status, he could have checked his own stats and confirmed a numerical value for his fatigue level.
In any case, Rei's honest feeling was that if he were to go to the Forest of Magic again, he'd want to leave a bit more time before doing so.
(In that case... the Treant Forest, I suppose? Not for logging, but the lake, the Lizardmen at the Birth Tower, or maybe the underground cavern at the center of the Treant Forest.)
Thinking it over, Rei realized he actually had a fair number of things to do.
Of course, regarding the Centaurs' world at the center of the Treant Forest and the research on the Wisp underground, there was nothing in particular that Rei needed to do himself.
The Lizardmen, too, had many individuals already able to speak at a reasonable level, so there was nothing Rei specifically needed to address in their current situation.
(Ah, but there was the Slime matter. ...That Slime really should have finished burning by now, I think.)
The giant Slime that had emerged from the teleported lake.
It was currently burning endlessly due to Rei's magic, and despite a considerable amount of time having passed since it first caught fire, it still showed no signs of burning out.
Fortunately, while the Slime hadn't burned out, it hadn't taken any action either.
In other words, the Slime and the flames produced by Rei's magic were locked in a continuing stalemate.
"Rei-san? Is something wrong?"
"Ah, no. Right. After I rest up a bit, I think I'll head to the Treant Forest... or rather, show my face around the lake and that area. Something might be happening over there too."
"I see."
Hearing Rei's words, Lenora showed what appeared to be a relieved expression.
In truth, considering Rei's personality, Lenora had been worried he might immediately take on some high-difficulty request.
That having become an A-Rank Adventurer, Rei would throw himself into another bold undertaking.
...In fact, Rei hadn't actually said he passed the promotion exam yet, but as far as Lenora was concerned, she had been watching Rei ever since he first came to Gilm.
Given that, it wasn't difficult to guess from his appearance that he had passed.
Moreover, Rei had gone to the Forest of Magic — a place even approaching was prohibited — and returned without a single wound.
To be precise, he had taken fairly significant injuries during the battle with the Crystal Dragon.
But those had already been healed with potions, so from an outside perspective, it only looked as though Rei had emerged from the Forest of Magic completely unscathed.
"In that case, you must be tired from the promotion exam, so for a while... let's see, please take it easy for about three days."
At Lenora's words, Kenny — who had been listening beside her — looked as though she wanted to say something.
As far as Kenny was concerned, since Rei had finally returned from the Forest of Magic, rather than three days, she wanted to talk with him at leisure tonight if at all possible.
Of course, even if that were to happen, she would need to finish all her paperwork before she could speak with Rei.
Rei, not noticing Kenny's expression, simply nodded at Lenora's words.