After I returned everyone to the palace, I retrieved the S-rank paperwork from Elira. Then Nina, Alto, and I gathered all our belongings from our palace guest rooms and returned to our inn room in Elmesia.
I've kept Nina's and my room paid for in case we needed to come here. We change into typical adventuring clothes, and Alto puts on her cloak, then we make our way to the guild.
When we arrive, it's getting close to sunset, and there's a bit of a commotion from the adventurers upon seeing us.
"Woah ho, Mizuki isn't dead yet!? I thought for sure after all this time he'd been killed by a slime or something!"
"Oh man, is that the double-class girl? I missed seeing her around!"
"Look! It's Zara and that blonde girl! Congrats on B-rank!"
As we approach reception, Melanie sees us, and her eyes go wide.
"Mizuki!? Where have you been!? Gerard has been asking about you, and Zara and Alto just said that you were away on business!" (Melanie)
I smile back at her reassuringly.
"Yeah, that sounds correct! We can go meet with Gerard now, if he wants?" (Mizuki)
Melanie nods appreciatively, and I lead us to Gerard's office upstairs. I knock politely.
"Enter!" (Gerard)
We walk into his office and make our way over to the couch in front of his desk. As we do, he looks up at us, and his eyes go wide in surprise. I flash him an amused smile.
"Hey Gerard, I heard you missed me!" (Mizuki)
Gerard narrows his eyes at me, obviously annoyed.
"You little smartass…you just blazed your way to the top of our ranking system through technicalities, then you left without a word! Why did I even bother helping you!? I hope you have a good explanation!" (Gerard)
He definitely missed me, there's no hiding it. I gesture at him placatingly with a relaxed smile.
"Of course, I do! First, though, we are not at the top of your ranking system. We're only A-rank!" (Mizuki)
Nina also tries to console him, in her own way.
"Fufufu…he was busy, obviously." (Nina)
Gerard rolls his eyes and ignores Nina.
"Kid, there aren't even any S-rank adventurers in the guild system right now. It's rare to make it to A-rank, even among the elites here in Elmesia. To get S-rank, you have to do that and then something heroic enough to warrant the ruler of a country endorsing you! Realistically, A-rank is the top of our ranking system." (Gerard)
"Well, that brings us to why I was gone!" (Mizuki)
I pull Elira's endorsement out of my travel pack, then hand it to Gerard. He grabs and inspects it curiously. After reading it a moment, his face contorts in confusion, and he looks back at me incredulously.
"Is this some kind of joke? This is allegedly from the elven queen, and it mentions endorsing you, a human, by name. What do you expect me to do with this?" (Gerard)
"Well, I expect you to promote Nina and I to S-rank. The Elven Kingdom is a country, Queen Elira is the ruler of it, and that's her endorsement. Sounds like all your qualifications have been met!" (Mizuki)
Gerard glares at me.
"Putting aside the fact that it's assumed you'd get the support of a human country's ruler…do you have any way to authenticate this?" (Gerard)
Figures he'd make this hard.
"Well, first, I thought the guild didn't discriminate based on race. I can't think of anything more discriminatory than not accepting another race's ruler as legitimate. Second, that has the royal seal of the Queen. Third, I'm wearing a royal travel crest here that allows me to travel to and from her country freely. Fourth…Alto, do you mind?" (Mizuki)
After showing him my travel crest necklace from Elira, I gesture at Alto. She takes off her cloak hood.
"As you can see, guild master, I'm an elf. I can assure you that my Queen endorsed Mizuki's party. Surely you don't expect a personal meeting with her to verify such a thing?" (Alto)
Gerard glances between us for several minutes, appearing thoughtful. Then he sighs deeply.
"I suppose this is sufficient, Miss Alto, and I was already aware that you are an elf. I appreciate how much you and Zara have helped lately. Mizuki, I'm going to count the elf queen's endorsement, but you should know that this is going to be spread through the guild's system. Elmesia and the human countries will soon know that there is a party with S-rank adventurers that's endorsed by the Elven Kingdom – you'll be due some harassment." (Gerard)
I smile and shrug.
"I'm counting on it." (Mizuki)
Those are my true feelings. I haven't forgotten about the slave trade in the human countries. I'm sure that when news spreads of a human with access to the Elven Kingdom, some unsavory characters will be among the people that approach me. They'll be my point of contact for the industry that I want to burn to the ground.
Gerard shakes his head at me in exasperation, then scribbles something on a form and hands it to me along with my endorsement letter.
"Here, give this to Melanie, and prepare to have your life upended. You and Nina can go straight to S-rank, but Zara and Alto must complete the A-rank certification first. That's at least two A-rank jobs completed, plus a personal combat exam supervised by me." (Gerard)
We all stand and nod to Gerard.
"As always, Gerard, I appreciate your support." (Mizuki)
Gerard gives me an annoyed expression and makes a sarcastic 'mhm' sound, then he gestures dismissively at us. We say our farewells, then make our way back to Melanie at reception.
"Hey, Melanie, I'm going to give you something, and I want you to remain calm. Okay? No outbursts please." (Mizuki)
Melanie instantly becomes nervous, but she nods her acknowledgement. I hand her the endorsement and Gerard's paperwork, and she begins looking it over. Then her eyes go wide in shock.
"Mizuki, that's…" (Melanie)
She cuts off herself off, realizing how loud she was being, then continues more softly.
"Mizuki, this is S-rank promotion paperwork, and it says you were endorsed by the Elven Kingdom's queen. Is that true?" (Melanie)
"Yes, that's true. You understand why I don't want to cause a commotion?" (Mizuki)
Melanie looks to Alto and Nina, who both nod, then she just shakes her head in exasperation. After a moment, she's back to her composed self.
"Of course, though avoiding a commotion may soon be difficult. May I see your guild cards to finalize this?" (Melanie)
Nina and I produce our guild cards and hand them to Melanie. Surprisingly, she disappears behind the reception area, instead of using the normal copier-looking instrument near us. I can hear a low hum from where she disappeared to, and a faint screeching sound. Eventually, she returns to view and speaks softly.
"Here you go, you're all set. I'm the only person I know who has gotten to make those, so thanks." (Melanie)
Melanie hands us our guild cards, but they've changed. Instead of the iron-based metal they were engraved on before, our guild information is now engraved on a golden card. The "S" for our rank is also more prominent than before.
Nina is eyeing hers appreciatively. First that useless marble and now this – she's really the dragon stereotype of being fascinated with shiny bobbles.
"Fufufu…this might be the best thing we got from those elves, Mizuki! You made a very good choice!" (Nina)
I roll my eyes at her, but I'm glad she's happy. Still…these are not subtle. I see why Melanie said that avoiding a commotion might be difficult. A few adventurers were watching with passive curiosity, but they are less passive upon seeing our cards.
"Woah, does anyone know what those gold cards are?"
"I don't know man, but I've never seen that before. Maybe it's related to a private request from a rich person?"
Yeah…that's the sound of a commotion forming.
[Nina, let's put these away for now.] (Mizuki)
Nina makes a sad face but puts her new guild card away, and I do the same. I turn for us to leave, but we're blocked by two angry looking adventurers – dudes in their 20s with average builds and brown hair. One of them looks vaguely familiar.
The other of the two stares between Nina and I in disgust.
"Don't you feel pathetic hiding behind your girl all the time?" (dude 1)
Ah, it's always nice when people offer me free therapy, right? I smirk at him.
"Sometimes, but then I meet people like you, and I feel much better by comparison." (Mizuki)
The first guy who spoke looks surprised, then enraged. Thankfully, my jest seems to amuse Nina enough to keep her from killing them both over insulting me. Alto is just watching closely. The other guy has been staring at me until now, but he interjects.
"Our party leader, Kent, and two of our friends have been missing for a couple of weeks now. You know anything about that?" (dude 2)
Oh, so that's where I recognized him from, he must be one of Kent's goons. If he's asking me something like that directly, he must have had some inkling of what Kent was planning with me. I give the second guy a nonchalant expression and shrug.
"Wow, that's a long time. If you guys are besties and you haven't heard from them, they're probably dead. My condolences." (Mizuki)
Dude two looks at me in shock, but dude one just looks angry.
"So…you admit…" (dude 2)
Ah, not as dumb as he looks.
"Admit what? If an adventurer goes missing for that long and their dear friends don't know anything about it, that's the likely explanation. The forest is a dangerous place, and sometimes you underestimate what you pursue in it. I hope you two learn from their mistakes and be more wary of the things you hunt. At the least, I'd avoid whatever got them killed." (Mizuki)
I direct a neutral glance at dude two, who at this point I'm pretty sure knows about what Kent and his goons tried. He's now staring at me with as much caution as he is rage, with the occasional glance at Nina. Dude one, however, is not so bright as to discern the hidden threat in my words.
Dude one steps forward and grabs me by my shirt, and I sense a surge of murderous intent from Nina.
This is twice now that Kent's group has been a pain, and I'm tired of it, so I grab him by the wrists and flip his hands out before Nina intervenes. Then, I start squeezing until I feel bone crack.
"Gaaahhh!" (dude 1)
As the first guy cries out in pain, the second one's eyes go wide. I see a few other adventurers take notice of the altercation, so I quickly relax my grip while I heal his wrists, and I push dude one away softly. I direct a menacing glare at dude two.
"That's the only warning you'll get. Make sure that's clear to the rest of your party, too." (Mizuki)
Before dude two can say anything, dude one is back to being an idiot. He checks his wrists in confusion, then realizes he's fine. Somehow, he rationalizes this as himself overreacting before, and he directs his hostility at me again.
"You worthless little wannabe, you've got some real nerve putting your hands on me." (dude 1)
As he glares at me angrily, Nina decides she's been silent for long enough.
"Fufufu…you're a stupid one, aren't you? Can you not see that Mizuki just saved your life? I won't let him be so generous to you a second time…" (Nina)
Nina directs a murderous glare at dude one, and dude two seems to catch her drift. He goes pale and grabs his partner by the shoulder. He grits his teeth in anger as he responds, but I can see resignation on his face, too.
"We'll be on our way…I'll be sure to let everyone else know that there's no reason to bother you." (dude 2)
I smile at him politely.
"Yes, please do. Safe travels you two." (Mizuki)
The two reluctantly back away and leave the guild. After a moment, several comments can be heard.
"You see that? I guess Mizuki's a bit stronger than he looks."
"Yeah, I guess he took to training himself since he can't use magic."
"Forget how strong he was, how calm he was kind of gave me the creeps."
"Pfft…it's easy to act tough with that girl Nina behind you."
Well, that's good. It sounds like I earned just enough respect to reduce my harassment here without making them think I'm dangerous.
[Mizuki, can we go now? I'd like to look at my new card some more.] (Nina)
Nina's impatient thought message rings in my head, and I see Alto react, too. I respond so they both can hear.
[Fufufufu…sure. Let's get out of sight, then I'll teleport us back to the palace for the night.] (Mizuki)
Nina and Alto nod, and we exit the guild together. I'm sure this trip to the guild was boring in comparison to what's waiting for us after word of our new status gets around.