Sevens Volume 9 Prologue

https://bakapervert.wordpress.com/sevens-volume-9-illustrations/ 

Prologue

.

Part 1

──Spring had come to Centralle(セントラル), the capital of Bahnseim(バンセイム) Kingdom.

The scenery of the city had become completely like spring. It was  filled with a crowd that was even more bustling than at winter.

At the palace of that Bahnseim Kingdom, there was a single girl who was sitting on the throne with an insolent attitude.

Her name was Celes Walt(セレス・ウォルト).

Her fingertips toyed with her slightly curly long blonde hair. She was sitting with her legs crossed and a bored look.

Celes who was the crown princess originally wouldn’t be allowed to sit on the throne.

It would be the capital punishment for such violation, but there wasn’t even one person in this palace who would reproach her.

She had a transparent skin and a symmetrical face. She was a beauty despite her young age.

She was more beautiful rather than adorable──there was even a bewitching quality from her appearance.

She was a girl so beautiful as though she was emitting light from her body. Her lustrous and pretty lips moved.

「──It seems you allowed that trash to escape, and on top of that you  got caught in a trap. Lionel, I had expected something from you, but  this is really a let-down.」

In front of Celes there was a young man kneeling on one knee with his head bowed.

The blue haired and blue eyed young man had the same look like the girl’s biological big brother.

His name was Lionel Walt(リオネル・ウォルト).

He was the heir of the capital noble Walt House. If these two’s  family trees were traced back, it would become clear that they shared  the same ancestor.

Right now he was trembling while sweating like waterfall. He looked  like he was going to grovel with his forehead pressed on the floor  anytime now.

「M-my greatest apologies! Lyle──that guy put me into a trap!」

Lyle──Lyle Walt(ライエル・ウォルト) was Celes’s biological brother.

He was a man who was the eldest son of the feudal lord Walt House.

Celes made an annoyed face.

「I told you to not make any move on him didn’t I? And yet you ignored  my words and chased after that trash, and yet you were defeated. I  wonder if you have the awareness as the commander of the special royal  guard?」

Lionel was the commander of Celes’s special royal guard.

Although he didn’t have any troops yet. Because he was the only member he was treated as the commanding officer.

Lionel’s house──the capital noble Walt House was once a noble house  with the rank of lower seventh, a rank that allowed them to pass down  their title to their descendant.

But, the rank of lower seventh was the lowest position within the noble rank.

Then Lionel caught the eye of Celes and he obtained the title of baron and even a position in the special royal guard.

What Lionel feared was to offend Celes.

「I swear that I will catch that guy without fail!」

Celes showed an exasperated face seeing Lionel saying such thing. Even so she was unbearably pleased in her heart.

(This guy is really stupid. Even though I told him not to make any  move, he prioritized his personal grudge and tried to catch that trash.  But──it’s fine for you to be like this.)

For Celes, there wasn’t any problem at all even if Lionel was incompetent.

Rather it was exactly because he was incompetent that there was meaning in placing him on her side.

──A man with spitting image like her biological brother.

It was a nice way to kill time for Celes to expose this guy’s incompetence──a side show.

The title of the commander of special royal guard that she granted him was also just a game for her.

「Even so, I can’t believe that he himself got thrown into prison  while chasing after Lyle. This guy is really an idiot. I’ll forgive him  because it’s funny though.」

If this man was her proper subordinate, Celes absolutely wouldn’t forgive him.

She would immediately execute him.

But, Celes forgave Lionel.

「I told you to not chase after him.」

Lionel’s gaze wandered around when Celes said that.

「B-but──」

It seemed he had a reason for chasing after Lyle.

(Is he still planning to do something? Well, I’ll keep that in reserve for the future entertainment.)

Celes was having fun inside her heart seeing Lionel’s conduct that  was just too hopeless. Then a young man who was the member of her true  royal guard reached out for the handle of his sword.

「Are you planning to go against Celes-sama’s order?」

The one who threatened Lionel with a low voice was a tall young man at his early twenty.

He had a strong and straight brown hair.

He had green eyes with a sharp look.

The name of this serious looking young knight was Baldoir Randbergh(バルドア・ランドバーグ).

Randbergh House was a family of knight that had served Walt House for generations. Baldoir was the heir of its main house.

Right now he was Celes’s personal bodyguard.

He was a really capable knight and Celes’s favorite.

He was going to cut down the incompetent Lionel in this place.

Celes’s fun would decrease if Lionel was killed here so she stopped him with her hand.

「Baldoir, put away your hand from your sword.」

「Is it alright? This person has misused Celes-sama’s authority and  did as he pleased. It will only harm Cele-sama later if we keep him  alive.」

It was a reply that was just like the serious Baldoir.

Celes smiled.

「I said that I forgive him.」

「──Pardon my rudeness.」

Baldoir let go of his sword when Celes said that.

The trembling Lionel stroked his chest because he didn’t get killed.

Celes watched him while standing up from the throne and walked toward the window.

Sunlight was shining in from the large window.

「Lionel, leave that trash alone for a while.」

When Celes said that, Lionel turned toward Celes and fell on his knees with his body leaning forward.

「Celes-sama, that guy is dangerous! We should capture him immediately!」

Lionel was strongly conscious toward Lyle because they both possessed the same family name Walt──but that wasn’t all.

It was also because the woman he fell in love was together with Lyle.

Celes also knew about that.

「Lionel, I wish that you won’t disappoint me further than this.」

Celes turned her back on Lionel so that her face couldn’t be seen from where he was.

Her tone was completely calm and rebuking, but her expression was smiling.

This extremely incompetent young man was a very nice way to kill time for her.

But, right now she was in the middle of thinking of a new way to have fun.

She couldn’t spend all her time just to care about Lionel.

「There are nobles who are in opposition toward my rise as the crown  princess. Someone has to be dispatched to subjugate them. Are you, my  special royal guard going to leave my side in this important time?」

「N-no, that’s──」

Baldoir and the other knights who were Celes’s real royal guards frowned seeing Lionel’s ambiguous attitude.

Lionel didn’t notice the irritation of the royal guards because of how dense he was.

That incompetence was extremely funny for Celes.

(I’m really glad to pick you up at that time.)

「We’re going to crush the defiant nobles within the country. I will  send an army from the kingdom for that. Of course I’ll also ask  Otou-sama to move out.」

The army of Bahnseim Kingdom and the army of feudal lord noble Walt  House were preparing to fight the defiant nobles within the country.

It was nothing more than a game for Celes.

She looked at the cane that was storing her rapier.

A yellow jewel was embedded on its tip. It was emitting a faint mysterious light.

Celes watched the jewel while whispering in a volume that couldn’t be heard by anyone.

「──Yes, I know. It will become fun from now on.」

Celes talked to the jewel and then she smiled at the townscape of the royal capital that was visible from the large window.

A voice that could only be heard by Celes came from the yellow Jewel.

『My cute Celes. It’ll be soon. Soon──this land will be dyed with blood once more.』

The woman’s voice sounded very pleasant, but at the same time it also sounded somewhat bewitching.

Celes replied toward the captivating whisper.

「I’m really looking forward to it──Agrissa(アグリッサ).」

It was the name of the woman who once was called the country toppling beauty and changed the continent into hell by herself.

『It’s good that you’re also looking forward to it. But more importantly, your face is breaking into a grin you know?』

「Oh, I’m sorry. I have become the crown princess, so I have to keep up appearances slightly.」

『Indeed. Well, soon there won’t be any need to keep up appearances. Be patient until then.』

Celess’s face that was reflected on the glass window was sporting a hideous smile──.

.

The freedom city Beim(ベイム).

It was a metropolis that possessed a large harbor, ruled by merchants  who obtained immense wealth from trade with other countries.

At the same time it was also called as the home of adventurers.

The reason there were many adventurers here because this city was just that convenient for them.

Beim wasn’t ruled by royalty or noble. The tax that was applied to the adventurers was shockingly small.

Works were also coming here one after another.

And the greatest attraction for the adventurers was the dungeon that existed in Beim.

Beim’s dungeon was predicted to have more than one hundred  underground floors. It was an attractive to earn money for the  adventurers.

It was easy to encounter monster inside a dungeon, so they could defeat a lot of monster.

Then they would collect the magic stone and parts of the monster’s body to be sold after they got out of the dungeon.

Adventurers were also universally received in Beim. The adventurer  guild here was famed for its support to adventurer that was warmer  compared to other adventurer guilds.

Because of that this city was called as the metropolis of merchant and adventurer.

That Beim was a metropolis that was surrounded by high walls──and that wasn’t all.

「So this is the freedom city Beim──it’s even more amazing than Centralle.」

I looked up at the tall buildings with admiration. I must looked like a country bumpkin who came here from the countryside.

Sometimes the passing by residences of Beim were chuckling at me.

There were also people who looked at me condescendingly among them.

But, I──Lyle Walt ignored those eyes and admired this metropolis called Beim.

The streets inside the city were paved with stone neatly.

The streets were wide and clean.

The number of people and carriages coming and going was also many.

No, it was too many.

The population density here also seemed high.

And then above all else, all the buildings were tall.

The styles of the buildings were varied and there were also some  places that looked a bit unorganized, but all the buildings at the main  street were splendid and extravagant.

I had seen several cities until now, but none of them was as splendid as Beim.

The voice of the Third came from the blue Jewel hanging from my neck while I was looking around in wonder.

It seemed he was surprised.

『What’s this place? This surpassed my imagination.』

It seemed the size of Beim’s scale──and its splendor had surprised him.

The Fourth was also similarly surprised, but what he spoke was from the money aspect.

『Just how much money they are using in order to maintain all this?』

From the Fourth’s perspective, all these must be more extravagant then necessary.

After the whole city looked sparkling.

It wasn’t like gold and silver were used abundantly, but everything that entered my eyes looked like none of them was cheap.

I heard that because there was no royalty or noble in Beim, it was  the major merchants who were paying for the maintenance of the public  areas like the streets and the like.

That might be why the atmosphere here was different from other cities.

The Fifth who was normally calm sounded somewhat suspicious.

『Just what have they done so that the city can be this developed?』

It seemed he wanted to say something about the development level of Beim.

But the Sixth was laughing loudly.

『The commerce here is profitable after all. Even so, it’s amazing  that the city can develop this much even without any king or noble.』

It was an unbelievable story for me.

The Sevent was also feeling suspicious, but it also felt like he was scheming something.

『This surpassed what I heard. Even so, if it’s developed to this degree──we can also expect much from it.』

The Third agreed with that opinion, but he also spoke that it was necessary to understand this city called Beim correctly.

『Seems so. But, this surpassed our expectation. If we don’t proceed  carefully, we might get the rug pulled out from under our feet.』

When I thought that I also had to focus myself, Monica(モニカ) called out to me.

「Chicken dickwad. Enough running from reality, please do something about that.」

──The one who called me chicken dickwad was Monica who tied her blonde hair into twintail and wearing red maid uniform.

Even though she acted like this she was a machine called automata  that was a legacy of the ancient people, but she was also a faulty  product that called me her master as chicken dickwad.

That Monica was pointing to a direction where there were young men who acted even more like country bumpkin than me.

「So this is Beim!」

「We are going to live here from today!」

「Oi, the woman just now was super pretty!」

The noisy young men were dressed in slightly dirty shirts and trousers that were soaked with mud.

Rusty knives were hanging on their waist.

They were carrying large baggage looking completely like someone who  came from the sticks──they were laughed at by the people around.

They young men seemed to think that those people’s laughter as friendly smile and responded by waving their hands.

They were actually getting made fun of, but they showed no sign of noticing.

It was painful watching it.

「I wonder if I’m also looking like that from the surrounding’s perspective?」

When I muttered that anxiously, Novem Forxuz(ノウェム・フォクスズ) hurriedly followed up for me.

She was a girl who accompanied me by herself when I was driven out by my family.

She was also my fiancée in the past.

Her trademark was her light brown hair that was tied into a side ponytail. She was always thinking of me first.

「It’s alright. Lyle-sama’s appearance is immaculate, so there is no  problem at all. Besides, the stronghold of Lyle-sama’s family the Walt  House is also a large city. There is nothing from Lyle-sama that can be  made fun of.」

「No, you can’t guess where a person came from just by looking at  their face right? The people around must be thinking that I’m the same  like those guys.」

「It’s alright!」

「I-I see.」

「Yes! After all Lyle-sama is the legitimate heir of Walt House who  inherit their noble blood. Your refinement cannot be compared to any  other men.」

Novem wouldn’t back down, so I was the one who backed down.

But it was a mistake to say that I had refinement because I had the blood of Walt House flowing in me.

After all, the ancestor of the feudal lord noble Walt House, the  first head Basil Walt(バジル・ウォルト) was a barbarian who was furthest removed  from the word refinement.

If we put a lot of stock in blood, then it would meant that I who  inherited the blood of the First was far away from being refined.

While I was talking with Novem, there was a woman who put her chin on my shoulder.

It was Miranda Circry(ミランダ・サークライ) who had light green hair and eyes with a position like the big sister among my comrades.

「It’s not just the blood that decide everything there is to human.  Lyle is amazing is because the result of his own effort, don’t you think  so?」

Miranda often intentionally made a remark that opposed Novem.

Novem who was aware of that talked back.

「Yes, I understand that. But, Lyle-sama who inherited the blood of  Walt House and also working hard on top of that has nothing to be  ashamed of at all.」

I was happy to be recognized, but it made me felt really embarrassed to be told such thing.

A country bumpkin was being noisy at the side while the two were praising me and confronting each other.

「Everyone look! There is a stupidly huge fountain there!」

Shannon Circry(シャノン・サークライ) pointed at a fountain with her yellow eyes sparkling.

She had been in high spirits all the time since we arrived at Beim.

Her difference from the country bumpkin young men at the other side  was that the surrounding was smiling warmly when it was Shannon who was  acting excited like that.

To them it looked like she was a little child getting excited.

Sophia Rowley(ソフィア・ラウリ) who had black hair and wearing a robe tried to calm down Shannon in panic.

「Shannon-san, please be quiet. Everyone is looking here.」

Shannon ignored Sophia and looked around.

「All the buildings are so big. The street is also wide, they look pretty for some reason.」

It was just as Shannon said.

The townscape of Beim had wide streets and there were also big buildings lining up neatly.

It felt like we had become midgets here.

The red haired Aria Lockwarde(アリア・ロックウォード) was carrying several luggage on her shoulders while looking around.

She was on her guard against thief and the like.

「There are a lot of people so let’s move quickly. Even so, there are so many people.」

The walking speed of the people around us, and then the running speed of the carriages were fast.

The atmosphere felt really busy.

It felt like we would be yelled at that we were getting in the way if  we kept staying here, so we started moving with our luggage.

The country bumpkin young men were also following us when we started moving.

The qilin Mei(メイ) pulled at my clothes to let me know.

「Lyle, those boys are also following us.」

Originally she was a sacred beast that was called qilin, but right now she was taking the form of a girl.

Her clothes exposed a bit──no, a lot of her skin and gathered attention from the surrounding.

I turned around and directed my gaze to the leader of those young men, Erhart Baumann(エアハルト・バウマン).

His attire was extremely──unique.

He had disheveled black hair and lean body but with firm muscles and tanned skin.

There was nothing wrong with him until that far, but the problem was his attire.

Even though he was only wearing tank top on his upper body, his lower body was wearing armor like loin guard and leg guards.

Even though his upper body’s vital spots were completely exposed, his lower body was wearing a complete set of armor.

And then he was carrying a rusty great sword with quality that looked poor on his back. He called the sword demon sword Gram.

It seemed that the person himself was thinking that this getup was  the best for him. He was walking with a proud look of his own  appearance.

The elf girl who loved story Eva(エヴァ) was watching hi,

She was tidying up her hair that was disordered from the long travel while looking interested.

She stared fixedly at Erhart──then she shook her head.

「He is no good. As I thought Lyle is the main character of my story. I  thought that perhaps he could be a hero in the making, but he really  just doesn’t click.」

When Eva said that, Clara Bulmer(クラーラ・ブルマー) who had a bad relationship with Eva snapped at her.

She had a small build, blue hair, and red eyes, but it was her artificial left hand that attracted attention the most.

「I don’t think that you have the capability to tell apart a hero though.」

Eva got angry to be told that and drew near to Clara.

「You got quite a mouth on you, you bonehead!」

「Better a bonehead than a liar.」

The two started to quarrel, but they were always like this so I ignored them.

My other companions were only making  a face that said 「Again」.

I called out to Erhart.

「Say. ──Why are you guys following us?」

When I asked that question, Erhart and others averted their gaze from me and replied.

「Haa? Why are you thinking that we’re walking behind you huh? It’s just you guys who are walking in front of us.」

They had been following behind us all the way here from outside Beim.

It was the Third who had deciphered their intention.

『Looks like they are excited to finally arrive in a big city but  don’t know what to do now that they’re here. In the first place, it  doesn’t look like they have made any plan for from here on.』

As expected there was no way they were that thoughtless.

The Third noticed my disbelief and laughed lightheartedly.

Surely this was him being his usual flighty self, no doubt about it.

『Eh, could it be you don’t believe me? Lyle too is still really green.』

We had arrived at Beim, so I guess we should register as adventurer here first?

Or perhaps we should look for an inn before that?

I told Erhart and his friends about our destination.

「Then, we’ll head to the adventurer guild.」

Beim’s adventurer guild was really big, fitting for the city that was called as the home of adventurer.

The large building that was located at the center of Beim was the adventurer guild.

──That was what I heard anyway.

Erhart and others followed when we started walking toward the adventurer guild.

「That’’s right! The adventurer guild. We’re going to register there first!」

I looked back in surprise.

Then the young men looked at each other in understanding.

「It’ll be my first time going to the adventurer guild.」

「Where is it located?」

「So we’re going to be adventurer with this huh~」

It seemed they only thought about going to the adventurer guild for the first time after Erhart mentioned it.

Were they thinking seriously about their future?

The Third’s laughter came from the Jewel.

『Look! They weren’t thinking at all. This is just how the typical youths are.』

The Fifth corrected that opinion of the Third.

『It’s just these guys that are more stupid than the average people.』

Aria also turned her gaze while I was looking at the young men in surprise.

「They feels really haphazard. Still, are they planning to keep following us like this?」

Sophia’s expression clouded.

「I’m worried that they will cause trouble to the people around them.  They are strangers, but it’ll be troublesome if they are thought to be  our companions.」

The young men had just left their birthplace and arrived at a big city, and yet they were more thoughtless than I imagined.

Even though they were strangers, this made me worried whether they would really be alright.

「A-anyway, let’s go until the guild. After that they surely won’t follow around us anymore.」

Aria shrugged and laughed.

「I wonder about that. They might keep following us even after that.」

As expected that wouldn’t happen──or so I wanted to believe.

.

We arrived at Beim’s adventurer guild.

It was so big that all the guilds we had seen before looked small compared to it.

In the first place, there were four doors prepared just for the entrance.

We entered from the entrance that had the words 「West Entrance」 written and searched for the counter.

The building itself was built in cylinder shape. It looked like the inside was divided crosswise from the center.

There were a lot of people coming and going.

There weren’t only adventurers here, there were also a lot of merchants and civilians.

The inside’s structure was also really pretty and functional.

The decoration that wasn’t overdoing it wouldn’t make bored watching them, but the counter caught my attention more.

The long counter that was at the back of the area had a lot of staffs lined up and talking with the adventurers.

The adventurers were making several lines waiting for their turn to  come. There were also adventurers sitting on the sofa that’s that were  put near the wall.

Mei was watching all those with admiration.

「I had thought that this is a big building, but I’m still amazed that  there is this many people inside. Human really like being stuffed  inside a box.」

That impression was really just like Mei who wasn’t human, I guess?

While I was thinking of where I should line up at, Novem pointed at  the counter that was near the entrance instead at the back of the area.

「Lyle-sama, it seems that place is the counter for asking information.」

She did well spotting it.

We headed to the information counter, but──Erhart and his friends cut in front of us.

「Uh oh, we’ll be the first one!」

The staff at the counter were looking at us, so I gestured that it was alright Erhart to go first.

The staff nodded slightly and replied to Erhart and his friends.

The staff’s age was around mid-twenty I guess?

「What can I help you with today?」

Erhart leaned on the counter with his elbows in order to talk with the staff. He looked a bit impatient.

「Aa~, err. We want to become adventurer! And then we’re going to  complete quests like mad and become number one adventurer in a flash──」

The staff cut off his story resolutely while he was passionately reciting his dream.

「Understood. Adventurer registration is it? In that case please go to  the southern side. The registration of rookie adventurer is done  there.」

The inside of the guild was divided into four. The staff explained  how to head to the southern counter, but Erhart hit the counter and  started complaining.

「Just do it here. You can do at least that much right? We’re busy.」

He was saying he was busy even though it was doubtful that they even had any plan about what to do after this?

The staff looked like he was also used to this type of visitor.

「It’s the rule that the registration can only be done at the southern  counter. It’s pointless no matter how much you’re complaining here.  ──Next group please.」

The staff ignored Erhart and his friends and called out to us.

It was awkward, but we couldn’t keep going along with Erhart’s group forever.

I talked with the staff as the leader.

「We have registered as adventurer, but this is our first time in Beim.」

The staff gave us an explanation that he must have repeated many times until now.

「Then you must have your guild card with you. Please go to the south  counter in that case. Adventurers who come from other place also have to  receive a short course.」

It seemed that even registered adventurer had to receive a short course in Beim.

「So everyone is treated the same regardless of their experience?」

「It’s because this place has a lot of differences from adventurer guild of other place.」

It would be pointless even if I grumbled here, so we immediately headed toward the south counter.

Then Erhart’s group that was watching us was also following behind.

This, could it be──they’re going to follow us till the end?

.

Part 2

Now then, about the adventurer registration and short course──there wasn’t anything particularly new from them.

The short course was a simple explanation about the guild.

It was explained that the south reception desk was often used by rookie and the average adventurers.

Beim’s adventurer guild was divided into four, east, west, south, and north.

The south side was the general receptionist.

The north side was the receptionist for dungeon related things.

The west side seemed to be a bit unique. It was the place that handled mercenary related quest.

And then the east side was the receptionist for things related to the  sea──like guarding a ship, etc. That side was handling that kind of  quest that was involving the sea.

After receiving the explanation, we handed our guild card and took care of the procedures.

A guild card was a set of two metallic cards. When the owner died,  the name that was written on the metallic card would be scratched. The  rule was that one card was carried by the owner who had their name  engraved on the cards, while the other card was entrusted to the guild.

And then, we finished listening to all the explanations without problem but──.

「Who can accept something like that!」

──Erhart was making a ruckus.

He complained after the short course was over and they received the next explanation separately.

The other rookies and adventurers who came from other place were  going back, but Erhart’s group was complaining so we were left behind.

「Why can’t we receive quest huh!? In addition we also can’t enter into the dungeon, this isn’t like what we heard!」

Beim’s adventurer guild at first explained to the rookies and us  adventurers who came from other place that our achievement before this  wouldn’t be taken into consideration.

It didn’t matter how much achievement we had in other place, we would  be treated like rookie at Beim. That was the way adventurer guild of  Beim did thing here.

A male staff around thirty years old was talking to Erhart.

「That’s why, the rookies still cannot be trusted. The guild can’t  assign quest to such people and also doesn’t wish them to challenge the  dungeon. Please obediently start from accomplishing quests like odd  jobs.」

「If it’s us then we’ll be able to accomplish any kind of request,  we’ll also bring back a mountain of treasure from the dungeon! There  isn’t any need for us to do odd jobs!」

The staff was looking troubled at Erhart’s group that was full of spirit and nothing else.

A woman came at that timing.

Her age seemed to be at the early twenty. She had long and silky  blonde hair, yellow eyes──her drooping eyes were giving her a gentle  atmosphere.

Her distinctive trait was her beautiful face and her nice body──her  adventurer guild uniform that was the same with the uniform that other  female staffs were wearing was remodeled to emphasize her breasts.

It became a uniform that made her large breasts to stand out.

Erhart and his friends were pouring their gaze on those large breasts.

It seemed the woman came here because she heard the commotion.

「Is something the matter?」

The male staff looked at Erhart’s group and sighed at how their gazes were fixed at the woman’s breasts.

「Marianne(マリアンヌ)-san, it seems they’re feeling humiliated because they’re treated as rookie.」

「My, is that so?」

The beauty with gentle atmosphere was showing surprise, but Erhart’s group was quiet unlike just now.

They were acting like gentlemen perhaps because they were in front of a beauty.

「Even though I look like this, I have three Arts. I’ve mastered them.  It’s just wrong to make someone like me doing odd jobs right?」

Three Arts? It must be some kind of mistake.

He also didn’t look like he had any magic tool that could become substitute for Arts.

Or perhaps he was meaning to say that he could use his Arts until the third stage?

Was he understanding it wrongly or perhaps he didn’t knew anything  about that from the start──it looked like he didn’t know anything about  the common sense of adventurer.

The beautiful staff gave a praise so to not offend the feeling of Erhart’s group.

「That’s amazing! Only few people can manifest their Arts until the third stage. You must be really strong.」

「Y-yeah! That’s why, you can give us any kind of quest without worry. Give us quest that can make us stand out as adventurer.」

I’m amazing so treat me like a pro──this guy was really willful.

The beautiful staff was listening to Erhart talking with a smile, but then she made a sad face after Erhart finished boasting.

「I’m really sorry. It’s the rule so even us cannot do anything. But,  let’s see──in Beim there is “proficiency test” for the sake of measuring  someone’s real strength. It’s a test in order to see the strength of  the people who come from other place, how about you try participating in  it if you are that confident?」

The male staff who had been keeping quiet while listening to the talk  until now opened his eyes wide in shock and started to look panicked.

「N-no, that’s──」

The beautiful staff said 「Please leave this to me」and held back the male staff.

At that time, the beautiful staff──glanced at our way.

She wanted her words to be heard not by Erhart’s group alone, but also by us.

Measuring the strength of adventurers who came from other place.

──This was a talk that was intended toward us huh.

「The test is simple. The test this time is to challenge the dungeon  that is located in Beim. To be more accurate, you will have to support  the adventurers who receive the guild’s quest and challenge the dungeon.  If your strength is recognized there, then Beim will recognize you as a  fully fledged adventurer.

The eyes of Erhart’s group shined in expectation after they heard that.

「What. That’s simple. Just leave it to us. We’re going to make the  guild acknowledge us as professional yeah! P-putting that aside, what is  your name?」

Erhart asked the beautiful staff’s name shyly. It didn’t look like he understood the meaning of challenging a dungeon.

A cold voice that was directed toward the beautiful staff came from inside the Jewel.

『Could this be an attempt to get rid of nuisance? Something like  sending ignorant and troublesome youths into the dungeon to dispose  them?』

The other ancestors were also agreeing with that opinion of the Fourth.

But, none of them expressed any pity or sympathy.

Those young men were choosing their own path. There wasn’t any need for us to persuade and make them give up.

The beautiful staff put her hand on her chest and smiled.

「I’m sorry for the late introduction. I am──Marianne. A staff of this guild.」

The beautiful staff with gentle manner, Marianne-san.

But the reaction of the ancestors was cold.

The Fifth didn’t sound interested, even so I got the feeling that he was feeling slightly irritated.

『This woman is sending ignorant youngsters to their death with a smile like that. Well, it’s not our business though.』

Erhart and his friends would surely die if they challenged a dungeon when they didn’t have any decent equipment like that.

Shannon was looking around in a dither.

「H-hey, aren’t we going to stop them?」

It seemed that Shannon knew that Erhart’s group was in danger and wanted to stop them.

But, Miranda-san was expressionless.

「It’s what they chose for themselves. Besides, I don’t want to look after them.」

Shannon asked for help to me with her gaze, but I had the same opinion so I pretended to not notice.

Erhart’s group asked Marianne-san.

「And, when is this test will start?」

「It’ll be two weeks later. I think the test will last for around a month.」

Erhart’s group was surprised hearing the words one month.

「O-one month!? It will take that long!?」

「It’ll be a large scale expedition. The objective of the adventurers  who entered the test will be helping out with that expedition. It’s  fine! All of you are strong right?」

「O-ou! We’ll finish that kind of test in a flash!」

Marianne-san clapped and instigated Erhart’s group.

And then she sent her gaze to us.

「Now then, how about you adventurers over there? From what I see your party is quite experienced, isn’t that right?」

Did she judge that we were experienced as adventurer after seeing our appearance?

Then she should also know that Erhart’s group was just a group of amateur.

This person──felt a bit dangerous.

I tightly grasped the Jewel.

Then the ancestors gave me advice as usual──or not.

『Oh, you’re already relying on us? How about you try thinking by yourself, Lyle.』

The Third pushed me away even though he knew what I wanted to ask.

But, the Fourth followed-up for him.

『Lyle, it’s not like the Third is pushing you away. Lyle too should think and act by yourself soon.』

It seemed the Fifth also held the same opinion.

『It’s fine even if you accept the test or not. Your objective isn’t to become a first rate adventurer. ──It’s to defeat Celes.』

The Sixth was amused.

『I’m also interested in what you’re going to do to achieve your objective. Do whatever you like.』

The Seventh told me to decide by myself.

『Now, Lyle──what are you going to do if it’s you?』

I tightly grasped the Jewel once before letting it go and smiled at Marianne-san.

「I’ll pass.」