Chapter 160: The Triumphant Return of a Young Hero

“Man, you really saved us this time. We never expected to be attacked by so many orcs.”

Having arrived safely in the town of Togai, we were having the caravan leader say such things while getting his signature on the request completion document.

“Nah, it wasn’t that big of a deal.”

“Don’t get carried away!”

Mina rebuking the good-humored Jairo is also a usual sight.

“Then shall we go to the Adventurer’s Guild to report the completion of the request?”

“Yeah! It’s been a while since we’ve been to the guild here too!”

“Right, it’s been a really long time.”

Yeah, because this is the place where we began.

It hasn’t been that long ago, yet it feels a bit nostalgic.

“So we’re going to the guild where Rex used to operate.”

“Yes, everyone there is a good person!”

“I’m sure many people were dragged around.”

Liliera sighed, but what on earth does that mean?

◆

Coming to the Adventurer’s Guild in the town of Togai after a long time, the inside was surprisingly bustling.

“Wow, it’s really crowded.”

“What is this, isn’t it on par with the Royal Capital’s guild when it’s congested!? Even the guild in the town of Hekiji has never been this congested!”

As Liliera said, the inside of the guild was so packed with people that it was difficult even to walk.

“Hmm, it seems better to shift the time.”

“Right, there’s no way we could get to the counter like this.”

“Yeah, let’s get an inn first.”

With everyone’s opinions matching, we decided to get an inn first and left the Adventurer’s Guild.

And when we shifted the time and returned to the Adventurer’s Guild again…

“As expected, at this time the number of people is smal… not.”

Even though we shifted the time and came to the Adventurer’s Guild again, the inside of the guild was still congested.

That being said, I guess it’s still better than earlier.

“N-Next person~… Haa.”

The receptionist Erma, looking quite exhausted, is dealing with the adventurers waiting in line.

From that state, she seems considerably busy.

“Even so, we can’t just not line up.”

Having no choice, we also decided to line up.

“Dammit, I lost-!”

Behind me, Jairo is sulking in frustration.

Apparently, Jairo and the others decided who would line up through rock-paper-scissors.

Well, just because we accepted the job as a party doesn’t mean there’s any point in all of us lining up.

After waiting like that for a while, my turn comes.

“Next person~…”

“Excuse me~, I’ve come to report the completion of a request~.”

It’s Erma, the person in charge of my counter.

It’s been a really long time since we met, but she looks somehow tired.

“Yes~… then let me check the documents~.”

Erma takes the documents with unsteady hands and checks their contents.

“Yes, I’ve confirmed the client’s signature~. The one who completed the request is the S-rank Rex… -san?”

There, Erma slowly raises her face.

“It’s been a while.”

“…”

However, Erma remains completely frozen.

“Erma?”

“Re…”

“Re?”

“Rex-saaaan!?”

At Erma, who suddenly raised a loud voice, people throughout the guild turned their faces wondering what happened.

“Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-Why!?”

“No, I took a request and came to this town for a bit.”

“R-Request!?”

“Yes. Even so, the number of people has increased considerably while I was gone for a bit. Did something happen?”

Could it be that medicinal herbs that fetch a good price or rare monsters were found?

“Wh-Wh-Wh-What happened, you ask…”

Erma glares at me while trembling violently.

H-Huh? Did I say something to make Erma angry?

“That’s obviously because Rex got promoted to S-rank, isn’t itttttt!!”

“Ehh!? Because of me!?”

Wh-What on earth does that mean!?

“S-rank!?”

“Who is it!?”

Hearing Erma‘s scream, the surrounding adventurers begin to stir.

“Are they talking about that brat talking to Erma?”

“No man, there’s no way a brat like that could become an S-rank.”

“Right.”

Uwaah, the inside of the guild is getting noisy.

It might be better to withdraw quickly once I receive the reward.

“Oh!? Isn’t it the Dragon Brat! It’s been a while!”

Amidst all that, the one who spoke to me was the adventurer who taught me various things when I first came to the Adventurer’s Guild.

“Ah, it’s been a while.”

“Ooh, it makes me happy that you remembered an eternal C-rank like me.”

“Because you are the one who taught me various things when I first came to the Adventurer’s Guild, I remember you well.”

“Hahaha, you’re as humble as ever even after being promoted to S-rank!”

“Because I am still inexperienced.”

While I was talking with the familiar adventurer I hadn’t seen in a while, other adventurers also called out to me.

“Ooh, it really is the Dragon Brat! I hear you’re doing things flashily in the Royal Capital too!”

“Yo, Dragon Brat. Your rumors have reached this town too!”

“Eh? Really!?”

I feel somehow embarrassed. I got promoted to S-rank without doing anything that major, so I hope the other adventurers don’t harbor bad feelings toward me.

“That’s the real Giant Eater… he really is just a kid.”

“So it wasn’t just tall tales from the veteran old men.”

“They say that guy hunted a dragon on his first day of adventurer registration…”

“And he subjugated a herd of Evil Boars the next day, right?”

“I heard he subjugated a monster from the Demon World.”

“It’s him who opened a path through the Demon Beast Forest, which was feared because all the trees in the forest were plant monsters, right?”

Before I knew it, the surrounding adventurers were looking at me and talking about something from a distance.

” ” ” “The fact that he looks like nothing but an ordinary kid makes it conversely scary…” ” ” “

“Rex…”

Liliera looks at me with an exasperated expression.

“N-No, I really haven’t done anything that major. I just somehow ended up being strangely overestimated before I realized it!”

I’ve thought this for a while, but I think adventurers think about things too positively.

The monsters I defeated were guys that everyone normally defeated in my previous life.

“Well whatever, but more importantly, is it okay to leave this person alone?”

“Eh?”

Saying so, Liliera points to the receptionist.

There was the figure of Erma, glaring at me with teary eyes while trembling purupuru.

“We’re in the middle of reception, but are you done talking…?”

“S-Sorry…”

H-Huh? Is this a flow where I apologize?

◆

“Yes, then here is the reward for the escort.”

Erma holds out the reward with her cheeks puffed out.

“Th-Thank you very much. Also, this is a letter the Royal Capital’s Adventurer’s Guild asked me to hand to the Guild Master here.”

“To our Guild Master? Understood. I will hand it over right away.”

Saying so, Erma stops a staff member passing nearby and tells them to hand the letter to the Guild Master.

Phew, with this, the nominated request from the Guild Master is half complete.

All that’s left is to have the Guild Master here write a reply to the letter and deliver it to the Royal Capital’s Guild Master, and the request is complete!

“By the way, what did you mean earlier about it being because I got promoted to S-rank?”

Suddenly curious about Erma‘s words from earlier, I tried asking what that meant… but.

“!”

The moment she heard those words, a dangerous light dwelt in Erma‘s eyes again.

“Ah, no. If you don’t want to say, it’s fine.”

“No, no, I definitely want Rex to hear it.”

Crap, I poked the hornet’s nest!?

“F-Fufu… S-rank is a special title for adventurers, you know.”

“Special… is it?”

Well, it’s the highest rank among adventurers, so I guess I can understand that.

Well, I got promoted to S-rank because I was overestimated, so I feel a bit apologetic, though.

“That’s why. Adventurers of the world and those aiming to become adventurers sometimes gather at the guild an S-rank adventurer belongs to, hoping to share in their good luck.”

“Eh? But if that’s the case, wouldn’t they go to the Royal Capital’s Adventurer’s Guild?”

Because the guild where I was promoted to S-rank and the one I currently use as a base of operations is the Royal Capital’s Adventurer’s Guild.

“That’s the thing. The Royal Capital has many capable individuals, and there are many requests of high level. So the idea is to share in the good luck of the guild where the adventurer who became S-rank first registered.”

Eh-, what’s that?

Even if it’s sharing in good luck, it feels like putting the cart before the horse.

“That being said, it’s not like there are major jobs in a rural town like this. As you can see, right now it’s a state of scrambling for requests, and all that’s left are cheap permanent requests. Those people will probably run out of money after a while and move to other towns. It’s just enduring until then.”

I see. It’s a temporary thing.

“Even so, you’re used to handling it.”

“Yes, well. It’s something that often happens when an adventurer of B-rank or higher emerges. Since it’s like a good luck charm, so to speak.”

I see, it’s a vibe like praying at a temple or sanctuary.

Because adventurers are in a meritocratic world where they handle jobs with just their bodies, I suppose they care about good omens proportionally.

But when it comes to this, I can agree that I am the cause.

I feel somewhat apologetic.

It was at that moment.

The inside of the guild suddenly became noisy.

“I wonder what happened?”

Apparently, the commotion is happening at the entrance of the guild.

Moreover, it feels like the commotion is getting closer to this direction…

“Hey, Erma-chan, got a minute?”

The one who appeared there was an impressively dressed knight.

“Huh?”

However, strangely enough, I felt like I knew this person.

But it’s strange, I shouldn’t have any knight acquaintances in my current life.

“I have a little business with the Guild Master… wait, huh? You are…”

But this voice, I definitely remember hearing it.

“Ah, it really is Rex! It’s been a while!”

“C-Could you be Og… -san?”

“Yeah, that’s right! It’s your dependable former senior adventurer, Og!”

As I thought! He looked so refreshed and sharply dressed that I couldn’t recognize him for a moment!

“Wait, former?”

What does that mean?

“Yeah, I retired as an adventurer and became a knight now! Call me Knight Og from now on!”

Knight? Og is a knight!? That’s why he looks so refreshed!?

“Wait, a knight!?”

W-Wait a minute!? Isn’t this a bigger incident than me becoming an S-rank!?