A Dangerous Family
Since they wanted to hear my story, I was shown to the Guildmaster's room on the third floor. Besides me, the receptionist lady, the bald man, and the guy with the eyepatch were also there. At first, we were going to head to a table in the tavern, but there were too many onlookers, so we gave up on that.
"So? What happened?"
"There's not much to explain. I just came to register. I meet the minimum age requirement… But this lady here said I couldn’t, told me to go home and even offered to buy me juice... Then a killer bee tried to sting her, so I just took care of it."
"Ah, I see. That makes sense. Still, even if you took down the killer bee, that might’ve just been a fluke. This guild is tougher to register with than the others, you know? The registration test means going up against folks like these."
The Guildmaster jerked his chin toward the bald man and his partner.
Not that the Guildmaster, with his gruff bearded face, looked any less intimidating. See? The bald guy and the other one were giving him a “look who’s talking” kind of stare.
"Yes, but I really want to join the Lampail Guild where I live. Could I please take the test?"
"Fine, but if you fail the test, you give it up, got it? Hey! Jackal, you're up. This guy's a C-Rank adventurer here. Go at it full force. I'll be the referee, along with Kodak here, a D-Ranker. And… hey, Lily, go see if there’s anyone in the tavern who can be a third witness."
"Yes!"
The receptionist lady went to the tavern and brought back the person I had just seen earlier with the jagged scar on his cheek. He was apparently a B-Ranker named Geese.
I was then taken to the practical testing arena located behind the Adventurers’ Guild—a place like a gymnasium.
The receptionist looked at me with concern.
"Sweetie, are you really going to be okay? Don’t push yourself too hard, alright?"
"Thank you. But please step back—it's dangerous."
Once she moved closer to where the three observers were standing, the Guildmaster spoke.
"There’s no time limit. Are you ready?"
Jackal readied a very heavy-looking greatsword. I took off my coat and gripped a one-handed sword in my right hand.
"Begin!!"
At the Guildmaster's signal, the test began.
I rushed in to close the distance, aiming for a quick victory, but Jackal leapt up and brought his greatsword down hard. I blocked it with my one-handed sword and diverted it to the side.
So heavy… As expected of a C-Ranker.
But there's no way I can lose here!!
I aimed a roundhouse kick at his exposed left flank, but he stepped back and dodged it.
Must be the height difference... Alright then, time to do something only someone small like me can pull off.
I quickly stored my one-handed sword into my storage.
Then I jumped higher than Jackal’s head, pulled out eight blunted kunai from storage, and threw them all at his head with both hands. While he deflected them with his sword, I maneuvered behind him from above. As Jackal finished deflecting the last kunai and swung around with a diagonal slash, I dove through his legs, and from the front, thrust two sharp kunai—already equipped at my waist—at his throat and heart.
"Stop!!"
The Guildmaster's voice rang out.
He turned to Kodak and Geese and asked,
"Do we all agree the challenger wins?"
"No objections!"
"None here!"
"And no foul play, right?"
"None!"
"All clear!"
"Alright! Then I say Rank E suits her. What do you think?"
"She beat a C-Ranker. I'd say D-Rank is more appropriate."
"I vote E-Rank."
"Very well! The challenger is hereby certified as Rank E. Well done."
"Yaaaay!! I got Rank E!!"
I bounced up and down with joy, and the Guildmaster awkwardly ruffled my hair.
We returned to the Guildmaster's office to complete the formalities. The receptionist brought some tea, though she was shaking as she set it down.
"I'm sorry about earlier. I must’ve startled you..."
"N-no, I should be the one apologizing. I didn’t even listen to what you had to say just because you’re small… Also, thank you. I didn’t even notice that killer bee was so close. Oh, I’m Lily. Nice to meet you."
Lily then explained how to use the Adventurers’ Guild.
She went over how to accept requests and report results. There’s a reference room at the back left of the counter where you can look up info on requests. The tavern serves not just alcohol but also soft drinks and food. I hadn’t noticed before, but there’s also a shop under the stairs selling potions and items needed for quests.
On the second floor, aside from the Guildmaster’s room, there are meeting rooms and nap rooms. And behind the guild building, aside from the practical testing arena, there’s also a dismantling area and a delivery depot.
Lily left the room to issue my adventurer plate. While sipping tea and waiting, the Guildmaster began to speak again.
"Once again, congratulations. Now, let’s hear your name."
Jackal, Kodak, and Geese were all looking at me.
"My name is Joan Lampail. I look forward to working with you."
"Ah, so you’re Lord Stanley’s daughter. No wonder you’re so strong..."
"“Ahhh.”"
Everyone nodded in agreement.
"You’re Gene’s little sister, huh… He’s strong too."
Kodak scratched his head as he said this.
"So, girl, who trained you? Someone like Al, maybe?"
The Guildmaster asked.
"No, it was Nancy and my grandmother."
"“‘The Iceflower Devil’...”"
"Huh!? You mean Nancy?"
"Yeah, if Nancy and Lady Lindsay trained you, then no wonder you're that strong. Nancy’s S-Rank, and Lady Lindsay’s SS."
"“SS…”"
"Guildmaster, does that ‘SS’ happen to refer to the ‘Witch of Hellfire’?"
Geese asked, and the Guildmaster nodded silently.
Grandma… She’s the ‘Witch of Hellfire’? And Nancy is the ‘Iceflower Devil’?
Is my family really that dangerous?
Still… that's kinda cool!!
What do you think about this chapter?
