For a few days after that meeting, Drum had spoken to me with a stiff, tense expression on his face. But once I saw him a few more times, our relationship gradually began to go back to normal.
One thing that did change, however, was that yesterday, my emblem had shifted from the first purple rank to the second red rank—I’d jumped six ranks at once. Drum told me there had been some discussion about it behind closed doors and explained why I was red now.
“But it wasn’t long ago I became purple rank,” I said.
“To be honest, I wanted to promote you to black,” Drum said, sounding frustrated. “You’re a Timemaster, a Windmaster, and you helped keep the Cubes running. That’s clearly a good enough reason to promote you. But when you get promoted to white or black, the reason for it has to be officially disclosed. And since you asked us not to reveal that you’re a Timemaster, even Halman couldn’t promote you past red.”
They’d asked what I wanted as compensation for fixing the Cubes, and I’d specifically requested that they keep my Time magic a secret. If the guild itself had reacted that way, then it would be a nightmare if word got out. That was the last thing I wanted, so I made their silence my reward.
“I didn’t ask for anything like that,” I said.
“Oh, don’t say that. It’s not all bad,” Drum said with a mischievous smile.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, there aren’t many reds around here. So red-ranked quests tend to pile up.”
“…”
“Hardly anyone makes it from purple to red, you see. The difficulty skyrockets once you reach purple 3, and more people die. There are very few red adventurers, but the red quests just keep on coming. Oh, and by the way, there are even fewer adventurers ranked above red—less than ten whites, and you can count the black-ranked adventurers on one hand.”
“Then, you made me red so I could be your workhorse, huh?”
Drum nodded seriously. “Well, you seemed bored with the purple quests, right?”
“They were tough,” I insisted.
Drum gave me a look of disbelief. “But like I said, there’s an upside. One that’s perfect for you guys.”
“What is it?”
“You’re planning on continuing your journey with Alto, right? Just the two of you?”
“Yeah, that’s what I’m thinking. Unless another adventurer comes along who’s willing to accept Alto.”
“I figured, which is why I think this is going to suit you. Once you reach red rank, you’re allowed to form a team. You should put one together and be the leader.”
“I wouldn’t have any members on the team, though.”
“What are you talking about? You’d have Alto, obviously.”
“Hmm.”
“The medicine you taught us to make will be hitting the market soon. And once that happens, everyone’s gonna know your name. You’re ranked red now, so you’ll be flooded with people trying to recruit you—but not if you register a team and make yourself the leader.”
“Won’t people just try to join my team instead, then?”
“Nah. They’re not allowed to if you say up front you’re not accepting members. So it won’t be a problem.”
“Why isn’t it allowed?”
“Everyone wants to join a popular team, right? There was a time we allowed it, but it became too much for teams to manage.”
“I see.”
“Like I said, it’s not all bad, right? You should register a team as soon as you can.”
“Okay, I’ll think about it.”
I decided I’d ask the others over dinner that night. Drum handed me the paperwork, and I took it, then headed home.
Ragi was the first one to speak after I’d explained everything. His voice was calm and gentle. “Generally, if someone has promise, they’ll get a lot of offers. I can’t speak for the Adventurers Guild, but I’m sure that would happen, knowing how hard you work, Setsuna. So I think you should go ahead and form the team.”
“Are there any potential downsides I haven’t thought about yet?”
“I’m not sure. It doesn’t seem like it, going on what you’ve told us so far.”
“What do you think, Alto?” I asked.
“I…uh…” He trailed off and fell silent. My eyes met Ragi’s. Alto looked so upset I almost stepped in to help, but I suppressed the urge, deciding to let him speak for himself.
“Alto?” I called his name, and he looked up, blinking with surprise. He must’ve been deep in thought. I pretended not to notice and asked again. “What do you think?”
“I…don’t want lots of people coming to us… So I think it’s better to make a team.”
“Then that’s what we’ll do.”
“Okay.”
“Now, what’re you going to call your team?” Ragi asked cheerfully.
“Good question.”
“You probably shouldn’t pick something random, considering you’ll be famous,” he said.
“I’m not sure that’ll happen…”
“Oh, between you and Alto, I’m sure your team will stand out one way or another,” he said with a wry chuckle.
That left me feeling a little gloomy, so I started thinking about possible names to distract myself.
“Hmm, our team name…”
“There’s no need to rush. You can take your time thinking it over,” Ragi said.
“Right… Hey, Alto. Try to come up with some names, too,” I said as I stood up to return to my room. He still had that same sad expression on his face, but all I could do was silently cheer him on.