“Run, Sir Noir! I’ll cover you.”
“Thanks a million.”
I sprinted toward her. The hand monkeys gave chase with murder in their eyes, but Luna’s magical firearm kept them at bay. Somehow, I reached her, and the two of us made our escape. As we ran, I turned around now and then to fire off a Stone Bullet. I didn’t land many, but the barrage slowed down their advance.
“Never…let you get away…”
“Revenge! Revenge!”
They sure were persistent. It was difficult to shake the monkeys, but they didn’t follow once we’d left the forest. Seemed they weren’t about to pick a fight outside their home turf. They were smart, and that made them scary.
“Haah, haah, they really didn’t want to give up…”
“They’ll probably remember us.”
It seemed likely, especially considering they could speak. It would probably be better to avoid the forest for a while.
“Were you injured earlier?” Luna asked.
“My shoulder just took a little hit.”
“Healing Shot!”
The pain receded and a pleasant feeling spread through my body. Luna’s Healing Shot really was powerful. I thanked her, and we returned to the guild, where we handed over the monkey corpse and explained what had happened to Lola.
“Was it strong?”
The other adventurers were curious. We figured it would be good to share what we’d learned. I explained our tactics and the skills we’d used against the monkeys. Since we’d drawn a decent crowd, I warned the lower-rank adventurers not to try it.
I was surprised to find that the compensation for the request was much more than I’d expected.
“Huh? You gave me 360,000 rels.”
“It’s a bonus from the guild for providing valuable information to our adventurers.”
I was grateful and gave Luna her 50 percent share.
“And the guild has one more thing for you,” said Lola.
Was this the thing she’d hinted at before?
“You’re currently a B-Rank adventurer,” she said. “To advance to A-Rank, you need to pass a special test.”
The adventuring system varied from kingdom to kingdom. Here, guilds could assign ranks up to B on their own terms, but anything above that required recognition from the government. They administered a test, and if you passed, you’d move up. The test was held only once every few months, and each guild put forward candidates from its pool of B-Rank adventurers.
“Odin would be happy to endorse you for the exam, if you’re interested. Of course, you’re more than welcome to refuse.”
Apparently, the test was happening soon.
“This is a real opportunity,” I said. “I’d be happy to take it.”
“I thought you would! I’d be happy to help you with the paperwork, Mr. Noir!”
Lola pulled out an application for me to sign and said she’d let me know when the schedule was settled.
“And I have something a little more personal for you. Please accept this.” She pulled a small bundle from under the counter and handed it to me.
“It’s soft. What is it?”
“Pajamas. A present from your managing receptionist to one of her hardest working adventurers.”
“Thank you. I’ll be sure to wear them.”
“Heh heh, there’s a secret present in there too!”
Lola punctuated the comment with a wink. Luna looked a little annoyed.
“You can give Sir Noir all the presents you like, but I’ve been working hard too, you know.”
“Oh, uh, I have something for you too, Luna.”
“Really?”
Lola was definitely lying. Her eyes moved around frantically, looking for something she could give Luna.
“H-here, it’s the pen I always use…”
“That’s not a present!”
“You caught me…”
Luna was visibly angry, but Lola and I worked together to make her feel better. It didn’t take long to snap her out of it.
That evening, still in my underwear after a bath, I sat down to open Lola’s present. It was an expensive-looking pajama set with a letter on top. I started with the letter.
Dear Mr. Noir,
Thank you for always completing your requests. Because of your hard work, I’m probably going to take the top spot this month too. I know this isn’t much, but please accept this gift as a token of my gratitude. I hope you’ll wear them.
For my dearest adventurer.
P.S. Keep the thing underneath the pajamas a secret, okay? I’m told that, in another land, it’s customary to give gentlemen something you’ve worn. (So embarrassing!)
“I wonder what it is.”
I lifted the pajamas up and couldn’t believe what I saw.
“P-p-panties…”
As confused as I was about the women’s undergarment, I found myself reaching to pick them up. They were light purple and pretty sexy. Going by what Lola had said in the letter… Had she worn these, at least once? I flushed, and at that precise moment, my door opened.
“Brother dearest, I was thinking, it’s been ages since you rested your head on my la—”
I wondered what was going through my little sister’s head when she saw me holding up a pair of women’s undergarments, inspecting them. For a moment, her expression blanked.
“Are those…mine?” she asked in a chilling voice.
“O-of course not! Not a chance!”
“What is wrong with you?!” she snapped. “Throw those away this instant!”
Why are you mad at me?!
“Noir, my boy, Olivia called my beard lame—wait, what’s going on?”
My father was already running his mouth when he saw what was going on. And to make matters worse, Olivia was there too.
“Noir, your dad’s facial hair looks like—oooh, are those mine?”
“They are not!”
“You don’t have to hide it~! Don’t worry, all boys your age get curious. Ah ha ha ha ha ha!”
First off, how could she not even recognize her own underwear?
To make matters even worse Tigerson appeared, turning the situation into total chaos. He couldn’t actually fit into my room, so he just looked in through the door.
<Noir, Olivia insists that I change my name to Lionson.>
“W-well, she does kind of have a point, but I think Tigerson is fine.”
<Also, those undergarments are a bit small for your frame, Noir.>
Tigerson’s misinterpretation cut the deepest…