“C’mon, don’t make me repeat myself! What’s your rank?”
“I’m an E ranker. Is that a problem?”
Neal and Ravi were facing each other down on the other side of the counter.
“What do you think, Mr. Roger?” I inquired, jumping into the conversation. Roger responded by folding his arms.
“Well,” he began. “I wouldn’t mind doing either. I could go for a D-rank quest or a C one.”
“Heeey! Roger, I thought you were on my side!”
“I am, but…”
While the two men deliberated, Ravi asked, “Roland, you think we can handle a C-rank job, right?”
“Yes. I wouldn’t have arranged for one if I didn’t.”
I had asked Neal and Roger to look over Ravi while she gained real combat experience, and the group met today to choose its first quest from a few options I presented.
“Boss, this is our first time working together, so I’d like us to do a simple D-rank quest…”
“Roland said it’s okay, so I think we should do a C-rank one!”
“See, that’s exactly why rookies fail—because they’re full of themselves!”
Neal did have a point, but just as Ravi had said, I gave them work I knew they could do. Honestly, I didn’t care which they went with.
“Perhaps you were better off as a pair,” I said. “Was handing you a rookie to look after too much to handle?”
“No, no, no, boss. Just give us a sec.”
“Yeah,” Roger jumped in. “We’ve hit a tiny snag is all…”
I was aware of many parties who constantly bickered but fought well together regardless. Knowing that and recognizing this group was new, I decided to ignore the bit of friction.
Neal and Roger weren’t impressive, but they certainly possessed skill and experience. If Ravi acknowledged that, she’d probably listen to Neal. Unfortunately, they were all acting like any other ill-mannered adventurers.
“Ravi, I won’t be there to give you directions during the quest—they will be, so you need to be able to talk with them and cooperate. Do you understand?”
“Ughh… I know, but…”
Neal and Roger wouldn’t need Ravi’s defense skill in a D-rank quest, but neither of them said that aloud, and they were still willing to take Ravi along. They didn’t even think that was a reason to complain.
Ravi still had a lot to learn as a person, even beyond her abilities. I could go with them, but I knew she would spend the entire quest trying to guess what I was thinking. That would defeat the purpose.
Working as a mage for Barbatos had left Ravi with stubborn pride.
“…”
She had the ultimate defense, but that was all. I arranged quests that would be good for her in the long run.
The trust Neal, Roger, and Ravi needed could be built through years spent as comrades, but it could also be fostered through a mutually shared horrible experience or overcoming death together.
I collected the quest stubs on the counter for the time being.
Roger looked at me anxiously.
“Uh, boss—”
He assumed I was refusing to give them a job, but it was actually the opposite.
“I’m going to give you three a different quest.” Based on their abilities, I was sure they’d clear it. “This is a B ranker. You should give it a shot.”
When I set the single stub on the counter, the mentors and mentee shared a startled look.
“A B-rank job… We hardly ever take those… And we always come back roughed up…”
“H-he’s right, boss. We can’t take Ravi out on something like this when we can’t get along…”
Even Ravi, brimming with overconfidence, seemed slightly troubled by the prospect of a high-level quest.
“R-Roland… I’m not sure about this… It seems dangerous…”
“Dangerous? The only jobs free of danger are F-rank ones. There’s a risk of death on E-rank quests, and frankly, many people don’t come back.”
The trio went silent.
“Can you not handle a B ranker?”
“N-no, we can… Please let us take it, boss.”
“I’ll do whatever Neal thinks is best,” Roger said.
“Then it’s settled.”
I picked up a pen to finish up the process.
“H-hey, wait. Don’t I get a say?” Ravi asked.
“How long are you going to play at being a mage? You’re an E-rank adventurer, a burden. This misconception that you’re special needs to stop,” I stated.
“Guh…” Ravi looked halfway ready to cry.
“B-boss, I think talking like that to a girl, especially a kid, is unnecessary.” Neal tried to defend Ravi, but I quieted him with a raised hand.
“If you’d prefer a different life, then you can move to any town you please and spend your days however you wish. But you don’t have many other options for earning a living.”
I’d never been so stern with Ravi before, and apparently, that pushed her over the limit. She started crying.
“I’ll do it… I’ll take the quest…”
Roger must have felt sorry for her, because he tried to comfort the girl.
“Boss, you’ve gone too far,” he said.
“Yeah, you shouldn’t be so hard on her.”
“But it’s true,” I insisted.
I gave them the particulars for the quest, finished with preparation, and returned the group’s adventurer permits. When they turned to leave, I gave them a customary, “We’re counting on you.”
Milia was staring at me from her booth next to mine. Undoubtedly she’d seen everything.
“Mr. Roland.”
“Yes?”
Milia smiled as I faced her. “You’re always so kind.”
“…”
I was surprised she saw through my subtle ploy. She typically wasn’t so attentive.
“I’m not at all,” I replied. “I was very stern with her… In fact, I might have gone overboard.”
Milia giggled. “Yeah, maybe. You’ve never been so strict with her before.”
Based on how she acted, she likely knew my intention.
“I’ll be more careful in the future,” I said.
“I don’t think you need to be. It’s a form of kindness, one that’s motivating.”
There was merit to Milia’s words, but it was still better to be more considerate.
Ravi and I had learned the basics of combat from the same teacher. I’d been too soft on her because of her circumstances.
“Oh, but!” Milia clapped her hands together as though she’d remembered something. “I think you should be more strict with other women who come to you. Be sure to make all those other adventurers cry!”
“Most of them have stopped visiting me since I lost my arm,” I replied.
“Well…I think you could stand to have even fewer come by to see you…” Milia frowned.
Once a group had three people, politics started to form between the members. The fastest way to settle a dispute was for an external opponent to unite the team.
I’d changed my attitude and scolded Ravi to give the three a commonality, and it worked. Neal and Roger treated Ravi with more kindness than they ever had before.
I served as their first foe, and the monster on their B-rank quest would become their second. The three would probably return feeling united in a way they wouldn’t have had they only gone off to complete the job.
The three returned sometime after noon.
“Thank you for your work. That was quick.”
Felling the monster, an armored beast, had gone much better than I anticipated. That much was easy to deduce based on how Neal, Roger, and Ravi looked.
“Boss…Ravi’s skill got us through the fight unharmed.”
The girl in question stood behind her two mentors, looking embarrassed.
“She invoked her shield so quickly, even after already using it. Plus, she could expand and shrink the shield with ease. Her skill’s super convenient,” Roger said, praising her. “I’m kind of on the fence about whether we deserve to keep her around. With a skill like that…”
“W-well, i-it’s just the skill I happen to have. Besides, my role’s about protecting you guys.”
Ravi’s haughtiness was crumbling before my very eyes.
“I thought this would be impossible for us, but we finished the quest quicker than usual, and it wasn’t even a close call,” Roger said.
“Owing to all your experience, I’m sure,” I replied.
This time, it was Neal and Roger’s turn to smile out of embarrassment.
Neal laughed loudly. “If the two of us had been alone, we might’ve peed ourselves again.”
I took the pieces of the shell they’d returned with, proof they’d done the job, and gave them to an appraiser. While I filled out some paperwork, I overheard Neal and Roger whispering.
“Hey, Ravi.”
“Ravi, this is your chance.”
“I—I know…”
The girl stepped in front of her two party mates.
“Roland, thanks for scolding me.”
“What are you talking about?” I kept my head down and continued writing.
“At first, I was like ‘I hate Roland!’ but then I realized you said all that stuff because you care about me.”
“I simply don’t have the patience for children who expect to be pandered to.”
An appraiser returned to hand me a slip of paper, and I looked it over. There were no issues with the proof of slaying the group brought in.
“What did you think of your two veteran partners?” I asked.
“I can really depend on both of them. We even figured out beforehand when it was best for me to use my skill during a fight. The old guys were pretty strong, I’d say!”
““Old guys…?””
The two behind Ravi seemed baffled and displeased with the title.
Building trust was crucial for them to accept each other.
“Looks like you’ll be in the old guys’ care for the foreseeable future,” I remarked.
“Yeah. Guess so.”
I handed over the reward, which Neal divided between himself, Roger, and Ravi.
“Huh? Is my share smaller?”
“It’s not. That’s the normal pay an E ranker would get. Don’t complain.”
“Seriously?” Ravi exclaimed in displeasure. However, it didn’t seem like she was all that upset.
“We’ll be back tomorrow, Roland!” she said, leaving the guild with a smile.
Dey and Roje came home late at night.
“Welcome back,” Rila said to them.
“Lord Rileyla! I, Roje Sandsong, have returned from my journey!”
“You’re so dramatic, Commander Roje.”