When he volunteered nothing else, I told him what I was thinking. “For a price to defeat Amy, I think it was pretty low. Without your intel, I might not have stopped her from assassinating Almelia.”
“All right. I won’t mention it again. I won’t apologize or thank you. But if there’s any way to get your arm back, then—”
“That won’t be necessary. I only need one for my current work.”
Tallow was a loud and indelicate man, but he was driven by emotion.
“And the woman you live with…”
“…”
“Should everything go well, I’ll prepare a holiday house for her.”
“She’s a moody sort. I can’t promise she’ll be grateful.”
“That’s fine. I’d be glad if you liked it, too.” Tallow mounted a horse hitched near the front of the guild and bid me farewell.
When I arrived at the capital, I checked in at the Adventurer Association headquarters and went to the designated inn to drop off my luggage. I still had some time before the training course began, and I chose to spend it relaxing.
“I do wish I could have come in person,” said Rila’s shadow.
“Considering we don’t know how the people of the capital will perceive your demon lord mana, it’s safer this way.”
“You are correct…”
“I hope the collar is finished soon,” I said.
Rila always looked forward to eating and drinking in the capital, and she was definitely disappointed she couldn’t tag along this time.
“Dey checked on Wawok’s progress, but completion is a while off.”
Special, one-of-a-kind objects weren’t made in a day, after all.
“We could have walked out of the cavern with one if you’d settled for a collar that just suppressed your mana.”
“I—I prefer that collar and its design.”
I didn’t know if there was more to it than that, but I assumed Rila was picky about what she wore.
I pulled out the materials I prepared for my lecture.
“You are such a fastidious man.”
“Once I’ve agreed to something, I do it to the best of my ability. That’s all.”
“Well, despite what you say, it seems that many have come to rely on you because of that attitude.”
Rila snickered.
I left the inn and made for the headquarters so I wouldn’t be late. Once, I’d come here to attend a proctor seminar. Now I’d be giving one. The room was still empty, because I’d arrived too early.
“…”
“Is something the matter?”
“No.”
The shadow at my feet looked up at me.
“That cannot be true. Something vexes you… It’s almost as though you feel unsettled.”
“You think so?”
“Could it be…? Are you nervous?”
“Of course not.”
I checked on the materials I brought again.
“Your documents are upside down.”
“…”
She was right, yet I didn’t realize it until she said so.
“For some reason, my back feels fidgety.”
“It’s nerves.”
“And there’s something churning in my stomach.”
“It’s nerves.”
“I’d feel more at home killing someone than giving a lecture.”
“Ha-ha-ha. A serial killer now, are you?”
“Odd. I never felt this way during the battle with Amy or with you…”
“You are engaging in an activity you have never done before, and it seems you feel pressure while remaining consciously unaware of it.” Rila laughed again. “I did not know you had such a weakness.”
“It’s not a weakness.”
“There’s no need to fret. I do believe you stood before people in this very lecture hall and explained something in the past…”
“All I did then was offer another point of view about a magic circle. I wasn’t there to provide a lesson to the entire class.”
“You feel so at home in battle, yet normalcy is still far from your grasp.”
“Don’t act like you know what normal is.”
I heard the sound of the door opening, and a woman entered.
“Oh, you’re…”
As soon as our eyes met, she rushed to me as she would a friend. The woman glanced at my empty sleeve, and I quickly explained it was the result of a work accident. Telling everyone I met was getting to be a chore.
“Weren’t you here during the last round of proctor seminars?” she asked.
“Yes, I was,” I said.
“Me too. Back then, you said you were new, but now you’re a lecturer!”
I heard an unhappy snort at my feet.
“You’re making it sound grander than it is.”
“Don’t be so modest! All the lecturers this time are famous mages and successful workers from headquarters.”
Was she implying I was counted among their ranks?
“The way you explained the spell last time was so easy to understand… I used it for reference often.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
I smiled, and the woman returned it with a sheepish grin of her own before bobbing her head and taking a front-row seat.
“A business smile.”
“What was that?”
“Nothing at all.” Rila’s shadow plopped down before the lecturer’s desk. “So this is your method of ensnaring maidens. What a terrible man you are.”
“I’m not trying to ensnare anyone,” I replied.
“Regardless of your intent…I shall not leave your side today.”
“Do as you like.”
People gradually began to filter in and fill the seats.
“Oh, if it isn’t Roland!” a man called out as he walked in. He must have already heard about my arm, as he didn’t ask about it.
“Hello. It’s been a while.”
I remembered this man. We got to know each other when I was sent to work at a capital branch of the Adventurers Guild.
He smiled cheerfully, and we shared a handshake.
“I thought you had the look of someone who’d make his way up in the world. My eyes are never wrong.”
“I just so happened to be called to take the position and couldn’t refuse.”
“‘Just so happened’? These things don’t ‘just’ happen normally.”
They don’t happen normally?!
When the man realized how stunned I was, he added, “Uh, I mean it in a good way—really.”
So…should I be glad for this?
I had no idea whether to be happy.
“I’m looking forward to getting a lecture from someone so capable.” The man hurried off to find an open chair.
Soon, it was time to begin, and I started with a simple greeting. The nervousness from earlier was gone.
Tallow had requested that I talk about my normal standards for adventurer approval. Most of the attendees took diligent notes as they listened to me.
“The passing benchmark for a mana measurement is normally one thousand, but that’s merely a standard reference point, not an absolute qualifier. Even if someone is unable to reach that level, I will still allow them to pass if they have some method to compensate for the value.”
A stir ran through the room.
“What? But I thought passing the benchmark target for mana was a necessity for someone to be an effective adventurer.”
“I heard it’s the bare minimum for effective skill use…”
“That’s what others told me, too…”
There were plenty of whispers, but I continued without paying them any mind.
“Now, who was it who thought of the benchmark all of you were taught?” I asked, which put everyone in an awkward position, and they all got quiet. “In the end, it’s simply a chosen value. Skills use a slight amount of mana when invoked, but the amount varies between people.”
I used Ravi as an example, as she had had a value of two hundred and thirty.
“Her measured value is far below the benchmark, yet her skill makes up for it by providing excellent defense. As guild employees yourselves, I don’t need to explain how useful her talents are.”
The crowd nodded in the affirmative. Most of them understood just fine.
“She is a great example of how an adventurer can’t simply be evaluated based on mana value. So, in addition to that, I also use their character, potential, and unique characteristics to evaluate whether they have passed or failed using a comprehensive approach.”
I used each of the adventurers I’d passed as examples and discussed where they later ended up.