The morning after Lorna passed the adventurers exam, she returned to the guild headquarters to pick up her documentation. “M-Miss Lorna Hermit… H-h-here is your adventurers card… Eh-heh…” “Yaaay!” Lorna took the shiny new card from Elmina, and the latter continued her explanation. “Th-the adventurer ranks are as follows, from lowest to highest: Iron, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Mythril, and Orichalcum… S-so you’ll be starting out as Iron ra—” Snap! Lorna crushed the brand-new card in the palm of her hand. “……” It broke into countless pieces. One of them grazed Elmina’s face, which was still frozen in a cordial smile. “Wh-whoa!” Lorna exclaimed. “I’m so, so sorry! I leveled up so fast in such a short time that I guess I don’t know my own strength…” “Please… Please don’t kill me…” “Huh? What do you mean?” For some reason, tears were running down Elmina’s cheeks. Lorna peered at her in confusion. Maybe the guild master was just tired. “Would it be possible for you to…make me a new one?” she asked. “Oh, but of course…! We’ll make you a new one right away… Ngh…” “Why are you crying?” “Oh, this? Ngh. It’s just allergies…” With that, Elmina meekly retreated to the back room of the reception area. I always assumed that people with high-ranking skills would be mean and stuck-up… But Elmina is just such a kind person. Not only had she defended Lorna when everyone in the testing hall was bad-mouthing her, but she had even gone down into the dungeon to check up on her. And now Lorna had rudely destroyed the adventurers card Elmina had only just given her. Despite that, Elmina hadn’t gotten angry at all. To Lorna, she seemed like a kind and capable elder sister. “S-sorry to keep you waiting…,” Elmina said, reemerging a short while later. “H-here’s your new card…” The card Elmina held in her hand was made of bronze. “Hmm? But isn’t this a Bronze rank card? I thought you said everyone started out at Iron rank.” “W-well, you see, Miss Lorna, your exam was slightly more difficult than usual. So I thought it only right to give you a corresponding boost in rank.” “…?” Lorna was a bit confused. But as long as it wasn’t a mistake, then she supposed there wasn’t a problem. Satisfied, she reached out to receive her adventurers card. But as she did… “Ah-achoo!” Snap! Once again, before Elmina’s very eyes, Lorna shattered her new card to pieces. “Please…please, forgive me…” And so Lorna had to ask Elmina—who was sobbing uncontrollably for some reason—to make her a new card yet again. And despite the fact that issuing a new card usually incurred a fee, Elmina said she would waive it especially for Lorna. Wow. Miss Elmina sure is kind. I hope I can show her my gratitude someday. Lorna’s show of gratitude would almost certainly lead to more suffering for Elmina Manaflame. But that’s a story for another time. In the end, Lorna received a third new card that day. And for some reason, it was Silver rank. “Wh-what’s the deal? Why’s Elmina Manaflame acting like a pushover…?” “That girl was issued a Silver rank card on her first day? What kind of connections does she have?!” “She must be related to someone in the royal court or something…” “Damn. She looks innocent enough, but it’s probably best not to mess with her…” She might have drawn a lot of attention, but Lorna was finally an official adventurer. “And that’s how I got my adventurers card.” Shortly after the events at the Adventurers Guild, Lorna went to see Reinharte to show off her shiny new license. “Whoa! I’d expect nothing less from you, Lorna!” His eyes sparkled with pride, as if Lorna’s achievement were his own. But then he went on to say, “I’m so impressed you were able to pass an exam proctored by Elmina Manaflame. You’re amazing, Lorna!” “……” “And you’ve jumped right to Silver rank! That’s unheard of! You’re amazing, Lorna!” “……” “Yet despite all that, you’re still so calm and cool. I swear, you’re simply amazing, Lorna!” “……” “Is something the matter, Lorna? If anything is troubling you, don’t hesitate to tell me. I, Reinharte Highwind, would gladly walk through fire, water, gales, or snow for you. I am ready to put my life on the line to help!” “Um, well…” “Yes?” “I don’t remember you being so…positive last time.” Reinharte had been much more subdued the last time they met. He no longer wore a helmet low over his eyes, and a cheerful smile graced his face. “Why, it’s all thanks to you, Lorna! You healed my leg, and now I have a new lease on life!” “Oh… So it’s because of me that you’re acting like this…?” Reinharte had been incessantly rambling like a child meeting his hero for the first time. “Until I met you, Lorna, I was little more than a living corpse. But then you came along and saved me! You’ve brought hope back into my life. Or rather, you’ve reminded me just how beautiful this world can be. Oh, I would love nothing more than to become the kind of adventurer who rescues people. Just like you, Lorna!”
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“Um. Right…” Lorna had never intended to save the young man, so his excessive show of gratitude caught her off guard. This guy’s kinda creepy… His display was kind of putting her off. “And you’re already working on your first quest as an adventurer, huh? You’re amazing, Lorna!” “Uh. Right. Well, it’s just collecting some medicinal herbs. It’s really no big deal.” “Well, now! Collecting medicinal herbs. That’s amazing, Lorna. You’re incredibly powerful, but you’re still so humble. To think you’d take on such a practical request just to help someone out. You’re amazing, Lorna!” “No, no. I just thought it would be a good idea to start with something simple, is all…” “Still doing things in the proper order, despite your incredible skills. You’re amazing, Lorna!” This guy is so annoying… This would be Lorna’s first official job as an adventurer. The thought of failing her first quest stressed her out, and she wasn’t exactly thrilled about fighting. Not to mention, one wrong move in a battle and she was liable to accidentally cause a natural disaster. When all was said and done, collecting some herbs seemed like the perfect choice. “Besides, I heard that collecting herbs is a really good way to make money,” she said. “…Really? Collecting herbs?” Reinharte looked at her, confused. “Though, now that you mention it, I’ve heard that a strange illness has been spreading through town recently… I suppose that would drive up demand for medicinal herbs. I should have known you’d pick the request most likely to benefit the town. You’re incredible, Lorna!” Reinharte seemed satisfied with his conclusion that Lorna was doing this out of the goodness of her heart. In truth, Lorna’s goal was one hundred percent financial. She needed money. But she wasn’t about to correct him. “But aren’t you worried about going on an adventure all alone?” he asked. “It could be dangerous. There are so many things to do—scouting for enemies, combat, carrying all your items. Having to do it solo seems like quite the balancing act.” “You think so?” Lorna didn’t know much about the finer details of adventuring. Until just a few days ago, things like adventure and combat were completely irrelevant to her life. And so far, everything she’d learned had come from the internet. As a result, what seemed like common sense to Lorna was, in fact, quite absurd. But she had no way of knowing that. “Well, I’ll probably be fine,” she said. “I’ve got a skill that lets me fly around in the sky, so if things get bad, I can just fly away.” “It lets you…fly?” “Yup.” Lorna demonstrated by using her recently acquired skill—Enchanted Wings. Wings of light spread out from Lorna’s back. She looked like some kind of angel. “……” Reinharte froze in place. “All right, I should probably get going,” she said. “……” “Um, Mr. Reinharte?” “Uh… Huh? Oh! R-right… Of course. Well, then. Safe travels.” “Okay.” And with that, Lorna took to the skies and flew away. Reinharte watched in shock as she soared through the heavens. “Has Lorna…been an angel this whole time…?” When Elmina first saw Lorna’s wings, she hadn’t reacted at all (because she was petrified by despair). As a result, Lorna had erroneously assumed that flight skills were fairly common. But the truth was: The idea sounded completely unbelievable to most people. Reinharte had traveled all across the land on his adventurers, and he had never heard of such a skill. “Y-you know, whenever I talk to Lorna, I can’t help but feel that the world is much larger than I ever imagined…” Reinharte put on a wry smile as he thought about Lorna. Her very existence seemed to defy logic. “All right… First, I’m going to focus on my rehab. Then I’ll work hard to get as close to her level as I can.” Having said his piece, Reinharte went back to swinging his spear.