∗ ∗ ∗
“Okay, here’s the last one.” Fresco handed over the final status card—the one for me. The kobolds had all received theirs by this point, and Cath’d had one for familiars made for her. Status cards came in those kinds of varieties too.
The info on it for Cath was a good deal different than what I could access through <Follower Contract>. For starters, there was her species. Since being listed as a demon cat might have caused issues, her species was instead set to demidemon cat—a species which was extremely similar but still had a distinct classification. It was like the difference between dragons and demidragons. Demon cats would eventually become very powerful monsters as they matured, but demidemon cats didn’t change as drastically and could be kept as pets. A normal household would have no trouble keeping one in check, and they were not perceived as threatening.
Her skills couldn’t be hidden, but Fresco had made sure not to look, so we didn’t have any issues there. Of course, I wasn’t stupid enough to faithfully mention her title, so that was left blank. Incidentally, I was holding on to Cath’s status card since she couldn’t carry it herself, while everyone else was able to carry their own cards. I was a little worried about them keeping track, but Aht had trained them on keeping their belongings organized, so they’d probably be fine.
As for the entries on my status card, they looked like this:
✦ ✦ ✦
Name: Noah
Species: Normal Folk <Human>
Titles:
Root Skills: <Swordfighter 5>, <Great Swordfighter 3>
Derived Skills: <Slash 2>... <Glidedance Blade 1>...
General Skills: <Swordplay 4>, <Wind Magic 3>, <Fire Magic 3>...
I was a little surprised... The root skill which was my lifeline wasn’t displayed.
Where did <Holy King> go?! I rushed to check the Church-issued status card in my breast pocket. Sure enough, that one had <Holy King> on it. I was relieved, but my behavior must have looked strange to Fresco.
“Did something weird happen?”
I’d been careful to make sure he didn’t see me looking at my Church-issued status card. I’d only glimpsed at my pocket, so he shouldn’t have caught on. So I gave an excuse. “No... It’s nothing much. I was just surprised since my skills seem to have improved a bit.”
While it was an excuse, it wasn’t false. A few of my skills actually had improved since I last checked. Slash had been at 1 until just recently. I had narrowly managed to get to Swordplay 4, but I was genuinely happy that my elemental magic skills had all reached 3. I’d be able to handily take on even formidable opponents with all these at my disposal. The monsters of the Purgatory Forest were still a different story, though.
Admittedly, Cath’s elemental magic was still stronger than mine. She was at Wind Magic 4. In theory, it would get progressively harder to improve from there, but Cath had latent talent, or rather, she was still growing. I had to keep working hard too if just so that the gap in our levels didn’t grow any wider.
“That so? Well, without a status card, there’s not a lot of ways you can see how many skills you’ve got. I don’t know if you lost your old one, or what...”
Fresco’s phrasing implied that he had figured I had one already, but he’d chosen not to pry. One could easily surmise that someone like me expressly asking a noble for proof of identity meant that what I’d originally had was nonfunctional, or I wasn’t in a position to use it. He was still helping me regardless, so he must’ve had some inkling. Given the way he was acting, he’d probably noticed me checking my Church-issued status card. And the excuse I’d given of being surprised by my improvement was only more evidence.
Well, if he was choosing to ignore it, I’d just have to keep up the act too.
“Now we can check details, and it’ll be easier to prove our identities to other people. Thank you so much, truly.”
“Nah, don’t mention it. Besides, this means that House Trahn owes me one.”
“Shouldn’t it be to Lady Katarina personally?” She was a member of House Trahn, to be sure. But in this town, Katarina was not in any position to receive strong support from the Marquess’s main branch. That was why we’d had to come to the adventurer’s guild to get our documentation.
Fresco looked mildly impressed. “Huh, you sure know your stuff. Hard to believe you’re a commoner... Well, you’re right. But I’m fine with it that way,” he said.
I tilted my head in confusion and questioned him further. “And why is that?”
“’Cause I’m betting that girl is gonna inherit House Trahn someday. For being a sheltered noblewoman, she’s pretty interesting, don’t you think?”