Nelpha gasped in realization. “I forgot!”
Hey now... She was the one who’d brought me up here to chat in the first place, so forgetting about her guest was awfully cruel. But if anything good had come out of this, it was that I’d warmed up to the guildmaster a little. She was actually kinda funny.
“I’m sorry, Hisui. I called you up here and everything, only to ignore you.”
“Oh, no, it’s okay. You two really are good friends, huh?”
“Have been for years—long enough that a good ribbing’s part of the fun,” laughed Arisa.
“Are you both ex-adventurers, then?”
“Yes, that’s right. We were an unbeatable duo, I’ll have you know,” said Nelpha.
“Though we’re not nearly as impressive as you, Hisui, considering you’re already registering here at your age.” Arisa giggled before her gaze fell back on the letter in Nelpha’s hands. “Oh, right. I wanted to ask you about your letter. Just how strong are you, exactly? For the king and Lord Lycoris to recognize your power, you must be pretty skilled, right? Has your magic awakened already?”
“Yes, I can use magecraft.” I could tell them this much, at least—they’d find out eventually anyway, if I was going to be doing jobs for the guild from now on. But they didn’t need to know that I could use the other two powers. Sharing the bare minimum with them would be enough.
“Really, now!” exclaimed Nelpha. “That’s truly remarkable. I’ve heard the marquis’s own daughter also awoke in godcraft at the age of eight. Kids are really incredible these days.”
“I can’t imagine the king giving you special permission to be an adventurer just because you can use magecraft, though. Is there something else that might’ve convinced the crown?” Arisa cut in, bluntly. She was right on the money.
“Very perceptive of you. I can’t really discuss the exact circumstances in detail, but shortly before I arrived in Canna, I took down a green dragon on my own.”
They stared at me in silence for a moment before Arisa finally replied. “Excuse me—a green dragon? Like, an actual green dragon? Not just a green-skinned lizard or something?”
“Right, a green dragon.” They both stared at me once more, stupefied.
Nelpha’s and Arisa’s reactions to hearing I could use magecraft at my age was clearly nothing compared to this bombshell. Their mouths flapped open and closed wordlessly as their eyes widened, gazes glued to my face. After a long moment, their shock burst from them in an explosion of bewilderment.
“Th-That can’t be true! Even I’d be hard-pressed to fight one off on my own, and you’re telling me you managed to do it?!” Arisa asked.
“This is entirely unprecedented! Even the legendary swordmaster was just a nose-picking kid running around outside at your age!”
“That’s pretty rude to the swordmaster, don’t you think?” I remarked. As unlikely as it was that someone of such unparalleled repute would be doing that even as a kid, clearly neither Nelpha nor Arisa were thinking straight at the moment.
“Well, that’s just how unbelievable your claim is!” Nelpha exclaimed.
“I’m not following... How does my claim have anything to do with the swordmaster’s nose-picking?” I couldn’t grasp exactly what they were getting at.
“You’ll be the youngest ever to gain the title of Dragonslayer,” said Nelpha, once more appraising my value.
“Can you get a title like that just from defeating a green dragon?” I asked. While green dragons were called dragons, they were little more than flightless dinosaurs. They really weren’t anything to write home about, and definitely not something that would earn a title as impressive as “Dragonslayer,” if you asked me.
“Some people actually do agree with you, Hisui. They don’t believe green dragons should be counted as dragons at all. But whether they’re ‘real’ dragons or not doesn’t matter as much as the fact that they’re just as powerful as dragons. If a green dragon tried to break its way into this town, we’d have to mobilize the army to fight it off—or I’d have to personally go out there myself. The former option would result in a terrible number of casualties, though, so naturally, we’d be better off if I just took care of it from the start,” Nelpha explained.
“I don’t think the one I defeated was nearly that strong though...” While I’d won against the dragon because I’d been able to channel more power than the dragon could handle, I was pretty sure that if a whole army had been mobilized against it, they would’ve been able to take it out without any casualties at all—if the battle plan were good enough to make that happen, anyway.
Nelpha’s eyes narrowed at my thoughtless comment. “I see now. You’ve made things perfectly clear: You have no common sense whatsoever.”
“What?” How rude! That was the first time anyone had ever said that to me. I mean, I was just just from a tiny barony out in the middle of the sticks, but I’d been interacting with my sisters and the goddesses for all of my short life! I was sure I had at least a little common sense...
But as those thoughts were running through my head, I discovered that I couldn’t get the words out of my mouth. The more I considered it, the more I realized that my sisters were actually country bumpkins just like me. Even Armeria’s knowledge was restricted to the books she read.
And the goddesses couldn’t be said to have any mortal understanding at all. The “common sense” Nelpha mentioned, in this case regarding monsters and raw combat strength, was something I’d measured through the perspective passed down to me from Aruna, Fouré, and Cult. To them, pretty much everything was weak and insignificant.
I hadn’t really reflected on this before, but compared to other mortals, I actually was pretty strong, huh? I practically dominated the charts.
“A green dragon is a powerful and deadly opponent. The average adventurer might try to put up a fight, but they wouldn’t win. Only the strongest of the strong can defeat one—someone powerful enough, for example, to take on the role of guildmaster.” With a fwip, Nelpha swung her pointer finger right at me. “Hisui, you defy all common sense. You’re far too strong. I’ve trained for months on end for over ten years—but in a fraction of the time, you’ve surpassed the strength and ability I’ve spent my life cultivating. You are, in other words, a monster.”
“A monster,” I repeated, startled.
I never imagined she’d go as far as to label me that. I could tell she wasn’t being contemptuous or anything; in fact, her tone suggested quite the opposite, hovering somewhere between awe and reverence. She called me a monster, but I could tell it was meant as a compliment.
But that also meant that Nelpha, of all people, saw me as a terrifying beast. This turned out to be another great opportunity for me to reconsider how I looked at myself.
“Guildmaster! How could you say that?! Just look at how cute he is!” Arisa exclaimed.
“Ngh?!” My vision was suddenly obscured, a weight pressing down on my face. I belatedly realized Arisa had gathered me up in her arms, hugging me tightly. Her breasts were on the large side, and my face was buried between her puffy pillows. My cheeks heated up from sheer embarrassment.
“And you’re way too touchy-feely. He’s practically suffocating,” snapped Nelpha.
“Ah!” Noticing my mortification all too late, Arisa finally let go of me. “You’re so cute, though, Hisui... Strong, but cute!”
It seemed like I appealed to the female staff here for some reason—at least that’s how it felt with all the stares I kept getting. It was really awkward, though.
“You need to keep your harassment in line too,” Nelpha sighed.
“I’m not harassing him. It’s just a little hug. Right, Hisui?” Arisa looked at me expectantly.
“Um... I guess so.”
“Dodging the issue like that is what’s ruining society these days. You’re setting a terrible example, you know.” Nelpha shook her head in disdain.
“Oh, hush. Forget about that—since you’re done chatting with him, you should let him go.”
“Why do you have to say that like I’m keeping him locked up here?”
“I mean, you basically are, aren’t you?”
“Ngh... Fine,” Nelpha muttered, then turned to me. “Thanks for chatting with me today, Hisui. Tell me even more about yourself next time—you’re a pretty interesting kid.” She grinned devilishly as she spoke, her expression making her look much like a hawk hunting its prey. I shivered under her gaze, thinking I might have attracted the attention of someone dangerous.
“Uh... Sure. If we get another chance to speak.” Bowing lightly, I took my leave and returned to the first floor with Arisa. It had taken a while, but I could finally register as an adventurer. Thank goodness.