The explanation session at the royal palace somehow ended with the words that details such as rewards, ceremonies, and how everyone would be treated would be considered in the future.
"How are they treating us?" Mile asked incredulously, but as the Kingdom of Brandell diplomat fixed her with glaring eyes, she realized what was going on and her face twitched...
"...What should I do..."
"What should I do..."
"There's nothing we can do about it..." (Pauline)
"Tahaha..."
Yes, there was nothing they could do until they had the results of the seven-nation international conference.
"...Well then, let's go and show up at the guild first!"
"Ah……" (Other 3)
Come to think of it, they hadn't shown up at the guild branch yet since they got back. It'd be bad if they didn't show face soon—Or rather, the situation was already completely bad. Certainly, this wasn't a request from the guild, so there's no obligation to report completion. However, there was no way that such a reasonable argument would prevail.
"…………" (All CV)
Realizing this, the four of them make an embarrassed face, but putting it off any longer would only make the situation worse.
"Shall we go...?"
"Yeah……" (Other 3)
"Banzaai! Crimson Vow, banzaaai!!" (Everyone)
As soon as the Crimson Vow group entered the guild branch, they were greeted with cheers and applause. They tried to choose a time when there would be fewer people around, but this was what happened.
"Thank you to everyone at Crimson Vow for your hard work! The guild master is waiting for you, please come this way!" (Receptionist)
The receptionist popped out from behind the counter with a big smile on her face. Then, grabbing Mile's hand, who was in the lead, they all pulled along and headed to the guild master's room on the second floor.
"Why didn’t you come right away after you got back? It’s normal to show up at your home before going to the inn! And yet you made me wait so many days..." (Guild master)
The guild master yelled at them as soon as they entered the room, but he wasn't really angry. As proof of that, the guild master's face immediately broke into a smile.
"Well done! You guys have saved everything in this world, so it may be meaningless for someone like me to thank you, but let me say it anyway! Thank you. I appreciate it..." (Guild master)
Saying this, the Guild Master stood up and bowed deeply. At times like these, Mile and her companions didn't be humble or say things like, "No way! Lift your head up!" There is no need to deny the other person's feelings. Simply accept their gratitude in silence. And then they all took their seats.
"Sorry, but let’s get straight to the business. We need to clarify your positions, otherwise various discrepancies will arise." (Guild master)
Everyone at Crimson Vow nodded in agreement at the Guild Master's reasonable argument.
"First of all, you have become S-rank." (Guild master)
"Huh? Whaaaaaat?!" (All CV)
"…N-no, to rank up you need not only achievement points, but also a period of activity at the previous rank, a set period determined for each rank… And that is a rule that cannot be broken, even for nobles..." (Mile)
Reina and the other two nodded at Mile's words, but the Guild Master shook his head in response. "But there's a caveat: unless you're a national hero who saved the country." (Guild master)
"Ah……" (All CV)
Yes. Mile and her companions definitely remembered hearing that before. So, did this incident fit the criteria of being a "national hero who saved the country"?
"Ahaha, ahaha..." (Mile)
A dry laugh escaped Mile's mouth.
"If you weren't S-rank, all the other S-ranks would be ashamed and would all retire! And then, no one would be able to become S-rank again, for all eternity! Think about the other hunters. ...So, quitting is not permitted." (Guild master)
"…………" (All CV)
They knew. I understood that explanation very well. If saving the world doesn't earn you S-rank, then to earn S-rank you must save this star system or the entire galaxy.
"To be honest, out of consideration for the feelings of the other S-rankers, there was talk of creating a rank even higher than S-rank, but S-rank is simply 'a rank higher than A-rank', with no upper limit. Besides, I don't think there will be anyone else who can achieve this rank other than you guys. So, with the idea that 'S-rank is for non-humans', talk of creating a higher rank has been dropped." (Guild master)
"…………" (All CV)
"Also, although this has nothing to do with your current situation, the restriction on 'a minimum period of activity at the previous rank' for promotion to Hunter has been abolished. This was something that had been advocated by many people for some time, and there had been a strong request from the higher-ups of Kingdom of Tils, so it had already been decided at a guild meeting and an official announcement was awaited. It has been decided that the announcement will be brought forward to coincide with your promotion to S-rank. If we do that, the remaining opposition will not be able to utter a word." (Guild master)
"…………" (All CV)
Everyone, especially Mavis and Reina, admired and aspired to become an A-rank Hunter. That was a sudden S-rank, skipping over B-rank and A-rank. The dream and aspiration of all hunters, a living legend, S-rank.
"We-we are living legends, S-rank Hunters..." (Reina)
Reina muttered in a daze, unable to keep up with her emotions.
"Well, you guys, even if you don't become S-rank Hunters, you're already living legends!" (Guild master)
"Surely……" (All CV)
Now that he said it, that's true.
"...But why did you guys spill all that information? At this rate, you'll be in trouble from now on... No, maybe that's already happened for a while..." (Guild master)
Mile and her companions slumped their shoulders in disappointment at the guild master's words.
"At that time, I thought that only the four of us would go to battle, so I never really thought we would actually return alive... So, without thinking about the consequences, I put in all the information I could find to make it more credible, so that as many people as possible would believe in it..." (Mile)
Saying that, Mile laughed, "Tahahaha."
"That's right. You not only revealed your noble name, but also the name of Miami Satodelle, which you had intended to hide from us..." (Reina)
"……eh?" (Mile)
Mile turned her head and looked at Reina with a shocked expression.
"Re-Re-Re-Re-Reina-san, n-no way..." (Mile)
"Of course, we noticed it a long time ago. Mavis and Pauline, too, right?" (Reina)
"Wh-w-w-why..." (Mile)
"No, on the contrary, why did you think you wouldn't get caught after that?" (Reina)
"Mile-chan, you weren't doing the 'actually obvious thing, but everyone is pretending not to notice' thing, and you really didn't think anyone knew about it... right...?" (Pauline)
"Gahhhh!!" (Mile)
Mile received a painful blow!
"Because the subject matter of the book overlaps quite a bit with that of 'Japanese Stories', and the phrasing and standard jokes are the same... Everyone at the Hunter Training School would have known, and surely everyone at your old school would have noticed too, right? You used to tell everyone all sorts of stories..." (Reina)
Mile was completely dejected after Reina's further blow...