Vol 1 Chapter 6 – I Ended Up Taking the Highest-Rank Adventurer Exam【Vol 1 – When Written in Kanji, It’s Saionji Yumeba】

After slaying the Yamata no Orochi, Yumeba and I rejoined the subjugation squad, opened a transfer gate, and returned to the imperial capital.

“I’m exhausted.”

“…Same here.”

Slaying a Platinum-class domain guardian isn’t a job for C-rank adventurers.

Considering the required combat power, it was a case where even S-rank adventurers could have been deployed.

I really felt how unprepared we were for a lot of things…

I’d like to learn from this experience and be fully prepared next time.

I felt bad for Yumeba, but I let her handle the report as the squad leader while I sat on the sofa, zoning out and half-listening.

“P-Platinum class? And against an opponent that made the Saionji Duke’s daughter use her holy sword…?”

The staff member handling the report was left speechless after hearing Yumeba’s account.

If I had been the only one reporting, they probably wouldn’t have believed me. But the one reporting was Yumeba of the Saionji Duke family.

There was no way the report would be underestimated.

“S-So you defeated it alone, Yumeba-sama?”

“I’d like to say yes, but… half of it was that one’s doing.”

Yumeba pointed at me with her thumb.

“I can’t let that stand. I blew away five of the eight heads, so five-eighths of the credit should be mine.”

“I took out three heads plus blew away the body. If we’re going by volume destroyed, I did more, but I’m being generous by saying half.”

“You only needed to cut off three heads, but you overkilled it by blowing away the body too. That’s what we call ‘excessive.'”

“Those things usually have regeneration abilities. I delivered the finishing blow by destroying the body, so it’s my win.”

For some reason, Yumeba and I ended up glaring at each other from point-blank range.

“N-Now, now. The fact that you two defeated a Platinum-class domain guardian together is already an incredible feat, so let’s just split the credit fifty-fifty.”

“Tch.”

And for some reason, we both clicked our tongues and looked away simultaneously.

No, I don’t actually want to act like this, but for some reason my character is collapsing and I don’t know what attitude to take.

“Now, regarding the reward for this mission… as an imperial request, you’ll receive five platinum coins for exterminating the monsters in the Eastern Forest.”

“Our share?”

“…Two and a half coins each, please.”

For some reason, the staff member clutched their stomach with a pale face.

“Furthermore, Alisa-san, as an adventurer you’ll be promoted to A-rank. Normally, you’d deserve promotion to S-rank for such an achievement, but…”

“That sounds troublesome, so no thank you.”

“…I see.”

Becoming part of S-rank, where there are only a handful of people across the entire continent—no thank you.

From what I’ve researched, most of the work seems to be mandatory national requests, and I want no part of that hassle.

“By the way, what are you going to do?”

“What do you mean?”

While I was thinking about that, Yumeba suddenly asked me.

“We’ve exterminated the monsters in the Eastern Forest near the imperial capital, so there’s no reason for adventurers to stay here, right?”

“Ah.”

Come to think of it, adventurer work in the imperial capital would drastically decrease, and most adventurers who had been in the capital were already moving to other locations.

“Well, I have transfer magic, so if I want to take on requests, I’ll just move to an appropriate location.”

“I see.”

Yumeba answered curtly, but her face looked a little lonely.

“Well, I suppose I could stay in the imperial capital until we settle which of us is superior—me or a certain someone.”

“…How cheeky.”

Yumeba glared at me, but her cheeks seemed flushed and happy somehow.

Well, both Yumeba and I don’t have many friends our own age.

For Yumeba especially, someone who could match her in combat and interact as an equal must be precious.

Either way, I couldn’t leave the imperial capital and had no intention of relocating.

◇◇◇

“And that’s why she was such an incredibly cheeky woman!”

“…I see.”

And for some reason, after returning to the castle, I ended up listening to Yumeba complain about Alisa endlessly.

“Next time I see her, I’m going to beat her to a pulp!”

As the one who’d be on the receiving end of that, it’s not exactly comforting…

I was fine when transformed as Alisa, but when I return to my original form, it genuinely gives me the chills.

After Yumeba left, having vented all her complaints and feeling refreshed, I decided to prepare thoroughly based on the lessons from this mission.

Flight magic, support magic, and optimizing thunderbolt magic…

I also wanted to stock up on multiple spells that could be called ultimate-class magic for each attribute.

The effect was minimal this time, but if I could chain explosive flame magic, it should have helped change the situation.

It looked like I’d be busy for a while.

◇◇◇

In conclusion, I completed my objectives of optimizing support magic and thunderbolt magic, plus stockpiling multiple ultimate-class spells, but I couldn’t complete flight magic.

To be precise, I could float around in the air, but I felt resistant to calling that “flight magic.”

At best, it was levitation magic.

I wonder what the problem is…

I experimented and tried various approaches, but I just couldn’t achieve high-speed flight.

Rather than my method being wrong, it felt like my power level was insufficient.

Of course, this world is bound by physical laws just like Earth, so there are no levels, no status screens, and no experience points.

But somehow, I could sense that my current abilities were lacking.

I’ve been smooth sailing until now, so is this what it feels like to hit a wall?

In my previous life, I attracted misfortune and felt constantly surrounded by walls on all sides, but in this life things had gone smoothly, so hitting a wall was a fresh sensation.

For now, I’ll just try everything recklessly and…

“Prince Emilio. Are you there?”

Just as I was about to tackle the challenge, an inconsiderate voice from outside the door forced me to stop.

“…What is it?”

I opened my bedroom door and glared at the other person with what I knew was an irritated expression and voice. The person turned out to be a butler I’d seen somewhere before.

“…You’re Yunix’s butler.”

“My name is Sebas.”

Standing outside the door was Sebas, Yunix’s head butler.

Unfortunately, his full name wasn’t Sebastian.

“What do you want?”

“Prince Yunix requests your presence.”

“I’m busy. Tell him if he has business, he should come himself.”

“…Prince Emilio. Do you understand your own position?”

“What’s wrong with an older brother ordering his younger brother around?”

“…”

Either way, we’re already adversaries, so there’s no need to be considerate.

Besides, if we’re talking about rudeness, having a younger brother summon his older brother is the real rudeness.

And I really am busy right now.

“So you won’t regret this?”

“Go away, go away.”

I shooed Sebas away like a dog and closed the door behind me—but just before it shut, Sebas slipped smoothly into the room.

I was about to protest when something caught around my neck…

“This is your fault. You who insult Prince Yunix.”

What was probably a steel wire began to cut into my neck…

“Are you stupid?”

“!”

Of course it couldn’t cut through, and it was neutralized by my Aegis absolute defense barrier, snapping and falling to the ground.

“If you’d gone home obediently, I would’ve let you live, but you pulled something stupid and shortened your own lifespan.”

“! ! !”

Sebas struggled and tried to say something, but his voice would never reach me, and his body could no longer move.

Well, this was simply using hypnotic magic to make him believe he couldn’t speak or move, but the power of belief shouldn’t be underestimated—it’s incredibly strong.

To break through this, he’d have to overcome his own beliefs, and even having a strong will would backfire by strengthening the power of the belief.

Either way, I was going to dispose of him after extracting information, so it didn’t matter.

◇◇◇

A few days later, I passed Yunix in the castle corridor.

“…Brother.”

“Hm?”

While he usually ignored me, today he unusually spoke to me.

“Do you know anything about Sebas? He’s my head butler.”

“Why would you think I’d know?”

“…Never mind then.”

Yunix had his usual composed smile plastered on his face, but his complexion suggested that composure was about to peel away.

I’d extracted all sorts of information from Sebas, and it turned out he was like Yunix’s right-hand man, knowing far more than I’d expected.

Of course, I’d written down all the information and stored it in my dimensional storage, so I’d use it when necessary.

Besides, making your head butler and right-hand man into an assassin… isn’t that just stupid?

Well, someone like Yunix who’d lived without ever experiencing setbacks probably couldn’t imagine a future where he’d fail.

At the very least, Yunix had definitely moved further from becoming emperor.

◇◇◇

After a while, I transformed into Alisa and stopped by the adventurers guild.

As expected, there were no subjugation requests on the bulletin board—only miscellaneous odd jobs posted as requests.

I thought I had no business here and was about to leave, but…

“Alisa-san! Alisa-san!”

A receptionist spotted me and approached while calling out loudly.

Yeah, I almost wanted to run away.

“…What is it?”

“Would you like to take the S-rank exam?”

“No.”

“Aww…”

Like I said, becoming S-rank means lots of hassles with no real benefits.

Sure, it might be prestigious, but taking on all sorts of baggage in exchange isn’t worth it.

I’d rather remain an A-rank adventurer with more freedom.

“Just take it! Just take the exam and that’s fine! The higher-ups keep nagging me to make you take the exam!”

“I really can’t spare several days though.”

“It’s fine! It’ll take two or three days at most!”

“…I see.”

It sounds incredibly troublesome and I’m not enthusiastic about it.

“So please just take the exam! Please!”

“…Don’t complain no matter what happens.”

“Of course not!”

And so, reluctantly, I ended up having to take the S-rank promotion exam.

◇◇◇

Exam Day

I entered a conference room on the second floor of the adventurers guild—a place I don’t normally visit—at the designated time.

“The examiner will be here shortly, so please wait a moment.”

A staff member who was waiting there told me to sit down in one of the conference room chairs.

After waiting about ten minutes, the conference room door suddenly burst open with a bang, and a muscular, large middle-aged man entered the room.

“Sorry for the wait! I was so excited about the first S-rank promotion exam in ages that I couldn’t sleep last night, so I overslept this morning!”

“…I see.”

“I’m the guild master of this adventurers guild! You must be the Extermination Witch taking the promotion exam!”

“I don’t like that nickname, so please don’t use it in front of me.”

“Don’t worry about it!”

Yeah, he seems very self-centered.

“Now then, let’s get straight to it… Do you know what’s required to be an S-rank adventurer, little lady?”

“Being strong.”

“Exactly! Let the A-rank and below handle all the other minor details! What’s demanded of S-rank is the strength to defeat any monster!”

Well, this is common knowledge, at least among the imperial family, if not the general public.

S-rank is a class where strength alone is recognized, even for outlaws.

Therefore, strength is all that’s required of S-rank.

“So! The exam naturally requires you to prove your strength! Specifically, you need to defeat a powerful monster in front of me, the examiner!”

“…Specifically?”

“Do you know about the Hecatoncheir?”

“…Just the name.”

It’s the name of a multi-armed giant monster, if I remember correctly.

In terms of strength alone, it’s said to rival dragons, with a class somewhere between Gold and Platinum.

“As you’ve probably guessed, you need to defeat a Hecatoncheir!”

“…I have a question.”

“What?”

“I don’t mind facing a Hecatoncheir, but surely you’re not telling me to find and defeat it on my own starting now?”

Just defeating it would be one thing, but searching for it could easily take more than two or three days.

“All that’s required of S-rank adventurers is strength. Search ability isn’t part of the exam. We’ve already located the Hecatoncheir.”

“That’s a relief.”

“Now then, look at this map.”

The guild master spread out a map showing the entire empire, with one point marked.

“This is where the Hecatoncheir was sighted. And we haven’t received any reports of it being defeated yet.”

“Then let’s go defeat it right away.”

If the location is within the empire, I can easily travel there with either transfer magic or a transfer gate.

I snapped my fingers and…

“I’ll go as I am, but do you need any preparations, Guild Master?”

“No problem!”

“Then let’s go.”

I snapped my fingers again and connected a transfer gate to the destination.

“Ooh! So this is the rumored transfer gate! What a convenient thing!”

Without even listening to me, the guild master jumped into the gate.

What an impatient person.

Passing through the transfer gate, we emerged in a rocky area.

There were plenty of hiding spots, but I used Eagle Eye to start searching for the Hecatoncheir.

“…Found it.”

Whether lucky or unlucky, I discovered what appeared to be a Hecatoncheir closer than expected.

“So that’s the magic that lets you project your vision far away. You’re really convenient, aren’t you?”

“Thanks. By the way, Guild Master.”

“What?”

“We’re about to subjugate the Hecatoncheir, but…”

“?”

“Flashy or subtle… which do you prefer?”

“…”

The guild master’s mouth dropped open for a moment—then he grinned.

“Flashy, of course! Make it as flashy as possible!”

“…Understood.”

Well then, I’ll make this as spectacular as I can.

The moment the Hecatoncheir appeared before us, I slammed it with explosive flame magic, causing a massive explosion.

Before the flames even subsided, I unleashed Thousand Blade magic, creating a tornado of giant wind blades that shredded the Hecatoncheir while lifting it skyward.

And toward the Hecatoncheir sent soaring high into the air—I unleashed thunderbolt magic, striking it with a massive lightning bolt.

“…It’s over.”

I checked with Eagle Eye just to be sure, but the Hecatoncheir’s body had carbonized and crumbled into pieces.

“…Just out of curiosity, what would you have done if I’d said to defeat it subtly?”

“Want to see?”

“Huh?”

I pointed at another Hecatoncheir that had appeared, apparently drawn by the thunderous noise.

“There was another one!”

“Perfect timing to demonstrate the subtle method.”

As the Hecatoncheir dashed toward us, I snapped my fingers and…

“! ! !”

Countless thin needles shot up from the ground, skewering the Hecatoncheir.

Furthermore, thin threads connected to the needles were in my hand.

“What’s that?”

“Metal threads. They’re connected to the metal needles that skewered it, so…”

As I explained, I channeled electric magic through the metal threads.

“~~~!”

The Hecatoncheir’s body convulsed for just a moment—then died, still impaled.

“What’s the principle?”

“Even monsters with tough outer shells are surprisingly fragile inside.”

To be precise, I channeled electricity through the metal into the body—through the blood—inducing cardiac arrest.

“Why go through such a complicated method?”

“I’m an adventurer. There are times when monster materials are needed, so I devised a killing method that damages the materials as little as possible.”

“Ku… kukukuh. Having the luxury to choose how to defeat a Hecatoncheir, huh? You pass! You’ve got the strength worthy of S-rank without question!”

“Thank you.”

And so I passed the S-rank promotion exam.

Incidentally, the guild master wanted the Hecatoncheir I’d killed subtly, so I sold it to him at fair market price.

◇◇◇

A few days later.

“What do you meeeean?!”

I was at the adventurers guild listening to a staff member’s scream.

“Why won’t you proceed with the S-rank promotion when you passed the exam so easily?!”

“I told you from the beginning—I’d just take the exam.”

“You passed with flying colors and you’re still saying that?!”

“Well, there might come a time when I need the authority of S-rank, so please process everything up to just before the final step.”