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Chapter 43

In the afternoon of that day, the guild master led me and Lilith to his room discreetly.
The room was about 20 tatami mats in size, and the furnishings were of high quality.
Moreover, there were paintings on the walls, and even half-naked sculptures of beautiful women were displayed.

—Basically, the treatment this old man received was quite something.

「So, Lute-san, what is your goal?」

「To become an A-ranked adventurer as inconspicuously and swiftly as possible.」

Upon hearing that, the old man nodded in agreement.

「Then let’s inquire with the headquarters of the Imperial City’s Guild.」

I felt a twinge of unease seeing the confident expression on the old man’s face.
A-rank level warriors were usually synonymous with brute strength.
They were the first to succumb to confusion or charm effects, making solo play impossible for them.

When forming parties, the individual resistance to status abnormalities had to be considered first, and this was a constant source of concern for all parties.
Well, that being said, they were dependable individuals who could take on the brunt of all the trouble that came their way as the party’s shield.

In other words, they were idiots with a capital “I”.

The old man has an overconfident expression.
I couldn’t help but sigh, unsure of what to feel other than anxiety.

「Inquire? Inquire about what?」

「Whether there are any A to S-ranked, highest-difficulty-class elimination requests in the vicinity. If you complete those repeatedly, Lute-san will quickly achieve A-rank status.」

I shook my head vigorously without wasting any time.

「That’s way too conspicuous.」

「What do you mean?」

「You really don’t get it, huh…」

Even explaining further is a hassle.
With this level of intelligence, the assistant to the guild master—the number two here—must be really struggling.

Well, since he’s insanely dense, I used him with the Transformation Jutsu last time.
The old man gets the credit; I get the bounty.

It’s a win-win relationship like that, but…
Or rather, it’s closer to me pushing all the credit onto him.
He didn’t even realize it at all and ended up idolizing me…

Well, that’s fine.

However, in general, guild masters are basically fine if they have dignity and a certain degree of charisma.
No matter the organization, it’s the head that makes broad decisions, and in the case of a divine palanquin needed for the branch, he is enough.
Decisions are made by the guild headquarters, not the branch, while the actual work is done in the field.
In that sense, all the old man needs is the title of ”former A-rank” .

Well, maybe that’s enough.
But even so, I have to tell the old man.

「Anyway, that’s too conspicuous.」

I took out one of the request postings from my pocket and presented it to him.

「It’s a B-rank class case of people being kidnapped, an undercover mission to eliminate an illegal thief gang employed by a sex slave merchant.」

「You’re going to take that request?」

「No, not really. Well, I’ll crush the thief gang because they’re despicable.」

Shaking my head, I took out another posting.

「As a sub-request to eliminate the thief gang, there’s a request to rescue a portion of the kidnapped women before they’re sold. Originally, it’s a request for guidance on infiltrating and escaping, or for negotiating with the thief gang to secure the release of the slaves along with a reward.」

The guild master then shrugged, seemingly unable to comprehend.

「Not to eliminate the thief gang, but to rescue the slaves?」

「Yeah, that’s right.」

I turned my gaze to Lilith.

「Hey, Lilith? I’ll be taking this request alone, but I have a favor to ask.」

Lilith, who seemed to favor the herbal tea brewed by the guild master’s secretary, quickly downed her tea when I brought up the topic.

「What is it?」

「Here’s the scenario.」

「Scenario?」

「Yeah. I was searching for someone when I happened to be doing some reconnaissance around the thief gang’s hideout from a distance. And… I coincidentally stumbled upon a mysterious and incredibly skilled magician who was in the process of wiping out the thief gang’s hideout.」

「Do I need a mask?」

「A mask might be a bit suspicious… A full-face hood with an eye mask should do.」

Lilith nodded in agreement.

「What are you guys talking about?」

In response to the guild master’s question, I sighed and answered.

「A thief gang that incurred the wrath of a high-ranked adventurer. But for some reason, the high-ranked adventurer can’t show up in public. Adventurers are leaving the credit to me. But there are plenty of thief gang prisoners and corpses to confirm my involvement—so that’s where I come in, as if I came out of nowhere. Well, that will make me become quite conspicuous, but… if I were to directly annihilate a B-rank class thief gang, that would be too conspicuous. Well, it’s still already pretty noticeable as it is.」

「I see. Well, at the very least, it’s explainable to the others.」

「Yeah, that’s the idea. I don’t mind standing out a bit… I think this level is within acceptable limits.」

Honestly, I agree with the old man.
I’d be fine with accepting a request to eliminate something on the scale of S-rank or higher at the national level.

I do have some concerns about bringing Lilith along, but in the human world, I doubt we’d encounter anything too troublesome.
It should also be a good opportunity for Lilith to level up.

However, at this point, I don’t think I should surpass Cordelia by a wide margin.
In reality, Cordelia was weakened compared to the Cordelia I knew, and it’s my fault.

In other words, the Cordelia who felt inferior to me at that time is now stronger than what I knew from history.

Anyway, I don’t want to change history as much as possible.
In the worst case, Cordelia might become too dependent on me, leading to a debilitating weakening that can’t be ignored.

If she grows normally, a hero should continue to roam the battlefield as a hero, and it wouldn’t be easy for her to die.
If that’s the case, Cordelia should be able to earn the time she needs to rely on herself until I arrive.

I’m just the joker card, and Cordelia is the ace card.

So, I should play a supporting role as much as possible.

「…Well, that aside… Lute?」

「Hmm? What is it?」

「…I want you to teach me how to use a sword.」

I tilted my head, not quite grasping Lilith’s intention.

「Why would you want that?」

「Cordelia Allston. I’ve never seen someone so single-mindedly focused on improving their talent. She’s blessed with talent, and on top of that…」

「Ah.」

I nodded.

「And she never rests on her talent, always has the drive to improve, and she dedicates herself to training day and night.」

「I see.」

Lilith nodded.

「…I don’t want to admit it, but between her and me… there’s no doubt she has the superior talent.」

「To be honest, between you and Cordelia right now, who do you think is stronger?」

Lilith pondered for a moment and then looked up at the ceiling.

「…The Dragon Magic… No, if I fully lift the restrictions, I think I’d be far superior to her.」

「I think so.」

I immediately nodded in agreement with Lilith’s words.

「…But someday, she’ll surpass me. And it won’t be in the distant future.」

「True.」

Once again, I readily agreed with Lilith’s words.

「…I’m a long-range magic specialist… If she catches me up close, it’s all over.」

「So?」

「…That’s why I want you to teach me swordsmanship. I don’t need to be a master up close. I just want to learn techniques to create distance when needed, to deal with situations.」

「Sure, I don’t mind.」

Lilith held up three fingers.

「Three hours… I want you to teach me really basic stuff in that time. Afterward, I plan to train in real combat.」

I was dumbfounded, my mouth hanging open saying,

「You…」

「…What?」

「Are you planning to destroy a group of thieves that would make the residents of this neighborhood tremble with just the swordsmanship you trained for three hours?」

With a very serious expression, Lilith nodded.

「Yes. However, I’m cautious by nature. I intend to use rare items like a Mithril Sword and Adamantite Light Armor.」

At that moment, the Guild Master chimed in with a hearty laugh.

「Haha, missy, that’s reckless. The opponents aren’t just some B-rank difficulty band of thieves, you know? It’s a group of over 20 individuals, ranging from D-rank to low B-rank… Naturally, as a group, they reach the top tier of B-rank.」

「No… Old man… it’s not like that. What I’m saying is that it would be too conspicuous. Worst case, if Lilith goes with a magic-heavy approach, she holds the title of Pre-Adept, and well, we can explain it even if she’s discovered. And… Lilith has leveled up far more than the time you knew her. Despite being a mage, her stats necessary for a melee class are quite high. In other words…」

「In other words?」

「…With her current abilities, if she’s going against a single target around the level of a low B-rank swordsman, and she gears up with decent rare equipment, she can probably handle it… or maybe even win.」