Published at 27th of November 2020 07:49:30 PM
14 . Chapter 14
I’ve done a lot for this day, for the exam .
As a tamer, I learned how to handle Schiff and Lime, and my body forcibly adapted the physical strengthening by Support Magic .
Aldo I can write a few letters of this world now, but I managed to at least have the minimum knowledge of this world and this exam .
So, it should be fine . My preparation should be enough .
I sit at the table in a room that looked like a waiting room in the guild, and waited earnestly, while staring at the hands that I have folded to relieve my nervousness .
On the table I was on, Schiff (Black cat) and Lime, were looking into my expression .
“Examinee number 5, huh…”
I looked at the emblem that was given to me when I was guided to this room .
It seemed to be a symbol to identify the person who is taking the exam, but this reminded me my original world .
“Kaito . To me, you seems like you’re not used to this kind of thing . ”
“Well, I’m still too young to get used to this…”
“Is that so? Hmmm, it’s something that I don’t understand because I’m still new to human culture …”
“Kyu-!”
Even though Schiff has a human-like personality, he was in fact a monster .
He seemed to have been taught words and letters by someone who became his friend, but he was not as accustomed to the culture and customs of this world as I am .
Well, all we have to do was to help each other .
“But even though it’s an exam, the examinee number is surprisingly few . ”
“Well, it seems that they do it once a month . ”
The people in the room were the one who will take the exam .
It seemed that the test was conducted quite often, once a month, so the participants were few . There were only about four people in the room .
Maybe because it was before the test, everyone was nervous .
Therefore, I also have a quiet conversation with Schiff, who is in a black cat state .
“Kyu-!”
“Are you cheering me up? Thank you . ”
Lime tapped my hand, while moving up and down .
When I was relieved by the cool feeling, the door of the room behind was opened .
The eyes of the four people in the room, including myself, were directed at the person who came in .
I was wondering if he was an examiner, but the one who came in was a dubious person in a black robe .
“Kaito, that person is …”
“Yeah… . ”
That person was the one who suddenly asked for my name when I first came to the guild .
And if I didn’t mishear what that person said, that person was a mysterious person who knew my name . I told Schiff about this too .
Anyway, now Schiff and Lime began to watch out for the mysterious person .
“……”
Was that person looking for a place to sit?
The mysterious person who looked around me wandered around, and when that person found me, for some reason after saying ‘Ah!’, that person approached me .
I was getting more nervous, but despite that, the mysterious person approached me and stopped near me .
“Can I sit in front of you?”
“Well, please…”
… . Schiff, please scold me later for not refusing here .
A mysterious person sitting face-to-face…… The girl in the hood looked a little surprised when she sees her own hand .
“……”
“… . . What’s wrong?”
“Nothing . I was just surprised that I’m calm . ”
… . . What do you mean?
While being confused by a little incomprehensible word that she said, she opened her mouth after a few seconds of silence .
“… . . Jacob . Did you come for the exam?”
“Jacob?”
“……It’s your name, right? Isn’t it?”
…… . Shit, I’ve done it .
By the way, I gave this person a sparkling pseudonym called ‘Jacob Rising’!
When I asked Schiff for help, he shook his little body and endured his laughter .
Apparently, I got stuck in my pseudonym .
If I weren’t the one involved, I would have been laughing, but now I can’t laugh at all .
“Ah, yeah, that’s right . What’s your name?”
“Oh right, I didn’t introduce myself before . I’m sorry . ”
Realizing that she wasn’t introduced herself before, she bowed a little .
“My name is Leafa . By the way, my number is number four . ”
Although she introduced herself, she didn’t remove the hood that completely covers her head .
I decided to ask why she was here, while wondering if it was also a reason that she hide her face .
“If you’re here… . do you also applied to the exam to become an adventurer?”
“I don’t really want to be, but I think adventurers are more convenient when looking for friends and companions, so I applied . ”
“Are you looking for a companion?”
“Yeah, more over someone I can trust . ”
…… I have a lot of questions in my mind, but I don’t want to accidentally touch the topic that I shouldn’t and makes her angry .
For me, she was still someone I need to be careful to .
“Are you a tamer? It looks like you’re carrying a monster . ”
“Ah, Yeah, that’s right . ”
“Are you good being a support? What can your familiars do? It seemed like you were talking with them before . ”
…She asked a lot .
When I saw Schiff and Lime, they got confused as she asked questions so quick .
I also have a lot I wanted to ask .
Like… Why did you know my name? Sure, I may need to reveal my name when I asked her that, but the girl in front of me can be an important source of information for me .
“Could… . ”
“Everyone taking the exam! Now that the preparation are finished, please gather at the training ground behind the guild!!”
The moment I tried to ask, the door of the room was opened, and a woman who seemed to be a guild employee uttered a voice leading us to the training ground behind the guild .
“It’s time . Let’s go . Jacob . ”
“… . . Yes”
Aside from calling Jacob, for some reason I ended up going to the training ground with her in a natural way .
…… No, no, I should concentrate on the exam first .
The first test was the practical skill .
It was time to show the results of these two weeks .
We headed to the training ground behind the guild to take the first exam .
In front of the five test takers, including me and Leafa, was a blonde man with an impressive sharp eye .
The belt on the waist of the man was equipped with a sword in a scabbard, and it can be seen at a glance that he was an adventurer of the guild .
“Nice to meet you . I’m Rick, who is in charge of overseeing this exam . I’ll be rigorously judging this time . ”
A man who stared at us lining in a row… . . Rick-san, squints to observe each of us .
The people who took the exam who heard his name have a surprised expression .
“Rick? That ‘Rick Casing’?”
“Isn’t he a gold-ranked adventurer …!”
“Rumor said that the screening standards become strict is… . . ”
Rick moved his eyebrows to the words of three people other than me and Leafa .
The three people, who were upset, turned pale and shut up as Rick-san was clearly in a bad mood .
“… First of all, I don’t treat anyone here specially . Whether it’s a guild chief’s recommendation, a minister’s connection, or a well-known warrior, the results of this exam alone will determine your abilities . Rather, today, the compliments and achievements you have received to date will be meaningless in front of me . “
I can see some people who seemed to be confused by Rick’s words .
I was confused too, but when I think about it again, it was a good situation for me, who has no achievements in this world .
“The most important thing in a guild is, “Trust” . A single big mistake can affect the entire guild… . . no, the place you belong to . So, to prevent that from happening, I need to carefully select new members of the guild . ”
He made such a statement and picked up the wooden sword prepared in advance at the training ground .
He shook the sword while making a noise, ‘SWOOSH’, and turned his gaze again to stare at us .
“This test method this time is a mock combat with me . Use all means to prove that you could be an adventurer . ”
Everyone other than me and Leafa who heard that it was a mock combat, made a rustle .
Seeing them, Rick continued to say something like putting a nail in the coffin .
“Of course, I’ll hold myself and I won’t attack back … but if you think you can’t do it, you should prepare for the next opportunity, because it’ll be just a waste of time . ”
” ” “…… . ” ” “
“Well, we will start the mock battle in the order of application, but before that…… is there anyone who has a question?”
“Me”
Then, Leafa raised her hand high that can’t be imagined it came from a suspicious person .
Rick, who had a surprisingly rounded eye, allowed her to speak .
“What is it, No . 4”
“What should I do to prove my ability?”
“You just have to show your ability as an adventurer, or show your future potential . Well, it’s just my way . ”
“Hmm …”
Have an appropriate ability and future potential, huh?
…… Should I ask for confirmation too?
While thinking that, at the end of Leafa’s question, I also raise my hand,
“Next is, No . 5 huh, What is it?”
“Yes . But does the fight with familiars also counted as a way to fight?”
“Of course . I’m not a demon that I force a Tamer to fight without familiars . ”
Seeing Schiff at my feet and Lime on my shoulders, Rick said so .
The line of sight seemed to look all over me, but I didn’t feel anything malicious .
“… No more questions? Well, now, I’ll give time for you to prepare before I start the mock combat . Think a strategy, or prepare your weapons, or whatever . I’ll take the challenge from the first person that ready . ”
An exam to became an adventurer .
It seemed simpler than I expected, but there were many things you can do to prove yourself, and also the screening standards were high .
I was sure it wouldn’t be so straightforward and easy as I thought, so I tried to talk with Schiff again and devised a strategy .