With the winter solstice festival ending and having a newfound resolution to embark on a new journey this spring, I spent the rest of the winter giving my regards to the people I had been in touch with.
Duke Hamil's family, who had replaced our long-time partner Duke Gyunton after his death, sent a business-like reply, while the High-Elf Queen Erneah-san of the Eldar Forest Kingdom, who came to the to hang out, gave me an envious look when I told her about my plan.
Lastly, I visited the residence of Margrave Reebel to meet Selene and told her of my plans for another journey.
"I see... It would be a bit lonely to not see Okaa-san anytime I want, but please have an enjoyable trip."
Selene murmured in slight dejection while rubbing the protection ring I had gifted her with her finger. I put on a smile and said,
"We have , you know? We'll drop by occasionally, and we'll definitely rush to your help when you are in a pinch."
"You can rely on us anytime!"
Hearing mine and Teto's words, Selene's depressed expression was replaced with a smile.
"That is indeed the case. However, it still feels lonely without you. But it was always fun to hear about your activities during your journey. Word travels fast, you know."
"Er, that's a bit embarrassing."
Selene smiled mischievously. I guess she must have heard about our story when we were frequently dealing with requests as A-rank adventurers in the Gard Beastkin Nation. Hearing about our stories from 40 years ago made me embarrassed.
"But the title of A-rank adventurer often affected the mood of our journey."
"Teto also doesn't like meeting with those VIPs!"
The title of A-rank adventurer granted social credibility during the trip, but in return, we were also treated as quasi-nobles which made it impossible to experience novel things on our own. We felt like we were just guests rather than being actually part of the scenery.
Looking back, the most enjoyable time of our trip was when we were in the abandoned mine town, where Arim-chan and the others didn't know about our identities, or our life with Yuishia in the Lovile Kingdom when we were hiding our rank.
While Teto and I poured out our luxurious concerns, Selene had a servant bring something over.
"Actually, there's something I was holding on to for the time Okaa-san will leave for another journey."
Selene said and presented us with a golden guild card.
"Selene, this is?"
"Teto has never seen this card-nanodesu!"
"This is the new guild card of Okaa-san and Teto onee-chan. Please channel your mana into them."
At Selene's prompt, Teto and I took our guild cards and as we channeled our mana into them, the letter 'S' rank appeared.
"Err...... Is it okay to prepare a card like this even though we're not in the Adventurer Guild? Is this a real card? Not a forged one?"
I asked while looking at the back of the card. Selene chuckled.
"I know you must have some misgivings, but these are authentic guild cards certified by the Adventurer Guild. I'm handing you these cards not as the Marchioness Reebel, but as the saintess affiliated with the Five Goddess Church and the provisional healer of the Adventurer Guild."
Selene, having transferred their noble title to her son, was currently working as a healer in the church and the Adventurer Guild. So rather than the wife of a noble, she now had the title of a provisional healer of the guild.
"Okaa-san, you are not only the major contributor in suppressing the Stampede twelve years ago, you also assisted in the subsequent refugee relief efforts, but you never received any rewards, did you?"
Selene said while smiling, though there was some kind of intangible pressure in that smile of hers that I couldn't put my finger on. I stiffly nodded.
"The situation was quite chaotic, and you even shut yourself in the to settle the refugees."
"Teto also couldn't go to the guild with Majou-sama to sell medicinal herbs!"
Since the medicinal herbs and potions amassed in the were transported as trade goods, we hardly had any reason to visit the Adventurer Guild. The only exception to this was when I wanted to buy books, tea, paintings, or tableware articles among other things which I did with .
Though we did go around withdrawing money from the Adventurer Guild from the town where we buy things, we usually hopped from one place to another, so they must have had a hard time grasping our whereabouts.
"But, is it really alright to give us S-rank cards so easily? No, more importantly, wouldn't having such a card make traveling even more difficult?"
"You don't need to worry about it, Okaa-san. You can disguise your adventure rank by swiping your fingers on that card."
As Selene explained, when Teto and I swiped our guild card as we were told, the S-rank letter, along with the golden color of the card, disappeared, transforming into the unremarkable rank of "C" with a different color.
"Woah, the color really changed!"
"Are you sure about this? Wouldn't this mean falsifying our rank?"
While I eyed the card with a doubtful gaze, Selene confidentiality explained.
"You don't need to be worried about it, Okaa-san. These guild cards are genuine, and hiding your status is also recognized, so concealing one's rank is considered part of it."
While falsifying higher ranks through guild cards wasn't allowed, concealing a high rank by lowering one's rank was recognized to be vital by the guild to eliminate unnecessary constraints.
"Let me explain the privileges of an S-rank as a provisional guild staff member."
S-rank adventurers held the same authority as a Grandmaster, the head of the Adventurer Guild in each country. If desired, they could receive treatment akin to quasi-royalty.
When taking a request of C-rank or lower, the process was the same, handling them at the counter. But for quests for higher ranks, she said it would be less of a hassle if we just directly revealed our rank to the guildmaster and then accepted the requests from there.
Additionally, these disguised cards had hidden engravings and patterns that indicated downward rank falsification, so individuals with certain positions in the guild could discern that from a glance.
"This indeed prevents us from gaining the spotlight when accepting high-rank requests. But how did you manage to obtain S-rank cards so easily?"
After hearing the explanation, I must say it wasn't a bad deal, though this piqued my interest in the S-rank guild card's existence.
"This was arranged after Otou-sama, Duke Gyunton, and Alsace-san negotiated with the Adventurer Guild."
Selene's father, the late King Albert, Duke Gyunton, and the Alsace-san of the A-rank party all had connections with me and they had already departed from this world in their old age.
"With a King, a Duke, and Alsace-san's, who have a certain level of authority in the Adventurer Guild, referral, along with the contribution in the Stampede subjugation and selflessly helping out the refugees after that, and in light of your and , it was decided to grant you the S rank to prevent meddling from any country."
That being said, the ones who recommended me had already passed away and were unaware of the results.
"Haa...... I had been in contact with Duke Gyunton until before he passed away, he could have at least informed me a bit......"
"Maybe he was looking forward to Majou-sama's surprised reaction!"
I chuckled hearing Teto's remark. I wanted to express my gratitude, but the person was already long gone.
"Haa... This set our first destination of our trip to be a grave visit."
My inner self was in agreement with this.
"Where will we be going after that, Majou-sama?"
"Hmm? Next destination, huh…? Let's just wander around randomly while reading the travelog we have in our hand."
"Fufu, then I'm looking forward to the news about Okaa-san and Teto onee-chan's meritorious deeds."
Selene said so.
'But I'm not planning to get involved in any trouble though,' I thought while taking a sip of my tea.
Editor's note - Sure Chise-san, we believe you. Not planning doesn't mean it won't happen though.
