CH 42.1

Litty Takes Rank 3 Promotion Test

Litty observed Catalina. Although the candidates might not be as strong as Catalina would have expected, were they so unskilled that they had to be turned away without even an exam?

The adventurers who had been tossed aside earlier were not weak either; they were Rank 4 after all, and all of them had been recommended by some branch head from some other Adventurers’ branch. Litty was still not convinced by such an ending, either.

“I want to be Rank 3. Please start the exam.” (Exam Candidate)

“Sure, it would be nice to have more promising adventurers. But you know, it doesn’t matter how many adventurers there are if they are not good enough. They would simply become a hindrance later on.” (Catalina)

“Then, what would you say or do if we were good enough?”

“If you guys were good enough, we wouldn’t be in the current situation, would we?” (Catalina)

“No! Stop it, stop it!”

One of the adventurers suddenly stood up and walked away and disappeared towards the Royal Capital. Another adventurer glared at Catalina.

“I’m not going to waste my time with an examiner like you. I’ll wait for someone else to conduct the exam.”

“If you luck upon that guy from the neighboring country, he is worse than me, you know.”

“How many people are there like you? I don’t care if you’re from the Adventurers’ Guild headquarters or not, you’re too arrogant.”

“Of course we are.”

Other adventurers also followed suit and shouted abuse at Catalina. She, however, simply covered her ears with her fingers and struck a pose that could be seen as provocative.

Litty also thought Catalina did not have a nice personality, but did not follow the rest of the candidates.

She didn’t believe leaving right then would make a difference.

“You only announced that you are going to conduct the test, and this is what we get. Adventurers are built partly on trust, and we were expected to get an exam, not this.”

“If you refuse to accept my judgment, then that’s all you’ve got. The problem lies with you.”

“We give up! Hey, let’s all go out for a drink today and leave this annoying woman alone.”

Almost everyone agreed with that one person’s invitation. As an adventurer, Litty wondered to herself if what those adventurers did was the right thing to do.

Litty asked the group of adventurers, who were leaving the place in droves.

“Excuse me! Are you sure about this, everyone?! Don’t you want to be Rank 3?”

“What are you talking about when that woman isn’t even willing to start the exam?”

“If she’s not going to do it, just make her want to do it. Are you all really going to give up so easily?”

“This isn’t the only place to take the test. We can try elsewhere. And you should know that time is limited.”

Litty’s efforts to persuade them were in vain, and almost all of them declined and left.

They might have reached Rank 4 by doing their best and were convinced enough that they could take the test.

Litty still could not understand them. Besides Litty, Catalina was trying to suppress her laugh.

“Hahahaha! No, you’re right. I just rejected them for a minute, and then they were all gone. Okay, okay, I’ll give you the test now.”

“Eeh?”

Litty couldn’t keep up with Catalina’s eccentric attitude. Catalina once more stood in front of Litty and one other person.

“Now then, I’m the examiner, Catalina. I was actually thinking of being a little more insistent and turning you away as well, but you guys are pretty good. Excellent!”

“You guys…”

When Litty turned to her side, she saw a suspicious  looking figure standing there with a brown hood and muffler covering her face.

She was slightly shorter than Litty, and her figure suggested that she was an adventurer close to her age. This person should have also been in Catalina’s onslaught earlier, but there was no noticeable damage that could be seen on her body.

“Why did you do something like that earlier?” (Litty)

“For those who want to raise their rank, it is necessary to be able to enter and exit the unexplored area. We don’t want anyone who will just leave after a few moments of inactivity. In other words, we don’t need ordinary adventurers from Rank 3 onward.” (Catalina)

“Well… that’s true, but…” (Litty)

“Hey, you. Have you ever witnessed someone much stronger than you being killed in front of your eyes instantly?” (Catalina)

“No, I haven’t.” (Litty)

Litty thought about the battle against the Scarb Queen, and although they did lose one member at that time, they managed to survive. The situation was close to what Catalina had desired, but Litty hesitated to mention it.

That’s because Litty’s own analysis indicated that the Branch Manager Regal and the Scarb Queen were close to each other in ability.

“Those people gave up as soon as they were hindered by me, but the unexplored zone won’t be that forgiving and would also reject us with force. Of course, this is just my own opinion, and I don’t know if I’m entirely right or wrong.” (Catalina)

“But we can all work together as a party, even if we are weak at the start, we could all still grow up together later on. Besides, there are times when we have to retreat in the face of a few circumstances.” (Litty)

“It sounds interesting to argue with you, but I’m running out of time, so I’m going to start explaining the test.” (Catalina)

Dodging Litty’s rebuttal, Catalina revealed the exam information. It was a simple test of obtaining a proof of subjugation of monsters that inhabit the Damusia Valley.

“I’m sure you’ll have to prepare and stuff, so we’ll leave tomorrow. Oh, and don’t worry, I’ll do the exam properly this time.” (Catalina)

“I take your word for it.”

Litty, who was more than a little antagonistic to Catalina, replied with a hint of sarcasm while the person next to her did not even say a single word.

Litty wanted to say something to the person next to her as a fellow participant in the exam, but she couldn’t think of anything to say to her. After all, she hadn’t even looked at Litty all this time.