Chapter 41

"You are being rude. Please apologize to Ryuya."

Across the table from the person she was negotiating with, she splashed water on them.

This was supposed to be one of the most extreme ways to express anger in a discussion.

And it would also anger the other party.

Indeed, the greasy master, drenched in water, shook his wet hair and flew into a rage.

"Whaaat!? What are you doing, you brat! I'm the guild master!!"

"Regardless of one's position, I have no intention of showing respect to someone who doesn't know manners. It would be foolish of me to waste my time on such a person."

"Wh-What are you saying!?"

Noem's sudden preemptive attack made my raised fist, which was about to strike, lose all its momentum and sink beneath the table.

...Huh?

If Noem hadn't acted so quickly, would I have ended up beating and crushing this greasy master by now?

Did Noem save us from a bloodbath?

She, like me, had come to visit the local master to become an A-rank adventurer and was sitting on the sofa in the reception room.

Here, she showed intense determination.

"What are you!? Are you this man's escort!? Are you all a bunch of lawless people!?"

"I came to participate in the A-rank promotion exam. If you look at the documents, you'll see. Where are you looking, exactly?"

Noem's vocabulary was becoming increasingly harsh...

Whose influence!?

"An examinee? Hmm... Ah!?"

The greasy master, upon re-examining the submitted documents, let out a surprised exclamation.

"Skill <Alchemist King>!? Skill Rank SSS!?"

The moment he said this, the greasy master immediately changed his attitude...

"You are truly worthy of being an A-rank adventurer! Welcome! Let's start the exam procedures right away!"

"Please start the procedures for Ryuya as well."

The greasy master, taken aback by Noem's cold and sharp voice, hesitated.

"I came to take the exam with Ryuya. If Ryuya can't take it, I won't either. We'll leave."

"What are you saying! You, with such outstanding talent, are the one who deserves to be an A-rank! Ignore that trash and take the exam. You'll definitely pass!"

"What's wrong with Ryuya? I've seen Ryuya's greatness firsthand. Fierce monsters and demons, even heroes, have been destroyed in no time by Ryuya."

"Eh? A hero?"

Upon learning that she had a high-level skill, the greasy master tried to persuade Noem by rubbing his hands and speaking softly.

"If Ryuya is that strong, having a skill or not is a trivial matter. It's too harsh to disqualify someone before the exam even starts just because they don't have a skill!"

"Even so...! This is a perfectly reasonable judgment as an adventurer guild. If someone else had made the decision, I believe three out of five would have made the same decision."

In other words, two out of five would accept someone without a skill?

"Accepting someone without a skill is a minority view. Come on, young lady, go ahead and register for the exam. It would be a proud moment if a promising A-rank adventurer was born under my supervision."

"No, I won't register. You will be remembered as a fool who rejected a qualified person."

Noem was truly relentless.

"You refuse to acknowledge Ryuya's greatness. How about this? I'll give you a chance to see Ryuya's greatness with your own eyes."

"What do you mean?"

"There are many monsters around here, right? If Ryuya can defeat all of them alone, will you acknowledge his strength?"

When Noem said this, the greasy master, still dripping water from his head, laughed through his nose...

"There's no way anyone can do that!? Of course, I'll acknowledge it if you can, but good luck with that!"

"Did you say that? Don't take back your words."

Who is it? Who is teaching Noem such rough language!?

"Let's go, Ryuya! We'll show these ignorant people your strength!"

"Wh-Wh-Wh...!?"

I was led out of the room by Noem.

The greasy master watched us leave in a daze. His water-soaked head remained that way.

"...But should I be grateful that Noem helped me?"

If Noem hadn't intervened forcefully, the conversation would never have gone as planned.

That greasy master would have stubbornly refused to acknowledge me, and I might have punched him in retaliation for insulting Rondaito, leading to a major disaster.

It was only because Noem maintained a firm stance that the greasy master was forced to compromise and offer to recognize me under certain conditions.

"Sorry, Noem, for... "

"Ryuya is my benefactor, so it's only natural! I haven't even repaid a fraction of the debt I owe to Ryuya!!"

That's quite an exaggeration...

"But I'm confused by how aggressive Noem is becoming day by day. ...Wasn't pouring water a bit too much?"

Even though I was about to punch him, it still feels a bit off for me to say this.

"It's fine. What I poured wasn't water."

"Eh?"

But it was definitely water, right?

It was transparent and liquid.

Wait, did we even get drinks during our meeting? We didn't, right? Then where did Noem get the water to pour?

"That was one of the alchemical potions I created, which I always carry with me just in case. I'm glad it came in handy."

"Potion?"

So it was a liquid... a solution?

Did she pour that on the greasy master's head?

"By the way... what kind of effect does it have?"

I hope it's not something that causes green spots to appear all over his body and makes him writhe in agony before dying a few days later?

I'm starting to get worried.

"Well... if I had to name it... 'Backward Hair Growth Potion'."

"Huh?"

"Or perhaps 'Hair Root Destruction Potion' would be a better name."

The greasy master had it all over his head.

...

Well, at least it doesn't seem to be life-threatening.

◆

So, to make the greasy master, who only values skills, recognize me, I had to demonstrate my strength.

But how?

I remember Noem saying something like...

"Eliminate all the monsters around this town."

"Absolutely not, absolutely not, absolutely not, absolutely not, absolutely not...!?"

Even with my level at 8,347,917, there are clear limits to what I can and cannot do.

Sure, there are monsters around the kingdom of Rubrum that threaten people's lives.

But they have their own territories, living in the fields and mountains, not clustered together in towns like humans.

To find and eliminate them one by one... how many years would that take?

"I understand your concern, but there's no need to worry at all."

Noem said.

She's become so reliable...

"So, what are we going to do here?"

This place is on the outskirts of the town, practically outside the city.

With the city gate, which separates the inside and outside of the town, behind us, a wide, flat plain stretches out, likely to make it easier to spot approaching enemies.

"Wide and flat... perfect terrain for a battlefield!"

"What did you just say?"

"Time for the potion to make its appearance. Abinion, please!"

"Sure thing!"

Abinion, who had been invisible throughout our time in the city, appeared.

She had been there all along, just invisible.

She must have heard the greasy master's comments, so if Noem hadn't poured the water, it's hard to say what Abinion would have done to express her anger.

She basically only cares about my strength and thinks human lives are as insignificant as flies.

In that sense, Noem's preemptive action was a brilliant move to prevent Abinion from losing control...

"Is it the potion you mentioned? Don't hesitate to take it."

"Thank you!"

Noem reached into Abinion's skirt.

Ignoring my confusion, she pulled out a bottle from the skirt.

"This is one of the potions I created for my alchemical research."

"How many did you make...!?"

And she can store all of them inside Abinion and retrieve them when needed.

Is her skirt a magic medicine box!?

"It's a potion that emits an odor that excites monsters. Once this bottle is opened, the sealed odor will spread in all directions, captivating any monster that catches a whiff and drawing them towards the stronger scent."

"Stronger scent...!?"

"The source of the odor is here."

I'm starting to understand Noem's plan.

In other words, this potion is a powerful monster attractant! She intends to draw the monsters here and have me defeat them one by one!?

"By the way, how many monsters do you expect to attract with one bottle?"

"It depends on how many are within the effective range, but I think this potion's odor can easily cover the area assigned to this town's guild."

"Powerful potion!?"

Without hesitation, Noem opened the bottle.

The dangerous moment has begun.