Chapter 19

"Over here!"

"Leave it to me!"

Elsa's voice echoed through the mountains.

At the same time, the target of the monster that Elsa had been facing changed to Node, and its massive body lunged at him.

It looked like a bear.

Its entire body was covered in thick, stiff fur, and beneath that fur lay a mass of violent muscles.

However, its eyes were dyed a crimson red, as if stained with blood.

This was a characteristic of the 'Raging Great Bear.'

The Raging Great Bear usually displays a gentle nature, but when something triggers it, its eyes turn red with anger, and it goes on a rampage.

The Raging Great Bear in front of them had its eyes dyed completely red and was rampaging, and it was the one that the adventurers' guild had requested to be eliminated.

*Crack!*

Node deflected the Raging Great Bear's powerful swing with a defensive technique using his shield—a type of offensive defense.

When the shield's surface made contact with the Raging Great Bear's forearm, the direction of its force was deflected sideways, as if sliding over the smooth scales on the shield's surface.

The misguided attack easily shattered a withered tree as thick as Node's torso.

After an attack, there is always an opening. This is even more true for a large, enraged monster.

Node, while deflecting the attack with his shield, swung his sword at the Raging Great Bear.

With a sharp *whoosh*, a line appeared on the Raging Great Bear's body.

When the Raging Great Bear is enraged, its body hair becomes as hard as wire. However, Node's blade, made of Jade Steel, cut through the tough hide without resistance.

The sword, with its emerald-shining blade, was forged from Jade Steel, a material brought up from the depths of the sea by a treasure clam, enhancing Node's favorite sword and giving it a powerful presence in his dominant hand.

After the swing, blood spurted out from under the fur.

A new source of anger, the pain, was added to the Raging Great Bear's already red-hot rage, causing it to rampage even more fiercely.

"Roooar—!!"

A thunderous roar echoed through the winter-dry mountains. A novice adventurer would have flinched and frozen in fear at the roar, but Node, who was right in the middle of it, didn't flinch at all.

"Hmph!"

Instead, he calmly assessed the Raging Great Bear's actions, found an opening, and launched a bold attack.

"—I won't forget either!"

From behind, Elsa thrust her spear at the Raging Great Bear, sandwiching it.

"Roooh!?"

The Raging Great Bear's eyes, which had been rolling, caught sight of Elsa behind it.

With its body brimming with anger, it twisted its body, aiming to target Elsa again.

"Not a chance!"

Node, spotting the sign, struck the Raging Great Bear with his shield, slashed it with his sword, and swung both arms to assert his presence.

The Raging Great Bear, further enraged by Node's provocation, redirected its gaze back to Node.

The Raging Great Bear, now targeting Node again, resumed its attack, but Node defended, dodged, and counterattacked when the opportunity arose. With Node as the target, Elsa was free to attack without restraint.

The Raging Great Bear, with its fur bristling in anger, was now covered in wounds, and blood flowed from its cuts. While the blood would eventually stop due to the anger, the lost blood would not return.

—Just a little more.

The battle was surely drawing to a close.

§

"—This completes the 'Raging Great Bear Elimination' quest. Good work."

At the counter of the adventurers' guild in the capital, Node and Elsa were reporting the completion of their quest.

They submitted the quest form and settled the materials obtained from the battle, received their reward, and then—

"Wow!!"

—received their guild cards, which had been returned by the guild staff.

"These are!"

The boards that held the adventurers' information, made of a smooth, stone-like material, had been replaced with transparent, light blue crystal.

The transparency was evident even in the light inside the guild building.

While not an expensive material, the quality was different from just a pebble, proving that they had risen above the mixed bag of valuable and worthless stones.

"Hey! The kid and the girl have become Crystal Class adventurers!"

Hanging the crystal guild cards around their necks, they gazed at them with a sense of accomplishment, and an older adventurer, who knew them, called out to them.

"What!","Well done","So fast...","I was young once too"

"Alright! Let's celebrate today!"

"Cheers to the adventurers who have moved beyond the novice stage!"

Other adventurers, both familiar and new, gathered around Node and Elsa in response to the call.

Some were surprised, some were impressed, and some reminisced about their own youth. After various reactions, they spontaneously started a party.

Cheers were raised in the names of Node and Elsa, and the noise quickly blended into the general din of the tavern.

"Phew..."

"Ha ha..."

Node and Elsa, who had been jostled around, finally managed to sit at a table in the tavern.

For adventurers, any celebration is an excuse to drink, and the promotion of a junior is a perfect topic.

"We didn't even have time to celebrate ourselves."

"Yes, but it didn't feel bad."

Elsa's words were met with agreement from Node.

They had been patted on the head, slapped on the back, and nudged by older adventurers, and Elsa had even been groped in the chaos (the culprit was a female adventurer), but it was all in the spirit of genuine celebration.

The guild cards hanging from their necks clinked against their armor, producing a clear, resonant sound.

"Finally, we've become Crystal Class adventurers."

"Yeah..."

Node agreed wholeheartedly with the sentiment in her voice.

Yes, they had managed to ascend to the rank of Crystal Class adventurers.

The adventurer ranks, excluding the lowest Wood Chip Class, are divided into ten levels, starting from the first level, Stone Tablet Class, to the highest, the tenth level, Jewel Class.

Technically, the highest Jewel Class has yet to be achieved by anyone, so the ninth level, Holy Gold Class, is the de facto highest rank.

That aside, Crystal Class adventurers are the third level from the bottom, the third rank.

It is a rank that is far from the halfway point in an adventurer's journey.

However, Crystal Class is the rank where adventurers are recognized as 'valuable beings' and graduate from the 'pebble' ranks of Stone Tablet and Stone.

Their social credibility improves, and they are entrusted with more responsible tasks, such as serious escort duties and the delivery of valuable items.

Naturally, the risks and required skills increase, but so do the rewards.

Generally, Crystal Class adventurers are recognized as 'full-fledged adventurers.'

Node and Elsa had formed a party about half a year ago.

Node had been an adventurer for nearly a year.

It seemed like a long time, yet it was an incredibly short period.

It is generally said that it takes two to three years to reach the Crystal Class, and some adventurers take more than five years.

Moreover, there are those who give up on being adventurers because they cannot reach the Crystal Class.

In comparison, Node and Elsa had ascended the ranks of adventurers at an exceptionally smooth pace.

There were various factors of luck, but one of them was their equipment, Node thought.

Node's equipment had changed significantly from what it used to be.

His hard leather armor, made from hardened leather, had been replaced by a dazzling scale armor made from the tough scales of a fish dragon.

The weapon at his waist, his childhood sword, had been enhanced into a sword with a Jade Steel blade.

The shield in his left hand, made from the leftover Jade Steel from the sword's enhancement and the fish dragon's scales, had been replaced by a composite material—Jade Scale Shield.

Elsa's attire had also changed, from a black wolf's light armor to a spear with a red tip, made from the material of a Red Horn Beast.

Their defensive and offensive capabilities, as well as the skills they possessed, were vastly different from when they were new adventurers a year ago.

Most importantly, Node thought, meeting Elsa was crucial.

Meeting Elsa, who had high skills and could work in perfect sync with him, was more than just doubling their combat power.

Because of her, they were able to defeat the Rock Wolf and overcome the Felis family's dire straits, and she had helped them many times during their subsequent adventures.

She had also helped him gather materials for his armor, and most importantly, they had managed to successfully ascend to the rank of Crystal Class adventurers.

"—Elsa"

"What is it?"

Holding a cup of ale in his hand, Node called out to her.

Unusually, Node was in the mood to drink today.

"Thank you for forming a party with me. You've helped me many times."

"...Yes."

Elsa, moved by Node's words of gratitude for their past adventures, felt the same way.

After this Raging Great Bear elimination quest, which was their final quest to reach the Crystal Class, Node and Elsa's party was to be disbanded.

The reason was Elsa's personal circumstances; she had to return to her hometown.

Meetings with fellow adventurers inevitably lead to partings.

Though they were reluctant to part, it was an experience they would eventually have as adventurers.

"Stay strong in your hometown."

"You too, stay safe."

Node raised his cup.

Elsa followed suit.

"Cheers to our promotion to Crystal Class adventurers—Cheers!!"

They clinked their cups and drank the ale in one go.

The foam from the ale slid down their throats, stimulating their esophagus as it fell into their stomachs.

"Phew!"

"Good drinking form!"

Elsa, with a foamy mustache around her mouth, spoke to Node, who also had a foamy mustache.

They picked up their next cups of ale and clinked them again.

"Cheers to our new beginnings—Cheers!!"

The contents of their cups flew into the air as they clinked them forcefully.

The tavern was filled with the sound of cheers throughout the night.

§

"Node"

A little while after Node had ascended to the rank of Crystal Class adventurer.

Elsa had returned to her hometown, and Node, having disbanded the party, continued his activities as an adventurer.

The season had moved from late autumn to early winter, with snow beginning to fall.

In the Kingdom of Hamil, where winter is sealed by snow, many adventurers dislike operating in the special conditions of snow and suspend their activities until spring.

However, Node, seeing the current lack of competition as a good time to earn, was taking on quests.

Winter quests for adventurers are mostly about gathering, delivery, and escort, as many monsters hibernate.

Apart from quests to eliminate monsters that fail to hibernate or those that are active regardless of the snow, there are also winter-limited quests, such as the elimination or capture of ice spirits.

However, as it was his first winter as an adventurer and he was without Elsa, Node was mainly taking on gathering quests.

On that day, he had completed a quest to gather Frost Grass, a plant that grows in the winter mountains, and had returned home after a week.

When Node, who had been called, turned to the source of the voice, he saw his mother, Maria.

She was dressed in a lady's attire, standing there with her back straight as if she had a rod inserted into it.

"Yes, Mother?"

"I have something to talk about, so please come to my room later."

Node, facing his mother, Maria, with proper posture, replied in a voice that did not betray her emotions.

"As you wish. I will come as soon as I take off my armor."

Node returned to his room as instructed, placed his weapons there, and without bothering to maintain them, headed to Maria's room.

He wondered if he had done something to be scolded, and with this question in mind, he knocked on the door.

"It's Node, I'm here."

"Come in."

With permission, Node entered the room, and the familiar interior came into view. The room, with its floral wallpaper and carved pillars, gave a rare impression of elegance in the sturdy and austere Felis household.

However, the lack of vases and paintings and the few decorative items made the room seem spacious.

In her mother's room, where she had raised him, only Maria was present.

The twins, Clarissa and Christopher, who were almost a year old, were probably being taken care of by a maid, Node thought, recalling his own childhood when he had been raised in his mother's room until he moved to his own.

"So... what is it you wanted to talk about?"

"It's about Hanna."

Node tentatively brought up the topic, and the response was not a scolding.

Even as a young adventurer who had made a name for himself in the guild, Node was still a typical young man who feared his mother's wrath. Perhaps it was because Maria, as the lady of a warrior household, was a formidable woman.

Node, relieved that it wasn't about himself, wondered what had happened to his sister, Hanna, whom he cherished.

"Hanna is being proposed to..."

"What? Hanna is!?"

That was good news. Node's face lit up, but he immediately noticed the hesitant tone in Maria's voice.

"Mother?"

"..."

When he asked, Maria remained silent.

What was going on? Node waited for her to speak.

For a while, silence dominated the room.

From outside the window, the faint sounds of his younger siblings playing in the garden could be heard.

"About Hanna's marriage, it's not going well."

It's on the verge of falling through. Maria's expression was one of anguish as she continued.

"...Why is that?"

Node prompted her to continue.

At this point, he had a vague idea of why he had been called, but the next words from his mother confirmed his suspicions.

"It seems that the family of the prospective partner has received a poor evaluation of the Felis family's reputation."

As a mother, it must have been painful for her to say this to her son, Node. Her words came out in fits and starts.

The reputation in question was undoubtedly about the debt.

As a noble family with a long history and a distinguished military reputation, the Felis family was impeccable. As a knight, they had even produced a member of the royal guard three generations ago, and in terms of noble status, they would have no problem unless they were dealing with a very high-ranking noble, such as a count or a marquis.

"Who is the prospective partner?"

"...A friend of the family where Hanna works, a baron who serves in the royal palace."

There was no doubt about it.

The Felis family, with too many children and the burden of raising them, had accumulated debt after debt over the past decade.

At one point, they had reached a point where they could no longer borrow any more money.

This information was easily obtainable with a little investigation, and it was a scandal for the Felis family.

Recently, thanks to the efforts of his siblings and Node, the household finances had turned a profit, and they had been able to gradually repay the debt, albeit in small amounts.

It would take time, but the Felis family's accounts would eventually be clean.

However, this was a story about the future of the Felis family, and the current fact was that the Felis family was heavily in debt.

Marriages for financial gain were frowned upon in all social classes, whether among commoners or nobles.

Understanding the situation surrounding his sister, Hanna, from his mother, Maria, Node asked for confirmation.

"—In other words, we need to show a 'posture' of being able to repay a certain amount of what we owe, right?"

"That's right."

"And how much—?"

How much would he need to earn for his sister, Hanna, to get married?

Twenty silver coins or thirty—perhaps...

"Two hundred silver coins."

—Huh?

Node had already started calculating what kind of quests he could take on. He was searching his memory for the good-paying quests that had been available at the adventurers' guild.

However, his calculations were interrupted by the amount his mother, Maria, had stated.

"...Mother, could you please repeat that?"

"Two hundred silver coins."

It didn't seem like he had heard wrong.

"...Excuse me, but could you tell me the total amount of our family's debt?"

Node asked his mother tentatively.

He had asked the steward, Alex, about it before, but as a non-heir, he had never been given the details.

Still, he had known that the monthly income and expenses were bad, and that the debt was "considerable."

Hearing the amount from his mother, Maria, Node was almost impressed.

—How on earth did a lower noble family like the Felis manage to borrow so much?

Or perhaps, "When did our family become a great lord?"

The Felis family, including their position allowance, received only about thirty silver coins, a modest amount for a lower noble family.

The stipend for warrior families, which was directly paid by the royal family, was kept low, but a land-owning noble of similar "rank" would have earned about ten times as much (from which they had various expenses).

Even for a land-owning noble, it would be difficult to repay such a large amount. Node decided to ask his mother, Maria, what had happened.

According to Maria, the debt had started before Node was born. There were no problems until the birth of the eldest son, Albiore, but around the time she was pregnant with the eldest daughter, Hanna, a war broke