Chapter 51 : Unexpected Invitation
「……..Well, sorry, Missy. I’m not Laney.」
The one who answered my shout was a dandy voice with a carefree impression.
I looked at the source of the voice and found an unfamiliar man sitting on a chair.
He was tall and he seemed to be in his early thirties.
He had all-back black hair, drooping eyelids, and stubble beard.
His face was kind of good looking and calm, but his eyes were somewhat cold.
What caught my attention was the spears on his back.
Yes, spear’s’. Not only one or two, but there were several of them, long and short, and the shapes were also varied.
The spears were spread and it looked like a big fan on his back.
There was only one adventurer who could use so many spears, and I knew who that man was.
「【The Seven Spears】Slad Arkmanー!?」
He’s not just a normal A-rank adventurer!
He’s one of ten people in the world who have the rank【A Special】!
He was said to be the strongest spearman in the world.
「Oh? Do you know me?」
「Atabou desu! Of course I know! You are the world class spear user who can defeat any monster using seven magical spears. If I didn’t know who you are, I couldn’t call myself an adventurer nerd!」
「Haha. Adventurer nerd, huh. I see. It looks like you were expecting Laney, but I’m sorry for disappointing you.」
「N, No! I’m not disappointed. I’m so happy to meet a legend like you!」
Saying that, I stretched out my hand, hoping Slad-san would shake it.
It’s a pity that I couldn’t meet Laney, but now I’m so excited that I don’t mind it.
Because! He’s that Seven Spears, Slad Arkman who appeared many times in Laney’s legend!
In other words, he’s a companion of the person I admire!
Looking at my hand, Slad-san smiled and shook it.
Uwaaahh~
He’s in the top 3 of people I want to meet the most when I go to the Demon Land! I’m so happy!
「C, Can I get your autograph?」
Ignoring the other adventurers who were too afraid to talk to Slad-san, I asked him a little selfish request.
「Of course. Do you have a pen?」
「I will borrow it immediately! Please, wait a minute!」
I ran to March-san’s desk to borrow a piece of paper and a pen.
Ahh~ I’m so lucky to be able to get Slad-san’s autograph!
I will display it in the most prominent place in my store!
Oh, that’s right! Let’s invite him to Egg Tart!
We still have some spears in stock, right?
If I can get Slad-san’s endorsement, our equipment will definitely sell!
「March-san! Can I borrow a pen and a piece of paper?」
「Okay, wait….. Here.」
「Thank you!」
I got a piece of paper and a pen from March-san.
But when I turned around with full of excitement, I couldn’t move my legs, because…
I saw a familiar person approaching Slad-san.
I decided to watch them quietly from the front of March-san’s desk.
「ーーLong time no see.」
It was ‘that person’.
Yes.
A girl with long bluish hair.
I don’t have to mention her name, right?
「Yo, Cecil-chin. You’ve grown so much. Is your sword play getting better than before?」
*/chin is a childish way to say “chan”. If an adult person uses it, it must be because they want to look younger than their actual age.
「Hmph. How many years do you think have passed since you left?」
「Hmm…. About a year, maybe?」
「Three years! Because it was before I entered the school!」
「Ahh… It’s been a long time, huh. Looks like I’ll become an old man soon…」
「It’s because you grew a beard so you look like an old man even more, you know?!」
That woman!
How dare she speak to Slad-san like that!
But… it looks like they are old acquaintances…
I wonder what kind of relationship they have.
「March-san… Do you know what kind of relationship Cecil and Slad-san have?」
「Umm. If I’m not mistaken, Cecil-chan was Slad-san’s disciple several years ago」
「Eh? Really? I thought the chairman was the one who taught her the sword.」
「The Sword Fighting King’s sword technique requires a lot of brute strength. It’s not suitable for Cecil-chan. That’s why the chairman asked Slad-san to become Cecil-chan’s private tutor.」
「But, Slad-san is a spear user, right? Can he teach how to use a sword too?」
「Don’t you know? In order to learn many ‘combined skills’, Slad-san has mastered all weapons……..ーAh!」
March-san suddenly covered her mouth with both hands.
「N, Not all…. He doesn’t use a blunt weapon, of course… haha…..」
「……………..」
I stared at March-san with blank expression.
「I, I’m sorry…」
「Hahhh…. It’s okay. But, looking at them, it doesn’t seem like a moving reunion after several years. It’s more like a terrible reunion.」
「Ah, maybe it’s because Slad-san seems to be very very strict with his disciple…. So I think that’s why Cecil-chan kinda hates him.」
I see.
But, even a rigorous training from Slad-san couldn’t fix Cecil’s distorted personality, huh…
「And? Don’t you have business with me? I don’t think you would bother to come here just to say ‘hi’.」
「Yeah… Can I join you in clearing the difficulty level A quest?」
「No~」
Slad-san refused immediately without hesitation.
「Wh….! Why!?」
「Of course you can’t. I heard you’re still rank C. You can’t take a difficulty level A quest yet」
「I wasn’t planning on taking the quest! Just let me go with you! I’m sure I’ll be helpful! Andー」
「ーAnd it will be a shortcut to raise your rank? Do you understand why you can’t take quests with a difficulty level higher than your rank? Because you will die!」
「I’m strong! I won’t die! I might be rank C, but I have the ability equal to an A-rank adventurer! The regular rank-up system is just wasting my time!」
「Heeー ….. But still, NO.」
The classmates who were watching approached Slad-san’s table and bowed down.
Maybe they wanted to help Cecil.
「Slad-san! Please, take Cecil with you!」
「She will definitely be useful for you!」
「That’s right! Because Cecil is the strongest adventurer in this city!」
「……..Cecil-chin? The strongest adventurer?」
Slad-san frowned.
Noticing a slightly intimidating aura from Slad-san, the classmates shrank their bodies.
「Y, Yes. That’s true. Indeed the highest rank in this city is Gustav, the magician, but he is only good at support. In combat power, Cecil is the number one in this city!」
「Oi, seriously? I didn’t know the level of adventurers in the Tiaret branch had dropped so much…」
Looking at Slad-san scratching his head after he said something like that, Cecil became indignant.
「What do you mean by that!? Do you want to say that the average level of adventurers in this city is low because the strongest one is me!?」
「No, no. I’m not saying the level of adventurer is low because of you.」
Slad-san sighed and stared at the classmates.
「I said, “the level of adventurers here has dropped”, because you guys didn’t pay attention to the people around you. Even though there’s a person who’s stronger than any of you here, you didn’t notice. And you said Cecil was the strongest? Hah! Don’t make me laugh!」
The classmates looked confused.
But not only them.
The other adventurers in the building were also confused.
Because most adventurers in this Tiaret branch Adventurer Guild thought that the number one was Cecil.
To be honest, I was also a little surprised.
Because the person who just arrived at this city, suddenly denied the general knowledge of this city.
「A person who’s stronger than Cecil?」
「No way…」
「W, Who is it…?」
Answering everyone’s question, Slad-san pulled out one of his spears and pointed its tip toward me.
「ーーYou. Missy who wants my autograph.」
「…E, Eh…?」
I was frozen because Slad-san suddenly pointed his spear at me.
「You are very strong, aren’t you? I can tell somehow. If it’s you, I don’t mind taking you with me to clear the difficulty level A quest.」