Chapter 501: Cheat-Like Promotion

Tauro and his companions attended a brief ceremony formally conferring their titles and received insignia proving their new status.

Tauro was now officially Honorary Viscount Giro Sugar. Aeris had become an Honorary Mage of the Kingdom, Ragune and Ankh Honorary Knights of the Kingdom, and Zion an Honorary Priest of the Kingdom.

Their new titles also allowed them to enter national facilities and restricted areas that were closed to ordinary citizens.

In addition, Tauro carried Modified Shortsword Tauro, which bore the royal crest and already allowed him to pass through many places without being questioned.

At this rate, he could probably even skip ordinary lines if he wanted to. Titles and honors really were convenient.

For the first time in a while, Black-Gold Wings decided to visit the Adventurers’ Guild Headquarters in the Royal Capital.

They hadn’t visited since accompanying the Saint’s delegation. Even honorary titleholders still needed to take adventurer requests.

Strictly speaking, Tauro had earned enough from the products and technologies he had developed that he could live comfortably without working at all, something no one would guess from his ordinary adventurer’s clothes. He simply never behaved like a wealthy man.

When they arrived at the Guild, an insignia identifying Tauro as an honorary noble was fastened to the collar of his cloak.

Aeris and the others wore their own new insignia as well. With a little pride, they went to the D-rank request board, chose a suitable request together, and brought it to the reception desk.

“Ah, Black-Gold Wings. It’s been a while. This is the request you want, correct? May I see your silver D-rank tags for verification—”

Tauro removed his tag from around his neck as usual.

Then the receptionist noticed the honorary-viscount insignia on his collar.

She froze, her eyes widening.

“Y-You’re an Honorary Viscount?!”

The shape and color of the insignia immediately told her his rank.

“I-I apologize! Please wait here for a moment!”

Without saying anything more, the receptionist hurried into the back office to fetch her superior.

“So this is already the power of being an honorary noble…”

Tauro gave a wry smile.

A short while later, a man who introduced himself as the Guild’s request manager emerged from the back.

“My apologies for keeping you waiting, Honorary Viscount Giro Sugar. Please come this way.”

He opened the waist-high gate separating the reception counter from the staff area and invited Tauro and the others through.

“What’s going on?”

Zion asked Ragune, surprised by the special treatment.

“I’m not sure. They’re definitely treating us differently…”

Ragune couldn’t explain it either, so she looked toward Aeris, who seemed most likely to understand. Aeris merely shrugged and followed Tauro.

The others followed them farther into the Guild offices.

They were eventually shown into a spacious room.

It also had a request board, but this one was much more elaborate than the boards in the public hall.

Apparently, the requests posted here were different from ordinary public requests. Only people who held noble ranks or comparable titles were allowed to accept them.

“Honorary Viscount Giro Sugar, I’ve just confirmed that every member of Black-Gold Wings has been promoted. As of today, your adventurer rank is C-.”

The request manager wiped sweat from his brow with a handkerchief as he delivered the news.

“Huh? I thought promotion to C-rank required an examination…?”

Tauro and Aeris exchanged surprised looks.

“Your accumulated points were already sufficient for promotion. More importantly, you have recommendations from the royal family and the Prime Minister. The Guild also permits the examination to be waived in the case of an Honorary Viscount, so the senior staff decided to promote all of you without the test. And, furthermore…”

The manager continued reading the documents containing the party’s updated information.

“Ah! My apologies. Taking your status as an Honorary Viscount into account, the final decision is that all of you’re to be promoted to C+.”

Apparently, he had overlooked an important line in the paperwork. After leaning closer to reread it, he announced an even greater and highly unusual promotion.

“C+?!”

The entire party cried out at once.

Going directly from D+ to C+ was completely unexpected.

It was far removed from the cautious, methodical promotion procedures normally associated with the Adventurers’ Guild.

“Yes. Black-Gold Wings is an exceptional case in every respect. Honorary noble titles are normally granted to people in the B-rank band or above who have rendered major service to the kingdom, and most recipients are actually in the A-rank band. The requests in this room are therefore generally B-rank or higher. Yet your party was still only D+. Preventing you from using the privileges associated with your new titles would conflict with the treatment of honorary titleholders recognized by both the kingdom and the Adventurers’ Guild. After considering your abilities and recommendations, the Guild decided to promote you to C+. Once you complete your next request, you’ll advance to B-.”

Tauro and the others were too shocked to answer immediately.

“Us… B-?”

Tauro finally recovered enough to ask again.

“Yes. You may choose any request for your next assignment. The B-rank promotion examination will also be waived. Honorary titles are granted to those who have made major contributions to the kingdom or to organizations such as the Adventurers’ Guild. This treatment is certainly exceptional, but it’s fully legitimate under Guild rules.”

Having finished checking the documents, the manager spoke with confidence.

“…All right. Then please process this D+ request.”

Still trying to absorb what he had heard, Tauro handed over the request sheet they had originally chosen.

Later that day, the party traveled to a village near the Royal Capital, captured a tiger-wolf that had escaped from a nobleman who kept it as a pet monster, and safely returned it to its owner.

When they returned to the Adventurers’ Guild, they were once again taken to the inner office and formally promoted to B-.

In only a few hours, their gold C-rank tags had been replaced by platinum tags marking them as B-rank adventurers.