Chapter 502: Celebrities

Tauro and his group, the “Black Golden Wings,” achieved the fastest possible promotion to B-rank adventurers since their formation, and Tauro himself had became the youngest  top-tier adventurer ever.

Within the Adventurer Guild headquarters in the royal capital, other adventurers were buzzing with excitement over this feat.

Tauro and the rest of the “Black-Golden Wings” were already well-respected and their abilities well-known even in the royal capital, and because their leader was a child, they drew even more attention.

They were highly rated by the adventurers who had accompanied them on quests, so any negative rumors that came about were generally dismissed as jealous slander and nobody trusted them.

But that had been when they were D-rank adventurers.

Suddenly being granted the honorary viscount title, immediately promoted to C+, and then swiftly to B- rank, caused those who didn’t know the circumstances to speculate wildly.

“I hear they’re holding some leverage over the higher-ups of the Adventurer Guild headquarters.”

“I bet they have dirt on the royal family. Otherwise, there’s no way they’d get a recommendation from the royal family, right?”

“Well, he is originally the son of Count Graundewald, so it’s plausible.”

People were saying all sorts of things.

But good information has also began to circulate.

“You should be able to recognize his new family name—Viscount Jirosugar.”

“Jirosugar? I feel like I’ve heard that somewhere…”

“Idiot! It’s the famous Jiro Sugar from town! Haven’t you even got one of those magical tool called a lantern made by that sugar person? That’s him!”

“!? …Then, the mysterious inventor Jiro Sugar is…?”

“““That child adventurer!?”””

This shocking revelation spread like wildfire, not just within the Adventurer Guild headquarters but throughout the entire royal capital.

Of course, Tauro’s face itself wasn’t famous, so unless he introduced himself, no one would recognize him.

And the name “Tauro” was a common one 

It is often given to children as the eldest son in both rural and urban areas —so it wouldn’t immediately draw attention.

However, his face is well known among adventurers, making him the target of envy among those unaware of his actual skills.

After all, the leader was just a fourteen-year-old kid, and the other members are Zion, who is the same age, Aeris, who is in her teens, Ragune leaving only Ankh as a member who looks like an adventurer his age, so it’s no wonder they underestimate him.

Still, no one approached them directly.

Even if they were a very young team, Tauro’s status as an honorary viscount commanded respect and fear, so while people might talk about them behind their backs, no one dared speak to them face-to-face.

“An honorary viscount really does carry weight among adventurers, more than I thought. No one dares to confront us directly,” 

Tauro murmured jokingly to Aeris, who was sitting next to him at the tavern-cum- restaurant where adventurers gathered.

“What are you talking about? You were originally the son of the Count Graundewald family. It’d be strange if anyone were rude to you in the first place,” Aeris replied, making a valid point.

“If you say so, Aeris, aren’t you the daughter of Marquis Vandyne. You’ve never used that as an excuse either, right?”

“That’s my father’s position, not mine. Besides, I’m a woman—I won’t inherit the title. I can boast a little, but I can’t lord it over anyone. (Well, I guess if I became Tauro’s wife, I could brag about that…)”

Aeris trailed off in a quiet murmur.

“Huh? What did you just say at the end? What about me?”

Tauro didn’t catch her last words, asked Aeris to repeat herself.

“Nothing! Anyway—now that we’re B- rank, we can adventure at our own pace. So, what do you want to do next?”

Aeris was referring to the fact that from the B-rank range, they were no longer bound by minimum deadlines to accept quests, and failing to take one wouldn’t lead to any penalties such as a demotion.

“Haha… right. What do you all want to do? It’s nice that we got promoted, but B-rank quests are more dangerous than ever. Jumping straight from D-rank to C to B-rank would be risky, so it might be safer to get used to C-rank quests for a while first…”

“I agree, leader. Going straight to B-rank quests could be dangerous. When we fought the Imperial soldiers in the Barriera duchy, I got injured because I wasn’t ready for such a strong opponent. It’d be good to do a few C-rank quests first and get used to it,” Ankh said, reflecting on his injury and consenting to Tauro’s proposal.

“I agree too. Also, can you use your honorary noble status to let the dragon people to enter the dungeon near the royal capital?” Ragune reminded them of a previously discussed plan.

“I agree as well. And about the dungeon—you mentioned having some ideas, Tauro-sama. What were they?” 

Zion agreed, but urged Tauro to continue explaining his thoughts.

“Well then, let’s leave it at that regarding the quest. And Zion, you remembered well. Actually, there’s something I’d like to try that’s related to the dungeon. If it works, it might be good news for all the dragon people.”

Tauro said mysteriously.

“Good news? Does it have to do with the research on magic circles you’ve been pulling all-nighters for?” Aeris pointed out sharply.

“Aeris, you really are perceptive… Yes, actually, I have half of a magic stone that I obtained from defeating the two-headed holy beast, the guardian of the floor in the beginning dungeon of the dragon people —I’ve been researching whether I can process them into something usable.”

“““Something usable?”””

The group tilted their heads in confusion.

“Yes. I’ll explain properly after completing the necessary procedures so that we can actually enter the dungeon near the royal capital, Babylon.”

Tauro said this, then stood up and went to pay the bill.