Chapter 590 – A New Promotion
Several more days passed after Tauro’s proposal.
The plan he had suggested made sense in light of what might happen next. The problem was that the Antas Mountain Range covered an enormous area, and no one knew where the Empire’s monster-research facility was located.
Finding it seemed as difficult as finding a needle in a haystack.
Tauro, however, was confident.
His confidence came from Adam and Eve.
The two adult male- and female-shaped puppets, made from the same mysterious dungeon material as Seth, had been following the fleeing enemy soldiers ever since the cleanup after the monster-army battle, all under Seth’s control.
That was why Tauro had kept Seth out of [Magic Storage] and let the boy-shaped puppet move around with the party.
“Seriously… Leader, how far ahead were you thinking when you set all this up? So, do we at least have a lead?”
Ankh asked, exasperated by Tauro’s thorough preparation.
“More or less. Fortunately—or unfortunately for them—it looks like the research was being conducted in secret, so the facility seems to be somewhere in the Antas Mountain Range on the Empire’s side of the border. Right, Seth?”
Tauro answered Ankh, then turned to Seth, whose work had made the discovery possible.
Seth couldn’t speak, so he simply nodded.
“Excellent work, Seth!”
Aeris praised him and stroked his head.
“[Puppeteer] really is convenient. Because he’s made of material rather than flesh and blood, [Presence Detection] normally doesn’t pick him up, and because Seth is controlling the others, Tauro can even sleep while the operation continues, right?”
Ragune said admiringly as she patted Seth’s head too.
“Seth is amazing!”
Zion hugged him happily, delighted by his success.
“Anyway, I want us to start toward the target soon, but first we should stop by the Adventurers’ Guild.”
Tauro looked troubled, as though he would rather avoid the visit.
“Because so many people—especially the adventurers from the investigation expedition—recommended us for promotion, right?”
Ankh supplied the reason for him.
“The Swen branch must have been in an uproar about us ever since the expedition returned.”
Aeris gave a wry smile.
“A few days have passed. Maybe things have calmed down by now.”
Ragune sounded optimistic.
“Let’s hope so. Alright, let’s go.”
Tauro got everyone moving toward the Adventurers’ Guild.
The moment they entered, adventurers recognized Black-Gold Wings and crowded around to greet them and shake their hands.
“Thanks again. If you hadn’t come when you did, I’d be dead.”
“I’d already resigned myself to dying back there. Thank you.”
“Black-Gold Wings is the pride of this branch!”
The adventurers whose lives they had saved applauded and praised them.
Just then, a receptionist called out loudly:
“Black-Gold Wings, please come to the back room!”
Relieved to escape the crowd, Tauro and the others headed for the special room.
“You’ve become incredibly popular.”
The receptionist smiled at them more warmly than usual.
Black-Gold Wings had become the most popular team at the Swen branch, so her reaction was understandable.
Before Tauro could explain why they had come, the receptionist anticipated the question.
“You’re here about your promotion, correct?”
She continued:
“After reviewing the unprecedented number of recommendations from dozens of adventurers and examining your achievements, the Swen branch has decided, under the branch chief’s authority and as an exceptional measure, to promote you two ranks to B-plus without an exam. Congratulations!”
Other staff members and high-ranking adventurers in the room immediately applauded.
“B-plus!? Ah, thank you… But is it really alright to skip the exam? I heard promotions for higher-ranked adventurers normally involve a very strict examination and review.”
Tauro had been looking forward to experiencing his first promotion examination, so he checked to make sure.
“Yes. Normally there’s both an examination and a review. I’ve never seen a promotion this unusual either. But dozens of adventurers in Swen—from the highest-ranked teams to ordinary adventurers—recommended you. You also saved the investigation expedition from annihilation and defeated more than fifteen hundred monsters, including A-rank-band monsters. The branch concluded that your achievements justified an immediate promotion.”
Even as she said it, the receptionist briefly wondered whether the group in front of her could really be so extraordinary: two children, including the boy who led them, two young women, one middle-aged man, plus a slime and a puppet. But after watching the city’s dismantlers spend days processing more than fifteen hundred monsters that Black-Gold Wings had brought back, she could hardly doubt it.
Then she continued:
“I’ll need your tags.”
The receptionist collected each adventurer’s tag and inserted them one by one into a magic device. After a mechanical whir reminiscent of a copier, a platinum tag marked B-plus emerged for each member.
“Congratulations again on your promotion to B-plus!”
The receptionist applauded, and the others in the room joined her.
“Congratulations!”
“You earned it!”
“We’re expecting even greater things from you!”
The adventurers praised Tauro and his companions once again.
Black-Gold Wings accepted the congratulations with quiet pride, genuinely pleased with their new rank.ed by their new rank.