Worcester City, Adventurer's Guild.
Compared to the snobbery of the dealership, this place clearly placed more importance on strength.
Under the practiced maneuvers of Vespa the "know-it-all," and with the addition of the freshly issued certification document from the Mage Association that Leon presented...
Leon smoothly skipped the novice phase and registered directly as a "provisional" glorious-rank adventurer.
"Why is there a 'provisional' in front of it?" Leon asked, holding the silver temporary card.
Vespa explained while cracking melon seeds,
"It's a new rule the guild came up with a few years ago. They said it's to prevent people from faking their qualifications or something. All registrants who are directly assigned a high rank need to complete the guild's designated 'ranking missions.'"
"There are five missions in total, like placement matches. Once they're done, they use a set of complex accounting and verification rules to calculate your initial rank based on your completion rate, efficiency, customer reviews, and so on."
"You need to finish at least three to successfully set your rank. The highest you can reach is 【glorious】, and the lowest you can fall to is 【silver】."
Vespa shrugged.
"The specific details are too complicated for me to get either. Anyway, in one sentence—just get it done!"
"Interesting."
Leon arched an eyebrow.
Watching Leon, who was about to gloriously become a big shot with his silver card in hand, Lucrezia’s adventurer soul—which had long been brainwashed by bard novels and yearned to "wander the world with a sword"—could no longer be contained.
"I want one too!"
Lucrezia grabbed Vespa's sleeve, pacing in circles with anxiety.
"Quick! Get one for me too! I want to be an adventurer! I want to be the kind that... the mysterious, powerful, masked big shot who stuns the whole crowd the moment I step in!"
"Oh, my little ancestor."
Looking at this little rookie, Vespa couldn't help but feel the urge to tease her.
"That won't do~ Being an adventurer is very dangerous. You have to endure hardships, sleep in the wild, and fight monsters..."
"Unless..." Vespa gave a wicked smile, "you call me 'dear big sister,' and then I'll tell you a way to use the back door."
"You're dreaming! A mere cat..."
"Oh well, never mind then. I did have a way, but..."
"Ugh... fine... Big sister!" For the sake of her dream, the princess bowed her head with tears in her eyes.
"Good girl~"
Vespa patted Lucrezia's head with satisfaction. It wasn't until Leon, unable to watch any longer, gave a dry cough that she stopped joking and turned serious.
"There is indeed a bit of a loophole."
"Sir, you can register an adventurer team."
Vespa pointed to the counter.
"Then, attach Lucrezia to it as a team member. In the future, you can just accept missions directly in the name of the 'team.'"
Vespa explained,
"Many noble children do this. Although this allows Lulu to leech some points, there's a downside—if she ever wants to go solo and take missions herself later, she'll have to go through the whole 'ranking missions' process again. Moreover, these ranking missions, just like yours, are mostly thankless, dirty, and exhausting tasks that veterans don't want to do."
"The guild's so-called designated 'ranking' missions are actually just a disguised way of finding people to clear out these garbage tasks. You could say it's a win-win-win."
"Who cares! As long as I can join!" Lucrezia didn't care about the downsides; she just wanted the official title.
"Then let's register."
Leon filled out the form, and then came the most crucial step—naming.
"So... what will the name be?"
The young lady at the counter took out a form and asked with a smile.
"The name?"
This was a sacred moment.
The group gathered in a circle and began an intense brainstorming session.
"Let me, let me!" Lucrezia was the first to raise her hand, stepping one foot onto a chair with a grand aura. A chuunibyou light flickered in her red eyes as she lowered her voice and said solemnly,
"Let's call it... 'Courtyard of the Fallen Angel of the Crimson Lotus of Eternal Night'! Or maybe 'Dark Flame Master'! How about it? Dominating enough, right?"
"..." Everyone was silent.
"I don't think so," Vespa shook her head. "It's too long; it would be a struggle to engrave it on a badge. If you ask me, we should call it the 'Brotherhood' or 'Gold and Wine.' It sounds grand and full of loyalty!"
"..." Everyone fell silent again.
"Tacky," Lucrezia rolled her eyes.
"What about A-Ling?" Leon turned to look at A-Ling, who had been silently snacking nearby.
"Eh? Me... me?"
A-Ling was stunned, seemingly not expecting to have a say.
On her usually frost-cold, expressionless face, a suspicious blush suddenly appeared.
She lowered her head, poking her two index fingers together. Seeing Leon's encouraging gaze, she finally gathered her courage and whispered in a voice as tiny as a mosquito's hum,
"That..."
"How about... 'Fluffy Cloud Knights'...?"
"Pfft—!"
This time it was Lucrezia's turn to spray.
She widened her eyes, looking at A-Ling as if she were a monster.
"Ha?! Fluffy? Clouds? Are you a three-year-old?! Look at your... that cow-like figure of yours! Where is... well, it is indeed fluffy... damn it!"
"Hahahaha! You're killing me!"
Vespa laughed even more shamelessly, clutching her stomach.
"I knew it... Hahaha!"
"..."
A-Ling was mortified, her face turning so red it looked like it would drip blood. In a fit of rage, she raised her hand and gave her sister a hard knock on the head.
Thump!
Leon watched this scene and smiled as he stepped in to smooth things over.
"Don't mind them. It's actually a very cute name."
A-Ling's face instantly turned red down to her neck, and steam almost seemed to rise from the top of her head.
Leon's gaze inadvertently swept over Lucrezia, who was laughing and mocking A-Ling.
When this girl laughed, the sharp little tiger teeth at the corner of her mouth were partially visible, making her look exceptionally charming and naive.
Then he looked at Vespa, who was like a big cat with fur standing on end, and A-Ling, who was cool but occasionally acted like a startled fawn.
Even himself—weren't they all treading on thin ice as they groped their way forward in this other world?
A strange sense of nostalgia welled up in his heart.
It was a memory from Blue Star, regarding a certain idol group from long ago.
"Alright, stop arguing."
Leon snapped his fingers, a gentle smile curling at the corners of his mouth.
"I've got it."
He took the quill and wrote three large words on the form.
It wasn't chuunibyou, nor was it tacky. Although it sounded a bit like a children's show, it was unexpectedly suitable for this bizarre team full of contrasting charms.
"Let's just call it—【Little Tigers】."
"Little Tigers?"
Lucrezia felt her own little tiger teeth and was stunned for a moment.
"It doesn't... seem that dominating."
"But it's okay? At least it's better than 'Clouds.'" Vespa nodded.
"As long as my lord likes it..." A-Ling lowered her head with a red face.
And so,
On the eve of this turbulent era,
The legendary organization that would later echo throughout the continent and strike terror into the hearts of countless demon kings and gods—the 【Adventure Little Tigers】.
Was established just like that, amidst a farce.
Rate on N.U.
