Chapter 3: Kazuya's Ability
âSo, whatâs your current adventurer rank?â
I lifted my face slightly and looked at Kazuya as I asked.
At 168 cm (5 feet 6 inches), Iâm considered tall even among human womenâbut Kazuyaâs even taller. He must be well over 180 cm (5 feet 11 inches).
His solid build made him appear even more imposing.
âRight now, Iâm around D-rank. I usually go solo, so itâs slow going.â
âI think I was C-rank? Though I never really cared much about rank in the first place⌠But why solo? You look like you could form a party easily.â
Kazuya thought for a moment, then pointed at me.
âBecause if I joined a party, I wouldnât be able to look for you. Thatâs why.â
ââŚFair point.â
Joining a party makes it hard to go searching for someone. Limits your freedom. It was a solid reason.
âRight? But now I can finally form a party with you, Miki.â
So heâs been going solo all this time just to form a party with me? Thatâs actually kind of sweet. Iâm impressed.
âYeah, okay. So, what now? You gonna go for that harem party you used to fantasize about in your past life?â
Half-teasing, I brought up the delusions heâd often talk about before. Kazuya looked straight at me and answered without hesitation.
âNah, Iâm good. Youâre joining my party, right? Temporary parties aside, just the two of us is enough.â
âI donât mind, you know. Even if itâs a harem party, Iâm not gonna get in the way.â
He looked slightly troubled as he replied.
âTwoâs enough. I mean, we finally reunited after all this time. And you said youâd stay with me until the end, didnât you?â
âYeah, Iâll stick with you till death. But Iâm not dating you or marrying you, got it?â
I made it crystal clear. If Kazuya misunderstood, itâd just cause problems for both of us.
ââŚI know. Iâm just not in the mood to build that kind of party right now.â
âToo bad. I thought I could be that one character in the harem party who doesnât fall for you. Real shame.â
I laced my hands behind my head and said it in an exaggeratedly disappointed tone.
âWhat the hell is that? âŚThough, you know how it goesâthose types always end up falling for me in the end. Iâve seen it.â
Kazuya finally grinned as he said that.
âYeah yeah, Iâve seen that too... Except, not happening here.â
âCharacters like that say that at the start, donât they?â
âI said itâs not happening!â
âYeah yeah.â
âDonât you âyeah yeahâ me!â
And just like that, lightly bickering, we arrived at the guild.
We entered the adventurer guild and sat down at a random table.
Yesterday, Kazuya hit on me the moment we arrived, so I hadnât had the chance to really look around. Today, I took my time observing the place.
I think the last time I came here was about thirty years ago.
Thereâve been some changes, but the overall vibe is the same. The adventurer guild hasnât really changed much since the first time I came here. In a way, itâs kind of comforting.
Kazuya said he was going to check out the quest board, so I let him go. Immediately after, some guyâprobably an acquaintanceâstopped him.
âHey, so? Things going well with that elf girl? Damn, Iâm jealous. How was it?â
âNah, itâs not like that... Well, actually, yeah. It was greatâon a whole other level compared to humans. And now she says sheâll stay with me for life. Pretty sweet, huh?â
âNo way! Man, Iâm seriously jealous. Dammit, I shouldâve made a move first!â
Donât underestimate elf earsâwe hear everything.
And what the hell, Kazuya? Is that really how you feel? Thatâs disappointing.
My mood just plummeted. I guess I was wrong to think he hadnât changed since the old days.
Come to think of it, it has been 17 years since he was born into this world. Just 17 years, and yet... Well, Iâve changed too. Maybe I canât blame him.
Still. Doesnât mean it doesnât sting.
As I was lost in thought, Kazuya returnedâlooking all cheerful, oblivious to my mood. That whole conversation? I heard everything, you know.
âMiki, found a perfect quest. If we pull it off, Iâll be eligible for the C-rank promotion test.â
âWow, is that so.â
Kazuya mustâve picked up on my sudden attitude shift, because he gave me a curious look.
âHuh? Whatâs up? Something happen?â
âNope. Letâs go.â
I brushed it off and stood up. Kazuya scrambled to his feet to follow me.
The quest was a subjugation of mid-tier monsters that had appeared near the city.
Sure enough, the location and difficulty level were perfect. For me, anyway. It was the kind of juicy quest I could finish in a day.
Not exactly something a D-rank should be tackling, though.
âHey, isnât this a bit much for a D-rank? Taking out five wyverns?â
Wyverns are basically big lizards with wings. Humans classify them as dragon-type, but thatâs overselling it. Theyâre just flying lizards. Real dragons would be pissed if they heard that.
That said, they do breathe fire and fly, so theyâre troublesome. By guild standards, only parties of C-rank or higher are supposed to take on these quests.
âYeah, itâs fine. This is nothing.â
Kazuya responded confidently. I could take them out with my magic easily, but I decided not to interfereâthis would be a good way to gauge his abilities.
Kazuya raised his sword and muttered something.
Lightning magic crashed down on the five wyverns. They didnât even have time to react. Struck by lightning, they plummeted to the ground.
Once grounded, theyâre basically fire-spitting lizards. And since they were already heavily damaged from the crash, even a D-rank should be able to finish the job.
With precise swordplay, Kazuya swiftly cut down all five wyverns.
Just like thatâcalmly and effortlesslyâhe took them out. I was impressed.
He really is strong. His swordsmanship is sharp, and he can use magic too?
âNot bad.â
âWell, this much is nothing. I am a solo adventurer, after all.â
âEven so⌠youâre probably already B-rank level.â
âNot yet. Iâm aiming much higher.â
âOh yeah? Mind if I ask?â
âGo ahead.â
âHow does a D-rank adventurer take on a quest recommended for C-rank parties?â
âWell⌠the guildmaster recognized my ability. So Iâve been given permission to take on higher-level quests.â
ââŚThatâs a thing?â
Is that something they actually allow? Youâd have to prove some serious skillâor have a really good reason.
I still wasnât entirely convinced, but since he was taking the quest, I guess thatâs how it is. Maybe the guild changed in the past 30 years.
âYep, thatâs how it is. No need to worry about that stuff. Come on, letâs report in now that weâre done.â
After that, we submitted the report for completing the wyvern subjugation. Kazuya went on to take the C-rank promotion test, passed it without issue, and officially became a C-rank adventurer.
After that, Kazuya and I spent about two weeks completing several C-rank quests together.
Kazuya turned out to be stronger than Iâd expected. His swordsmanship alone is easily mid-B rank, and on top of that, he can use several offensive spells, primarily lightning-based. Overall, heâs definitely upper B-rank material.
As for meâwhen it comes to magic alone, Iâm comfortably at A-rank level. There are even some monster subjugations I never reported to the guild, and to begin with, the amount of time Iâve devoted to studying magic is on a whole different scale compared to humans.
Among elves, I apparently possess exceptionally high magical talent and reserves, to the point where people used to call me a genius.
I can use a wide variety of spells: offensive, support, healingâpretty much anything.
People say imagination is key when using magic, and since I loved fantasy anime, manga, and games in my previous life, forming mental images for spells comes easily to me. I think that played a big part in it too.
Despite all that magical skill, my physical strength is⌠unfortunately lacking.
Iâm not fragile, per se, but Iâm definitely weaker than the average adventurer. I should be stronger than the average 17-year-old girl⌠I think.
As for our living arrangements, I initially planned to keep staying in Kazuyaâs room, but he kicked me out on the morning of the third day.
The reason? He got mad at me for sleeping naked in a cramped bed. Really mad.
When I said, âCome on, youâre happy about it deep down,â he got even angrier and threw me out.
I canât say I donât understand. Iâm not just some random girlâIâm his best friend. Having me, stark naked, in a tight bed with him probably isnât comfortable.
Plus, he couldnât exactly bring other girls over. I realized later I shouldâve been more considerate of that, and I did reflect on it.
So I decided to rent the empty room next doorâbut that brought about a different issue.
I sleep in late, and since I take forever to get up, Kazuya comes to wake me every morning. Iâve made it so that the barrier on the room only lets him through.
Naturally, that means he sees me sleeping naked again and gets mad all over.
But sleeping late is just part of an elfâs natural cycle, and sleeping naked is also an elf thing!
In the end, Kazuya still comes to wake me every day⌠but honestly, wouldnât it be easier if we just went back to sharing a bed? When I brought that up, he got angry again and said, âAbsolutely not!ââseriously, whatâs his problem?
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