#1234 Momoko’s S-Rank Adventurer Visit Hopping: Youth 

It's me. 
The Saint. 
On a clear winter day, I took Sakamoto for a ride to check in on the people living in the Farm Kingdom. And there, I ran into Hero Momoko. 
Yes. Ran into her. 

It feels like bumping into a monster that’s not supposed to spawn in this area. 

Apparently, she's come to visit Corey, one of the current S-rank adventurers, as part of her journey to earn her promotion. 

Naturally, my main character instincts kick in.  
I offer to guide her to Corey with about 2000% pure goodwill. The only problem is that Corey wasn’t told in advance. So naturally, we get flagged as suspicious. 

"Well, this won’t do," thinks my main character self again.  
So I hop back onto Sakamoto, dash to the capital, grab Silver Wolf in person, and race back to the Farm Kingdom. 

Just when I thought we managed to clear the misunderstanding… 

*** 

“Secret Technique! S-Rank Adventurer Fist!!!” 

Corey slams his fist into the trunk of a massive tree. The whole thing cracks and groans as it snaps clean in two. 

Silver Wolf, Momoko, and I stare in stunned silence. 
Each of us are wearing a different kind of complicated expression. 

“How about that?!” Corey beams, turning back to us. “This is the strength I gained through life on the settlement! Mr. Silver Wolf must’ve sent me there knowing I’d come back this powerful! As expected of our Silver Wolf!!!” 
“No no no no no no no no no no!” 

Silver Wolf shakes his head violently. 
He’s like a dog flinging off water after a bath. 

“I just wanted you to learn leadership skills, how to manage people and grow as a person by leading the frontier team!” 

He’s practically shouting, ‘This wasn’t supposed to be a power-leveling quest!’ 

“Lord Saint! Is this your doing?! What kind of conditions caused this absurd power boost?! I need you to explain it, logically and thoroughly! If it’s this effective, I’ll send a dozen promising young adventurers here immediately!!!” 

A fair reaction for a Guildmaster. 

Still, let’s be clear. 
This place is supposed to be a development zone for the Farm Kingdom, not a training ground for adventurers. 

Well, people here do special exercises created by Sensei that’s good for improving overall health. And Veil, in a bid to use up her stash of dragon extract, mixes a little into everyone’s food.  

So yeah, people around here are a bit physically enhanced. 

“You didn’t tell me any of that! If there’s a hundred-times-growth training regimen, I want in too!!!” 

That’s Silver Wolf again, his old adventurer instincts are flaring up. 

Hmm, but it’s not like we planned this.  
The exercise is rooted in a special breathing technique that boosts mind and body over time, and Veil’s motivations are purely selfish; she just wants to get rid of that dragon extract.  
Even though, yeah, it’s basically the ultimate doping agent for humanity. 

“…So I need to be that strong to make it to S-rank?” 

Momoko’s voice trembles with despair. 

“That’s not S-rank anymore, that’s Z-rank! Corey should start calling himself a Z-rank adventurer from now on!!!” 

Z-rank.  
Not gonna lie, that sounds pretty accurate. 

“Don’t worry, Momoko. We’re not expecting you to reach that level. Your S-rank promotion is still under consideration,” Silver Wolf says in a reassuring tone. 

What about Corey, then?  
He’s kind of gone way off-script. 

“We’ll… talk about that later.” 

He’s clearly punting the issue down the road. 

“For now, Momoko, keep meeting with the current S-rank adventurers and building trust and experience. You’ve made good progress. I’ve already heard from Kato and Pink Tonton who’ve given you their okay. And now you’ve met Corey, right?” 

If she’s met three out of the five S-ranks, that means she’s over halfway there. 

“That just leaves two… Golden Bat is still sitting smugly in HQ, so it’s probably best to visit the other one, Murshela, first.” 
“Yeah, I’m saving that bat-bastard for last. So where is this… what’s-her-name… Muramura?” 

Murshela.  
Please don’t make it weird. 

“Right… So, about Murshela, your fourth S-rank adventurer judge… her whereabouts are currently unknown.” 
“What! She’s missing?!” 
“Well, she’s not someone who’d go down easily, given her rank… but we can’t review her if we can’t find her. We’ll need to figure out how to handle that.” 
“So an S-rank adventurer who’s gone completely off the radar… Pretty mysterious. I like it...” 

…Speaking of that mysterious adventurer. 

“Hey, Corey! Dinner’s ready! I made your favorite bone-broth rice...” 
“She’s hereeeeeeeeeeeeee?!” 

Silver Wolf is the first to spot Murshela popping up from the side like a jack-in-the-box. 

Momoko just blinks, all confused.  
Can’t blame her, first meeting and all. 

“MURSHEEELAAAAAAAA! Why didn’t you inform the Guild you were here?!” 
“G-Guild Master?! Oh no, you sniffed me out already?! Figures, you're a wolf, after all!” 

Nope.  
It’s a total coincidence that Silver Wolf showed up. 

Still, the way she talks makes it sound like she was intentionally avoiding being found. 

“An S-rank adventurer not reporting their whereabouts is a serious issue! We need to be able to deploy S-ranks at any moment, especially for emergencies! You should know that!” 
“Oh, come on, Golden Bat never reports in either!” 
“…That’s… true! Damn it!!” 

Silver Wolf takes the L. No comeback for that one. 

“Lord Saint! You could’ve told me Murshela was here!” 

Ah, yeah. I probably should have… 

But in my defense, I’ve been swamped lately. It just kept getting pushed back.  
It’s not like I was avoiding it or anything… 
 

“Whatever. Adventurers act on their own judgment and responsibility. Rank doesn’t change that. Now that we’ve found you, Murshera, no more complaints.” 
“Phew…” 
“But still. As an S-rank, one of the best of the best, we expect you to act like it. Right now, there’s a pile of high-level quests waiting at the Guild HQ. I want you to head back and start clearing them immediately.” 
“Nope.” 
“Why not?!?!” 

Silver Wolf sounds like he’s about to shriek. 

“I didn’t come here for no reason. I’m in the middle of a high-priority personal quest. Until it’s completed, I won’t leave, period.” 
“I-Is that so...?!” 

Even Silver Wolf gets overwhelmed by the sheer intensity of Murshela’s presence. 

“If a top-class adventurer like you is tackling this quest with such determination… it must 
be incredibly difficult. SWhat kind of quest is it, exactly?” 
“To bring Corey back.” 
“Wha...?” 

Don’t judge. She’s dead serious. 

The reason Murshela even showed up in the Farm Kingdom in the first place seems to be because of Corey. 
At first, she tried to drag him back by force, but when that didn’t work, she decided to stay nearby and hover around him instead. 

Curious about what exactly she’s doing, I did a bit of observing. As it turned out, she’s been cooking his meals, washing his clothes, and helping with day-to-day chores. 

Why? That’s the question that pops into my head. But while I’m standing here baffled, other people like Platy, Zoth Syra, Belena, Mrs. Astres when she drops by, and even Puffer, have a different take. 

—“She’s trying so hard! Just leave her be!!!” 

So, it’s kinda hard for me to butt in. 
...Not that I’m just avoiding it because it’s a pain, okay? Really, I’m not! 

Still, Silver Wolf, who’s got sharper instincts than I do, makes this face like he just tried some dog food only to realize it was actually cat food. 

“So... what you’re saying is... you... Corey... um, you li-?” 
“Please don’t say it! Even if you’re the Guildmaster, I’ll get mad!!!” 
“B-But still!” 

Poor Silver Wolf.  
He can’t catch a break even here. 

“That’s right! You can’t just trample on a girl’s feelings!!!” 

And then barging into the conversation comes... 
You guessed it. Hero Momoko. 

“When a girl’s putting everything on the line for love, the least we can do is cheer her on! I love this kind of story! I’ll support her with everything I’ve got!!!” 
“U-um! I’d really appreciate it if you could be a bit more subtle about it!!!” 

When it comes to love, the strongest ally a girl has... is another girl. 

Thanks to Momoko’s passionate support, Murshela manages to hold her ground yet again. 
It looks like it’ll be a while before she leaves Farm Kingdom.