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#523 The S-Class Adventurers Gather

Added 2022-09-12 18:25:44 +0000 UTC

My name is Silver Wolf.

I am one of the adventurers recognized by the guild as an S-class adventurer.

S-class adventurers are recognized as elites due to their outstanding achievements and abilities.

The screening process is rigorous, and there are only five S-class adventurers in the world, including me.

To be considered S-class takes more than a superficial accomplishment; it is the highest honor.

Therefore, I, too, take pride in my title and always strive to do my best to live up to it.

People around me sometimes ridicule me for taking things too seriously.

Please keep this in mind as I narrate to you the following story.

* * *

I received an unexpected summons for all S-class adventurers.

Normally, we are allowed to act on our own initiative, so we rarely meet each other.

But in essence, we S-class adventurers are an unfettered bunch, unbound by any event, and devote ourselves to dungeon exploits freely, which is how we got to where we are today.

So, even though we are the best in the guild, we’re basically left to our own devices, and the guild doesn’t make any demands because they know it is the best way to minimize friction.

Gathering all of these S-class adventurers, who could be considered problem children, in one place was something that had never happened before.

The fact that this is happening today means that something serious has happened.

I hope the others would sense such importance and gather immediately, but...

“I was a fool to have such naive expectations.”

“There’s no such miracle as lax people becoming serious the next day, indeed.”

Only one other S-class adventurer is seated in the meeting room in Guild HQ—Brown Kato.

He is relatively new among the S-class adventurers, but I appreciate his sincerity and willingness to show up when called.

“I’m so glad you came. I thought I’d be left with reading the message to myself...!”

“That sounds depressing enough, so let’s not think about it, okay?”

Kato is from a particularly unusual background.

He was summoned from another world by the Human Kingdom’s royal family.

During the war, the royal family summoned helpers without limit. Kato was one of them.

However, he was evicted because his abilities were not suited for the war.

It was a selfish story, one that even other people would be appalled by, but even so, Kato lived a fulfilling life.

He earned his place in this world as an adventurer and finally made it to S-class.

“Not only that, but you also respond immediately to the guild’s appeals.”

“I’m Japanese by birth, so I do tend to take things seriously. In that sense, you’re pretty amazing yourself, Silver Wolf.”

A man of high virtue who gives equal praise.

“Born and raised in this world, yet still so sincere. That must be why the guild relies on you the most among the S-class adventurers, isn’t it?”

“...They jest that it’s because I was born a canine.”

I am a descendant of the therianthropes that were once a thriving community in the Human Kingdom.

Hence, my head is exactly the same as that of a wolf.

They say it is because my ancestors were fused with wild beasts by a lost and forbidden magic, which gave me a wolf’s keen sense of smell and helped me in my profession. At the same time, I get discriminated against as a half-human, half-beast. It has its pros and cons.

“You’re trusted by the guildmaster, and you’re the one who will lead today’s meeting, right? Doesn’t that make you the top-most candidate for the next guildmaster?”

“He’s just giving the dirty work to me.”

Even the guildmaster is mentally drained when he’s face to face with the other S-class.

That’s just how eccentric the others are.

“I guess we should commence the meeting if no one else is coming. I’m starting to feel like we’re wasting our time waiting.”

“Can you still call it a meeting if it’s just the two of us?”

Just as Kato and I were about to start, something unusual happened.

The building where we were suddenly started shaking!

“Huh? An earthquake?!”

The floor shook.

The shaking became more and more violent... or rather, the hypocenter got closer.

“Sorry I’m lateeeeeeeeee!!!”

A large woman slams open the door and enters the room.

“Oh, Pink Tonton! You came!”

“Of course I would! Sorry I couldn’t come on time!”

Pink Tonton is also another S-class adventurer.

She’s also a new member, but she has natural talent. She’s said to have the blood of a beast synthesized from a boar, which is why her stature is large, and her power is immense.

Pink Tonton is considered the strongest adventurer when it comes to head-on battles, and even though she is a newcomer, she is highly respected.

“Oh, please. I feel sick just being in my own skin for being so slow all the time! Not to mention, my footsteps are ridiculously loud...!”

Don’t tell me the ear-splitting thud that shook the whole building earlier...

Came from her footsteps?!

“As expected from one of the best martial artists among our group. Speaking of which, is it true that you once beat a cyclops to death with your bare hands?”

“Ufufu. Oh, Silver Wolf!”

She places her hand on my shoulder.

“Maidens have their secrets to keep, you know?”

“S-Sorry...!”

Her grip was so firm, I thought my bone was going to shatter!

Talk about scary!

“That’s taboo, Silver Wolf. Angering Pink Tonton could get you killed.”

“I still haven’t even grasped what makes her angry!”

That’s how little connection there is between us!

“Well, anyway, three out of five is good enough. Let’s get this meeting over with quickly.”

“Not so fast!”

What is it this time?!

I heard a voice from above!

I look up and see someone clinging to the ceiling!

“Which purrick said I wasn’t coming? I’ve been on this ceiling from the beginning!”

“Why the damn ceiling?!”

There is no mistaking that unique voice.

It’s Black Cat!

She’s a therianthrope descendant with feline genes.

Black Cat parts from the ceiling and makes an elegant landing on the desk.

She is an alluring woman with a lean and slender body.

“Hey! Paws off the desk!”

“No, thank you. It’s a feline’s purrivilege to get on top of desks.”

No, it’s not!

Some therianthropes act more beast-like than necessary because they have an over-identified animal nature mixed in with their own, like her.

Sure, her flexible body, agility, night vision, and sense of balance, which she all got from her feline ancestry, are all useful for conquering dungeons and are probably the factors that raised her to the S-class. But, how should I say this...

She didn’t have to acquire a cat’s capriciousness too.

“...Were you on the ceiling the entire time?”

“Purrecisely! Actually, I’m the first to come here!”

Then why have you been hiding all this time?

What’s the point of doing that?!

“I was testing to see when Silver Wolf, who is so purroud of his sense of smell, would notice me. I guess I expected too much of him.”

“Guh!”

“He doesn’t deserve his title of S-class if he didn’t notice me. But I don’t blame him! Getting rid of my scent isn’t a purroblem once I groom myself!” she says, licking her arm.

It’s true that she excels at concealing her scent.

As someone who got to S-class because of their sense of smell... she’s my natural enemy!

“I’m so flexible, I can lick myself clean anywhere! That includes my crotch...”

“Okay, okay! We get it already, so spare us the demonstration!!!”

Goodness.

Things get weirder and harder to handle every time one of them shows up...!

With four out of five people here, how much weirder will the last one be?!

Then again, I already know the answer to that.

That’s because I’ve already met this fifth person.

And he’s a total oddball, I tell you!

“Let’s get our business done and disperse before the freakiest one arrives.”

“I apurrove!” “Let’s get this over with!” “Okay, what’s our agenda for today?”