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Well, the seasons have turned and I am now 13 years old. By this world’s standard, that means I have reached the age of adulthood.

Normally, it is customary for nobles to hold a grand coming-of-age ceremony and a social debut in the imperial capital, but with my difficult (or bizarre) circumstances at hand, we only held a small ceremony and a banquet (that said, everyone from the Western Northern Village, people from the Elven Village led by Uranos Kiohn, and the children from the orphanage were invited).

Well, a banquet with close friends was a million times more enjoyable and liberating than a ball with a bunch of nobles I didn’t know telling me sweet nothings.

Also, since this was a Coming-of-Age ceremony, I weaved rubrum flos out of light pink flowers and gave them to Eren, Bruno, and Rin. They were so happy —especially Eren and Bruno who cried— that I was the one who got embarrassed. I also sent one to Luke in the imperial capital, magically preserved, and almost immediately he sent back a thick letter consisting of dozens of sheets of words of gratitude; anyone else would’ve mistaken it for a fervent confession of love.

The very next day, Ms. Christy and I visited the Adventurers’ Guild. The purpose was to register myself as an adventurer under the name of Julia Fortuna, giving me an official Guild ID.

I had no intention of registering with the Guilds, but I couldn’t just flash my Imperial-Class ID card in public. Besides, the common Joe had no idea that an ID of this class existed, so they might think it was counterfeit. Even amongst the nobility, only middle to high nobles in the mainland Empire could identify it, and they would stiffen the moment they saw it (What is this, the Hollyhock Crest?!)¹ . Therefore, Ms. Christy had me make use of the Guild ID instead.

In fact, just showing the Guild ID to the guards was enough to get me through a barrier or a checkpoint upon entering a town. So to speak, the Citizenship ID was like a copy of the family register, while the Guild ID was like a driver’s license.

And that was why my current status was “E Rank Adventurer: Magician.” Technically, I could also use the sword, which would categorize me as a “Magic Swordsman” (tickling the eighth-grader in me deep in my psyche), but I don’t think there would be many opportunities for me to openly use a sword, as most situations would only need a good punch and a barrage of magic to deal with.

I am also actually a Healing Art Practitioner, but I was sternly told to hide it as long as I’m within the borders of the Livitium Imperial Kingdom, so calling myself one was a no-go from the beginning.

“It would be best if you could leave someone who’s dying in front of you…”

“Well, with your personality, that sounds impossible,” added Ms. Christy with a look of resignation. I tried to simulate myself in that situation, and while I knew in my head what to do, I understood that it would be difficult to leave a person dying on me.

After being filled in with the situation in private, Eraldo, head of the Adventurer’s Guild in Consul, put a huge smile on his face like a swindler who had just found the perfect prey.

“I see, so that’s the situation… However, creating a Guild Certificate under a different name would be a forgery of official documents. Of course, I understand that this is a request from you, Lady Baroness —ah, forgive me, Lady Viscountess, and it would be a great honor for a citizen of the Empire to assist the Imperial Family. That is true, but… the Guilds are a separate and independent entity. You must understand, from the standpoint of professional ethics and the role of the leader of this branch, one can’t simply say yes to such a notion.”

“Get it out straight. What conditions do you want to impose?” Ms. Christy grumbled in displeasure.

The Branch Chief shifted his nonchalant gaze my way, and his nasty smile deepened. “I don’t ask much. I merely hope that being her ally rowing the same boat, I can continue to be of service to her Ladyship.”

So, to put it bluntly, he wanted to call dibs on me since I have potential and keep me on the road to success. I see.

“I must confess that my position is uncertain and iffy. I would make a bad horse to bet on.”
“Now, now. Your Ladyship, don’t underestimate your worth too much. This is really starting to worry me.”

Eraldo shrugged his shoulders and shook his head in exaggerated gestures. He was so theatrical, it was hard for me to judge whether he was genuinely worried or merely making lip service.

“If you would guarantee a good relationship going forward, then as I said before, I will do everything in my power to help her Ladyship.”

The Branch Chief stood up from his chair, got on his knee, and bowed to us. Ms. Christy, who sat next to me, looked fed up as if she just swallowed a nest of wasps.

“…a crook will stay rotten even if you boil or bake him, but better the devil you know than the devil you don’t. At times, one needs to possess a capacious mind to accept even the worst of man as one’s own.”

Bartholomew’s opinion represented and summarized my and Ms. Christy’s feelings. In the end, we reluctantly agreed to his proposal.

After that, I had Caldina at the reception desk help me fill out the application documents.

“It’s been exactly one year, hasn’t it? I’m sure you’ll be famous in no time, Jill. —By the way, aren’t your breasts getting bigger again? If you tell me your secret, I’ll raise you to D-rank in no time.”

Well, there was a hint of fraud where’s the fairness in the Guild that you spoke of last year?!), but I managed to register myself as an adventurer successfully. Also, taking into consideration my previous performance with Jesse and his party, I was given the rank E instead of F.

By the way, when they measured my magic power… “What is this number?! It’s off the charts! This is the realm of legendary—” Yeah, such a thing unfortunately didn’t happen. If anything, as a Magic Art Practitioner, the test they provided for you was simply pouring your mana into some magic stone to see if you have basic skills in Magic. After all, the Guild is just an intermediary for you to sell your skills, they don’t examine you that deeply. If you oversell your worth above your skill level, you’re just endangering yourself, and it won’t be the Guild’s concern.

On the other hand, this attitude of theirs is actually helpful for someone who tries to undersell themselves, just like me.

♢♦♢♦♢

As I was contemplating the coincidences and absurdities the world had in store for me, suddenly I felt a gaze directed at me from the front. Upon looking, I saw Priest Cestlavie looking back at me, his eyes strangely passionate.

He looked like he wanted to say something to me, so I waited for him to speak up.

“There are nothing but summer houses for aristocrats around here. There isn’t even any industry worth noting. There shouldn’t be any aristocrats visiting this time of year, but you… Miss Julia, is it? What brings you here?”

He asked me, so I answered truthfully.

“I didn’t come to this town for any particular reason. The Teleporter that I used just happened to be close…well, around 2, 3 mountains away from here, but this town is en route to my destination,” and that was when a bubble of memory surfaced in my mind. “Not to mention, the name of the place sounded a little familiar to me. I might have visited the town once when I was a child for a summer vacation, so I wanted to see it again.”

The moment those words left my lips, Priest Cestlavie, who had been maintaining his absent-minded and ignorant persona, gulped, visibly dismayed.

“!??”
“—?”

“…” He then fell silent again. …though it was more of a restless, jittery silence this time.

“…I was born and raised in the church near this town,” spoke the young priest without any warning or preamble as he walked on, “Say, did we…have we ever met, a long time ago?”

He stopped, turned around again, and looked at me with frighteningly serious eyes, leaving me speechless.

Silence fell between us.

“——!”

A moment later, something flashed through my mind. It was as if I was receiving a divine revelation. Could this be?!

I tried to calm down the turmoil that hid deep within my heart, my eyes looking straight at his. Trying to sound as calm as I could, I opened by calling him by name, “Priest Cestlavie.”

“Are you hitting on me?”

It was a big deal for me, so I had to make sure my heart was ready when I asked for his true intention. And yet, Priest Cestlavie crumbled to his knees for some reason.

Translator’s Note:

Author said Jill got so beautiful over the past year that Regina’s spell can’t even hide all of her beauty.

1. Mab: of the Tokugawa Household. It symbolizes the strong bond between Ieyasu, Hidetada, and Iemitsu. Japanese history nerd stuff.