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「What might be your business today?」
「It isn’t directly relevant to you, but one reason I came is to show myself. The other reason that does have direct relevance is the matter of the letter.」

Saying that, Lady Ainsel retrieved yesterday’s letter from inside her magic pouch and presented it to me.
Regarding this letter, I have already informed Ostente that Lady Ainsel has received it. I did not touch upon Lady Ainsel’s rank or her name and merely told them that it had been sent to the corresponding hunter.
As I had no knowledge of the letter’s contents, I concluded that it would be best to exercise caution, and it appears that I was correct in that assessment.

I read through it, but it appears that perhaps I should have instead kept it from reaching Lady Ainsel altogether, simply informing them that we couldn’t find the intended recipient.

「And what did Mistress Fiiyanamia say?」
「For now, she doesn’t intend to do anything. It will be treated as a letter merely sent to the hunter Ainsel, which is why I came here today.」
「I see. I’m grateful for such magnanimous judgement.」

As I lower my head, Lady Ainsel shows a troubled expression. She truly is such a humble individual. However, I already know from the reports in the past that she is not simply meek.
I must take care not to take this for granted, lest I displease them and they point their sword against us.
It’s what my long honed intuition tells me.

I’m genuinely grateful for how they are treating the letter.
After all, that single letter truly held the possibility of causing a war between Central and Ostente.
Had Mistress Fiiyanamia willed it, it would have undoubtedly occurred.

「I shall protest regarding this to the Ostente Royal family. When I do so, would it be alright to relay to them that you are of A-rank?」
「I don’t mind, but I would prefer that my name doesn’t come up, if possible.」
「Then it shall be so.」

It might seem as if I’m currying favour, but this sort of matter is something that the Hunter Guild does have to firmly stand against.
Otherwise, it risks the guild being treated lightly.
If more nobles start to undermine us, a rift might form between the Hunter Guild and the nobility, which may inevitably lead to conflict.

As for not revealing her name, considering what trouble it could befall them hereafter, that’s reasonable.

「We’ll proceed to the main topic now; Ciel and I will be traveling to Ostente at the end of winter. We will enroll at an Ostente academy.」
「That’s quite the surprise… Were you instructed by Mistress Fiiyanamia to do so?」
「Something to that effect. We don’t have a problem with going there, but we’d like to avoid troubles as much as possible, so we’ve decided to enter as a regular hunter and not as Mother Fii’s child. As such, we will probably enroll under a different name as well.」
「Meaning you would wish to perform hunter activities under that said name, correct?」

Doing hunter work under an alias is by no means impossible. There are those among the nobility who do so to maintain secrecy. However, that only applies when you register with the said alias.
Those who have already registered cannot change their name so simply.
That said, if they enroll and act under the name “Cielmer,” those of nobility are likely to discern their true identity.

「How do you plan on going to Ostente?」
「We plan on using my name. I’m unlikely to surface much at Ostente anyhow, and if an artificial divine messenger appears, it would be easier relay the message to the A-rank hunter Ainsel instead.」
「That certainly is true.」

Regarding the artificial divine beasts, outside of those undertaken by the two ladies, we have yet to hear other reports of subjugation. There is a possibility of unreported subjugations, but from what was observed of the golden spider in the den, these monsters are at least of A-rank strength.
As such, the two taking action against them is greatly appreciated.

Lady Ainsel has non-A-rank cards as well, so they could simply use those for their identity… but I see; that could still result in complications.
Hence the alias, huh.
Come to think of it, it’s too late to be conflicted about this after enabling them to camouflage their ranks. It’ll be bothersome, but as long as we keep track of all their card usage, we can observe any misuse.

Most of all, if I deny them here and they stop coming to the Hunter Guild, that would be a great loss.
I might hear protests from the youngster again, but I’ll deal with it when it happens.

「If that’s the case, shall I change the name of one of your cards as well?」
「Is that alright?」
「I’ll make it a special exception. As long as you perform accordingly, we can shut down any complaints.」

Lady Ainself fell silent for a moment before replying, “Please do so.”
Seeing that in real time, it appears that the two are capable of secretly conversing between themselves, but this isn’t the time to muse about that.

「In that case, what name would you like displayed on which rank card?」
「Ah—… We’ll bring the chosen card once we settle on a decision.」
「I leave it in your hands.」

I thought of her as a meticulous sort, but apparently she can be careless at times.
Well, this much is still charming.
Lady Ainsel cleared her throat to hide her embarrassment before talking once more.

「Could you allow us to accept requests at the chosen rank of our other identity?」
「Hmmm… That will be difficult to allow…」
「What if we only limit it to requests that have been left unaccepted for a long time?」
「If that’s the case, then we honestly can’t ask for anything more.」

The reason why I previously asked them not to undertake low-rank requests is to keep those of that rank from losing work opportunities.
However, unpopular requests always inevitably appear.
What recently happened in Estoque showed the consequence of leaving those unattended for too long, but hunters tend to avoid work that does not pay as well.
And for low-rank hunters, their daily earnings greatly impact their day-to-day lives, so most cannot risk a compromise.

Considering that, it would be in our best interest for them to complete long-ignored requests.

「One last confirmation: it isn’t illegal to perform hunter activities while hiding one’s face, correct?」
「Naturally. There are some who bear unsightly wounds on their face, and, while this is a secret, high-rank cards are set up to be only usable by their registered owners.」
「…Doesn’t that mean me using Ciel’s card could cause problems?」
「It’s hard to say. After all, you two have a very unique situation. We’ll make preparations to check this by the time you two have settled on a name.」
「Thank you very much. Well then, I’ll accept a random request and go home now.」

Lady Ainsel then stood up, so I saw her out.
Enrollment in Ostente’s academy. They seem to have thought of many measures to avoid trouble. Still, I don’t know if I’m simply overthinking it, but I have a hunch that they’ll get roped into some trouble anyhow.
Impudent as it may be, I pray that the Hunter Guild won’t be involved with it, and I look forward to knowing what happens.

Lol, why exactly are you looking forward to it, grandmaster? That ends our Rhavelt interlude!

Without Ain’s monologue, there’s really a bigger gap between Ain being serious and being clutzy. At first, it sounds like she has an elaborate plan, but then, on the finer details: Oh, I actually haven’t thought about that yet. Also, Rhavelt being like “Wait, why am I being conflicted about breaking this specific rule for them? I already allow them to do something more egregious.” It is quite weird to have zero Ciel presence while having Ain around. Been a long time since the last time. What’s our next interlude going to be, I wonder?

Now then, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please feel free to comment. Stay healthy, stay safe, and have a nice day~!