"Jinma Kotori, the Cen— … *ehen,* I mean, Kalline Gallofree and her uncle, filled me in on what the rankings implied and where you will stand as an adventurer. While I admit I had hoped you might be stronger, I can still see you're plenty exemplary compared to the other humans; thus, I will let you off the hook and still deem you qualified to be my mate. You have my sincerest congratulations."

That was the first greeting that I got from Ms. Umeiyon since Winny and I returned from the confessionary. She then puts her reptilian claw on my shoulder before giving a haughty smile.

"Yeah … that hasn't been set in stone until I give you my answer, but let's just get to the guild and have your own ranking evaluated, all right?" I ask while gently removing Ms. Umeiyon's claw off my shoulder.

"Very well, then. Arch Imp Priestess, you may lead the way—"

"[Portal]," I chant before a hole opens up in the air that leads us back to the front of the guild. I make it big enough for Lili and Ms. Gallofree to walk through, too.

"… You can also do [Storage], right? Master Jinma, you really are amazing," Winny says before stepping through the hole first.

"Rejoice! To use both Null Spells! Sir Kotori … nay, my superior, Master Kotori! My respect for you continues to grow even taller!" Ms. Gallofree exclaims before heading in next.

"… I've already seen this before. Should I even be surprised anymore after what I just saw?" Lili asks herself more than the others as she walks in the hole next.

"After you, Ms. Umeiyon," I say while gesturing. Her eyes were widened throughout the time from when the hole was opened to now before she clears her throat.

"Yes, well, I would expect nothing less of my mate, but next time, do tell me you're capable of this well ahead." Snorting with an embarra.s.sed blush, Ms. Umeiyon practically stomps her way through the [Portal].

… Well, I give her points for her huffy tsundere moment, at least.

I'll tell ya later, I answer Nyra in my mind as I go through the [Portal] last and close it behind me. Just as I did though, I get a couple of notices.

[Ren has now reached 'Dismantling' LV 6!

[Ren has earned 112 SP!

[Erizora has now reached 'Dismantling' LV 5!

[Erizora has achieved the 'Dismantler' t.i.tle!

[Erizora has earned 94 SP!]

Oh, yeah, Ms. Carmen mentioned I get to see my slaves' achievements even if I'm not around. Wait, does this mean they're done with the monster game?

~~

"Ah! Master! Welcome back, sir!"

"?!" I almost screamed when I saw what greeted me when Ms. Umeiyon and I went through the guild's doors first. Standing at a distance while saluting are Ren and Erizora … almost covered head to toe by blood like they just jumped out of a gory horror movie. I can see how the other adventurers in the building are keeping themselves as far away from the two of them as possible, probably from both the sight and the stench that was previous emitted by the Toxic Troll.

"We are happy to report that we dismantled all of the bodies for materials and they are being evaluated by the staff as we speak! We made sure they were under your name, of course, sir!" Ren exclaims.

Too bothered by the appearance, I cast [Clean] on the two of them to get rid of the b.l.o.o.d.y mess and smell. "Wait, you went through all of that already? How long were we gone?"

"I think it was for an hour sir!" Erizora exclaims.

"Huh?" I peek back outside and see that it's still pretty bright out. Judging by the sun's position, it looks like we're just getting past the quarter of the afternoon. Now that I think about it, today has been unusually long. "What time is it?"

"It is the fifth trian right now, sir!" Ren answers.

… Wha?

… Wha?

It's 24 hours, of course … right?

36? Something about that number's familiar to me, but when I think back, it dawns on me. The 36-Hour Slave Rent Free Trial! It wasn't talking about a weird day and a half of free service, it was actually a full day here! Is this seriously half a day longer than back home?! No wonder it feels like things were dragging on today!

"Master? Are you all right? You look like you're anguis.h.i.+ng about something?" Ren asks with concern.

Ah, right. "Sorry, I was having a mental spat in my head. Anyway, there was a lot to work with, and you managed to get through it all in an hour with just the two of you?"

"Our 'Dismantling' skill level at the time allowed us to work through them all quite fast and efficiently! In fact, we even leveled it up by the end of our task, sir!" Ren exclaims.

"I saw that, excellent job. You two can relax and use inside voices now. Also, you don't have to put in 'sir' at the end of every sentence, too."

""Yes, Master,"" they say in sync before relaxing their postures.

"Ah, are you the Lizardman girl I was requested to evaluate today?"

We turn to see the new person who asked for Ms. Umeiyon. It's an Arachne like Lili and Ms. Raize, only her spider body is an interesting dark green color while her medium-short hair is in a much lighter shade. She wears light leather armor and clothing along with gloves that seem to help carry a clipboard of sorts. She's a little smaller than Lili in size.

"For the Fighting Evaluation Ranking, yes? I am that same one," Ms. Umeiyon answers.

"I'm Zelnesh, and I'll be your examiner for today. Has your volunteered opponent arrived yet?"

"I just got word from Plume that my brother is on his way. We should meet him at the training grounds," Winny says while a few fingers are on her temple.

"Well then, let us head over there now. This way, please." Ms. Zelnesh takes the lead to the very back of the guild while the rest of us follow. I notice a couple other curious adventurers also come along to watch how this turns out as well.

"Did you get that from some kind of telepathy?" I ask Winny while we walk.

"Yes. When magical beasts are contracted to their summoners as familiars, they're able to communicate through telepathy no matter how far apart they are, and orders can be relayed through multiple familiars at once if more than one is summoned. You'll be able to pick it up pretty quickly once we get you set up tomorrow."

"Cool."

I wonder what kind of familiar I'd get when we get to the training grounds. I take the opportunity to [Clean] up the b.l.o.o.d.y mess Ren and Erizora made in the work area from dismantling the monsters. Meanwhile, Ms. Zelnesh leads Ms. Umeiyon to one of the platforms where she'd have her battle with Winny's brother. Ms. Umeiyon answers some questions the examiner asked as she writes notes in the clipboard with some kind of charcoal pencil.

"Sorry, I'm laaaaaaaate! Equip! Groundshaker!"

We all hear a voice coming from the sky. When we look up, we see two figures coming down. Arriving first is Winny's bird familiar, Plume, followed by a lithe young man. As he flew down, I make out a stupidly large sword appearing in some kind of light from out of nowhere. He reaches out and grabs the handle before making his rough landing on the platform.

With a big, confident smile, he gets into some kind of signature pose with that large sword in the air.

"The Great Older Twin Brother, Arch Imp Buster Swordsman Kenny of Phasing Moon has arrived!"

Taking a close look at his features, I can see a few of the similarities between him and Winny. Their eye and hair colors are the same as well as their youthful complexions, and even height. Aside from the gear and physique, he stands out more from his wild short hairstyle and different-shaped horns. What catches my attention the most though other than the ridiculous sword that's the same length as his body is the bronze band on his left arm that has a similar design to Eugus' gold one. He looks like someone that jumped out from one of those shounen mangas back home.

Where did he even pull that big sword from? Did he make a 'Weapon's Bond' with it?

Nyra answers in my head.

I see, so it's like my MIB, but I can change my equipment in a snap. I should get myself one of those.

"Thank you for taking a moment of your time for this matter, Mr. Kenny," Ms. Zelnesh says while looking very used to his energetic behavior.

"No problem! I'm always up to having a good fight! Now, who's my worthy opponent today—whoooooa! What the h.e.l.l's up with your magic, dude?!" Kenny asks as he points his sword at me.

"What's wrong with my magic?" I ask while tilting my head.

"So, I was like 'Whoooa! What's doing that?!' on my way here, because it was like 'Fwoooooom!' and 'Psshaaaaa!' and 'Fweeeet!' and then—"

"Brother! What did I say about using actual words to describe events?!" Winny exclaims in a surprisingly uncharacteristic manner. She seems to have realized this before quickly turning to me and bowing her head. "I'm terribly sorry, Master Jinma, he can be really boisterous and oblivious to his surroundings when he's excited about something. If he offended you—"

"It's fine, Winny. I've dealt with weirder. So, you're saying my magic aura or something is seen as really huge and colorful that came into bursts, and it's going wild as I'm speaking?"

"Yeah! You totally get me!"

"You actually understood all of that?" Lili asks me, to which I just shrugged.

"Okay, you gotta be my opponent, right? It's only natural that our fight will be freakin' epic!"

"Uh, no, Mr. Kenny. She is your opponent," Ms. Zelshen corrects as she points her charcoal pencil to Ms. Umeiyon who stands there with an unimpressed expression.

"… Whoa, you were there the whole time? I didn't even notice you. Weird."

"Brother! That's really rude! Be mindful of what you say to strangers for the Immortals' sake!"

"Well, no matter! I just have to beat her and see what rank she'll be placed in, right?! I don't sense any magic from you, but don't expect me to hold back because of it and a fact that you're female! This will be a cinch!"

"Are you even listening to me?!"

Nyra asks me. I just shrugged.

I've seen mothers back home scolding their children like this. Seeing it done repeatedly at a time, I can only imagine how difficult it can be to be a parent; hence, part of why I'm really careful to not fall into that role all of a sudden and hope I wasn't as much of a pain to Mom when I was young.

Still, to see Winny, the younger twin, to scold her older brother, their family situation must be complicated for her to look after him like this.

"What did he mean when he introduced himself as a 'Buster Swordsman' though? Is that a cla.s.s?" I ask.

"Yes, an Advanced Cla.s.s that one can promote to whether they be a Mercenary or a Savage," Winny explains. "A Buster Swordsman is as the name suggests, one that uses a Buster Sword like the one he's carrying as his main mean of offense, using a balance of strength and speed to do crowd control when dealing with swarms of enemies."

I could make out the muscles in his arms to see how much he trained to get to where he is; yet, his size is still a contrast to how strong he really is from wielding such an impractical weapon only one would see in games and anime.

"Can we get this over with? I'd rather not get involved with insects that only buzz around to annoy me," Ms. Umeiyon says while crossing her arms and furrowing her brow.

Despite her harshness, she speaks the truth, at least to what her Stats read that she's likely able to change at her will along with her form. I recall seeing her 'Hide Magic' skill when she showed me her Status. She probably got around unnoticed to this point because of it. I'd have to see if I could learn that if my own magic stands out as much as Kenny and Winny imply it. If there are others who can see magic like I did when I had my 'Devil Eyes' on, I don't want to risk getting into trouble with some strong, bothersome people.

That aside, as loud and annoying as Kenny is, I have to do something to avoid him getting an unneeded brutal death.

"Well then, if both partic.i.p.ants are ready, take your positions," Ms. Zelshen says before the two of them stand at a certain distance between them.

"Ms. Umeiyon!" I call out to her. "Don't kill him!"

"What the h.e.l.l?! Do the two of you look down on me that much?!" Kenny exclaims.

"Huh, that might actually be a little difficult for me to do, but won't the Immortals' magic from the monument prevent that?"

"Not if it's a complete overkill!"

"… Can you do something for me in exchange, then?"

"What is it?"

"You allow me to call you 'Jin' while you call me 'Ume.'"

""…""

"… What?" I ask for clarification.

"'Jinma' is what you humans call your 'given name,' and 'Kotori' is your 'surname,' yes? Back in my home, we refer to those with a piece of the whole name we were given at birth to show how close they are to us. A 'nickname,' I think humans called it. I would call you 'Jin' while I've always wanted my mate to call me 'Ume.'"

Oh, G.o.d, this is just digging my mate hole with her even deeper.

It was difficult to not groan in this situation. "We still need to talk about it later, but please don't kill Kenny in this fight for me … Ume."

Ume's face flushes deeply while she covers her mouth and averts her gaze. I can see her tail straightening and stiffen out behind her. "Oh, wow … that was actually more embarra.s.sing than how I imagined it would turn out."

How do you think 'I' feel about this?! And dammit, why do you have to look so cute all embarra.s.sed right now?!

"Okay, now you're just p.i.s.sing me off with your lovey-dovey s.h.i.+t!" Kenny exclaims before he quickly rushes in to attack first without Ms. Zelshen's signal. "Get bent and spare the other single men here some grief—!"

"Water Blast."

BUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

""?!""

At Ume's nonchalant chant, a large, powerful pillar of water shoots out from the direction of her palm, practically covering most of the arena. It blasts and pushes Kenny back and out of the platform while dropping his weapon before hitting the wall. The stream went on for a couple seconds before Ume cuts the magic off—still flushed from earlier—and Kenny is revealed practically embedded to the wall from the force. His HP was empty the moment he made the impact. There're only whites in his eyes as he peels off the wall and falls face first to the ground.

"U-Um … I didn't even say 'begin' yet, but okay," Ms. Zelshen says shakily before gesturing to Ume who's squirming in place. "The winner is the new adventurer, Umeiyon. W-We may not have seen much, but we can clearly see how capable you are with magic to an extent, as expected of a Sage. Would you be all right with being a red-ranked adventurer?"

"Y-Yeah, sure."

"Is he … still alive?" Lili asks while Winny quickly runs over to Kenny's side and checks his condition.

"He's okay! He still has a pulse!" Winny announces.

I may have already known he's still alive from seeing his bars while a 'KO' sign was blinking above his name, but I still sigh with relief along with the others. If Kenny was truly dead, there'd be a big sign that reads 'DEAD' while his name is faded from white to gray characters. That's what I've noticed from seeing the monsters I killed a while back, same goes for the people I killed last night—which I'm still coming to terms with, actually. This may be another of what my 'Size Up' skill allows me to see.

Ms. Zelshen jots some more notes down in her clipboard. "I'll get your card set up. Come on inside and wait until we call you when you're ready," she says before going down the platform and heads back inside the guild.

I then go on up the platform and approach Ume while she tries to snaps herself out of it.

"Are you okay there, Ume?"

"Y-Yes, I'm fine, but um … perhaps I was a bit ahead of myself making such a bold request before I even hear your answer to my offer."

"Oh, then, should I go back to calling you 'Ms. Umeiyon' then?"

"I didn't say that!" she yells, sounding a little desperate, but then clears her throat to calm herself down. "I mean, you have my permission to still address me as 'Ume,' but until I hear your answer, I'll still refer you as 'Jinma Kotori.' Is that … all right, with you?"

"… Yeah, that's fine." At this point, I'd have said I was fine with her calling me 'Jinma' at least, but saying someone's full name must be some sort of norm among casually acquainted Dragons back at her home. I don't know how she'll react when I reject her, so I think this is fine for now. I don't want to get her hopes up either, so I'll just call her 'Umeiyon' at least.

Still, I'll be a little saddened to let this one go. I don't know how urgent it is for her to have children, but if she's willing to wait, I wouldn't mind getting to know her a little more on an intimate level. Seeing her so bashful like this is tempting me to tease her a little more.

Nyra whispers in my mind.

I glance over and indeed; the many male adventurers are trying to burn holes into me with their eyes, especially the humans.

"Okay! Let's head on back inside and wait for further instructions! Come on, guys!" I exclaim while grabbing Umeiyon's claw and pull her along back inside the guild.

""Yes, Master!"" [Ren and Erizora]

"Do I … even have a chance to be by his side?" [Ms. Gallofree]

"Come on, Lady Mellow of the Dramatic, let's get moving." [Lili]

"I'll rejoin you all after I tend to Brother's injuries!" [Winny]

I heard comments from the background as I move along, trying to avoid the piercing glares from the other male adventurers.