The receptionist opened the door and turned towards me.

"Please wait here while I call the person in charge."

After saying, "Understood," I entered the reception room and sat on the sofa, waiting for the staff to arrive.

I wonder if the person coming is for my promotion exam or if it's the Guild Master. Well, either way, I want to finish the conversation quickly and head to Duke Valdeck's place.

Knock, knock!

"Yes?"

"Excuse me."

With that voice, the door opened, and the receptionist from earlier entered the room, facing me and beginning to explain who she brought along.

"Lady Elaina, this is the Head of the General Guild, Ms. Lamuel Marlen."

"Lamuel Marlen, rabbit beastfolk, General Guild Master of Liedgarm. As written in the letter."

While Myurina had chestnut-colored hair, Lamuel had black hair, wore an eyepatch over his left eye, and was a slender woman.

"Pleased to meet you. My name is Elaina."

"Hmm, quite a polite woman you are."

Isn't it normal to say that while bowing my head in greeting? And I wonder if this person is the one in charge of the examination?

"Well, Elaina is just that kind of person."

Huh? I recognize that voice!?

Thinking so, I raised my head and looked to the entrance, where someone who shouldn't be here was standing.

"M-Mr. Aid!? Why are you here!?"

Moreover, Aid was not wearing the knight's attire but leather armor.

"Yeah! After what happened, I quit the knights. More like, I resigned. Then, I got into the General Guild thanks to Duke Valdeck."

Resigned... Could it be!?

"Is it because of that incident?"

"...Yeah."

What a situation. Aid must have wanted to continue being a knight, but to end up like this...

"Don't make that face. It's not your fault. Besides, even if I had reasons to say I was threatened, I'm still one of the suspects in that incident. If I didn't do that, suspicions could fall on the Second Knight Order."

Suspicions... Indeed, being involved in such events without punishment and continuing with the knights as usual would be too good to be true for some and could be used as material against the Second Knight Order.

"Um... Sorry to interrupt the conversation, but he's Aid, your supervisor for the promotion exam.

Would it be alright if I leave the detailed explanation to the Guildmaster and Mr. Aid?"

"Yes, that's fine."

"Then, I'll return to the counter."

"Please do."

After Lamuel said that, the receptionist left the room, leaving only three of us in the reception room. I couldn't hide my surprise at the receptionist's earlier words.

"Mr. Aid is my supervisor!?"

"That's right! First, let me explain the content of the D-rank promotion exam. The rest, like the orcs, can wait."

"Y-Yes... I understand."

Ignoring my dazed expression, Aid briskly began to speak.

"First, let's talk about the content of the D-rank promotion exam! Pay attention! I won't tolerate failure on the exam day due to not knowing some detail beforehand!"

"Y-Yes!?"

After hearing Aid's words, I straightened my back and turned my body towards him.

"The exam's contents are simple. You'll dive into a dungeon."

"A dungeon?"

"Yes, a dungeon! You'll form a party with three other people besides you and conquer the dungeon down to the third floor. Of course, I'll accompany the party as an examiner and assess your performance. If there's any danger, I'll intervene. Depending on the situation, the promotion exam may be suspended."

"Mr. Aid, I have a question."

"I'll take questions at the end. Also, I'm Instructor Aid!!"

"Y-Yes! My apologies, Instructor Aid!!?"

"Very well. Let's continue. Once you've conquered down to the third floor, use the magic scrolls we've prepared to return to the dungeon entrance, then report back to the General Guild to conclude the exam. You'll be informed about the results later. The D-rank exam will be held the day after tomorrow, precisely at eight o'clock, at the General Guild. Remember, if you're even a minute late, you'll fail right there on the spot!"

The exam is strict about punctuality! It's as strict as university entrance exams!

"The dungeon's location is the Labyrinth of Demi-humans. As you probably know, you need to pay the exam fee of two silver coins to the Guild. Any questions up to this point?"

"Um, meet at the Guild at eight in the morning. Labyrinth of Demi-humans... Alright!"

I'll write down the conversation up to this point in the free memo section of the menu.

"Instructor Aid, I have a question."

"What is it?"

"I'd like to know about the other participants. What are the other two people like?"

Since I'll be forming a party with others, it would be good to know about them.

"Unfortunately, there's nothing to tell."

"I see, understood."

I guess I'll have to judge for myself when I see them on the day of the exam.

"Because you're the only one taking the D-rank promotion exam!"

"Huh?"

I'm the only one?

"What does that mean?"

Mr. Ai-, I mean, Instructor Aid, stares at me and begins to explain.

"In simple terms, because you're too capable, we at the General Guild have decided that it's better for you to take the D-rank promotion exam alone."

"Too capable... Instructor Aid, am I not allowed to take the exam with someone else?"

"No, you're not. There's a possibility that we won't be able to see the abilities of the other two adventurers if you team up with someone else."

There's some sense in what Instructor Aid says.

"Also, there are some who might think, 'Just leave it all to her, and passing will be easy, right?' I'll warn you, though, if you do something like that, you'll fail."

"Ye-yes..."

I wanted to try teaming up with someone else and exploring a dungeon.

"Don't make that face. There are others who take the D-rank promotion exam solo due to differences in ability, too. You're one of them. Gahahaha!"

Instructor Aid laughed heartily with his mouth wide open.

"Well, if you pass this D-rank promotion exam, you'll not only become a D-rank but also be able to enter the dungeon without the supervision of D-rank or higher adventurers! Even if you fail, you can take the exam again next week."

Being able to enter the dungeon alone is appealing.

"Lastly, let me make this clear, Elaina. While I'm your instructor this time, as a General Guild staff member, I won't engage in any misconduct. Got it?"

Instructor Aid stared straight at me with a serious expression.

"!? Y-Yes! Understood!!"

"Good! That's all from me. Now tell us about the orcs you saw."

"Understood."

After I explained about the orcs I defeated on the way to the capital, Lamuel, after crossing her arms and pondering for a moment, looked at me and began to speak.

"I see. I'll issue a warning just in case. However, the fact that the orc could speak suggests it might be a higher-tier species."

"Um, could you take a look at the orcs since I have them with me?"

"What? You have them?"

"Yes, I have them."

Instructor Aid reacted to my words.

"Huh? I recall you didn't have the Item Box skill. Do you have an Expanded Bag or something?"

"Huh? Did Instructor Aid see my status?"

"I heard about your status from Captain Guell and the others!"

Ah, so Guell and the others told Instructor Aid.

"Wait a minute... Amy said you pulled out a 'ghunn' from nowhere."

"Aid, if the person herself says so, it must be true, right? Elaina, it'd be inconvenient to deal with that here, so come with me to the dismantling site. You can show us the orcs there."

"Yes, understood."

Following behind Lamuel, I left the reception room and walked down the hallway for a while until we reached what seemed to be the dismantling site. Lamuel pointed to an empty space next to the dismantling table.

"Please put the orcs there."

"Understood."

As instructed by Lamuel, I selected the orcs' corpses in my storage and took them out.

"You're able to pull out orcs from nowhere despite not having the Item Box skill... Who the hell are you?"

Instructor Aid asked while licking his lips.

"I'm just a normal girl."

When I responded like that, Instructor Aid raised his eyebrows while looking at me.

"What's normal about a girl who can do something like that without the Item Box skill?!"

"Eh!? Instructor Aid, there's no need to be so angry! Ms. Amy just scolded me about the same thing earlier!!"

"Aid, let's leave that aside for now. Are these five the only bodies you have?"

"Yes."

"I see. Except for this orc, all the others have crushed faces, but they can still be examined. At a glance, it's apparent that there are differences from normal orcs. They might be special specimens."

Instructor Aid looked at the orcs with wide eyes.

"Special specimens?! If that's true, Beiger's group wouldn't be able to handle them. That something like these were around the outskirts of the Royal Capital..."

"...I'll issue a warning immediately. Also, Elaina."

"Yes, what is it?"

"We'll purchase this one at the General Guild. Is it alright if the payment takes a bit of time for assessment?"

"Um, since I'll be getting accommodations and then heading to Duke Valdeck's place, can I come back at a later date?"

"I see. Understood. When you come to the Guild tomorrow, we'll take care of the payment. That's all from me. I'll get back to work now."

Lamuel said that and left the dismantling site.

"...She left."

Aid put his hand on my left shoulder and spoke to me.

"Guildmaster Lamuel may seem like that, but she's a good person, so don't worry about it."

"Is that so?"

"That aside, Elaina."

"Yes, what is it?"

"You saved Beiger and the others. Thank you."

"Nyuu! Nyuuuu!!?"

W-What's he saying all of a sudden!?

"Well, Beiger is my drinking buddy, and the others are... former comrades and important companions to me. I wanted to express my gratitude."

"Uhfuuuuu!!?"

My face feels, feels so hooot...

"...Leave the rest to me and go to Duke Valdeck's place. Once you leave here, his mansion is straight ahead on the left, so it's easy to find."

Aid, for some reason, with a bewildered expression, told me the location of Duke Valdeck's mansion.

"Th-Tank yu wery mhuch!!"

Let's go. I can't take it anymore!!

I left the General Guild with unsteady steps.