I Was Called Incompetent ch.29

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And also, good news! Shirayuki has returned and ready to edit the chapter.
I’ll working him hard to deliver a lot of chapters for you all.

Enjoy the chapter and stay safe everyone!

Episode 29 : Important

Ranks acted as an indicator of one’s ability.

Adventurers were ranked from D up to SSS
Ranks were also assigned to request, and only those of the same rank can take the request.

D rank adventurers were the beginners. The requests available for them are mainly simple item gathering or low level monster subjugation.

C ranks consisted of the more experienced beginners. They are now allowed to hunt low level medium sized monsters.

B rank was the middleground. Most adventurers belonged to this rank, and they are mostly dispatched to handle mid level monsters.

A rank is considered as an advanced rank. An adventurer gained the right to become guild master upon reaching this rank, after receiving recognition from everyone. Subjugation of advanced level monsters became available at this rank.

S ranks were the super advanced. The ability to subdue large sized monsters alone was required to rise to this rank.

SS ranks are those who are even more seasoned than the S rank. Naturally, their strength surpasses those on the S rank.

SSS pretty much consisted of the strongest people in the world. Currently, only 10 people belong to this rank. Pretty much the ultimate adventurer.
And one of them was the Hero, Roy.

Human population naturally grows.
And yet the number of strong adventurers continued to decline. This not only concerned the adventurer guild, but also humanity as a whole.

By the way, only Rhode and his group are aware about magic rank. In the current world, there is no concept of rank for magic.
Some adventurers actually belonged to a fairly high rank despite making use of what Levi considers low rank magic.
Proficiency and the level of the magic clearly have a hand on this.

=====

After completing the procedures, I found that the two wyvern corpses had disappeared when I left the guild.

[Eh?]

[Where on earth…]

[Yo, it seems that the procedure is finished.]

It was Hagar-san who called out.
Inea-san was also with him.

[Sorry to surprise you. But those wyverns, we’ve already sold it. I happen to have a connection for this kind of thing. Here is some materials from when the corpses were processed, here is the certificate, and here is the money. Please check it out.]

The hemp bag he handed over to me was fully packed with gold.
It’s heavy, as there are about 1 million gold stashed inside.
According to the certificate, the value increased because the bodies were mostly intact.
And their sizes were also a rarity in this town.

[This much…? And for you to go through all that trouble… I’m sorry.]

[No no… I still need to thank you for saving our life. Moreover, you made me aware that I still have a long way to go… Thanks.]

[No, this is more than enough already. All the same, thank you.]

[No, compare to me, you…. Good grief… You really beat me in many categories. Anyways, how long are you planning to stay in this town?]

[Right… I haven’t actually decided…]

I asked Lana-san earlier, whether there is an incompetent in this town. Since the reply was none, I was thinking of heading straight to the capital.
Which means I won’t be staying here for too long.

[In that case, can you give me some time? I’m good at leather work and blacksmithing. I want to craft you an armor from the wyvern materials. Sounds good?]

[Y, you will only make me feel bad if you go that far.]

Honestly, it’s quite a sweet offer.
Of course I have a longing for armor. I want to wear one someday.
So I thought that I should buy one after I get my payment.

[No, don’t feel bad about it, it’s just my way to show my gratitude. Let me do it. I’ll make you something good for sure.]

[Rhode-sama, let us just take his offer. This man will surely make you a wonderful armor.]

I have a feeling that appraisal magic was in action once more.
If even Levi said so, then Hagar-san probably has a proper production-related skill for the task.
Moreover, I’d feel bad if I refuse after he went this far…

[If Levi says so, then I can only relent… I’m looking forward to the armor, Hagar-san.]

[Sure, leave it to me. I’ll inform you when it’s completed. Do you have a communication stone?]

[Oh, I don’t have it yet. I’m planning to buy one after this.]

[In that case, how about I accompany you to the seller? We can always get in touch if we link our communication stone together.]

[Alright.]

[I’ll show you a good shop. Follow me.]

The four of us headed to the magic stone shop while chatting.
I felt like everyone we passed by would throw their glance at me. It’s a little embarrassing.
Apparently the news about the wyverns slaying had spreaded.

[I see… so you are actually a summoner mage. I haven’t seen you in a fight though. Inea, did you?]

[Un. It was amazing… he beheaded that inferno wyvern in a simple slash.]

[My summoning magic can summon weapons and certain people after all.]

Half of it was a lie.
I’m sorry.

[Sounds like good magic. I envy you for having such versatile magic.]

[And he seemed really good at it as well. Rhode-kun must’ve trained a lot.]

[Eeh, well…]

All I did was swing a hoe everyday though.
Sorry again.

[By the way, why does Levi-san wear that maid outfit?]

Levi let out a crispy laugh, put her hand on her chest, then replied.

[This is like my combat uniform. Anytime, anywhere, I will continue to be Rhode-sama’s maid. It is like a manifestation of my will.]

Fufun, Levi snorted.
Seeing this, Hagar-san and Inea-san grinned.

[So passionate…]

[You know… I envy you even more now…]

[Levi, please don’t say something weird like that…]

[Mu? But why?]

Whilst chatting like that, we finally arrived at the magic stone shop.
Once inside, magic stones of various types, colors, and sizes could be seen on display.
They let out a dim light inside the room that has been deliberately kept semi dark.

=====

Magic Stone.

Excavated from the underground, dungeons, archaeological sites, etc, minerals and jewels that can contain magic power were collectively called magic stone.
Most of them were in empty state upon excavation. By infusing magic power into it, various kinds of effects can be produced.

A minority of what was found already carried special power from the beginning. This kind would fetch for a really high price.

Magic stones were often embedded in weapons of legends, as these stones can not only imbue the weapon with special effect, they can also improve the power to the utmost limit.

=====

[It’s beautiful…]

[The communication stone is… ah, Rhode, here it is.]

As the name suggests, communication stone allows people to communicate through long distance, provided both sides have communication stones that have been linked.
The distance limit depends on the size and strength of the stone.
The cheapest, palm-size stones are usually enough as long as it’s within a single town. The larger and powerful stones are usually reserved for long distance communication between countries.

It was a palm-sized stone with a pretty expensive price at 100.000 gold.
Shining with purple light, it was displayed inside a pen size cylinder made of silver. By the way, all of the magic stones in this store were similarly displayed in silver containers.
The price was quite high. But with 1.5 million gold in my pocket, it’s still affordable.
Besides, it’ll certainly prove useful in the coming journey.

I bought two, one for each of me and Levi, then left the store.
Now that I had also linked mine with Hagar-san’s, we could get in touch whenever needed.

[Okay, I’ll start making the armor right away. I’ll contact you when it’s done. Ah, now that I realize it… that sword still has no scabbard?]

[Ah, yes. This iron sword was created with magic by my acquaintance.]

[I see. Then why don’t you leave it to me as well for now? I can clean it up then return it to you later.]

[Eh? Will that be alright? I’m already imposing so much on you already…]

[It’s fine, it’s fine. Alright, see you again, Rhode-kun! Sorry for today. And thank you!]

=====

Renting a room in an inn, I finally got to sit on a chair relaxedly.
It was pretty cheap, but the room was fairly large and neat.
But in all honesty, I could be careless about the interior.

The problem is… I’ll have to sleep in the same room as Levi.
Back at my house, I had Levi to sleep in my late parents’ room. When we had to camp during our journey here, the thought didn’t really cross my mind probably because we were outdoors.

But here is an indoor, closed room… which means, there are only the two of us in this space.
I couldn’t help but to be self aware of this.
In contrast to the panicking me, Levi didn’t seem to even care about this situation, as she diligently organized our baggages.
To calm my mind, I decided to help her.

[Rhode-sama.]

[Huaaah!?]

Being called out of the blue like that caused me to yelp….

[Is there anything wrong?]

[N, no, it’s nothing important.]

[The bath has been prepared, so please enter first.]

When did she even do that?
Well, it might be a good way to calm myself down.

[Y, yeah. Understood.]

It’s still the usual Levi after all.
She might sense that something is strange, so let’s try to act calm a little.

=====

As I washed my body, I recounted what happened today in my mind.
So many things happened.
My first time fighting wyverns, meeting Solomon, then Trident, and so on.
Making friends with Hagar-san, and I’m happy that I didn’t end up smearing more mud on Gagan-san’s face.
And lastly, suddenly rising to B rank…

[Hyaaaah!?]

Something, or someone suddenly touched my back.

[Rhode-sama, please calm down.]

[Wha, wai, what are you doing!?]

Levi was standing there, looking back to me in amazement. Her body was only covered by a piece of cloth.
No, she wasn’t covered at all.
Rather, she didn’t even have the intention to cover anything.

[Washing your back of course.]

Dammit.
I was too busy trying to calm myself down that I didn’t notice her arrival…

[N, no need! I can do it myself!]

[No, I will not let you off this time.]

Levi suddenly hugged me from behind. And to my surprise, I couldn’t move my body at all.
My head felt dizzy, but it’s not due to a headache.
With our body pressing on each other without boundary like this, and the silence that proliferated in the room, I could hear Levi’s heartbeat echoing in my ears.
Contrary to the calm she showed on the outside that was visible on the mirror in front of us, her heart was beating violently.
And mine was the same…

[Speaking of this, I would like to mention that, this is the first time I have ever done this.]

[Levi…..]

She said this without a tinge of change in her expression, but I could see that a faint redness had bloomed in her cheeks.

[To be honest, I do not understand it myself. But… I wish to do this for Rhode-sama. If you do not like it… then please tell me.]

I… did I unconsciously distance myself from her more than necessary?
Perhaps the thought that I should cherish her was too strong.
But Levi was probably not aware of this, and she thought that I was avoiding her…
I’m sorry… Levi.

[I don’t dislike it.]

I said it as clearly as I could.
It would be wrong to make her any more anxious than already is.

[Is…that so? Then, please excuse my rudeness.]

[There is no need for that… I’m glad.]

Gyuu, Levi tightened her hug.
It really bothered her after all.
Now that I think about it, Levi has been leaving me clues of it all over the places.
Therefore… I need to make my feeling clear.

[I love you, Levi. Not because you were entrusted to me… but because I really strongly feel so. So how about we take it easy. There is no need to hurry… I will not escape from you anyway.]

I set my palm on top of Levi’s hand
Levi in response took hold of it with great care.

[Yes… Rhode-sama.]