Arien: Shi-zu-kana?
And then Akari pointed her hand from Shiro toward the man on the couch.
Akari: Shizukana, this is my little brother. Shiro.
Raiden Shizukana got up from his seat. He moved with a fluid, unhurried grace, his eyes half-lidded as if the effort of standing was already too much.
Raiden: Well, I could tell that just as I saw him. You two have a lot in common.
Akari: Right? He is as beautiful as I am.
Raiden: That's too much confidence in yourself, don't you think?
The way Shizukana talked was almost like he had no energy at all. It was the same profound listlessness that Shiro showed when he was at the academy.
Raiden: It's not that. This one is just... like me. Too bad he's your brother.
Akari: What was that?
Akari's voice sounded a little angry at Raiden's answer. Then, Shizukana leaned toward Shiro a little, and Shiro instinctively took a step back.
Raiden: Tell me, boy—
But before he could finish—
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Someone knocked on the heavy door. The guard stationed outside was supposed to stop anyone from approaching, so the knock took the attention of every S-Class adventurer in the room.
One of the girls—the one who had introduced herself to Shiro, Seraphina de Lys—walked toward the door. She took a deep breath, and when she spoke, her voice was completely different from the playful, curious tone she'd used with Shiro. It was cold, authoritative, and carried the weight of her title.
Seraphina: Who is it?
A voice came from the other side of the door.
???: Sorry for disturbing your free time, but I come here on the Guild Master's orders. May I come inside, if that's not a problem?
The voice belonged to a man. From what he said, he was just a messenger. But if he came inside, the carefully maintained illusion of the S-Class's imposing mystique—or the chaotic pride they held—would be shattered instantly.
Seraphina quickly glanced behind her, her eyes scanning the faces of the other S-Classes. They all gave subtle shakes of their heads or looks of mild horror. She turned back toward the door.
Seraphina: You may not. Speak the matter from there.
???: But—
And then another voice entered the conversation. It was the guard who was supposed to let no one pass.
Guard: For you to out-talk an S-Class, you sure have a death wish, I think.
The pressure in those words hit the messenger harder than any physical blow.
???: I-I'm really sorry for my rudeness! Th-then—
Saying that, the man fumbled and pulled a scroll from his pocket, opening it with shaky hands.
???: I am here to speak the words the Guild Master sends for the S-Class. And here are those words.
All the S-Class adventurers became mildly curious about what the message contained.
???: Ahem. As per the Guild Master's words: An adventurer party has requested an S-Class adventurer as backup for their upcoming expedition to Godfall Scar. The party has promised to pay a pretty amount of gold for that, too.
That order drew no visible reaction from the S-Class inside the room.
???: And two other S-Class adventurers are requested to preside over the rank evaluation of a newly sponsored adventurer who is going through a rank advancement assessment.
Just as the S-Classes heard that, all of them let out a collective, weary sigh. They were already tired of such formal duties.
???: And lastly, this is not an order from the guild, but from the Five Nobles, the Shizukana family themselves. As a personal order from Lord Nishiki, Lord Raiden is requested to return home for personal family matters.
???: That's all. I may take my leave. And sorry for my rudeness a moment ago.
With that, the man left. An unexpected, heavy silence fell inside the hall. Then, one voice broke it.
???: I'm not going anywhere.
Another chimed in.
???: Me too.
???: Me either.
Just like that, all the S-Class adventurers present voiced their opposition to the requests just delivered. For the first one—to go as backup for a Godfall Scar party—all of them disagreed.
Seraphina: What's the reason for going as backup, anyway? A glorified babysitter?
Then the man who had been sitting on the bookshelf dropped down and presented his own opinion.
???: Ahhh. I'll go with them. Godfall is a fun place to walk around..
Seraphina looked at him with a disgusted face.
Seraphina: What are you, an idiot? You're a noble, remember that.
???: Yeah. But that doesn't mean I can't join them. Well, they only requested one of us as backup, so unless one of them dies, I'm not stepping in.
And then the guy who had been furious about his missing pudding spoke up.
???: No. Wait 'til at least two of them die and the others beg for you to come. That's what they need to get for underestimating an S-Class.
Seraphina: Okay then, Tenjiro is going for that. And now—
Raiden Shizukana walked toward the door, his hands in his pockets. His expression hadn't changed at the news from his family.
Raiden: Well, at least I'm free from that work. See you later, if we meet again.
Saying that, Raiden Shizukana left the place without another word.
???: Are all of them from the Shizukana family like that?
???: Don't know. Raiden was the only one I've directly spoken to.
Seraphina: Okay, now the biggest question: who are the two that are going for the rank examination?
The room fell silent again. No one was looking anyone else in the eye. In that moment, Arien thought to herself,
Arien: All of them are too lazy to go. Even I can see that.
And just then, a voice that hadn't been inside the hall a moment ago spoke up, right behind Arien.
???: Well, my little lady, are you looking down on us?
Everyone was surprised by that—even Akari. Arien quickly scrambled away and turned around. At the moment she turned, Akari was somehow already holding her katana, the blade pointed toward the source of the voice. Arien was confused by how that katana could appear out of nowhere like that. But Shiro seemed to not even be bothered by it.
Akari: Who are you?
The voice sounded again, this time from the doorway of a side room. A man stepped out.
Seraphina: Akari, lower your katana. He is one of us.
???: Oh ho? So you accept me as part of this group?
And then the man stepped fully into the light, revealing his appearance. From the first glance, anyone could tell the man was tall—standing nearly six-foot-five. He wasn't overly buff with muscle, but not skinny either. He had long, pure black hair, about the same length as Shiro's. The most striking thing that captured his look was that he seemed to have just fallen from the sky—an ethereal, untouchable air about him.
Akari: Who are you?
???: Hehe. Sasaki Itadori. Seven-Star Adventurer from the Celestine Empire. Just returning from the Veilwood.
Shiro: Seven stars?
Unlike other kingdoms, which used the D, C, B, A, AA, and S-Class system, the Celestine Empire used its own ranking of stars. one stars represented D-Class, and five stars represented the strongest in their empire. But this man alone, in the entire empire, had been granted the unprecedented title of Seven Stars.
Seraphina: So, is there a reason you're coming here?
The atmosphere changed with his arrival. Before, the place had been fun, chaotic, and the air was light. Now, the place was dead serious, and the air was almost hard to breathe, thickened by the combined, heavy auras and presence of all the gathered S-Class adventurers.
Sasaki: Just heard what you were talking about, so I decided to step in. I volunteer to go for the rank examination.
No other adventurer spoke. It was almost as if no one wanted to go with him. Don't get it wrong—it wasn't because he was more powerful than the others. It was simply because going with him would be a drag.
And then, Akari stepped forward.
Akari: I'll go as the second one.
Seraphina: Are you sure?
Akari: Well, it's good that something like this came up. Haku can see what's happening, too.
Seraphina: Haku?
Sasaki came closer to Akari, though still maintaining a respectful distance. With Shiro standing by Akari's side and Arien behind them, he gave a slight, confident smirk.
Sasaki: Let's get along. After all, we are S-CLASS.