"Umm, can I just get the next one now?" Risa asked, the Special-grade sword that she planned on using in public hanging loosely at her side.
"Very well! Heh-heh-heh-heh! I challenge you to the trial of the B-ranked challenge!" He was completely losing it by now. Still, though, he began chanting a spell once more.
That's Summon Demon, not Summon Monster…?
'Report. Summoning magic Summon Demon successfully earned.'
"I'm gonna go get the guildmaster!" Apparently, I wasn't the only one to notice the raw power difference between this ceremony and the other one. Though it didn't matter.
This summoning called forth a totally different beast than the others did. It was a lesser demon with four wriggly arms.
As people began arguing that the lesser demon was too strong for a normal B-rank exam, Risa began fighting the thing.
Four fireballs flew at Risa. She used her sword to swipe two out of the air, using minimal effort to dodge the other two.
Then, Risa went on the attack, slashing through one of the demon's arms with her sword. Then, she put it up to her shoulder, head cocked in the way that she did when she was deep in thought.
'Report. Melee attacks are ineffective against spiritual lifeforms.' Yeah, I knew that. Spiritual life forms like demons and spirits didn't have bodies, so they formed them out of magic. Since they were just clumps of magic, they could instantly stitch themselves up if they were damaged. The only way you could actually harm something like that was to get rid of their magicule supply, forcing them back to whatever magic dimension they came from.
The demon attempted another barrage of some sort of magic, but Risa's interest in it clearly ended, and she destroyed it in a blaze of fire.
"What is going on, here?!"
"Oh, hey Fuze!" I greeted.
…
"I told you a million times to just bring Sir Rimuru directly to me, not make any side trips like this, and now just look at the rumors you've likely started! So much extra work for me… They stuck out like a sore thumb, and now everyone's going to be looking to figure out where the girl capable of defeating a lesser demon in a single strike came from! I told you to bring them to me, because I wanted to use my guildmaster privileges to get them their B-rank licenses without going through the test!" Fuze was seated in his office, staring down at the trio, Kabal, Elen, and Gido and lecturing them.
"But-"
"Um-"
"I tried-"
"SILENCE, You idiots! From this moment forward, you three will hereby be referred to as the Three Fools of Blummund! Now get out of my office, I have matters to discuss with Sir Rimuru and Lady Risa." Fuze shouted.
After the three fools left, Fuze gave me the documentation he'd prepared for me. I also told him about Risa using the cover name 'Rin,' and he agreed with me that it was probably a smart idea. Unfortunately for Risa, she couldn't get any higher than a B-rank at a rural branch like this, but it was enough for my needs. B was a pretty high rank, it'd open all the doors I needed.
Risa had two missions, her main mission to get combat experience against strong, unique foes, and her secondary mission of keeping an eye on me. In order to do that, she needed the information accessibility that came with an A-rank.
As for me, I just needed to speak with a few world leaders, and then go to Englesia to deal with these children that Shizu was so concerned about.
Fuze and I talked for a little while. He bumped me straight from rank E to rank B, and gave me a letter of introduction for the Free Guild's grandmaster, Yuuki Kagurazaka. Yuuki was a stray otherworlder from Japan, who'd once been Shizu's student, so I really wanted to talk to him.
After that, Fuze and I agreed that I'd stay in Blummund and meet with the king to talk 'big picture' three days from now. In the meantime, we'd meet with a high-ranking noble that Fuze knew, to discuss our nation's relationship before my meeting with the king.