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On my way to the capital, I encountered a hoard of monsters that wasn't really moving, like it had been made to stay there by some unseen walls. I decided to kill them all, including the Ancient Dragon (Gold-bordered Green) who had lost his sanity, the three Wyverns, and the tens of thousands of Goblins, Wolves, as well as the hundreds of Orcs, Ogres, Tiger Wolves, Black Tigers, and the five Black Vipers. I stored all of them in my Hoard, save for the Goblins, who I burned and buried after using magic to collect all of their Magic Stones. When I got to the capital about two days later, I heard about there being that very same hoard I killed, and a party organized to defeat it that left a day earlier, as well as a group that got back an hour earlier that was going to defeat a horde on the other side of the capital, which was beaten by a party of A ranked adventurers who wanted to remain anonymous. Hearing that, I went to the guild.

"Brat, this isn't the-" (Idiot number I lost count after 30)

"Save your breath, I have more pressing things to do than wasting my time on people who only look at my age, or rather, the age they think I am" (Nene)

After pushing past a few idiots like that guy, I got to the receptionist, and as the counter was at the level of the top of my head, I used magic to hover a few feet off the ground, drawing stares from everyone around... well, they were already staring at me due to my looking like I was

"I'd like to speak with the guildmaster, could I see him or her? It's urgent" (Nene)

"Sorry, you'd need to make an appointment to see her, unless there is an appropriate reason or-" (Receptionist)

I put my S rank guild card on the counter, where only he could see it, and repeated my request. He looked at it, checked it to make sure it wasn't a fake, paled, and handed it back to me with shaking hands.

"I guess that that qualifies as appropriate qualifications to bypass the normal process, you will be able to meet with Sanya right away. May I ask why you wish to meet wi-" (Receptionist)

"No, you may not. I don't want anyone to overhear it" (Nene)

"Understood" (Receptionist)

As he left at a run to inform the guildmaster, the first idiot who spoke to me came up behind me.

"Look here brat, you need to learn that you don't have the authority to make people run like that, so I'd like to request that you leave this guild before we remove you from it by force" (Idiot number I lost count after 30)

"I'd like to point out that the receptionist thought otherwise, and that you wouldn't be able to remove me from the building by force if everyone besides me in this building were to work together" (Nene)

"Bitch, we have two A rank parties here, and I'm a B rank myself, what do you mean we couldn't do so? Come on, leave before you get hurt" (Idiot number I lost count after 30)

"Kiba, you are dead wrong there. Nene could beat you far more easily than she could kill a fly indoors. I'd like to request that you leave this guild before we remove you by force. Come on, leave before you get hurt. Nene? Why don't we come back to my room to talk. Oh, right. I'm the guildmaster here, it's nice to meet you" (Sanya)

Leaving behind Kiba with his jaw hanging open, I went into the back of the guild with Sanya, where she asked to see my guild card for herself. When she did, her jaw fell open after seeing my list of titles, the seal of the Imperial family, and the fact that I was a princess...

"You... you're a princess? I'm sorry for my ru-" (Sanya)

"Stop that. I'm not a princess... Not anymore, at least... I'm now the Empress of a non-existent country now that my parents are dead and the entire country was buried in lava and ash... So, with no subjects and no home or family to return to, I chose to not try to rebuild the Empire, and instead live my life as an adventurer" (Nene)

"Understood. So, what was it that made you want to talk to me urgently? I have to deal with the paperwork involved with sending that group to kill that horde of monsters... actually, could you go and help them?" (Sanya)

"Yeah... about that... I already killed the horde of monsters on my way here, I mean, they were in my way. There were tens of thousands of Goblins and Wolves,as well as hundreds of Orcs, Ogres, Tiger Wolves, Black Tigers, five Black Vipers, three Wyverns, and an Ancient Dragon who had lost his sanity. It was strange, they all seemed to be unable to leave a certain area. I wonder how could be..." (Nene)

"WHAT?! DID YOU JUST SAY THA-" (Sanya)

"Keep your voice down, do you want the whole country to hear you?" (Nene)

"Sorry... Did you just say that you killed an Ancient Dragon and a horde of other monsters on your own, simply because they were in your way? It looks like your card is somehow really understating your strength..." (Sanya)

"You may wish to know that the A ranks in the Drachen Empire have about the same level of strength as an S rank from Erufanica, but yes. This does understate my strength, even with that" (Nene)

"So, what do you want from me? It doesn't sound like you want the rewards and fame from it, but I feel like you want more than just to inform us that the group we sent to kill them won't find anything there" (Sanya)

"Correct, I want my name to NOT come up. It's fine if you just say that an S rank adventurer who wishes to remain anonymous came across the monsters, killed them, and stored the corpses in their Relic Item Bag or their Storage Magic. Just, don't mention my name, age, description, or anything else that could identify me. Sex is fine, I guess, and saying that the S rank is a mage, or even a magic knight, is fine, but that's all I want you to say about me" (Nene)

"It shouldn't be hard to figure out that the one who killed them came to us today, and as the only one who requested to see me today is you, everyone will think it was you anyways" (Sanya)

"Not quite, as I may be a magic knight, but... my card says I'm a D rank" (Nene)

"What? It says S rank right on the front!" (Sanya)

"I have two, for just this eventuality" (Nene)

I then showed her my second card, and spent some time drafting the announcement of the subjugation by the S rank. I was chosen to be the messenger to call back the group as I could use {Detect Presence} and {Gate}, so I could find the group, use {Gate} to move to a little ways back, and run up behind them to deliver the message... so I did just that.

Sure, I could have gotten there in about the same length of time if I just ran there, maybe save for a few minutes, but that would have had the side effect of making people panic when something fast ran right past them.

"So, this horde of monsters was killed by a lone S rank as they were passing by? And so we wasted a day walking here? I hope the guild will compensate us for this... and the day we spend walking back... Damn, I could have made a lot of money off of this job!" (Adventurer A)

"Three things: First, you would have been much more likely to die, as there was an Ancient Dragon in there. Second, the guild probably won't compensate you for this, and my basis for saying that is that the group sent to kill the other horde didn't get anything when it was killed by an A ranked party. Third, you won't have to walk back, I can take you to the gates of the Capital with {Gate}, that's why I was sent here... well, that and that I had the ability to get here faster than most others could" (Nene)

"So, I'm to believe that a little runt like you can use {Gate} and can hold it long enough to bring back this big of a group of people? Don't make me laugh" (Adventurer B)

"That's more likely to be the case than my being an S rank, right?" (Nene)

"It's more likely than you being an adventurer at all, you can't be more than ten years old" (Adventurer A)

"Well, I'm an adventurer, so take that prejudice and throw it away. Do you want me to bring you back or do you want to walk back? It's your choice. By the way, if anyone makes that kind of remark to me again, I'll go back and leave you all here to beat up the guy who made you walk back instead of come back easily" (Nene)

"Well, fine. Take us back with {Gate}. I'm still not happy with the lack of compensation though..." (Adventurer C)

"Well, that reminds me, you will be getting a little bit of compensation in the form of some of the Goblin's Magic Stones. 1 for the E ranks, 4 for the D ranks, 16 for the C ranks, 64 for the B ranks, and 256 for the A ranks, per person. I have the stones with me, so present your card as you go through the {Gate} to get the reward" (Nene)

"That's still not that much, but it's better than nothing, I guess" (Adventurer C)

"Yeah, but you're a C rank. Of course it's not much, you have the strength to do more than that, but think about it this way: You're getting about what a D rank request gives, but you did nothing but walk for a day" (Nene)

"Nothing but walk for a day, you say... My feet are killing me, as I've been having to jog to keep up for most of the time we've been 'walking' as you said" (Adventurer D)

"Fair enough, but... I walked nonstop from Alayzard to the Capital, save for a few hours of sleep at night... And by 'walked' I mean 'ran at a speed similar to that of a galloping racehorse for 18 hours a day' because I wanted to get to the capital before the inns filled up due to the king's birthday celebration. Don't go complaining to me about sore feet, not unless you've 'walked' here from Alayzard in my shoes... Wait, I'm not wearing any shoes, because mine wore out on the way here. Now then... Guys, make an orderly line over there, please" (Nene)

An hour or so later, I had sent everyone back to the gates, and I went through myself.

"I didn't think you could do it, but you did. You said you're an adventurer? What's your rank? B?" (Adventurer A)

"I'm a D rank. I only got my card a month or so ago" (Nene)

"D ranked in a few weeks, huh? Sounds like a similar story to that of the {Bloody Bear} I've been hearing rumors about. You look like you are about the same age as her too, but she's been around for more like two or three months, and she's a normal human girl, not a beastkin... she also has black hair and black eyes, not purple hair and gold eyes. Besides, she wears a bear outfit, not a simple cloak. She can't use the sort of high ranked magic that is only seen once a generation like {Gate} either, nor any Spatial magic, so far as I know. Just D to B rank Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Ice, and Light magic. With that, she can probably use Lightning and Dark, but I've not heard about her using those, just like I haven't heard about her Spatial magic" (Adventurer A)

"Hmm? Her name wouldn't happen to be Yuna, would it?" (Nene)

"I think I heard her name is something like Yuna. Why? Do you know her?" (Adventurer A)

"You could say that. I've been looking for her for years now. Do you know where she tends to be?" (Nene)

"No clue, sorry" (Adventurer A)

"Oh well... Does anybody else know?" (Nene)

"I heard she has been based in Crimonia, but I've seen her walking in the capital recently, so you might be able to find her once we return... Also, all of the inns are full, so you wasted your efforts trying to get here faster than normal... Though, I thank you for doing so, otherwise, we might have had to walk for another two days or more to get back to the capital" (Adventurer E)

"No problem, I guess... Huh... I wonder if I could ask Sanya where she is..." (Nene)

When I got back inside the gates, I went around the city to see if I could find anything good to eat, materials to stock up on, or a girl in a bear costume. I found plenty of the first two, but I couldn't find even a single clump of bear fur. As the inns were full, I decided to camp outside the city for the night. I mean, it's not like it would be risky to do so, with my level of strength. First, I should ask if Sanya knows where I could find Yuna, maybe she has a place I could sleep... Besides, I'm a bit lonely now that Douglas isn't with me, and I don't have anyone to talk with while I'm guarding them, so talking with Yuna might be able to be a nice change from that. Making up my mind, I went to the guild to speak with Sanya, and to see if there was anything else she needed me to do to wrap up this case.

"Nene, thank god you are here. Come with me... I was just about to ask if anyone could use magic to look for you. We may have a slight problem... Your exploits caught the attention of the King, and he asked to meet you... or rather, he said he wants it at all costs... does tomorrow morning work for you?" (Sanya)

"I guess... I'll wait in the guild starting around dawn, so whenever you are ready to bring me, I'll be fine with it... However, I'm going to want to meet him with as few people there as possible" (Nene)

"That's fine, there's another adventurer who asked for the same thing. She's the one who beat the other horde, so of course the king would want to meet her. Is it fine if you meet him at the same time as she does?" (Sanya)

"I guess I'm fine with that. Now, I've got something to ask of you" (Nene)

"Oh? What would that be?" (Sanya)

"I'd like to have a chance to meet the adventurer Yuna, also known as the {Bloody Bear}. You could say I'm an old friend, or old rival, I guess. I've been looking for her for a few years, and I just learned that she's somewhere in this city" (Nene)

"I'll talk to her about it after you meet the king, how about that?" (Sanya)

"Very well, I'm fine with that" (Nene)

I then left the guild, went outside the city, and camped in the forest to the south, where I heard there was a Tiger Wolf roaming around. With any luck, I should be able to make the area a bit safer by luring it to me and killing it myself. The next morning, I woke up at dawn and headed into the guild to wait. Three hours later, I saw Sanya leave the back room, motion me to follow, and we headed out of the guild.

"Before we go to the castle, we have to pick up the other adventurer. I hope you don't mind" (Sanya)

"Of course not" (Nene)

A few minutes later, we were standing outside of a house shaped like a bear that was way too small for the plot of land it was on. I had a sneaking suspicion that I knew who was living inside that house.