1221: Mish Menaldo

After sending the people from Raydoss into the knight hall, Fran headed to the Lord’s Mansion with Peridot.

We were granted free entrance without showing any identification, then guided to a meeting room with a round table.

Many familiar faces had been gathered there.

Gamudo, the guildmaster. The former lord Christon, as well as his family. Many merchants we’ve traded with before. Well, Fran probably forgot about a majority of the merchants.

Among the merchants, Rengill from the Lucille Trading Association was also present.

However, a man we’ve never met before sat in the most luxurious chair at the far end of the round table. He was looking in our direction.

I would describe him as a slightly nervous-looking government clerk. He had a somewhat irritated frown, but maybe that was just his natural expression? Or was he in a bad mood? I couldn’t tell one way or another, even after he opened his mouth.

「First, allow me to introduce myself, since I appear to be the only one in this room who has yet to meet you. I am Count Mish Menaldo, the current lord of this town.」

The title of count seems a bit low for the lord of a city as prominent as Bulbora. After all, the previous lord was a marquis. Nevertheless, being chosen for this position is probably a testament to his competency, and perhaps his loyalty to the royal family?

「Nn. Rank B adventurer, Fran.」

「Nice to meet you.」

Mish made no comment about Fran’s casual attitude. Maybe he didn’t care, or maybe he was simply being lenient to the Rank B adventurer he was counting on.

However, the person next to Mish did not let this fly. Gamudo interrupted the conversation.

「Hold it.」

「What is it?」

Gamudo was the guildmaster, so he probably negotiated with nobles pretty often. He might care about noble manners more than I thought.

However, this reason Gamudo spoke up was completely different from my expectation.

「Fran’s rank-up has already been decided. We haven’t made a formal announcement yet, but it’s already common knowledge within the guild. Come to the guild later and we’ll make you Rank A.」

Oh, he was only correcting Fran introducing herself as Rank B.

「Oh! So have we witnessed the birth of a new Rank A adventurer? Wonderful tidings! Congratulations, Black Lightning Princess-dono!」

Philip Christon was the first to offer his blessings upon hearing the news from Gamudo. He’s the town’s knight captain, as well as the eldest son of Rhodus, the former lord. Fran remembered him well due to his strength.

As a warrior, he understood adventurers. In fact, it seems he even held a great deal of respect and admiration for Rank A adventurers. His eyes sparkled like a young boy’s when he began applauding.

But wait? A noble as high as him just used polite language to Fran? Yet no one, including his father Rhodus, criticized him for it. Rather, they all started offering their own blessings to Fran, with everyone also being super polite.

This must be the influence of the Rank A title, as a proof of strength only achievable by heroes. Rank A adventurers were revered by nobles and merchants alike.

「Thanks.」

「Gahahaha! Having Rank A adventurers like you in Kranzel brings all of us renewed hope!」

「That’s right. We should be the ones thanking you.」

「You can say that again.」

「Indeed.」

Fran looked genuinely happy when Gamudo and the merchants congratulated her.

Of course, I’m super happy too! My Fran is being recognized by everyone!

『Fran! When we get back, I’ll treat you to a feast!』

（Nn!）

『What do you want to eat? Of course, we’ll have curry, but aside from that.』

（Pancakes! And fried chicken! And tonkatsu! And――）

『All right, all right, I got it. I’ll prepare everything you like!』

（Nn!）

I’d love to start the celebrations here, but that would ruin any chances of a proper meeting. In the first place, the meeting has yet to start due to the subject of Fran’s rank-up.

Is this gonna be a problem?

I glanced at Mish’s expression, but I couldn’t read anything from it. He was also clapping for us, though he didn’t seem even slightly surprised.

He probably already heard from Gamudo in advance. That would explain his lack of surprise and not complaining about Fran’s attitude. He was treating her as a Rank A adventurer from the beginning.

Everyone in the meeting room was still in a celebratory mood. Considering the occasion, I guess that can’t be helped.

However, the atmosphere was brought back to reality with a small sound.

The lord, Mish, had lightly clapped his hands together. Though not particularly loud, it strangely echoed in our ears.

This caused everyone to remember the situation they were in. After waiting for excitement enveloping the meeting room to settle down, Mish spoke again.

「Once again, thank you for coming. I have heard many good things about the Black Lightning Princess. You are always welcome in my city.」

Mish nodded gracefully, although his expression didn’t appear very welcoming. Was it a sarcastic remark about bringing him troublesome matters, or was he genuinely welcoming her as a valuable asset?

He didn’t wear a complete poker face, but the constant look of irritation made it hard to read his thoughts.

Well, if we think about it normally, it’s probably the former, right? He likely viewed Fran as someone who added additional work to his plate. Mish clearly already had a heavy workload, and you could tell from his expression that he was constantly displeased.

Not only was he thin, but he also looked unhealthy. The Raydoss raid inflicted huge damage to his city right when he took office as the new lord.

Managing the current Bulbora must be quite challenging. Now we throw in the issue of Raydoss refugees and Red Knights. It’d make anyone want to complain or be sarcastic.

「First, I want to hear the details of what happened directly from your mouth. Can you explain?」

「Nn.」

Fran can certainly explain, but it’ll be quite the challenge given her usual lack of words.

It took about 10 minutes with some assistance from me, but Fran pulled it off.

「Phew…」

Mish rubbed his temples and let out a deep sigh. Simply listening to our story was enough to tire him out. You can’t hear my apology, but sorry.

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