Tamara was a well-known adventurer in the Ayrica Kingdom.
Normally, the Crown made decisions regarding branch establishments at its discretion.
However, the Ayrica Kingdom had stipulated that Tamara be appointed as the Branch Manager as a condition for establishing the branch.
Naturally, the Crown investigated not only the Ayrica Kingdom but also Tamara’s reputation in other countries.
After that, they judged that she had sufficient ability as a Branch Manager and appointed her.
Tamara, a rare Elf, had been active as an adventurer for several decades since leaving her village.
Her fame had spread not only throughout the Ayrica Kingdom but across the Central Continent.
Not only her combat ability as an adventurer but also her personality had earned her the support of adventurers.
This was because Tamara, with her long lifespan compared to Humans, had joined various adventurer parties.
She didn’t join high-ranking adventurer parties; instead, she repeatedly joined parties close to beginners and taught them the basics of being an adventurer from scratch.
Whether it was her keen eye or mere coincidence, the parties she had nurtured almost invariably made a name for themselves as high-ranking parties.
Furthermore, the parties she left also trained newcomers, just as she had.
After continuing this for decades, it was said that there was not a single high-ranking party operating on the Central Continent that was not connected to her or a party she had trained.
Of course, these were exaggerated rumors, but the scale of her achievements was such that they spread like wildfire.
In fact, starting with the Ayrica Kingdom, various countries honored her as the “Mother of Adventurers” for nurturing adventurers and bestowed honors upon her.
However, even while receiving honors, Tamara herself did not remain in one country and continued to travel between various nations.
When it was announced that she would take office as the Branch Manager for the establishment of a branch in the Ayrica Kingdom, the leaders of various countries were surprised.
Inquiries flooded in asking how they had persuaded Tamara, but unfortunately, the Ayrica Kingdom did not have the answer.
It was someone from the Crown who had persuaded Tamara.
Neither the Ayrica Kingdom knew in detail who had persuaded her or how they had done so.
Therefore, in various countries across the Central Continent, how the Crown managed to persuade her to join their organization was spoken of as a mystery.
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Tamara, after leading Riku and the others to her private room, turned her gaze to Roman first.
“I have heard about you from Headquarters. I would like you to show me your D-Rank abilities on the Central Continent.”
“Eh?! Ah, yes?”
Roman and his companions tilted their heads at the sudden words.
Roman and his companions had been requested to conduct adventurer activities centered around this branch for a certain period.
They had not been told the detailed original objective.
Perhaps sensing this, she then turned her gaze to Arisa.
“You didn’t tell them the original objective?”
“Yes. We thought it would be more impactful for them to confirm the specifics upon arrival.”
“I see.”
Tamara nodded with a wry smile at the reasonable explanation.
“However… hmm.”
Tamara pondered for a moment before asking Arisa again.
“Regarding the details, is it alright if I explain some of it here now?”
“Of course, that’s perfectly fine. Their request is to follow your instructions. But, was there something?”
“No, not at all. Considering the situation just now, I thought it would be better if they knew some of it beforehand.”
“Ah… ah. That’s right. As you say.”
Tamara looked at Arisa with satisfaction, her expression showing how quick she was to grasp things, and then turned her gaze back to Roman and the others.
“There are several reasons why I specifically called you to this continent. It’s not simply to complete your request.”
“…Meaning?”
Though curious, Roman decided to listen to Tamara and prompted her to continue.
“Indeed. First, as you might have already guessed from what I said earlier, although this continent and the Central Continent have the same rank system, there are actually some differences in strength.”
Roman and his companions exchanged glances at this information, which was new to them.
By the way, Riku quietly listened to their exchange.
He understood that it wasn’t yet his turn to interject.
“You are D-Rank, but from what I can see, I believe you would be competent even as a C-Rank on this continent.”
“Eh…!?”
Roman and the others were surprised by this sudden statement.
It was basic knowledge that adventurer ranks were supposed to have the same criteria everywhere.
Roman and the others, having graduated from training schools, were taught that as the very first thing.
“This is my personal opinion, and involves some speculation, but is that alright?”
At this preamble, Roman and the others silently nodded.
“As a fundamental premise, the monsters that appear on the Central Continent are stronger than those on other continents.”
Tamara stated this first and then proceeded to explain her thoughts to Roman and the others.
Because the monsters on the Central Continent were stronger than those on other continents, the rank system used on other continents led to an overabundance of high-ranking adventurers.
While having many high-ranking adventurers didn’t necessarily pose a problem for material acquisition or subjugation, when the population of mid-to-high-ranking adventurers became too large, it could demotivate low-ranking adventurers.
After all, the scarcity of those who could reach high ranks was what inspired many people.
If there were many A-Rank adventurers, some might mistakenly believe it was easy to become one.
Furthermore, to become S-Rank, one had to defeat particularly powerful monsters.
However, monsters that were recognized as S-Rank outside the Central Continent often appeared quite commonly within the Central Continent, where adventurers could find them with relative ease.
Because of this, it was speculated that many people had become S-Rank in the past by defeating such monsters.
This disrupted the balance of having only a few S-Rank individuals per continent, and it was Tamara’s theory that the rank evaluations on the Central Continent were stricter than on other continents.
“Indeed, it is a common story that adventurers with a certain level of ability here are sometimes taken aback by the strength of monsters when they venture to the Central Continent.”
Tamara concluded.
Roman and the others, who had been listening, wore expressions of understanding.
“I see. So that’s how it is.”
“Well, it is merely my personal opinion. …What do you think?”
Arisa, who had been looked at by Tamara, nodded in agreement.
“Yes. In fact, many people at Headquarters have come to think the same way.”
Ideally, Guilds rarely operated across different continents.
When the Crown considered establishing branches on other continents, such issues came to the fore.
Adventurers moving from the Central Continent to other continents had no problems, but adventurers entering the Central Continent could face issues.
Such points had been raised during the investigation phase.
“This is a long preamble, but this is where we are. Now, for the main point, when you are active in this branch, you will be able to receive requests for one rank higher.”
When Tamara said this, Roman and the others understood what was expected of them.
“So, you mean we just need to accept C-Rank requests here?”
“Ah, that’s right.”
The true objective of this request was for Roman and his companions, despite being D-Rank, to demonstrate their ability to subjugate C-Rank monsters to those around them.
“We are allowed to conduct preparatory investigations, right?”
“Of course.”
Tamara broke into a smile at this obvious statement.
A great many adventurers often went on subjugation quests without even conducting basic preparatory investigations.
Naturally, when Roman brought this up, Tamara felt a premonition that he would achieve results beyond her expectations.
This will be continued in the next installment as the discussion with Tamara seemed likely to be lengthy.
Arisa will be the next person to speak.
Regarding ranks, they had been treated as the same across different continents for a long time, but as Tamara explained, it was decided that their actual implementations differ.
This was deemed more fitting with the reality of high-rank monster appearances and adventurer strengths on the Central Continent.
This is a setting change at this late stage, but we ask for your understanding.
