Chapter 17: Quest Clear and Guild Member Hunt
『Quest: <Deliver the Goods That Have Stalled in Distribution> has been completed.』
"That’s a lifesaver. Thanks a bunch, mister. I thought I wouldn’t be able to get this for a while, but now I can finally get things moving again."
"Likewise — getting a higher price than I expected is a big help."
We both smiled, looking quite pleased with ourselves.
This time, the sale of materials from the <Stone Bridge Abandoned Mine Dungeon> hit an all-time high of 3.1 million miru. The 『Excavation』 skill really paid off.
The taciturn upperclassman hadn’t touched much aside from what he needed, so there was plenty of material left over. Word seems to have spread that the 【Hero】 is supplying materials to Marie-senpai, and this time she bought everything. Much appreciated.
She also said there were buyers for some old materials she couldn’t take before, so I handed those over for another appraisal, too.
After handing her the materials, Marie-senpai deposited the miru straight into my <Student Handbook>.
Beginner Low-tier materials will probably drop in price before long, so it was pure luck to sell them now for such a big haul.
On top of that, clearing the quest earned me one more reward.
"Here ya go — ten free-use tickets for our <Wappen Seal Stickers>! Take ’em."
"Nice. I’ll accept them, though I’ve got no plans to use them right now. I’ll save them for later."
I carefully stowed the tickets away in my <Item Bag (Capacity: Large)>.
Yes! Free vouchers acquired! I celebrated with a mental fist pump.
Then I remembered something.
"Right — starting tomorrow, I’m heading to the Beginner Mid-tier Dungeon. Will you still buy the materials?"
"’Course I will. You’ll be bringing in plenty of boss materials, right? That’s a big yes from me."
"Alright then. I’ll load up on boss drops. Planning to go to the <Wild Grassland Dungeon>."
"Ooh! Then you’ll be needing some gathering tools, huh? I’ve got a good one."
Marie-senpai went into the back and came out holding a small, cute flower-patterned trowel.
"This here was in a <Gold Chest>."
"Whoa!"
I recognized it instantly. There’s no such thing as an item I don’t recognize. Couldn’t help but shout.
<Gold Chests> always have rare loot, so even though it looked like an ordinary trowel, it had rare enhancements. I knew exactly what they were.
<Gentle Shovel – 『Gathering Lv3』, 『Quality Boost (Large) Lv4』, 『Double Yield』>
It was part of the <Gentle Gathering Series>, one of the ultra-rare <Gold Chest> gathering tools.
"Ooohhhh! It's the <Gentle Shovel>!"
That’s three skills on one item. To put that in perspective, even top-tier <Sky Series> gear only gives you one skill when you collect the whole set.
Sure, gear and tools are different in how skills work, but three skills on a single item are insanely strong. Obviously, the rarity is off the charts.
The best skill is 『Double Yield』 — it literally doubles the amount you gather. Pick one herb, and you get a bonus one for free. Amazing.
"Marie-senpai, you pulled this? That’s incredible!"
My respect slipped into formal speech — that’s how lucky this was.
Honestly, I’d prefer a higher 『Gathering』 level than Lv3, since that only works up to Beginner High-tier dungeons, but you can always use a <Skill Enhancement Orb> to raise it. Definitely worth owning. I wanted it bad.
"Heh heh! Now you see how amazing your senpai is, huh? I’ve been keeping it, but since I don’t go into dungeons anymore, it was gathering dust. I figure you’d make good use of it — plus, you’ve got the cash."
"How much!?"
"Flat 10 million miru. How’s that?"
"I’ll take it!"
I decided instantly!
…Even though I don’t have that kind of money. But I really wanted it.
Dungeon tools are pricey beyond reason — even a beginner-only tool going for 10 million miru is nothing in the world of <DanKatsu>.
"Can I pay in installments?"
There’s no such thing as loans in <DanKatsu>.
But I kept the joke going.
"Ha ha ha! We only take cheerful one-time cash payments here!"
Senpai had a good sense of humor. There’s no cash in <DanKatsu> anyway.
This academy runs on a system where everything can be paid for with just your student handbook.
I could drag the conversation out here for fun, but if I keep riding the joke, we’ll never get anywhere—so I’ll get serious now.
"Mister, you’ve got such good energy that I couldn’t help but play along~"
"I could never match you, Marie-senpai. Anyway… what’s the real price for that shovel? I mean, I definitely don’t have 10 million miru lying around."
"One million miru’s fine. Sure, it’s from a <Gold Chest>, but it’s still used. If it were new, I could probably hit 10 miru at auction if I aimed for it… But a secondhand shovel that can only be used in Beginner-level dungeons? Yeah, no."
A tenth of the original price. Still, coming from the beautiful Marie-senpai, I feel like it should have some kind of premium tag attached to it. Not that I’m going to say that out loud. I’ll just buy it quietly.
"Alright then, I’ll happily take it off your hands."
And just like that, I bought the <Gentle Shovel> for 1 million miru. That leaves me with 1.8 million in total.
Gear and supplies can eat through your funds fast. I need to make more money soon.
As I stored the <Gentle Shovel> in my <Item Bag (Capacity: Large)>, Marie-senpai seemed to remember something.
"Oh, right. Hanna’s body armor is finished. Want to take it with you?"
Already? We just took her measurements yesterday. Guess that’s the perk of her job—fast work.
Marie-senpai disappeared into the back again and came out holding a black-based, one-piece-style body armor.
"Well? What do you think?"
Her smug look made perfect sense.
It was something like a cheongsam-style dress—tight-fitting on the upper body to show off the figure, with a long skirt attached.
Given that I’d recently started suspecting Hanna might be secretly well-endowed, this was a very welcome development.
<Early Queen (Black): DEF 20, MDEF 13, 『Blunt Resistance』>
The stats she showed me with an appraisal item were impressive. No surprise, since it was made from the <Bear Anteater> boss material. The added blunt resistance was great, too. I hadn’t expected Beginner low-tier boss material to give this much defensive power for clothing-type gear.
It looked like Marie-senpai had gone all out.
"This is amazing. With this, she could stay viable all the way up to Beginner High-tier. Didn’t expect you to make something this good."
"Heh heh heh! We had all eight of our guild members work on it. Once they heard it was for the kid who brought in the Beginner low-tier boss material, they got super hyped. Everyone just kept adding enhancements, and before we knew it, the defense hit 20. We were shocked ourselves."
Apparently, this had turned into a big project without me knowing.
Still smiling at the memory, Marie-senpai handed me the armor, and I stored it in my <Item Bag (Capacity: Large)> before paying her 200,000 miru. For something made by eight veteran crafters with this much defense, it was a steal.
This time, I was covering the cost myself. After all, I’d cleaned out the <Gold Chest> loot for my <Sky Series> before. Consider this making up for that—and besides, what man doesn’t want to gift a cute outfit to a beautiful girl at least once? Preferably a slightly daring one.
I couldn’t wait to see Hanna wearing it tomorrow.
By the time I left Marie-senpai’s shop, it was already 4 p.m.
Not a bad time at all.
From there, I headed to the school building—specifically, the one housing the sports-related facilities.
Many first-years came here to take elective classes to qualify for their chosen jobs, but this place was especially popular with students aiming for the <Dungeon Exploration Department – Combat Division>.
The Dungeon Academy trains students to work in dungeon-related careers. With a massive capacity of 20,000 students, each department has its own building.
The Dungeon Exploration Department, as the name suggests, trains specialists in exploring dungeons and bringing back resources and intel. Within that, the Combat Division focuses on acquiring monster drops.
Other divisions—like Gathering, Investigation, or Trap Disarming—were housed in separate buildings.
My reason for coming here was simple: to recruit new guild members—specifically, students interested in combat roles.
Even if I could give someone their dream job, it wouldn’t be right to push combat work on someone with zero interest. At the very least, they had to want to do it.
This isn’t a game—it’s the real world. People’s futures are on the line. A "good" job doesn’t always mean happiness for the person holding it.
So, I wanted to gather members whose goals lined up with the role.
And that’s why I was here at the Combat Division to start.
…Except I quickly noticed there were plenty of upperclassmen in uniforms embroidered with green and red, clearly here for the same reason.
They were scouting promising students too. Guess we all think alike.
When I walked in, every upperclassman in the room glanced my way.
Half of them looked away immediately. The other half kept glancing over while whispering among themselves.
"Would I be correct in assuming you are the 【Hero】?"
I was still scanning the room when a voice—formal and almost old-fashioned—addressed me.
I turned to see a tall, slender beauty with black hair tied in a ponytail, wearing a hakama. Probably a senior.
I think the room got a little noisier when she spoke to me… but honestly, I didn’t care. The girl standing in front of me was far too stunning to notice anything else.
"Ah, yes, I am indeed the 【Hero】…"
…Oops. I’d been so caught up staring at her that I just blurted that out without thinking. Embarrassing.
Still, the senpai didn’t seem to mind at all and continued speaking. Thank you for the gracious ignore!
"My apologies. I’m Kirie, a third-year. Please, call me Kiri-chan-senpai."
"Kiri-chan-senpai…"
I’d taken her for a stiff, serious type, but she turned out to be surprisingly playful.
While I was still a little taken aback, Kiri-chan-senpai fixed her gaze on me.
What is it? Being stared at like that by a beautiful girl is kind of flustering… Ah, right, she’s waiting for my self-introduction.
"Well, thank you for the courtesy (?). I’m Zephyrus, a first-year who just enrolled this spring. Call me Zephyrus."
"Then I’ll call you Zephyrus-kun. Pleased to meet you."
"Likewise. Pleased to meet you, too."
With introductions out of the way, Kiri-chan-senpai got straight to the point.
Not that there was any real mystery—being here could only mean one thing. I was a first-year, and she was here to recruit.
"I’m the submaster of the A-rank guild <Thousand Swords Flacal>. I’ll be blunt—would you consider joining us?"
The moment she extended the offer, the surrounding students began murmuring again.
An A-rank guild’s submaster personally scouting someone? That was no small deal.
The upperclassmen who had been whispering earlier now wore expressions like, "She beat us to him!"
Ah, I get it—they’d been planning to recruit me themselves. But before they could make a move, this big-shot, Kiri-chan-senpai, swooped in. Their chances were gone now.
I was honestly a bit surprised.
An A-rank guild is an extremely exclusive club, one that only the tiniest fraction of elites can enter.
Guilds ranked C or higher have a cap on their numbers due to house regulations. There are only six A-rank guilds in total.
A-rank guilds can have anywhere from 10 to 40 members. That means, at most, only 240 people in the entire academy can hold that position.
Out of 20,000 students, just 240 make up this elite tier—and she’d just invited me to take one of those seats.
It was flattering, sure, but I couldn’t accept.
Starting an RPG at max rank is boring, after all.
"I really appreciate the offer, but sorry—I want to form my own guild."
My refusal stirred up another round of murmurs. If I listened closely, I could hear a chorus of "No way!" from the crowd.
Kiri-chan-senpai only looked a little disappointed.
"I see. My apologies for being so sudden."
"No, I’m glad you asked—and I’m honored. But this is something I’m particular about."
"Hehe… I see. I like that even more. Still, it’s a shame. The slots will be open until May—if you change your mind, I hope you’ll come see me."
"I doubt I’ll be able to meet that expectation."
Despite my blunt refusal, Kiri-chan-senpai smiled as though amused.
"By the way, Kiri-chan-senpai, you’re here to recruit as well?"
"Indeed. I heard this year’s first-years are an exceptional batch. I wanted to see for myself if talents like you were going unnoticed."
"Talents like me, huh? But, Kiri-chan-senpai, how much do you actually know about me? No offense, but I don’t think I’m quite qualified for a personal invitation from an A-rank guild’s submaster…"
From my perspective, A-rank guilds are made up of the absolute best. Having nothing but Advanced Jobs is the bare minimum—if even one basic-job member gets mixed in, a B-rank guild could seize the opportunity to undermine them.
Even if I am a 【Hero】, I’m still a basic job. Normally, the sensible thing would be to wait until I had ranked up to an Advanced Job before extending an invitation. That’s how it works in games, anyway.
But this is real-life <DanKatsu>. I’d heard before that there aren’t actually that many Advanced Job holders here.
So my gaming logic might not line up with reality. Honestly, I wanted to get a feel for what "A-rank" means here.
"What are you saying? Your rare job as a 【Hero】 is impressive enough, but more than that, you don’t rest on your laurels—you have the will to keep improving. I heard about you—you cleared the <Beginner Dungeon> faster than anyone else in your year, fastest to clear two Beginner low-tier Dungeons, and now you’re already preparing to challenge a Beginner mid-tier Dungeon, yes?"
Wow. My reputation has spread more than I thought.
Of course, she didn’t mention that I had just finished conquering the <Still Water Underground Dungeon>, but clearly I was attracting more attention than I’d realized.
And Kiri-chan-senpai wasn’t done.
"With such brilliance, how could I not try to recruit you? And having spoken with you, I can see you’re free from arrogance. Those who can keep running without being stopped by walls will inevitably achieve greatness. And you—you don’t see walls as walls at all, do you?"
Wow, damn. Not only is she laying on the praise thick, her insights are sharp as hell.
But seriously, is it okay for an A-rank guild’s submaster to butter someone up this much?
What’s her game here? Trying to make me all proud and puffed up? ‘Cause if she keeps this up, I might actually start getting cocky. Seriously.
Now, how exactly am I supposed to respond to this flood of compliments?
Should I be modest? Accept it? The answer I came to was—
"Ah, by the way, I just finished conquering the <Still Water Underground Dungeon> earlier. Starting tomorrow, I’m going to take on the <Wild Herb Plains Dungeon>. Who knows, I might even clear it in one go."
Yup. I let it get to my head.
But come on—can you blame me? Getting showered with praise feels amazing.
When I played games, nobody ever praised me. If anything, hardcore gamers like me were looked at with disdain.
Now I’m playing a game and getting praised? That’s the best thing ever!
"See? What did I tell you? Clearing up to a Beginner mid-tier Dungeon in just about a week after enrollment—unheard of. It’s truly a shame I couldn’t recruit you, Zephyrus-kun."
Kiri-chan-senpai showed no sign of letting up, and with every compliment she tossed my way, my mood just kept getting better.
Honestly, she hyped me up so much I half-forgot what I originally came here to do.
It wasn’t until Kiri-chan-senpai remarked, "Oh? That one’s quite promising," about some other first-year that I remembered—oh right, I came here to recruit too.
"Kiri-chan-senpai, did you find someone promising?"
"Yes. There was a first year that one of our guild members had their eye on. Today, I wanted to personally see him and decide whether to invite him to the guild."
Ah, so that’s why an A-rank guild’s submaster was here—it was basically the final interview stage. And? Did he make the cut?
"That tall male student up front. His name is Sedan. He’s already met the requirements for 【Mighty Brawler】, which is considered High-mid rank among brawler-type jobs, but apparently he’s aiming for the even higher-tier 【Grand Brawler】."
The 【Brawler】 line is a martial-arts-based job type that focuses on unarmed combat. It’s mainly an attacker role, but can also self-buff, self-heal, and even act as an evasion tank—quite the versatile job.
Following Kiri-chan-senpai’s gaze, I saw a tall, tanned, crew-cut guy who looked like a boxer.
Hmm. I see. …Actually, I don’t see at all.
Game and reality are so different that even if someone tells me “he’s skilled,” I can’t really tell.
Still, his training method? Yeah, that’s not gonna cut it. If he wants to become a 【Grand Brawler】, he needs to train against actual monsters. But unarmed fights are dangerous, so the recommended method is to take another job first, then switch to 【Grand Brawler】 later. Or, if he’s loaded, buy some high-tier gauntlet-type weapons.
"They say that it's especially rare for people to become a 【Grand Brawler】. He’s got talent, so I truly hope he succeeds."
Kiri-chan-senpai wrapped it up like that.
Looks like she believes in the "praise to nurture" approach. She doesn’t hesitate to compliment people—she just does it plainly and sincerely, so it really feels like genuine praise. And yeah, that just feels great.
Alright, I’ll add him to my "potential allies" list. If an A-rank submaster acknowledges his skill, there’s a chance we might end up in the same guild someday.
After that, Kiri-chan-senpai also told me about a few other promising first-years.
I felt bad just taking all this info without giving anything back, so I offered to repay her somehow. But she shut me down with a cool, almost gallant line: "Upperclassmen are meant to guide underclassmen. Think nothing of it.
…Damn, what a lady-killer line. Still, I felt like I owed her, so I made a mental note to leak her some useful intel someday.
Looking over the honor students she’d pointed out, I began considering which ones I might want to add to my guild roster.
"Well then, I’ll be taking my leave."
Unfortunately, Kiri-chan-senpai left. Guess she’d seen everything she came for.
I, on the other hand, still wasn’t done checking out potential recruits among my classmates.
I continued observing first-years as they attended classes alongside upperclassmen.
Even though I am a first-year, somehow I was over here on the "upperclassmen’s side"—weird.
The senpai around me had kind of complicated looks on their faces, too.
Still, thanks to Kiri-chan-senpai’s earlier presence, no one else tried to recruit me today.
I guess there aren’t any senpai arrogant enough to invite someone who turned down an A-rank guild into their own.
Silently thanking her, I went back to watching the underclassmen being trained—until I realized something.
"I… actually have no idea who’s good or not, do I?"
Come to think of it…
Sure, I know more about the <DanKatsu> game than anyone in this world.
But as for spotting actual talent? I’m totally clueless.
Boom—just like that, I hit a wall.
If I’m going to scout people, what criteria should I even use?
Kiri-chan-senpai could talk about "good form" and "talent," but I couldn’t see it at all.
That really narrows down my options.
"…Should I just pick based on looks?"
In the <DanKatsu> game, you designed your characters and then set them on the path toward your desired job.
There was no such thing as “talent”—only “appearance” and “job.”
Since I can put people into the jobs I want, talent doesn’t matter. I might as well just recruit the ones I personally like the look of.
Yeah… maybe I’ll just go with that for now.
Just as I thought that, I sensed someone approaching from behind.
"We meet again."
When I turned toward the voice, I saw a refined young lady—Sierra, the one who had been standing behind me during the job assessment at the entrance ceremony.
"Sierra! Feels like it’s been ages since we last met."
"Does it? It’s only been a week since the job assessment at the entrance ceremony."
She moved with such effortless grace that it was almost too perfect.
I thought it had been ages, but yeah… just one week.
Guess my life’s been a little too intense lately.
"So, what brings you here today? You’re not exactly hurting for jobs anymore, right?"
Back during the Job Assessment, I’d shown that massive list of jobs.
Sierra, who had been in the best seat (right behind me) to see it all, now asked me about it.
This building was where first-years came to fulfill the conditions needed to manifest their jobs.
For someone like me, already a 【Hero】, to be here probably seemed strange to her.
Her tone could have been taken as accusatory, but when I looked at her face, I could tell she was just genuinely curious.
"I’m scouting. I plan to start a guild, so I came to invite some classmates."
"A guild? That’s pretty early, isn’t it? First-years can’t even make one yet, right?"
"Yeah, well, I’m going into a Beginner mid-tier Dungeon tomorrow. I’ll meet the conditions soon—just need members now."
"What? You’ve already gotten that far? What level are you?"
"【Hero Lv20】."
"You’re kidding…"
For some reason, Sierra’s eyes went wide, and she was left speechless.
The nearby first-years—apparently eavesdropping—also started murmuring at my words.
Some of them were even giving me looks full of awe and sparkling admiration.
That’s when it hit me.
Wait… is this one of those, “Oh no, did I just do something incredible?” moments?
Crap, I’d just accidentally pulled off an isekai-protagonist trope without even trying.
What a waste! If I’d done it on purpose, I could’ve milked the moment!
"…As expected. I can’t afford to dawdle either…"
"Hm? Oh yeah, you’re aiming to be a tank, right, Sierra?"
"That’s right. But unfortunately, the job I’m aiming for hasn’t manifested yet."
She let out a quiet sigh, with just a hint of melancholy behind it.
From the looks of it, she was having trouble triggering her job manifestation.
"I see. Mind telling me what you’re aiming for? Maybe I can help."
"…"
Sierra went silent. Huh? She looked oddly hesitant to say it.
"It’s fine… Besides, it’s a special kind of job. I doubt you’d even know about it."
"Oh?"
I wouldn’t know, eh.
That phrasing made me suspect it was one of those jobs commoners wouldn’t know about.
There was this almost pleading air around her, like she wanted to ask for help but was holding herself back.
That probably meant it was a special-category job.
In <DanKatsu>, there was a “Race” category. Many job manifestation requirements involved "Race", and certain jobs could only be taken by specific "Races".
The famous example was 【Princess】, which could only be obtained by those with the "Royalty" or "Princess" race category.
And "Race" was something mostly found among the privileged classes, like nobility.
For example, royalty and nobility were split into seven ranks, and each rank had special jobs that only they could get:
"Knight" → all 【Knight】-type jobs
"Baron" → 【Handsome Guy】, 【Idol】-type jobs
"Viscount" → 【Shota】, 【Lolita】-type jobs
"Royalty" → 【Prince】, 【Princess】-type jobs
That sort of thing. All of them were high-ranking, even among Basic jobs.
Except 【Handsome Guy】. You can go explode.
From her appearance, Sierra was clearly the daughter of a Count.
I could see the Count’s crest—the white feather ornament.
If she’s a "Count" and also a "Princess", and she wants to be a tank…
Yeah, one possible job comes to mind.
If Sierra really was aiming for the one I was thinking of, I’d love to have her in my guild.
I could even tell her the manifestation requirements.
But… if she was unwilling to talk about it, shoving the info at her might just come off as pushy.
If I did tell her, I’d want her to join my guild afterward.
Forcing her wouldn’t be right.
Hmm… what to do?
For now, I decided to keep trying to persuade her.
"I meant it when I said I could help, you know? I… nah, let’s talk somewhere else."
When I looked around, I realized we’d drawn quite a crowd without noticing.
So I took Sierra’s hand and led her away from the spot.
"You, you’re pretty forceful, aren’t you?"
"Depends on the time, place, and person."
"That so."
Somehow, the conversation fizzled out there, and we walked on until we reached an empty lounge.
The lounge had multiple private rooms, all soundproof, mostly used for meetings or guild discussions.
After renting one and stepping inside, I turned to face Sierra and got straight to the point.
"Let me help you get your job. In return, if you succeed, I want you to join the guild I’m forming."
"…Let me ask you something first. Why go that far? We barely have any connection, right? I don’t see your reason."
"Because my guild is recruiting members?"
"Why are you saying it like a question? I mean, it doesn’t have to be me, does it?"
"Well… hear me out before you roll your eyes."
"So you’re about to say something ridiculous."
"Pretty much. The reason I picked you is: your "Appearance" and your "Job". And yes, that’s purely my own personal, subjective judgment."
"…Sorry, I don’t quite get what you mean."
Sierra made a genuine effort to understand what I said, but in the end, gave up.
Well, fair enough.
"Alright, let’s start with 'Appearance'. Sierra, you’re an unquestionable beauty. The kind of beauty that makes me accidentally say cheesy lines. Therefore—pass."
"Haaah…"
At that, Sierra let out a deep sigh.
It was like all the tension she’d been holding just deflated in an instant.
Did she think I was joking? "Appearance" is actually very important, you know? From a motivation standpoint.
Anyone would feel more motivated with popular or cool-looking characters.
Games thrive on character stills and aesthetics.
"Next is your "Job". I want all my combat members to be high-ranking jobs."
"…Isn’t that impossible? High-ranking jobs are rare, and most people who get one end up snatched away by high-ranking guilds."
"So, if you got a high-ranking job, you’d join a high-ranking guild? If that’s the case, then I guess this conversation’s over."
"…"
I hinted pretty clearly—this is recruitment, not charity.
"Your goal is 【Shield Princess】, isn’t it?"
"!!"
"Haha, I knew it."
When I named the job Sierra wanted, her beautiful face was overtaken by shock.
Oh yeah… that reaction alone was worth it.
"How do you know that? In all of history, only one person has ever gotten that job—my great-grandmother."
Oh ho! That’s new information.
In the game <DanKatsu>, there was indeed a note that only one person in history had ever become a 【Shield Princess】. But all we players knew was "she was the daughter of a count," with no further clues. From there, we had to deduce the job’s manifestation requirements by comparing them with other jobs and experimenting with similar conditions.
Which means—without game knowledge, no one in this world could possibly figure it out.
I never imagined that Count’s daughter from the lore was actually Sierra’s great-grandmother.
Another page added to my personal database.
Now that I think about it, where did I get that info in the game? Right, it was from the quest <Relics of the Strongest 【Shield Princess】>. And no, I totally didn’t forget that.
"If you join my guild, I’ll tell you. I know the manifestation requirements for 【Shield Princess】."
"What did you just say!?"
"I mean, I do know the requirements for becoming a 【Hero】, so this shouldn’t be surprising."
"No. It’s extremely suspicious."
Huh? Well, whatever.
Maybe I said too much, but from talking with Sierra, she doesn’t seem like the type to go spreading information carelessly. It’s probably fine.
Anyway, I can tell she’s clearly interested now.
From what I’ve heard, becoming a 【Shield Princess】 is her lifelong dream. And now that the information to achieve it is dangling in front of her, she’s not going to be able to resist.
Still, I figure my chances are about fifty-fifty.
This is where game mechanics come in. In <DanKatsu>, there was a "fame value," essentially a guild contribution score.
It started at zero, and you could raise it by forming a guild, completing quests, and contributing to the academy’s success. As the fame value went up, your guild became more well-known.
Fame was required to recruit certain "Races." Without meeting a certain threshold, you couldn’t recruit people who could take powerful jobs.
Count’s daughters fell into both the "Count" and "Princess" race categories.
"Princess" was given to daughters of royalty or nobility, and recruiting one required an insanely high fame value of 150. For "Count" alone, it was just 30.
Even if you played at top speed, hitting 150 fame took at least six months.
Given that Sierra had the <White Feather Ornament> crest, she was clearly both "Count" and "Princess."
Which means… convincing her to join my fame-zero, not-even-formed guild? Yeah, this was an experiment to see if it could even be done.
After all, this is the real-life <DanKatsu>. There are plenty of things you can pull off in reality that you couldn’t in the game.
If this works, I might even be able to bypass the fame requirement entirely and start with a Princess-Job party right from the beginning.
The reason "Princess" had such a high fame—or "scout value," as some called it—was simple: they had a much higher chance of unlocking powerful jobs.
We players used to call them "Princess Jobs." Even their weakest basic jobs were at least mid-tier.
【Shield Princess】 was one of those princess jobs—the absolute pinnacle of tank roles.
Its rank is undoubtedly high-ranking for a basic job.
In other words, about equal to my 【Hero】 job.
That’s why I was so pushy about recruiting Sierra. I need a 【Shield Princess】 for future progression.
Now, the question is—what will Sierra’s answer be?
Sierra straightened her posture and said,
"Please let me join your guild."
Hell yeah! Inside, I was shouting for joy at Sierra’s answer.
It took every ounce of my self-control not to let that emotion slip onto my face.
Calm down, me. The negotiation starts now.
"You sure you want to decide that quickly? I’ll warn you—since I’m giving you valuable information, it’d be a problem if you joined only to drop out right away."
"I’d never do something so dishonorable. Nobles repay great debts with proper gratitude."
Since I’d already figured out she was a count’s daughter because of the 【Shield Princess】 thing, Sierra didn’t bother hiding the fact that she was nobility.
And yet… that actually makes her less trustworthy in my eyes.
"My impression of nobles is that they’d gladly default on debts if it suited them."
"…At the very least, none of my relatives are like that."
That was basically admitting some nobles are like that. Looks like even in this world, corrupt aristocrats exist—just like in the game.
"You’re right, though. A verbal promise can feel shaky. Let’s use my family’s contract parchment. It’s a high-value item crafted by a magical toolmaker. My house will guarantee its effectiveness."
"No need."
"…Are you serious?"
Sierra frowned at me.
Given the flow of the conversation, I guess she assumed I wanted a contract, but I have no intention of binding guild members with paperwork.
If someone doesn’t like my guild, I honestly don’t care if they leave. After all, this is the real-life <DanKatsu>, packed with content the game never had.
That means the real fun is mastering all that content.
Bottom line: if I make a good guild, people won’t want to leave. If they still do, that’s on me. It’s a common thing in games, after all.
"I’m looking for companions. And if I get us to the top of the S-rank, you’ll want to stay in my guild whether you like it or not."
"Confident, aren’t you?"
"I’m a 【Hero】, after all."
The 【Hero】 is without question the top-tier job in the job tree.
I’ve already decided I’m making an S-rank guild here too.
Once we’re a top guild, the thought of quitting will feel absurd.
And if someone still wants to leave… well, that’s life.
"You know… you’re presenting this with actual evidence. You’ve got skill, and you’ve got potential. You might really pull it off."
"I will pull it off. If you join now, you’re getting in at the perfect time. You won’t even think about leaving, so relax."
When I declared that with absolute confidence, Sierra covered her mouth and laughed like she found it amusing.
Alright—my second official member, acquired.
And she’s a "Princess"! Amazing. Real-world content is seriously next-level.
Now I know I can include a <Princess Job> from the very start.
Maybe I really should build an all-princess party.
Oh—right, almost forgot.
"Alright then, I’ll tell you the requirements for 【Shield Princess】."
"Yes. You really do know them, don’t you?"
"I’m a 【Hero】, after all."
"Fufu… that doesn’t make sense."
She’s been smiling more now. When we first met, she seemed tense and a bit guarded, but that’s gone.
With a face this beautiful, smiling suits her best.
I gave her the requirements verbally:
The conditions for becoming a Shield Princess are—
1. Be both "Princess" and "Count."
2. Block 100 monster attacks with a shield.
3. Parry 100 monster attacks with a shield.
4. Have never experienced 【Lv. 30 to Lv. 75 (Level Limit)】.
5. Meet the requirements for one of the following: 【Shieldbearer】, 【Greatshieldbearer】, 【Dual Shieldbearer】, 【Shielder】, 【Elemental Shieldbearer】, 【Magic Shieldbearer】, 【Fortress Shieldbearer】.
That’s all five.
She’s already met #1, and #2 and #3 are simple. I’ll just have her run the Slime Pop Marathon later.
Hanna might complain, but since I plan for the guild to use Slime Pop anyway, I’ll just make it clear it’s a shared resource, not personal property.
#4 is tricky. The "Level Limit" means the range where you can use an <Advanced Job Change Ticket>—specifically, level 30 or higher.
Once you hit level 30, you can use one to rank up to an Advanced Job. Since your SUP (Status Up Points) and SP (Skill Points) carry over, it’s much more efficient to hit level 75 (the cap) before ranking up.
Anyway, the point is: once a "Princess" passes level 30, she can never become a 【Shield Princess】. That’s why you have to be careful.
We players never figured this one out until much later. The player who logically deduced it was a total genius—because level 30 is easy to reach early on, so everyone assumed it was impossible to become a 【Shield Princess】 through a normal job change. That misunderstanding was one of the main reasons the job’s discovery took so long.
#5 is a bit of a hassle. It’s like the requirement for the 【Great Swordmaster】 job—you have to meet the conditions for several related lower-rank jobs.
High-ranking basic jobs often have requirements like this.
"That’s it," I said.
When I told her that, Sierra just stood there, stunned for a while, before speaking in a slightly pitiful voice—
"There’s no way anyone could’ve found this job…"
Yeah, figures.
In real life, going up against monsters without a Job’s blessings isn’t just reckless—it’s insanity.
Resetting your level to zero just to change Jobs? No one in this world would do that unless they had a death wish.
On top of that, there are way too many Jobs with vague unlock conditions. Most people can’t even clear the simple lower-rank job requirements from step ⑤. No wonder only a single person in history ever managed to become one.
Of course, I already knew all the unlock conditions for every lower-rank job, so I laid it all out for Sierra.
"Just… who are you really?"
"I told you. I’m a 【Hero】."
Man, I’ve gotta say, the word 【Hero】 is really convenient. I’m starting to like this title.
After that, I headed with Sierra to the noble dorms. Apparently, she had both a <Bracelet of Alchemy Lv.1> and a full alchemy kit, so it was the perfect chance to kick off the Slime Marathon.
If all went well, Sierra would meet the requirements for 【Shield Princess】 by the end of today.
We moved quickly—straight from the lounge to the noble dorms. Sierra fetched her alchemy set and brought it to my room. Time to activate the secret technique: Slime Marathon!
"Are you sure this method is… okay? I don’t know why, but it feels like everything about this is just wrong."
Yeah, well… she’s not wrong. Even I was starting to feel a tiny bit guilty.
What we were doing was tackling three 【Shield Princess】 requirements all at once:
② Block 100 monster attacks with a shield.
③ Parry 100 monster attacks with a shield.
⑤ Fulfill the requirements for lower-rank jobs like 【Shieldbearer】, 【Greatshieldbearer】, 【Dual Shieldbearer】, and so on.
The method? None other than the legendary <Slime Catch Ball>.
I threw a slime, and Sierra raised her shield and casually caught it with a thunk.
That counted as one blocked monster attack. The slime then popped and vanished.
See, in <DanKatsu>, thrown slimes are treated by the system as a monster’s attack. From the game’s perspective, I was just "assisting" the slime’s offense.
The original trick came from a 【Beast Tamer】 skill called 『Monster Throw』, where you could hurl your pet monsters to attack or quickly reposition them. But players eventually discovered—through blood, sweat, and sheer coincidence—that you could also use it to fulfill obscure unlock conditions.
Normally, this wouldn’t even be possible right now since no 【Beast Tamers】 existed. But this wasn’t the game anymore. This was real.
I figured I’d give it a shot during the carriage ride to the academy. Lo and behold, it worked perfectly fine without the skill.
Downside? The thrown slime took damage and disappeared. Honestly, that was a blessing—it saved us the trouble of finishing it off.
And so, I kept pitching slimes toward Sierra as she stood there casually holding up her shield. In less than thirty minutes, she cleared both conditions ② and ③.
While we were at it, I also asked which lower-rank jobs she hadn’t unlocked yet, and we checked those boxes too. Before long, the 【Shield Princess】 job finally appeared.
"This… this is absurd. It’s unfair. It’s wrong!"
Sierra’s voice trembled as frustration spilled out.
Later, when she’d calmed down, she told me what had happened. All the grueling effort she’d put in, all the expectations placed on her when she entered the academy, all the fear that she’d never measure up—it all came crashing down at once. Her family’s expectations had been especially heavy.
The noble dorms, naturally, had their own Job Appraisal <Dragon Statue>. Just as planned, Sierra successfully obtained 【Shield Princess】 there. But… was she going to be okay?
"Anyway, uh… congrats on your Job unlock?"
"…Yeah. Sorry. You kept your promise, and I should be happy, but… I’m not. I need some time alone. I’ll make it up to you later."
She looked completely drained. Even after achieving her lifelong dream, she couldn’t enjoy it.
We parted ways in front of the <Dragon Statue>.
"Hey, wait. Take this with you. Read it when you can."
"What’s this?"
"A memo. Details about 【Shield Princess】 and the strongest build path I’ve theorycrafted."
I’d prepped it ahead of time, just in case.
But when Sierra looked at the memo, the light drained from her eyes.
It felt like I’d just served a full-course meal to someone already stuffed beyond capacity.
"…Thanks."
She forced the words out, tucked the memo into her uniform pocket, and walked up the stairs. Women’s rooms were on the third floor and above, if I remembered right. Looked like she lived here, too.
I watched her leave in silence, wondering if I’d just dealt the finishing blow to her psyche.
As I stood there deciding what to do next, another familiar face showed up.
"Ah! It’s you!"
"Hm? Oh, if it isn’t the arrogant princess."
"Who are you calling arrogant, you insolent peasant!"
Standing there was none other than the so-called "Arrogant Princess," sporting the "Royal" family’s symbol, a <Silver Tiara>.
What was her name again? …Right, I never actually asked.
She was probably here for the <Dragon Statue> too.
But unlike last time, she wasn’t alone.
"Lady Lana, do you know this man?"
The woman beside her was unmistakably a knight, a brooch of shield and horse pinned proudly on her chest.
Her short, slightly pink-tinted blonde hair and gentle orange eyes gave her an air of warmth, while at the same time leaving a subtle intellectual impression.
She was only a little shorter than me—tall for a girl—and her figure was… well, let’s just say it was striking in all the right places.
Judging from appearances, she was the princess’s bodyguard. But the embroidery on her uniform marked her as a first-year student.
…A first year with that kind of physique, huh.
While I was busy observing the knight girl, their conversation had already moved ahead without me.
"That’s the 【Hero】 I was telling you about. I invited him to join my guild not long ago, but he turned me down! Worse, he told me if I wanted him to listen, I should raise my level first—then he actually sent me, a princess, away!"
She shot me a glare like she was screaming humiliation incarnate.
"Pleased to meet you. I’m Zephyrus, 【Hero Lv20】. So then, how much have you managed to level up these past few days, Your Highness?"
"Wha—wha!? Already level 20!? Ugh, at least wait a little!"
"Starting tomorrow, I’ll be diving into the Beginner mid-tier dungeons. The gap might just get wider again."
"I told you to wait!"
The knight girl gave a small nod as if she’d figured out what sort of relationship I had with the princess. Apparently, I’d passed her inspection.
Still, I couldn’t help but wonder—just what kind of relationship did she think we had?
"My apologies for the delay. I am Ester, sworn knight to Lady Lana. Please remember me from this day forward."
"Ah, got it. Nice to meet you. So, Lana, was it?"
"…Yes. That would be this princess right here. Lady Lana, you didn’t introduce yourself properly?"
"Ester, don’t make it sound like I’m some clueless child! It’s common sense that I don’t need to introduce myself—after all, I am a princess!"
"That won’t do. When greeted, you greet in return. When someone gives their name, you return the courtesy. Even if they already know who you are, manners must be upheld."
Hmm. From just that exchange, their dynamic was clear as day.
Ester clearly had the "responsible caretaker" role, reining in the willful princess.
"So, the two of you came for a job measurement?"
"Yes. Lady Lana wishes to obtain a Job as soon as possible, so we’ve been using the measurement room after class every day."
"E-Ester, you didn’t have to say that—!"
Too late. The damage was done.
"As I thought, Your Highness still hasn’t unlocked a Job yet, huh?"
"Gh… y-yes, that’s right! The Job I’m aiming for is incredibly difficult. It’s not something you can just unlock on a whim!"
"Yeah, I figured."
To recruit someone with the "Royalty" required a Fame score of 200—the highest threshold of all. In terms of guild rank, you’d need at least A-rank to even come close.
Which, of course, meant that "Royalty" could acquire some of the strongest Jobs in existence.
But naturally, that also meant the unlock conditions were brutal.
"So it’s not 【Princess】 you’re after? Then what Job are you aiming for?"
【Princess】, though technically a Basic Job, ranked among the best of the "High rank Low-tier" jobs. Its condition was simple: <① Being a "Royalty" and "Princess">.
In other words, she could unlock it just by existing.
This sort of Job was called a <Standard Job>—one you could start with from birth without needing to meet active conditions. "Royalty", huh? Must be nice, being able to walk into such a High rank Low-tier Job right off the bat.
But since she was refusing to take it, that meant she was aiming even higher. Something in the "High rank Upper-tier" ranks.
"A Job you could never hope to reach!"
"Oh? Could it be… 【Saint】?"
"…!?"
Judging from her reaction—bullseye. The "since you (man.)" part was the giveaway.
【Saint】, huh? So that’s it.
That explains why she’s been picking fights with me, the 【Hero】.
While I was connecting the dots, her face was steadily turning bright red.
Her reaction was all the confirmation I needed.
"A 【Hero】 and a 【Saint】, both appearing in the same generation, huh? You have to admit, it’s kind of romantic."
"Wha—wha-wha-wha-wha-what are you babbling about!? T-th-th-that’s not it at all, don’t flatter yourself!"
Her flustered outburst was so over the top I almost laughed.
"…Lady Lana. Was that a roundabout confession just now? Has the unshakable Lady Lana fallen in love with a man?"
"Wha!? Ester! N-no, that’s not it! Sure, I might have admired the idea of 【Hero】 and 【Saint】 being a perfect match, but that doesn’t mean—me, in love with him!? Impossible!"
Oblivious to the fact that Ester had just coaxed her into spilling her heart, the princess went on denying it—though whether her denial was convincing… well, that was another matter.
She was reacting pretty innocently.
"【Hero】 Sir Zephyrus, as you can see, Lady Lana’s personality is… well, like this. But she is quite charming, and she’s not a bad person. If you would kindly give it some thought—"
"What do you mean give it some thought!? Ester, shut up already! —And you too, don’t get the wrong idea, okay!?"
The princess barked back. Toward the end, she jabbed her finger straight at me.
Yeah, if I poked at her any further, she might actually sulk—or explode. With her face blazing red, huffing and puffing at me like she was trying to intimidate me, I decided to calm her down.
"Alright, relax. I believe you, so just take a deep breath."
"Kuh… f-fooo, f-fooo…"
If she got stubborn and picked 【Princess】 instead, that’d be a disaster.
See, 【Saint】 is one of the most powerful High-ranking jobs, second only to 【Hero】.
And I mean second only to 【Hero】. That part’s important.
One of the conditions is <① Must be "Royalty" and "Princess">, and this job sits at the very peak of all <Princess Jobs>. It’s the true top-tier job, only available to those rare, strongest characters with a maximum Fame (Scout Value) of 200.
Honestly, 【Saint】 is exactly the kind of asset I want in my guild. Making her angry here would benefit me in no way. The princess’s personality is… well, kind of adorable, and her appearance is excellent. She’s about average height for a girl, with a beautifully well-proportioned face. Her short silver hair shines like polished metal, and her eyes—an ocean blue, brimming with boldness—are dazzlingly beautiful. No complaints: a flawless beauty.
She matches my scout criteria perfectly.
In my mind, the princess is as good as scouted already. She’s completely locked on target.
Alright, with that decided, on to the next.
After calming the princess down, I turned to the knight named Ester.
"Mind if I call you Ester as well?"
"Yes. Call me however you like."
"Then, Ester. When I asked earlier if the two of you came here for a job measurement, you answered, "Lady Lana did". Which means—you already have a Job, don’t you?"
"No. However, I’ve already reached the requirement. Once Lady Lana obtains hers, I’ll claim mine too."
I see, so she hasn’t gotten it yet. That works out nicely for me.
"And that target job is… let me guess, 【Royal Guard Knight】?"
【Royal Guard Knight】, while technically a high-ranking basic job, comes with a unique skill that greatly boosts stats when acting alongside "Royalty". Because of that, it stands above other knight jobs.
Though it only works when with "Royalty," it ranks as a strong High-ranking mid-tier job. It’s quite powerful. Also, since men can take it too, it’s not considered a <Princess Job>.
"! Sir Zephyrus, you certainly have a deep well of knowledge."
Ester widened her eyes briefly, impressed.
So I hit the mark.
Well, 【Knight】-type jobs only manifest in the children of "Knight". For a mere villager like me to know this much—it must’ve surprised her.
And it’s true: "Knight" jobs have an absurd number of variants, and 【Royal Guard Knight】 is about as far from my world as you can get.
Just knowing about it would shock most people.
"Are you really satisfied with that job?"
"…I’m not sure what you mean by that."
"Fair enough. I’ll be blunt—I want you too."
"HaaAah—!?"
The princess shrieked nearby. Don’t interrupt.
"If you join my guild, I’ll tell you the conditions for 【Princess Knight】."
When I said that, Ester’s eyes wavered.
【Princess Knight】 is one of the highest-ranked jobs in the "Knight" category.
As the name suggests, it falls under <Princess Jobs>, on the same tier as 【Shield Princess】.
Now, you might be wondering—"Wait, why is 【Princess Knight】 ranked above 【Royal Guard Knight】? Shouldn’t it be the other way around?"
But think about it.
What has more appeal—a burly Royal Guard Knight like something out of a fantasy novel, or a beautiful Princess Knight clad in dress armor?
Exactly. That’s the reason.
In fact, in <DanKatsu>, female-exclusive jobs are generally stronger and far more varied.
That’s one of the main reasons <DanKatsu> became so popular. After all, most of the players were guys.
"Hey, you! What’s the big idea, trying to poach Ester from me!?"
As Ester wavered from my proposal, her master, the princess, lashed out.
I’m in the middle of negotiations with Ester, but… fine, I’ll turn to the princess.
"Wh-what’s with that annoyed look, you rude man! Y-you should look happier when I’m the one talking to you!"
She’d come at me so aggressively, yet the moment she saw my expression, she suddenly looked uneasy.
Whoops. Guess I let too much show on my face.
I thought she was just getting in the way of my recruiting, but when I considered it, the princess actually had a point. Of course, anyone would be upset if their subordinate or bodyguard was being poached right in front of them.
So I quietly apologized.
"Sorry. That was my bad."
"O-oh? Well, as long as you understand. But still, don’t go pulling Ester away without my permission. She’s my guard and a Royal Knight, after all."
"Yeah. But it’s not like I was stealing her or anything. I was just inviting her into my guild."
"That’s exactly what poaching is!"
Hmmm? …Something about this conversation isn’t lining up.
If both the princess and Ester joined my guild, they’d be moving together anyway, so what’s the problem? Is there something I’m missing here?
"Um, Lady Lana. I believe Sir Zephyrus might also be inviting you to his guild."
"Eh!? Wait, seriously!? You never told me that!"
…Ah. Right. Now that she mentioned it, I don’t think I ever actually invited the princess.
The princess had initially mentioned joining the guild, and she seemed interested now, so I assumed we'd end up in the same guild.
Come to think of it, she did turn me down back then, so the whole ‘guild together’ talk never really moved forward.
Still, I can’t afford to show weakness and let her have the upper hand here.
So, I decided to just bluff it out.
"What? Princess, you’re not joining my guild?"
"Wait. Hold on. Let me sort this out. Since when was I joining your guild? No, no! It’s you who’s supposed to join my guild!"
"If you join mine, I’ll tell you the conditions to manifest the 【Saint】 job."
"Wha—!?"
The princess froze, mouth wide open.
Even Ester, who usually kept her cool, looked over at me in disbelief.
That reaction said it all—utter shock.
The same look Sierra gave me before.
Alright, time to push through with sheer momentum.
"Man, having both a 【Saint】 and a 【Princess Knight】 in my guild is crazy lucky. Let’s go unlock those jobs right now!"
"Wha—h-hold on! Are you serious about that!? How could you possibly know the conditions for 【Saint】—hey, don’t grab my hand! Where are you dragging me!?"
"Relax, relax. …Ester, you too. Hearing the conditions won’t cost you anything."
"I-if that information is real, then it’s an issue so big it could shake the royal family itself—ah!?"
Ignoring the princess’s resistance and Ester’s panicked rambling, I grabbed them both by the arms and pulled them along.
Fuhaha! The struggles of unawakened kids with no job powers are useless, useless.
Straight to my room we go.
Luckily, Sierra had left behind the < racelet of Alchemy Lv.1> and an alchemy set in my room.
Sorry, but I’ll be borrowing them. It’s all for the sake of our guild.
Of course, from the outside, dragging two resisting beauties—both of whom also happen to be princesses—into my room probably looked a lot like a kidnapping. But oblivious to that, I politely escorted them inside.
"…No way… that method actually worked?"
Back in the measurement room, before the <Dragon Statue>. When the princess placed her hand upon it, the 【Saint】 job appeared clearly.
Ester muttered in shock, completely dumbfounded.
The princess, meanwhile, was in a daze.
"See? Just like I said, right?"
"‘Just like I said’ my foot!? Do you even realize how huge a ripple this information will cause!?"
Let it cause as many ripples as it wants.
If anything, I’d like to grill these people on why they don’t already know something so important about their own world.
After I dragged them to my room earlier, I didn’t give them a chance to argue and immediately had the princess try out the 【Saint】 conditions. She resisted so hard she nearly threw a tantrum, but when I seriously told her, "If you want to be a 【Saint】, then trust me and just do it," she reluctantly gave in—her face turning red for some reason.
At one point, Professor Phyllis showed up, responding to a false report about a girl student being abducted by a boy. That was close. I talked my way out of it, saying we were just holding a study session.
Ester helped too, flusteringly defending me, so Professor Phyllis bought it. She left after telling us, "Studying is good, but don’t forget to eat dinner. It’s already 7 PM."
Scared the hell out of me. Seriously, who reported that!?
Afterward, the three of us went to the cafeteria for dinner, then continued until now—past 9 PM.
To unlock 【Saint】, you have to fulfill the conditions for ten lower-rank jobs: 【Cleric】, 【Priest】, 【Shrine Maiden】, 【Shaman】, 【Healer】, 【Pharmacist】, 【Medic】, 【Recovery Mage】, 【White Mage】, and 【Holy】. That took some time, but we somehow managed to get it all done today.
Good thing too—I couldn’t risk waiting another day and letting her cool off.
Ester was in awe at how quick and systematic my step-by-step process was. The way she used to address me formally as "Sir Zephyrus" now carried a genuine sense of respect.
Fufufu. Pretty amazing, right? This is the legacy—the knowledge—of us <DanKatsu> players.
Since 【Saint】 was the second-strongest job after 【Hero】, tons of players used it back then. Naturally, people researched all kinds of methods for "the fastest way to become a 【Saint】."
After all, in <DanKatsu> there was always a time limit, so speed and efficiency were always in demand.
That’s why, for me, this much is just second nature.
And with that, we got our 【Saint】.
"Ester, you can tell the royal family about this if you want."
Honestly, I’d rather they spread it far and wide. Otherwise, they’ll never stand a chance in the Advanced Dungeons.
"…No. This information belongs to you, Sir Zephyrus. I can’t just give it away on my own."
"It’s not really that big of a deal… well, fine, let’s leave it at that. If things ever get messy, just say the princess figured it out on her own."
Since 【Saint】 can only be obtained by "Royalty"—specifically "Princesses"—there aren’t many people who can even qualify. So it’s not like telling them would really matter anyway. As for the prerequisite jobs, they can work their way through those themselves.
"…Understood."
Ester nodded, though she looked a little troubled.
For me, giving out a bit of info isn’t an issue—but I’d rather avoid time-consuming headaches.
If it’s fun or gets me attention, then sure, I’ll gladly share. But pointless trouble? No thanks.
In <DanKatsu>, there was even a limit to how many "Races" of people you could recruit. Like: only one "Royal," up to two "Marquises," up to five "Knights," and so on.
Which is exactly why I can’t reveal the secret about 【Princess Knight】 just yet. There are way too many candidates in the "Knight" category.
Well, it’ll stay under wraps for now. Maybe someday I’ll let it out.
Anyway, next up is 【Princess Knight】.
"Alright, Ester, you’re up. ....Since you met the conditions for 【Royal Guard Knight】, that means you can ride a horse, right?"
"You’re very well informed. Yes, I’ve been drilled in riding since childhood."
"Good. Then all that’s left is requirement #4 <Equip dress armor and defeat 100 monsters>. I doubt you own dress armor, but can you get some?"
"Yes. By tomorrow at the latest."
"Perfect. I’m diving into a Beginner mid-tier dungeon tomorrow morning. Once I’m done, we’ll meet up. You’re ready, right?"
—Ready to ditch 【Royal Guard Knight】 and become 【Princess Knight】.
From my perspective, 【Royal Guard Knight】 is a flawed job. Without a "Royal" nearby, it can’t bring out its true potential. Sure, there are other jobs designed for "pairs" that boost each other, but being weak on your own is a huge drawback.
【Princess Knight】, on the other hand, is insanely strong.
Knight-type jobs are generally split into two:
【Knight】 types = tanks (e.g. 【Heavy Knight】, 【Royal Guard Knight】, 【Paladin】).
【Knight】 types = mounted attackers (e.g. 【Chariot】, 【Pegasus Knight】, 【Wyvern Rider】).
As you might guess from the names, the 【Knight】 line specializes in mounted offense. The 【Knight】 line rides too, but their mount-related skills are mostly for mobility, not direct combat.
【Princess Knight】 combines the strengths of both—it has top-tier potential as both a tank and an attacker. That’s why it’s considered the dream job for daughters of knights.
Plenty of them aspire to fight brilliantly as attackers, not just stand guard as tanks.
Ester is no exception. So, of course, her answer is:
"Yes. I will serve in Sir Zephyrus’s guild. Lady Lana, I trust that is acceptable?"
"Wha—!? Uh, yeah, I guess…"
"Then, together with Lady Lana, I look forward to working with you."
Ester bowed deeply, smiling.
The princess, meanwhile, still looked stunned—probably still reeling from becoming a 【Saint】 earlier. She didn’t seem fully grounded yet.
"…Please, Lady Lana, don’t hold back. Join us as well."
"U-uhm… okay, sure."
"Great! You’re both welcome. Looking forward to it."
Looks like it’s settled.
Yes! Now we’ve got not only a 【Saint】 but a 【Princess Knight】 too. We’ve even met the minimum party size to form a guild—absolutely perfect!
And the balance is beautiful:
* Attacker = 【Princess Knight】
* Tank = 【Shield Princess】
* Healer = 【Saint】
* All-rounder = 【Hero】
* Crafter = 【Alchemist】
This is textbook composition.
Tomorrow’s Beginner mid-tier dungeon run just got serious.
If everything goes well, we might even form the guild tomorrow!
Crap, I need to think of a guild name…!
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