Chapter 30: Hard Work Pays off in the End

Chapter 30:
Hard Work Pays off in the End

 

I HAD A FEW precious days of peace after that. I continued taking requests to ensure Lola beat Sarah, but I stuck with less risky ones. On the exam side, we decided to present the dragon fang at the last minute, mostly because I wanted to see the look on Ms. Elena’s face.

Finally, the last day of the exam period arrived. After morning greetings were over, Ms. Elena began. “This is your last chance, kids. Come to the front of the room and present your items when your name is called. You’ll be scored on the spot.”

She reviewed the scoring criteria: red lizardman tails were worth 3,500 points, unicorn horns were worth 50,000 points, and dragon fangs were worth 300,000 points. Our class was the cream of the crop, so no one scored less than 5,000. Most people had between 10,000 and 30,000. A few broke 50,000—like Maria and her attendant, Amane.

“Ha, you got a unicorn horn… Excellent work,” said Ms. Elena.

“They were very difficult to find, so we were only able to retrieve the one.”

“That’s plenty. With the twenty lizardman tails you collected earlier, that’s 120,000 total. Split between the two of you, that’s 60,000 each.”

Our classmates were all abuzz.

“That’s Lady Maria for you!”

“Those two might take the top spot.”

“But I guess even those two didn’t make it to the 100,000 needed to get out of summer school.”

As the excitement built, Ms. Elena glared at Emma and I. “Now it’s your turn.”

I understood why she looked so displeased. We hadn’t turned in a single thing so far.

“Should I even bother getting my hopes up? Did you think this was going to be a cakewalk and then end up in hot water? If that’s what happened, I see I sorely misjudged you.”

“Heh, I think it’s a little early to be jumping to conclusions, Ms. Elena.”

“Yeah. Come on, Noir, show her.”

“Please accept these,” I said, and I presented the dragon fangs.

“Fangs…” Ms. Elena’s eyes widened. “Those are earth dragon fangs, aren’t they?”

“Sure are.”

“I-I can’t believe you actually did it. I’m impressed. Honestly.”

“So two fangs should be 600,000, that’s 300,000 each, right?”

“Yes, congratulations. You two are completely excused from summer school.”

“Yay!”

Emma and I high-fived.

“Now why don’t you use first period to tell us all about how you defeated that dragon? You have valuable experience to share.”

And so, we regaled the class with the tale of our dragon hunt. Of course, I glossed over my abilities as best as I could.

On the way home, Emma was in a great mood. “Now we can have tons of fun during vacation!”

“You said it. I’m glad we got out of summer school. Maybe we should go on a trip somewhere?”

“I like that idea. Hey, Noir, let’s spend lots of time together, okay?”

“As long as we’re still doing our jobs as adventurers, sure.”

“Eh he he, I wonder what we should do. The sky’s the limit!”

Just making plans for the summer with Emma was fun in itself. I actually had money this year too. The prospect of going on a food tour was particularly appealing.

A few days after the exam, another meaningful event was upon us. We gathered in the guild hall, anxiously awaiting the receptionist scores. Lola couldn’t sit still, and I clapped her on the shoulder. “You worked really hard. And your adventurers worked really hard too.”

“I did everything I could, but Sarah is a formidable enemy…”

As if summoned by her name, Sarah approached. She had a queenly bearing. “Good job, you worked really hard, Lola.”

“Don’t patronize me.”

“Do you remember our deal if I win?”

“Mr. Noir…will switch receptionists.”

“I’m so glad we understand each other. Hello, Mr. Noir.”

“H-hi.” I just couldn’t get used to her. With her skimpy outfit, I had a hard time figuring out where to look. And she was standing so close to me.

“When I become your manager, I promise I’ll support you to my utmost.”

“Hey, you haven’t won yet.”

“Oh, the scores are here!”

Another member of the staff was posting the month’s scores on the wall. It was a bar graph, but two of the bars clearly stood out from the rest. They belonged to the two receptionists currently embroiled in a heated battle. From a distance, they looked about even, but upon closer inspection, Lola’s bar was clearly longer.

“No way…I-I won?” Lola seemed to have the hardest time believing it. She had been working hard all month from early morning to late night. It was a miracle—no, it was proof that hard work does pay off.

“You cheated,” Sarah said in a calm tone. She glared at Lola and repeated herself. “You clearly cheated. I can’t imagine how else you did it.”

“Give me a break. Where’s your proof?”

“Proof? I’m sure there’s something…”

“You don’t have any, do you? You shouldn’t call people cheaters when you don’t have evidence. That’s no better than calling someone a criminal. Only lunatics do that.”

“H-how…?”

“Anyway. I won, so don’t you dare try stealing my adventurers again. Especially Mr. Noir.”

“You don’t have to be so mean about it…”

When the reality of her loss finally hit her, Sarah crouched down and started crying. Lola, meanwhile, looked triumphant. I couldn’t help feeling a little sorry for Sarah.

“Don’t beat yourself up,” I said. “Second place is still impressive.”

“I knew you’d understand, Mr. Noir. Take this. I want to get to know you, not as receptionist and adventurer, but as two regular people!” Sarah handed me a slip of paper with something written on it. Had she had it on her the whole time?

“Why you liiiiittle! Knock it off!”

“Eeeeeeek! The evil receptionist is trying to kill me!”

Lola was furious, and Sarah ran away. I was still bewildered. The slip of paper hadn’t been a coupon, but her address. The other adventurers just watched, chuckling to themselves.

Another peaceful day at Odin!