Newbie training resumed three days later. The city's reconstruction hadn't taken long, as the only significant damage had been the destruction of the gate and the petrification of the walls.

The outer walls, turned to pumice by the Catochrists, needed to be completely rebuilt. They needed to station guards while the walls were temporarily down, but since Silver Mask Ryu had revived all the petrified knights, they had enough manpower.

Monsters that had scattered around the city were being dealt with by adventurers. Busy days were ahead.

...

The trainees gathered in the indoor training hall. There was some kind of announcement.

The training content needed to be revised due to the changes brought about by Ryu conquering the dungeon. But only Ryu and some of the instructors and staff knew the situation. The trainees were still unaware.

The instructors had gathered in the room as well. They were waiting for the guildmaster to arrive when Iraira, who had spotted Ryu, approached him. Tension filled the room.

It turned out that Ryu had acted without following instructions during the stampede and was rumored to be facing punishment. He was supposed to be disqualified from training, or worse, have his adventurer status revoked.

(The trainees who had evacuated didn't know that Ryu had saved the city. Instead, there were strange rumors spreading about a mysterious man in a silver mask who had saved the city.)

There were also rumors that Ryu had gotten bored with training, decided to become an adventurer in another town, and had left. But his appearance at the start of training proved those rumors wrong.

But then Iraira, who had been targeting Ryu, approached him. Was it punishment? The trainees watched with bated breath...

Those nearby noticed that Iraira was smiling. The trainees were surprised, as they hadn't seen her smile often, but they were relieved that the atmosphere wasn't hostile.

But then Deputy Ash shouted.

"Wait a minute, Iraira! You're not disqualifying Ryujeen!"

"...What?"

"I can't take it anymore! I'm dismissing Iraira from her position as a newbie training instructor!"

"What on Earth are you talking about?"

"Iraira's training methods are wrong! Many people who had the ability to be adventurers dropped out and left the city!"

Ash spoke angrily, rapidly firing off his accusations.

"If you keep doing that, this town will have no adventurers! I'll be the head instructor from now on and decide whether the trainees graduate or not. Iraira should admit her mistake in strategy and take responsibility!"

The lord and the guildmaster entered the room. Ash's confidence soared.

"Oh, the lord's even here! Iraira! I've already reported your misdeeds to the guildmaster. This meeting is to announce your dismissal!"

Ash kept talking rapidly, leaving Iraira speechless.

"...I think you have the wrong idea..."

"I don't have the wrong idea. Ryujeen has the skills! I heard from the knights. Iraira might not know, but Ryujeen was the masked man who saved the city! It would be a loss to the city, no, the country, to drive out such a hero. Stop it, Iraira!"

"No, Silver Mask is a mysterious man, not me..."

Ryu tried to interrupt, but Ash, glaring at Iraira, was too excited to listen.

"...Who said I was going to disqualify Ryujeen?"

"I thought you were going to!

...What? You weren't?

Really...?"

"I wasn't. I've seen Ryujeen's skills, they're sufficient. I've decided he's passed. That's what I was going to announce today."

Iraira grinned at Ryujeen.

"Congratulations! And..."

Iraira stepped in front of Ryu and took his hand.

"...Thank you..."

It was a short word of thanks, but it was filled with heartfelt gratitude.

Then the lord spoke.

"So, he passed?"

Next Episode

Ryujeen's true identity.

Stay tuned!