The ball

[Wich areas are you proficient in?]

[Swordmanship and magic]

She took me to a different part of the guild where an old man was waiting.

[Another one for the test?]

[Yes, I have to go back so I'll leave him in your care. Good luck, Cain!]

[Thank you.] I replied with a smile.

The test is very simple. I just have to show how good I am at magic.

(There is no reason to delay it...)

I created a bird made of flames that flew freely inside the room. Where it passed, a trail of flames was left. For those who weren't adept at magic, doing this was quite hard. It wasn't a super high level of magic, but it would be considered hard when compared to others.

[Excelent. You may go to the other room.]

There, a man was standing holding a sword.

[Test?]

[Yes]

[The test is a spar, grab a sword.]

(This one is quite direct, huh?)

I grabbed a common sword. Its size was medium and it was not too heavy. On the other hand, the examiner was holding a big sword that was one meter and eighty centimeters high.

(I have no reason to wast time on this too. I'll just attack him fast since he has that giant sword...)

And so I did. The moment he said I could start, I dashed at him and slashed his sword around ten times. After the hits, the examiner lost his balance for a moment and tried to step back to regain it. But I didn't let him. As his foot was getting close to the ground I did a low kick, which made him fall. The moment his back touched the ground, I pointed my sword at his neck.

[... the test is finished. The result will be in the counter you registered in a few minutes.]

[Thank you.]

(This was easy... Shouldn't it be way harder so people can't get high ranks easily?)

While thinking about that I walked back to the guildhall and sited on one of the benches in the middle of it.

After a few minutes:

[Cain, the result is here!!]

I calmly walked to her with a smile.

[You are now a low A rank adventurer, congratulations! It is the maximum rank someone can start ant and it rarely happens. This is your guild card.]

[Thank you, Anne. I hope you are here the next time I come.]

[Y-yes, me too.]

I'm satisfied with the results. An A rank can do almost all of the quests, more so, I can sell any monsters I hunt without any problems.

I am now walking back to my house. While at it, I'm thinking that it is much easier living as a noble, It is actually unfair. Why can someone just get C rank without any tests? It doesn't even make sense... Guess that's the power of money, huh? Putting that aside, for now, I have to get ready for the ball tonight so I'll buy some new clothes on the way home.

I bought a pair of black pants a black social clothes along with a blood-red vest that matches my eyes. Now I can just relax until the time comes. When I got home Layla was surprised knowing I registered and got A rank. She said she has some friends that are adventurers and know that it is rare for someone to start at A rank.

-------

[Master Cain, it's time. The carriage is here.]

[I'll be right there.]

The night at the capital is beautiful. There are many lights on the streets and many people walking around.

(How can it be this lively? Being on this carriage is making me sleepy... I'll eat some food and come back, I just know one person anyway.)

I'm now arriving at the Dullenet's house. It is huge. They live here at the capital, so their house is much bigger than mine. There is a big garden on the front, full of flowers and different colored trees. The visitor's carriages drop the guests right in front of the mansion since there is a road that goes from the front gate to the house. Yes, the house is so big that there is a road inside.

I'm actually a little late, so, although there's still are people arriving, it is not too many. As I walk inside the mansion I see the huge hall where the ball is happening. In the middle of the room, there are many tables with many types of food The rest of the hall doesn't have any furniture, so people are standing around the place talking. Between the tables and the end of the hall, there is a space destined for dancing, since the Dulenet family hired musicians to play. At the end of the hall, there is a big flight of stairs covered in a red carpet. That's pretty much it. It sounds simple, but the decoration of the house makes it fancy enough. On the walls, there are many engravings made of gold, followed by paintings.

I can see and feel many people looking at me, and, although quite embarrassing, I can also hear some of them.

[Who is that? I've seen him before]

[Me neither, but he is quite the handsome one, isn't he?]

[Yeah, should we go talk to him?]

(Uhh, I wish I didn't have to talk with many people. It will be exhausting, I just wanna eat.)

As I am picking and eating some food at the tables I hear someone calling m;

[Hey, Cain. Long time no see.]

It was Icarus Dulenet. Since our parents are old friends, he is a childhood friend of mine. He's a nice guy and is also the only person I know in here. He approaches me with two people by his side.

[Hey, Icarus. How are you doing?]

[I'm great, thanks. Ah, I should introduce you. Cain is very found of fighting so you should get along well. These two are an A-ranked party and are working for my family at the moment.]

[Nice to meet you, Cain. My name is Abel.]

[Hi, I'm Mia. Hmmm, weren't you at the guild earlier today? I could swear I saw you there.]

[I was, I just joined the guild today.]

[We've been adventures for some time now, you have any questions you can ask us. By the way, since you are a noble, you started at C rank right?]

[Actually I did the test and they put me at low A rank.]

[[Really??]]

Fufu, it's quite funny to see people's reactions. This couple was nice and, as we had many things in common, along with Icarus, we talked for some time. Until...

[Look, the princess is arriving.]

All the people present stopped and looked at the stairs. It seems it didn't happen much for the princess to attend to events like these.

(Wait, isn't that... I'm screwed, I hope she didn't get offended by how I acted...)

The girl I helped the other day turned out to be the Princess of this country. I wasn't disrespectful, if she was a commoner or a noble, that is. For someone of high social standing, like me, who was supposed to know who the princess is, treating her like I did could be seen as a disrespectful attitude.

The princess was beautiful, her pale pink hair and light blue eyes made her beautiful. She was in a pale blue dress that suited her very well. As she walking down the stairs and glancing at the people, her eyes met mine and stopped. When it happened, she let out a beautiful smile, like flowers in spring.

[Is she smiling at us?? Cain, do you know the princess??] Icarus asked.

[I kinda met her the other day, haha...] I laughed nervously.

[...]

(At least, by that smile it seems she is not angry at me. I sure hope she is not...)

After she finished going down the stairs, people went back to talk, and so did we. A crowd was gathered where the princess was. Since she was a princess, many people tried getting close to her.

As the four of us casually talked, a soft voice was heard:

[Cain, nice to see you again.]

[Princess, it's good to see you too. Sorry for my behavior the last time, I wasn't aware that you were the princess.]

[You don't have to worry, if it wasn't for you I wouldn't be here after all... Changing the topic, would you like to dance with me?]

The three standing beside Cain were dumbfounded. Many people would constantly ask the princess for a dance and she never once accepted. Her being the one asking was something they thought would never happen. Their gaze turned to me.

[I would love to.] I replied with a smile.

[Then, if you don't mind, I'll borrow him.] The princess gently said to Icarus and the couple.

[Y-yeah, please go ahead.]