We requested to have the subjugation of the Fangblade Tiger counted as a completed quest instead.
Wiley agreed to my request, though Sylvie looked visibly flustered by his decision.
"But, Guild master…"
"It's fine. This will be an exception. They've taught us many things today. And one more exception—promote them directly to Indigo-Rank adventurers. No registration fee, no tests."
"Understood. Mr. Karen, Miss Lina—the reward for the Fangblade Tiger quest is 10 silver coins. In total, that makes 11 silver coins and 30 copper coins."
Once Sylvie accepted Wiley's verdict, she recalculated everything according to the quest reward. Then she placed two sheets of paper and two pens in front of us.
"Please fill these out with your personal information. After that, the guild will issue your Adventurer ID cards. With the ID, you will be exempted from tolls when traveling to other places. Please do not lose your card."
"You mean… if we visit another town, we only need to show the Adventurer ID to the gate guards and we won't have to pay any toll fees?"
"Yes. It's a benefit provided by the country to all registered adventurers."
That's great—saves us more money on the road. Lina and I filled out our information and handed the papers back to Sylvie.
"Let me confirm—Name: Karen, born on September 12th, 2002. Name: Lina, born on December 25th, 2002. Place of origin for both: Savapadi Village. Is that correct?"
"Yes."
"Please wait just a moment. Your cards will be ready soon."
After confirming our details, Sylvie stood up and disappeared through the door behind her. I turned to look toward the bicycle. I wondered how Lukie was doing.
"You can do it, Lukie!"
"You're almost there!"
"One more time!"
A small crowd was cheering her on. It seemed she was finally starting to find her balance—she could now lift her feet off the ground and glide a short distance, though not yet a full meter.
Just then, Sylvie returned carrying two cards and a small pouch, which she placed before us.
"Mr. Karen, Miss Lina, these are your Adventurer ID cards and your quest reward."
So that pouch was the reward—judging from the weight, it was quite a lot. I picked up my card and read it. My name, birthday, and rank were written clearly: Indigo-Rank.
"Your adventurer rank is Indigo. You may only accept Indigo quests or lower. Do you understand how adventurer ranks work?"
"We don't."
Lina and I shook our heads, so Sylvie began her explanation.
"Adventurers are divided into eight ranks, named after the colors of the rainbow. From highest to lowest, the order is: Rainbow, Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, and Violet. But those who can reach the Rainbow Rank are exceedingly rare, very few people ever achieve it."
I nodded. So in academic terms, Rainbow would be S-rank—over 100 points. Red would be A, Orange B, and so on… Indigo would be like F-rank. And we had skipped Violet entirely.
"Karen, even though you completed a Blue-rank commission, I do not have the authority to promote you two ranks at once."
Wiley sounded genuinely apologetic.
"It's fine. Being promoted past Violet the moment we register is more than enough."
I kept my answer polite. Acting arrogant would just attract trouble. Then I opened the pouch and checked the coins. I picked up one silver coin.
"Miss Sylvie, how many copper coins equal one silver coin?"
"1 silver coin equals 100 copper coins."
"And 1 gold coin is 100 silver coins?"
With copper and silver, how could there not be gold?
"Correct."
A gold coin equals 10,000 copper coins. A very easy system—like measuring length.
"I understand."
At that moment, the area around the bicycle suddenly erupted with excitement.
"Almost there!"
"Just a little more!"
"You can do it! One more time!"
I looked over. Luki had both feet off the ground—the bicycle rolled forward more than a full meter.
"WHOA—! She did it!!!"
Everyone reacted like their favorite football team had just scored the winning goal.
Some cheered loudly, others hugged each other. Lina was staring at them with an expression that clearly said, You're all overreacting… Honestly, she wasn't wrong.
Lukie turned toward me.
"Mr. Karen, can we move on to the next step?"
I walked over to her and continued the lesson.
"Next, put one foot on the pedal. Use your other foot to push yourself forward. The pedal will rotate downward as you put weight on it. Then lift your other foot onto the pedal as well and keep pedaling. If you don't fall, that means you've learned it."
"Okay, I'll try."
Lukie placed her right foot on the pedal, pushed off the ground with her left foot, and the right pedal rotated downward. She lifted her left foot and started pedaling—wobbling her way toward the entrance. She stopped, turned the bike around, and pedaled back the same way.
"Miss Luki, it seems you've mastered your balance. Now all that's left is turning."
"I'd like to try turning, then."
I didn't have much advice to give—when I first learned, I just… figured it out. Just needed to be careful.
"When turning, be careful. And if you feel like you're about to fall, put your foot down right away."
"Okay!"
Lukie circled around the wall and returned. She nearly fell during the turn but managed to save herself by putting her foot down. Honestly, I was terrified she might fall and snap the wooden frame of the bike.
"It looks like you've learned how to ride. But it's best to practice in a more open space."
"Yes… I still feel a bit clumsy when turning."
She got off the bicycle and handed it back to Lina. Then, nervously twisting her fingers together, she called my name.
"Mr. Karen…"
"Hm?"
"C-Can you… make one for me too? I'll pay for it!"
Ah, so that's what this was about. But I couldn't make another one yet—wood took too long to shape, and for iron, I had already asked Gajeel to handle it.
The moment Lukie finished speaking, chaos erupted around us.
"Lukie, you sneaky little—don't cut the line! I want one too!"
"Me too! Me too!"
"Little guy, make one for me as well!"
People swarmed around me, pleading for me to build them a bicycle as well.
Everyone kept chiming in at once, their voices overlapping until it became downright noisy.