The Goddess Granted Me the [Hatching] Skill and Somehow I Became the Strongest Tamer, Commanding Mythical and Divine Beasts - 44

Chapter 44: My Fellow Adventurers, Ritz and Hanna

After the ceremony, we were escorted to a waiting room by one of the attendants.

Since we were inside the castle, the room was decorated with dazzling furnishings that I had never seen before. There were luxurious tables and chairs arranged, most likely worth enough to buy a house. I didn’t even want to touch anything, worried that I might accidentally break something.

I stepped away from the wall and moved to the center of the room.

On the table, there was a bottle of iced water and some glasses.

I reached for it, poured myself some water, and quenched my dry throat.

“Ahh, I’m so nervous…” I said to myself.

That was when I first heard the voices of the others.

The attendants had left, and only the successful candidates from the exam were left in the room.

Ritz, feeling drained, leaned back in his chair.

“You’re acting so lazy, Ritz,” Hanna, a woman, scolded him.

“I can’t help it, Hanna. I was surrounded by so many nobles,” Ritz replied.

I could understand his feelings.

As commoners, we rarely meet nobles in our everyday lives. If we do, it’s usually just the local lord. But Ritz had been surrounded by nobles and wealthy merchants, so it was no surprise that he was nervous.

“You’ll have to get used to dealing with nobles in the future. You’ll have to get used to it,” Hanna advised.

“Well, you were just as stiff yourself, Hanna!” Ritz shot back.

“Huh? I wasn’t stiff!” Hanna said, irritated.

There were five of us who passed the exam, and I had watched all the ceremonies. It was clear that Hanna was even more nervous than Ritz.

“What’s with that?” Ritz said, trying to tease her.

“What’s with you?” Hanna replied, glaring at him.

Watching the two of them bicker like this eased the tension, and I couldn’t help but smile.

Noticing my reaction, the two of them turned to look at me at the same time.

“Ah…” I said, awkwardly, since I wasn’t intentionally eavesdropping but had overheard their conversation.

“I’m Klaus. Nice to meet you,” I introduced myself.

“You’re the one who topped the exam, right?” Ritz asked, nodding as if he already knew.

“I heard you passed the exam on your first try at your age. That’s amazing,” Hanna said, leaning on the table as she studied me.

The other two people in the room also began to pay attention to me.

“It was just good luck,” I replied modestly.

I owed my success to the many people who helped me, so I didn’t feel like I could take all the credit.

“Tch, if we were in the same group, I could’ve shown that I wouldn’t have lost…” Ritz muttered.

“No way. There’s no way you could defeat an Elder Lich with your skills,” Hanna scoffed, shaking her head and spreading her arms wide.

“Shut up,” Ritz grumbled in response.

Listening to the two of them casually throw words at each other, I became curious about something and decided to ask.

“By the way, there are other exams, right?”

I had never seen Ritz or Hanna in the escort exam, so I was curious.

“Yeah, the National Adventurer exam has several types. Especially for those who have taken it multiple times, they’re usually assigned to a different kind of exam they haven’t taken before,” Ritz explained.

It seemed that they try to avoid assigning the same exam to someone repeatedly, allowing them to prepare for different challenges. I silently hoped that Blaze would pass the next exam.

“By the way, I was shocked when I heard the names of your sponsors. Nearly all of them are from noble families…” Ritz said with a surprised expression.

“The names of the sponsors are important for getting jobs in the future, you know? It’s clear that you’re the most successful of our group,” Hanna said, looking at me with interest.

They were both smiling, but there was something in their gaze that felt like they were probing me. Even the other two, who hadn’t spoken, seemed to be watching me.

I wasn’t sure how to respond to them, but before I could decide…

“Sorry to keep you waiting, the party hall is ready,” came a knock on the door, and the attendant appeared.

The ceremony had been just the prelude. The real event was about to begin.

“Sigh, I guess we should go…” Ritz sighed in resignation.

We were then escorted to the party hall, where the upper-class citizens were gathering.