Bab 64: 64. Refusal
"No, I can't accept them," says Roubaul to Team Ben.
Ben & his team are surprised to hear Roubaul's refusal. They thought Roubaul will be happy to get some new guild members.
"Why can't they join, Master?" asks Wendy with teary eyes.
"That's right, Gramps. Isn't it good for our guild to get new members? We don't have young mages except the 4 of us here," says Ben confusedly.
"Ben-boy, our guild is located deep in the forest. How will they come here every day?
Unlike you who has your car, they don't have it so they need to walk," says Roubaul.
"I can make a vehicle for them if that's the problem," says Ben.
"A guild is mages' second home, so are they ready to leave their family and live on their own?" asks Roubaul.
"That's..." Ben can't answer that question.
"It might be hurt for you, but they still have their family and home. For you, this is your only home, but for them, this is just a workplace. Besides, have you forgotten about my rule for age?" asks Roubaul.
"The 12 y.o rule?" asks Ben.
"Yeah, I only let you guys take real jobs after turning 12 or led by a strong 12 y.o like your team. Except if you think that they're stronger than you, then I can't accept them," says Roubaul.
Roubaul had set a rule for Ben that he could only take jobs when he became 12. It seems to be a permanent rule because it also applied to Wendy. She could only take jobs with Ben who has turned 12 last year and they could only take easy jobs when they're together.
"Can't they take menial jobs first like us in the past?" asks Ben.
"Menial jobs from the guild don't have any money reward that they need. They don't need Guild Points, they need money more than points," says Roubaul.
Ben gets silent and understands Roubaul's reasons. Unless if they're orphans and don't have anywhere to live, being a member of their guild won't be profitable. Those kids still have their family even if some are poor. So they need money more than just Guild Points.
But even if Ben can understand Roubaul's reasons, he still feels something is amiss. He doesn't know what is it, but he has a strong feeling that what Roubaul said isn't the real reason.
Ben leaves that thought for now and asks Roubaul, "Then, do you have any recommendation for them? They have a hard time choosing a guild, so they choose ours because they know us."
"For now, they can join any legal guild that is close to their home and have easy access. Clover Town doesn't have any guild, so maybe on Oshibana. They can use the train as transportation, it will be easier," says Roubaul.
"Sigh, alright then, I will tell them about it tomorrow," says Ben while sighing.
"Sorry about this, Ben-boy," says Roubaul apologetically.
"It's fine. You're the Guild Master and need to think about what's best for the guild. I also haven't thought about those problems that you've said," says Ben while smiling.
Ben can accept Roubaul's decision rather easily, but the girls can't. They're rather sad & disappointed by the decision. But they can understand Roubaul's reasons and accept them.
Ben rubs their head and says, "Don't worry, we can visit them if we have time."
"Yes," replied the girls with a sad tone.
The girls then leave the Guild Building and go to Wendy's house. Ben & Roubaul sigh because they know the girls have got attached to the kids.
"Gramps, you should take responsibility," says Ben.
"I've become the bad guy, huh?" says Roubaul while looking down.
"So you know it, Bad Gramps," says Ben jokingly.
Roubaul sweatdrop at Ben's joke, but he is really a Bad Gramps now. He has an important reason to refuse the kids that he can't say to anyone, even Ben. Roubaul can only sigh and massage his temples.
Ben can accept Roubaul's decision easily, unlike the girls. He is an adult inside, so he won't get too affected by this. He had gone through a lot more, so this is just a small problem for him.
Ben leaves that topic and says to Roubaul, "Gramps, I want to take the S-Class exam."
"You've finally asked it. Have you thought it through?" asks Roubaul.
"Yeah, my jobs have become easier lately and I didn't get any challenge from those jobs. I can't grow stronger if I keep taking jobs like those," says Ben.
"Alright, I've seen your progress and you're qualified to take the exam. We will do the exam next week, so prepare yourself!" says Roubaul.
Ben nods and leaves the building to rest. He will start his preparation for the exam tomorrow. Ben is confident he can take pass the exam, but he won't be overconfident and still prepare himself.
The next day, Ben goes to Clover Town with the girls. They will tell the kids about Roubaul's decision. They go to each of the 5 kids' houses and tell them the news.
Ben tells the kids & their parents of Roubaul's reasons for refusing them. The kids & their parents can accept the reasons easily. They also just realized that the Guild's location is deep in the forest.
The kids are sad because they can't train with Ben & the girls again. But they know they still can meet up in the future, so it's not a big problem.
Ben decides to meet with all his ex-students and play together for this day. He also calls Raul to join them before they really part ways from now on. It will also cheer the girls up a little.
They play together for a whole day before returning to their home. Wendy, Bella, & Carla also get better now after playing with the kids. Ben also bought communication lacrima for all of them, so they can call each other contact anytime.
The next day, Ben starts his training for the S-Class exam. He doesn't know what the exam will be, so he needs to prepare himself. Although he doesn't know the exam's content, he knows it will be difficult or everyone can be an S-Class.
Ben trains like usual because his training is quite effective. With AI Chip's help, Ben could formulate his training and adjust it as he grew stronger. He never misses his training too, that's why he can be this strong just in 3 years since he arrived in this world.
For a whole week, Ben keep training all his power. Physical power, magic power, spells, battle skills, and even supportive skills. All those things are important and Ben never leaves them in his training.
Ben also still has his habit of bought & reading (scan) new books every time he went out on his job. Up to this day, Ben has scanned more than 2000 books. But not all of them are related to magic because it's getting harder to find magic-related books in public stores.
However, all the books that Ben bought are useful one way or another. Life isn't just about magic, so any knowledge has its usage. Besides, this is a new world for him, so he needs to know a lot about it.
That's why Ben bought & scan them. He never knows when he will need that knowledge. That's also why his intelligence stat is still the highest now.
Ben keep training for a week and even train the girls while he rests. The girls have become more spirited to train and grow stronger. They've made a promise with the ex-students to get a lot stronger when they meet again.
Then after a week, Ben's S-Class exam finally come. Ben will go with Roubaul to the other side of the mountain behind their village. They go after Roubaul set a barrier to protect their village while they leave.
It doesn't take long for them to reach the exam site. It's a wide-open rocky field surrounded by mountains. Roubaul then takes something that Ben knows very well, the black knife that he found in the serpents' cave.
Roubaul says, "Ben-boy, your exam S-Class exam is to defeat the demon inside this knife."
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