“Hmph. Do you have any proof?”

Dogesha spat out his words in irritation.

He had told us not to interfere, yet we were the ones who had finished the job. That was probably why he was so upset, but we had never agreed to his conditions in the first place.

And, as expected, he went straight to “Where’s the proof?” Just like Rio had predicted.

“Dogesha-dono, considering the sheer size of that creature, bringing back proof would be difficult. We should send a team to investigate immediately.”

“What nonsense! What if it’s still alive? If it attacks, we won’t get off lightly!”

“I already confirmed its death through Appraisal.”

“…What did you say?”

I shrugged as I delivered the news, watching Dogesha’s eyebrow twitch in response.

“But if you want proof, we have it. We brought the heads with us.”

“What!?”

Even Linford was left speechless at Rio’s words. Well then, time to drive the point home.

“I’m about to take out something big, so clear some space, everyone!”

After ensuring enough room, I pulled out the two enormous heads and laid them on the ground.

“……”

The two of them fell into stunned silence, but the rest of the onlookers were anything but quiet. The moment someone let out a shout, a massive cheer erupted. I think I also heard some screams mixed in, but I ignored them.

“The main body of the Sea Emperor Turtle…?”

Dogesha muttered hoarsely, turning his gaze toward the ocean where the turtle’s corpse lay.

“That was too big to do anything with, so we left it as is.”

“Indeed… There’s no way we could have handled something of that scale.”

Linford nodded in agreement.

“I see. But we can’t just leave it there forever.”

“That’s true. So, could we ask you to take care of the disposal?”

Even though we were the ones who had taken it down, it wouldn’t hurt to let the Empire reap some benefits as well. You could also say we were dumping the tedious cleanup on them.

“Hmph. Very well.”

With a broad nod, Dogesha barked orders at the gathered onlookers, telling them to get back to work before walking off himself.

“Shu, Rio… You two are C-rank adventurers, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Linford folded his arms and nodded to himself.

“Given what you’ve accomplished, you might be promoted straight to S-rank.”

“…Huh?”

“No way, we’re still just C-rank adventurers.”

“It’s a real possibility. You’re heroes who saved the city, after all. That said, you’d need approval from three guild masters for the promotion.”

“Heroes…?”

Since an actual S-rank adventurer was the one saying it, it was probably true. But if we needed three guild masters to approve it, it wasn’t something that would happen overnight.

Still, being called a hero felt… weird. Embarrassing, even.

“Either way, I’m sure you two will reach S-rank soon enough.”

Linford said it with confidence, but it still didn’t feel real to me. Not to mention, we couldn’t even accept S-rank requests as C-rank adventurers.

“Well, I’d better get back to work. You guys handle the report to the guild.”

“Got it.”

With that, Linford left, and we also decided to head back.

Dogesha may have told us not to interfere, but judging by the relieved expressions around us, no one had truly believed they could defeat the turtle. It seemed that the soldiers on the ground had a much better grasp of the limitations of their so-called new weaponry.

On the way to the guild, the city was in chaos.

Apparently, people had seen the turtle’s heads extend, fire their beams, and cause explosions near the military harbor. Then, to make matters worse, a massive wave had surged into the city. Though the water had already receded, some seawater had flooded parts of the town. Nothing major had been washed away, but smaller objects had been scattered everywhere.

Fortunately, the adventurers’ guild was situated along the central plaza, so it hadn’t been affected by the flooding. However, the first floor was bustling with activity, and the second floor seemed just as hectic.

“Ah! Shu-san, Rio-san! Perfect timing!”

We were immediately stopped by Lowell.

“What’s going on?”

I had a rough idea, but I asked anyway.

“Did you hear that the Sea Emperor Turtle surfaced?”

“Yes, we saw it.”

“And that it attacked afterward?”

“Of course. We were near the ships that got hit. Actually, we blocked the second shot.”

“Then… have you heard the rumor that the Sea Emperor Turtle has been defeated…?”

So the news had already reached the guild. Either Dogesha had acted quickly, or someone had seen the battle from the shore.

“I haven’t heard that rumor myself.”

Lowell looked disappointed, lowering his head. But he should hear me out first.

“But we were the ones who defeated the Sea Emperor Turtle.”

Lowell’s head snapped up, eyes widening.

“Wh-what did you just say?”

“The Sea Emperor Turtle has been slain. We were the ones who took it down.”

Rio stepped forward and stated it clearly.

Lowell’s eyes grew even wider as he processed her words.

“P-please, you need to tell me everything!”

Flustered, Lowell ushered us to the third floor and into the usual private room.

“I’ll go call the guild master, so please wait here for a moment!”

With that, he hurriedly dashed out of the room.