The press conference was standing room only.

  Suzume watched from the back of the Association's main hall, arms crossed, hood pulled up. Yumi had gotten her press credentials, somehow. Reporters who were not Yumi packed the rows of seats, cameras pointed at the raised platform where Takeshi Yagami stood behind a podium.

  He looked every bit the politician. Gray suit, perfect posture, practiced smile. The Association's logo gleamed on the wall behind him.

  "Thank you all for coming," he said into the microphone. "I understand there's been some confusion regarding the Dungeon Rescue Guild's certification status. I'm here to clarify."

  Suzume's jaw tightened.

  Yumi had done her job well. For the past twenty-four hours, rumors about Suzume's exam had spread across social media like wildfire.

  "Rescue Girl's results mysteriously invalidated."

  "Association covering something up?"

  "What are they hiding?"

  The pressure had worked and now, Yagami was trying to get ahead of it.

  "While Miss Aoi's exam results were adequate," he continued, "the Association has standards for guild leadership that extend beyond written tests."

  Adequate. She'd aced that exam and he knew it.

  "According to regulation 12.7, all guild masters must maintain C-Rank status. Level 10 minimum." Yagami's expression remained neutral, reasonable. "Multiple Player testimonies confirm Miss Aoi is currently Level 6."

  Murmurs rippled through the crowd. Cameras flashed.

  Suzume blinked.

  [... What?]

  "Frankly, it's irresponsible to allow someone so inexperienced and, to put it bluntly, weak to lead a guild into life-threatening situations." He paused, letting the words sink in. "For the safety of her members and any civilians they might encounter, we're denying certification until she meets the minimum threshold."

  A reporter in the front row raised her hand. Yagami pointed to her.

  "Deputy Director, while it is certainly true that level 6 would be considered very weak for standard Players, how do you respond to Miss Aoi's rescue record? Sources indicate she's personally saved over fifty people from destabilized dungeons while being this weak."

  "It's admirable, certainly," Yagami said without missing a beat. "But luck and good intentions don't replace proper qualifications. The regulations exist for a reason. We can't make exceptions based on popularity."

  Another reporter.

  "Is the Association concerned at all about public backlash? Support for the Dungeon Rescue Guild has been overwhelming."

  "Public sentiment doesn't change the law. Miss Aoi is welcome to retake the certification process once she meets the level requirement. Until then, the Dungeon Rescue Guild cannot operate as a legitimate organization."

  If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  Suzume's phone buzzed in her pocket. Then again. Then it didn't stop.

  She pulled it out. Notifications flooded the screen faster than she could read them.

  Kasumi: ARE YOU WATCHING THIS

  Hikari: I'm reviewing the regulation he cited. There may be grounds for appeal.

  Yumi: don't respond to ANYTHING yet. meet at HQ in 30.

  Suzume silenced her phone and slipped out of the hall before anyone recognized her.

  The team assembled in under an hour.

  Headquarters felt smaller with everyone crammed into the main office. Kasumi paced by the window. Hikari sat at the conference table with her laptop open, scrolling through legal documents. Rina leaned against the wall, arms folded. Honoka perched on the edge of a chair, looking worried. Yumi had commandeered the whiteboard and was scribbling notes. Emiko stood near the door, tablet in hand.

  "I'm going to break his kneecaps," Kasumi announced. "Both of them. Slowly."

  "That's assault," Hikari said without looking up.

  "Not if no one finds out."

  "I'll find out. I'm telling you right now."

  "Killjoy."

  Yumi tapped the whiteboard.

  "Okay, options. One: legal challenge. Hikari?"

  "Regulation 12.7 is legitimate, unfortunately. It was implemented in 2018 as part of the Guild Safety Reform Act. The level requirement has been enforced consistently." Hikari's fingers flew across her keyboard. "However, there's precedent for provisional certification in cases where the applicant demonstrates exceptional competence. I'm pulling the relevant case files now."

  "Two," Yumi continued. "Public pressure. I've got contacts at three major outlets who'd love to run a story about Association corruption. We frame this as Yagami using bureaucratic loopholes to crush a legitimate rescue operation."

  "That might backfire," Emiko said. "If we look like we're attacking the Association directly, it could turn moderate supporters against us."

  "Three: we expose whatever Yagami's actually hiding. There's a reason he's gunning for us this hard. Nobody puts this much effort into stopping a rescue guild unless they've got something to protect."

  Suzume had been quiet through all of this. She stood by the window, watching the city outside, half-listening to the debate.

  "Suzu?" Yumi's voice cut through her thoughts. "You've been awfully calm. What are you thinking?"

  Suzume turned around.

  Everyone was looking at her. Worried. Angry on her behalf. Ready to fight.

  She smiled.

  "He made a mistake."

  Kasumi stopped pacing.

  "What?"

  "Yagami's whole plan revolves around one assumption: that it's hard for me to level up." Suzume walked to the conference table and sat down. "He thinks Rescuers only gain XP from actual rescues. High-risk, low-frequency opportunities. That, at my current rate, it would take months to hit Level 10."

  "But that's not true," Honoka said slowly. "You figured out the teaching thing."

  "Exactly." Suzume smiled at everyone. "Guys, I'm literally level 9 right now."

  They all paused, like they hadn't realized that until now.

  "Oh, right." Kasumi nodded. "So, uh... How far are you from level 10?"

  [Level 9]

  [EXP: 385/400]

  "Fifteen XP."

  They paused again.

  "Oh." Hikari said.

  "Yeah," Suzume gave a rare smirk. "One good teaching session and I'm there."

  The room was silent for a moment.

  Then Kasumi started laughing.

  "Holy shit. He doesn't know."

  "He doesn't know." Suzume's smile widened. "He thinks he's got months to consolidate his position, build his case, turn public opinion. He has no idea I can blow past his requirement in a day."

  Yumi's grin matched hers.

  "But... why level up just once? Am I right to assume that's where your mind's at?"

  Suzume nodded. This was why she hadn't spoken up earlier.

  "I can level up way higher than 10. So, I'm thinking," she started pacing, "I grind levels in the background, get as high as I can while still keeping the test's answers fresh in my mind, and then, maybe around... level 15, I go right up to the Association and see what they've got to say." Suzume turned to Emiko. "I need a training schedule. Intensive. Teaching sessions with everyone on the team, plus anyone else we can recruit. VR simulations to supplement. I want to hit Level 15 before the end of the week."

  Emiko was already typing.

  "I can have a draft by tonight if you ladies are available." She looked at the others.

  The group all agreed.

  The tension in the room had shifted. The anger was still there, but now it had direction. Purpose.

  Yagami thought he'd cornered her. Thought he'd found the perfect bureaucratic trap, something she couldn't argue or charm her way out of.

  He was wrong.

  Suzume looked at her team. Her friends. The people who'd shown up within an hour of her world getting flipped upside down, ready to fight for her.

  [Let's see how smug you look when I'm Level 15 and knocking on your door, Yagami.]

  "Alright," she said. "Let's get to work."