My Slime Wife: Training and Pampering Her Makes Me Stronger
Chapter 32: The Hunter ID Card

Chapter 32: The Hunter ID Card

The trip back to the Ace of Spades Guild headquarters felt completely different from the one that morning.

This time, Liam was no longer just an Awakened searching for an opportunity.

He and Lydia had passed the evaluation.

They were now officially Emerald-rank Hunters.

Instructor James walked ahead of them through the building’s bright white hallways, while Millie kept pace beside them, still unable to stop glancing at Lydia every few seconds.

"I’m sorry,"

the Hunter said with an embarrassed smile.

"I’m still having a hard time believing you were a Slime just a few hours ago."

Lydia let out a soft laugh.

"Believe me. So am I."

James opened the door to a small administrative office.

Inside were a computer, a plastic ID card printer, and several neatly organized folders.

"Alright."

The instructor sat down in front of the computer.

"Let’s finish the last bit of paperwork."

Liam looked at the machine.

"What’s left?"

"Your Hunter ID cards."

James began typing rapidly.

Both of their names appeared on the screen.

— Liam Davis.

— Lydia Davis.

"Come over here."

The two of them stepped forward.

James grabbed the small camera mounted on top of the monitor.

"Smile for a second."

Liam and Lydia had barely started to smile.

Flash!

The picture was taken before either of them finished.

Liam looked like he’d just seen a ghost.

Lydia wore an expression of complete surprise.

James glanced at the screen.

"Perfect."

Liam frowned.

"Perfect? We both look terrible."

James was already printing the cards.

"Everyone’s Hunter ID looks terrible. It’s tradition."

Millie burst into laughter.

"Mine’s awful too. I look like a wanted criminal."

A few seconds later, the printer produced two emerald-green cards.

James picked them up carefully.

Then he stamped several sections with a heavy metal press.

Clack.

Clack.

Clack.

Finally, he handed them over.

Liam looked down at his.

In the upper corner was the photo where he looked like he’d just witnessed a horror movie.

Beneath it were his personal details.

Name: Liam Davis.

Height.

Weight.

Date of Birth.

And, in bright lettering:

"Hunter — Emerald Rank."

At the bottom of the card was a rectangular space.

Completely blank.

Lydia received hers, and her eyes immediately lit up.

"Liam!"

She proudly held up the card.

"Look! I have a Hunter ID!"

She held it with both hands as though it were the most precious thing in the world.

She couldn’t stop smiling.

Millie laughed at the sight.

"I was exactly the same when I got mine."

Lydia looked up.

"Really?"

"Yep. I couldn’t stop staring at it for an entire week."

The two women laughed together.

Meanwhile, Liam continued examining his card.

Something caught his attention.

He looked up at James.

"Excuse me. Why is this section blank?"

James smiled.

"Because you don’t officially belong to the Guild yet."

Liam looked back at the empty rectangle.

"So then...?"

"That’s where the seal goes. The Ace of Spades seal."

James rested both hands on the desk.

"And only one person is allowed to place it. Captain Armstrong."

Lydia slowly lowered her card.

Her excitement faded just a little.

"So... we’re not officially members of the Guild yet."

James shook his head.

"Not exactly. You’re already Hunters. The only thing left is your official Guild assignment."

Millie smiled immediately.

"Don’t worry. The Captain is a great man. You’ll just have a short conversation with him. If everything goes well... He’ll stamp your Hunter IDs himself."

Lydia smiled again.

"Then there’s still hope."

James closed the computer.

"There is."

Then he turned toward Millie.

"Take them to him."

The Huntress nodded immediately.

"Yes, sir."

◇◆◇

The three of them walked down a long hallway.

They took a glass elevator up two floors.

As they ascended, Liam admired the massive interior of the building.

Offices.

Meeting rooms.

Training halls.

People constantly coming and going.

It was much larger than he’d imagined.

When the elevator doors opened, the atmosphere changed completely.

There was far less activity.

The hallway was silent.

The walls were decorated with antique paintings, swords, shields, and portraits of distinguished Guild Hunters.

Everything radiated authority.

Millie walked to the last door at the end of the corridor.

It was enormous, made of dark wood, with the Guild’s emblem carved into its center.

The Ace of Spades.

The young Huntress took a deep breath and knocked three times.

Knock.

Knock.

Knock.

"Sir. I’ve brought you two outstanding candidates for the Guild. They’ve just earned their Emerald Rank and would like to join us."

A deep voice answered from the other side.

"Come in."

The door slowly opened on its own.

◇◆◇

Liam stepped inside first.

His eyes immediately swept across the office.

It was enormous.

Far larger than any office he’d ever seen.

A thick red carpet covered almost the entire floor.

Stacks of documents were piled across it.

The walls were lined with towering bookshelves packed with books.

In the middle of that vast library stood a massive desk made of dark wood.

A computer rested on top beside several towering stacks of case files.

Behind the desk sat an enormous chair.

And sitting there...

...was Captain Armstrong.

He looked tall even while seated.

Short white hair.

A sharp jawline.

The physique of someone who had never stopped training.

His mere presence made the entire room feel smaller.

Even Lydia felt a chill run down her spine.

She quietly moved a little closer to Liam.

"Are you okay?"

he whispered.

She answered just as quietly.

"He’s terrifying. I have this feeling he’s going to mistake me for a Dungeon monster... and cut me in half."

Liam smiled faintly.

"I doubt it. But... maybe don’t do anything too strange."

Lydia swallowed nervously.

Liam calmly walked to one of the two chairs in front of the desk and sat down.

Then he motioned toward the seat beside him.

"Come."

Lydia took a deep breath, walked over, and sat beside him.

Just then, Millie stepped backward.

"Excuse me. I’ll leave you two to it."

She smiled at both of them.

"Good luck."

The door slowly closed.

Click.

Now only the three of them remained.

For several seconds, no one spoke.

Armstrong studied them calmly.

His eyes moved from Liam to Lydia.

Then from Lydia back to Liam.

Finally...

...he smiled.

"So... You’re the two who saved Vice-Captain Amber’s team."

Liam shook his head modestly.

"We were just trying to survive."

Armstrong chuckled softly.

"That answer matches the report surprisingly well."

He picked up a folder from his desk.

"Vice-Captain Amber. Defender Millie. Archer Evan. All three of them agree on exactly the same thing."

He opened the file.

"Without the two of you... no one would have made it out of that Dungeon alive."

Lydia lowered her gaze, looking slightly embarrassed.

"It really wasn’t that big of a deal."

Armstrong raised an eyebrow.

"No."

He slowly closed the folder.

"The Sub-Boss’s defeat. The rescue of civilians. The strategy against the Dragon. Every report points to the same person."

His gaze locked onto Liam.

"You."

Liam felt a small knot tighten in his stomach.

"I wasn’t alone."

he answered immediately.

"None of those ideas would’ve meant anything without Lydia."

He took his wife’s hand.

"Everything we accomplished happened because we trusted each other."

Armstrong watched the gesture for several seconds.

Then he smiled again.

"That’s in the report as well."

Lydia looked up in surprise.

"It is?"

"Amber wrote an interesting line."

He searched through the papers, found the page, and read it aloud.

"’They aren’t a Tamer and his Beast. They’re two people fighting as one.’"

Liam felt an unfamiliar sense of pride.

Lydia squeezed his hand a little tighter.

Armstrong closed the file, rested his elbows on the desk, and looked at them intently.

"Now... Before I place the Ace of Spades seal on your Hunter IDs... I’d like to get to know you personally."

A faint smile appeared on his face.

"Tell me... Who are Liam and Lydia Davis... really?"