Raynesia was a very beautiful girl. She had a delicate neck, a slender frame which supported her elegant shoulder contours, a small face and long, luscious silver hair that shone like silk. She had a gentle nature, was always smiling and never spoke loudly. A real high-society lady. (Ah, but she is a princess, that is different from a being a lady, right?) Akatsuki considered the role of 'princess' to be something like a higher job level than 'lady'. Thinking like this really made Raynesia appear to be of a higher grade. The first meeting between Raynesia and Akatsuki was rather tense. On the day they decided to march for Sand Leaf, Akatsuki helped Raynesia to change her clothes under Shiroe's instructions... or more accurately, stripping off her dress and forcing her to put on another set of clothes. (Raynesia must think of me as a barbaric person,) Akatsuki thought. Raynesia was still wary of her ever since the daily tea parties had started, and was jumpy even now. However, Raynesia didn't avoid Akatsuki blatantly or ignore her words. Raynesia put careful thought to every sentence and conversed as warmly as she could. That the princess had such a good upbringing impressed Akatsuki deeply. Her memory was good and she could comprehend topics after talking about them just once. Akatsuki understood why Raynesia was so popular.
Weak spot, she was poking at her weak spot. It was indeed so. Akatsuki and Maryele came to this conclusion after a discussion. The People of the Land princess needed to be protected. Ever since the Libra Festival incident, there was a group lurking somewhere in Akiba that was working against the city. If they wanted to harm Akiba, they would not hesitate to drag the People of the Land into this. For Adventurers, the worst-case scenario would just be a trip to the cathedral to respawn after dying, but it was different for the People of the Land. If Raynesia was to come to any harm, Akatsuki did not even need to think too deeply to understand the waves that event would create. Relations with Raynesia's grandfather, the ruler of Maihama and Chairman of the League of Freedom Cities Eastal, would sour or even break down completely. Princess Raynesia was protected by People of the Land knights sent from Maihama City. But they were People of the Land after all, their level was around 30. If any Adventurer tried to harm the princess, the escorts would not suffice. Akiba was also guarded by the violence-detecting security system, but even if they apprehended the culprit, Raynesia would not be able to respawn if she were killed. Akatsuki thought Shiroe had foreseen all this and that was why he assigned this task to her. It was the same with Maryele. With Shiroe out of action during this period of time, Akatsuki could only give her all to fulfill this mission. But when this situation was brought up from the lips of the graceful girl from D.D.D, it felt like she was poking at Raynesia's weak spot. It was hard for Akatsuki to look straight at Raynesia whom Shiroe was worried about. When did she became so weak? Even Akatsuki herself wasn't sure. (This is so unlike me.) (It shouldn't be like this.) She should be happy that Shiroe was relying on her. But she was comparing herself to Raynesia and the other girls. She wanted to get stronger and live up to Shiroe's expectations. Akatsuki had been working hard at this, but her world seemed so dark and narrow, tormenting Akatsuki. Surrounded by the elegant laughter of others, Akatsuki felt alone. 2 Night fell earlier in the winter and the sun had already set when Henrietta left the Consulate. She felt the streets of Akiba were beautiful. Although it was dimmer than Tokyo back home in the old world, compared to how dark the night of this world could be, the night scene in Akiba felt elegant and graceful. There were several dark buildings standing tall in the blue night of Akiba. The ancient evergreen tree with branches spreading far and wide. Magic light shone warmly from high over the street. Henrietta felt this gentle, fantastical light was more pleasing than the bright, fluorescent street lamps.
Henrietta was in Crescent Moon Alliance while Rieze was in D.D.D. Although they were in different guilds, the two of them often left together after the tea party at the Water Maple Consulate. Maryele and Serara left early to prepare for dinner while Henrietta and Rieze went shopping for food to supplement the meal. After the revolution, the Adventurers ate delicious meals everyday. It was an enjoyable thing, but it was also a hassle. Only those with the subclass of Chef were able to prepare tasty food; this was less than 10 percent of the population, from what Henrietta had estimated. After the formation of the Round Table Council, there were numerous people changing their subclass to Chef, but it was not strange for a small guild with less than 10 members to have no Chefs. Although a guild with hundreds of members would definitely have one with the Chef subclass, preparing food for hundreds of people was a heavy burden. To compensate for such situations, they needed to buy the food made by People of the Land either as take away or eating out. "What do you want to buy Henrietta-san?" "I'm getting fried chicken. Mary has been nagging me to buy some." They chatted as they shopped for food in the mall. They timed their trip to be just before closing time, when the stores were trying to sell off their merchandise and putting things on sale. "Fried chicken cutlets?? Did you say fried chicken cutlets? Shop at my stall, lady! Garlic-flavored just three gold for one kilogram!" Henrietta bought three kilograms generously. There were more than forty starving Adventurers in the Crescent Moon Alliance so this would not be enough. It would be gone before you knew it. Rieze bought quiche with hazelnuts. For a guild with its own cooking department, these were just snacks. The shopping mall was doing great. Just like Henrietta and Rieze, Adventurers out shopping were flooding the mall, and you needed to watch your surroundings. Especially with the Adventurers returning from their battles who were still wearing armor or holding their staves, people required more space to move around than in the old world.
(What Akatsuki-chan is after... is confidence.) What she wants. Things which some took for granted. Others wouldn't even know where to start in order to achieve it. Maryele was such a person. This friend of Henrietta's was like a sunflower illuminating those around her with her bright nature. Henrietta didn't have the confidence to smile like that. She felt she would never have the heart and personality to shine for everyone. This was unique to Maryele. It was something only a handful of people like Maryele possessed, but was absent from most people like Henrietta. On the other hand, Henrietta knew people who lacked confidence no matter how hard they worked. For people like that, every second that passed by was torture. Henrietta had seen people who held such fear and self-abasing feelings. She met a few when she was graduating college. Such people were jumpy wherever they went, tired in both mind and soul. They would even bear a menacing attitude towards others. Henrietta felt she was like this when she reflected on herself. Unshakable confidence... She didn't have the confidence to safeguard the things that were most important to her. This confidence could only be earned as a result of experience and effort. For example, maintaining your friendship with others. Or holding a job without troubling your company. Getting married... With such a chaotic setting in place, even going to a matchmaking session was impossible. But worrying about the love life of your friends while being the accountant of a guild was a pretty good way to kill time. Becoming the hero who would bring everyone back home would not fall on her. To protect her juniors with the things she had learned-- that was the role Henrietta gave herself. Instead of brooding on tasks she couldn't do, she worked on things she could. This was not anything major, just a normal conclusion by a normal person. "Not getting what you want is a common thing in this world." Rieze said as she buried her face in the big scarf designed for men. That's right, this was obvious. This was all too normal for commoners.
Nazuna was wearing loose home clothes as she spoke slowly. If there was a need to be nervous, she could leave the butterflies to the parties who were going out to fight. No problem. She trusted her comrades. The secret to the success of raids by small guilds like the West Wind Brigade, as opposed to major guilds like Black Sword Knights or D.D.D, lay in their unity and common goals. Right now, West Wind Brigade was fueled by anger in their quest to apprehend the culprit. Nazuna, who bundled her black hair behind her, inspected the members who were moving out. They had made ample preparations in terms of equipment and tactics. Nazuna nodded at the members who promised to stick to the plan. "Well then, your shift will be over in two hours. The second raid group's formation and preparation will be done here. There will be supper when you come back, look forward to it. After a two-hour break you will need to move out again, so don't get too relaxed. Like Souji said, the enemy is overwhelmingly strong. Don't forget this point. Okay, I leave the rest to you, Souji." "Hmm... What else is there to say? What I want to talk about has already been said. Alright then, there is only one goal. The culprit who assaulted our family... cut him down." Soujirou was a young man that gave the impression of the sunlight in spring. He was smiling at everyone as usual without a hint of panic in his speech, but his words were ice-cold, freezing the mood in the hall. A female Cleric who seemed to shiver from this cold air squeezed out a reply from her stomach. Not a single member was concerned that night had fallen. The four parties rushed out of the hall in high spirits.
Passing through the main street, Akatsuki went along the flyover leading to the center of Akiba. The streets of Akiba welcomed the morning after the darkness retreated. The breeze in this winter morning was chilly enough to cut through your skin, stripping the warmth from Akatsuki's face. Her body was freezing from wearing her ninja garb for the whole night. It was fine when she was moving around with a tense mind, but she became cold when she stopped and looked around the city aimlessly in the coming dawn. She was moody. Of course she was, she had wandered the streets for the whole night with nothing to show for it. Akatsuki made her way up some concrete debris covered in moss and stood on top of the rubble. This had probably been the platform of the central metro station, but was now a courtyard in the sky supported by the trees. The air was still freezing, but the wind had been blocked by the trees, giving Akatsuki a slight reprieve. This large building was not an independent zone, but an open zone within the streets of Akiba. There was no set entrance; anyone could enter just by jumping from the flyover. Akatsuki walked down the stairs onto the central square lost in thought... She continued to think as she sat on a rotting bench. Akatsuki was not that tired. She just didn't feel like moving. She felt her stomach become heavy when she sat, as if there were something solidifying inside, an unbearable sensation. Akatsuki was surprised as well. Why was she sitting on a bench and looking at this scenery? The fact that she was at a dead end was right in front of her. Akatsuki kicked a pebble. There were twisted ancient trees growing all around, and pebbles lay all over this place that used to be a platform. From the look of the birds flying off, she must have startled them. The gloomy Akatsuki thought about many things. Things about guilds, matters regarding Shiroe, stuff about the idiotic low-class Naotsugu, Nyanta and his delicious meals, things about her juniors, stuff about Crescent Moon Alliance, and all the enemies she had fought so far. And also matters regarding Minori. A girl among girls. Petite and cute. Cuddly like a ball. Outgoing, wasn't shy and had proper manners... but that wasn't much. Akatsuki thought this kind of cuteness would just get her a bit of popularity in school, and she could be too direct sometimes. She didn't know how to cook or where to buy nice clothes since she was a middle schooler. Her taste in bags was childish. She got so excited when talking to Shiroe, her high pitch voice definitely irritated Shiroe. Akatsuki bit her lips. What am I thinking about. So shallow. She was surprised at how narrow her mind was. Her reflection in the mirror was twisted and ugly. The bitterness known as jealousy ate at Akatsuki. Minori hadn't done anything wrong. Minori had never been hostile towards Akatsuki. But Akatsuki belittled Minori's actions akin to a brat who didn't know her place. Even though her heart knew it wasn't true. Although Akatsuki knew Minori was a hardworking and cute junior. Akatsuki couldn't help feeling jealous of this capable middle school girl. She couldn't stand brooding over this by herself. The sensation of jealousy that was suppressed when everyone was together spread out in her heart, drowning her like an out of control torrent.
Minori, Tohya, and the junior team were out hunting and would be camping out tonight. She wouldn't see them even if she returned now, and she knew Nyanta would welcome her warmly. So all her talk about not wanting to go home was just Akatsuki being temperamental. Akatsuki was aware she was just being proud. But she couldn't let it go. (I want to see my lord...) Akatsuki thought. This wish seemed to bind her chest tightly. She wanted to see Shiroe. Even just for a bit, she wanted to talk to him. She wanted to get close and tug on his cloak. She wanted to pour black rose tea into Shiroe's tea cup. Just like the times when they sat on the couch and looked at the scenery outside the window. When Shiroe made complicated faces while reading complicated letters, she tried to imitate his face. But she couldn't fulfill her wish here. She didn't feel qualified to live peacefully by Shiroe's side with the pride she was holding on to. If she returned now, she would always be the 'bonus item' that came along with Shiroe. Akatsuki thought that was fine too. Staying by Shiroe's side, basking in the sun together with him, living as his ninja was also bliss. But that was just self deception. Being satisfied with just this was just being bashful. Minori had taught her this. A swallow that was unable to fly wouldn't be able to keep up with Shiroe one day. There would be no other way but to leave. Her thoughts were similar to before, going round in circles. No matter what, she was just thinking about herself. She hated herself for being so self centered. There wouldn't be anyone who liked a girl like that. Always thinking about herself and unable to make friends. That's why she couldn't face Shiroe now. That was the instruction Shiroe gave her. "... I will stay at an inn today." Akatsuki forced her legs to support her heavy body. She felt drained even though she was not tired, this must be a psychological illusion. The winter breeze blew across these foreign lands without any answers for Akatsuki. 5 Raynesia closed her eyes from the cold. It was obvious that closing her eyes wouldn't relieve the chill. It was rare of her to visit the streets of Akiba like this. Even though she was posted, or exiled, here, Raynesia was still the 2nd daughter of the Corwen clan which chaired the League of Freedom Cities Eastal, one of the 2 Dukedoms in Yamato. Because of security reasons, she seldom went out. Even if she left, she would be going by carriage, not walking on the streets in casual wear like this. If Maryele from Crescent Moon Alliance hadn't suddenly told her 'Let's eat breakfast outside today!' she wouldn't have even left her home. Elissa and her guards would usually oppose her from leaving, but this was Akiba. With a few veteran Adventurers by her side, she would be much safer than staying in the Water Maple Consulate. For some reason, Elissa had speedily made preparations for her to go out, so she was unable to decline. "It's so fluffy." "You should wear your hat." And so, Raynesia walked down the streets of Akiba between Maryele and Rieze. She was wearing a short coat with soft fur today. In the end, Raynesia was not aware of what she had in her wardrobe. Her maid would choose her clothes and change them several times a day, which was the norm for noble ladies. But because of Raynesia's lack of interest in fashion, it felt extreme. That's just the way she was. And she didn't feel any joy from changing her clothes. If no one bothered her, she was confident of spending the whole year in a one piece linen dress. Raynesia had gone through education as a noble and understood she needed to dress appropriately according to the time and place. Even though it was a hassle, Raynesia knew her silver hair was rare. Clothes that fit her silver head were hard to find, and unfortunately didn't include pyjamas. That's why Raynesia was not sure of what clothing she had, she only had the idea that there were all sorts of dresses inside.
In Raynesia's eyes, all the Adventurers were amazing. Not just Raynesia, probably all the People of the Land felt the same way. Elissa had once sighed and said, "Now that you mentioned it, I forgot they were Adventurers." Adventurers were too different from them, it was too hard for her to comprehend. Raynesia had met with many People of the Land, and all of them asked her similar questions. '... What are Adventurers like?' '... How do we get along with Adventurers?' After moving into Akiba and becoming a bridge between the People of the Land and Adventurers, she met with People of the Land guests everyday, trying to discuss and resolve their problems. She would introduce Adventurers to them to do business, or find Adventurers who were willing to take on quests. Raynesia didn't think she was up to the task, but since no one else was doing this, she had to do this. Even if others asked her what Adventurers were like, Raynesia also didn't know the answer. Among the People of the Land, the most ignorant one might be Raynesia. She met with Adventurers more than any other, so the things she didn't know were ever increasing. But she understood several things. Adventurers were just Adventurers. Raynesia thought the biggest mistake the People of the Land nobles made during the conference in the Ancient Palace of Eternal Ice was to treat Adventurers like aristocrats. Adventurers were not nobles, treating them as nobles wouldn't make things go smoother. Adventurers were also not peasants or knights, they were not even People of the Land. So you couldn't treat them with the expectation and culture of the People of the Land. Raynesia thought that was the reason the conference had ended in failure. Adventurers were just Adventurers, there was no other term that could describe them. But Raynesia was able to use terms to define most of the people around her. Duke was a duke, baron was a baron, knight was a knight, a servant was a servant. Citizens were people living in the city, villagers lived in a village. Hunters hunted, lumberjacks cut down trees. Everyone had their duties, living within their area of responsibility. This was something that was obvious. Raynesia was Raysi, the granddaughter of a duke, the winter rose princess. She had never questioned this all her life, and never resisted, thinking that all this was natural. But she sensed that she couldn't comprehend Adventurers using these standards. She might not know the correct answer, but she realized she had to find out the meaning behind their existence and their duties in this world. The members of clan Crescent Moon Alliance included Chefs. If she could classify Adventurers so simply, it would be easier to deal with the Adventurers. Just like the knights of Maihama, the employed maids moving into the castle, or arrogant young nobles.
Raynesia's group turned north at the junction.
"This way?" "Yeah, that's right."
Maryele and Rieze who were chatting were dressed lightly.
Unlike People of the Land, Adventurers preferred clothing that let them move with ease, even in winter. Maryele was wearing a short skirt, exposing her pants underneath. Raynesia thought that would be very cold, but Maryele didn't seem to mind.
Rieze was wearing a coat with a scarf, but she was still wearing a white shirt with a tight skirt. Compared to them, Raynesia and Elissa, who was standing behind her, were dressed in thick layers.
Raynesia saw Akatsuki suddenly.
Maryele asked Mikakage: "Is Milky Margaret this way?" Mikakage ran off to scout ahead, so the 2 ladies who were chatting with Raynesia went ahead. As Raynesia was catching her breath, she saw Akatsuki appear in the entrance of a building.
Akatsuki was biting her lips.
The petite figure left in the opposite direction, looking like a lost child.
All sorts of emotion rose in Raynesia's heart. She felt as if she had been spending several hours in the night looking at the ceiling.
Raynesia wanted to call out, but the words were stuck in her throat before materializing.
She was not sure what to say.
Raynesia felt like vines that were shrinking because of the water collected on its leaves. Akatsuki seemed to have lost all her vitality and was dragging a heavy heart. This was a side of her that Raynesia had never seen.
She looks like a child.
That was what Raynesia thought.
Raynesia always thought this black-haired girl to be a short sword made from obsidian.
With the beauty of a gem and the strength Raynesia could not fathom.
Raynesia pondered with her brain, which she felt was mediocre, but gave up. Akatsuki was gone anyway, lost in the crowd. Akatsuki didn't notice Raynesia and the others, as they passed each other at a distance.
At this point, she felt perplexed and stuffy.
But this was nothing unusual.
Raynesia had experienced all sorts of emotions before. Most of the guests were not welcomed by Raynesia, but she knew from her youth how it felt like to hide in her blanket and immerse herself in the darkness. She was confident about hiding in her blanket.
Raynesia shook her head to refresh herself.
In the city of Akiba, she was needed to be ready to act as a negotiation consultant. She needed to change her mood and refresh herself often.
"Hey~ Sia-chan~ what were you doing? It's this way~"
This voice made Raynesia hurry along with her troubled steps.
6
"Princess~ Princess~?"
Elissa called out to her mistress.
She tried calling for Raynesia since the room was silent, but Raynesia just stayed on her couch, depressed.
She was downcast and at a loss, her long silver hair flowing down her round shoulders like a waterfall. This young lady's sorrowful air could make the corporal whose face was full of scars and who was known as 'the Orc' encourage her gently: "Don't be so depressed, I will help you."
Lady Henrietta had once described her as 'a puppy caught in the rain'.
It was a dreamy, lonely, melancholic and gloomy figure.
The perfect display of a frail and cuddly person.
But Elissa knew very clearly.
Raynesia right now was so exhausted she didn't want to move.
"Prin~cess."
"Elissa...?"
Raynesia raised her chin and gazed upwards.
The contours of her face were as smooth as a boiled egg, with wet eyes.
Don't misunderstand. Her teary eyes were not because she remembered something sad or was moved emotionally, it was because she was holding back a yawn.
"Alright. Aren't you tired? Your humble servant Elissa will prepare your bedroom in just a bit, please wait a moment. Would you like some tea? Maybe dessert?"
Elissa asked her.
It had been some time since her lunch with the group of lady Adventurers, it was not surprising if she were hungry now.
But the princess named Raynesia, because of her metabolism or some other reason, just wouldn't get fat no matter how much she ate. Be it meat or cakes, her skin was smooth like a baby's. She could eat all she wanted without getting fat, which made others envious.
After the Catastrophe and the Akiba revolution that followed, all the dishes had wonderful flavors. With half a year gone, the revolution had penetrated deep into the People of the Land's society. From the nobles to the peasants, everyone was enjoying this whole new experience.
Because of the delicious food, some people might overeat. Most of the People of the Land aristocrats had gained weight. But Raynesia was the exception and didn't fatten up, making Elissa feel complicated. Elissa limited herself to one cake every 3 days, as she didn't have Raynesia's metabolic rate.
"No thanks."
Raynesia shook her head lightly, leaning exhaustedly on the couch, supporting her face with the back of the couch. If a hotblooded apprentice knight with a crush on Raynesia were to see her like this, he would definitely have a nosebleed.
(Although it doesn't mean anything to me.)
Elissa approached Raynesia casually, lifting Raynesia's feet with indoor slippers on and placed them on the couch after bending them at the knees. Raynesia didn't resist as she lay on the couch.
For the beautiful princess of Maihama, this was an unladylike pose. If a man happened to see it, they might misunderstand. No matter how she really was on the inside, Raynesia was educated to be a princess, so even her family wouldn't have the chance to see this pose of hers.
(I didn't want to see it either.)
After re-positioning Raynesia's feet, Elissa used a broom to sweep under the coffee table and couch.
"Princess."
"What is it?"
"What did you eat today?"
"Cream soup."
"Ehhh... was it Adventurer style?"
"It seemed to be the meat of 'Flame Boars'. It was great."
"It's so festive recently."
"That's right."
Elissa cleaned the room thoroughly while conversing casually with the princess.
This room was cleaned daily, so it didn't take too much time. Cleaning was a chore Elissa had to do as a maid, but there was no need to go to the extent of lifting her mistress's feet onto the couch. Maids who did that to normal nobles would probably be executed. Because Raynesia was a clueless person... correction, a generous person, that's why Elissa dared to do that.
But there seemed to be a tea party everyday, if she finished up now, the maid on duty the next day would have an easier time. There would definitely be female Adventurers visiting tomorrow as well. Especially the petite lady Akatsuki who had dropped by without fail these 10 days.
"You look very tired today."
"Yeah."
Raynesia answered lazily.
She must be exhausted. But that was natural. Lady Henrietta and Lady Maryele had been toying with her after all, dressing her up after coming back from breakfast. Elissa smiled bitterly as she recalled the cries of her mistress begging for mercy.
Making sure her mistress was appropriately dressed was Elissa's duty.
Managing Raynesia's wardrobe was also Elissa's responsibility.
Her mistress was very beautiful, so planning her daily dressing was a challenge.
For example, after meeting with a certain merchant, she couldn't wear the same thing when meeting the same merchant again, or they would think the women of the dukedom were always wearing the same clothes and look down on them. That's why she had to plan Raynesia's clothes for morning, noon, and evening. She had to keep a detailed log of the accessories she wore too, that was one of the duties of a maid.
For People of the Land aristocrats and merchants, they could just follow the usual protocol. Although it was tedious preparatory work like solving a jigsaw puzzle, it was not much when they thought of it as part of their job.
But it was harder when dealing with Adventurers, since they had nothing to refer to. If it was a formal audience, they could match the dresses according to the purpose of the audience or the customary protocol. But the tea parties recently were private events, so dressing too formal might upset the Adventurers. But even if she could pick any casual clothes, Elissa was not sure what was the standard for 'casual' among Adventurers.
The clothes Adventurers wore varied too much. Most Adventurers differentiated between combat armor and their street clothes, but there were no obvious guidelines. There were some who lived their lives wearing metal armor all day.
There was another problem. Elissa wanted to know the preference and customs of the Adventurers, and investigated the dresses and clothes that couldn't really be defined as dresses in Akiba, but the pricing was a mess. The Corwen clan was a grand noble clan, so even if the equipment of Adventurers was expensive, they could still afford them. But Elissa couldn't understand the pricing standard. 2 similar silk shirts could have a 50-fold price difference.
The store clerk explained that the materials were different.
The more Elissa learned about this, the more surprised she got. A pair of boots made from the leather of a Gorgon, or the breast plate for a woman made from 'Fairnacht' were sold by Adventurers in stores. They needed to hunt high level mythical beasts to craft such clothes. Even the Dukedom with their top-level wealth among the People of the Land could not afford to buy all of them.
The dressing carnival was actually the result of a discussion between Elissa and Maryele. Thanks to Maryele assuring her 'just leave everything to me', and bringing plenty of clothes over, the wardrobe Raynesia could use for Adventurers was expanding.
To achieve this, Elissa did not hesitate in sending her mistress to the dress-up festival. If she didn't do this, Raynesia wouldn't participate actively. Elissa thought this was a good dose of medicine for Raynesia.
Elissa held a lot of respect for Raynesia. She remembered the brave front Raynesia put up at the lord's conference, making her proud and inclined to applaud her mistress. But Raynesia was basically lazy and cowardly, a girl with a pillow for head (meaning her brain was full of feathers).
But it was hard to say whether she bore this respect when serving Raynesia.
(Well, this is all for Raynesia-sama's sake.)
Elissa thought as she spread out the rug.
Not just clothes.
Having a friend of the same gender about your age was an invaluable experience too.
Putting aside Elissa, who was the daughter of a low-ranking noble, it would be hard for Raynesia from the Corwen dukedom to find a suitable spouse.
Elissa reminisced on Raynesia with her perfect smile in the Palace of Maihama or the Ancient Palace of Eternal Ice. The society of noblemen was very strict. Especially for young girls, even a small scandal might be a fatal wound.
In order to survive under the gossiping court sparrows that were ever watching, Raynesia learned graceful manners. To protect her grandfather and her family name, the mask Raynesia chose to wear was perfect. In the end, she won the legendary fame of the 'Winter Rose of Eastal'.
But because of this, Raynesia did not have anyone she could call a friend. Although Raynesia was close to Elissa, she was just a maid after all.
"Although you seem so reluctant, you seem to be having a good time."
"What...?"
"Elissa is glad you have made some friends."
This was true.
Elissa felt that Raynesia had a richer variety of expressions in this half month.
"But they are not friends right?"
... But she got a surprising answer.
"What are they then? The princess seems so happy... Although it was troubling at times..."
"They are Adventurers."
Facing Elissa's query, Raynesia answered without much thought.
"This is not an enjoyable chat. Adventurers are different from us. Way