Chapter 37: Chapter 37 – The interview

The others looked up at them as Scarlett approached with Rosa in tow. Both Allyssa and Shin gave Rosa a curious look but didn't say anything.

"We will be leaving now," Scarlett said as she looked down at their table. There were half-eaten lumps of bread on it, along with two bowls of some brown soup. She hadn't given them much time to actually have their meal, she realized. Well, they could probably get something else later on.

"You're done then?" Allyssa asked. "I thought you only had business with..." She looked at the white-haired young man that now sat next to her. "Fynn was it, right?."

"Hmm? Yes." Fynn answered after a second. "But to be honest I don't really know what I'm supposed to do here."

"That's a laugh," Rosa cut in from the side, moving closer to the table. "Neither do I." She smiled at them, then seemed to look closer at Fynn. "Aren't you the guy who fought with the barkeep last night?"

"Oh, you're the weird singing lady," he said as he appeared to recognize her. He then shook his head. "And no, that was just a misunderstanding. I only told him this place smelled."

"Ah, of course. That's one of the classics." Rosa nodded her head sagely, apparently not minding being described as a 'weird singing lady'. "I always tell people their homes smell too, and they always get mad for some reason. People just don't appreciate compliments these days."

Fynn gave her a slightly confused look. "But I wasn't trying to compliment him?"

"Well, there's your problem then."

His forehead knitted together as if he didn't quite understand the meaning behind Rosa's words, when Allyssa leaned in beside him. "Why would you tell the barkeep that his business smelled?"

"I thought it would be good if he knew. There was a rotten piece of meat under the stairs."

The people around the table went quiet for a moment.

"...Who are these two supposed to be?" Shin eventually asked, looking at Scarlett as he signaled towards both Fynn and Rosa.

"They are people I have hired, in part to assist you in your work," Scarlett responded. She gestured to Rosa. "Her name is Rosalina. And it appears you have already been introduced to Fynn." She pointed to the white-haired young man next to Allyssa.

Rosa brought her hand up and fluttered her fingers in what resembled a wave. "You can just call me Rosa."

Allyssa met her greeting. "Hello. I'm Allyssa. This is Shin. We're both Shielders."

Shin gave a short nod.

"Shielders?" Rosa gave them an inquisitive look, before turning to Scarlett. "You work for her?"

"That's right." Allyssa brought out a small blue badge with the Shields Guild symbol on it. "We're her escorts."

Rosa raised an eyebrow at that. "You have escorts?"

"I do, though it is a rather recent development. We can leave any further questions to when we are moving," Scarlett said and started walking towards the exit.

The others quickly caught up to her after she'd exited the pub onto the narrow street outside. From there she followed the street down to where it ended in a small intersection with another street, before turning a few corners until she eventually reached a slightly wider street that was large enough for carriages to pass through. The Foreign Quarter was a pretty densely populated district in Elystead, but unlike some of the similar areas in Freybrook, you weren't only limited to traversing on foot everywhere here. Their carriage was parked in front of the opening of an empty alleyway, and the coachman immediately started preparing it when he saw them approaching.

Rosa looked at the carriage with some surprise as the coachman—who Scarlett had overheard being called Tobia by the maid lady at the mansion here in the capital earlier today—greeted Scarlett and opened the carriage door for her.

"You're a noble?" the woman asked, glancing at the Hartford crest depicting a deer on the side of the vehicle.

"I am," Scarlett said.

"That explains the money," Rosa hummed as Scarlett climbed inside the carriage. The others soon followed, with Allyssa, Shin, and Fynn pressing themselves into the seat opposite Scarlett and Rosa sitting down beside her. This particular carriage wasn't quite designed for this many occupants.

Scarlett looked out the window as the carriage rolled into motion. She was planning on dealing with the Cabal Adepts' equipment today. After that, she was also planning on paying a visit to the Elystead Tower: the imperial mage tower here in the capital. She wanted to get these matters out of the way before the Light Fest began the next day, as things in the city would get a lot busier then. In addition to that, the Elysian Proclamation was supposed to take place on the third day of the event, on the 2nd of September. Almost a whole month after she first arrived here in this world.

To be honest, she wasn't quite sure what to expect of the event. It wasn't something the player was ever involved in when she played the game. She knew it was a gathering in the Dawnlight Palace where a lot of nobles would be, swearing their allegiance to the emperor and reaffirming old oaths. Supposedly it had been a tradition for centuries, ever since the Empire began. She learned that much from a book describing some of the festivals celebrated in the empire, but she hadn't found anything that went into the particulars of what the nobles did per se, so there was some nervousness present for her. And she was pretty certain it wasn't something she could skip out on as the head of the Hartford family. But this was why she had spent several days reading up on some of the decorum and noble families before getting here. Hopefully, she would be able to get through it without any major issues.

"So," Rosa sang from the side. "What kind of noble are you? The 'my great-great-grandfather was recognized by the emperor' kind? The 'my mansion is bigger than your village' kind? Or maybe the princess-on-the-run kind — fleeing from being locked up in a castle, wanting to experience the world?"

Scarlett frowned. "Do not disparage the imperial family," she found herself saying before she even realized it.

Well, that was annoying. She had noticed signs of this earlier, but there seemed to be some odd fixation on the capital, the imperial palace, and the imperial family leftover from the original that still affected her pretty severely. The funny thing was that, despite being a bit cliché, Rosa's word wasn't too far off when it came to this empire's princess.

Scarlett turned to look at the woman. "I am a baroness. Scarlett Hartford, Lady of the ancestral Stagmond keep."

"Hartford?" Knitted her brows. "I think I recognize that. Didn't you have a fight with some criminals in Freybrook or something? I remember reading that in the Chronicle."

"Now that you mention it, I also remember that," Allyssa mumbled.

Scarlett held in a sigh. "Yes, that was me. However, those claims were greatly exaggerated."

Rosa let out a small laugh. "I never would have guessed, just looking at you."

"And what might you mean with that?" Scarlett questioned.

"You don't exactly give out the 'people's hero' vibe, you know? Unless this isn't how you usually are, and you just happened to eat a bad olive for breakfast."

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"Describing me as the 'people's hero' is an even greater exaggeration than the original claims," Scarlett said coldly. "I will not refute your words; however, I do wonder why you appear to be so certain that it is safe for you to dare speak so carelessly in my presence when that is your assessment of me."

"You could say I have an eye for these things." Rosa grinned. "I can tell that, deep inside, you have the soul and compassion of a cute little doe."

Scarlett stared at her.

"Ok, maybe a porcupine," Rosa said after a moment. "But an adorable one."

From what Scarlett knew, Rosa didn't actually have any special ability related to anything like that, so that was most likely supposed to be a joke.

"You know, I don't know how I missed it, but now that I look closely." Rosa squinted her eyes. "You're definitely a noble. I can practically see the nobly-ness ooze off you. Waves of it. Just flowing everywhere." She turned her head forward and nodded loftily twice. "Indeed, quite noble."

"Wonderful," Scarlett said. She didn't bother hiding the steely sarcasm in her voice. Nor the slight irritation. "I am glad that I have your approval."

The carriage descended into silence for a few seconds. "I thought the dress would have been a pretty clear sign she was a noble," Allyssa then suddenly said and everybody's attention turned to the apparel in question.

"Is it expensive?" Fynn asked.

"I think so. I haven't seen many normal people wear anything like it, at least."

Scarlett glanced down at her lavender dress. This was still considered an obvious noble dress? Though it was a cut above what she saw most people wear in this world, it was far from the most lavish the original Scarlett had in her repertoire. She, as Amy, had even had one similar to it back in her world. That was even part of the reason she chose this one. Maybe she was underestimating the worth of some of the materials for clothes like these in this world.

"Oh," Rosa blurted out from next to Scarlett. She glimpsed the female musician look at her dress as if this was the first she had seen of it. Rosa was quiet for just a second, then gave a bright smile.

"I must have missed that somehow." She gave another short laugh. "I can't tell left from right with fashion. You could put a dress on an elephant and I wouldn't be able to tell you if it looks good or not. Not to say you're an elephant. But if you were, I'm sure you'd be the envy of all the other large noble elephant ladies."

"Then it is fortunate that the work I would have you do does not rely upon your fashional acumen," Scarlett said. "Nor on your ability to offer compliments."

"Oh, but I'm great at compliments." Rosa grinned. "It's all about what kind of compliments I'm giving." She picked up her instrument—Scarlett was just going to call it a hurdy-gurdy—from where she'd put it on the seat next to her, patting the lacquered wooden side. "But I'm curious. What exactly is this work you want me to do? Most people come to me because of this baby." Her smile grew a bit more playful and she pointed to herself. "And, of course, because of this baby."

"I am certain that they do," Scarlett said coolly, then gestured to the three people opposite them. "Their job will be to escort me, as well as aid me in future excursions." She looked towards Rosa. "Your job, should you choose to accept it, would include supporting them in their endeavors. This would denote some degree of danger—which is the reason for the high wage—but there is not a large risk of severe injury. Of that, I can assure you. And the potential benefits on your part far outweigh merely the wage."

Rosa scrunched her eyes up at her. "Benefits like?" she asked, dragging out on the second word.

Scarlett looked away and out the window. "Being employed in my service would no doubt give you access to artifacts and other useful resources, though I do not know how much would interest you." She paused for a moment. "What might be of more interest to you is the possibility of forging a connection with the head of a noble household. One who happens to hold a large amount of knowledge on a wide number of areas, and whose aid could prove very helpful in the future, should you require it."

"And that person just so happens to be you?"

Scarlett gave a nod. "Yes."

"What makes you so sure I'd be of any use?" Rosa asked.

"One could say I have an eye for these matters," Scarlett said. She glanced briefly at Rosa, gauging the woman's expression. While she hadn't been ready to meet her, and as such hadn't prepared a proper excuse, she did know something that would almost be guaranteed to convince the woman. But she knew both of them would probably prefer it if she didn't bring up the matter.

Thankfully Rosa didn't seem to mind the vague answer. "Mysterious," the woman said with a smirk. "Now you've definitely got me all curious. I think I'll accept this offer of yours, for now. At least until the other end of the hammer falls."

She then turned to look at Fynn who had been sitting quietly and listening in on the conversation. "What about you? Did she give you the same offer?"

His eyes widened slightly. "Yes? No?" He looked at Scarlett. "I'm still a bit confused about the details of what you want me to do."

"Nothing. For now," Scarlett said. "It would be enough to do as those two, when asked." She gestured towards Allyssa and Shin. "You will have an opportunity to showcase your capabilities soon. Either tomorrow or the day after, presumably. Until then, there is no need to worry about it."

"Does that hold for me as well?" Rosa asked.

"Yes, though I do not expect you to always accompany me as they will." Fynn would be really handy to have along—especially when in more dangerous places—because of his excellent perception abilities. As for Rosa...For now, it would be enough to only bring her along when raiding dungeons and on other similar jaunts. "I will ensure that a room is prepared for you at the mansion I am staying in. When I have no need of you, you may do as you wish with your free time."

"But you're still paying me?"

"Yes."

"Oh, this is definitely too good to be true. Tell me as it is," Rosa eyed her. "This is actually some kind of scam, isn't it?"

"It is not," Scarlett told her.

"She's not lying," Fynn said.

"Well, if he says so, then I guess it must be true." Rosa leaned back in her seat. "Maybe I'll use the time to finish up the new song I've been writing."

"You create your own songs?" Allyssa asked.

"Of course I do! No self-respecting bard wouldn't," Rosa responded.

Scarlett tuned the ensuing conversation out as she looked out the window at the passing buildings and people.

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