Maia showed up early in the morning in her nightgown, and her mother, Meiya, responded to her with wide-eyed amazement. As a mother and maid in the service of the frontier count’s family, she thought about scolding her daughter, but now there was something more important that she needed to check.
“Did they leave it again?”
“Yeah, look at this!”
Maia proudly showed her mother the small gold coin she held in her fingers.
For the past week, money had been discovered under Maia’s pillow every few days, and this was the third time. The previous two times, it had been a few silver coins, but it was small gold coins this time.
A small gold coin was not a large amount of money, but it was not a small amount either. It was more than Maia’s monthly salary as a 10-year-old apprentice maid.
“I’m sure the spirits gave it to you, Maia.” (Meiya)
“Oh, the spirits, huh…. But it would be nice to think that an ancestor probably did it for Carol.” (Maia)
The current nobles were bad, but the previous generations who retired to this mansion typically employed even beastmen in the estate. But when the royal family of Caenista married into the family, there stopped hiring subhuman servants, and there were rumors that his wife had a hand in his early retirement and his premature death.
The lord was trusted even by the subhumans, so he must have taken pity on her, a half-elf, from the other side of the world, just as he left Carol that silver coin. –That’s how the mother and child decided to interpret it.
“Predecessors, we will surely protect Carol, so please watch over her.”
“Thank you, Spirit!”
***
“Hi, you must be the [Rose Witch] I’ve heard so much about. Would you mind listening to us for a minute?” (blond-haired adventurer)
“No.” (Carol)
After quickly declining the invitation of the flamboyant, blond-haired, silver-plated, armor-clad brother who looked like a pickup artist, I slipped past him and headed for the purchase window.
“Thomas-san, I picked up some herbs.” (Carol)
“Oh, Kesera grass. We haven’t had many deliveries lately, so I’ll pay you a lot for it.” (Thomas)
“It’s not called herb C.” (Carol)
“…It doesn’t have such a simple name, but where did it grow? There is a colony nearby that a demon wolf has recently attacked–” (Thomas)
“Hey, wait a minute, honey.” (blond hair adventurer)
I was having a business meeting with the receptionist uncle – brother figure when that shiny silver blond-haired brother called out to me again as if to interrupt.
I didn’t like pick-ups. I was a quiet person with long black hair in my previous life, so I had never had any stalkers in my life, but that doesn’t mean I am used to dealing with them.
“Would you just listen to me for now? I don’t think it’s a bad proposition for you, either.” (blond hair adventurer)
“I’ve been told not to follow strangers.” (Carol)
That’s what my teacher at school told me. I was especially reminded not to many times.
“It’s not that long of a story. Look, I’ve got a buddy over there at the table, and it won’t take long, okay?” (blond hair adventurer)
I glanced at the table and saw a warrior-like human male, a sorceress-like human female, and a bandit-like feline beast girl.
The beastman girl was cute at a glance, with animal-ears, but she was very hairy.
It was infrequent to see a woman in the Adventurers’ Guild. I was certainly relieved to see a girl there, but I was also curious about seeing a female adventurer for the first time.
“…If only for a little while.” (Carol)
“Oh, great. Then let me introduce you to my friends.” (blond hair adventurer)
I follow the relieved Shiny Silver brother to that table after handing over the rest of the Kesera grass to be assessed for the time being.
As I walked, even though it was in the middle of the night, the young adventurers, who are becoming more and more numerous these days, were always keeping their stances low and following me with their eyes.
“Well, let me introduce you. The burly warrior over here is Kenneth. The pretty lady is Marie, the sorceress, and this is Helga, the ranger.” (blond hair adventurer)
“Nice to meet you.” (Kenneth)
“Nice to meet you, I’m Marie.” (Marie)
“…” (Helga)
For some reason, the Beast Girl glared at me. Also, there were rangers instead of thieves in this world, which was the norm compared to thieves in the VRMMORPG, known for their [Thief Skills].
“And I’m Jimmy the Free Knight, and this is [Rose Witch]. What’s your name?” (Jimmy / blond hair adventurer)
A free knight…you mean a self-proclaimed knight. That’s fine, but…
“…By the way, what is this [Rose Witch]?” (Carol)
It reminds me of [Witch of the Velvet Rose Silk], a ‘painful’ nickname I have from my VRMMORPG days, so please stop calling me that.
“Everyone calls you that, though, right?” (Jimmy)
“Everyone…?” (Carol)
I looked around, and several people blithely turned their heads away. I memorized their faces.
Bam!!!
“I disagree!!! We’ve managed just fine on our own so far, you know!” (Helga)
Helga, a feline beastman who stood up to slam the table, then suddenly shouted.
“What is the meaning of this?” (Carol)
“Helga, calm down. We wanted to invite you to join our party.” (Jimmy)
“A person who looks so mature and dressed in a skimpy outfit trying to lure men like that isn’t a decent person anyway.” (Helga)
“I don’t need you to tell me that.” (Carol)
Helga was probably in her late teens. You would be more embarrassed wearing light clothes and having (hairy) thighs sticking out of your hot pants, no?
“What nonsense” (Helga)
“Oh, come on, Helga, calm down.” (Marie)
Marie, a woman in her mid-twenties, turned her attention to me, calming Helga, who was in a rage.