I leave the garrison flabbergasted. Everything was a lie. While I walk the streets shrouded in the dead of the night, I think about what is going on.

Helen is still a virgin. Hers is even prettier than mine. I got jealous for a moment. But I won’t lose in the other department. She made me blush. Me, of all people.

I loathe myself for having even a shred of doubt. But the consequences of that fact are even more terrifying. The troll, Grendel, didn't touch her. He didn't hurt her and from her recollection, even protected her from wolves.

Grendel survived master's poisoned arrow only because the help from Helen's magic. I think she is not that innocent from the accusation of being a monster's bride, because she has fallen for him.

I know that. The face she was making is the same I had for Master until a few days ago. A maiden in love with... a monster. She insists he is actually a person transformed into a monster, but such magic should not exist.

There is too much to think about. I don't like it. I like my life simple and in a straight line. Become an adventurer, raise the rank, marry Master, live happily as a receptionist or become Guild Master when Master steps down. Simple. Easy.

Naive.

Deep in my mind, this word floats up as I come home.

“Welcome home, this daughter of mine.” Mother hugs me. She was in the back, washing her apron. Someone delivered today.

I pick a tub, and move next to her. I need to clean my armor and tunic too. Two wolves got close to me today, I had to fight them in close quarters. I had a scratch, but Helen healed me.

To invade the garrison stockades to get a heal from my imprisoned friend, how pathetic am I?

“What is troubling you, dear daughter?”

“Is it showing, mother?” I turn my face away.

“Yes, and for my blooming daughter to be blushing like that, it has to do with men. Who is the lucky guy? It is still one year too early for you to marry, but I will help you.”

“I can handle myself around men. I spent the last three years in the Adventurer’s Guild, mother. You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and troublemakers in town.” I prop my nose up and stuff my chest out.

“Oh. You think so? The only reason they left you alone is because I spread a rumor about you being promised to the Guild Master. Even some troublemaker adventurer that falls into tax slavery every other year won’t dare mess with the Guild Master.”

“Is that so?” Am I promised to Master? I laugh inside. Mother, I will hold you up to that.

“Yes daughter. For someone that likes to play the femme fatale like you do, you are too naive. You can’t see things for what they are in this pink world of yours.”

Am I naive? Am I ignoring some truth that is exposed bare in front of me?

After I hang my stuff to dry overnight, I change myself and go to bed. I cry myself to sleep, dreading what is to come.

I awake, it is already late in the morning. My belly feels heavy, and I want to remain in bed. My "woman's troubles" are coming. I'll have to refrain from hunting for the next two days.

Today I'll visit Helen's family. She tasked me with getting them out of town. And I need to do it without raising suspicion. I leave home after making special preparations for the occasion, and adding some flower sachets to my pockets.

I was able to find Helen's father at home, and was quickly invited in. I made sure I was not being observed while I entered.

"Marcy, it's been a long time since we last met."

"Yes, sir, I thank you for your time. I have to discuss something really urgent. Can we talk in private?"

Benjamin guides me to his office.

"You can be at ease, miss." He points me to a couch. There is another equal couch across a small coffee table.

"Thank you. Sit down please."

"Of course."

Helen's father sits down, and I clear my throat.

"I visited helen in the stockades. In the dead of the night." I speak with a low voice, to convey the meaning that I intruded.

Helen's father leans forward. He is flustered. "how is she? Is she hurt?"

"She was hurt, but already healed herself. But the important thing is, she and I we are going to break her out of there."

"I see. You will get her out. I will try to do something to help."

"That is not necessary. In fact, Helen asked me to tell you to leave town."

"This is preposterous. I must help my daughter."

"Calm down. I'm not saying you are powerless. But your help will be necessary in another venue."

"What is it then? How could Helen break out of the stockades on her own."

"She has become powerful. That shy girl we knew is no more. Her face is nothing but determination."

"And what venue is that I might be of help by running away?"

"It is not as much running away than setting a forward base. Once Helen and I break out of the stockades, we will need to flee to another country. Our livelihood here will be ruined."

"And you want me to relocate to another country so she has a place to call home, is it so?"

"Either that or forsake your daughter. She is scheduled to be executed on the equinox."

Mr. Benjamin raises his voice, angry. "What? It is an absurd. To execute my daughter on the equinox! Helen is..." A long pause. His face goes from red to pale. "The harvest. It cannot be that. They wouldn't dare..."

He sinks in the couch, and I become anxious. I've heard that. Master called Helen "harvest girl" several times.

"Do you know something?"

"Girls with hair the color of wheat, they sometimes receive the blessing of the harvest goddess. Helen is one of those. There is an ancient rite, where these girls are offered as sacrifice upon the equinox to increase the harvest yield." He mutters. "So this is why none of my efforts were successful..."

"The higher ups are all tangled in this. The Lord, the Guild Master, the Knight Captain."

He hangs his head, and hides his face in his palms. "My daughter, why." He's crying.

In front of me is a man that spent a princess' ransom worth of gold for the sake of his daughter. "A winter child, born of the harshest winter of a century." It is how the elders called Helen when we were children. My mother helped in her delivery, so we became friends from the start. But she was very weak, and was afflicted with consumption during that winter, and it is the season medicine is the most expensive. She was cured, but her constitution was forever weakened from being a baby in that winter. Her mother's milk had not much vitality, and they had to hire a wet nurse. While growing up, she would often come home wounded as she couldn't keep up with the kids.

Things only became better for Helen when she awakened her magic. A mage, even one with a weak body, is valuable. However, the only magician able to pick an apprentice wasn't too keen on hiring Helen. Her father had to pay tuition for three years.

Such a man, such a caring father is now crying in front of me. I reach out and touch his shoulder.

"Everything will be fine. Helen's magic is stronger than before. She has found a reason to live, and won't allow herself to die so soon."

"I see. She has already moved that far."

"Yes. She even overcame the Chytheria extract they were giving her." I learned that from Helen herself. How she used her magic and willpower to cancel the magic blocking herb.

Benjamin raises his head. Still sobbing a little. "That is... amazing. I'm sorry for showing you such shameful act."

"Don't worry. I know how much you love that girl. Almost the same as I do." I jokingly add.

He laughs a little. "I see. I have already lost." I'm not marrying her. I'm a girl.

"Yes, probably. But the one you lost to is not me."

"One of the lads that are always together with you?"

"No way! There is a man she met in the forest that time, she is in love with that man." Now that it is out, I wonder if I should have said that.

"Is he from this town? I heard some rumors about Helen..."

"No. Probably from a very far away country. He is no ordinary man, but he is the reason Helen was not killed in that forest. He sheltered and protected her with his own flesh when they got into trouble in the forest."

"Even from that dangerous monster that appeared..."

"Yes. Even from that monster. If he was not in there, Helen would be dead already." As 'in there (the monster's body)'.

"This is too much to think about at once... What should I do...."

"Do you or your family has any lingering attachment to a land that will murder your daughter for their own sake?"

"When you put it that way..." he steels himself. "Tell me. Are the rumors she has become a monster bride true? Did the monster... to Helen..."

It is my turn to raise my voice. "Absolutely not! I can swear as a daughter of a midwife that Helen is no one's bride, monster or otherwise. She has not been touched by a man."

"Is that so." His tears are flowing again. Relief is painted on his face.

"Yes. We will act in a few days. Please leave town and country before that. Go north. It is where we will be going to. It will be harder to leave after we escape."

"Are you going to do that no matter what?"

"I owe Helen. I won't abandon her, whatever path she may walk." I hit my chest with a fist. "But I won't let anyone kill her."

"It will take a couple days, but we can leave town. No, I cannot waver in front of your determination. We will leave town in two days. This I swear."

"Good. It will take one burden away from Helen's mind."

"We will take a loss to sell it fast, but if we..." He fades away in the world of merchants. I give the final nudge.

"It is not a loss if you are buying your daughter's life."

"Indeed."

We shake hands, and I leave.

In the following two days, I help Helen's mother pack up the family belongins. I filled a trunk with Helen's clothes and belongings. The plan is to leave this trunk in the care of the merchant guild next town up north. After we escape, we can pick it up there. Mr. Benjamin's official story for leaving is that the family could not endure the shame of having a monster bride among them. He sold his two story home and shop without much loss. It seems the merchant guild decided to chip in to save his face.

I rest for the remainder of my period at home, doing some light chores.

The next day after I recover, I go to the Guild as usual to get some field protection request as usual. I’ve been doing it for thirteen days straight. I couldn’t earn the nine silver coins I spent bribing the guards, but I am quite well. If only this misunderstanding regarding Helen solves itself, I could afford a place for myself and Helen next spring.

I reach the guild before opening, and there is someone outside, at the side of the employee entrance. It is Cloude.

Cloude is wearing his full gear. There is a rucksack on his back, and it seems packed. I can see a bedroll hanging behind him. His bastard sword is stuck between the rucksack and his back, and he is carrying twin short swords on each side.

“Hey, Marcy, morning!” He waves at me. His face is not a ‘good morning’ face though. He is up to something.

“Where are you going fully geared this early in the morning? And why does it seems you are waiting for me?”

“Yeah, both. We got a nominated request, you and me.”

“Oh, congrats on reaching F rank.”

Cloude has been coming in and out of the guild too. He made some requests in town, and ranked up. The guild sometimes also doubles as manual labor recruitment agency. Most adventurers would do anything for the right amount of money, anyway. Even throw away their lives.

“The same to you. I’ve been working hard too, OK?”

“That aside, you mentioned a nominated request? I haven’t heard about it. And I was in the Guild until late afternoon yesterday.”

“Yeah, the Guild Master visited me last night. He seemed to be worried because he couldn’t find you.”

Again, master is visiting the guys behind my back. I can’t tell I was invading the garrison yesterday night anyway.

“I was up in the wall tower, gazing at the moonlight. A girl needs some time alone to collect her thoughts.”

“Yeah, yeah. Anyway, lets go inside. The Guild Master is waiting for us.”

We go inside, and Cloude guides me to the meeting room. Something is really fishy. He opens the door, Master and two receptionists are inside.

“Welcome, Marcy. Cloude, thank you. Sit down, the two of you.”

“Yes, Master.” I must play by the book here. I smile at master, the receptionists look at me with pitiful faces.

“I tried to find you yesterday, Marcy, but you were nowhere to be found.”

“Did you search for me on the walls, Master?” I will play safe too. If I just tell where I was, he might have looked there and I am caught.

“No. Why would you be on the walls?”

“Sometimes I climb on the roof of the towers, to gaze at the night sky.”

“Is that so? It seems you are going to rather dangerous places, Marcy. I am worried.” Master’s double talk is no stranger to me.

“Not for the current me. But enough about my night out. Cloude mentioned a named request. Who would possibly go through the trouble to post a named request for F rank adventurers?”

Master’s face flashes briefly of anger, then returns to normal. “I did.”

“What? Master, you did? But adventurers can only get nominated from E rank and above.”

“There is no problem. As a reward for reporting the troll, I am bumping your rankings. Congratulations.”

Fishy fishy fishy. I don’t believe the day I would be disgusted at a free promotion. But I can’t let it show. I push my revolt down to a deep place with all the other questions I have floating now, and put my best smile out.

“Oh, this is awesome, master. Me and Cloude, we are going to become E ranked!!!”

“Yes, it is great to have our efforts recognized.”

“But what about Julius?”

“Julius resigned from the Guild. He was invited to join the Lord’s soldiers, as an aspiring knight.” Master sighs. It is hard to let go of talent, it seems. “This is the reason I was there that night. To convince him of not resigning. But he turned his card in. There is nothing I can do, or it would invite trouble between the Lord and Guild.”

“Oh, it was his wish anyway. I hope he can make it true.” Despite being mad at him for disbanding the party, if he turned in his card, there is no way he would remain the party leader. The party system is exclusive to the Guild members anyway.

“Enough of that. I have the girls here to update your status. Please turn in your cards, and place the palm over the recording crystal again.”

Strange. The recording crystal is a powerful tool that can make a full copy of one’s status, even those hidden in the settings. It is used only once when you register for the first time, and when there is any accusation or trial of an adventurer going on. It is not used on a normal or nominated rank up.

Guild Masters have the authority to grant rank upon any adventurer, but only up to rank D. Well, a rank D nomination will be questioned by headquarters, so most guild masters only grant rank up to E if they do. This is too fishy.

Cloude and I stand up from our seats, and we go around the table on both sides. We turn in our cards, and Cloude lays down his hand on the recording crystal. I make a fatal mistake: I hesitate for a while.

I open my status, and check for any additional skill or title that could put me in trouble. There is none. Only then I put my hand on the crystal. Master looks at me with a raised eyebrow, but doesn’t speak.

After a while, the crystal glows blue, and I feel something ticklish at the back of my head.

We remove our hands, and walk back to our seats across the table. The receptionists update our cards, and extend a hand with them to us. I pick up my card, look at the info. There is the E rank insignia, and everything seems in order. I put it away in my bosom. Cloude puts his inside a side pocket of his armor.

“Julia, Karen, thank you. You may leave now.” The receptionists pick up their tools, and with a light curtsy towards Master, they turn and leave. He nods at them, then fixes his gaze on me. His face shows he is angry. The door closes behind the receptionists, and still no movement. I can’t avert my eyes from Master’s. Not a single word is uttered.

We stand still. I’m dying inside. The look of reproach from Master is too much. My heart races. My head spins. I feel like a hole will open up in the ground and swallow me. Eternity goes. The walls are bending. I’m eternally falling backwards while still sitting in the chair.

A hand holds my head. Startled, I look around, and see Cloude holding me. I fell from the chair. Cold sweat runs in my face, gets in my mouth. Salty. Tears? I see Cloude’s mouth moving, but I only hear muffled sounds like I am underwater.

After some time, I can’t tell how long, I recover my senses. I didn’t faint, but it is like I lost control of my body. I’m cold. Trembling. Still in the same room. Cloude is worried, Master is angry.

And then Master breaks the silence:

“It seems that you should refrain from ‘climbing the wall tower’ any longer, miss Marcy.”