Chapter 16

Aaron Pov

This was the first time he had seen his sister smile after the death of his mother. He was slightly taken aback at the sight. But looking at the murmuring of the crowd and the uncomfortable look made by the Adventurer girl he knew he had to do something. He said sternly.

"Fiore, could you please leave her alone?"

But Fiore stubbornly refused to do so.

"No! Otherwise mommy will disappear again."

Aaron knew that the whole fiasco was garnering more attention from the crowd. Even the Adventurer girl looked uncomfortable. He had to do something.

"Please Fiore, can't you see that she looks uncomfortable?"

Fiore just adamantly refused, clutching the poor girl's leg even tighter.

"No way! I am mama's best girl! She won't mind it."

Aaron was getting annoyed. Mama this and Mama that, it was getting ridiculous.

'We know that she was depressed, but not this depressed..... to even claim random stranger as her mother in front of the crowd!'

But Fiore kept on rambling on and on about her mother.

"Then we can eat food. Fiore has been a good girl and she goes to bed in her correct time...."

Aaron was getting extremely annoyed as well. He just had dealt with the death of his brother as well as the heavy conversation with the Lord and frankly he just wanted to rest for a while. Not deal with his little sister's fantasy. He loved his siblings, especially his little sister but there was only so much he can take in.

"FIORE!"

Everyone was silent. Even Fiore who never heard her brother ever shout at her. Fiore looked at her brother who seemed to be extremely annoyed and angry at her. Her little heart was shocked. He wanted to sugarcoat his word but knew that it would only fuel her grand delusion of her mother coming back.

"Mother is dead, she isn't coming back! So please stop living in delusion and START LIVING IN REALITY!!"

The crowd was silent and the little girl was taken aback. She trembled a bit, sniffled a bit before tears came pouring out of her eyes. She left the leg of the Adventurer and ran away sobbing. Aaron just sighed heavily.

Kimiko Pov

'That was intense.'

She did not know what to do. She wasn't decisive when it comes to the matter of children. She did not know what to do or how they behaved. The first time she went through her childhood days, she forgot everything related to it. The second time, she was already an adult inside. She did not have a normal childhood that way. So how to placate a grieving child? Welp, Vesperia did not have Google so couldn't search online. But even then, she couldn't help but ask.

"Wasn't that a bit excessive?"

The boy, whose name was Aaron, just pinched his brows and sighed. He then gestured with his one hand a sign which the two guards that came with him nodded and disappeared. So did the hidden guards, no doubt following their little ojou-sama.

"A bit. But if I didn't shatter her reality of our..... mother's demise, she'd just get lost in her own false delusion. I just did what I had to do even if she will hate me for it. By the way..."

He bowed a little at her.

"Sorry for the inconvenience caused by my little sister. I apologize in her stead if it made you uncomfortable."

Kimiko just shook her head. She’d rather not garner more attention to herself.

"It's ok. It's just that I can't seem to handle children."

The Son of the Duke chuckled.

"I get what you mean. Little balls of sunshine aren't they? So if there is anything I can do for you, young Adventurer-san?"

Kimiko just shook her head. Getting to be called young by someone who was almost the same age as her did make her feel a little bit embarrassed.

"No, I feel it'd be rather..... inconvenient if you were to be indebted to me."

Aaron just quirked an eye and looked around. Understanding the situation, he just gave a polite laugh.

"I suppose so. If there is anything you'd ask of me, please don't hesitate. I will remember every one of my promises in the future. So let us leave it at that. Could I have the pleasure of knowing your name ma’am?"

“Kimiko.”

Aaron quirked an eye at that. He asked.

“The name of the [Sword Saintess] herself? Nice name, I will remember your face because such famous names are common nowadays. Let us leave.”

The guards nodded as he started to leave in the direction of the little girl.

Just when he left, Gabby who had remained silent just nudged her side. Kimiko was annoyed at her for not helping her. Gabby just shrugged.

"Those little critters are the devil themselves, so I'd rather not involve myself as I am just a fragile little Gabby."

Gabby did a faux impression of a fragile lady. Kimiko just sighed at the antics and went along the dispersing crowd. She still had to fulfill her objective. As she reached a house which had a big ranch, she went inside. There was an old man sitting on a chair behind a desk. The place was decorated with paintings of horses and carriages. As they came towards the old man, he asked while sitting on the chair.

"So are what are you here for? Horses or carriage?"

Kimiko wondered, if she and Mira were to take the carriage, there are still two rooms for maids at the front of the coach. Then some can fit inside alongside with her. But as she was thinking about that, Gabby coughed gaining attention of Kimiko.

"Mistress, one of us can be the driver and the other one can be inside, teaching Mira. The rest of us will be on horses guarding the coach. It was decided by us to be the best way."

Kimiko relented after thinking for a while. Then she asked the old man who looked sullen at being ignored for a while.

"How much is for a coach with two horses and three individual horses?"

The man looked at her and said.

"5 gold coins for each horse and 25 to 50 depend on the coach. 25 gold coach is just for basic coach with no comfort and the likes while 50 gold coins comes with top quality seats, made up of excellent wood and even a window curtain with some luxurious food sponsored by us. There are many customizable additions to it if you were to spend more money."

Kimiko's eye twitched.

'He's basically telling me to buy the second one.'

And Kimiko did buy the second one. The man's face quickly turned from a sullen one to a happy one.

"Thank you for your kind patronage! So where will I send the coach?"

Kimiko replied.

"The inn called the Heartly Homage."

The man nodded.

"You can keep your maid here to keep an eye on us."

Gabby stood forward and replied.

"If you would allow me Mistress, could you let me stay here so that I can entrust the quality of the coach and the horses. Not to be rude to the Gentleman here, but I'd like to ensure my Mistress's comfort. She doesn't like gaudy Coaches so I will help to make it as ordinary as possible without reducing the comfort inside."

Kimiko thought about that.

'True, expensive gaudy coaches could get the eyes of people.'

"Okay, take these 100 gold coins and add what is necessary from this Gentleman here. But be back by 3."

The man seemed to nod.

"You all must be some hidden nobles, who don't like to get the attention of people. Relax, we have many options for addition for inside the coach. Follow me young maid, this here is cushion made with the finest materi......"

The man and Gabby went inside the office discussing what more to add to the coach, Kimiko decided to buy assortments of raw materials for both eating purposes as well as for blacksmithing. She had not done blacksmithing for so long that she might have forgotten about it. After all she was still not adept at it like her fellow friends were as it was just a hobby. Her unique ability may take away skills and 'other' things but not the experience that came with it. If a true magician were to see her way of casting magic then they would surely have a seizure by the amount she wasted unnecessarily. She was a magical swordswoman after all, not a Magician.

Her basic strategy was to pump mana into a spell and if that wasn't enough she'd pump more. She would beget quantity over quality. After thinking about that she went to the marketplace to buy more spices and herbs. After all some people did say, "Food is not just eating energy, it's an experience." She bought it all but unluckily it seemed that there was no [Blacksmith Association] present in Aron city despite being one of the big three Guilds along with [Merchant Guild] and [Adventurer Guild].

Kimiko thought.

'Now that I think about it, I still have not punished Lara for embarrassing me and the others.'

She had arrived to the inn by 2. When she entered her room she was greeted by a true mofu-mofu sight!

"W.....Welcome Back! M...M....Mistress!"

It was the maid Mira bowing and fidgeting , her ears were twitching in nervousness and her eyes were closed with a slight blush on her face.

A chibi Kimiko formed in her mind and an arrow pierced through her heart with cartoonish cats in the background.

Kimiko was a cat person by heart but it did not make her lose her cool because of her Title having a passive ability. Otherwise, she was sure she would have glomped Mira. Lara grinned at her Mistress and asked in a proud way.

"How is it, Mistress? I think she may have a talent in it."

Kimiko blinked once and twice before smirking. Lara then had a bad premonition. Kimiko smiled sweetly which creeped out every maid present. She asked in a sing-a-long voice.

"Hey Lara?"

Lara made a face, knowing that she was in deep-deep trouble.

"*Gulp*, Yes Mistress."

Kimiko realized that Lara had always hated surveillance duties because she could not tease anyone nor could she make unnecessary fight. Then, Kimiko got a perfect plan in mind.

"You are to teleport to Ranga village and look out for Rin-chan. Ask Claire what are the parameters of the guard duty and send Claire here."

Lara took a few moments to digest it. Her face became horrified while everyone's became brighter, except Mira's because she did not know anything. Lara jumped and slid towards Kimiko's leg and clutched it with both hands. Lara looked at her with tear(?) in her eyes.

"NO no no nononooonono Mistress!!! Please I wanna stay with you where the actions are there in the front seat. I wanna be there kicking ass when trouble arrives because you are such a trouble magnet!!!"

Kimiko narrowed her eyes while the other maids sighed because they knew that Lara had just sealed her fate. Lara too came to the realization of her slip of tongue. She just bonked her head, closed one of her eyes and rolled out her tongue.

"Oops?"

Kimiko just smiled very sweetly this time with the appearance of a Hanya mask behind her.

"Are there any objections?"

"Nope, Mistress! Your wish is my command! [Teleport: Claire]"

And poof she vanished.

Kimiko just sighed at the antics. At least, one of the troublemakers were gone.

Aaron Pov

He found where her sister was sulking. Rowley and Brand were just leaning on the wall near her. Fiore was near, hiding behind the wooden casket. He could still hear her sniffling and hiccupping. For a while he felt bad for putting it all bluntly but he did what he should have done some times ago. Aaron still remembered the day where he had gotten the news that the convoy her mother was on got attacked by someone in the middle of its journey. He had rushed as soon as he got the word without even waiting for his father.

But all he found was a destroyed convoy with corpses of guards who were dead for hours. Many monster prints were hastily added as if to convey that it had been attacked by monsters. But who would believe that? Not him nor his father and his close friends. The inner circle knew how much of a monster her mother was. She was nearly S-rank Adventurer before meeting with his Father. Some kind of chemistry blossomed between them and her mother went a complete remodel. Her mother always wore a mask to hide her appearance. Then people knew her as the 'Black Executioner' a nickname bestowed to those who were AAA rank or above.

The scene was falsified and his father, who arrived half an hour later, agreed with him as well. But she had mysteriously disappeared. This abruptness impacted Fiore the most as she was still reliant on her mother. Aaron eyes softened as he watched a hiding Fiore make some figure on the ground with a stick.

"Hey Fi-chan."

A nickname that only he and mother called her with. But he was ignored. He just smiled wearily and patted her head. It got rudely shrugged off.

"I don't want to talk to you."

Aaron grimaced.

"I am sorry, Fiore but you were making everyone uncomfortable you know."

"......"

Fiore just kept silent, still crouching and drawing on the dirt. He wanted to say that he was sorry but Fiore sniffled with tears coming out of her eyes.

"Big .... Brother.... I miss mommy you know. I miss her warm hugs. I miss her stories. I miss her weird cooking. I miss everything about mommy. Wuuuu"

Aaron just hugged her then and there.

"I know Fiore. We all miss her too."

"But the Adventurer-san looked so much like our mommy and she had this weird warmth to her that when I crashed into her I think I saw mommy. I don't want my Aaron nii-san to be angry at me because now even Wallace nii-san is gone!"

Then it came to Aaron's understanding that Fiore was just a lonely girl. He was fulfilling his duty as an Heir while father was already busy in his work. Wallace was not a good role model and only her mother was on her side. There was an age gap of 10 years between them and that 10 years gap caused them to be separated socially. They couldn't connect like real sibling would because one was always performing his duty as an heir while the other was getting influenced by rotten brats. Also she was always alone in the huge mansion. She did not have debut party and no one knew about her. No one played with her and she was mostly alone on her own.

That was why she only had her mother on her side. And now even that was gone and the family slowly drifted apart leaving her alone. This fact made him want to punch himself on the gut for forgetting she was only just a child. Even their vacation earlier was cut short because of his Brother's death and he had gone immediately as his duty as well as to know the well-being of the Lord, ignoring Fiore who just wanted to spend time with her brother and father.

"It's ok. It's ok, I should be the one who tells I am sorry. Not you. It seems mine and father's negligence has made you feel lonely. And for that I am sorry. I promise I will spend more time with you."

Fiore sniffled while looking hopeful.

"Really?"

Aaron smiled brightly.

"I promise that you will never feel alone."

And patted her head while she smiled slowly.

"Let's go to our home ok?"

Fiore just nodded.

The surrounding guards smiled at that.

Kimiko Pov

"Well there is still 1 hour left or so and there is .... nothing else to pack. Then let's sit in the pub of the inn."

All the maids nodded while suddenly Claire teleported inside the room. She had an amused smile on her face. She bowed down to Kimiko.

"I have arrived Mistress. Assuming that Lara is sent on surveillance duty, I can presume she did something to irk you?"

Kimiko sighed and nodded.

"So what is happening in Ranga village?"

Claire just smiled.

"They have just been reconstructing the village. Though Rin seemed to be sad that you left. The [Cult] seemed to have retreated from the surrounding village. The orphanages were deserted when I took a small survey. I instructed Lara what she had to do and gave her my equipment as well as my blessings.

Claire giggled when she thought of her sister trying to run away when she teleported.

“So, where are we going Mistress?"

Kimiko nodded. It seemed that her gamble had paid off and the [Cult] withdrew their forces.

"We are going to the Adventurer city to meet with Arthur."

A twinkle seemed to appear in Claire's eye.

"Our successor? I wonder how he is doing all this time."

Kimiko nodded. Then they all went to the pub part of the inn. As it was still sunny outside, not much people seemed to be present inside the pub of the inn. But being a group of 7 did garner some attention. Especially from the boss who seemed to be surprised at their appearance. The man seemed to be the one taking orders as well, when Kimiko arrived in front of him.

"So what ya lass's want?"

"Leaving the inn for Adventurer city."

The man quirked an eye at that.

"So wait here, I will get ya refund."

Kimiko just shook her head.

"No need. If something, then I will need some provisions."

The man just shrugged.

"If ya say so lass. What do you need?"

Kimiko replied, she had some supplies for the road. But it could be said that this was the first time she was going on a relaxed journey by carriage.

"What provisions are best to eat when travelling?"

The man thought for a while.

"Maybe dried fruits and salted dried meat would be best for long distance travelling if ya are not a time mage. Otherwise other foodstuffs will just rot away. If ya ARE space-time mage, then ya don't have to worry about food and just shove foods in ya Dimensional storage or so."

Kimiko nodded.

"Give me foodstuff."

"If ya say so."

"So you don't have any trouble getting in stock?"

The big man grunted.

"Nope, got me some reliable men to help restock every week which is tomorrow."

Kimiko exchanged the rest of her fees for the room into foodstuffs. Just as she stored some provisions, a carriage seemed to arrive and waited outside the inn. Gabby seemed to be driving the carriage along with a young man who was probably from the company that Kimiko had bought the carriage from.

The man nods and takes off his cap a little and waved at the maid as a way of saying goodbye. Then Kimiko and her maids went out to see the carriage. It was not gaudy as expected. It was a sleek black colored carriage with gold colored lining borders on them. It was two meters in length and 1.5 meters in breadth, enough space for 4 people inside. There were curtains tied as well to cover up if needed. It looked refined and elegant with two black horses tied to it at the front. More horses at the back could be seen.

Inside there were two couches facing each other. It was red colored and looked really soft. Cushions could be seen on those couches. A small table could be seen which carried a pastry stand with a bell jar on it to keep the pastry inside, hygienic. The wheels also had a black and golden scheme. Gabby smiled and did a curtsy and opened the door for Kimiko, Mira and Annie.

They all went inside and Kimiko marveled on the softness of the and the comfort level of the carriage. She felt like she could sleep all day. Even Mira seemed to think like that because she was already feeling drowsy and yawned a little. She jumped on the driver seat along with a perplexed Claire who didn't know the situation well as she had not been briefed. The other took the ride on the horses. Gabby smiled and shouted.

"Heave-ho!"

And the carriage started to trot towards the gate and they were out of Aron city following the Northern road towards Adventurer city.

Mistress Pov

".....and that is the end of my report."

A kneeling woman could be seen. In fact, she was too scared to even look up. She was alone in the dark room where only the place she was on was lighted up. The rest was filled with darkness. A voice having a sinister edge to it could be heard. A

"So, you mean to say we lost Theta?"

She shivered and nodded.

"I believe she may be compromised or dead. The Adventurer did say that she was using her Vitality to empower herself before getting kidnapped by the man. She could be on the verge of death."

The silence resumed. It was suffocating to the woman until the man replied.

"Then, it can't be helped. New training camp will be established. This ..... situation has set your value a lot less in our eyes. Remember something, we have no need for those who are of no value to us."

The mistress just gritted her teeth. The voice continued calmly.

"The secondary mission has failed. You failed to train Theta. Now, the original mission will be your top priority. Fail that and your fate will be much worse than death."

She sweated a bit.

"Yes, my lord! I will complete it without fail!"

"Words are of no value to us. Redeem it by completing it. That will be all."

The room brightened up and Rebecca sighed in relief before gnashing her teeth in rage.

'It was all because of that wench. Hope she died, if not then she will suffer from my hands! THETA!"