Does anyone like to have something or someone unexpected coming to them? Well, I don’t. But now’s a different case since I’m in a new world. Everything that’s happened to me so far is unexpected so I got used to it already.

***

A week has passed since the incident that took under the mansion. Nothing much happened after that. It’s because I modified the barrier of the villa. Since there was too many [Mana Crystal] inside the [Core Room], I utilized it as a fuel to the scripts I added to the [Core’s] script index.

I called it >, and >. > is a self-defense function in which summons a dozen of swords that is made from the other spell >. The spell’s effect is quite obvious so I won’t explain it. >, I originally named it > which lets the barrier generate it when it gets attack, but since it negates some of the existing scripts in the [Core’s] index, I changed it to > which can absorb magic from the intermediate level down to the weakest into mana.

Immediately after installing it, the attack on the barrier has stopped. I told Sora about it and it seems that he wasn’t informed by their side’s attack.

Also, I keep the existence of the [Core] of the mansion a secret from everyone and also what happened to me and Petal.

And speaking of Petal, she’s been acting weird for the last three days. And by ‘weird’, it’s not emotionally, but magically. I can feel a magical pulse from her sometimes, the girls felt it too but decided to ignore since it wasn’t a dangerous one.

Today, I’m preparing myself to go to the [Adventurer’s Guild] to hire some bodyguards for the trip tomorrow. By the way, the first trip is destined to Berigious, City of Dwarves. Since Sora mentioned that the [Immortal Sword of Giants] is in that city, it seems to be the easiest to get for me. I still can’t stop giggling from the fact that the [Immortal Sword of Giants] is in a Dwarven City. A big sword for short and stout people, what a mismatch!

“Petal, can you get me my satchel please? Put 40 coins in it and a couple of change.”

“Yes young master.”

Right now, I’m inside my room changing my clothes together with Petal. The girls are currently in their rooms so they’re not bothering me right now.

When I finished wearing my mantle, I walked to the mirror to see if it fits me.

“To think this old thing would look perfect on me… It almost feels like it’s made especially for me.”

Just then, I noticed an old picture from a table. The one’s in it is none other than grandpa. And worst of all, the robe he’s wearing in the picture is what I’m currently wearing.

“Now it feels ominous. I better get a new one.”

--If I remember correctly, Frenel’s wife is a tailor. I should visit that guy before going home.

“Young Master, I’m done preparing your bag.”

“Oh, thanks Petal.”

I reach out my hand to Petal. When she put the strap on my hand, suddenly, her face turned pale, and at the same time, I sensed a magical pulse from her which is stronger than before. She put a hand on her mouth then grabbed her stomach. She looks like she was about to throw up.

“…… Are you alright?”

“I’m not sure, young master.”

--Did she eat something bad by chance? Probably not, since I haven’t seen her eat once, the probability is low. First of all, she’s not even human.

“Just rest for the day, Petal, the new maids can work properly now except Fina, so you don’t have anything to worry about.”

“But young--”

“No buts!”

I can sense a dejected feeling from Petal’s emotionless face. We’ve already been living for almost a month now, so I can tell what she’s feeling inside.

When she opened the door to exit, I saw Jane along the way. She looks very eager for some reason. Maybe I should ask her later why.

***

Currently, I’m in my carriage. Cherry and Ghena were just together with me a while ago, but then they dropped them off to Sir Oljis’ shop along the way. Nothing was noteworthy in our short talk except potions. I’ll pick them up when going back.

“Sir, we’re arrived at the [Adventurer’s Guild].”

Gen told me from window from the coach seat. I just got that installed.

“Thanks for sending me here. You’re free to roam around until I get back.”

“Nah, I’ll just sit and wait. I’ve already seen every parts of the capital anyway so there’s no need.”

“Has the years caught up already?”

“I’m afraid so.”

After laughing a bit, I exited from the carriage. By the way, Zen is also here and is the one who opened the door for me. Also, now that I had a good look at Zen’s face, he looks like a girl. Even though Red and Zen have almost exactly the same face, Zen’s gives off a feminine charm.

“Is there something on my face, sir?”

“gir—none. There’s none.”

I think I stared too much.

Leaving the carriage to them, I entered the [Adventurer’s Guild] Office.

The moment I entered the building, there, a lot of men with different build and women who are obviously magicians judging from their clothes, talking noisily with each other. When the bell on the door rang, everyone turned their gazes towards me and fell silent.

*gulp*

Because the silence has tension riding on it, I became too nervous and gulped down air. I want to run away from here, but since I have an important business here, I can’t.

No one was going to talk nor move, until someone, with familiar deep voice called out to me.

“Oh, Sir Chardelier. What brings you here?”

There, at the far back of the room, a man with large build stood out from the crowd. To my surprise, this man was Trevor, the Chief of the Village outside the Capital.

He then stood up and walked towards me. It seems that he’s well respected here in the [Adventurer’s Guild] because the other people immediately gets out of his path.

“Trevor?”

“I was actually going to visit you right now. Looks like luck’s on my side today.”

This guy’s supposed to be a very scary guy, but now he’s very cheerful. I wonder what happened to him.

“Visit me?”

“Yes, I was just about to go to your place to ask where to deliver this week’s supply of brown coats, but the Guild office wanted me to get some [In-City Trade Permit] to let the supply pass the gate.”

“What? The deal was me collecting the supply, not you sending it. Moreover, wasn’t the next shipment scheduled for next month?”

For some reason, he’s making a happy face while scratching the back of his head. I can feel a familiar vive from him.

“Well, many things happened this past few days actually. One of them is the good hunt I got. The other one is….”

While blushing, he turned his head towards the back. Then, a beautiful woman suddenly waved her hand while looking embarrassed stood out. Could it be?!

“I need to build a house for me and my lover, Resha. So I needed the money for the carpentry expense.”

This guy’s getting married! Damn, that’s fucking good news.

“Congratulations on getting married.”

Suddenly, the crowd that’s looking at us suddenly cheered and congratulated Trevor.

“Congratulations Boss!”

“Best wishes!”

“What about me?”

Even though there was one weird scream at the end, the crowd made a huge ruckus. Trevor keeps smiling because he’s embarrassed from the crowd’s cheers. The female attendants were trying their best to silence them.

***

After talking about many things on what happened outside the capital, I now returned back to my original business.

I left the table where Trevor and his lover were sitting on and went to the front desk. The Guild receptionist is female, although inferior to Cherry and Matt’s, she’s still a beauty. Her smile is obviously a poker face since I can feel a little tension from her. Don’t worry. I’m a noble that doesn’t bite.

“I’d like to put up an ‘escort’ request in your guild. How much does it cost?”

“It depends on the purpose and duration Sir.”

“I see, then how much is it if the purpose is escorting during a journey? Also, the destination is to Berigious which would take about 2 weeks.”

The moment I said Berigious, the people inside the building suddenly turned their heads towards me. Then, the female receptionist gave them a sharp glare and they returned to what they were doing. What was that all about?

“I really apologize for that short disturbance sir.”

“It’s fine. Let’s just continue.”

After that, the female receptionist took a paper and a quill pen from under the desk and then started writing down some things.

“The destination is to Berigious… would you provide some meal during the trip?”

“Now that you mention it, I haven’t really given any thought on those parts. Can you give me some tips with the ‘escort’ request?”

The receptionist suddenly loosens up her tensed shoulders after finally judging me as a nice guy. Good.

“If you’re going on a round trip, it’ll cost about 8 gold coins per group. If it’s a one way trip, it’ll cost 12 gold coins. If it’s without meal, you need to add 3 gold coins. Also, the depending on the [Quest rank], you need to add another 3 gold coins. Ah! I almost forgot to mention, there are 5 rankings so the extra payment for [Quest rank] is 15 gold coins.”

--So escort request is this pricey huh.

“I understand. So how much would it be if I’ll open it for two groups and it will be a round trip? Also, there will be meal.”

“And what rank would it be. Ah, just a reminder. The highest rank which is ‘S’ is currently not available, so there’s only rank D to A.”

-So the ranking is alphabetical… But still, using ‘S’ as the highest is so generic.

“Make it a Rank B quest. It’s just an escort quest anyway.”

When I said that, the receptionist’s eyes suddenly grew in shock.

“Is there any problem?”

“There is sir. If you make it only a rank B quest, there’ll be a huge commotion in the application. Since there are currently a lot of rank B’s a lot of them would be fighting over this mission. Especially since the destination is to Berigious. All adventurers, hunters, and even some nobles want to go to Berigious. Not everyone can go there easily sir.”

--So that explains the commotion earlier.

After our very long negotiation, the details on my request have been finalized.

Because there are a lot of adventurers, the quest rank is moved to ‘A’. But since there are still a lot of ‘A’ rankers, the application must be decided by a lottery. Though I want to watch who will win, I’m too busy so I can’t.

Also, before I left, I gave the receptionist 2 gold coins as a tip. I was totally amused by her surprised reaction when she opened her hand after fitting the coins in there.

Since my business in the [Adventurer’s Guild] is done, it’s time to go home.

When I got out of the building, I suddenly saw 3 women with overcoats talking with Gen who is leaning on the carriage. To be more accurate, only one of the three women is talking with Gen. The other two is silent.

It might be just my imagination, but the three women’s height feels, familiar.

When Gen saw me walking towards the carriage, he suddenly made a relieved face.

“Ah, thank god. Sir—”

Just then, the woman Gen was talking to, pulled down her overcoat’s hood. When she turned towards me, I immediately froze on the spot.

“—this woman is claiming to be your mother. Is this true?”

Ignoring Gen’s panicked question, the woman slowly walked towards me while smiling. Slowly, a feeling suddenly rose up from my stomach. Even though I wasn’t thinking of talking, these words suddenly came out without me noticing it.

“Mom?”

When I said that, Gen immediately got dumbstruck and froze. Then, he looked at me and mom alternately and muttered, “They don’t look alike.”

“I see you’ve changed a lot. And even your hair.”

I got too surprised. Only one word came out of my mouth and that’s it, none. This must be what they call ‘a loss for words’.

“What’s the matter Bro, cat got your tongue?”

Then suddenly, another familiar voice came out from the back. Moreover, she isn’t talking Marzenthurian language, but English.

“Louisa?”

It’s Louisa. She’s smiling broadly when I called her name. Though she was throwing an insult, I magnificently ignored it.

“And don’t forget about me either, Key.”

And then, another one spoke in English. Though this one, I haven’t heard this voice in ages.

“And, Pauline. Why am I not surprised?”

“Hey! Why so plain! Can’t you be happy seeing me after a long while?”

Because my reaction towards her became dull, her cheeks puffed in anger. Though I was just pretending, I’m really happy to see my best friend after a long while.

On the other hand, Gen hasn’t recovered from the shock me and my mom caused. But I think it’s not really that shocking though.

“Gen, I would like you to meet my mother. Crystal Tanner. But since she’ll be living with us from now on, call her Crystal Chardelier.”

After introducing her to Gen, Mom gracefully lifted her overcoat and made a bow. Gen also replied with a bow—prostrating bow?

“I’m really sorry for not immediately believing you, ma’am!”

Since he’s prostrating in the middle of street, a lot of people are turning their gazes towards us. Because of that, I had to pull him back up. He’s quite a heavy old man.

“Let’s leave that aside. For now, where’s Zed? Wasn’t he here a while ago?”

“Lady Cherlaine just came here a while ago and took him with her. She said she needs a guy to carry some heavy things. Also, she said that she’ll just come home with Ghena and Zed later.”

Hm… To think we went past each other… I must’ve stayed in the Guild for a long time.

“Is that so? Then let’s go home for now. But wait—”

I then turned my head towards mom in an instant.

“—How’d you know this was my carriage? (This is in English)”

“Who do you think you’re asking? Of course I’d know. I rode this when I was your age.”

While saying so, she hard taps the carriage beside us.

***

“Since when did you arrive here in Marzenthura?”

“Just 2 hours ago. We landed outside the capital, Ghoul Forest.”

Currently, the four of us are inside the carriage heading towards home. We’ve been talking for a while now, but mom and I just started talking with each other one on one. And by the way, we’re talking in English.

“I have tons of questions to ask you mom, the first one is. Why the hell did you send me here without giving me a heads up where I would land? Not even a single coin or a small map. Good thing I was lucky enough to meet someone and gotten some help.”

When I let out my inner voices, mom didn’t faze. But Louise and Pauline were covering their ears.

Then suddenly, she made a ‘Sorry ‘bout that expression’ like a kid. But then her mood then shifted when she noticed something. And that ‘something’ was my earing.

“Actually, it wasn’t really my intention to do so. All my things were left here in Marzenthura. The only thing I had to bring with me is a small ingot of [True Silver] which I made into a translation earing just in case you turn into a Magician.”

“I’m sorry.”

Damn, if she says it like that, I can’t help but feel guilty.

“Anyways. Where’s dad, shouldn’t he be together with you guys?”

“Ah! About him, he decided to finish his project first before coming here. Though it’ll be next month before I can go back there, and another month here, but he doesn’t mind.”

Somehow, it feels like dad is just some kind of a side character that doesn’t need to exist.

Then suddenly, Louise screamed in awe from watching the window. I guess we’ve already arrived.

“Amazing isn’t it?”

“Is this where we’re going to live from now on? If we do, I don’t mind.”

Ah… those words, I haven’t heard them since forever.

Then I felt the carriage stopped and the horses snorting from the small window beside me.

“We’re here Sir.”

“Thanks Gen, you can ask Petal later for some liquor if you like. Ah! I have a better idea. Why not come stay here for tonight? I’ll be making a small welcoming party.”

“Are you serious sir?”

“Yes. Also, invite Mister Frenel and his family. There’s something I want to talk about with him. Can you tell him that?”

“Sure! No problem sir.”

After we’ve come out of the carriage, we were greeted by three maids, Jane, Ellie, and Fina.

“Everyone, I’d like you to meet my family.”

When I said that, the three of them made shocked faces. I even heard Fina murmur ‘they don’t look alike’ and got elbowed by Jane. It wasn’t necessary Jane.

Then, Pauline suddenly walked close to me and whispered something on my ear.

“Your maids, did you personally pick them because they’re beauties?”

-What the!

“No way, they just volunteered on their own.”

“Really? I don’t believe you.”

-Tch!

Then, the maids offered their hands to take their overcoats. Mom immediately took off hers, but Louise and Pauline became hesitant for some reason.

“Isn’t that overcoat hot?”

“It is, but mom said that our clothes could stand out if we show them.”

“Moreover, the clothes I’m wearing are slightly… you know… skimpy.”

-That isn’t my fault you know.

We then moved into the mansion.

Mom and the rest immediately went to a single room to change clothes. I on the other hand, immediately went to the library to fetch Matt. Also, I told Red to call Cherry home immediately along the way.

When I reached the library, there, Matt is now currently reading another book in between two towers of books. That’s quite amazing.

I lightly knock on the open door to let her notice my presence. Since I saw her twitch, she must’ve noticed me.

“Matt, I’d like you to come with me to the living room. There’s someone I’d like you to meet.”

“Who?”

“Someone very important. Also, we’ll be having a small feast tonight.”

After that, she stood up from her seat of books and walked towards me. However, there’s something weird about her.

“Key, there’s something I’d like to tell you first.”

When she looked straight into my eyes, I can sense that there’s something wrong happening.

“It’s Petal. I sensed something odd from her just a while ago.”