I woke up as I usually do. Back in my old world, I was used to waking up early for work. Even here, I was in charge of the first morning patrol. After getting out of bed, I opened the door to the balcony. The sun had just begun to rise over the horizon. It was quite chilly outside, and the cold wind sent a shiver up my spine. I shut the door and quickly changed into my uniform before I froze to death. When I decided to wash my face, the water was ice cold too. One splash of the freezing water on my face was enough to render me completely awake.

Now that I was up, I decided to do something. It was better than sitting around waiting for someone to come fetch me, also I wasn’t sure if anyone else was awake. I didn’t really have anything in mind as I walked out of the room. Maybe I would run into someone. The mansion was silent — or at least my floor was. The lord said that the other rooms on the floor were unoccupied. Curiosity led me into opening the door of the room next to mine. It was empty just as the lord had said it would be. I tried the door opposite to it. This room was not empty. There were several canvases on the floor and a table with many brushes on it. There was also an easel propped against a wall. I guess someone in the family must paint. I shut the door and continued to walk to the stairs. I decided to go downstairs, I had never been to the floor above mine and I didn’t want to go there either. Maybe I’ll check on the treasury while I’m at it. Unlike the floor, the stairs were made of wood, so I decided to walk quietly so that I didn’t end up waking someone. As I was walking towards the treasury, I passed a maid with a duster in her hand. It looks like she was dusting the windows. It was kind of a relief to see that I was not the only one up at the time. I knew the maids and workers would be up, but to see someone else eased the sense of loneliness I felt. I guess that was one disadvantage of having such a huge house and my floor is basically deserted. Now that I think about it, I had only seen a few maids and they were the ones who served dinner yesterday. Then there were the kitchen workers. But for a house this large, there were very few people employed here. I wonder how they managed to maintain this large building. When the maid saw me, she gave me a small bow and continued with her cleaning. The treasury door seemed to be untouched. It was the same as we had left it yesterday. Once Rhoz gets here I’ll get him to cast some protective magic on it, I thought. I’m sure he knows one or two spells like that. Maybe I could get him to teach me too. I had tried to learn some form of healing magic too, but it seems like he can't use such magic and when I tried to learn from Rin, I found out that I don’t have any affinity for healing magic. Now that I had checked on the treasury, I wonder what to do now. Knowing Rhoz, I doubt he would come over in this cold weather. He’d probably be too lazy to get up at this time anyway. Unless Anna forcefully kicked him out or something.

Just standing around listless was not my style. Maybe I should take a walk around the mansion. Talk to some of the guards. I had not done anything productive so far. I also didn’t know much about the family. It didn’t really matter, but I was curious to know more about them. I had a feeling that there was something more about them than meets the eye. I decided to head outside. When I walked down to the hall, I saw Edmund getting ready to leave. I was about to lift my hands for a small wave when he saw me. He looked surprised as if wondering who I was, then seemed to remember and turned away without saying anything. Ugh… Talk about giving someone the cold shoulder. He picked up his bag and walked out of the room, leaving me alone once again. Well, that went well. I could hear the sound of a carriage. Maybe he was in a hurry to leave for work or something. When I got outside the house, I could see the carriage leaving the gates. There was a guard nearby, standing inert and staring at the carriage too. He seemed to straighten up when he saw me.

“Was that umm… Mr. Edmund in the carriage?”, I asked him.

“Oh good morning sir! Yes, the young master was just leaving for work.”, he replied.

“I see. What exactly does he do?”, I was interested in knowing what job he had with that no-nonsense attitude of his.

“The young master is part of the administrative council.”, said the guard.

“Administrative as in, charge of governing over the town?”, I asked.

“Yes. Not just Axinus, but also some of the other neighboring towns.”

Hmm... I guess as former owners of the land on which the town was built, he must have gotten a default seat in the council. When I said this to the guard, he seemed to be surprised.

“That is not the case, sir. The young master worked hard to climb his way up to the council, despite his young age. There was no favoritism just because he is nobility. In fact, I’m sure he must have faced a lot of discrimination because of his lineage.”, he said.

Discrimination? From what I’d heard about the nobility of this state, they didn’t seem to be bad people.

“It's not really the people's fault sir. Generally, the nearby towns consider the Chevalier family in good light, but the people at the capital don’t really think that way. If you think about it, didn’t they form the administrative council to overthrow noble rule in the first place?”, he said.

Well, that is certainly true. The council was set up to prevent noble rule and a noble was trying to be part of the council.

“But the young master is working really hard for the betterment of this region. I’m sure the others in the council would agree too.”, said the guard.

“Anyways I should continue my patrol.”, he said, “Well then see you later, sir.”

“Do you mind if I accompany you?”, I asked. Now I had several other questions to ask him.

“Sure, sir. I don’t mind at all.”, he said.

I followed beside him as we walked towards the walls surrounding the estate.

“So, how long have you been working here for?”, I asked.

“Oh, I’ve been working here for around 8 years.”, he replied.

“8 years! Wow, a veteran huh?”

“Not really, sir. Compared to the other people employed, I’m fairly new here.”, he said.

So the people here have been working for the Chevaliers for about a decade. I thought they would have hired at least a few guards after learning about the thief incident. But the fact that they all know each other very well makes it impossible for the thief to enter the mansion disguised as a worker.

“What's on the other side of the walls?”, I asked. I’d been wondering this ever since I got here. The walls were built taller towards the back of the estate, and there had to be some reason for that.

“There's a forest on the other side. If you go a little deeper, there are plenty of monsters. During monster season some of them would wander into the estate, so the walls had to be made taller.”, the guard explained.

Speaking of monsters, When I got reincarnated to this world, I thought I would get to fight many monsters. But I had yet to even see any monsters aside from the occasional slime or two that I would encounter during my training with Rhoz. It was almost a letdown compared to the video games and shows I had seen. Well, I had not left the safety of the town and even the trip to Baltus was on a safe trade-route so my chances of encountering any monsters were fairly low right from the start.

“Sir must be quite strong, right? I heard from one of the other guards that you’re an other-worlder. I’m sure we won't have to worry about any monsters as long as you’re here.”, he said.

“Ah, about that…”, How am I supposed to say to him that I have no experience in fighting monsters. I decided to quickly change the topic.

“Anyways, does someone in the family paint?”

“Oh! You knew that? The mistress likes to paint. Sometimes the young miss comes down to the garden to paint too.”, he said.

“Hmm… I see.”

“By the way, can I ask you something sir?”

“Sure. Go ahead.”, I replied.

“How did you know that someone in the family paints? Did someone tell you?”, he asked.

“Ah. Not really.”, I didn’t really want to tell him that I opened a room without permission. “I just saw some brushes and… You know…”

“Wow, as expected of a guardian. I’d heard some rumors in town saying that the new officer was quite smart, looks like they weren’t wrong.”

I did not see that coming. There were rumors about me in town? I don’t remember doing anything to have a public reputation for being smart.

“They said that during that incident in the market a few weeks ago, you were the one who caught the criminal.”, he said.

That wasn’t exactly true, but I guess I did play a big role in arresting him. Hehe…

No Kei, don’t let it get to your head.

“Anyways, I haven’t asked for your name yet.”, I said.

“Oh, it’s Elon, sir.”, he replied.

“Elon, hmm… I think you should drop the ‘sir’ part.”

Just as I finished saying that, we encountered another guard who was patrolling the walls. He walked over to us when he saw us.

“Good morning.”, he wished us.

I wished him back and so did Elon.

“What are you doing hanging around with this guy, sir? I hope he isn’t troubling you with any of his stories.”, joked the guard.

“No way. You know I wouldn’t do that right?”, Elon protested.

“Anyways, you heard what’s happening in town?”, asked the guard.

Sigh… Gossip, first thing in the morning.

“They’re saying that there's some fight between the nobles and commoners.”, he said.

Now this was quite interesting. If this was related to the noble thief incident then it was important to me.

“Where’d you hear this from?”, Elon asked him.

“When Monty returned from the town after buying spices, he told us that the area in front of the town hall was filled with protesters.”

Protesters? When Rhoz gets here, I’ll have to inquire with him about this.

“Do you know why they were protesting?”, I asked.

“No idea, sir. Monty said that when he went to get a closer look, the guild staff and some members of the police force were stopping people from getting closer.”

Hmm… does that mean Rhoz is going to be late? Things are looking difficult back in town and here I am walking around doing nothing. For some reason, I felt so frustrated. Not being able to do anything. Maybe the guards could sense this, as Elon said that I should return to the mansion in case breakfast was being served.

I walked back to the mansion with a downed spirit. When I opened the door, I saw the lord’s daughter walking down the stairs drowsily. It looks like she had just woken up, as she still had bedhead and her nightclothes on. When she saw me, she looked down at herself, her face now red, and then immediately ran back upstairs. I guess they weren’t really used to having guests in the house or outsiders in general. I continued towards the dining room. On the way, I saw the lord sitting on a chair reading a newspaper. He didn’t notice me as he was too engrossed with the paper and I didn’t want to disturb him. When I entered the dining room, I saw Herman walking out of the kitchen.

“Oh, there you are sir. I had gone to your room to wake you up, but you were not there. Then Catherine told me that she saw you going downstairs.”, he said.

I guess Catherine was the maid I saw near the treasury.

“Please wait just a moment. Breakfast will be prepared soon. Were you perhaps taking a walk in the garden?”, he asked.

“Ah, no. I was taking a walk around the mansion. Just talking to the guards and such.”, I replied.

“I see. Anyways, please sit down sir. The others will be here shortly.”, he said.

“Can I sit? I mean, shouldn’t I wait for the others?”, I asked.

Herman had a confused look on his face.

“Wait? You can wait while sitting, sir.”, he said.

I had always thought that we had to wait for the head of the family to sit down at the table first, maybe the rules in this world were different.

I sat down in the same seat as yesterday. I didn’t have to wait long, as just a few minutes later the lord entered the dining room.

“Good morning Mr.Kei. Herman said to me that you got up early. I hope we haven’t kept you waiting.”, said the lord.

“Good morning sir. It’s not a problem. It’s just been a few minutes, that's all.”

He sat down at the head of the table.

“My wife and daughter will be down soon. Oh, and Edmund has left for work, so he won't be having breakfast with us.”, he said.

“Yes, I saw him leave. He seemed to be in quite a hurry.”, I said.

“Oh, so you were up that early? Anyways, today will not be a good day at work for him.”, said the lord.

“Because of the protest?”, I asked.

There was a smile on the lord’s face. “How did you find out?”, he asked curiously.

“Ah, one of the guards told me.”, I said.

“So you were out gathering information.”, he said with a chuckle.

“Did the newspaper say anything about the protests?”, I asked.

“Newspaper?”, he asked, “Did you see me reading? Oh, I’m sorry if I didn’t notice you.”, he said.

“That's alright. I didn’t want to disturb you either. You looked really engaged in what you were reading.”, I said.

“Things are getting out of hand in the capital and its shockwaves are affecting the entire state. It looks like even the royal palace may get involved in this.”, said the lord.

I was going to ask him what he meant by that when the lord’s wife and Evelyn entered the room. We wished them good morning and they sat down at the table.

“I hope that you are getting used to staying in this old place.”, said the lord’s wife.

“Yes, ma’am.”, I replied.

Just as I said that Herman entered the room followed by two maids who placed the plates they were holding on the table. The lord started to talk to Herman about something and the lord’s wife was telling something to one of the maids.

I felt someone’s glare on me and saw that the lord’s daughter was staring at me. It looks like she wanted to say something. She looked at her parents and seeing that they were busy, turned to me.

“I apologize for letting you see my unsightly appearance.”, she whispered.

“O-oh, that's alright. It’s all fine.”, I mumbled.

“What's fine?”, asked the lord, overhearing me. “Did something happen between you two? Do you know anything Herman?”, asked the lord with a grin.

“Hmm… judging from the young miss’ face, I think that she walked do-”

“Stop! Don’t say anything else Herman.”, said Evelyn, blushing red to the tips of her ears.

I decided to take no notice of the whole conversation and instead focused on the dishes that were now in front of me.

“Things are looking quite bad for Ed.”, said the lord looking at his wife.

“Poor thing. And he was in such a rush, because of the meeting and everything.”, said the lord’s wife.

“What happened to brother?”, Evelyn asked.

“It says in the paper that there are people protesting outside the town hall. Not just here in Axinus, but administrative centers around the state.”, said the lord.

“Why are they protesting?”, she asked.

“They’re saying that they caught a person who robbed one of the nobles.”, said the lord.

“The noble thief has been caught?”, I asked.

“No, even after the suspect was arrested there was another robbery in the neighboring town.”

So I guess that my hunch about the noble thief being a group of people wasn’t as far-fetched as it seemed.

“The suspect was imprisoned without a trial because the guards recognized him clearly from the robbery. But the suspect’s family claims that he never left his home that day. Even eye-witnesses have reported that the man never left the house. But the guards were outright adamant that it was indeed him that fled from the building after breaking into the noble’s mansion. It is very strange indeed.”, said the lord.

“So the protests are happening because he was imprisoned without a trial?”, I asked.

“That's not the only reason it seems. There is a report that says that the noble and the town council wanted to mow down some of the houses in that area to build a new building there. The building plans were canceled when the people in the area began to protest. And they say the suspect was one of the people leading the protests.”

“So they assumed that the noble wanted to imprison him unjustly for ruining the building plans.”, I finished.

“Or so it seems. What do you think Mr.Kei?”, asked the lord.

“About the arrest? I don’t think it’s fair, of course. He didn’t get a trial after all. And about the thief, I think it’s safe to assume that it might be a group of people. Maybe there’s a mastermind behind it all. Someone who is encouraging these people to take revenge on the nobles based on some past issue.”, I said.

“That certainly seems like a possibility.”, said the lord. “Anyways let's continue with our breakfast.”

We ate the rest of the breakfast in silence, each lost in their own thoughts on the incidents that were plaguing the state. Once Rhoz gets here, I’ll have a lot to ask him.

After breakfast, I asked the Lord if I could borrow the newspaper he was reading and he gave it to me. I went back to my room and decided to give it a read. Most of the things were as the lord had said. I would have to wait if I wanted to know more. Now that I had nothing to do, I just stood and looked out of the balcony. The forest to the back looked like it could go on forever. So I guess it was true that there were monsters in there. Maybe I could go there and earn some experience killing monsters later.

Sometime later there was a knock at the door. It was Herman.

“Sir, your colleague has arrived.”, he said.

Finally, he’s here. I followed Herman out, down to the entrance. As I walked down the stairs, I saw Rhoz getting up from the chair he was sitting on. He had a bag in his hand and I saw my suitcase next to him on the ground.

“Hey! Long time no see!”, he said as he waved his hand.

“Hey.”, I said. “How's the situation back in town?”

“You knew? I guess you read the paper. Also, aren’t you gonna ask me how I am?”, he joked.

“Yeah, yeah. How do you do, sir?”

“Hehe, I’m fine. Anyway, things have cooled down quite nicely. The protests here weren’t as bad as in the other towns.”, he said.

“Are they still protesting or…?”

“Nah, the protests ended quite soon after the council said that they would talk to the higher-ups.”, he said.

“So then what took you so long?”

“Oh you know, just havin’ my breakfas- Oww! Why are you stepping on my foot?!”

“Don’t tell me you were out enjoying your breakfast, while I was stuck here with nothing to do!”

“Hey it’s not my fault that it took so much time to prepare!”, he protested.

“Anyways, what’s the situation with the thief. Any leads?”, I asked.

“Well, Anna was saying how it could be a group of people behind the crimes. Headquarters has issued a directive to investigate any suspicious people who enter or leave town. They’ve also asked us to keep an eye on people who may have any kind of bad blood with nobility.”, he said.

“So they believe that the robberies are caused by a group of people that have some enmity with nobles.”, I said.

“Well, the situation here is alright, but the capital is on the verge of shutting down.”, he said.

“That bad?”, I asked.

“Yeah, rioters everywhere. It’s almost like someone is leading all those people to fight against nobility or something. It wasn’t like this until just recently. The whole commoner and noble rift is in everyone's minds now.”

“You think someone is purposefully making the nobles and commoners fight?”, I asked.

“I don’t know man. What good would that do to anyone? It’s not like anyone can gain something from doing that. Especially in this situation where we don’t know who’s right or wrong.”, said Rhoz.

“What about the guy who was imprisoned?”, I asked.

“Well, it’s complicated I guess. The guards say that they’re a hundred percent sure that it was him. But in the end, they had to release him because they had no proof.”, he explained.

“So he got released? Also what about the stuff that he stole?”, I asked.

“Exactly! Where’d all that stuff go? He most definitely couldn’t have gotten out of town and they didn’t find anything in his house. Some people are even saying that it’s the work of a vengeful spirit. Hehe, would you get that?”, he said.

“Vengeful spirit? Are there such things in this world?”, I asked.

“Well there definitely are undead, but a vengeful spirit that robs nobles in the state? I don’t think so.”, he said with a laugh. “Anyways, here you go.”, he said as he picked up and handed over the case to me. “Got all your clothes. No weapons. I’m assuming you still have that dagger on you, not like you need one anyway. Not with all the magic I’ve taught you, haha!”

“Yeah. And that's the communicator right?”, I asked, pointing to the bag in his hand.

“Yupp. We can install it after you’ve kept your case in your room. You do have a room, right? Say, is the food good?”

“Sigh… I’ll be back. Just wait for a bit.”, After saying that I headed to my room with the suitcase in hand.

When I was walking back down after putting the suitcase in my room, I could hear Rhoz’s loud voice.

“Thank you! Thank you so much! I’m your biggest fan! Can you please write ‘To Mr.Rhoz’? Please!”

What was happening now? I left for a minute and…

“Here you go.”, It was Evelyn who said this as she handed over a notebook to Rhoz.

“Huh?”, was all I could say.

“Kei! Look at this! I got Miss. Evelyn’s autograph!”, he shouted excitedly.

“Autograph?”, I asked in confusion.

“Don’t tell me… No way! You’re staying here without knowing about the famed author Evelyn Chevalier!”, he said.

“Umm… I don’t think I’m a famed author or anything but uh…”, Evelyn mumbled.

“Who are you kidding ma’am? You’re literally a best-selling author in the state.”, said Rhoz.

“Author?”, I was still confused. Did Evelyn write books or something?

“Come on, Kei! You’re embarrassing me, man. Don’t tell me you don’t know about Leo Lancaster!”, he said.

“Leo Lan- What?”, now I was really confused.

“Y-you… you’re kidding me, right? Well, I guess it's only been a few weeks since you’ve been here, but still! Haven’t you even read a single Leo’s adventure book? We got tons of them back at the station.”, he said.

Leo’s adventure? Hmm… Now that I think about it, I do recall seeing something like that on the bookshelf.

“Every kid in town knows Leo Lancaster.”, he said, nodding his head.

“Kid, you said. Is it a children’s book?”, I asked him.

“S-so what if it's a children’s book? I enjoy reading it. I’m sure you would too.”, he said, averting his eyes from mine.

“So Miss. Evelyn is an author. I didn’t know that.”, I said, turning to look at her.

“Ah, umm… yeah. I’m not particularly good or anything. But I do enjoy writing.”, she said, slightly embarrassed at the sudden spotlight on her.

“I've been waiting for a chance like this for years!”, said Rhoz.

“Anyways, what about the communicator?”, I asked. “Don’t tell me you forgot about it and only brought that notebook.”

“Relax Kei, I’m not that stupid or anything. The communicator is right… Here!”, he said, taking it out of the bag.

“So where are we going to install it?”, I asked him.

“Hmm… I guess putting it here on the ground floor is best.”, he said.

“I think so too. Well, let’s start then.”, I said.

“Umm… Do you mind if I watch? I’m kind of curious to see how it works.”, asked Evelyn.

“Sure thing Ma’am! Ok then let’s do it!”, said Rhoz. “Let's place it next to the stairs for better accessibility.”

Rhoz put the communicator to the wall and chanted a spell.

“This adhesion spell should have done the trick.”, he said taking his hands off the communicator, which was now stuck to the wall.

“Won't it come off?”, Evelyn asked.

“Hmph! My magic isn’t to be underestimated, ma’am. Even without renewing the spell, this should last for a few months, so that's not a problem.”, said Rhoz.

He might not seem like the brightest bulb around, but Rhoz’s magical prowess was the real deal. Even he admitted that there were only a handful of people who could best him in a duel with magic.

“Well then, come here Kei.”, he said as he pushed me in front of the communicator. “Put your hand on it.”

I did as he said. The communicator started to glow and I could feel my magical energy being drained. This was an important step to ensure that the communicator worked. Apparently, there is a magic crystal inside that can recognize mana, amplify it, and also receive it.

“There. That should do it.”, said Rhoz. “Let's test it shall we?”

I already knew how to use the communicator as Rhoz had shown me how to earlier. I tried to call the station.

“Hello?”

“Hey! Looks like you’re doing fine. I can hear you loud and clear.”, It was Anna’s voice that was directly transmitted to my mind.

“Were you waiting for the call?”, I asked.

“Hah! You bet. What took ya so long? Wait, lemme guess. It was Rhoz.”, she said.

“Well… yes.”, I said.

“Sigh… Well, I guess it can't be helped. Anyways, I’m hanging up, now that you know it works. Bye then.”, she said.

“Bye.”

“Looks like it’s working perfectly fine.”, said Rhoz with a grin.

“Did you really talk through it?”, It was Evelyn who asked this, and she had an excited look on her face.

Well, I guess the others can't really hear what was being said on the other side, so to them it must have looked like I was talking to nobody.

“Is this the first time you’re seeing one?”, I asked her.

“I have seen them when I visited the capital, but I’ve never gotten a chance to use one.”, she said. “It's truly splendid, isn’t it? Being able to speak to someone who is far away.”

Well, considering that we lived in a magical world where the lizard-man standing right next to her could quite literally teleport, it was hardly remarkable.

I would even go as far as to say that it was quite uninteresting, but the look on her face said otherwise.

“Well, then. My job here’s done. I got my autograph, delivered your clothes, and installed the communicator.”, said Rhoz.

“I think you got the order slightly wrong there.”, I jabbed.

Rhoz bent to pick up his bag.

“I hope you continue to write such great books, ma’am. Alright then, see you later Kei.”

We followed him to the entrance when he stopped walking all of a sudden.

“Oh! I almost forgot.”, he said, taking the bag and rummaging through it.

“Here.”, he said, dangling a pendant in front of me that had a shining green gem on it.

“It's a mana crystal. It’ll greatly increase the range and power of sentry skills. You have detect, right? This will allow your detect skill to cover a much larger area. With this, you should be able to distinguish between people’s mana more clearly, so you’ll be able to identify an intruder with ease.”, he said.

“Whoa. Isn’t this like some cheat accessory?”, I asked him. “How’d you even get your hands on one?”

“Well, someone at the guild gave it to Rin and she said to give it to you, so here you go.”, he said handing it to me.

“Say my thanks to her.”, I said

“Sure. Will do. Ok then, see ya!”, he said as he walked outside.

“Wait a second. Didn’t you also come here to set a teleport point?”, I asked him.

“Yeah. I already did that.”, he said.

“When?”, I asked him.

“I did it immediately after getting off the carriage.”, he said.

“Oh. That's good. So are you gonna teleport back? I thought using teleport consumed a lot of mana.”, I asked him.

“Well if it’s for one person it’s alright. But if there's more than one, then I have to take a lot of things into account, like the exact position where we get teleported and all that.”, he explained.

He walked some distance to the lawn and waved goodbye to us.

“See you later then!”, he called out and vanished before our eyes, leaving me and Evelyn staring out into nothingness.

“Whoa! H-he actually teleported.”, said Evelyn with a fascinated expression on her face. “He didn’t just turn invisible and sneak out, right?”

Ugh… W-what was she thinking? For someone who writes adventure stories, her reactions were quite different from what I’d expected.

“Hmm… I still haven’t added a character who can teleport…”, she mumbled to herself.

Looks like Rhoz had managed to inspire the author that he admires. He’ll be in for a surprise when he sees the so-called ‘teleporting’ character, I thought.

“It sure must be nice, huh?”, said Evelyn.

“What must?”, I asked her.

“You know. Being able to use magic like that or going on adventures with friends and stuff.”, she said with a longing look in her eyes. “You must have had your fair share of adventures right? Slaying monsters, traveling with your friends, and all that.”

“I- uh… Well, to say the truth I haven’t been on any adventures myself nor did I have any time to go on some. After all, its only been a few weeks since I’ve come to this world.”, I said to her.

“Oh… I knew you were an other-worlder but… I didn’t know you’d only come here recently. I thought you were an adventurer before you became an officer. You know, you have that look in your eyes.”, she said.

The look in my what?

“So does that mean you can't use any magic? I had heard that other-worlders were quick learners and that they possess superior magic as compared to an ordinary person.”, she said.

“I can use magic. I’m not that powerful but I’m quite confident in my abilities.”, I said her.

“Have you slain any monsters?”, she asked me without any hesitation.

“N-not yet, but…”, I trailed off. “You really like this sort of thing, don’t you? Adventures and the like.”, I asked her.

“Well, of course! Who wouldn’t want to experience what it feels like to be on an adventure.”, she said.

“Did you want to be an adventurer?”, I asked her.

“Well… Not exactly. I know the job has its risks but… It’s just so fascinating. To be able to experience the unknown or traveling and forming bonds with your party. It may be an impossible dream for me because I’m not well-versed in magic and I’d probably be tied in a match of physical strength with a grelid but… Well, that’s why I write, I guess.”

As bad as I wanted to ask her what a grelid was, I refrained from doing so.

“Well, I heard that there were monsters in the forest behind the estate. Maybe I might go there to test my skills, you can come watch if you want. Haha, what am I saying, nevermi-“, I was about to shrug it off as a joke but.

“Really! Can I stay and watch??”, Evelyn cut in.

Oh no… What had I gotten myself into? I wanted to say that I was joking but it was too late for that now. Evelyn was already pacing up and down the hall lost in thought, debating things like whether she should bring her books with her or what clothes she should wear for the trip.

“I- uh… I don’t think, you should come along. I mean, the lord would kill me if he found out that I was putting you in danger.”, I said, trying to escape from the predicament.

“It's fine. If father knows that I’m with you, it should be alright. You are an other-worlder after all.”, she said with a smile on her face.

“umm… So you are going to ask him right?”

“There's no need to disturb him for such trivial things.”, she said.

“A-atleast inform Herman”, I pleaded.

“There's no need for that. Are you saying that your skills aren’t enough to protect little old me?”, she asked.

Ugh… My pride was at stake here.

“Come on, Kei. Isn’t it more fun when you do something in secret?”

Hmm… When had we reached a stage where she started calling me on a first-name basis.

“I guess…”, I replied. “But I’m serious about informing someone. I’m not gonna take any risks. Also, I’m not sure about the whole thing in the first place.”, I said to her.

“Ok, if you insist I’ll tell Catherine.”, she conceded. “We can head out tomorrow after Edmund leaves for work.”, she said.

“Edmund?”, I asked.

“Well, if he finds out it’ll be a pain. He’s more serious than my dad when it comes to things like this.”, she said. “Anyways, I’ve got to pen my thoughts down now. I got a lot of ideas.”, saying this she headed towards the stairs.

She stopped after climbing a few steps and turned back.

“Thank you. I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”, she said with a smile, with that she resumed climbing up the stairs and disappeared from my view.

What just happened? The exchange I just had with Evelyn didn’t really register with me. I had only suggested going to the forest as a joke, but now not only did I have to worry about myself, I also had to worry about her. But I guess, if it’s only for an hour or so, it would be fine. Right? I sure hope so.