“I never really cared about the close-minded ones who called me a bad example for the children, or a shameless harlot, or the likes. Sometimes people just cannot seem to understand that the set of values they lived with wasn’t the only one that was relevant in this wide world, which was something that became more and more of a joke the more integrated this world became.

For some odd reason, it was mostly my own fellow humans who were prone to this habit of shaming others for not adhering to certain principles, whereas those of other races I met tend to be more open and accepting to those of differing beliefs. It honestly made me wonder if this flaw was one that happened mostly to our kind for some reason.” - Aideen deVreys, the Silver Maiden, circa 580 VA.

“Oh, up already?” Rodolfo heard shortly after he woke up in bed the next morning. The room they rented at the inn was not that large, mostly just a large bed, a chest to store their belongings - since not everyone had a storage large enough to carry everything within - with a little room to walk around and a small table by the window.

That said, the inn was one of the better ones in the city, as it had a separate bathroom which was directly connected to the kitchen of the inn below, so they could request hot water simply by lowering the prepared bucket and pulling it back up, after paying a fee.

He had heard the vague noises of water splashing while he had just woken up that morning but had yet to open his eyes, and all the memories of the previous night returned to him along with the slight daze one gets after one drank a bit too much the night before. At first he thought it was just a dream, but the now-familiar voice woke him up from his reverie.

“Huh. Guess last night wasn’t a dream after all,” he said with some stupefaction when he turned towards the source of the voice and saw Aideen, her naked body covered only by a towel draped over her shoulders while she busily dried her hair with another tower in her hands.

“What? Not had enough to look at last night?” she asked teasingly with a gentle smile on her face. The two of them made an odd juxtaposition in looks, since Rodolfo definitely looked old enough to have been Aideen’s grandfather, despite her being over three times his age in actuality. “Just kidding. The water’s still warm if you want to wash up.”

“I’ll take you up on that offer, thanks, Miss,” replied the old knight after he shook his head to clear his mind, with a smile of his own gracing his lips. Despite the night they spent together the training and habit in his still made calling her by her name feel wrong to him somewhat.

“Just call me Aideen,” she replied with a chuckle as she sat down on the bed and teasingly ruffled his long, gray hair. Now that he noticed it, he just realized how her own silvery-gray hair looked vibrant under the shine of the morning sun’s rays. “I think we’ve been close enough to warrant that, at least.”

“Only if you’d drop the Sir off mine, Miss Aideen,” he replied as he got up. In reply Aideen tossed the wet towel from her shoulder to his face with a giggle. He returned a chuckle as he walked to the bathroom and washed himself with the still-warm water.

Refreshed and with the last bits of sleepiness washed off his face, he returned to find that Aideen had already begun dressing up, as she tied her belt at the waist to secure her pants. Her upper body was still bare, other than the long strip of cloth she wrapped around her chest in the style of the southern continent’s people.

“So what’s the plan for today?” he asked as he quietly began to dress himself as well. As a knight of the Duchy, he had been provided with a storage ring the size of a large backpack, where he carried a couple changes of clothes, some emergency rations, and other things. It just wasn’t large enough to fit his greatsword, which was why he carried it by his waist.

“I’m thinking of taking a trip to the slums, Rodolfo,” replied Aideen as she shrugged on one of her usual undyed cotton tunics. Simply, undyed clothes like those were usually only worn by the poor since they were the cheapest sort of clothing around, yet it suited and looked good on her he thought, the off-white silvery-gray shade of the cotton a match with her hair and pale skin. “I’m wondering if our adversaries would be foolish enough to send twenty for us to get rid of today.”

“Hah! They might well be,” answered the old knight with a chuckle. “People like them often failed to understand that numbers are at times pointless, unless they were used in truly overwhelming fashion. Sending a lot of people in a place where they couldn’t make use of their numerical superiority is just stupidity.”

“Guess you’d better be ready for more exercise then,” she said in jest to the old knight as she put on the hooded cloak she usually traveled with. The old knight had a similar one, though of a different shade, and the fabric actually reinforced with multiple layers despite looking as thin as a normal cloak, sturdy enough to resist a blade. Aideen’s was just a normal cloak by comparison. “And keep some stamina for more exercising later at night too~”

“I wouldn’t say no to that! I swear, Miss Aideen, you make me feel young again at times,” said Rodolfo with cheerful laughter to her tease.

“I mean, from my point of view, you are a youngster, Rodolfo dear. Not even in your hundredth year yet.”

“Fair point indeed! Then this young one will have to request the senior’s guidance once more,” said the old man with a playful wink.