The next day, like yesterday, I decided to sleep in because the bed was too comfortable not to get up.

When I finally got out of bed, I rubbed my eyes and stretched, then went downstairs to make some food.

I tried cooking this time instead of putting things on a stick by a campfire. When I was done, it turned out okay for the most part.

I was trying to make something simple, bacon and eggs on toast. However, I nearly burnt the toast while I couldn’t figure out how to unstick the egg on the pan, which I ended up unintentionally scrambling.

Man, they really make it easy in video games, like a cooking game about a mama giving instructions.

After eating, it was late into the afternoon already. I should get going and continue moving my stuff from the room at the inn to my house.

Going back home with another backpack filled with books, this was my 5th trip, and it was already dark outside.

Now inside my house, I locked the front door and went upstairs to the office to dump the books out of my backpack.

Looking at the books in the office, I think I should organize them on the empty shelves since they are on the ground.

Around 20 books were lying on the ground, which was half the amount of books I own, granted I barely read any of them.

It took around 2 hours to sort and organize the books and put them on the shelves.

Using a chair to put the last book on the top of the shelf, I got down from the chair and decided to make myself dinner. It was my first attempt at making a stew, I’m going to be honest, it kind of tasted bad, but I ate it anyway.

Since it was night and I wasn’t getting tired, I decided to go back to the office and get back to work on fixing my magical circle, and when I was getting really tired late into the night, I went to bed.

For the next 4 days, I repeated the same routine of moving my stuff from the inn to my house, occasionally going out for groceries, and staying up late into the night to work on my magical circle.

It took this long mostly because of my comfy bed and my sleep schedule of going to sleep really late, making me wake up late into the afternoon, which only gave me a few hours to move my stuff into my house before it got dark.

Today was like the past few days, but today specifically, I am going to the adventurer guild to check if my package from Hutch’s shop has arrived. I’m hoping for it to arrive now, but I didn’t put my hopes up too high.

At the adventurer guild, I went to Iris’s line like always and waited. Once it was my turn, I approached her counter and asked if my package had arrived.

Surprisingly, Iris said.

“Yes, it just arrived an hour ago. Please wait; I’ll get it for you in the mailroom.”

After waiting a few minutes, Iris came back with a package wrapped in paper and tied in rope and two letters.

Receiving the package and two letters, I looked to see the names written on the two letters, which were Rain and Hutch.

Saying thanks to Iris and making my way back home, I began opening the letters, starting with Rain since I really wanted to know what she had been doing for the last few months.

Opening the letter with a knife, I began reading it, which can be summarized as her saying hi and that she was doing well, then telling me the quests she had been taking and the recent rank-up she received.

I was happy she ranked up and was taking on a monster-hunting quest. She really had changed compared to the first time I met her.

Putting back the letter in the envelope and taking out Hutch’s letter, I began reading it, which started with him saying how well I must be doing with the gold coin I was paying him.

But as I continued reading the letter, I saw a face that looked familiar, no, someone I knew. I stopped and looked back to see that she stood behind me with her usual expression.

Both of us looked at each other, and I was completely shocked to see her. Brown hair and blue eyes with an aura of seriousness. It was Clare, my personal maid before I ran away.

“Good afternoon. It’s been a while since our last interaction. Forgive me for taking this to find you, my lady.”

My mind was momentarily stunned for a good few seconds, and I could only think, oh cra-

“Language, please, my lady.”

Another stunned silence later, questions began filling my mind. Is she alone? How did she find me? When did she arrive at Acton? Is there anyone else who found me? Should I make a run for it?

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Is she reading my mind or something? Oh right, I forgot she could do that when I’m not careful about hiding my thoughts.

“Yes, like an open book, but first I prefer my lady not do that. If you may, let us go somewhere more private.”

Clare turned to look at a back alley and began walking there. At the back, where nobody could hear us, I took a deep breath and cut off emotions from my already hard-to-read, emotionless face to make a mask for myself, which I wondered how rusty I was since I hadn’t had to do this in a while.

Clare said.

“Yes, no, I asked over a week ago, and no.”

“Huh?”

Hearing her answer, I was very confused, making my mask falter.

“Yes, my lady has gotten a bit out of practice. No, I’ve come to find my lady of my own choice. I ask my lady’s acquaintances. I arrived here over a week ago. And no, I don’t believe anyone has followed me since they should still be in the next kingdom over, looking for you, my lady.”

She said it in a calm tone, but when she said she asked the people I met running away, I could tell from her eyes, not her calm and professional expression, that she was really ticked off.

“Because I am, my lady.”

She is reading my mind again. I should really put on the mask of a noble back again.

Relaxing the muscles on my face, my face became even more expressionless, this time with a nobleman’s smile.

Alex’s Party Perspective

Fighting monsters on the 19th floor, Alex was fighting alongside most of his party members, Wendy, Lucia, and Alice.

They were fighting a group of orcs, killing most of them, leaving one left.

Alex was about to deal the finishing blow to the last Orc, but a shiver came down his spine. He instinctively looks back, moving his attention away, leaving him open for attack.

The Ork, who was all bloodied and one hit away from death, swung its wooden club at Alex with the last of its strength.

Alice, fighting alongside Alex for her training to become stronger, saw Alex snap his head back like there was something much scarier than the Ork in front of him.

When she saw the Orc about to swing its club at Alex, Alice shoved Alex away from the Ork’s swing and killed the orc.

Once the Ork started disappearing, Alice asked.

“Are you okay? What happened?”

While helping Alex back, he said.

“Sorry, I got distracted.”

“By what?”

With a deeply troubled look, Alex said.

“You wouldn’t get it.”

Alice looks confused by what he said and turns to Wendy and Lucia to try to understand what he meant because they say the same thing whenever this happens which happens more often than not.

However, Alice saw Wendy curled up in a ball muttering scary, scary, scary under her breath, and Lucia…

“Heh? Where’s Lucia?”

Back to Nyx’s Perspective

With a smile, I asked some more questions, which Clare answered, like what exactly happened after I found out I have no magical power, the state of my family after information came in when I ran away, including their reactions, and who was sent to track me down.

“It is what you expect, my lady, and I believe Captain Boras is sent to find you, mistress.”

“I see, but… Boras… huh…”

Boras is the head captain of my family's knights; my father must be really desperate to take him away from his duties as head captain to find me.

Every time I meet him, I always get the feeling that there is something wrong with him, and my instincts warn me that he is dangerous, like there is something malicious about him.

“I see. Thank you for informing me. However, Clare…”

“Yes, Lady Rita?”

“Are you sure you want to serve me? I’m not a noble anymore and have nothing to give you.”

Without a second thought, Clare said after I finished.

“Yes, my lady, my life belongs solely to you.”

She said it with absolute conviction, like to her, it was the absolute truth.

Seeing her very sure of her answer, I momentarily sigh because I can’t change her mind when she is like that.

“Fine then.”

Clare smiled upon hearing that answer.

“Thank you, mistress.”

“Come on, let's get going; I want to go home.”

“Home?”

Hearing her say home in a questioning tone, my smile, which was a mask, faltered again, and I immediately knew I messed up.

I messed up. I shouldn’t have said that. How do I explain buying a house other than selling my earrings?

“Well, I meant going back to the inn where I was staying.”

Trying to answer her question, which was a lie, the people who know part of my identity flash before my mind. Wait! I don’t have a mask on right now.

Clare had a blank face, but her eyebrows were twitching, showing a deep fury and exasperation because she definitely read my mind with my slip-up.

“My lady, I may excuse Ms. Emma because I believe she was trustworthy if she was the only one, but 9 is just unacceptable.”

Clare looked disapprovingly at me, which made me look away from her gaze. Then her eyes turned to look at the package and letter in my hand.

Raising one of her eyebrows, even more displeased, she asks.

“What is that, my lady?”

Now, with my mask on so she can’t really read my mind, I sigh and say the truth because she already guessed what it is, and there is no point in hiding it.

“It's a package from the owner of a clothing shop in Farsbarow who knows that I’m a girl but doesn’t know I’m a noble.”

I’m not telling her that shop is a shop for crossdressers because I’m not going to tell her why a shop like that even exists.

Clare, knitting her eyebrows, said.

“I’m sensing my lady is thinking something very bizarre, so I will not push further.”

Phew… even with a mask I put on, she can get a grasp of what I’m thinking. I’ve really gotten rusty, to put it mildly.

“If my lady trusts him, then I shall trust him.”

She seemed to calm down a bit, but I shouldn’t make her mad any further.

“Let's go home then.”

Clare nodded, and she followed me back home.