I left the room without Topaz noticing me. It might be best to stay uninvolved for now and just take care of things later before the carnivores devour her. She seems to be enjoying herself but being oblivious to evil intentions is bad.

I walk towards Senya and continue the tour.

She took me inside the kitchen and what I saw inside is far more astounding than I have thought of. Everyone is panicking and shouting like there is some sort of enemy…

“WHERE IS THE STOCK!?”

“I’m sorry chef, just a little bit more time!”

“DO YOU JOB FASTER AND MOVE YOUR ASSESS! ARE THE BREADS READY?!”

“C-Chef…s-someone just took a bite out of it!”

“WHAT?! WE DON’T HAVE TIME FOR THAT! YOU EITHER REMAKE IT IN TEN MINUTES OR REPLACE IT WITH SOMETHING ELSE!  HOW ABOUT THE SET OF PASTRIES? ARE THEY DONE YET? WE NEED IT FOR OUR GUESTS!”

“Awawawaw chef, we ran out of eggs…! Our stock wasn’t replenished yet!”

“THEN MOVE YOUR ASS AND GET IT YOURSELF FROM FINNA!

“Y-Yes, I’m sorry chef!”

“MIX THE SAUCE WITH BAYLEAF AND SOME PEPPER! THE SAUCE FOR THE CURRY LOOKS STALE SO ADD MORE STOCK FOR MORE VISCOSITY AND ADD A BLOCK OF CHOCOLATE TO MAKE IT CREAMIER.”

“Yes, chef!”

FSSSS…

One of the pans became ablaze with raging fire. The woman who keeps giving order and kept shouting while her hands dexterously cut, arrange and mix some soup with precise movements, saw this and goddamn I saw one of her veins popping up.

She is a woman with a darkish red hair tied in a bun under her hat. The thing is, she is tall and has slightly pointed ears. Her eyes are fierce and her body is kind of slim but nevertheless, judging by her movements, she is strong and has unparalleled accuracy inside the kitchen. She is a dwarf which rarely seen even in this place, no, she is the first dwarf I saw here.

The girl who burnt the pan panics and looks left and right while losing her mind on what to do. She immediately pales as she saw the head chef staring at her direction.

“C-C-C-C-C-Chef! I’m ahh…uuhh…aaaa!!”

“Calm down. You’re a newbie, right? Remove the fire rune embedded and throw it away. It might have been busted anyway. After that go to Mimosa for a new fire rune.”

“Y-Yes….s-sorry…”

The girl who has no special feature other than her clumsiness shakily removes the rune stone and throws it away in the trash bin. She hurriedly runs toward the door…towards us. As she saw us, she bows her head down and kept it like that as she passes through us.

“Umm…Senya…I guess we shouldn’t disturb them.”

“Yes. Shall we go to the other places?”

“Un, let’s go. Sooner or later, we are going to be a bother.”

Making sense out of what I said, Senya beckons me out. I started pushing her wheelchair again but since I wasn’t given any specific direction…

“Ah, since she just arrived a week ago, I want you to meet her before she goes again for her travels.”

“Eh? Who?”

“Let’s head outside! Towards one of the training grounds, ground three.”

“S-sure…”

With Senya’s suggestion, we head out of the mansion through the main entrance. Beyond the main entrance, ten meters away, there’s a stone fence covered with crawling plants and large roots. Beyond the stoned fences are the same green forest.

Senya beckons me to go left towards a paved path. On the side, large trees neatly trimmed are lined up and bushes are designed after a rabbit. It was quite a lovely sight, however, when I look to the right, the earth was gouged and hole fills the place. It is like a magic battle took in that place…

And so, we took the left path where the ground three should be…

“Humm!~ Hum!~ Hum-hum!~”

“Miss Senya…you have such a lovely humming. I bet your voice when singing is lovelier. Are you in a good mood?”

“Oh my, flattery won’t get you anywhere, however, I am happy so thank you. It’s just that, I feel so nostalgic. It’s like I am with Nivalis again but instead of walking delightfully like this, I was berating her about Astlan and pointing my sword at her throat.”

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“That…doesn’t sound like something you should be telling me…”

“Right?~ I was such a tomboy back then!~”

“Say, did you like Astlan too? Umm…I just want to know…because you seem to be awfully wordy about him…”

“That’s a little random. Can’t you even form a mood first?”

“Uwaa! No…I didn’t mean to offend you or anything!”

“Fufufu, I’m just kidding. Mrothgir must have a lot of fun with you when he was still alive. About your question, to tell you the truth, it’s the opposite…”

Opposite? How so?

From Astlan’s Memory fragment, it doesn’t seem that way. However, if I think about it, it doesn’t tell how the people around Astlan felt with some exception.

“You mean you hate Astlan?”

“……”

“Miss Senya!”

“It’s because we have opposing ideals. Our views in life are completely different and with that alone, forget being lovers I cannot be a friend to him. In the end, this hate becomes pity for what had come to his life.”

“Miss Senya…the--!”

“Oh, we’re here!~”

Before I could speak, Senya cuts me off as we’ve arrived at the ground three she was talking about. It’s so large that It could probably have four house altogether. It is clear of any trees and the ground is well paved, less, there are some cracks and holes. In the middle, a woman stands alone, wielding a large sword while sweating vigorously. She is tall and her body looks like a seasoned veteran as he skin is brownish. Her physique is like well built with lean muscles which, even though looks manly, there is still a feminine charm to it. She is a woman with brunette hair and her eyes are fierce like they are ablaze.

But the most important about her is that everyone around her is lying down, exhausted and beaten which they are composed of other races but, she alone is the only human in there.

Her gaze landed on us and she smiles.

“Oh, Granny Senya!!”

OH?! OOOOOHH! OOOOOOOHHHHH!

You just called Senya granny?!  Are you trying to get yourself killed?!

“Geez, Meiko, stop calling me that. Not with someone else here, okay?”

“Right, Granny Senya.”

“Geez…”

Just like that? And she didn’t even change how she calls Senya. They must be really close if Senya doesn’t mind being called granny. It’s not like I can start calling Senya granny too. That would be too rude.

“Oh, is that the girl? Oh! She looks so weak and frail! Can she even handle a sword? Just like those two elves that you brought over the other day.”

“That, that! How are those two girls?”

“I started giving them instructions and even now, they are still running with a sack filled with stones. It really pumps my blood to see youngsters train wholeheartedly!”

“Don’t be too hard to them and don’t forget to protect them, okay?”

“Yeah. So, what brings you here today?”

“I’m here to let Asagao see how you do your thing.”

“Hmmm?”

Meiko stares hard at me with curious eyes. I can feel her presence as someone veteran in her own field.

“Nice meeting you, I am Meiko, an adventurer, trader and a sword instructor. I am also a part time knight.”

“I am Asagao, pleased to meet you, M-Miss Meiko…”

“Oh, that’s new for me, being called miss. Hardly anyone calls me that but, oh well. Ah, also, if Senya told you anything about the women of this place, I’ll tell you this, I swing both ways. I already had sex with both genders so I don’t have any specific preference.”

“I see, however, that’s a lot of professions you got…what do you really do anyway?”

“That, huh…”

“Let me explain it to you Asagao since Meiko isn’t good with her brain.”

Senya intervenes with a subtle mockery. When Meiko heard that, she just nods in agreement as if it is just natural.

“You see Asagao, our Mansion is self-sufficient that can almost cater to the needs of hundreds of resident as long as everyone works.”

“…Isn’t this place more like a recreational facility…”

“Hmmm…it can be too. The point is, even if it is like that, there are still things we needed from outside so, people like Meiko go out of the forest and go on an adventure. In the process, they deliver our products to some designated outlet and collect the profits from each store. On their way back, they will buy new product and ingredients to be used and utilize here. Meiko isn't alone, there are dozens of girls like her who roams around the world.”

This is a big firm with a lot of trading businesses. I cannot see this mansion collapsing anytime from lack of people. It is more accurate to say that this mansion, someday, will be the center of trade or like a black market.

Daily necessities, foods, clothes and fabrics and even magical tools can be acquired here. There is even a forge here that can make weapons and armors that a country is willing to pay for. And on top of that, this place produces professionals and experts and there is no discrimination against other races. However, this place is only exclusive to women and since it is like that, the tendency that a girl turning into a lesbian is high…

This is unusual for me to say but…this place…is teeming with monsters…not literal ones…but those who have monstrous magical powers and desires…Even Meiko in front of me is exuding an extraordinary aura that announces she is someone I cannot take on alone.

“Hey there, Asagao, want to have a duel?”

“Eh?!”

Without further ado, as I am thinking that I cannot take her alone, she just goes and challenges me to a duel. Her expression is pretty fierce and her smile is unfading but, her body looks like it is raging to go as if all the opponents she battle earlier aren’t enough for her.

“Wait! Miss Meiko, we jus--!”

“Come on now! Don’t be a stranger. Here, take this sword.”

She handed me a normal iron sword. I thought that she would rather give me any wooden ones but instead, she gave me this. Meiko also picks up an iron sword and walks towards the center of the field.

I am kind of hesitant so I look over at Senya but as usual, she just has this smile plastered all over her face.

“No can do, huh…”

“That’s the spirit! Come!”

Following where Meiko go, I went in front of her and hold the sword out in an attack stance. Seeing this, Meiko also held up her sword and started watching me carefully.

“Oh, so you can really hold your sword, huh.”

“I am just a little strong, that’s all.”

“Show it to me!”

She grasps the sword with two hands and dashes towards me.

AH?! Not even a go signal!

Since it has come to this, I cannot dodge anymore so I put up the sword to guard against her attack. Her swing comes from horizontal so I place my sword vertically to parry it…

However, this is truly not a time for me to fight her…

CLANG!

SNAP!

The sword I held up…snaps in the middle as I caught her attack…

Her attack is so strong that it immediately flings me sideward! I cannot fix my posture because of the dress I am unfamiliar with and I cannot fix my footing as I am wearing heeled sandals. Also, I kind of snap my left arm guarding the attack. My hand wasn’t able to withstand the impact since I am not wearing my usual battle attire.

Before I hit the ground where I expect to sprain my ankle, an arm immediately catches me. It is the familiar metallic arm that always catches me before I fall…

“Ichirou…?!”

“Oh, another contender appeared!”

Ichirou held me in his arm and helps me stand up. He then glares at Meiko who instantly defeated me.

“The condition of the battle was unfair, to begin with. You, you are aware of that, right?”

“What if I am? I am just testing her.”

“Senya! What are you doing? You do know that that kind of sword will immediately snap. The swords Asagao uses aren’t frail as those.”

Ah?

Come to think of it, all the swords that I have in my dimensional storage came from master. That only means all of it are top class swords that won’t easily breaks.

“Ichirou Nagasaki, I told you not to come.”

“I have come for the reason I am worried, worried for Asagao’s wellbeing.”

“It is necessary for her to learn that her fighting skills and style are only heavily backed by her own equipment. I want her to learn how vital it is. Up until now, she only relies on things given to her.”

“Rather than brutally teaching her that isn’t it better just to tell her upfront?!”

“Look at the pot calling the kettle black. She should have learned it from you if you are aware of it. Why didn’t you tell her about it then?”

“Kuh…”

I look at Ichirou with disbelief eyes…

It was another way for me to get stronger but, he didn’t say a word. He didn’t even bother teaching me anything right from the start. He was just there by my side all the time but never intended to walk together with me…

I can’t believe this…