"Oh, is that so?"

I figured that was the case when I first saw this band of misfits, but it still surprised me by a little bit.

"Developments like this one is normal in RPGs, but I'm still curious about it."

Of course, I wouldn't tell them how I figured it out on my own. Since this shit is a common trope in games and anime, I figured that one of them was a noble, so I went through the process of elimination to figureout which one of them is the noble. Olivia is clearly a priest so she's out, Maria is a scholar and an airhead and Jin is clearly not a noble. That just leaves-

"Zel would probably be angry right now if we told her that Arthur knows about her."

Jin said as she shook her head.

"I don't think that would be the case. Everyone in town already knows of her status but they just ignore it. Besides, I'm sure that Zel would tell Arthur about her eventually."

"Hold on, everyone already knows about this?!"

"Y-Yeah... Zel was already an official knight of the kingdom when she first arrived here, but she was also accompanied by the noble overseeing this town."

"Ah, yes, I remember that day as well. Zel was pretty angry at her father back then."

Maria smiled as she cupped her cheek with the palm of her hand.

"Yeah! If you were there, it'd be pretty fucking obvious that Zel is the daughter of that noble. She looks like her old man when it came to the size of their musc- Ow!"

"Zel doesn't want to talk about that! You know of Zel's complex with her muscles, right?"

Jin rubbed the top of her head after Maria slammed her fist down on it. 

"R-Right. Anyways, I think it'd be better if Zel tells you about this in person. Ugh... my head..."

Jin let out a yawn as she laid down on her futon, using her bag as a makeshift pillow.

"I'm gonna go to sleep. The Elf Buns taste better when they're fresh out of the oven."

With that, Jin curled into a small ball and went silent.

"W-Well, anyways... Thank you for your letting us sleep in your room for tonight. Anyways, I suppose it is getting late..."

Maria smiled as she took out a small blanket from her bag along with a small crystal. Maria placed it beside her and channeled some mana into it.

"Is that a mana crystal?"

I asked as I looked at the object. It reminded me of the night light I had when I was a kid.

Maria's faint smile was lit up by the dim light that began to glow from the mana crystal. 

"It... It helps me sleep at night. I have a fear of the dark. It emits light just long enough until I could sleep."

Maria had a slightly embarrased look on her face as she fidgeted around in her seat.

"T-That's alright. Uhh... good night, I guess? Yeah, good night, Maria."

I stammered out as I climbed back into my bed. The tired Archmage let out a faint yawn, one she muffled with her hands.

----------------------------------------

-Main Avenue-

The wheels of a wagon creaked as it passed us by, the scent of spices trailed after it. The stores and stalls of the town are already bustling this early in the morning while precious cargo and wares were delivered and changed hands. The stalls that lined the road were slowly being filled up with an assortment of items and goods and the store owners were busy sweeping the streets in front of their shops. 

Many of the wagons, crates, and even the uniforms of some of the people looked familiar, but I can't really remember why. I couldn't dwell on the thought for long since Miia and Jin were pulling my sleeves as we approached one of the Elven bakeries in Lorren.

"Damn, the smell is pretty fucking good."

I muttered out as we approached  the bakery staffed be Elves. Jin and Miia looked pretty escited when one of the Elves pulled out a tray of loaves from a brick oven.

I pulled out my coin pouch and pulled out a 2 silver coins. One of the Elves stacking the loaves of bread noticed us and quickly put on a smile.

"G-Good morning!"

"Morning, Lheahas."

"Hmm? Oh! Miss Jin! I didn't see you there. The usual?"

"Yes, four Ealuf and a honey bun for the little kid."

The boy nodded and pulled out a small box of wrapping paper. After he was done wrapping our orders, he pulled out a small basket made from what looked like dried leaves and placed them inside.

"Thank you for your continued patronage!"

The boy smiled as he handed the basket to Jin.

"That would be 30 Weis."

The Elf boy smiled as I let out a sigh.

"30 Weis would be... 3 copper coins."

I said as I handed him the pay for our food. He laughed and placed the coins into a large pouch tied to his side.

"Thank you once again! Keep up the good work, esteemed hero!"

The Elf boy said loudly as we walked away from the bakery. Miia was looking intently at the small basket Jin was carrying and a faint grumbling sound can be heard from her.

Jin noticed this and pulled out the "honey bun" she ordered for her.

"Ohh! T-Thank you!"

Jin nodded as she watched Miia taking small bites out of the large, white bun. It had a sweet scent to it and a yellow filling oozed out as Miia sunk her teeth into it.

I wanted to savor the cute sight of Miia making cute faces as she ate, a familiar pair of voices drawed my attention. It was coming from a nearby store. Out of curiosity, I decided to take a slight detour towards the direction of that voice.

I could see a wagon filled to the brim with boxes and crates stacked atop each other. A head with long black hair poked out of the side of the wagon while a boy with rabbit ears placed a box beside the feet of an old shopkeep. 

"Oh, Ryoka!"

Jin's voice caught the attention of Ryoka, who was standing inside the large wagon.

"Oh, Jin-kun! Maria-san, and Arthur-san as well. Good morning."

She bowed her head as we approached her. Fihr finished unloading the boxes and turned to greet us as well.

"Good morning, Arthur! Hello, Archmage and Thief girl... is this Beastman your companion?"

Fihr walked up to Miia, who stood just as tall as him. She instinctively hid behind me, poking her head out to sneak a glance at him before hiding once more.

"Ahaha, what an odd party... Ah yes! Your reward! We have it in the wagon since we were about to deliver it to you later."

"Don't worry about that. Anyway, what are you guys doing this early in the morning?"

Fihr and Ryoka exchanged glances. Ryoka was the first to answer my question.

"I let my usual helpers take the day off so I'm delivering some of the goods before unloading the rest in the market. I happened to run into Fihr-san earlier and he offered to help me do the deliveries."

"Yeah, I was about to go to the church when I ran into Ryoka here. I figured I could tag along since the church is near the marketplace."

While Fihr was talking, she bowed to the shopkeep as he gave her the payment for the goods. Ryoka flashed a content smile before climbing back into the driver's seat at the front of the wagon. Fihr bowed to the shopkeep as he climbed onto the back of the wagon.

"Want to hitch a ride with us, Arthur? Ryoka said that's the last of the deliveries... Wanna come with?"

Fihr patted the spacious area beside him while Ryoka looked at us from the front of the wagon. 

Before I could ask if it's okay with Ryoka, Jin and Miia jumped on excitedly. Maria was still unsure about this, but she still got onto the seat beside Jin. I climbed on as well and sat beside Fihr, his large eyes shining with glee as I did so.

Well, I never experienced what it feels like to ride a wagon before. Might as well give it a try.

"The smell hurts my nose! It stings!"

Miia covered her nose with both of her hands while Fihr laughed and patted the box near him.

"You'll get used to it, little one. Pepper and cinnamon from the Elash'mir region is hard on the noses of us Beastfolk."

Fihr chuckled while poor Catgirl squirmed at the scent of such strong spices.

"Spices... So you're a spice trader, Ryoka?"

Ryoka nodded at my question but she did not take her eys off the mostly empty road.

"Not just spices, actually. My company also deals with other goods that range from simple produce and meats to rare items and materials."

Ryoka spoke with her usual cool demeanor. Looking at her, I can't help but be impressed at what she did in this world.

"Wow... To think that a school girl from Japan could do this..."

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

"W-What?! Arthur-san, what are you-"

"If you're impressed by that, you should see Miss Ryoka's different houses all over the world! She's got a huuuuge mansion in the capital and quite a few houses in the different kingdoms!"

Fihr said with an excited look in his eyes like a kid showing off their dad or something.

"F-Fihr-san! P-Please... you're-"

"Oh, if I recall correctly... Ryoka owns a small merchant fleet, right?"

"M-Maria-san?!"

"Ah! Yeah, that's right! She owns 5 large ships with strange designs as well as having some special deals and arrangements with the kingdoms along the many trade routes of the world!"

"Jeez! You guys are exaggerating! Arthur-san will get the wrong idea of me..."

Her cool melted away just like that while Maria and Fihr talked about the wealth she built up.

"The Merchant's Guild was the one who helped me so much..."

Ryoka muttered out under her breath while she hid her flustered face beneath her hair.

I was about to ask her about the specifics of her job since I was a little curious about it but I was stopped when the wagon came to halt. I looked in front of us and found that there was a small procession of nuns and priests in front of us with a familiar face at the front.

"Ah... we're here. The Church of Illyria. Thank you, Ryoka."

The sudden shift from the happy and bubbly tone of Fihr surprised me enough that I looked at him. He had a gloomy expression on him as he slowly climbed out of the wagon.

The priests and nuns in the procession carried lanterns and prayed as they walked. Behind them, a small group of adventurers walked with them while they carried something wrapped in a pristine, white cloth. We passed them by silently and they paid us no heed. Still, I can't help but notice their tired expressions.

"Illyria's Call, that is the name of this ritual."

Maria spoke in a solemn tone and bowed her head as our wagon passed them by.

I looked out of the wagon and to my surprise, saw Olivia at the front of the procession. She was wearing a veil and her staff glowed a warm light that engulfed everything around it and I found myself transfixed at the girl who's usually drunk at the bar.

Ryoka bowed her head as well and muttered something. Even the horses seemed to bow and their hoofbeat grew softer. I could hear a faint hymn among the priests and the nuns as they walked slowly.

"I never heard of it before..."

"They bless the body or a personal belonging of an adventurer after they died in battle with sacred wine. They do this all night and when dawn comes, they will light up their lanterns to lead the soul to their final resting place."

Jin said with an unusual quiet tone. The two girls at the front nodded in affirmation.

I didn't say anything after that. In fact, none of us did. We stayed silent for the rest of our trip. Seeing something like that made me shiver. I guess it reminded me of just how dangerous this world is. I let out a sigh as I stared blankly out of the wagon. 

The wagon continued moving, its wooden body creaked and groaned as it moved along the road. Maria was staring off into the distance while Jin was fiddling with something near the crate of carrots. I myself was petting the fluffy and soft head of Miia. She seemed to be enjoying it since she keeps purring everytime I scratched the spot behind her ears.

"Oh, we're here."

Ryoka said as we all felt the wagon slow down.

"It seems we're right on time... Oh, there they are."

She hopped out of the driver's seat and we watched as she talked to a pair of burly looking guys. While Ryoka was doing that, I looked at the marketplace of Lorren. It looks just like a medieval marketplace to be honest, people selling stuff on top of their blankets, some are filling up their stalls, and a handful are setting up their carts filled with strange items. 

Honestly, I thought fantasy markets would be filled with strange, exotic, and rare goods where I had to haggle with some hag. Instead, I watched from the wagon as Maria bought some fresh produce from some nice loooking old lady. 

"Well..."

Ryoka walked over to the wagon with a content smile on her face.

"It seems I have the rest of the day off. Do you have any plans for today?"

She looked at all of us eagerly while she waited for an answer.

"Hmmm... How about... How about we have lunch at your house? Is that fine with you, Ryoka?"

Maria asked with a gentle smile on her face. Ryoka clasped her hands together and nodded.

"Of course! It's rare for me to have friends over!"

"She doesn't have any friends besides us."

Jin whispered to me as the two talked about what dish would they be cooking up later. It seems the poor girl didn't notice Jin looking at her with pity. 

"That girl's gonna end up being lonely in the future. Lonely but rich."

"Oi, stop saying shit like that. She might hear you... And what about you?!"

"What about me?! You tryna' pick a fight with me? Huh?"

Jin raised her fist at me in an aggressive gesture. I rolled my eyes at her and shook my head.

"Forget it. Let's just get out of the wagon. I don't want to smell like curry."

I carefully climbed out of the wagon with Miia following closely behind me.

"Oi! Answer my damn question! What the hell did you mean by that?!"

I did my best to ignore her while we followed after Ryoka and Maria. 

I found myself carrying two large baskets of meat, mainly pork and beef. Miia was holding a large leek and Jin was grumbling under her breath while she carried a bag full of vegetables. Right now, Maria and Ryoka were chatting as they carried bags full of fruits while walked back to the wagon.

"Fish... I want fish..."

Miia spoke softly as she looked at the dried fish hanging on one of the stalls.

"Hmm, okay. Let's go buy some fish for you."

"Ah! T-Thank you, Mister!"

Miia smiled before dragging me towards the stall. Jin was grumbling about the smell of fish while she followed closely behind us. 

"Ohh! A Beastman... Hold on, I have something you might like..."

The old woman behind the stall smiled as she pulled out a small bag filled with dried fish.

"You must be from the Cat Kingdom. I'm sure you'd love this."

"What is it?"

The old lady smiled as she pulled out what looks to me is some sort of jerky. A strong smelling jerky.

"Salmon Flakes from the Crystal River. A favorite snack of the Catmen."

"S-Salmon from the Crytal River..."

I heard Jin mutter in shock from behind me as the woman gave Miia some. She ate it without hesitation and I could tell she was enjoying every bit of it due to the cute sounds she keeps making.

God, that's one cute kid.

"How much for the entire bag?"

"A hundred Weis would suffice."

I nodded and told Miia to grab the cash from my pocket. Miia pulled out a silver coin from my back pocket while the old lady tied the top of the bag tightly. Even with the bag tightly tied up, the smell of dried fish still stung my nose. Still...

"Uwaah! The smell's pretty good! Thank you!"

The old lady waved us goodbye after Miia paid up with the silver coin. Miia's cute smile as she hugged the bag tightly. Miia ran ahead of us to share her snack with Ryoka and Maria, leaving Jin and I behind. 

"You know, you just  bought something really expensive."

"Yeah. A silver coin for a bag of fish skins is pretty expensive, but I don't mind."

Jin scoffed at me as she looked at how happy Miia is with her bag of stinky fish skins.

"Salmon from the Crystal River is a rare treat in this region... Takes too long to transport, ends up rotting on the way."

Ah, that is a problem. 

Usually, stuff like that is solved with refrigeration. But in this world, since technology here is comparable to that of medieval times, food cannot really travel long distances. It's pretty fucking annoying if you think about it, really.  You can't have any take outs since it might end up spoiling in your room and there's no cold water to drink here.

I continued to think about it while the two of us neared Ryoka's wagon. Wouldn't it be nice to have modern technology in this world?

"Hotpot and a bath after! My, what a great idea! It's been a while since I was able to relax."

Ryoka's voice snapped me out of my thoughts. 

"The thought of my bed waiting for makes me so excited. Ahaha!"

"Jeez, you sound like a damn college student."

I grumbled out as I loaded the ingredients onto the back of her wagon.

"Well, it's not everyday I can sleep in my house. And it's not everyday I can rest without worrying about some trade deal or some business with a noble."

Ryoka climbed onto the driver's seat with a pout on her face.

"Anyway, you're probably not looking for a house since you're an adventurer."

"Oh, about that! Arthur was wondering where he could buy a house of his own."

Maria smiled while I shot her a "what are you saying?!" look. I didn't think she noticed me since she just continued talking with Ryoka.

"A house? Hmm, I do know of a real estate agent that could give you some great deals... Ah! Why don't I call him over later?"

"S-Sure... Thanks."

"Arthur here's probably mad that he now owes ya' one."

"J-Jin! Shut it!" 

Ryoka and Maria chuckled while I pinched Jin's cheeks.

"Don't worry, Arthur-san. This is just thanks for saving my life."

Ryoka smiled before jumping into her seat. 

The wagon's wheels creaked as we left for Ryoka's house. Thankfully, it's more spacious now that the cargo has been unloaded. The only thing that bothered me now is the strong smell of Miia's fish flakes.

----------------------------------------

"Woooooow! My voice echoes in here!"

Miia shouted as she ran through the empty halls of the mansion.

"W-Well, I feel that this is a little too big for my tastes."

The agent laughed as he ushered us into the living room.

"It's one of the finest mansions here in Lorren! I'm sure you and your companions would enjoy its 7 bedrooms."

The agent nudged me on my shoulder as he pointed at my party full of beautiful women.

"W-We don't have that kind of relationship!" 

Zel blushed profusely as she did her best to stay composed at the agent's teasing.

"Ahaha, is that so? What a shame then... Anyways, this house has got it all. The living room's wide and spacious with a brick fireplace perfect for the winter months! Kitchen's over there and the dining room is beside the living room..."

The agent kept talking while I looked around the room. I peeked through the large windows and onto the wide and open front yard. That's gonna be a hassle to trim but I think Miia would enjoy it.

The mansion the real estate agent was selling to us used to be a noble's home before he died in some accident. To be honest, the house is pretty nice but there's something off about it. There's a mausoleum in the back where the noble was buried and the basement area seems to be flooded but the rest of the house is in excellent and pristine condition.

Well, that's what he told us.

From what I could see, the mansion is still in an excellent condition and it comes fully furnished but there is something off with this place. The fact that the agency couldn't sell this place for 14 years after the noble died, that's a red flag right there. I also know that the place was bought by some rich merchant a year ago and he didn't stay long in this place.

"That bathroom of this mansion also has a large bathtub that could be warmed by-"

"Yeah, yeah... Tell me, is this place a haunted house or something liket that?"

"Erk! W-W-Well... Ahh..."

I fucking knew it.

"There are rumors about it... being infested... but no Priest has proven that rumor."

Olivia perked up at the mention of her class and immediately puffed out her chest in pride.

"Well, lucky for you, I am an Archpriest of Illyria! But you know, I'm not really feeling anything from this place."

The priest said as she waved her staff around.

"Nothing is reacting at all."

The agent smiled in relief as I scratched my head. 

"At least let us spend a night here before buying this place. I don't want to spend 20 million Weis just to sleep in a haunted place."

Everyone looked at me with a variety of expressions. The real estate agent was particularly pleased with this decision of mine while everyone else split off to explore the rooms in this mansion. I let out a sigh as the real estate agent ushered me onto the next room.

"We should invite Ryoka for dinner someday."

Zel said as she closed Miia's door.

"Yeah... If I do end up buying this house."

Everyone else was already sleeping in their preferred room while I holed up in the master bedroom. I was walking Miia to her bedroom when we ran into Zel, who was going to the kitchen to grab herself a glass of water.  After I tucked Miia into bed, I found myself alone with Zel.  Since I got nothing to do so I decided to grab myself a drink as well before sleeping. 

Still, she looked beautiful in her negligee. In the moonlight, I could see the outline of her curves through the thin cloth. But as I stared at her back, I noticed a faint scar that ran from shoulder to shoulder.

"That scar came from an attack when I was a child."

"Ah. Sorry for staring at it."

Zel chuckled as we walked but she didn't turn to face me.

"It is fine. Although I could feel your deep gaze, I do not mind it. Do... Do you wish to learn how I acquired it?"

She stopped to look at me, her crimson eyes glowed in the moonlight as she looked at me.

"If... If it's okay with you, then sure."

She let out a sigh before turning her back towards me. We continued walking down the stairs while she spoke softly.

"It was the day when I... When I lost my mother. A demon sent to kill my father found me first while I was playing..."

She was trembling. She was trying to hide it but I could see it.

"My mother tried to save me but the demon shot her with an arrow. The arrow grazed me on the spot which you are currently looking at."

She glanced at me and I could see that she was smiling at me.

"I-I'm sorry..."

"It's fine, Arthur. That reminds me... I haven't told you my full name yet, haven't I?"

"Yeah."

Zel smiled as we reached the bottom of the stairs. 

"My name is Lilia-"

*Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!*

Zel and I turned our heads to the direction of the shrill cry. It was like a fucking death scream of something inhuman. I shuddered at the sound as it once again let out an ear-piercing screech. Zel covered her ears in pain as I looked for the source of that damn scream.

"Shit! What the fuck is this?!"

"That... Arthur..."

Zel staggered to her feet as she grasped at the wall for support.

"Is a Banshee's Wail."

Zel gritted her teeth in frustration, the screams getting louder with each repetition.

"I-It's coming from the back of the house."

I mutter out as I pull myself together.

The sounds of footsteps from the top of the stairs grabbed our attention. We both looked up to see an annoyed and groggy Olivia as she walked down the stairs.

"Ah. I see that the two of you are here..."

Olivia yawned as she patted both of our shoulders.

"Damn undead... ruining my beauty sleep. Come on! I'm gonna go purify some undead! Purify!"

Olivia's spell immediately restored our strength. Before we could thank her, she dragged us off angrily towards the backdoor in the kitchen.

The Archpriest kicked open the door and stormed outside, her fists curled up into a ball as she scanned the surroundings. Suddenly, she pointed at the mausoleum and draged us off into the night.

"There! I could see it! It's fucking there!"

Olivia pointed at the interior of the marble mausoleum.

Under the light of the moon, the three of us could see it while it cried in front of the altar. A girl wearing a maid's uniform with neatly tied hair knelt in front of the noble's resting place, her sobs breaking the silence of the night.