The architecture of the capital city was as expected, Victorian yet with a touch of magical futurism. The city’s layout was both new and old, reflecting its layered development over the centuries of its growth. It did not use a grid system much like the planned cities of Arcadia, but instead was organically built and developed overtime.

There were patchwork neighbourhoods everywhere, though the city itself at its core downtown, which would be the destination that Marilyn had been heading towards, was rather organised from the maps she had looked up online.

It won't take long for her to reach it, perhaps an hour or so at worst if they took a detour, but the airport's location was quite strategic for her, so that would be an unlikely scenario.

“Hmm, it's pretty busy too here…”

Marilyn in her past life grew up in Japan, so she was familiar with the layouts of cities such as Tokyo. But that city was quite decentralised compared to Leandon despite the both of them being organic. The best comparison would be London itself, but she had never gone there, so the words of Violet would be the only point of reference for her.

Nonetheless, Marilyn's personal comment, as she walked with Helena towards her destination, was pretty much spot-on. As it was said before, Leandon had always been considered a commercial hub rivalling even the other great cities in terms of traffic and trade. So as expected there were a lot of people of many ages and races passing by, going through their own unique lives.

“Helena, before this job of yours, have you ever gone to Leandon?” The silver-eyed girl asked.

“Hm? I have, but it was just an occasional visit.” She said, “It was mostly just to get the vibe of the place, I’m not an exact expert y’know?”

“I see.” Marilyn responded, “Have you memorised some places at least?”

“Uhmmm…” Helena would try to think this one through, “The route to the Royal Palace…the major centres of the commercial district we’re heading towards, the Roundtable Castle to the west…”

“Is that all…?”

“Probably? Most of it is just instinct—” She said, “—the instinct of a warrior, that is!”

“...”

“What?”

Marilyn was sceptical of her, “Are you serious?”

“Yeah, I am.” Helena answered, a bit bewildered by the question, “Honing the mind to the point you just know and do things without even having to think about it is a core part of what warriors do, y’know? Much like how mages practise incantation-less spells for the ones you've truly memorised.”

“Ohhhhh…” Marilyn quickly understood now, and that would mean… “If I practise that too, would I get better at quick casting? Using magic through pure instinct does sound like a great idea…”

“Ooooh, yeah yeah! Do that!” Helena exclaimed, “Dad practised it too, though Bethany didn't since she was not a mage and just knew several spells, but knowing even the most complex stuff by heart sounds good for someone like you!”

“Mhm, it does!” Marilyn smiled, it sounded like she had a new idea to test out. Perhaps she could convince her friends to go through the gauntlet again, but… “I’ll maybe try to do it by myself first in simulations, before using them in actual combat.”

“Sounds good to me!” Helena also smiled in return, quite happy for her sister's further growth as a fighter regardless of their different disciplines.

In any case, it shall be some time later, but they would eventually cross the bridge that led to the major shopping district of the capital, formally known and designated as the Golden Mile. It was not a literal mile across, though it was during its construction, but the name stuck regardless due to its iconic nature.

The River Vestius that the bridge was built to cross was wide, very much so. Marilyn could see ships passing by under her, and even a drawbridge opening up far from here for ships that were heading for port. It was simply a quite magnificent sight for her, as someone who grew up in a rural and backwater—but very peaceful—area.

“Sooo, any sort of interesting things that have happened? Apart from your staff breaking.” Helena asked her younger sister.

“Uhh, oh yeah! Elysia, the dragon-kin girl, seems to be quite interested in Adrian.” She said in response.

“Romantically?” Helena was definitely quite interested.

“Mhm, romantically.” And Marilyn confirmed as such.

“And are you jealous of her?”

“Uhh…no??” Marilyn said so in slight surprise at the sudden question, “I don't view Adrian like that, at most I like him platonically!”

“Heh, riiiight…platonic love ehhh?”

“Yeah, platonic!” Marilyn's tone became more stern.

“Sis, are you sure that's all~?” But Helena kept on teasing her.

Marilyn was caught off-guard by that, “...are you kidding right now?”

“Nope, but I was messing you.” She said, “Still though, are you actually and genuinely sure?”

“I am! I never viewed him like that, at all! He’s nice and gentle, a very good friend too. But I see him more as my brother, so I don't look at him like what you're implying here!”

“Sure sure~ how adamant of you!” Helena snickered out a laugh, Marilyn was blushing wild because of her. “Man, that means he's getting some game huh? How much has been developed between the two of them?”

“Uhh, not much, it was pretty one-sided.”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“...he’s dense, huh?”

“Yep, he is. Even Cecilia was frustrated.”

“I see, I see…” Helena nodded sagely, “Marilyn, you now have the responsibility of being his wing-woman. Get him on with Elysia, that shall be your greatest test!”

“W-wait, why???”

“Nothing too serious, I just wanted to see love bloom, that's all!”

Marilyn sighed heavily, she even clicked her tongue at that absurd notion. She quite literally had no experience with love apart from being embarrassed seeing such acts. But, jesting or not, she still had to try.

She felt bad for Elysia during her attempt in flirting with him, so she'd make sure that would be an unlikely event to happen going forward.

However—

“Sis, how about if I ask you a question about love?” Marilyn asked suddenly.

“Hm? Go ahead!”

“Do you like someone?”

Helena thought of it for a few seconds, before answering with great confidence, “Nope! Too free-spirited to do so, my lovely little sister! Maybe once I decide to settle down I will, but that time is not now!”

Marilyn was once again a tad bit annoyed by that, sighing.

Helena chuckled, “You really tried to get me embarrassed, huh?”

“Not admitting!”

“I can read your face easily, so you definitely were~!”

Marilyn grumbled in response. “You're too smart when it comes to things like this.” She said with a small pout.

Helena flashed a quick thumbs up, “Learned from the best!”

“...Dad?”

Helena would continue with a smile, “Yep, dad indeed! Such a gentleman, but his tactics in the social game are tenacious-”

“No no, that's dad!”

“Wha-?”

Their walk was interrupted by Marilyn’s call-out. They were just five minutes away from the Golden Mile district of the capital, but the presence of that particular man they call dad made them stop.

Silver eyes and black hair, and a gentle face. He wore himself a fancy set of black and dark grey robes, with a red waist scarf present around his abdomen. He was Robert Althorn, the father of both Marilyn and Helena, a semi-retired Hunter and a staff member working in the capital’s own Pathfinder Guild.

He seemed to be unaware about the presence of the two girls, so Marilyn did the next best thing.

“Daaad!!”

“Oof-!”

She called for him, sprinted towards him, and gave him a hug. Helena followed her, but she did not make physical contact.

“M-marilyn? I’m in the middle of something here!”

“Huh?” She turned head, still hugging him, and noticed an old fox-eared man with a hunched back staring at her next to some beds of flowers. “O-oh! Sorry!”

Marilyn quickly backed away from him, laughing awkwardly, “I-I apologise for the sudden intrusion, but i-it's just-!”

“Been so long, huh? Yeah I get it.” Robert responded, chuckling too, “Nice to meet you two again.”

“You bet, but this was quite sudden, y’know?” Helena responded.

“Oh is it now? Well, I guess it is.” He replied, before turning to the old man, “My apologies, but these are my daughters, Marilyn and Helena, Mr. Reeds.”

“Ahh it’s quite alright, Robert. I appreciate that you're already kind enough to help me.” He said, with a smile on his face.

From what Marilyn had observed, Mr. Reeds seemed to be an old florist. The sign above them also suggested such, so she wondered about what her father was doing here.

“What are you doing here anyway, dad?” Marilyn asked in turn, her thoughts and sayings aligned.

“Been running some simple errands throughout the city, particularly for this old man.” He said, “Guessed I picked up some of the smaller quests and all since the other pathfinders that were in the Guild kept choosing the more exciting ones, you know? Community service is always important.”

“Oh, understandable.” Marilyn replied, truly this man did not know how to stop helping people around. A great role model for sure, but she sometimes worried about him overextending himself. “B-before you ask, I’m here to head for the Gilded Tail, to sell loot and repair some equipment.”

“Really? Did Professor Winston recommend that place?”

“How did you-”

“He frequently said so to other students that have gone to the capital for the same reason, not sure why.” He said, “Well, it's not for me to judge, since it's a pretty good place regardless.”

Marilyn was quite perplexed, “...wow.”

“Wow indeed, Marilyn.” He nodded in affirmation, before turning his attention to— “I will assume you're on patrol, Sir Helena?”

“I am also escorting a VIP here too, citizen dad!” Helena responded with a light chuckle.

“Helena…” Marilyn had a small blush hearing that.

“Well, you are a VIP, to me at least!” Helena said so as she once again ruffled with Marilyn’s hair, further annoying her.

Robert laughed, “Well, I’ll let you two go at it, feel free to go right on ahead, I have to get back to work soon anyways.”

“Right now? Can't we talk some more?” Marilyn asked, as she was fixing her hair from Helena's sudden assault.

“Well, I’d love to, but today has been very busy, and this was also my last community errand. Some local Veils have opened up, so the Guild has to catalogue them for the Pathfinders to take tomorrow.”

“Oh, okay then.” Marilyn was a tad bit disappointed, but that notion was quickly swept away by Robert hugging her.

“Once you're done with what you're doing, you can come and visit me at work if you want to talk some more, alright?”

“U-uhmm, yeah, I’ll think about it!” Marilyn replied, hugging him back.

“I love you.” Robert said so and kissed Marilyn's forehead, parting from his youngest daughter. He then faced Helena, “And you, remember our promise?”

Helena blinked, but gave him a thumbs up, “I’ll do my best as always for her, dad.” She responded, quietly so as to not catch Marilyn's attention.

He nodded, smiling. “Good.”

And with that said and done, Robert flew upwards towards the sky and dashed with haste, creating a shockwave which fortunately occurred high enough to not disturb the parked carriages on the road. Both Marilyn and Helena, as well as Mr. Reeds watched on as he did.

All that was left was for Marilyn to continue her journey here, but a sudden feeling caught her heart and mind. It was a nostalgic memory of so long ago, of her previous father.

He was also a kind hard-working man, who only wished the best for his family. He had such an impact that when he did die, he left a gaping hole in her previous family’s life, so large that they failed to live up to it and turned for the worse.

She doubted and hoped it won't turn that way if Robert does indeed go that same path in this new life of hers. In fact, she did not want to have it be that way again.

She won't have it any other way. She would try her best to make sure that this family did not go down that path. She knew of the inevitability that one of them would pass on at some point in their lives, but nonetheless—

“I’ll make sure to work hard for them, I won't let the past repeat itself, especially not in this second life of mine.”