“Hello, Master Mattie.” A soft familiar voice uttered after the sound of an opening door.

“Welcome back, Emi.” The shady looking man the girl referred to had long, ebon-coloured hair tied in a ponytail and he replied to her with a greeting of his own.

Emi had found herself once again standing deep inside a sketchy building in a tucked away office that had—for better or worse—become an all too familiar sight for her. Matthew was seated behind the desk in the middle, while closer to Emi, sitting in the right-side chair was a certain agitated girl with caramel-coloured hair and droopy dog ears.

“Hmph…! Took you long enough!” She said with her agitation.

“I got hungry.” Emi calmly replied.

“Are you kidding me!?”

It had only just passed midday; Emi had left the two earlier that morning to sell monster materials and alternatively got caught up in buying herself some much needed armour—her cotton clothes couldn’t really do anything besides get closer and closer to being destroyed.

So, you could say she was a little late.

“…Here’s your money.”

She handed Emily half of the money they earned from the monster materials the two brought back from their week in the Forest of Frost. Emi sold them at the Adventurers’ Guild this morning, but she couldn’t remember how many they each killed, nor did she know how much everything was worth, which meant the only option she had was to split it. Taking the fifteen silvers, Emily immediately looked far happier.

Emi sat on the chair to the left and waited for Matthew to explain why they were here.

“One week from now, we will move to usurp the position of Lord of Sour from the man who currently has it. His name is Lord Frederick Whine…” He finishes his sentence with a scowl.

“He’s just a worthless viscount who oversees the city.”

Sour was split across two ways. It was split top to bottom by the wide main street that ran from the southern gate and all the way up until it neared the north wall, and side to side by the equally large street that stretched across the middle as a clear indicator of division. What this did was separate its citizens by class; the closer you were to the southern gate, the lower your class was.

It wasn’t just the street that ran across horizontally which marked where the social classes were divided, it was visible from the buildings being both larger and unreasonably lavish. Not only that, there was also the obvious fact that the structure of the city itself catered to people on the northern side; comparing the cramped mess of unmaintained streets, buildings and narrow, winding alleys to its organised and clearly very looked-after counterparts further north with far more space.

“We have already started spreading rumours of a raise in taxes, and in two days we’ll steal the food held in the city’s storeroom—that food is a necessity during winter. A lot of what’s stored is wheat since it’s cheaper and can last long, but they do also keep meat in the magic ice rooms there. If that storeroom has no food whatsoever, how are people going to eat? Travelling merchants don’t come here during winter, so that storeroom is crucial for selling food to everyone. Are you following me so far?”

…Stealing food and lying about raising taxes.

“But, why are you doing that?” Emi asked.

She could understand that he wanted to cause trouble for Lord Frederick who ran the city, but she couldn’t understand why he wanted to cause trouble for the citizens instead of the viscount, nor how that would lead to him usurping his position.

“If it’s revealed that the city has no food, people will surely panic. The people of the city already have negative feelings for the viscount because of the current high taxes and increasing slave-trade, so the spreading of rumours is just to get them riled and upset before the food gets stolen. After about a week, it will finally sink in that there really is not enough food to go around; we will instigate protests about the lack of food and the raise in taxes, and at that point, the tax rumour will simply become truth.” He said in his usual calm voice.

Despite sounding much the same, it was obvious that Matthew let off an air of assurance that indicated his willingness to see this plan through to the end.

“I’ll also be feeding the protesters with my own, non-ransacked food and hopefully gain the support of the citizens with the promise of better governing. After that, I will convince the people to band together behind me to overthrow Frederick since I’ll be making all of his misdeeds clear. Then, once I gain control, the storerooms’ food will be given back—this won’t have anything to do with you, but I thought I would let you know.”

“…Surely this plan could go wrong in so many ways.” Emi says while looking towards the girl next to her, who is quite literally asleep.

I was wondering why it was so quiet.

“Yes, that’s why I need more support. But…” He trailed off.

“If that’s the case, shouldn’t you wait until you get support?”

“…I do have quite a few people working for me, but there are only three people that can provide valuable support; the three of them work in Sour’s council and they will help me when the time comes. But, I can’t just wait until I get more support, that would mean waiting at least another year for the next winter. Tch… If she helped me it would be almost guaranteed.”

Who is she?

But, before Emi could ask him who he was referring to, Matthew began telling her what she’ll be doing.

“A week from now, ensure that you get here before midday and wait in the tavern area that you always go through. If you want anything while you’re waiting, just ask someone.”

To get through the main warehouse area and into the office that the three were sitting in right now, you must first walk through the tavern area and enter a door behind the bar. That place seems as though it’s always teeming with criminals and drunkards; whether they work for Matthew or not, it can’t have been the best spot to choose for an eleven year old to wait.

“You will be aiding Emily in her mission by watching her and helping her if she runs into trouble. I’m sorry, but there’s a chance you’ll be doing this for a few days, so always be on guard. I probably should have had you train your stealth…” He very blankly added to the end of his sentence.

“…After Emily completes her mission, come let me know. I’ll be waiting at the city’s centre every day.”

The city’s centre is essentially just a big square where the main street that extends from the southern gate crosses paths with the street that divides the north and south sides. The city’s centre is usually left empty, other than for special events like festivals and whatnot.

“Anyway, just wait in the tavern and someone will come get you.”

“…Why are using your own ‘non-ransacked’ food instead of the food from the storerooms?” Emi curiously asked.

“If I were to use the food from the city’s storeroom and they found out and it became known, it would not be a good look for me. I‘d rather that not happen.”

“And…will the mutt be alright? My mission is to help her if I need to, but don’t I need to know what her mission is?” Emi asks as she glances over to her right.

“…Her mission is to assassinate the targets that I have assigned her. There are seven of the ten members at the head of Sour’s council that she’ll be targeting; the three left over were placed there by me and will not need to be assassinated.”

“Why are you assassinating them?”

“Because they deserve it.” Matthew curtly responded.

I feel like I’m being left out on some valuable information.

“Regardless, just help Emily. Why I’m doing what I am need not concern you or your mission. The person I’ll send to pick you up from the tavern will explain things further. That is all.”

She didn’t just feel like she was being left out—it was clear that she was being left out on some important information.

The secretive and serious man seated in front of Emi didn’t frighten her one bit. Matthew was strangely nice to the girls which Emi had found out during their training excursion into the Forest of Frost; he would make their meals, get worried when he saw Emily injured, and despite his cruel training routine, he had spent time to teach them well. Even though he pretty much outright said he wanted them to murder those people without providing much of a reason, it not much concern to Emi and she evidently didn’t have any misgivings with murdering people who deserved it—she was simply curious.

“…I have another question. Is helping Emily and reporting back to you once she finishes all that I need to do?” She asks like an attentive student.

“Yes.”

“So after that, am I allowed to find the soldiers who killed my parents?” Emi asks Matthew with her same soft, deadpan tone as usual.

“Your parents were killed by soldiers…?” He asked with a dumbfounded expression.

“Yes. I vowed to avenge them, so this is probably a good time to do that.” She reiterated her avow with a paucity of emotion showing in her voice.

“Umm… You can do what you want once Emily finishes up…”

“Alright. Bye-bye.”

Forgetting to ask who she was, Emi walks out of the office once she gave her regards to her somewhat concerned looking Master, while on the other hand, she deliberately ignores the caramel-coloured dog-girl who was fast asleep on the chair.

Walking into the large warehouse-looking area after she exited the hallway that lead from Matthew’s office, Emi noticed an even larger amount of boxes and bags lined up everywhere than she had previous. She remembered from the first time she came here that there was wheat and various other items in the bags and open boxes, so she assumed they must have gotten more in preparation for Matthew’s plans.

“Hm… So I go to the tavern in a week and wait for someone, then I help Emily with her mission… But before that, I need to pick up my light armour, and to do that, I need a little more money.” She reaffirmed to herself as she walked up the stairs that lead to the tavern’s bar.

Jeez…

“Maybe I’ll go to the Adventurers’ Guild and do a request…” Emi mused out loud before checking her coin bag.

“…Three silvers and fifty-five bronze coins. That means I need to get at least thirty-one silver and forty-five bronze by the end of the week…”

Emi needed to earn enough money before next week so she could pay the remainder of what she owed to Henry. The problem was that she already sold everything she had to the Adventurers’ Guild, and to get more money, she needed to either complete a request or sell monster materials. Emi pushed open the door that opened out towards the bar and walked through, and after paying no mind to the bartender and the rest of the room wherein people had already started drinking even though it was only noon, she left the tavern and emerged out into the cool alley outside.

She made her way to the Adventurers’ Guild she’d already been to thrice previous now and slowly pushed open the large doors with its usual creaaak before veering left to look at the wall that listed all the requests the guild had to offer.

Hm…

“Collect medicinal grass from the Forest of Frost outskirts. Find my cat? Help…with the gardening…? Deliver materials…to construction…site…” She read to herself the requests for F rank adventurers.

“Sigh… I guess I can probably hunt monsters while I’m there…”

Without even looking at any more job requests, she grabbed the only poster that made sense. The unfortunate part was that it only paid one silver.

Emi turned around to head towards the counter and the window in the middle that she had always gone to, only this time with her first ever job request in hand. Emi sees Seraphina—although this time she was already talking to someone.

Should I wait? Do I go to another window?

After several seconds of debating to herself, she eventually chose to simply head to another window. By the way, Seraphina wasn’t the only receptionist who worked here.

“Good afternoon.” Emi said to the girl at the window who looked as though she couldn’t have been much older than eighteen.

She was working at the window on the right and had smooth yellow hair that flowed right down her back and sides, stopping just before her puffy tail, with large ears on the top of her head and a cute face. She was a Yellow Fox Girl and she was a little taller than Emi.

“Hello! What can I help you with?” She asked.

“I want to select this request.” Emi replied as she placed the poster she had grabbed from the rank F wall onto the receptionists’ desk.

“Okay. Can you show me your adventurers’ c—”

“Hello again, Emi.” Seraphina clearly interrupts the girl who was talking and practically pushes her out of the way.

I guess she finished speaking to the other person.

“Oh, Furi. I’ve got this sorted, you can go ahead and take control of the middle window for a moment. I assume you’ll be fine. Right?”

“Uh… Y-yes ma’am.” The fox-girl—Furi—replies to Seraphina with bewilderment before walking away.

“Anyway…how come you’re here again, Emi?” Seraphina asks, completely disregarding her coworker.

“Mm. I don’t have much else to do and I need money.”

“You want to do this request?” She asks upon lifting the poster Emi had placed on the desk.

“…But, it’s getting late. You should wait until tomorrow.”

“It’s okay, I have Night Vision.”

“Even so, it’s more likely that something bad will happen to you when it’s dark out.” Seraphina said in a convincing manner.

“…Why?” Emi softly asked in concern.

“Because there are less people awake to listen and nobody out to see anything—that is why people do bad things at night, and a cute girl like you would be a target, definitely.” She presses.

Well, considering Emi had been discovered by some sketchy individuals the night she first entered Sour, she could definitely see where Seraphina was coming from and couldn’t disregard that happening again. Except, she had improved her stats and abilities since then, and had gotten used to the somewhat frightening people who worked for Matthew. There was also the issue of money that needed to be addressed.

“Hm. But, the sun won’t leave too soon. I can just make sure to come back before then.” Emi pushed forth a counter argument.

“The gate closes once the last bell rings… You won’t be back before then.”

“I can just jump over the wall.” She replied rather desperately.

“No. You shouldn’t do that, it’s bad.”

Despite Emi’s attempt to thwart her interference, there was no ignoring the powerful presence Seraphina had—so Emi couldn’t do much else except begrudgingly follow her supposed orders.

“…But I want to go to the forest and I need money.” Emi stated in a sullen tone.

“Hmm? Do you need money that badly?” Seraphina curiously asks.

“My light armour will be finished in a weeks time, so I need to earn enough before then.” Emi replied in the same sulky tone.

It wasn’t just about how desperately she wanted to be in the Forest of Frost again that made her want to head there as soon as possible, in fact, Emi didn’t really have any urge or reason to go there except for the fact that she could get stronger and earn money. The difference was that she truly didn’t want to go back on her word. She had a overwhelming desire to keep her promises, which in this case, was paying Henry—but that wasn’t the only word she wished not to go back on.

After a short moment and an obvious pause, Seraphina decided to outright ask Emi a rather strange question.

“…What if you come home with me? Tomorrow morning we can both go to the forest and I can teach you some ways to get stronger.”

”You know ways to get stronger?”

“Indeed. I used to be an A rank adventurer; I still technically am.”

“Wow… Even so, why do I need to go to your house?”

“It’s payment for me teaching you.”

“…?” She tilts her head in question at Seraphina’s comment.

“You don’t have anywhere else to be, right?” Seraphina later adds.

“…I guess not.” Emi unemotionally answered.

“Hmm. Then how about we have a nice dinner, and tomorrow, we can make sure you earn enough money.” She says with a bright smile that was just as bright as her long red hair.

“Okay.”

“Fufu… Let’s get going then!” She enthusiastically announces and began walking away to leave the area behind the long receptionists’ desk.

“…Don’t you still have work?”

“Oh, it doesn’t matter.” She confidently replies.

Shortly after, Seraphina emerged from a door and started walking towards Emi.

“Are you finished here?” She asked.

“Yes.”

“Then come with me.”

Seraphina and Emi walked out from the Adventurers’ Guild side-by-side, almost like a mother and her daughter; what would have made that idea unrealistic more than anything to those around them was their completely opposite hair colours.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

I’ve never walked with anyone in the city before.

Emi glanced to her side at the mature and beautiful woman who had bright red hair and an almost ethereal clear-white skin. She had eyes like a predator waiting to snatch her prey and a face that, while rather alluring, would easily make those who lacked a certain amour-propre to falter. It was clear that, from not only her looks, but from their past exchanges that Seraphina was a woman not to be trifled with. Yet, she had not done anything except be kind towards Emi—which is what Emi thought to herself when she began staring at Seraphina, who had a bounce in her step.

She was quite tall; the blue ears that sat atop Emi’s head only just reached to the same height as the shoulders of the lady beside her. As she thought back on the time when flames conjured around Seraphina because a confident adventurer was threatening to sell Emi, she asked Seraphina the random question that popped into her curious little mind.

“Seraphina, how are you able to make flames appear around you?” She asked as they continued to walk.

“…Oh. You mean from last week when that boy tried taking you.” Seraphina figured out where Emi was coming from with the out-of-nowhere question.

“Hmm… I suppose it’s because I’m a Red Demon. Although, with practice, you could do that too.” She turns to look down at Emi.

“A Red Demon?”

“Never heard of them? We’re a long-lived species that can live for thousands of years—similar to the elves in that matter.”

“Wow. How old are you?”

“Don’t you know it is improper to ask a lady her age?” She said with great exaggeration.

“But, I shall tell you… I am sixty-three years old. I’m pretty young.”

She definitely didn’t appear how Emi imagined a sixty-three year old to look like. In regards to human lifespan, a sixty-three year old would almost definitely appear weathered and wrinkled; though in Seraphina’s case, she definitely maintained a youthful appearance.

Emi recalled the memories she had with her mother and father whom she remembered had been quite youthful as well. The memories she had spanned across quite a few years, in both her older and recent memories her parents always looked young; rather than not aging much, her mother and father most likely were just young when they had her. They looked like they couldn’t have been any older than thirty, but there wasn’t much Emi could accurately go off besides her displaced memory and a guess. There was absolutely no way that Emi could have known much about the lifespans of species; her parents never told her much, and before their passing, she really hadn’t done much except stay in the same house and it’s surrounding areas.

All this new information did peak her curiosity.

“I’m also not a Red Demon, but a Crimson Demon because I have evolved.” Seraphina added.

“…Is there any way for me to live long like a demon?” Emi absentmindedly asked.

“You want to? I guess there could be a few ways…”

Seraphina and Emi continue walking at a moderate pace along the long stretch of evenly paved road, en route for the north side of the city; Seraphina’s strides were long despite her lack of exertion, so Emi and her short-stature had to almost fast walk in order to keep up. They talked about not much in particular as they marched onwards, and it was all a little mind-numbing for her because the majority of their conversation was just Seraphina excitedly describing where they were headed—being Seraphina’s house and all. Emi couldn’t really picture what the house looked like; Seraphina kept mentioning obscure details about it and repeatedly used vague descriptions, calling it “magnificent” and “prodigious”, even though that just made it harder for Emi to imagine.

She finally finished talking about it once they reached the city’s centre.

“…Evolving is one of them.” She suddenly said in reference to Emi’s earlier question.

Emi already knew a little bit about evolution from when she spoke to Henry, but Seraphina mentioning it brought it back into her mind.

An idea popped into her head as the two began walking westward, or in this case, they began walking left across the cross-section that divided the north and south sides of the city.

I only need level 100 to evolve. And, I’m already level 10…

“I need level 100 to evolve, don’t I?” She asked in order to verify this thought.

“Indeed. There is also a prerequisite for evolution—you need to pass a certain threshold of stat quantity which is possible with the help of acquiring skills that increase them.”

“…If you reach level 100, wouldn’t your stats be high enough anyway?”

“Nope. I’m not too certain on the specific amount, but my understanding is that you definitely need twice as many total stat points than you would have normally.” She replied.

“I’ll explain it better. If you were to reach level 100 without any stat bonus skills, all your stats totalled together would equal 1700 without the intelligence stat. I didn’t experience this because my stats were high, but for people I know of and what I’ve heard, evolution doesn’t become available until you have reached at least a total of 3500.”

Emi had no reason to worry about this prerequisite Seraphina spoke of, her agility skill and class bonus essentially guaranteed she would have enough stats for evolution once she reached level 100; all she had to do to reach it was gain a considerable amount of EXP.

I want to evolve…

They eventually took another turn and left the main street that divided the social classes of Sour, heading further north.

The two walked and walked while Seraphina lead the way to where she lived, and Emi feebly followed behind Seraphina and her fast walking like a nagging shade trying to cling onto her back. She probably should have asked her to slow down, but the thought never crossed her mind. They took many different turns and walked by many different mansions with big gates and fences, and they more or less grew larger in size the more they continued their journey. Eventually, Seraphina slowed her pace down and looked to her right.

“Here we are.” Seraphina says as she looks down towards Emi once they both stopped.

“This…is big.” Emi blankly replied.

She stared at the large charcoal-coloured house in the distance through the gaps in the tall metal fence of the same colour. The fence had a gothic style, with spikes on the ends of the vertical metal rods and impressive, stylised engravings carved into a metal band that stretched far to her left and right, sweeping across the centre of the fence as it wrapped around the property. Emi looked up at Seraphina once she began talking.

“Indeed. I had this built not long after I moved here… Come this way.” She said.

There was a large and overbearingly ornate gate that even by itself showed the level of class that resided within the manor. The property was more than twice the size of those surrounding it and the garden looked immaculately kempt. The tall doors of the large gate swung open to the other side, allowing Seraphina and Emi to walk towards the big building.

A wide, dark brick road lead from the manor and was attached to the dissimilar street they had just been walking on.

“Do you live here alone?” Emi asked as they walked towards the front of the mansion.

On either side of the dark brick driveway they walked was an impressive garden that must wrap around the entire manor. There were beautiful large trees that stretched out and pretty flowers abundant—mostly in organised areas—but also heaps of flat area that one could certainly run around or train on; despite it being winter, the vibrant colours from the flowers were not snowed over and only a thin layer of snow swept over the area here.

The mansion itself looked to be four-storeys tall and propped up with stone, so as they grew closer and closer, the presence of the large dark building became quite perceptible. Even though there were rooms that jutted out slightly from the walls and pointed objects that stuck out from the roof, the mansion looked carefully constructed and was almost entirely symmetrical. It had a crowded and complicated design ornate with engravings.

The entire building was a colour like charcoal, and other than the white of snow, it had a dark red accent. It was quite the bold choice and stood out like a sore thumb.

“For the most part. I do have a several maids and two chefs that live here.” Seraphina replied.

Her home was noticeably different from the others nearby, which alternatively had tan or white colour palettes and were far more ordinary in appearance. It was definitely the biggest house Emi had ever seen—her old home in the Forest of Frost wasn’t even comparable to it. Despite that, Emi wasn’t nervous in the slightest; although, perhaps that was because of Seraphina standing next to her.

They finish walking along the dark brick driveway and began walking up a series of big steps that lead to the red front door—when it abruptly opens.

“Welcome home, Lady Seraphina.” A woman opened the door and greeted Seraphina with a bow. She was wearing a black dress that ended just above her knees; it had a white half apron with black and white trimmings and black ribbons dotted across the entire outfit. It was quite frilly which gave it an airy feel.

“I’m back, Estella.” Seraphina replies.

“And, may I ask who this is?” The woman with the black and white dress—Estella—asks while she stared at Emi with a slightly icy expression.

“This is Emi. She’ll be staying here for a while.” Seraphina answers with a calm smile.

I’ll be staying for a while…?

“…In that case, we must have her change into something else.” Estella states.

She grabs Emi’s hand and hastily lead her around the ground floor of the house until they suddenly came upon a room in which she left Emi by herself.

“…”

Emi looked around the room. It was hard to tell exactly what the purpose of this room was; it was like a mixture between a storage room and a very large closet, and it had a couple couches. According to her sense of direction from when she was dragged through the maze of corridors, Emi figured the room she was in must have been tucked away somewhere near the left side of the house. She sat down on a couch that rest against the wall.

“…Am I meant to wait?” Emi asked herself while she debated whether she had to change into something random or wait for someone to come.

Click.

The sound of the door clicking open interrupted the quieted room, and the sound of footsteps walking resonated. Now in the room and walking was a fairly young looking woman who wore the same outfit as Estella. She had spared a glance at Emi as she entered, but was now searching through the room picking out a selection of clothing items. After a short 15 seconds or so, the woman swiftly appeared in front of a certain blue eared girl carrying an assortment of neatly folded clothes with a pair of shoes on top.

“…”

Without either of them saying a word, the maid ripped Emi out from her near-destroyed cotton clothes before putting underwear on her, and forcing Emi into a simple black t-shirt and a dark red and black knee-length skirt. The maid also pulled the dark grey leather boots and thick cotton socks off and put new, long black socks on her that climbed up to her thighs, along with a pair of shiny dark red shoes that were quite cute and seemed oddly small despite fitting—the shiny shoes had an open top with a thin strap going across the top of Emi’s feet.

I feel unprotected with these shoes.

Despite disliking the girly-looking shoes, the clothes she was forced into wearing were infinitely better than the dirty and torn clothes she had been in, and having new socks and shoes on her feet made Emi feel like a new person.

When the maid was in the middle of changing her, she did end up seeing Emi’s blue-white ears and blue-white tail, but the young maid never said anything and was entirely unbothered; the whole thing happened incredibly fast though, so even if she was bothered or had spoke anything, Emi probably wouldn’t have noticed.

“What is that outfit you and Estella wear?” Emi asked the young maid as she leads her back in the direction from whence Estella first began hastily dragging Emi.

“…The head maid and I both wear the same maid outfit. It’s the uniform we wear since we serve Lady Seraphina.” The maid replies impassively without slowing down her fast walking speed.

Contrary to her expectations, she did not lead Emi back to Seraphina or the head maid, but instead to a large room with a dining table that definitely had a capacity of at least twenty people. It was just Emi and the maid in this room right now, so despite its capacity, it felt very empty.

She leads Emi to a seat that was at one end of the long table, and upon pulling the chair out and seating her, the maid left through the door they came—leaving Emi all by herself.

She sat on the black chair wearing new clothes in an unfamiliar house she could easily get lost in and waited.

“…It’s a lot of black on red on black here.” Emi observed, feeling a little nervous as she looked around the room.

After a short while, the door behind Emi opened. Through the door entered Seraphina and Estella who walked a few steps behind her. The head maid had her hands politely placed in front of herself and her eyes closed as she shadowed Seraphina.

Seraphina had changed out of her receptionist uniform and was now wearing new clothes. She had a thin, white, long-sleeved buttoned-up top with a white gothic lace bolero. Her top was tucked into the bright red waistband of her white pleated skirt and it had a bright red lace layer that peaked out slightly from the bottom. The skirt ended about halfway down her thighs and she had short white socks, and wore similar shoes to what Emi was forced to put on.

Her whole outfit looked quite expensive.

“No need to sit all the way over there, Emi. Come sit here.” She says, gesturing towards the chair that was closest to hers as she sits down at the very end of the table—the opposite end that Emi was seated.

“Hm. Okay…” Emi climbed out of her seat and made her way to Seraphina.

Estella, the head maid, had left after Seraphina sat down, so her and Emi were left alone.

“What do you think about where I live?” Seraphina asked.

“…It’s really great.” Emi answered after a pause of thought with a downcast stare as she focused on not much in particular; in this case, it was the table in front of her.

It may have looked like Emi didn’t like the house or thought of it as too much, but that wasn’t the case at all. She had a very positive impression of it; she liked that it stood out—that it was probably grander than any building in the city. It actually made her impression of Seraphina even better and she thought it was cool how ostentatious it all was.

The young cat-girl just couldn’t help but feel some melancholy and remember her parents after she took a glimpse into someone else’s home, especially when accompanied by a woman like Seraphina who acted rather motherly towards her. Seraphina is anything but oblivious, but even she couldn’t help but feel like she had done something wrong when she noticed Emi’s saddened expression.

“Your dinner, Lady Seraphina.” Estella gracefully says as she enters the dining room with a cart that had various covered plates on top with which she gently placed in front of Seraphina.

She then proceeded to describe all of the dishes to Seraphina as she uncovered them one by one, but it all went in one fluffy ear and out the other as Emi tried to listen in. Most of it were words she had never heard before, so it’s unsurprising that she couldn’t decipher what they meant.

Estella leaves the room and takes the cart with her.

Am I getting food…?

“Don’t worry, I made sure they would make food for you.” Seraphina must have noticed her internal worrying. Either that, or she could simply read her mind.

“Are you hungry?” She asks.

“A bit.” Emi replies.

“Well, you are a growing girl. Here.” Putting her fork into the still-steaming piece of meat that had a brown sauce drizzled over it, she cut a smaller piece off and held it up.

“This is Magret de canard. It’s made from a B rank monster found in my demon country that flies, called a Gale Bird; it surrounds itself in wind.” She holds the fork out and puts it near Emi’s mouth.

“If my food is coming, then you don’t need to give me yours…” Emi awkwardly said, with a slight blush of embarrassment glowing on her face at the idea of Seraphina feeding her like a child.

“Nonsense. This is too much anyway.” She politely dismissed her worry.

“…Okay.”

She withheld whatever semblance of protest she had left, knowing full well it would be impossible to get out of biting down on Seraphina’s fork. Emi opened her mouth and in came a fork carrying a piece of tender, medium-rare monster meat saturated in sauce.

Wow.

An explosion of flavours shot through her mouth as Emi bit down; the sauce was a little too strong and made Emi’s throat and chest feel funny, but the meat was flawless. Her eyes were closed and she had a child-like smile on her face—Seraphina let out a small chuckle as she watched on.

Click.

The door opens and Estella walks in pushing the same cart from before, only this time with one less dish on top; instead of the five that Seraphina had, there were four for Emi which could have been a factor of her age and small size. Estella saw Seraphina feeding Emi and she formed an obvious frown at the sight.

“Lady Seraphina, need I remind you of your status?” She spoke in a way that showed her displeasure while still maintaining her usual elegant and calm tone.

“Not at all, considering this doesn’t concern my status.” Seraphina bluntly replied with a kind smile that clearly didn’t reach her sharp, red eyes as she stared at her maid.

“…”

The head maid intensely scanned Emi top to bottom with her eyes for a brief moment before continuing her duties. She placed the dishes in front of Emi and began listing their names; she definitely paid more attention to the dishes this time, considering she was the one that was meant to be eating them.

“…On the lower left as the hors d’oeuvre, we have Stuffed Mushrooms filled with a parmesan, cream cheese and bread crumb mixture topped with caramelised onion. Above that on the upper left as the appetiser, we have Fried Meatballs made from a mixture of Frost Rabbit and Shell Lizard meat with pineapple on top. On the upper right as the salad, we have a Caesar Salad made from lettuce and croutons with parmesan cheese and caesar dressing. Lastly, placed in the middle as the main dish, we have Eel Meunière made from fried Frost Eel served in melted butter, lemon juice and parsley. Please enjoy.” Estella calmly introduced every dish to Emi, before turning to leave and taking the cart she had brought the food on with her.

“Wow.” Emi says to herself.

“I told the chefs that I needed them to make dinner for an eleven year old. It’s pretty simple, but I hope it’s to your liking.”

Emi began eating the food that was spread out in front of her, starting with the Stuffed Mushrooms and working her way through it all in the order the dishes had been introduced. The mushrooms were, as expected, Emi’s favourite, but that wasn’t the only thing she thought was good. She thought the Fried Meatballs were yummy and that the pineapple fruit served with it was sweet and juicy; they had little sticks that went through them both—Seraphina told her they were mini skewers used to neatly pick them up after Emi asked what they were for. The Caesar Salad was simple and delicious and the Eel Meunière she ate was amazing.

It was the best food Emi had ever eaten.

She never had any food like this in the Forest of Frost when she was living there with her parents. They always ate mushrooms and random wild vegetables for dinner, and only on the occasion did they happen to catch a Frost Rabbit.

Without fail, her mother and father would always come back with mushrooms when they arrived home, and they were usually the only part of their meals that tasted good to Emi—so she ended up growing a sort of attachment to them.

The food they ate definitely wasn’t prepared or plated in such a fancy way like how the dinner that Seraphina’s chefs prepared was; they only had a small cooking area in the ground that her father would put wood in so her mother could cook. So, especially when compared to what she just had, the food Emi used to eat was rather bland and undoubtedly worse.

In a big house like this, I wonder how they cook their food…?

Emi and her parents always ate the same dinner and it was nowhere near close to tasty, and her young and picky tastebuds struggled to grow used to it. If that really was the case, then why did she miss eating it?

And the house they once lived in was old; it was falling apart and had holes in it that rainwater easily seeped through which made it damp and eventually mouldy. It was surrounded by unkempt grass, bushes, and looked as though it was only standing because it was clinging to a wise old tree. It would get so cold, especially in winter, but thinking back on it made her chest tighten.

Why do I miss the musty smell and the coldness of my home—my old home? She thought to herself as she looked down at the half eaten plate of food in front of her.

Her whole life was practically spent in a ruined home; not as a metaphor for her family’s relationship, but physically—she grew up poor. She was a sheltered child her whole life and would spend her days in close proximity with her home, taught never to enter the forest by herself and never to be seen by humans.

“…I guess I didn’t listen to them in the end.” She said so faintly.

Emi took another bite of the tasty food in front of her.

Mother tried her best to make the food good, despite being limited on literally everything. Why do I want to taste those simple flavours again? She asked herself while she chewed.

As she thought back on her mother, she remembered how she would spend so much time prepping the food she made for dinner; they often used wild vegetables and other random ingredients. The vegetables would be dirty having been just pulled from the ground, or be largely inedible; her mother would sit on the grass outside their home either cleaning them or peeling them apart for what felt like forever, all so she could make something that Emi and them could eat—of course, Emi often helped her with this.

Father would often make me go out with them in the forest, despite Mother’s worry on the matter—saying that I needed the experience and a way to direct my energy into something.

Her father and mother occasionally got into arguments when it came to Emi, debating against each other about whether she should or shouldn’t be allowed to go with them when they went out into the forest during the day. He was the reason she was allowed to go with them every now and then when they went foraging for food and sometimes hunting. Whether he admitted to it or not, Emi believed that he simply just didn’t want her getting bored being by herself while they were out.

Why do I miss living in the forest? She desperately asked.

All these thoughts entered her mind like a typhoon. It had been about a month since her parents died on the 1st of Decara, which permanently marked the first night of winter with blood and tears.

Emi had done a lot since then. She met Matthew, Seraphina, and Emily, fought monsters and learnt magic, and was allowed to be an adventurer despite her not meeting the age requirement.

She had really done a lot in only one month.

Emi worked hard to get stronger even when she felt lonely being by herself. She pledged to avenge her parents and that wasn’t a promise she wanted to break. But, despite making that vow, her mind had been so occupied that she hadn’t thought a great deal about her parents’ absence since their passing. The delicious warm food she was given and the house she was currently seated made her truly think about them for the first time in almost a month.

It was possible she wished to forget, like a barrier blocking her true feelings.

It had been easy with the distractions she had; she kept busy and her mind never had much time to wander. She was only a young child though—old enough to think for herself, but young enough to still cry about nothing in particular. And she had been holding back all this time.

Why…?

Soft tears started slowly building in her deep, bright blue eyes until she couldn’t hold them back anymore and the imaginary barrier she built collapsed in an instant. A constant stream of tears began falling down her delicate cheeks and dripped onto her new clothes as she cried.

“Sniff…!”

“…Huh?! Why are you crying?!?” Seraphina asks with horror after she noticed.

“Hic…! Sniff…!”

“Was it the food?”

With the most serious look on her face, Seraphina asked if it was the food that made Emi start crying, which made her giggle for a second.

“Sniff…! It…wasn’t the food…”

“…”

“—The food was delicious. I… I just wish m-my parents weren’t dead…” She couldn’t stop herself from crying even though she didn’t want to.

“…Here.” With a soft pat on her thighs, Seraphina pushes her chair back a little bit and gestures for Emi to come and sit on her.

“…”

After a moment of thinking about nothing in particular, Emi got out of her seat with dejection and found a spot on Seraphina, who had her arms open, and Emi let Seraphina hug her and pull her in. She buried her tear-soaked face into Seraphina’s chest and sobbed as she softly pat the back of Emi’s head.

She was very warm.