- (Anna’s POV) –

I’m currently on Shiro’s back along with Lylith to go back to Alice’s family. I’m still wondering where her parents are, but I don’t want to force her to tell me… Even if she were a slave, her body looks healthy and she is not skinny like you would expect from a slave.

Suddenly, I can hear her belly growling.

Shit, I forgot to ask her if she was hungry or thirsty! I can see that she is holding her belly to make it shut up… You don’t have to!

“Shiro, let’s stop!” (Anna)

I ask Shiro to stop halfway, then I lift Lylith and put her down. I summon a plate with food that I prepared a few days ago and a bottle of water, then I give it to the girl.

“You can have it, you must be hungry, right?” (Anna)

“…” (Lylith)

She looks reluctant but I can see her eyes shining.

“You don’t have to hold back; you are no longer a slave! Please take it before it gets cold!” (Anna)

She nods, then she takes the plate and eat it very fast. Wow, she must be really hungry!

“How is it?” (Anna)

“…” (Lylith)

She doesn’t say anything, but her smile tells me that she enjoys it. It doesn’t take more than a few minutes to finish it all.

“Let’s continue the trip!” (Anna)

We go back on Shiro’s back and continue to head toward Alice’s family. Well, I say ‘trip’, but it only takes half a minute for Shiro to arrive.

When I arrive, I immediately report the situation to Roland.

“Anna? Who is this girl?” (Roland)

“Her name is Lylith, I found her inside a cage. She was being transported by a dozen of men.” (Anna)

“A slave? What did you do to the men?” (Roland)

“I killed the men. Yes, she had a collar around her neck when I found her.” (Anna)

It looks like he is deep in thought. After a few seconds, he speaks again:

“I see… it’s strange that they would take so much risk for only a single girl though. Wait, where is the collar?” (Roland)

“I got rid of it.” (Anna)

He suddenly has a surprised face. What? Is it a big deal?

“H-How?!” (Roland)

“Nothing special, I just crushed it with my hand.” (Anna)

I agree that it was quite hard, I even had to gather some mana in my hands to increase my strength.

“… Ahh, I forgot that I shouldn’t think about common sense when it comes to you… You see, it’s supposed to be indestructible! It would be meaningless to use a collar if it were that easy to destroy it!” (Roland)

Ahh… Oops. I did it again…

“Well, whatever! I decided to bring Lylith to the capital and take care of her for now!” (Anna)

Eleonora, that was quiet until now, suddenly stand up and hug Lylith.

“Welcome Lylith! You don’t have to worry anymore; I will take care of you!” (Eleonora)

It looks like Eleonora is weak against Lylith’s cuteness~! But I’m happy that she accepts her. Alice follow her mother and speak to Lylith:

“Hello Lylith! My name is Alice, let’s be friend!” (Alice)

Lylith look at her bewildered, then she smiles and nods energetically.

“Um!” (Lylith)

Ahh! My eyes!! So much cuteness is too blinding! Good job Alice, she will be less intimated with someone close to her age!

“We can’t let you stay in those clothes! I’m going to lend you some of mine!” (Alice)

After that, we all go back inside the carriage and resume our trip. Only 2 days remaining before we reach the capital!

**********

2 days later, we can finally see the huge walls of the capital! There was no major incident during those last 2 days. Lylith is still very silent but she can still communicate by nodding or shaking her head. However, she is smiling way more now and she got along well with Alice.

We arrived at the gate of the capital; the walls are really huge! There is a long queue to enter, but our carriage dodged the queue… As expected of a noble family! The guards easily let us pass through the gate once they see the Baumeister’s seal on the carriage.

Once we arrive inside the capital, I look through the window. It’s even more beautiful than Marina! All the houses are a 3-story building, the streets are full of people and I can see a huge castle far away in front!

The carriage moves for half an hour, then we arrive in front of another gate. It seems like the capital is circular and is composed of the castle at the middle, the noble district surrounding the castle, and the commoner district surrounding the noble district. Of course, there is a big different between certain area in the commoner district: there are the slums but also a location where richer person lives like merchants.

Passing the second gate, it doesn’t take more than 10 minutes to reach Roland’s mansion in the capital. I decided to stay with them for now, but I plan to eventually buy my own house once I’m richer.

Once we arrive inside the house, there are another army of maids and butlers welcoming us by bowing. It looks like they stay in this house even when the Baumeister family is not here. By the way, this mansion is about the same size than the one in Marina.

It’s soon time for lunch, so we were told to get acquainted with our new rooms. Since they have a lot of empty room, Lylith also got her own room. Once I see the huge bed in my room, I instantly jump on it! Finally a good and comfortable bed after a week of travelling!

A few minutes later, when I’m still on my bed, a maid knocks on the door and says:

“Lady Anna, lunch is ready!” (maid)

“Alright, I’m coming!” (Anna)

I go out of my room and head toward the room for lunch. Roland and Eleonora are already here, and I can see Alice and Lylith walking together behind me. We all sit on a chair and start to eat. Eleonora is the first one to speak:

“Anna-chan, as you already know, it will be my birthday in 3 days, so I will organize a party. Do you want to come?” (Eleonora)

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

Ah nice! It’s a good occasion to start to get acquainted with other nobles!~ I also already thought about her present, I hope she will like it! Hehe~.

“Of course, I want to come! Is it fine for me to attend even though I’m not a noble?” (Anna)

“Oh, don’t worry about it! I’m the one who organize the party so I’m free to invite whoever I want! Besides, your etiquette is quite similar to a noble lady so you will be fine.” (Eleonora)

I see… When I’m with the Baumeister family, I try my best to move like an actress and speak politely, so she might be right…

Speaking of etiquette, Lylith is eating quite elegantly aswell! I was worried that she might get intimidated with noble, but she is calm like always! She must have been taught well!

Suddenly, Eleonora continue:

“Oh, by the way, the festival will start in a week. There is also a tournament, do you want to participate?” (Eleonora)

“Yup! I’m really excited to test my strength against strong opponents!” (Anna)

Hearing my words, Alice start to giggle and say:

“Hehe~ If Anna-oneesama participate, she will easily win!” (Alice)

“Hey! I’m not sure if I can win against a S-rank adventurer or the captain of the royal knight! Even an A-rank adventurer might be a problem! The strongest I fought is a behemoth, a guild master and Gabriel!” (Anna)

Roland that was silent until now sighs and speaks:

“They are already big shot! You are speaking like if they weren’t a big deal! But I’m also curious to see you fight to be honest… I wish I were here to see your fight against the behemoth. From what I heard, you were similar to a red flash!” (Roland)

“Hey! Stop with that title, it’s embarrassing!” (Anna)

““Hahaha~”” (Alice & Eleonora)

Alice and Eleonora laugh after Roland’s joke while Lylith tilts her head because she probably doesn’t understand what we are talking about. Let’s change the subject:

“By the way, I’m thinking of exploring the capital this afternoon, who want to come with me?” (Anna)

“Me!!” (Alice)

I take a look at Roland and Eleonora, but they don’t object so I think it’s fine if I bring her? They also allowed Alice to come with me several time in Marina. I even brought her to do a genocide! I’m happy that they trust me, but it gives me a lot of responsibilities! What about Lylith?

“Alright! Lylith, do you want to come with us aswell?” (Anna)

“… Um!” (Lylith)

“Alright!” (Anna)

Eleonora suddenly speak:

“If you are going out, you should already register for the tournament, so you won’t have a problem later.” (Eleonora)

“Ah, yes! Good idea!” (Anna)

After this, we quickly finish our lunch.

***********

Half an hour later, we are ready to go out!

“Ok, are you ready?” (Anna)

“”Um!”” (Alice & Lylith)

((A/N: For those that are wondering, ‘Um’ is a cute way for a loli to say ‘yes’. If you watch anime, you probably already heard it.))

“Let’s go then!” (Anna)

The three of us start to walk on the street guided by Alice, she already came to the capital several times, so she knows it more than me. Lylith probably lived in the capital, but she still didn’t say more than a word.

We quickly go back to the commoner district, then we head toward the location to register for the tournament. Apparently, it’s a huge coliseum! I’m excited to see that!

The city is quite big, so we finally arrive in front of a huge coliseum after about an hour of walking. Wow, it’s even bigger than I imagined!

There is a guard in front of the coliseum so let’s ask him where I can register!

“Excuse me, where can I register for the tournament?” (Anna)

“Uh? That’s quite unusual for a brat to register along with 2 kids! Well, whatever, it’s on the other side of the coliseum you will probably see a lot of people there, so you can’t miss it!” (guard)

“Thank you!” (Anna)

We walk toward the other side of the coliseum, it’s very big so it takes a while to arrive there. Ah! I can see a lot of people, so it’s probably there! We walk toward the crowd and I can see a huge queue going toward a clerk. Above the clerk, I can read on a sign. There is another clerk on the other side but there is no queue and I can read on a sign above him. I head toward him, and he look at us with a surprised expression.

“For spectator, it’s on the other side.” (clerk)

“I came here to register in the tournament.” (Anna)

After my words, he becomes even more surprised. Haha~

“Hey! Is it a joke?” (clerk)

Is it that surprising to see a woman participate? Or is it because I’m young?

“No, I want to participate. Is there a problem?” (Anna)

“No, it’s fine, but are you sure? It’s very dangerous and you might get hurt!” (clerk)

“It’s fine, don’t worry, it’s my responsibility!” (Anna)

“Alright, please fill this form with your name, age and any other information that might be useful. It will be diffused before each fight if you go through the qualifications.” (clerk)

Mhh, let’s not write too much information, I will only write my name, my age and that I’m a swordswoman. Information is power, so if my opponent knows my fighting style, I’m disadvantaged! That’s why I shouldn’t reveal everything at the beginning when it’s not needed and keep a surprise for the strong opponent! I give him back the form once I completed everything, then I ask:

“What are those ‘qualifications’ that you talked about?” (Anna)

“Uhh, you really know nothing! We need to do the qualifications first to eliminate most of the participants because there are several hundreds of participants each year. The qualification will be a battle royal, the few remaining peoples of each group will be qualified to enter the tournament. We don’t know yet the total number of participants so I can’t tell how much group or how much people per group there are.

“Are there some specials rules in the tournament? What weapon can we use?” (Anna)

“The participants can use their own weapon because many people are used to fight with their weapon. It’s also fine to hide another weapon with you or whatever you want because we want to see the real level of our participants; there is no handicap. It’s also allowed to use magic, there are many participants that are pure mage.” (clerk)

He breaths for a second, then he continues:

“You lose a match when: you are on the ground for more than 10 seconds, you admit your defeat, or you fall outside of the area (in the water). You are also disqualified if you kill someone.” (clerk)

Mhh, interesting! I can use my ‘Rosetta’ and even magic! I’m quite interested to see what kind of weapon everyone will use! I shouldn’t be too much disadvantaged about that since my sword is apparently a national treasure…

“I see, thank you very much! When will I have to come?” (Anna)

“You should come for the qualifications in exactly 7 days when the sun rise.” (clerk)

“Alright, good-bye!” (Anna)

I leave the clerk and head outside of the coliseum. Wait! The huge queue is for the spectators, right? It means that Alice need to go there if she wants to see me fighting!

“Alice? If you want to watch me fighting, don’t you need to register as a spectator?” (Anna)

“Anna-oneesan, I’m a noble… My father already sent a servant to get us several VIP seats. There is even a VIP seat for you when you don’t fight and for Lylith if she wants to come.” (Alice)

Ahh… it’s obvious. I’m very familiar with them so I tend to forget that they are noble. I never heard of a noble in a novel who have to wait in a queue for hours to get a seat to watch a tournament… I’m stupid sometimes.

“Haha, sorry I forgot… More importantly, let’s explore the city!” (Anna)

“What do you want to see?” (Alice)

“Mhh, I don’t know yet, maybe the market. I would like to see what they are selling in this city!” (Anna)

After my words, Alice nods and start to walk, so me and Lylith follow her. Once we arrive in the market, I look around the stand. Woah! There are all kinds of fruits and vegetables! And there are many of them that I never saw! There is stand selling some delicious looking apples, so I buy 3 for me and the 2 girls.

We keep walking in the crowd in the market. Oh, there is a stand selling potions! I’m very interested to see it! Mhh, there are some red potions, but they are so light, it’s nearly white! I don’t think they are very powerful potions…

Ohh! 3 of them are way darker, the effect must be similar to my potions!

W-WAIT!! THEY ARE NOT ONLY SIMILAR!! ITS ACTUALLY A POTION I MADE!! I CAN EVEN FEEL SOME OF MY MANA INSIDE!!!

What the hell! They even put the price at 3 gold coins each! What a scam… or not, because the effects are worth way more.

It means that some merchants already imported some of my potions to the capital… Well, it’s not like I mind. I will open a shop in the capital soon anyway.

Suddenly, I can feel someone running behind me, I turn around and see someone running while holding Lylith. He is heading toward a black alley.

Shit! I wasn’t careful enough! A kidnaping in the middle of the crowd?! I still need to protect Alice though.

“Alice, don’t be surprised and clench your teeth!” (Anna)

I instantly lift Alice and run toward the kidnapper. It only takes a few seconds to enter the black alley and reach him. I directly kick him on his back while catching Lylith, the man flies a few meters and hit a wall.

“Are you alright, Lylith?” (Anna)

She nods, so I get closer to the kidnapper while making sure that Alice and Lylith are safe. He is sitting against the wall and he is bleeding, so I kick him again on his belly.

“WHO THE HELL ARE YOU AND WHO SENT YOU?!” (Anna)

“…” (kidnapper)

I kick him again on his belly.

“ANSWER IMMEDIATELY!” (Anna)

“I-I don’t know!” (kidnapper)

I put my hand on his head and lift him with one hand, then I slap him with the other hand.

“Don’t play with me! I will slap you every second until you talk or die.” (Anna)

After a dozen of seconds and a dozen of slaps, he finally talks:

“I-It was the c-church!” (kidnapper)

“Which faction? Holy or Paluna?” (Anna)

“H-Holy!” (kidnapper)

The Holy Church… those bastards! They already tried to mess with my shop, can’t they leave me alone?! They probably tried to take Lylith hostage to threaten me…

I knock out the kidnapper and turn toward the girls, Lylith started to tremble when she heard that it was the church…

“I’m sorry Lylith, they probably want to take you to threaten me to stop my business… I promise to be more careful and protect you correctly…” (Anna)

Suddenly, Lylith shake her head and speak:

“No, it’s not because of you!” (Lylith)

WAIT?! She actually said MORE than 1 words for the first time?! It’s a good improvement! Wait, what did she say?

“What do you mean?” (Anna)

“They want to get rid of me, it has nothing to do with you…” (Lylith)

What? Why would they go that far to capture a single little girl? It’s not like there are not a lot of girl in the city! She continues:

“I’m sorry for hiding the truth… actually…” (Lylith)

She pauses for a few seconds; it looks like she wants to say something but is hesitating. She finally talks again:

“M-My father is the Pope, the one leading the Paluna Church!” (Lylith)

WAIT, WHAT????!!!!!

Seeing my frozen face, she continues:

“T-The Holy Church wants to capture me again to threaten my father! I-It’s also why I became a slave!” (Lylith)