(... Who is that?)

Iris found herself in front of a woman concealed under a long black robe. The figure was sitting at a table, with emerald hair cascading down from under her hood, and golden eyes hiding behind glasses.

“Glad to see you, Iris,” said the woman in the robe with a familiar cadence.

(Those eyes, and that voice… What was her codename, again?)

“... Raven," Iris managed, "I wasn’t expecting you to come see me here.”

“I wanted to see how your life here was with my own eyes.”

“You should have considered another outfit. You’re conspicuous,” Iris cautioned.

“... Are you seriously telling me this?” she shot back, earning nods from the few people nearby.

“I mean, you’re just creating more misunderstandings,” Alice mumbled, furtively glancing at Cyne.

(Your wig and the fake glasses were more than enough. Now he thinks you're an elf as well...)

“Iris,” Cyne leaned closer as both of them sat down at the table. “Care to introduce me?”

“... Alright, but contain yourself. This is Raven. She’s the one responsible for that lottery lot I mentioned earlier.”

This 'Raven' looked taken aback, “Lottery…? I came here to deliver your share of our collaboration's earnings, you know?"

(Stick to the script, dammit!)

“A-anyway, Raven, this is Cyne. He’s my new partner.”

“Oh. How… enterprising of you. I didn't expect my student to become so bold and get a man...”

“It’s not like that, Ma’am. Iris is merely saying that we’re fellow party members," Cyne clarified.

“I know that, I was just teasing her. And yet, she’s completely unfazed...”

“I mean,” Iris started, “I know that you know. I even told you a bit about him last time…”

In a teasing mood, the green-haired woman turned to Cyne. “If you're free, handsome, what about a date with me?”

“I… I must decline, Ma’am. The age difference is a bit much…”

“Pfft…!” Iris cracked up upon hearing that.

“W-what?! Just the other day Mia labeled me an old hag, and now this? Why are you calling me ‘Ma’am’, to begin with?! Do I look that old?!”

“See? That’s what I meant by you inviting misunderstandings.” Iris added.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean…? Fine, I'm leaving!”

Raven promptly got up from her chair, but Iris grabbed her sleeve. “Ah, wait! You’re both pretty and elegant!”

The woman paused, flustered, “D-do you mean it…?”

“Now, about that pouch…”

“... Ha? Are you messing with me?!”

Raven quickly tossed the sack onto the table before storming off, muttering about Iris being a jerk.

“... A jerk? Why did she call me that…? I was being supportive…” Iris said, genuinely puzzled.

Having assisted to that scene, Cyne couldn't help but sigh. “It's about timing, Iris... You could have waited a bit longer before asking for the money.”

“... Eh?”

Raven stopped at the exit, turned to Iris, and declared, “You were by far my worst student!” and disappeared right after.

(Stop with that formulation already!)

Observing Iris' frown, Cyne changed the subject. “... So, how much was this lot?”

“Right. Let’s see…” Iris proceeded to untie the knot and then opened the pouch.

“... That sure is better than nothing but, from the way you presented it, I expected a lot more. How do you plan to fund my new sword with that much?”

Did she lie to him about the substantial sum she had mentioned as leverage for him to join her party? From her expression, however, she seemed as surprised as he was. To begin with, if she was lying to him, she would have asked him to officially register as a member before she revealed the content of the sack. To Cyne, chances were that Iris thought there would be more as well.

“I… I expected less, actually…”

“Huh…?”

Iris was baffled. Even with the little experience she had with this currency, she knew she could rent a room at the Guild’s inn for at least a week, meals included.

(Just how much does she make by selling those mana potions…? This is just half the profit from the surplus potions we produced and it's still this substantial? Eh?)

The intention behind the latest batch of magic potions was to pacify their disgruntled clients. To do so, Serena had even doubled the number of potions per client to make amends. As a result, the vast majority of these potions were essentially given away for free, supposedly leaving little for Iris this time.

If she estimated correctly, this pouch contained earnings from barely 5% of the total potions. In the future, if they split the profit evenly, Iris would receive the money from half the production.

(So, a normal batch would usually earn me several times as much...?)

“From now on, I should be receiving ten times this amount from Raven every week… That can't be right…”

“What kind of lottery pays out weekly?! Is this illicit money after all?!”

“It’s legit, I swear!”

“You could retire from adventuring with this kind of profit…”

“But I like adventuring... it's fun.”

“You're willing to put your life in danger for fun? You must have a screw loose, then. Or maybe it’s a cultural difference?”

Iris smirked. “Definitely the former. Once again, welcome to my party.”

***

The next day, Cyne and Iris were standing at the location that was indicated for the quest. In this upscale district, Cyne felt like a fish out of water in a sea of well-dressed citizens. Iris, however, felt more at home than when she was at the Adventuring Guild. The passers-by exuded elegance and calmness as opposed to the poorer part of the city where people's demeanor was usually cruder and more familiar.

The two of them were waiting for the noble client and for the other party that was hired alongside them.

“Oh, Cyne! I did not expect to see you here.”

“If it isn’t Patry. Is your party the other one for the job? It’s been a while.”

(Pa….try? Where did I hear that name before…?)

Iris turned her head toward the other D-rank party that just arrived, and she froze.

(Oh crap, it’s them! What do I do?!)

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That man was the leader of the party she had met and chatted with for hours on a certain journey toward and from the capital a while ago.

“It sure has. You’re usually not the type to accept a mission like that, though. Having trouble finding suitable ones?”

“I’m here because my partner needs experience.”

It was only when Cyne pointed at Iris that Patry seemed to acknowledge her presence. He stared at her for a little while, probably wondering if she was even an adventurer or if she was Cyne’s little sister. Nonetheless, he ultimately smiled at her.

“Hello, Missy. I’m Patry, the leader of the Sword Believers. What about you?”

(The ‘Sword Believers’...? What a lame name! Are they part of a boy band or something...? If they told me their party’s name back then, I’m not even sure I would have become an adventurer!)

After mentally ranting about the naming sense of the parties she had encountered, Iris looked blankly at each of the party’s members. She was uncertain about how to answer the leader.

The main reason was that she did not want them to recognize her as Alice, or else it might put an abrupt end to her adventuring life.

“... ‘Sup. The name’s Iris. Glad to meet you all,” ultimately said Iris after an unnatural silence had installed itself.

After gauging their reaction for a few seconds, they didn't seem to have made any connection between the noble they had protected a while ago and the young girl they had just met.

(Safe.)

Afterward, she proceeded to not say a word while Cyne fervently talked with these men he seemed to know from a while back. Iris' silence stemmed solely from her desire to remain unrecognized and had nothing to do with her inability to hold a casual conversation. Definitely.

Eventually, a carriage arrived. It did not look any better than her family’s old carriage, so Iris was probably right about the client being from a baron family.

A butler emerged from the carriage, extending a hand to assist a woman in her descent.

After fixing her robe, a noblewoman with brown hair greeted all the adventurers at once in a cold and measured tone, without smiling one bit. She was over forty years old and looked quite rigid. All things considered, most nobles were probably like this.

“Greetings, my Lady. I am Carl, a member of the Sword Believers. I can fight using daggers.”

Then, from left to right, the adventurers proceeded to introduce themselves to the client, starting with the Sword Believers.

“Cyne,” Iris whispered, “Is it alright if we don’t have a party name yet?”

“It’s not mandatory, but it does help build trust with the client. Do you have anything that comes to mind?”

While Iris was trying to find one on the spot, the other adventurers continued their introduction one by one.

“How about the ‘Relativists’?” Iris suggested, quietly enough to be heard by only the two of them.

“... What?”

Then, it was Cyne’s turn to greet the client.

“Um… Good morning, Madam. My name is Cyne, and I fight with a sword. I am part of a party with this fellow adventurer. We… don’t have a name yet.”

(Huh? Didn’t I just suggest one?!)

The baroness turned to Iris, who was as usual hiding under her clothes. “Do D-rank parties allow children in, nowadays? The guild is no longer what it was…”

(You’re only one of Father’s vassals, and yet you’re disrespecting me?! Well, I’ll let it slide since I’m currently incognito.)

“I-I am an adult, my Lady. I am called Iris, and I fight with magic.”

Doubtful, the butler chimed in. “Magic, you say? Is that stick you are holding for close combat?”

“... It is, Sir.”

“Do you not have any real weapon under your robe? Are you even planning to protect the Lady from monsters?”

“Let her be, Charles,” the noblewoman said. “Young girl, have we met, before? Your face seems familiar.”

'Uh...?"

(... Crap. If she’s really a vassal, she may be acquainted with Mother, who’s essentially my spitting image…!)

“I… I do not think so, my Lady…”

“Do you have clothes under this robe?”

“Um… Yes?”

“Get it off then, so I can see for myself.”

“E-eh…?”

(... Is that game over for me? She will immediately recognize Mother’s hair… Even if she doesn’t, the Sword Believers will…)

Iris was shaking, unsure of what to do.

“Well, I am waiting,” the baroness insisted.

“Madam, she's barely of age,” Cyne interjected in Iris' defense, “There’s little chance of-”

“Mind your business. I was not speaking to you.”

... But the baroness coldly shut him up.

Cyne's worry lay in the exposure of Iris' ears. He hoped that her hair was long enough to cover them. If it was not the case, she would surely disobey that noble lady. Still, to him, it was a much preferable outcome than Iris taking her own life afterward.

Iris, however, did not even think about refusing the baroness' demands and failing the mission as a consequence. All her brain power was currently in use to resolve the issue with magic.

(I’ve got no choice but to try something. I’ve got no spell ready for this, so I’ll have to improvise… Yeah, let’s go for a variant of the photon style. First, apply the mana evenly, as close as possible… Then, get rid of motion…)

After a few more seconds, Iris took off her robe.

Under it was just an ordinary young green-eyed girl wearing a lovely dress. Her hair, however, felt like an anomaly. It was the deepest black imaginable. It was so dark that it seemed to swallow light, even though Hiphus was high in the sky at this hour.

There was no reflection whatsoever, making it impossible to discern any depth. It was as if a flat image of absolute black hair had been put on top of her head.

In addition to this unsettling hair color, the strands of hair and her bangs were completely immobile, as if they were unaffected by the wind.

[https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1099093161634189313/1135849346689159218/SPOILER_Magic_armor_hairstyle.png]

As everyone seemed entranced by this unfathomable darkness, no one could utter a word.

Iris was the one that broke this strange silence. "... Does my face still ring a bell, my Lady? May I have your permission to put my robe back on?"

“Ah,” the noblewoman said as if she had just come back to her senses, “... You may. I must have been mistaken…”

(What’s with their reaction? ... I didn’t redshift the light beyond the visible spectrum, did I? Crap, did I?! )

Iris had put as much mana as she usually did for a dark-but-still-visible photon style armor. In this case, however, she had applied it on a much smaller volume, making the mana denser and more effective at stealing energy from light. It resulted in an infrared light that could only be perceived by some snakes or insects.

(Well, what is done is done. That’s still a successful first attempt for this spell. When it's finished, perhaps I’ll call it… ‘Mana armor: hairstyle’. Heh, I've got a knack for spell-naming, don't I?)