Chapter 52:
Leatoria
Several days later, it was time to make their first visit to Leatoria since she began her new diet. By now, they could check on her condition and would be able to tell whether the treatment was having any effect, and whether there had been any visible changes. If there were no results, then Mile would have to employ her secondary method, so it was important to be sure. There was no time to waste when a person’s life was in danger.
And so, the Crimson Vow once again journeyed to the Aura family estate.
Naturally, they were on foot this time.
Though they were dropping in unannounced, it was not as though they were seeking an audience with the baron himself. All they had to do was find the butler, Bundine, or some other lower-ranking employee, and ask them how Leatoria was doing. That was all there was to it. No one ever expected a vacuum salesman or an evangelist to make an appointment before dropping by. This was very much the same.
“It is splendid to see you again! Please, come in. The Baron will see you straight away!”
Apparently, it was not at all the same. Bundine came running when he heard that the Crimson Vow had stopped by and led the group immediately to Leatoria’s room. When Bundine opened the door and urged the four inside, what greeted them was…
“Oh hey! Good to see you all again!”
Leatoria was vigorously performing an exercise that resembled yoga.
“Wh-wha…?”
Reina could barely form words. The other three could say nothing at all.
Leatoria seemed a little too healthy…
“My my! So sorry to keep you all waiting!”
Before the members of the Crimson Vow could recover from their shock, the baron arrived.
“Not only have her lethargy and the numbness in her legs gone away, her constitution, which has always been rather poor, has improved as well. Her appetite has increased, and now, well, see for yourself! I cannot thank you enough,” the baron said, bowing his head.
“N-no, please don’t lower yourself, sir!”
Having a baron bow to her again and again while she was passing herself off as a commoner was far too unsettling for Mavis, who quickly protested.
“St-still, this is…”
Thankfully, Leatoria was now wearing normal pajamas instead of a prim nightgown, so the effect was not quite as egregious as it could have been; however, she persisted in doing exercises in a stance that was at least a little inappropriate for a young lady to be taking in front of the eyes of gentlemen.
For a weak little wisp of a girl, she was almost a tad too powerful.
“My body feels so light! I’m having so much fun moving around. For the first time ever, I think I know what it’s like to truly be healthy!”
Hey, nanos?
PRESENT!
Um, what the heck is happening here?
YES, WELL, AS A BONUS, WE INCLUDED SOME UNIQUE COMPONENTS IN THOSE PILLS, AND WELL… WE VOLUNTARILY DECIDED TO HELP IMPROVE HER CONDITION, YOU SEE.
I knew iiiiiiiiiiiiiitt!!!
Mile had suspected that the truth had to be something to this effect. Were that not the case, there was no possible way that Leatoria could have shown such drastic improvement so quickly.
“Um, if she’s this healthy now, why is she still in her pajamas, being treated like an invalid?”
“Uh…”
At Mavis’s straightforward question, the baron, Bundine, and Leatoria all went stiff for some reason.
“Well, it’s just that we’ve always seen Leatoria lying down, so…”
“Nightclothes suit her ladyship so well that it’s rather impossible to think of her in anything else…”
“It’s more comfortable this way, so…”
Whoa now!!!! the members of the Crimson Vow thought as one.
“You little slob! Go change your clothes immediately!”
Whoa whoa whoa now!!! thought the Crimson Vow, minus one.
They all knew that Reina’s order had come from a place of seniority, but the fact remained that Reina appeared to be the younger of the two, and she was speaking to a noble—right in front of the girl’s father, no less.
A horrible spasm ran across Mavis’s face, but the baron only winced and left Bundine to handle getting Leatoria into some proper clothing, leading the Crimson Vow to the parlor himself.
“As you can see, you may consider the job complete. Thank you again.”
When they entered the parlor, the baron withdrew the job completion form from his breast pocket straight away and handed it to Mavis. Apparently unperturbed by Reina’s hubris, he had correctly deduced that Mavis was their leader. Well, in truth, it might have only been that Mavis was the eldest of the party or his assumption that she must be a noble. By appearance, Reina appeared to be no more than twelve or thirteen, after all.
No, wait, come to think of it, Mavis actually had introduced herself as the leader last time…
Mavis examined the paper she had been handed and found that it was marked with an A grade. Naturally, they would have not have expected any other.
“Thank you very much.”
Echoing Mavis’s thanks, the four of them bowed their heads. All of them had acquired at least that much in the way of manners, and this was a matter of ceremony.
“Now then,” said the baron, “I actually had something else to ask you…”
Mavis grinned and replied, “A new personal request? Would you mind letting us know what it is?”
Even if it was a direct request from a noble, they would not take any job that was fruitless or demeaning. This was a rule that the Crimson Vow had set for themselves. Even when it was a seemingly good person like the baron, they did not intend to leap into any agreements without first hearing the terms.
However, the baron looked a bit troubled, hesitant even, upon hearing Mavis’s inquiry.
“A request… Do we have to go as far as making this a formal request? Ah, well, I suppose it’s not as if I can expect hunters to do charity work, and if it’s a request from a noble, then it may as well be a job…”
The baron mumbled something to himself before finally seeming to work up the courage to say the words. “Please, be Leatoria’s friends!”
“No, thank you!”
“Whaaaaaat?!”
Hearing such an immediate reply, from the usually quiet Mile no less, the baron was taken aback.
“B-but why not?” the baron, who had never imagined that his request would be denied, was openly dismayed.
“You don’t become friends with someone just because their parents ask you to,” said Mile. “And also…”
“Also?”
“‘Leatoria’s been our friend this whole time!’ That’s what you were going to say, wasn’t it?!” Reina cut in.
“Ah, eh heh…” Mile scratched her head, embarrassed.
“Well, that’s our Mile for you.”
“I couldn’t imagine any other reply.”
Even Mavis and Pauline had seen straight through her.
There was no way that Mile—who until very recently had never had any friends her age, even in her previous life—could ever have truly refused the baron’s request. Even the other members of the Vow, who knew only the half of it, could see that.
“You’re so easy to read, Mile…”
“Huh?”
A surprised voice rang out from the doorway. Everyone turned to look and saw Leatoria, now changed into normal clothes, standing there, her eyes sparkling with shock and joy.
“F-friends? I h-have f-friends?!”
Oh no…
And with that, the other three were sucked into the trap right along with Mile.
“This is perfect! I can’t wait to go on all sorts of adventures with you all as a hunter!”
“Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?!?!?!”
The baron and the Crimson Vow all let out a reflexive cry, and in a shocking turn, even Bundine joined in.
For Bundine, the veteran butler, raising his voice in shock at a conversation between his master and a guest was the blunder of a lifetime.
“Wha, wh-wh-wh-what are you saying…?” asked the baron.
“Huh? Well, if I’m friends with hunters, then obviously I have to enroll as a hunter and go along with them if I want to see them with any regularity… Plus, I want to have all sorts of fun adventures too, just like the ones they were telling us about last time!” Leatoria replied, chipper.
“Nopenopenopenopenopenopenopenope, N-O-P-E, NO WAY!!!!” the Crimson Vow all shouted, wildly shaking their heads and waving their hands.
“If you were really listening, you’d remember what we said. A hunter’s life is full of dangers, and even we’ve come close to death. It’s not a job for a noble’s young daughter,” Mavis admonished, grimacing.
“Th-that’s right! A dangerous job like that is no sort of place for someone like you, Lady Leatoria,” Mile agreed.
“Huh?” Leatoria replied, “But Mavis and Mile, aren’t you both nobles?”
“Guh!”
Indeed, though they had never outright confirmed it, Mavis and Mile had been behaving in a way that clearly revealed their true origins in order to win the baron’s trust. Neither had even tried to hide the fact that they were not even disgraced nobles but still in good standing from active noble lines…
This was inevitable, of course. It had been crucial that Mile be thought of as someone of appropriate status, with adequate knowledge and a high-level education, in order for her diagnosis and treatment plan to be trusted. However, now it had come back to bite her…
“A hunter has to have sufficient skill in combat—the strength to protect herself. If she can’t handle her own affairs without troubling her allies, then she’s nothing. You have to hike through forests and up craggy mountains while carrying heavy things, and square up against enemies… Without excelling at the sword like Mavis does, or having skill and experience with magic like I do, or some other special ability like that, you’d be done for,” said Reina, hoping to dissuade Leatoria.
“Oh? But I am good at magic. Not many people know about it because I couldn’t leave home thanks to my frail body, but I can do fire and water magic, and perform combat spells, too.”
“C-come again?!?!”
For a beautiful young noblewoman, this was incredibly rare. Indeed, as far as Mile’s recollections went, the only such individual she had ever even laid eyes on was Marcela of the Wonder Trio—a young lady that she had trained or “power-leveled”—in other words, one whom Mile had hand-raised herself.
If one were to search the whole country, perhaps one might turn up one or two noble maidens who could use combat magic. However, to find one of such beauty, who had neither husband nor lover, was entirely unheard of. If Leatoria’s existence, her talent, and the fact that she had totally recovered from her illness and frailty came to light, there was no doubt that droves of suitors would come banging down the baron’s door.
Plus, since she had older siblings, there would be no issue with her leaving the household to wed. Surely, she would leap at any proposals that came from the heirs of viscounts or counts. Though, as she was only fourteen, any talk now could be of nothing more than a betrothal…
“Also, my body’s felt so powerful these past few days, I bet I could carry a whole cask of wine from here to the next town on my back…”
“Whaaaaaaaaat?!”
Reina was utterly lost for words.
“B-baron, if news of Leatoria’s magical ability, and her recovery, start getting around to other households…” Mile began.
“Ah…”
That was all the baron needed to hear. Suddenly, he could see everything clearly. His face went pale.
“Th-that can’t happen! I won’t let anyone take my Leatoria away!”
“But Father, I don’t want to be a bride, anyway. I want to be a hunter.”
Things were already falling apart.
“Anyway, Lady Leatoria, the fact remains that we are all C-rank hunters. If you enlisted now, you would start off as an F-rank hunter. People with such different ranks can’t be in the same party…”
“Really?”
That was a big, fat lie.
If four out of five people in a party were C-ranks, and the remaining member was an F-rank, the party would still be counted as C-rank on the whole. Plus, given that she could use combat magic, she would probably start off as a D-rank—thanks to the aforementioned “skip” process… Though of course, no matter how good someone’s magical skills were, it was still very unlikely that a complete novice would be allowed to start at a C-rank. Assuming that they didn’t also possess storage magic anyway…
Both the baron and the butler more than likely knew that Mile was lying, but there was no way that either of them were of the mind to correct her, not in the slightest.
And thus, the wings of Leatoria’s dreams were clipped before she could ever even take flight.
***
“The direct request has been completed with an A grade…”
After taking a good long look at the completion mark that Mavis had handed her, Felicia cast a suspicious glare over the four hunters of the Crimson Vow.
We should have gone to a different counter…
Despite Mavis’s immediate regret, in truth, this was inevitable. Even if she had attempted to head to a different counter, Felicia would have noticed and raised her hand to beckon them over. Apparently, she had independently decided that all matters regarding the Crimson Vow were in her care, and though Mavis was bold when it came to battle, such conflicts were not an area where she shone. There was no way that she would have been able to escape Felicia’s call.
“So, you’re telling me that the daughter of a noble, who was wasting away from a mysterious illness that even countless doctors could not identify, has suddenly made a full recovery in just a few days?”
The Crimson Vow exchanged glances.
“Well, I suppose that asking for details is against the rules,” Felicia said, and began dutifully processing the form. “Here!”
With that, she slapped a leather sack down upon the counter.
Since it would be troublesome to shove clattering mountains of coins across the counter, and it would do no good to hand the group a large sum of money in front of the watchful eyes of other hunters, when there was a sum over a certain amount to be paid, it was delivered in a leather bag. There were enough dishonest hunters and those hurting for money that at least this much caution was warranted.
Of course, in practical terms, this was rather pointless. The fact that the money was inside of a leather bag was itself already an indication of the amount that might be inside. All the hunters here knew that the appearance of a leather bag meant that the amount was thirty gold pieces or more. Furthermore, the size of the bag changed based on the amount of coins that were inside, so anyone with a keen eye could guess the approximate amount at a glance.
At this point, all that putting the coins inside a bag truly did was avoid the general stir that would be caused by having heaps of loose coins passed around. As far as the guild was concerned, achieving at least that much was more than enough to merit the effort.
At times, however, Felicia liked to play a bit of a game.
Yes, at times she would pay out a small reward entirely in silver pieces and hand it over in a leather sack.
Of course, these bags were not free. Obtaining them cost the guild money. Such a ploy was inherently wasteful, but neither the guild master nor the other employees sought to pick a fight with her about it.
Why was that?
Naturally, it was, “because it’s Felicia.”
There was no one at this guild branch who dared stand up to her.
Even the hunters who were given these large sums of silver coins had no complaints. Getting their pay this way made them look good, so they were happy to be on the receiving end of Felicia’s tricks. People would just think that luck had come their way.
Mavis began to peek inside the bag to check just how many gold coins they had been paid but stopped halfway and handed the bag to Mile… They had never actually discussed payment for the job with the baron, she realized, so there was no point in confirming the amount enclosed.
They could not ask Felicia about the amount, either. To do so would be to reveal to everyone that they had taken a job without confirming the reward first. Somehow, Mavis got the feeling that this would be an incredibly unwise thing to do.
And so, Mile took the bag and placed it into her inventory in such a way that the other hunters could clearly see it. Naturally, everyone assumed she was using normal storage magic. This way, they would know that pickpocketing the Crimson Vow’s earnings was impossible and that the only way to steal those coins would be to have an armed showdown with the party as a whole.
The hunters, who had no interest in this, thought nothing of it, but Felicia, upon seeing how Mile and Mavis stored the money away without even confirming the amount that was inside the sack, quirked an eyebrow.
Do they not care how much money is inside? Or do they have that much faith in the guild? Heh! What fascinating people…
As she watched the retreating forms of the Crimson Vow, the corners of Felicia’s mouth perked up, ever so slightly.
Waaaaaaaaaah!!!
Hell had just frozen over.
The hunters who were watching quaked in fear at the wicked grin upon Felicia’s face. All but the veterans, who could tell that the smile upon Felicia’s face was one of true joy…
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