In the Land of Leadale - Volume 4 - Chapter 2

Chapter 2 - A Scheme, an Inquiry, Dealing with Sweet Talkers, and Two Daughters

“This is a house?” Cayna asked.

“Well, it is rather big, but it used to be a small store,” one of Elineh’s employees replied as they gave Cayna’s group a tour of the enormous two-story house. It was maybe about half the size of Marelle’s inn, and even that qualified it as larger than a house. The employee handed them the key and said, “Please use it as you wish,” before leaving.

The first floor had a wide storefront area, two smaller rooms, and a kitchen. One of these rooms had been converted into a dining room and was outfitted with a table that seated six. The second floor had three rooms that were about thirteen square meters total. Cayna, Luka, and Lytt would sleep in one of the rooms on the second floor, while Roxine would use a small room on the first floor. As they walked through the house and Cayna investigated the kitchen, she murmured that they would some need firewood.

In the meantime, Cayna took beds out of her Item Box and plunked them in the intended bedrooms. Roxine had utensils and food in her own Item Box, so they were fine in that regard. However, they still seemed to be lacking a few things.

“Hmm, guess I better go shopping,” said Cayna.

“No, I shall take care of any errands,” replied Roxine. “Lady Cayna, you should show the girls around town first.”

Although the girls had been cautioned not to go exploring on their own, they were completely focused on going outside. At that moment, they saw a group playing music as it passed by a nearby road, and their eyes followed after it. Li’l Fairy was captivated as well; she floated through the wall over to the musical group before flying back in a hurry. She would probably be the first to get lost.

Leaving the shortage of supplies to Roxine to handle, Cayna decided to take the two girls out into the lively city. Using her memories of chasing Primo as a guide, she brought them to the riverbank.

However, since the citizens were constantly adding more piers to the riverbank, these swelled out several dozen meters farther toward the river than they had originally. Even so, the incident with the penguin monster had destroyed a wide swath of it, so the people must have rebuilt the extensions afterward. If seen from above, the piers created a serrated pattern.

Normally, there would be countless small boats bobbing along the river in addition to the large galleys that required many rowers. However, in that moment, they couldn’t spot a single boat. Several small ones were tied up along most of the piers, and the surface of the oddly quiet river simply reflected the sun’s rays.

“Huh?”

“Wow, this is amaaaaazing!”

“So…big.”

Cayna tilted her head at the strangeness of the scene, while Lytt’s heart soared as she gazed at the river. Luka had visited once before, but it’d been such a whirlwind that she didn’t remember much—although most of that whirlwind may have been her interactions with the High Priest.

The flow of the river as it moved around the sandbar was gentle, and on calm days one would likely mistake it for a large lake. The church on the eastern end of the sandbar stood out conspicuously even at their current distance. It had the remarkable elegance of a white-walled palace.

“I wonder if this ‘something’ that’s going on has anything to do with the boats being docked?” Cayna pondered aloud.

“Miss Cayna, Miss Cayna! What’s that? That over there!”

Lytt’s enthusiastic shouting interrupted Cayna’s train of thought, and she looked up to see what the girl was pointing at. Calmly soaring over their heads was a giant laigayanma with people upon its back. Since the boats were out of commission, a number of dragonfly transport services were in operation up above.

“Those are dragonfly rides. You can ride a laigayanma to go sightseeing and cross to the other side of the river.”

“Wowww!” Lytt squealed.

Lytt couldn’t take her eyes off the dragonflies flying above her. She had apparently taken a keen interest in them. Since there was always the chance she might fall off the pier while she was busy staring up, Cayna pulled Lytt toward her.

“Mommy Cayna…”

“What’s up, Lu?”

Luka tugged on Cayna’s cloak and Cayna crouched down to meet her gaze. “Why…are there no boats?” Luka asked.

“Huh? Hmm, that’s a good question. There must be some reason for it.”

“Yeah…”

As you might expect from someone born in a fishing village, she immediately noticed there were no boats on the river. Luka’s a genius!

“Cayna, please stop pretending to be surprised by a child’s suspicions.”

Cayna had a feeling Kee was giving her an exasperated stare, and her thoughts turned serious.

This certainly seemed to qualify as the “something strange” Arbiter had mentioned.

“Maybe something scary came out of the river?”

“Something…scary…”

“Ah! Sorry, sorry! There’s nothing scary in there, nothing at all!”

Luka’s expression darkened just then, and Cayna quickly pulled her into a hug. Realizing with a panic that her comment had probably reminded Luka of the disaster that occurred in her home village, Cayna’s own regret made her want to kick herself for failing as a mother.

However, Luka suddenly removed herself from Cayna’s embrace and smiled softly.

“I know…you’re strong, Mommy Cayna.”

“Lu…,” Cayna said, trembling with overwhelming emotion.

Lytt hugged Luka as well and giggled. “Yup! Miss Cayna is suuuper strong. After all, she’s a bad witch.”

“Ack?! Lytt, I told you that was a secret!”

Lytt and Luka stared blankly as Cayna began panicking.

“But I already told her before…,” said Lytt.

“Mommy Cayna…is not…a bad witch,” added Luka.

“Ahhh! You two are such angels!”

Once again on cloud nine, Cayna held them both close. This only brought more attention to her, and the passersby on the pier watched the scene fondly—although Cayna never noticed.

After they finished viewing the river, they left the pier. The three avoided the crowded main streets and instead passed through the residential district, where many people had set up stalls selling drinks and meat skewers. Lytt and Luka grew thirsty from all their frolicking, and Cayna bought them drinks made from squeezed fruits. Each one was an incredibly cheap two bronze coins. They seemed to be diluted with water, but the fruit flavor still shone through. The girls returned the wooden cups once they were done, and the three enjoyed browsing the shops along the residential district while listening to the hustle and bustle of the main road. Cayna bought the girls wooden hair accessories made by the local women, and both Lytt and Luka were in a fantastic mood.

“I do not detect any danger in the area.”

“Probably ’cause there are so many people here.”

Cayna was holding the girls’ hands and listening to Kee’s report when a group of children crossed in front of them. She saw a familiar face among the group and yelled without thinking, “Primo! Did you run away again?”

“Huh? Agh?! It’s the monster lady!”

Primo jumped in shock at the sight of Cayna’s face, pointed at her while yelling this rude moniker, and ran away as fast as his legs would carry him. He dove into a narrow alley between two houses and disappeared out of sight. His reaction seemed to remind the other children of who Cayna was, too, and they scattered in every direction.

“He sure got out of here fast…”

“Do you know him, Miss Cayna?” Lytt asked.

Hardly a few seconds had passed between her calling out to him and the group making a break for it. Lytt and Luka—both unaware of Primo and Cayna’s connection—were dumbfounded by the group’s swift escape.

“Mon…ster?”

Luka seemed to take issue with this nickname. Cayna smiled and patted the girls’ heads and decided to bring them up to speed. Of course, she skirted around the part where Primo was actually the prince.

“I took on a request from the Adventurers Guild to catch a rich kid who’d run away from home because he hated studying. That boy you saw just now was him.”

Cayna chose to blame Primo’s flight on his hatred of studying. Lytt and Luka frowned.

“But studying is fun,” said Lytt.

“Uh-huh…I love…reading books,” added Luka.

The diligent students’ reactions warmed Cayna’s heart, and she hugged them both.

Cayna couldn’t go after Primo since she had to keep her eyes on the girls. She told herself she’d report him to one of Shining Saber’s patrolling knights as soon as she spotted one.

After they went around the stalls buying meat skewers and such and returned to the rental house, they found a large pile of firewood in the kitchen. Roxine had apparently finished quite a lot in a short amount of time; the chairs in the second-floor bedroom had even been replaced with floor cushions.

Luka and Lytt sat on these cushions and enjoyed taking a load off their feet. As Cayna watched over them, Roxine called out to her.

“You have a guest, Lady Cayna.”

“A guest?”

A table and chairs were set in the vast and empty-looking storefront room. Sitting there was Kenison.

“Sorry for the wait. Everything all right, Kenison?”

“Uh, yeah, I’m just here on an errand for the boss.”

Something seemed to be bothering him, and he was being evasive. He stared absentmindedly into the teacup in front of him. When Cayna stole a glance at the cup, she found it was filled to the brim not with tea but with salt. The surprise of it temporarily left her stunned.

There was no need to ask who had brought it out; she already knew. This maid of hers had a knack for making Cayna look bad.

“…Um, I’m very sorry about my maid.”

“Ah, it’s okay. I just came to deliver a message.”

After her sincere apology, Kenison stood and smacked his hand against his chest. He grinned sheepishly at his instinctive knight’s salute, and Cayna burst out laughing.

“This is about what you asked at the Adventurers Guild, right?” she said.

“Yes. It looks like the boats aren’t allowed to sail because a large shadow appeared under the river’s surface several days ago.”

“A large shadow… How big was it?”

“They say it reaches from this riverbank all the way to the sandbar.”

“What?! That’s gigantic!”

As far as Cayna could remember, even the Leadale game didn’t have an aquatic monster of that size. The only exception might be a high-level Green Dragon summon, but those couldn’t dive underwater since they were flying types.

A chill ran down Cayna’s spine when she considered what else might be lurking in this world.

At the breakfast table the next morning, Lytt and Luka excitedly discussed where they might go and what they might see that day. Although Luka’s speech was as stilted as ever, it didn’t mean she didn’t have her own opinions. It seemed that Luka’s responses of “yes” or “no” to the things Lytt liked or wanted to see fueled their conversation.

“I wanna see those people that throw the balls. What about you, Luka?” Lytt asked.

“The…balls?”

“Yeah, when we were in the carriage trying to get through that crowd, I saw people some throwing balls.”

“…I…didn’t see them.”

“I wanna get a closer look. Luka, will you come with me?”

“…Okay.”

“Yay! Let’s check it out together!”

Cayna couldn’t immediately imagine what Lytt was referring to, but she guessed they were talking about street performers of some sort. Most of Cayna’s knowledge came from TV and the Internet. If someone was throwing balls, she could only think of circus performers like clowns juggling balls on a unicycle. Cayna reminded herself not to get more keyed up than the kids she was escorting.

Roxine, who had been serving them, took notice of something and left the table for a moment. She came back shortly thereafter and asked a disturbing question: “We have a most boorish guest at the door. May I dump water on him so that he’ll leave?”

“Don’t be so violent first thing in the morning. Who’s the guest?”

“Your typical stuck-up noble’s flunky butler.”

“A butler?”

Cayna told Luka and Lytt not to leave the house and made her way to the entrance. Roxine stood at attention at the front door and acted as a blockade to prevent this boorish fellow from stepping inside.

When they first arrived at the rental house, Cayna thought to fortify it with at least some magical defenses. Any lowlife who tried to sneak in from the second floor would be caught Venus flytrap–style by a magical creature disguised as a roof. There was a chance they might be flattened by the sheer force of it as well. Those foolish enough to try and sneak in the back entrance would be stopped by a magic trampoline and sent flying sky-high. The intruder wouldn’t be flung far enough to land in the river, but a fall from that height wasn’t exactly survivable. Roxine and Cayna had come to an executive decision: Any trash who brought harm to children had no human rights. Neither of the two had the least bit of mercy or compassion on that matter.

When Cayna cautiously stepped outside, she was met by a thin, aging butler with a bushy white beard who was dressed in a suit. He bowed as soon as he saw her.

“I do apologize for troubling you so early in the morning,” the butler said.

“No, that’s all right,” Cayna replied. “May I ask who you are?”

“My apologies. My name is Marnus. I am a butler in the employ of a distinguished individual.”

“I’m Cayna, an adventurer.”

“Yes, I am aware.” With his right hand on his heart and his left behind his back, the butler Marnus gave a slight bow.

“Well then, what business does a distinguished individual’s butler have with me?”

Cayna had meant to give him a bright and completely normal smile, but Marnus took a step back for some reason. His age and many years of service had taught him that such a smile was like an invitation into a dragon’s maw. His cheek unconsciously twitched, and his perfect facade as a composed, emotionless butler cracked. Collecting his pride to keep Cayna from noticing his agitation, he adjusted his posture and faced her once more. This all occurred within the span of a single second.

In actuality, the source of the pressure that nearly broke him had come from Roxine, who was standing behind Cayna. Unable to stomach any butler who treated her master as a mere commoner (at least, that was how it seemed to Roxine), she fixed him with a healthy dose of Intimidate. Even her weakest attack might cause a puny human like Marnus to keel over from shock, so she tested just how far she could push Intimidate onto him.

Roxine figured she’d gone too easy on him since he managed to recover. She clicked her tongue and ended the skill, then obediently took a step back, fearing Cayna would take notice if she tried to push it any further. However, she was fully prepared to attack the butler at a moment’s notice if push came to shove.

Kee had already warned Cayna of Roxine’s actions. She internally sighed.

I swear, Cie…

“You never know what this butler’s master might be after. If you give Roxine the order, she will murder this master in their sleep.”

In the middle of the festival?! That’d cause total chaos! Where do you and Cie get such disturbing ideas?!

She wasn’t happy that both Kee, her longtime mental companion, and her maid were way too willing to initiate violence. If she allowed either one of them to run wild, there was no doubt she’d get stuck in a pattern of paying for it later. Cayna already had enough experience with that when Leadale was just a game, and she was plenty sick of it.

“Can I help you?” Cayna asked.

“Ah, yes. Actually, this individual I work for very much desires the wagon in your possession. Would you be so kind as to sell it? You will be well compensated, of course.”

Ah, there it is, Cayna thought, remembering Elineh’s warning with annoyance.

“So how much are you willing to offer?”

“Right—would five hundred gold coins suffice?”

Five hundred gold coins was equal to 50,000 silver coins—not even one percent of the money Cayna had left over from the game. Those five hundred gold coins could buy her 125,000 nights at Marelle’s inn with her special discounted rate. She could certainly stay there that long given her high-elf longevity, but whether the inn would even allow it was another question altogether.

“That’s chump change. Make me a better offer.”

“Ngh?! What did you say?!”

As soon as Cayna shot him down point-blank, the elderly butler showed emotion for the first time. His clenched fists trembled in disbelief, and his sleepy eyes suddenly opened wide. Roxine didn’t waste a moment in stepping forward and informing him the conversation was over before shooing him off.

“Your negotiations were unsuccessful,” she told him. “I bid you adieu.”

“We still have more to discuss!” the butler cried.

“Any further disruptions and I will not hesitate to use force. Is that all right with you?”

Roxine directed this question not at Cayna, but at the elderly butler who didn’t know when to give up. Marnus’s spine froze under Roxine’s icy glare. He was wracked with chills an instant later, and it was as if he had witnessed his own mercilessly shredded future.

“Y-you will surely regret…turning down a deal such as this.”

He stammered a vague threat and left. An incident like this normally meant hired thugs and an attempt to kidnap children were on the horizon.

“Hopefully he’s just some cookie-cutter villain,” said Cayna.

“Say the word and I shall ensure he takes his final breath tonight,” Roxine replied.

“Who told you to kill anyone? He’ll probably give up if we just leave him be.”

“You’re quite the optimist, Lady Cayna.”

“Well, I can’t imagine anyone who could get past our combined defenses.”

“This is true, but still…”

A maid grumbling with nonstop irritation because she wouldn’t get the chance to kill was something truly terrifying. Cayna figured Roxine would be less likely to go on a rampage if she had her prioritize the children’s welfare.

“Tomorrow I’ll swing by the Adventurers Guild and see if I can get any details about what’s happening. We can touch base after that.”

“I suppose there’s no stopping you. I understand. The children will be safe with me.”

“It’d also be nice to stop by the Academy despite all this craziness. We can take a dragonfly to the sandbar.”

“Wouldn’t it be faster to use a summoning?”

“That’ll bring the knights over in full force!! The festival will be in danger for a whole other reason!”

Aquatic summonings weren’t the most subtle creatures. Blue Dragons, for example, got bigger as their level increased. Then there was an eight-armed starfish massive enough to easily block Felskeilo’s eastern gate; a hermit crab whose spinning-drill shell was slightly larger than Cayna’s rental home; and an octopus that could wrap its tentacles around the royal castle and still have room for more. Cayna couldn’t guarantee these summonings wouldn’t cause any less of an uproar than that one penguin monster had, so she quickly vetoed Roxine’s suggestion.

When Cayna and the two girls went into town that day, they were once again dumbfounded by the sheer number of people. The girls were tuckered out by the time they made their way through the crowds, watched knife-throwing performers, and went around the numerous stalls. They stopped by Elineh’s company on the way home, where Cayna bought a large supply of cloth.

Meanwhile, in an unspeakably dim part of Felskeilo that was once a redevelopment zone.

The stretch of ruined houses had been turned into a castle and sightseeing attraction literally overnight, and during the day it was the second-most-crowded place after the market. At night, however, it was nearly desolate, with nothing more than a campfire and a guard outpost. In between this zone and the residential district was an even more desolate area where people eked out a living: the slums.

The destitute also frequented a spot just past the city’s southern gate, where squatters who had been denied residence within the city gathered. Naturally, since they were outside the realm of soldier protection, the chances of being attacked by a monster here were significantly high.

These squatters wouldn’t stand a chance in the city’s slums—it was a rough crowd in there. But as tax-paying citizens, the slum’s more unsavory inhabitants couldn’t simply be kicked out.

To the soldiers tasked with patrolling the area, the group was considered a thorn in their side.

That night, these unsavory inhabitants put their secret plans into action.

They occupied a house said to have been built by a prominent merchant of days past. In its heyday, the building had been a three-story palace; now, it was half-destroyed and a mere shadow of its former beauty.

Several men were gathered in the basement around a tiny fire thick with animal fat, their faces warped with unsettling grins as they discussed their devious plot. They sat huddled around one man, who cut an especially severe figure amongst these notorious fugitives.

“We got the go-ahead from our contact,” rasped the fierce-looking man with a deep scar across half his face—the leader of the Parched Scorpions, a shadowy organization in Felskeilo.

“Heh-heh-heh-hehhh. What kinda job ya got dis time, boss?”

“Hope there’s a girl involved.”

The first of his subordinates to speak was a slender man twirling a dagger around his hand. He seemed like the friendliest of the syndicate’s members. All the more reason he was such a scoundrel for associating with this bunch.

The subordinate who spoke without an accent was a short kobold man. His fur was gray, and perhaps because he didn’t groom properly, it was terribly ruffled every which way, like a bad case of bedhead.

“There’s girls involved, but they’re children,” the leader replied.

“Oh-ho? Then this job is right up my alley,” came a friendly-sounding, youthful voice that belonged to a surprisingly large man. His face was sharp, and he had a muscular figure. He looked like the type who carried steel girders on construction sites.

A man like him was a pedophile beyond all saving.

“It’s a hostage situation, so be gentle,” the leader warned.

“Does that mean our target is a merchant?”

“Seems she’s an adventurer. There’s also a maid.”

“An adventurer…and a maid?”

The man who asked this with a dubious look possessed no unique characteristics. Even if you were to pass him on the street, it would be difficult to identify him as a villain. He was also the type not easily spotted in a crowd. It was no exaggeration to say he was the most average of the average. He put his completely generic features to use as a pickpocket.

“The client wants something from the adventurer lady, and our job is to abduct the kids and get her to accept their demands,” the leader explained.

The less assertive subordinates nodded, grinning fiendishly. Even getting a small share of the profits would be fun.

“Lucky her, bein’ surrounded by girls. Are the kids hers?”

“No idea,” the leader replied. “Find out yourself if you’re dyin’ to know.”

“Feh-heh-heh-heh. I don’t mind one bit either way.”

“We strangle the maid and capture the kids, right? Sounds like a pretty easy job to me.”

“Lemme fool around with the maid before you kill her. That okay, boss?”

“Sure, as long as she’s still alive by the time everyone else is done.”

“Aw maaan!”

Their excitement grew as they talked about everything they’d do once the job was done, but this was because they did not have any detailed information on who they were dealing with. Underestimating women and children and seeing them as targets who were easy to control was proof of a typical scoundrel.

“Listen up, you bastards! Don’t go embarrassin’ me!”

The leader slammed his fist against the wall as he roused his men. The subordinates all nodded—some smugly, some emotionlessly, others with their mouths twisted in wicked grins.

“Just wait for the good news, boss.”

“Kidnapping’s my specialty.”

“Heh-heh…love me some women…”

“Sheesh.”

They exited the basement one by one, sneering at what a simple hit this would be…all without ever realizing that something hiding within the darkness had heard their every word.

The fact they hadn’t noticed was reasonable enough. This “something” was a bug no larger than a fingernail. The black cricket’s compound eyes faintly flickered red before the insect flew after the boss, who was the last to depart.

The next day.

The plan was for Cayna to visit the Adventurers Guild to gather information and then meet up with Roxine and the kids to head over to the Academy. Roxine would watch over Lytt and Luka until then.

“Be sure to scold them if they start whining, Cie,” said Cayna.

“Yes, please leave it to me.”

“I’m not gonna whine!” Lytt pouted.

“Me…neither…,” Luka agreed.

The two girls gripped Cayna’s cloak. She slowly eased their hands away, then handed the pair twenty bronze coins each.

“You’ve both been studying hard, so take this and buy yourselves a treat.”

“Huh? But I can’t take all this…”

Lytt counted the coins in her hand and tried to give some back to Cayna. Luka wasn’t really sure what to do and seemed worried about both the money and Lytt’s behavior.

“You don’t have to use it all at once or anything. Keep it so you can buy food or souvenirs at the festival,” Cayna told them.

She’d initially meant to give them each a silver coin, but Roxine and Kee had said that was far too much and would only make the girls targets for pickpockets, so she’d shaved it down little by little.

If she gave them their full allowance from the start, they’d end up spending it all on the first day.

With that in mind, Cayna felt the girls would benefit from planning out their expenses. She could always give them a bit more if they ran out, which was bound to happen if they ended up staying in Felskeilo longer than anticipated. It was critical that Cayna resolve this bizarre river conundrum in order for the festivities to wrap up in a timely fashion.

Before that, however, Cayna had to fulfill her mission of introducing Luka to Mai-Mai.

“Worst-case scenario, maybe I’ll have to use the Silver Ring,” she wondered aloud.

“Lady Cayna, your ring is likely to make a terrible situation even worse, so I please ask that you refrain,” Roxine insisted.

“Right-o…”

Even Cayna herself couldn’t say with any certainty what would happen if she used her most powerful magic. Roxine hinted at the resulting destruction and urged caution.

“Well, I better going. Thanks again!” said Cayna.

“Take care,” replied Roxine.

“Have a safe trip, Miss Cayna.”

“See you…later.”

“Yup, see you guys later!”

Although she was only going out to gather information, Cayna felt filled with spirit when the children and Roxine saw her off. She started for the Adventurers Guild.

But first, she had to cut through the insanely packed streets.

Cayna looked around and saw people climbing up on the rooftops of nearby houses. She decided to follow their lead, using Leap and Wall Walker to jump high over the crowd. Those who noticed her pass overhead caused a stir, which only further added to the pedestrian bottleneck.

When she entered the Adventurers Guild, it was surprisingly busy. The last time she came, the guild’s usual mess of adventurers—such as Cohral’s group—had been the only ones hanging around.

This time, there was not only a wall of requests but a second signboard as well. The latter was set up like some sort of special shopping display, so this was likely something other than the usual requests. It seemed to be the main focus; people were constantly coming and going to check it. Many young solo adventurers would tear off several requests at once, take them to the counter, and quickly rush out. Neither their armor nor equipment was very adventurer-like, so they seemed to be people who specialized in completing requests that were within the city and wouldn’t get them into any fights.

“What’s all this?” Cayna said.

Upon closer inspection, she realized the requests on this second signboard had to do with the upcoming festival. Many said things such as “Help find lost children,” “Help mind the store,” and “Help manage lines.” Something like “Take care of whatever strange thing is in the river” would have definitely caught her attention if it existed.

And there weren’t just a few of these requests; dozens upon dozens were artlessly bundled together and bound with string.

“Ooh, they’re like little presents!”

When she turned to the counter, her eyes met those of a familiar employee.

“Ah, Cayna.”

“Almana! Long time, no see.”

Almana, the beautiful redheaded employee who had first registered Cayna as an adventurer, turned to her and waved.

“Excuse me, Almana, but there’s something I’d like to ask—” Cayna approached the counter when Almana leaned over and firmly took both of Cayna’s hands into her own.

“Huh?”

“I have you now, Cayna!” said Almana. “Actually, I’d like you to do me a favor!”

“Uh, ‘have me’? Huh? What? What’s going on?!”

“Listen to me, Cayna! You’re my only hope!!”

“H-hold on, don’t pull on me! Whoa, hold on, wait, I have no idea what’s going on! Why are you taking me away?!”

Adventurer and guild employee. Two beautiful women. But it was their loud tug-of-war match that grabbed everyone’s attention. This eventually began obstructing business operations, and both were separated by other employees. After being sent to a small interview room, the women were finally able to calm down and talk.

“Sheesh, Almana. What was that all about?”

“I’m sorry…,” Almana apologized as she set a drink in front of Cayna before sitting down herself.

“I just had something I wanted to ask you,” Cayna clarified.

“Oh? What might that be?”

“I was wondering the Academy is still open. I’m thinking of going to see Mai-Mai.”

“Yes, despite the current situation, the Academy is still holding classes,” Almana replied. She’d seemed bewildered at first but then remembered that despite looking seventeen, Cayna was actually the mother of Mai-Mai, the Academy’s headmistress.

“Anyway, what was it you wanted from me?” Cayna asked.

“Right. I was wondering if you might investigate a strange phenomenon.”

“‘Investigate’?”

“Yes.”

Cayna furrowed her brow as Almana explained the details of the odd incident.

It happened just as the festival was approaching and began with a sighting of a fish shadow the size of a galley. The Kingdom of Felskeilo dispatched soldiers and boats to search for and identify it.

As curious onlookers watched from the piers with bated breath, an enormous shadow appeared out of nowhere. Its length reached all the way from the riverbank to the sandbar. These rubberneckers weren’t the only ones panicking either. Those out on the boats felt the same way, and multiple vessels had capsized. No one was hurt, fortunately, but the enormous shadow suddenly vanished in the midst of the uproar. The Kingdom quickly prohibited all boats from sailing out, but there had been no more sightings of the giant shadow since then.

“So why are you asking me to look into this?”

Once Almana finished explaining, Cayna asked the biggest question on her mind. In her humble opinion, she wasn’t that far off from a beginner adventurer. Although she was registered with Felskeilo’s Adventurers Guild, she didn’t really have that many requests under her belt.

“I heard the stories, Cayna. You earned great recognition for subjugating that group of bandits along the western trade route, didn’t you?”

“…Uh.”

Indeed. Although she hadn’t officially taken on a request per se, there was no question she had completed one by collaborating with Caerick’s plan. He was supposed to explain the details of the matter to the Adventurers Guild and make sure her name wasn’t revealed in connection with the request. However, Cayna hadn’t actually forbidden the guild to speak of it outright, so it was only natural that the information spread through the organization and among the employees.

“Besides, Cayna, can’t you walk on water?”

“Uhhh…”

She had walked on water with everyone in town watching in order to corner Primo. That must have been the main reason why Almana picked her for this undertaking.

“In other words, you reap what you sow.”

Kee’s comment left her at a loss for words. Disappointed, she hung her head in resignation. Her only saving grace was Li’l Fairy, who patted her head to console her.

“I understand,” Cayna said. “It does seem like there’s no one else more qualified.”

“So you’ll accept it?!”

Almana leaned forward, rapturous. “Too close, too close!” Cayna shouted, and pushed her back. “Let me go see Mai-Mai first. I have to introduce her to my daughter.”

“Yes, yes, of course. If you have accepted, I will wait as long as… Huh?”

Almana, who had taken out forms she came well-prepared with, immediately stopped her in her tracks. She turned her neck with the crick, crick, crick of an ill-fitting door and ruminated over what Cayna just said.

“You’re introducing your daughter to Lady Mai-Mai?”

“Indeed I am.”

“Um…? Do you mean to say you have another daughter?”

“That’s right.”

The shocking truth froze Almana solid. Her mind raced in circles; she wondered how she could still be single and childless when this (high elf) lady who looked even younger than her already had four children. She soon became unresponsive.

“Uh, hello? Almana?”

Cayna’s statement had rendered Almana nearly comatose. She collapsed onto the floor, eyes still open, before another employee came by and carried her to the breakroom.

“She seems to be experiencing some sort of shock. Was it something you said, perhaps?” the employee asked.

“I haven’t the slightest idea.”

Cayna lacked the self-awareness required to understand that she herself was to blame. She agreed to come again another day to take on a request and then decided to meet up with Roxine and the girls.

After seeing Cayna off, Roxine locked up the rental house and took Lytt and Luka out into the busy city.

They first went to see the ball-throwing street performers Lytt had spotted from the carriage.

Their initial problem was finding out where to cut through the mass of people crammed into the streets like sardines. The crowd moved even more slowly than the children did.

Roxine would have been able to cut in easily if she were on her own, but with two children who weren’t used to city life, this was a much more difficult task. She let the girls decide what to do next.

“Girls, I believe the performers you’re looking for are somewhere among this rabble. I mean, this crowd of people.” Her true feelings had slipped out, but she went on explaining indifferently as if nothing had happened.

Luka and Lytt stared out at the sea of people and thought it over. They had no idea where everyone had come from, and the masses continued on with no end in sight. For the two girls who were just experiencing a packed street for the first time, being caught in the middle felt life-threatening.

“What should we do?” Lytt asked.

“Mm…,” Luka mumbled.

The girls stared at the crowd for some time before telling Roxine they should give up.

“Lady Cayna can mow them all down to create a path when she gets here.”

“N-no!”

“Mommy Cayna wouldn’t…do that…”

When Roxine enthusiastically proclaimed her master could easily commit a crime, Luka and Lytt defended Cayna’s innocence. The group lost any hope of crossing the main thoroughfare and headed to the residential district Cayna had brought them to the day before.

Like yesterday, the festivities weren’t limited to the main thoroughfare; there were citizen-run booths all over the place, too many to see in just a single day.

“Hmm.”

“…Lytt?” said Luka.

“Well, what do you think, little ladies? I’ll give you a discount!”

One such booth run by a young man sold sold an array of stuffed animals: dogs, cats, birds, goats, rabbits, hornless bears, swans, and even unfamiliar monsters like chimeras and wyverns. None of them caught Lytt and Luka’s eye, however, so they slowly made their way booth by booth in search of souvenirs they could buy with the allowance Cayna provided them. The girls anxiously pored over each booth’s wares.

Meanwhile, Roxine had issues of her own to deal with.

She was a knockout beauty, personality be darned. Men captivated by her stunning looks approached her, one after another—all a bunch of sweet talkers.

“Hey there, wanna have a good time with me?” one nice-looking man purred. Roxine shot him a steely glare; he trembled, then stopped in his tracks, stiff as a board. A muscular guy had the audacity to shout, “Trust me to support you!” to which Roxine replied, “Your very presence disgusts me,” and sent him flying with a single slap.

After being so easily pummeled by a dainty maid, he felt unworthy of his beloved muscles. Now just a shell of a brawny man, he turned pale and curled up despondently on the street corner.

“Honestly… The trash around here are absolutely clueless,” she spat when another new sweet talker appeared.

“Maaan,” he said. “You’re a lot feistier than you look, miss.”

“More trash? Get lost.”

The young man laughed flippantly as he approached and did not recoil at all under Roxine’s glare. Far from it, in fact; he took her arm and rubbed the back of her hand against his own cheek.

“Those are some fierce eyes you got there. I liiike ’em,” he said. “You could take gooood care of me.”

Roxine’s eyes were now devoid of any emotion. The sweet talker surreptitiously drew his hand.

He was skilled at this range. His dagger was close enough take Roxine out with one blow, but she grabbed his hand before he could attack.

“Whaaat?”

“Heh-heh-heh,” she chuckled. “You mean to strike me down? How laughable.”

“Gwagh?!”

She crushed his hand, dagger and all, and the sweet talker was ready to scream. Not a moment too soon, Roxine grabbed his jaw and slammed his mouth shut to keep him quiet.

“Keh-keh-keh. I can’t have you interrupting the girls, now.”

She grinned demonically, and the sweet talker turned white as a sheet. He’d thought she was some dainty young woman, but here she was, nullifying his swift, foolproof attack. He could hear his jaw cracking and breaking in her grip; the agony kept him from fighting back.

Having grown bored of the man’s tears and repeated mumbled apologies, Roxine let him go. At that very same moment, she quickly dislocated his shoulder and hip, and he crumpled to the ground.

“Huh? What’s wrong with that man, Ms. Cie?” Lytt asked.

“Oh, he merely appears to be drunk. Pay him no mind, ladies.”

“…Drunk…?” Luka asked dubiously.

The pathetic womanizer’s muted cries of “Hyah-feh-heh, hyah-feh-heh” mixed into the throng and faded away.

Truth be told, Roxine had sensed a swirl of conspiracy around them as soon as Cayna had departed. If someone was going bring such nastiness their way, she had no choice but to deal with the situation accordingly. Anyone bold enough to catcall her and go out of their way to get close was most definitely an unsavory character.

One man who tried to grab Luka and Lytt had his arm shattered into splinters. Roxine turned it an impromptu show by yelling loud enough for everyone to hear, “Oh? What’s that? You’re going to show us an amazing trick? You’ll fly weightless through the sky?” before flinging him toward the main road—all the while making sure no one noticed that she was the one putting on the show. The crowd clapped and cheered as the large man flew in a perfect arc; whether or not the man heard the crowd was anyone’s guess, as he’d already passed out by that point. Roxine heard a scream from the main road and took that to mean he did not land safely.

Then there was a pickpocket who tried to sneakily reach out for the girls only to collapse to the ground when Roxine crushed his ribs with one swing of her arm. It had been so spur of the moment that she put way too much force into it; several of his organs had likely ruptured, but he wasn’t dead, so that was good enough. Roxine told Lytt and Luka that he was just another drunk, and the three were on their way.

Close to ten “drunk” men ended up splayed out on the ground along the way. Roxine considered them mere trash, and soon enough she forgot about them altogether.

“Would you two mind telling me what you purchased today?” she asked the girls.

“I got a souvenir for Latem!” Lytt replied.

“This…is for…Li,” said Luka.

Roxine peered into Lytt’s bag to find a small plush wyvern; Luka had chosen a bear. Roxine felt a momentary flash of jealousy when Luka told her who the bear was for, but she then offered to take the girls’ bags for them. She deposited them in her Item Box but pretended to put them in her knapsack.

Lytt and Luka chatted excitedly about where they should go next. Roxine was forced to be the bearer of bad news.

“We promised Lady Cayna we would meet up with her soon. Let’s be off.”

“What?! Already?” cried Lytt.

“…Okay,” Luka said with an obedient nod.

Lytt, on the other hand, whined that they hadn’t yet seen everything. But spending more than twenty minutes hemming and hawing at each booth meant they could make only two stops before it was time to meet up with Cayna.

“Let’s come here again tomorrow,” Roxine said, and Luka chimed in with “We’ll…look some more.” Lytt had no choice but to quietly give up her shopping expedition.

Once they returned to their rental home, put away their things, and used the ladies’ room, the three of them headed to the dragonfly boarding zone where they would be meeting Cayna. She was already waiting by the time they got there, and when they approached she knelt down and gave the girls a hug.

“I apologize for the wait,” Roxine said with a dip of her head, to which Cayna replied, “You can’t help these huge crowds,” and smiled.

“Lytt…had trouble deciding…,” Luka explained, and Lytt retorted, “Nuh-uh! Too many men kept trying to talk to Ms. Cie.”

“Ah, um…,” Roxine stammered.

“Well, Cie’s very pretty, so you can’t really blame them,” Cayna said with a nod. Roxine shifted her gaze to the ground, red-faced.

Never expecting the werecat to be embarrassed, Cayna vowed to keep in mind that this would be an effective method of stopping her when necessary.

There was a line of about twenty people at the dragonfly boarding zone. From what they could see, this stop employed about ten laigayanma and their Insect Tamers who came and went in rotations. The laigayanma were about four meters from head to tail and could carry a maximum of three riders each. Since one Insect Tamer needed to hold the reins, that meant each dragonfly could only take two guests each. The Tamer sat on the neck, while the other riders sat right behind the wings. Guests had to sit facing backward so they wouldn’t be hit by the laigayanma’s wings. Apparently, there was also a special sightseeing route that stopped at each dragonfly station in the city.

“Guess we’ll have to split into pairs,” said Cayna.

“In that case, please ride with Lady Luka. I shall accompany Lady Lytt.”

Since Roxine had soundly decided the pairs on her own, Cayna promised Lytt she would ride with her on the way back.

She removed her sword and cloak ahead of time since they were likely to get in the way. One round trip per person was ten bronze coins, and you were given half of a ticket tally when you arrived at the opposite shore. If you showed this, you’d be able to get a ride back. Roxine took care of the payment.

The young Insect Tamer was overcome with shock when Cayna asked him about the in-flight safety precautions.

“Aren’t you the girl who walked on water?!” he said.

“Agh, people know me here…”

The riverbank’s residents had yet to forget Cayna, “the girl who walked on water.”

“I remember back then,” the Insect Tamer continued, smiling. “I looked down below and saw someone walking on the river’s surface. Nearly lost control of my yanma from the shock! It’s a fond memory of mine.” A coworker told him they were falling behind schedule, and it occurred to him that he had a job to do. “Well then, welcome aboard. You’ll be fine if you keep your body straight and hold on tight. Please do not lean too much to either side.”

The seats had handles like those seen on a child seat one could attach to a bicycle. Luka sat closer to the tail while Cayna sat closer to the wings. “We’re off!” the Insect Tamer cried, and the whooshing of beating wings followed. A momentary burst of speed later, and they had a sweeping view of Felskeilo’s south side.

“Whoa, awesome!” Cayna shouted.

“Wowww…,” said Luka.

Everything was laid out before them, from the cityscape to the streets packed with people. Cayna and Luka were momentarily captivated by the unbroken view of the vast forest beyond the city’s gates and hilly regions that practically continued all the way into Otaloquess.

It wasn’t long before they started descending toward the water. The two of them sighed wistfully, eager to see more of the landscape.

“That was so incredible. Thank you,” Cayna told the young Insect Tamer when they dismounted their laigayanma. “It really is, isn’t it?” he replied fondly. He seemed to genuinely enjoy seeing such reactions from guests.

Lytt alighted from her dragonfly with the same look of wonder on her face that Cayna and Luka had. When Luka grabbed her arm, she returned to herself and said, “Wasn’t the scenery super pretty?” She closed her eyes and clutched her chest as if to hang on to those lingering feelings.

“Sooo awesome,” said Lytt.

“…Uh-huh… Awesome,” said Luka.

“Sooo pretty.”

“Uh-huh… Pretty…”

The girls didn’t have much vocabulary to go by and continued their earnest praises of “awesome” and “pretty.”

“How about you, Cie?” Cayna asked Roxine.

“Ah, yes… I was surprised—those views were simply stunning.” Roxine turned around and watched longingly as the laigayanmas took off again. Cayna found her sincerity touching.

The dragonfly stop was near the entrance to the Academy. Others had ridden dragonflies as well, but most seemed to be heading toward the church. It was safe to safe that absolutely no one was going to Kartatz’s workshop.

The guards at the Academy gate remembered Cayna, and after exchanging a few words through a magical communication device, they opened the gate.

“Might you be the mother of our headmaster?” one of the guards asked Cayna.

“Ah, yes.”

“We shall inform her of your arrival, so please come in. The headmaster’s office in on the second floor.”

“Th-thank you. Pardon me, then,” Cayna replied with a light nod. Roxine bowed and said, “If you’ll excuse us,” as she followed. When Luka and Lytt nodded with similar politeness, the guards smiled and waved.

Everything that had been destroyed during the penguin monster incident was repaired, and the Academy was now back to its former self. In the corner of the Academy grounds where the monster had appeared was a pillar with a sign affixed to it that read DANGER! DO NOT APPROACH! in red letters.

“I’m not sure that explains what’s actually in there…,” Cayna murmured to herself. Roxine tilted her head quizzically, so Cayna decided to elaborate.

“Hey, see that black pillar over there?” she said.

“What is it?” Roxine asked.

“It was an Occupation Point for the White and Green Kingdoms’ forces during the war.”

“Ah, I see… Here, of all places?!”

“Yep. So anyway, a little while ago there was this random monster that showed up, and everything turned into a huge mess. The whole city would’ve been destroyed if I hadn’t gotten here in time.”

Roxine’s eyes went wide in unexpected shock. You were likely to find another country’s Occupation Point if you went looking for it, but nothing could be worse than having one right in the middle of town.

The group followed along the wall and did a quarter lap around the grounds to get to the main building. From there they followed the path Lonti had once showed Cayna (with Kee’s guidance). Meeting almost no one else as they made their way through the Academy, they finally arrived at a door that had HEADMASTER’S OFFICE written on it. Roxine knocked, and they heard a voice tell them to come in.

Roxine opened the door and urged Cayna inside. Luka and Lytt followed with Roxine in tow before closing the door behind her.

“Welcome, Mother!”

A golden-haired, blue-eyed elf woman sprang up from behind her desk. Her waist-length hair was braided as usual, and she wore a floor-length red robe. She looked like she could be Cayna’s older sister, but Cayna was, in fact, her mother.

Mai-Mai quicky sidled up to Cayna and wrapped her in a big hug. “Hee-hee-hee. It’s been sooo long!” The Academy headmaster purred like a cat and sprouted dog ears and a wagging tail. Cayna wished she would just pick one animal and stick with it.

Roxine grabbed Mai-Mai by the collar and easily pried her away.

“O-oh?” Mai-Mai stammered in bewilderment.

“Long time no see, Mai-Mai,” said Cayna. “Hold off on the excessive touching for a second.” She smiled uncomfortably and put her hands to her daughter’s waist.

Mai-Mai led them to a parlor in a separate room, and when Cayna and the children were seated, Roxine poured them tea. Once all four guests had been served and Roxine stood at attention behind Cayna, their preparations were complete.

“Ah, a maid summons? I didn’t know you had one, Mother.”

“Without a base to put her in, a maid summons is kind of a waste. But now I have Luka to take care of, too. And besides, I’m not too great at taking care of myself either.”

Cayna was making fun of herself, but Mai-Mai didn’t take her comment that way. She clapped her hands together and beamed. “Then you should come live with me, Mother! We have plenty of maids and attendants who could help take care of you!”

“No way. I’m not some trust-fund baby.” Cayna quickly turned her down.

Mai-Mai giggled and murmured, “I thought you’d say that. But it’s a child’s duty to care for their parents. You really are stubborn about the strangest things, Mother.”

“Well, sorry for being a stubborn parent.” They both burst into laughter.

Luka and Lytt were confused; Cayna held the girls by their shoulders and introduced them to Mai-Mai.

“Mai-Mai, this is Lytt. She’s the daughter of the inn proprietress who’s been helping me out. And this is Luka, your new little sister. Girls, this lady here is Mai-Mai, my second child. She’s your big sister, Luka.”

“Hello.”

“Hello…”

The two girls were visibly nervous. Mai-Mai smiled at them. “I’m Mai-Mai. It’s nice to meet you,” she said. “Why don’t you two enroll here at the Academy?”

“Where’d that come from all of the sudden?” Cayna demanded.

Luka and Lytt froze in place. They clearly had no idea what Mai-Mai was offering them.

“Oh, but they’ll get all sorts of experiences if they start their education now,” Mai-Mai retorted.

Canya struggled to respond; she really had no reason to reject this outright. Still, one didn’t usually extend such an offer upon meeting someone for the very first time.

After Lytt and Luka had a chance to recover, they swiftly declined her offer. Lytt said she had to help with the family business, and Luka preferred to stay with Cayna.

“Mother! May I hug Luka?”

“I mean, sure, but stop if Luka doesn’t like it, okay?”

“Hee-hee-hee, will do.”

Mai-Mai embraced the dazed Luka. She then held her up in a practiced manner, smiled, and nuzzled her cheek.

“It’s nice to meet you, Luka,” she said softly. Luka nodded awkwardly, at which Mai-Mai gleefully exclaimed, “She’s just like when my Caerina was little!”

As soon as Mai-Mai said this, Cayna realized, Oh yeah, she’s a mom, too. The thought tugged at her heartstrings.

As everyone was starting on their third cup of tea, a knock came at the headmaster’s door, and Mai-Mai told them to come in. Two familiar faces entered.

“We just heard Lady Cayna stopped by…”

“Ah, Cayna! It’s been a while!”

It was Myleene and Lonti—the Felskeilo crown princess and the prime minister’s granddaughter, respectively.

What is this, a karaoke booth? Cayna thought when the room suddenly became packed. It really wasn’t what anyone would expect the office of the headmaster running the Academy to look like.

When Cayna introduced Roxine, Luka, and Lytt, Myleene and Lonti shouted, “A maid?!” and “Another child?!” in shock.

“I haven’t seen you around Felskeilo in a while, Cayna,” said Lonti. “I was wondering if something had happened.”

“Ah, sorry about that, Lonti. I recently moved to the sticks. That means I won’t be able to go around catching Primo for you.”

“I wasn’t talking about the Prin—er, Primo! I just thought you had gone to another country!”

Lonti must have decided to use the pseudonym since she was in mixed company. The crown prince’s prospects weren’t looking good if even Lonti was referring to him as Primo.

“Come to think of it, I saw him the day I got here,” said Cayna.

“Aghhh…,” Lonti groaned as she gripped her head. “I—I suppose he escaped again.”

“I couldn’t catch him because I had Luka and Lytt with me. Sorry about that.”

“No, it’s not your fault at all!” Lonti insisted.

Myleene then introduced herself as Mye and asked Luka and Lytt about life in the village.

“By the way, Mai-Mai, I don’t see many students around. Everything okay?” Cayna asked. She’d had a strange feeling about this as they were walking through the Academy.

“Yes, attendance has been quite low as of late.”

“You think that has to do with the shadow that appeared in the river?”

“Well, I suppose that’s one reason, but I believe the primary cause is economics.”

“Economics?” Cayna tilted her head, frazzled.

“How did you get here, Cayna?” Lonti asked.

“Um, by dragonfly.”

“Dragonfly fare is five times more expensive than a ferry. I imagine commuting from the residential district to the Academy every day must really add up.”

“Tuition at the Royal Academy is almost free,” Myleene added, “although some students earn a living by becoming adventurers and doing odd jobs around the city. Many are no doubt feeling the pressure of day-to-day food and transportation costs.”

“Furthermore,” said Mai-Mai, “the nobles are keeping their children at home out of concern over the dangers of whatever is lurking in the river. The students currently in attendance are of a unique category.”

Mai-Mai shifted her gaze to Lonti and Myleene. It was rather unusual for the crown princess and the prime minister’s granddaughter to be visiting the Academy in the midst of such turmoil.

“I am here as Mye’s attendant,” Lonti said with a strained smile.

“I’m…well, ah…” Myleene put her hands to her cheeks as her face reddened.

“Ohhh…” Cayna figured out why the two of them were here; her gaze grew distant.

Myleene had most likely visited the church before coming to the Academy. She had a crush on the High Priest Skargo, although Cayna didn’t know how the two had even met. Cayna thought getting him to understand romance, let alone win his heart, would be no easy task. There was no question there’d be an unbelievable uproar if he found out; Cayna started spacing out when she imagined this scenario.

“Doesn’t Skargo have work at the Helshper border?” Cayna said.

“Did you run into him, Mother?”

“He came to the village, along with some knights and a shiny carriage.”

“I knew about that!” the princess piped up enthusiastically.

“Oh…,” Cayna replied, bewildered.

If Myleene knew Skargo was out of town, then Cayna didn’t see what reason she might’ve had to visit the church.

“Mai-Mai, do you know anything about the shadow?” Cayna changed the subject after deciding there was no point in trying to comprehend Myleene’s logic.

“I haven’t seen it myself, so I can’t really say that I do. Wouldn’t you be more knowledgeable on that sort of thing, Mother?” Mai-Mai asked in turn. She must have been truly at a loss if she didn’t know anything despite having two hundred more years of experience than Cayna.

“The closest I can think of is a top-level Green Dragon summoning. But even that only has a wingspan of one hundred meters.”

“Aren’t Green Dragons flying types? They wouldn’t be able to swim underwater,” Mai-Mai noted.

“Yeah, you’re right…” Cayna sank into thought, and Mai-Mai hugged her from behind. Since Mai-Mai was about one head taller, her slight chest was about level with the back of Cayna’s head.

“You certainly are worried about that shadow, Mother. Did something happen?”

“The Adventurers Guild asked me to look into it. Guess I better investigate the river myself.”

“W-will you be okay, Cayna?! You might get dragged into the water, or something might jump out and attack you!”

“Don’t worry, Lonti,” Cayna assured her.

“Please let us know if anything happens. I will inform Father and aid you as much as possible,” Myleene said.

Lonti and Myleene were suddenly nose to nose with Cayna and gripped with worry. Nice offer, but by “Father,” she means the king, right? Cayna thought. She wondered if that would be considered an abuse of authority. Nonetheless, she was happy to see Myleene so earnestly concerned for her.

“Mind if I get your help if I end up stuck in a jam?” Cayna asked.

“Of course!” said Lonti.

“Yes,” said Myleene. “Please allow us to be of any assistance.”

“Mother! I’ll help you, too!”

“Thanks, you three.”

Cayna grinned from ear to ear, touched by such kindness.

Roxine also vowed to help out, of course, and then Mai-Mai started talking about having Lytt and Luka stay over at her house. When Myleene offered, “We can take them in at the castle,” Lytt nearly fainted at the gap in their social positions.

Luka, meanwhile, hardly reacted at all—either because she didn’t particularly care either way, or because she didn’t understand the class system.