Chapter 3 ─ Encounter

Iris watched in fear as it happened.

In a matter of seconds, both Griffin and the others lost their lives.

The young man after finishing the carnage approached her and held out his hand.

"Are you all right?"

Razel said in a concerned tone after seeing her.

Liddy immediately grabbed the coat of one of the fleeing bandits and placed it around her mistress.

"My name is Razel and she is Leila. We are adventurers, we were finishing a mission and heard your screams and came to help."

"We are not suspects, so could you tell me who you are?"

"..."

Iris looked doubtfully at Razel.

(I understand that he saved us, but it's so suspicious the perfect timing at the time he arrived.)

(Especially that name, Baron Olston.)

According to Iris, Baron Olston is a low-ranking nobleman who has a horrible reputation that goes with him.

His family for generations has earned promotion all the way up to being a count, but something always happened and his status was demoted.

The current head, a man named Griff, was promoted to viscount and demoted a week later for alleged money laundering.

The problem is that even with that crime, he is not considered someone who should lose his noble title.

Iris' father told her that the man has enough power and influence to be a duke.

He even has many nobles, knights, ministers on his side. There are rumors that organized crime is backing him.

Despite all the investigations that are made, no one has been able to prove that Baron Olston's family hides dirty laundry.

For that reason, Iris believes this may be a move by him.

She overheard Griffin mention that someone was interested in buying her.

Because of this, Iris believes there is a traitor in the baron's faction, and her life is in danger.

(No matter how you look at it, it's too suspicious.)

(It's just the two of us, I must protect my life and Liddy's until I can contact my father.)

"T-Thank you so much for saving us, I'm-"

(Let's check your real intentions, whether you really believe this fake name is real or not.)

"I am Lilifa Roses and this is my younger sister, Lilitia Roses."

"We are the daughters of a merchant from the Kingdom of Brum, our father asked us to take care of some work matters since he is busy."

"Huh! Really?"

Liddy said shouting under her breath, she called herself a fool, but she wasn't so foolish that she didn't notice her mistress' intentions.

They both looked at Razel expecting some grimace or his eyes revealed unease at this lie.

"I see. What pretty names you are, it's nice to meet you."

But it was too honest even if it was an act.

Even with that, Iris did not let her guard down.

Razel pointed to the carriage Leila pulled out of the forest.

"Your carriage is damaged, is it alright if we use that carriage over there to escort you to the city we came from?"

"Please."

"And thank you very much, again."

"Ok."

Iris and Liddy climbed into the carriage while Razel asked Leila.

"How are we going to get them there when the horses ran away?"

"We also have to carry the legs and ears we collected."

Liddy whispered to Iris.

"Iris-sama, is it really okay to trust them?"

"Liddy, at this time we must have faith and distrust in the same hand."

"Stay close to the door."

"Remember I taught you how to use magic power to strengthen your muscles?"

"Y-Yes. I remember it well."

"In case they take a strange detour from the place they said, we'll jump out and run for our lives."

Iris took Liddy's hand, the fear still etched in it.

Iris wanted to show her strength to her maid, but the fear was so great that she only looked like a frightened kitten.

"There's nothing left to do."

"...!"

"Leila, we'll push this."

"I'll go in the back and you'll take the lead as the bag. Understand?"

"All right!"

"Spit out that bear's paw now."

Razel went to the back of the carriage, Leila firmly grabbed the front and with all their might they said.

"Ready and... go!"

"Kyah!"

Both girls shouted after holding on tightly, getting their large breasts crushed together, forming a soft, fleshy mass in the process.

They screamed because of the intense speed with which Razel and Leila were running to get back to the city.

If they planned to jump, they knew they would die.

Although one of them ended up vomiting in the end.

◇

"Goodbye~."

"I hope it goes well for them when they go home."

"You reek of puke curl girl, hahaha."

We say goodbye to both girls after dropping them off at the local knight barracks.

We tell them what happened and they will go pick up the bodies and do an investigation.

They say they don't think an adventurer of my rank could defeat bandits so I leave it to their imagination.

We return to the adventurer's guild and present the receptionist with the bag full of severed legs and ears.

"Please the reward for all this."

"...May I know what this is?"

"They are parts of a hellbear, there are a lot of them so it equals a lot of money for us."

The receptionist was horrified to hear the name of the bodybuilder bears.

She immediately ran inside and I stood waiting for her.

Leila was playing with a suit of armor that mirrored her face.

A thin, old man returned along with the receptionist.

"Can you show me your adventurer's ID?"

"Sure."

I handed him my ID and the man who was most likely his supervisor was horrified as well.

With a straight face he said to me.

"I'm sorry, but this is a violation of the rules of the adventurer's guild of the kingdom of Britannia."

That shocked me.

"W-Why?!"

"It's true that I'm low-ranked and performed a higher-ranked mission, but that's not a crime, is it?"

"It's a crime everywhere, didn't you read the manual given to all adventurers?"

"...Manual?"

(That thing that looked like a children's book was a manual!)

(I thought it was for Leila to play with!)

"I-I did it."

"Well, then there's nothing left to do but give you a severe punishment."

"Breaking the rules for whatever excuse is a crime that must be paid for, even if it's to help others, it's still a crime."

"Not only will we confiscate this, we will not pay you and you will also receive a negative point on your adventurer's license."

"From now on comply with the rules so you don't receive another negative point."

"W-what happens if I get another one?"

I asked like a frightened child at not fulfilling his holiday homework.

"You will be expelled forever and your face and name will be engraved for all branches in the country and you won't be able to be an adventurer, you will have to be a bandit if you want to engage in another profession. Have a good day."

"..."

After hearing how I received many punishments, I could only do something.

"Eli, this sucks!"

I started crying because unlike the empire, they upon hearing that you accomplished a difficult mission while being of lower rank, they give you a rank increase and also consider you as a potential talent.

This country is way behind on how to handle the adventurer position.

Or maybe the empire is the odd one out and the rest of the world isn't?

*Sobbing*

"Leila, let's go back to the inn."

"Ok."

I was really sad, I'll go eat some to feel better. Let's go see the money I have saved.

◇

"They're gone!"

After returning to the inn, I opened the door and my things were gone.

"We've been robbed! The clothes! The money! ...!"

I immediately checked my wallet and there I found the most important thing, the document indicating that we were citizens of the empire.

Without this document, no one would believe me.

I would be like an illegal trying to enter a country that hates illegals.

I immediately went downstairs and voiced my complaint to the manager of the place.

"Hey, my belongings have been stolen! Who broke into my room?"

The manager and some drunks in the place laughed in my face.

"Hahahaha, are you serious?"

"Don't you know how to read the sign?"

"It says 'We are not responsible for personal losses' or can't you read?"

"Hahahahaha. It's normal to have your belongings hidden with insurance, there are a lot of criminals hiding."

It really made me very angry how he proved to be a scoundrel. Surely he or someone related to this place is responsible.

I couldn't do anything, even if it was with the knights, they wouldn't do anything either.

Many smelled of alcohol and had big bellies despite wearing armor.

I took Leila's hand and left the place.

◇

We went to the guild as it is the only place we can go for now.

Apparently you can stay there all day doing nothing, but when it's closing time it's different.

"I can't believe it. It really is the worst."

"We're only three days out of the empire and we're already broke."

I have no money, I have no clothes, the inn would surely take out my organs if I gave them the chance.

"This sucks. Eli, I want to go back."

The world outside the empire is horrible.

Or have I been blessed not to be in a situation like this before?

I don't know.

I want to cry, but hunger wins me over.

"Master, Leila is hungry."

"I know."

Please Goddess Alexia, don't make my journey in vain and I must face the epidemic after several years.

"Here you have."

Suddenly, a beautiful voice spoke to us and it was accompanied by food.

It was fried rice and meat with potato salad.

"Food!"

Both Leila and I rejoiced.

But before we took a bite, I looked at the one who brought this to us.

It was a beautiful girl with long blonde brown hair that reached down to her back, her greenish blue eyes matched her uniform identical to a stewardess, complete with a scarf even.

What caught my attention most about her was not her large breasts resting on the table. It was the fact of the extremely short skirt she wore, not even pantyhose she wore to cover herself or if they even exist here.

"Emm, why are you doing this? Also, who are you?"

"Hehe, we've already met. I was the one who gave you your adventurer's license."

"I am the fourth daughter of a baron, Veronica Rapha Richmond, again a pleasure."

Veronica reintroduced herself, I must have really had so much sadness built up that I forgot whose face those breasts belonged to.

"I'm so sorry. I re-introduce myself, I'm Razel and this is Leila."

"Emm, Veronica-san, why are you helping us?"

"We don't have any money."

She pointed to the sign on the wall.

"I really noticed that you guys can't read. It says there that everyone can order a plate of food using part of their reward."

"I see. But I don't have a bounty."

"Of course you do, you went to catch a horned rabbit, inside the bag you had just three rabbits that were good for buying this whole plate."

"Oh, and you could only buy one, so the second one came out of my pocket, so you owe me one."

She winked at me, it was very sensual and kind of her.

I took Leila's head and we bowed our heads to show our respect.

"We really thank you for what you did. I swear your kindness will be returned in abundance."

"Okay."

Veronica refused to let us return the favor.

"I'm just doing the right thing. I came here about two years ago too and was treated badly."

"I don't have any friends and it's hard work."

"My boss makes me smile at rude, impolite guys and especially louts who stare at my breasts in a shameless way."

"...!"

(She noticed that I saw her breasts and she's warning me?!)

"They even make us wear this skirt so short that with the right angle you can see our underwear."

(That's an unnecessary detail I didn't need to know. Maybe for Barbara, but not here.)

"But it's the only job where I was accepted after being kicked out of the house."

"You got kicked out of the house?"

"The usual story. Either you marry some fat, idiot nobleman, or out on the street."

"Well, out of four daughters only I was the fool who threw everything away so I wouldn't be smothered by a pig."

"Sometimes I wonder if I did right."

(I suppose even things like this happen elsewhere. In the empire this still exists, but usually the palace takes care to avoid having nobles like that.)

"More importantly, Razel-kun, why are you so down, did the fine really affect you that much?"

(I was even fined!)

"It's not that. It's just that they stole everything from me where the inn I was going to stay overnight, I don't have any money and I don't know where I'll sleep tonight."

"Umm."

"Hey, how about if I show you a place where you can stay overnight and eat cheaply?"

"Seriously!"

I jumped for joy like a puppy dog.

"Uwaah, thank you so much Veronica-san!"

"Just tell me Veronica. Or maybe Veronica-senpai being more experienced than you."

She lightly touched my nose as a sign to annoy me.

But I was very happy about this.

I'll find a place to live and sleep.

"Wait for me here until I finish my shift."

"Understood."

"Sure."

Leila said with a mouth full of meat.

Wait a minute.

"Ahh! Leila, you ate my portion!"

"It's very delicious master!"

"Don't spit on me when you talk!"

◇◇◇

"As I was telling you, our carriage was attacked by bandits, is that too hard to understand?"

Iris and Liddy were informing the knights of what had happened. The problem was that they were incompetent, or perhaps stupid, as they could not process what Iris was telling them.

"I understand what you are saying miss. But where exactly where you coming from?"

"I'm telling you that we left the capital and took the driver on a detour because he heard there was a problem happening at the border where we were supposed to pass."

"That I understand, but I don't understand why take a detour when he could have continued quietly through that place."

Blue veins were appearing on Iris's forehead.

(These guys are really inept.)

(Can't they understand that if we take a detour it's for a reason?)

(Even when I mentioned Baron Olston's name they freaked out.)

(Surely they don't want to work. Well, I'll have to open my mouth to shut them up.)

Iris stood up and showed her handkerchief.

"My real name is Irislillya Lux Rosenthal. I command you to contact Duke Rosenthal, my father, at this instant."

The knights who were playing cards were startled and quickly got up.

They all left the place. Liddy approached her and poured some homemade tea.

"Iris-sama, was it okay to lie to them?"

"Liddy, no one can be trusted at the moment. But they're super irritable these guys, they left me no choice."

"Besides, when they contact my father it'll be all over."

"The duke's personal army will come to pick us up."

"I understand that, but I didn't mean them. I meant that boy."

Iris was taken aback by Liddy's words.

"It's really not important that. It's not like we're going to meet up again, it's a white lie with no one harmed."

"We'll be here maybe two or three days. I'll tell the head knight to get us a first class inn and have several knights as escorts."

"Understood..."

A little sad was Liddy for lying to her rescuer. But as Iris said.

They would never see him again.

◇

We waited for Veronica-senpai to finish her work and leave.

It was ten o'clock at night, the guild closes an hour earlier, but things need to be filed and tables and desks put away.

Interesting that all the physical labor is done by women while their paunchy coworkers chat.

In the empire these guys would be humiliated since men like to show off in front of women.

She changed her clothes to something more casual, still, she looked very beautiful in that long skirt and cream blouse.

"Sorry for the delay, it will take us a little while since we will be walking, don't you mind?"

We shook our heads shaking our heads like puppies.

"Let's go."

As we walked I noticed this.

(This place is more enormous than it looks.)

To my first impression, this city is like a small town, as I only saw places like inns and stores of different items.

We were going deeper into the city as we were apparently along the edges of the wall and now we are going to the center.

Just like those generic fantasy novels, cities have walls. The empire has them as a precaution against enemy attacks, probably the same here.

It's just that since it's all so cliché I can't help mentioning it.

We arrived at a first class urbanized neighborhood.

Well, not one of those places where there are lights everywhere and expensive vehicles without headlights.

It was a quiet but fine area.

The ground was even different, it was brick and not small rocks.

The houses were the same medium size, separated by at least four meters apart and with lawns included.

Is this really the place where I will be able to live?

"Emm, Veronica-senpai. Are you sure this is the right place?"

"Sure, I live here too. You see, this is the area where the nobles, merchants and wealthy commoners live."

"Really!"

"Yes."

"Some people here are in economic crisis because of high tax hikes and because there are problems in their companies."

"That's why many have opted for the option of renting rooms or whole houses."

"You may think it's high the cost of housing, but believe me with the person we are going to, it will be very cheap."

"I-I hope so."

"But don't trust that just for renting they can give it to anyone. You can let some criminal into your house, that's why they are selective with trustworthy people."

"For a couple of years now this town has been quiet, but everything changed when the feudal lord was replaced by another one and with that the criminals have increased and everyone is afraid to be in their sights."

"Everyone misses the old lord, he was a man who cared a lot about this place and even used his own money to make it grow."

"Sounds like a good lord."

(I wonder if those criminals will get a bounty on them?)

"Ah, we finally arrived."

The house where we stopped was the only one different from the others.

It was dusty, the white color was dark and the lawn was poorly kept.

I just watched as a rat happily wandered around here.

Does this place really belong to a nobleman?

Senpai walked up to the door and rang the bell. Unlike in the empire, the doorbells don't work with magic tools created by the ministry of magic, here they are magic stones that are responsible for doing various jobs.

The door opened and a dust-covered woman stepped out.

"Yes? Ah, Veronica-chan, you're off work already..."

"Who are they?"

The woman opened the door and I could see her completely.

Her clothes are fine, but they were dirty, her appearance was first class even covered with dust.

Her hair was a dark brown and was so long that it rested on her shoulder, her hazel eyes matched her beautiful face.

But if I had to mention the most interesting thing, it was that from the neck down she was a bombshell of sensuality.

Wide hips, slim waist and huge breasts.

You could say she would be level 1 on the Barbara scale.

Not bad.

"Let me introduce them."

"These are the adventurers, Razel-kun and Leila-chan."

"This is Baroness Louisa Rapha Hamilton."

"It is a pleasure to meet you."

"The pleasure is ours."

She showed us her politeness as she greeted them and I watched her breasts as they bounced as she greeted us.

It was a great day.

"Louisa-san, I'd like to ask you a favor, can you let them stay here?"

"They are new to the place, they were already robbed and they are also from the border. Because of that, and from what I conversed with them on the way, they are not bad people."

"Just look at how a beastly girl accompanies him without wearing a collar or being roughed up. He's a reliable country boy without a doubt."

(I think you're giving me too much credit, but I'll act like an innocent country boy.)

"Please let us stay. We left home because being adventurers is the only way we know how to make a living."

"Please."

I ducked Leila's head so she could see that despite being from the "frontier", we have education.

"Umm... if Veronica-chan says that, then I'll accept it, but I don't know how much to charge you from the rental value."

"Don't worry, he can help you with physical works, they have good muscles and also finished several hellbears, you can ask him for anything and with it he can pay you the rent."

"Really?"

"Really!"

The most surprised was me, than her.

So you brought me in because you saw an opportunity for whoever would be in charge of fixing this place up?

I would be offended if it weren't for the fact that my father taught me how to fix things around the house when I lived with them.

"That's fine. I don't have a problem with it, can you include not charging me for bath and food?"

"I don't have a problem with it. Vegetables are cheap and that's all we can afford to eat."

"Leila. Tomorrow we're going to the forest to hunt rabbits."

"Yes! Leila will go play in the forest!"

◇

I've been living in Louisa-san's house since then.

I had to do various manual jobs how to repair the roof, mow the lawn, clean, etc.

I was the servant, rather.

I was able to find out things about her while killing bats from the roof.

She is a noblewoman without territory, it may sound strange, but it is not.

In this country, nobles without territory are the result of feudal lords who took away their land, but not their status, they must pay for it.

The nobles who live in the capital are usually civil servants or ministers and are paid to have that title.

The names Noah and Rapha seem to have been from hostile countries that they defeated and had their name taken from them.

Imagine being a king and having your name now used by a peasant, sad it is.

Then there are the merchants who can have their title bought at a high price, they can even become counts and they will always be Rapha.

It's to keep the balance, she said.

Her family had a place in this city for generations.

They earned so well that they could afford to give bed and board to their employees.

But one day they lost prestige thanks to jealous companies who spread damaging information such as paying employees to sabotage them from the inside.

That led to the near ruin of her family and she now rents that building as her quarters.

Veronica-senpai was one of her employees and since they closed the place, she had nowhere to live so Louisa-san invited her as a tenant.

It's a nice story, but I just want to say something.

What the hell am I doing?

Tell me, me. What the hell do you think you're doing?

You've been out of the empire for a week now and you're acting like you're from the countryside. You're believing your own lie.

You haven't done any research and the time is now.

I must find out about that disease as soon as possible and destroy it!

I was even buying things for dinner, I've been promoted to rank E adventurer.

I know this is important, but I really have no idea where to look. After eating I will try to ask Louisa-san if she has any accounts or stories of an unknown disease.

By the way, what were the symptoms?

I don't remember at all.

It's fun to have generic novel moments, but with everything being so cliché, it gets boring.

I was about to leave the shopping district when I felt the weight on my lighter arm.

I looked and it turned out that my bag of food had been stolen.

I watched as a brat ran off with the food I bought.

"Hey, you fucking brat!"

"Come back here or I'll cook you too!"

I went running after that kid.

As I turned to run, for some reason it looked like someone was watching me. It must be some would-be thief.

___________________

The fanservice is for Liddy, because I'm sure she's too cute and adorable as Lily, isn't she?

https://danbooru.donmai.us/posts/7298645