...change of plans...

"I-I'm very s-sorry! I c-completely forgot th-that I asked Ross t-to wait for me by th-the gate so w-we could go complete a-a quest! I-if you have m-more questions, p-please find me t-tomorrow!"

Catherine declared, gathering her belongings and dashing out of the classroom, leaving Melinda and the three other girls behind.

Those girls looked at each other in confusion before exiting the classroom, which left only the blank-faced Melinda.

The gold-haired girl closed her eyes and took a deep breath before turning her back to the door and taking out her own guild card.

Then she mirrored Catheirne's actions from before, infusing it with mana, which caused the same effect…

"...ffffffffhuck…"

…resulting in Melinda hissing out a curse when she was greeted by a face of a bandit she evaporated with a flick of her finger to make his comrades realize in exactly how deep shit they were if they wouldn't listen and attack the village she so politely requested them to.

It required only a little bit more concentration to make the log go back in time, providing Melinda with insight into her—let's be honest—criminal history.

"...that is not only a bestiary from the game but also the kill log... And I was just handing it out all willy-nilly without a care in the world…!"

The gold-haired girl breathed out in disbelief, spending quite a lot of time in the classroom going through hundreds if not thousands of entries.

She even encountered a few that she could not really recognize - like the three humans during the very first day of her having the guild card, whom she apparently killed right after the Royal Serpent of the Tempest - which honestly didn't make much sense to her.

But still.

There it was.

"That's a perfect example of having more luck than brains. If I ever claimed that I killed something without showing the body, people at the guild would check my card, and I would have one hell of an explanation to give…"

Melinda ticked her the guild card safely ino a pocket of her shirt and then burrowed her face in her hands, voicing her disbeleif.

"Yeah, so the work at the guild is completely out of the question now."

"Understandable. My lady, please forgive me for not looking into it more."

Sometime later, inside one of the dorm rooms, Melinda complained to the brown-haired maid, and she responded apologetically.

"How are my chances of working for the church of Perseverance and joining Zane's jovial party?"

The gold-haired girl took a deep breath to pull herself together and asked, happy to have a subject to which she could switch so easily.

"Unfortunately, they are as low as before."

"The poisoning didn't work?"

The maid shook her head and revealed, making the girl inquire with a sour expression.

"Unfortunately, they do have quite a skilled healer amongst their ranks. It appears there will be no vacancies or room for helpers in the next few months. It would be best if you chose something else before those people make you go to some disgraceful place, my lady."

The maid added in a serious voice.

"What if I just, you know? Sniped one of them? There must be a person he wouldn't miss that much…"

"Wouldn't that be a problem for you later, especially since we now know that the guild card holds the kill log?"

Melinda tried to fight for her preferred option one last time but was flat-out rejected by the facts and logic she provided herself.

"...fuck…"

"My lady! If someone heard you, they would think you were raised by elves!"

Melinda ended up cursing in annoyance, which earned her an instantaneous reprimand from the maid.

"Sorry…"

The gold-haired girl plopped down on her bed and murmured apologetically.

"Anyhow, should we go with the third option in this situation? A place that would make you look the most caring and selfless?"

"Yeah. That makes the most sense."

The maid pointed out, and Melinda agreed with a tired sigh.

"I'm glad to hear you are willing to finally cooperate with me, my lady."

The maid smiled cheekily, making the gold-haired girl smirk back at her.

"I put some thought into it, and the best option appears to be to work in orphanages. There are two run by the church on the North and South sides of the city and a privately owned one on the city outskirts in the West. I'll check them all out by tomorrow evening and…"

"Adi, you are working too hard when it's not necessary. Let me check out at least one of them so tomorrow evening we could have a nice dinner at that fancy new place they opened by the city square~!"

The maid said, but Melinda interrupted her with a worried expression before leaning in to hug her and declare, bouncing excitedly.

"...a… alright… If that is what you wish for, my lady."

For a second the maid was lost for words but then she nodded, trying her best to hide the smile forcing its way on her face.

"In that case, I will inspect the one in the South and West."

The maid declared, proudly puffing out her chest.

"Adiii… do you think I am unaware of how the Jade City is constructed?"

"...!"

Melinda let out a long sigh, shaking her head and making the maid look the other way.

"If the orphanage is in the West outskirts of the city, then it is almost twice the distance from the one in the South then the one in the South is from the one in the North. If anything, I will be taking the one in the West and you the other two."

"But my lady…"

The maid thought she would be able to take on the bulk of the work, but the gold-haired girl snatched the chance to overwork herself from right under her nose.

"No, no, no. It's final. Just take it easy, and we will meet at the new restaurant at seven in the evening to discuss the results over dinner."

"Okay~"

Melinda decided, cutting off any possible counterarguments, which resulted in the maid breaking her serious expression and nodding with a big smile.