012 Faithful meeting (?)

[Author's note]

Long time no see folks!! I'm back, I was thinking about writing another book but then I haven't halfway finish this one yet so ah... ^^")

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"Creak.."

A cradle-rocking chair woven from bamboo gently swayed in a rhythm, along with the movement of the person inside.

A young woman was sleeping in a nest filled with soft blankets to the brim. Her eyes suddenly shot wide open, there's no emotion inside as she grasped her chest and fallen to the ground below with a loud thud, like a marionette losing its strings.

The Chinese letters written what seems to be a name, 'Liu Fangshi', appeared on the surface of the rocking chair, then on a wall, a ceiling, on a window... The text gradually filled up on any surfaces available, it consumes the cold body lying there motionlessly, creeping to every inch and corners of the space till the entire room turned pitch dark like a bottomless void.

"You are Liu Fangshi"

An empty voice devoid of any up and down echoed as the scene shook violently, everything came crashing down in an instant before crumbling into countless grains of sand.

"Huh..."

The ever steady breath slightly fluctuated for a moment, followed by an annoyed sigh.

"This weird dream again."

Liu Fangshi sat up from the bed, looked straight ahead into the void as a dim blood moonlight bathing on to their face.

.

.

.

How many days had it been? I can't remember. However, it seems to be from the very first day I've arrived here. I'd always dreamt about this incomprehensible vision, the same scene, again and again. Honesty, this is perfect for some horror stuff... too bad I already get used to it by now. Well, it wasn't a bad thing, just a little too annoying to think of. 

Hey, at least give me something new ah, this is getting too boring, other aspect of my daily life should make do with it...

But what was that dream anyway? They said all dreams have meaning but seriously, I have no clues what it's trying to tell me, tell me that I'm me? That's so damn weird.

Maybe Klein could decipher it.

I yawned and stretched my body, enjoying the first ray of sunshine before it cutely hits right into my eyes, the stinging pain made me look away silently. 

"Meow"

"Good morning to you too, little one"

The little black kitten coiled around my ankles left and right, trying hard to please me, so I gave it a daily pat on its head as usual.

Of course the first thing I've to do after waking up is, checking under my bed and every corner of my room. After the daily searching, there's no trace of insects or rat corpses anywhere.

After that time I convinced the little kitten with much difficulty, the little one finally agreed to bury the "trophies" outside in the backyard. Alas, is this what it's like to have a cat... so troublesome? I asked Hans so and he gave me a wry smile, the kind that almost as if he's saying to me 'what are you talking about. I am the one who does all the works here. You don't have the right to complain to me!', although I doubt that's what he really meant, but oh well.

Ops, sorry about that, who made me the frail and helpless damsel here? Sigh, why wasn't I being stuffed in some dude's body instead, I would have more strength and healthier body than this.

Even though raising a cat doesn't require that much strength... Huh? What's that? I'm avoiding responsibility? If I don't speak up, it doesn't belong to me. Yes, that's right, let's pretend it's Hans who owned the cat, not me, who's just happened to be the cat's favorite.

I watched as the maid Ann knocked on the door, excused herself and came into my room.

Ann is the only maid in this house, yes the very same girl who argued with madam before which color of the dress suits me the most. She had a brown hair and eyes coupled with a lovely freckles painted on her face. Brown hair tied into braids and her height is even shorter than me. She always had that bright smile on her face whenever she saw me. She was pretty close to Megose than I expected, I have no idea why but she reminded me of a beagle, she's such a happy-go-round person.

She served me the usual breakfast coupled with jasmine tea-- and the wet cat food, before bowing down and left the room quietly. I took a sip of a jasmine tea, the warm current soothing my body greatly, I let out a relaxed sigh as I immerse myself to the silence of the room. Although the little one didn't seem to like the food in front of it, but it could only force itself to wolf down everything clean. Good job little one, eat a lot and grow quickly.

It's been a couple of days wasn't it? Since the last time I beat some random thief up, I began to wonder how that person is doing, I hope they turned a new leaf by now... I don't mind do the 'guiding' if I met happened to meet them in that alley again.

Forget about that thief, I've been thinking about many matters lately, fine, that was a lie. Just one or two, first is the usual, how to avoid seeing Lanevus face and hold myself back from jumping at him. Second however, is regarding Edmund. His actions puzzled me, by a lot. I didn't get why he spent so much not only to give me a free formula but also gifted me the main ingredients too in exchange for just renting me one day, that's too much, I don't think it really worth it... also, where did he even find them so quickly?

Is he trying to build a good impression so that the next time he could borrow me out easily? Huh, that should be it... is there something deeper than that what I've seen?

Also, that snake ring, it looks like anything but a typical normal mystical item, is it from a sequence 8? If I have to guess purely from its appearance... hm, rose and black snake, well, no clues, maybe it's a Witch? 

I couldn't help but thought to myself humorously, black snake from their mythical form of Medusa, and that bloody red rose represents beauty.

...Why the more I think about the more it funny it is, what if it's really from Witch pathway? What's going to be its negative effect, making everyone crazily attracted to you regardless of gender? 

Alright, enough fooling around. Edmund, that guy is weird, perhaps it's because he had too much energy for me to handle that makes me want to avoid him. Hm, but besides that, there's that faint feeling inside that makes me wanted to get closer to him.

No, why did it sounds like I have a thing for that guy?

I felt a goosebump creeping up my back...

No, nope, absolutely not, this could be some kind of a negative effect from one of his items right? That sounds more reasonable. Reasonable, huh, that reminds me of a certain bad writer with the quill. Now that I think about it have I gone out of the scope of his writing yet? I could only pray to the Goddess that he didn't notice my existence yet.

After Ann came and took the plate away, I briskly came to the front door. What awaited for me is Old Hans and another butler, Karl, Ann's younger brother. He looked almost the same as Ann, except that he had a very dead-pan face and was a very quiet person who talked less and less, as if every word of his was worth ten thousand pounds.

They were helping father loading up bags and luggages into the carriage while mother was waiting by the side, fanning herself under the shade of tree. Seeing me came out, she smiled gently and nodded at me.

Today is the day this entire household will belong to me. Not only that, no one will be there to keep nagging me no more! 

That's right, Megose's parent finally going to take off to Backlund, the land of hope. Heh, land of hope, shouldn't we just called it a land of smog? Haha...

My mood lightened up at the thought that I didn't have to spend most of my time outside every single day like some homeless anymore. Mother probably saw the delightful look on my face, she sighed and lamented to father, who couldn't help but sigh along.

"Oh, look at our darling, she doesn't want to see us anymore!"

"Megose, keep yourself together that's not... very lady-like"

"You've misunderstood mother, father, I'm just looking forward to the gift you promised me"

"Right, I'll pretend that you running away lately is also because you're looking forward to the gift too"

Mother then let out a subtle smile.

"I've told Hans to follow you closely while we were gone, just in case. And, don't forget to introduce us to that young man when we came back"

"Young man? Who?"

Father's gaze sharply landed on me and I zipped my mouth shut, pretending to be death.

"Come on dear, it's time to go. See you soon my darling! Don't forget to take care of that kitten! Mother will also come back with a new toy!"

Ah, it looks like there's another cat slave in the house beside Hans... but this one voluntarily joined the cat cult with her arms open and praise the cat.

I formally bid them farewell and watched the carriage getting further and further away with mother waving her handkerchief dramatically as she mouthed the word 'Wait for mother!', I suddenly felt that the house was a little too empty compared to before. Oh well, isn't that a good thing? That meant I have more space and freedom than before. What did she meant by having Old Hans keeping an eye on me? Too bad mother, he's already on my side. I bet even if I told him I'm going to rob a bank he wouldn't stop me... maybe.

Anyway.

Cheers! Haha, cheers to my freedom.

I hummed some random tune and turned around, I saw Hans coming out with a bag clinging to his side, which contained various notes and pen inside. Today, as the usual, Hans is going to visit Ademisaul and teach him a basic courtesy and how to be a qualified servant. On the very first few days I also tagged along too, to see how he is doing before getting bored quickly, he's getting better and better and there's no sign of going out of control... for now. I wish you all the best Ade, as long as you paid the debt first before going up to the Goddess's divine kingdom everything should be fine.

However, despite that I still prepared my dress according to Ann's recommendation, because I'm also going out today too. Surprise surprise? Well, it sort of becoming my habit by now, even if Megose's guardians were gone I would still go to that place daily anyway.

With the trusty sunhat Megose always wore, and a simple that was easy to move around with, I ordered Karl to look after the house (and a cat) as I and Ann took off, hailing a public carriage.

The destination we are heading to is naturally the church, Church of the (dear mother) Evernight to be exact.

Since Megose is the believer of Evernight it would be weird if she never went to the church again right? Plus, I wanted to establish an image of a devoted believer, in case something unexpected did happened to me they would noticed my absent... I hope they did, there are many hundreds upon hundreds of followers here, that's quite unlikely but the thing I could do for now is to grasp whatever chance I got, even if it's a small one.

I got off the carriage and familiarly walked into the church with the mentality of visiting a community park. After I stepped inside, I found the usual seat in the middle of the church and sat down before praying seriously

"The Evernight Goddess stands higher than the cosmos

and more eternal than eternity, The Lady of Crimson, The Mother of Concealment... "

"I wish today to be yet another lively day of mine"

I muttered under my breath, looking up at the sacred emblem that stood upright on the high table and tapped my chest four times in a clockwise circle.

Genuinely speaking, I couldn't remember how one is supposed to pray to their god... but I guess this should be fine, right? 

After staying around and pretending to be praying piously for a while that Ann started to look at me with a begging look in her eyes that I finally decided to get up and left the church.

And just like that, my daily task is done.

There's not much thing to do here in this time and era, I mean, there's no internet or smartphone... the only enjoyment came from novels, gossipping, gambling away their life and possessions, and also some handicraft works to kill time.

Speaking of which, what if I craved a random symbol on top of the rock and called it a magical rune that could sweep over fortune and fence off bad luck will there be someone stupid-- generous enough to buy them?

I saw those sellers successfully struck a deal back at the underground market that day, so why can't I do so too? 

Just joking, I don't think anyone would be willing to get them even if I gift them for free considering both my poor handwritings and merchant skill.

My handwriting... I don't want to talk about it.

"My lady, the Smyrin Bakery is opening today, let's go grab some lemon cakes and biscuits back to give Old Hans and Karl!"

Ann's eyes were as bright as the sun, I was almost physically blinded by that... with that expression of looking after and excitement clearly reflected on her face, it's as if the next moment there would be a tail popping up behind her, wagging at a high speed. I don't really want to go... I just want to sleep but.

"Alright..."

I reluctantly agreed to her, if not she would be staring a hole at me with that face, on the entire journey back home, I knew it firsthand before... that one time I refused to stop by a random bakery shop with her. This girl is especially fond of sweets and bakeries. The sweeter, the better, sometimes I wonder wouldn't be easier to just stuff herself a spoon of sugar. I really couldn't fathom what's so good about them that made her acting like a madman over a small thing like this.

"Is it really that important?"

I turned to ask. Because our destination wasn't that far anyway, so we were threading down the road by feet.

"My lady! Of course it is! Since we already coming outside of course we should bring something back, otherwise it would be a waste of time just to come out again, beside, the lemon cake that Mrs. Smyrin made is just SO so delicious!"

Ann said with the eyes so bright they could turn into a headlight, I could feel her holding back a dam of saliva behind her mouth...

Come to think about that, that Smink something sounds quite familiar. I vaguely remember seeing that name in the book, ah, but of course I couldn't remember them. I'm not a Savant anyway, don't expect me to remember every little single detail.

Alright, it's decided. Since I've already landed in this miserable book anyway, might as well enjoy it.

First on the list, tasting the sweet iced tea and desi pie! 

The next would definitely be... witnessing every vest (identities) of our Mr. Fool! Well, all the vests beside Sherlock and Dwayne are really hard to see, I could only pray that my luck is good enough, however considering I've landed in this world in the first place... I'm more convinced that I might as well be the unluckiest guy alive, for now.

While I was crazily listing down all the things I wanted to do before I go back, I saw a figure slowing down until she stopped in front of me. It was a thin and slightly pale young lady, however her skin remained lustrous as it exuded the vibes of a young girl. She was staring at the bakery shop's window unblinking, it might be my illusion but I seem to see the longing and disappointment in those pair of brown eyes.

Even when we got closer she didn't notice our presence at all. I turned to glance inside through a layer of glass and saw a row of pastries and breads placed neatly on various baskets on top of the counter. Did they look that appetizing, so much so that it caused her to stop in place as if she's bewitched or hypnotized? 

"Is the bakery here so delicious?"

I really couldn't help but blurt out my curiosity.

The girl flinched, before turning left and right and met with my inquiry gaze, and flinched again. She subconsciously took a few steps back, pointing at herself with a 'Me?' look.

"Is the bakery here so delicious?"

"Ah, huh?"

"I saw you staring inside for so long, have you tried them out before, is it that delicious?"

With no need for an eye at the back I could imagine Ann who was maintaining a distance, rolling her eyes toward me while yelling 'of course why else I brought you here my lady!' in her mind.

"Oh, yes, very. I've bought the cake from here before, not only they were affordable enough, they are also delightfully tasty too. Just the right amount of sweetness"

"... and especially the lemon cake, I'm sure no one can compete with Mrs. Smyrin's."

Might be because she saw me listening to her so intensely with all my attention, the more she chatted the more she began to relax. She started pouring out her heart's content and even recommended some popular pastries to me.

It wasn't until Ann walked up to us with a bunch of paper bags in her hands that the girl snapped back to reality and realized that she was, somehow, sitting inside the shop with me since who knows when. Oh Goddess! When did I walked in here!? That's probably what she's thinking at this moment, judging from her panic expression. 

She really reminded of a cat...

I looked up and saw that behind Ann, there's an old woman with grayish-white hair, she warmly gave a genial smile to my direction.

"Long time no see, Megose." Excuse me, who are you?

I blankly nodded back at her while trying hard to rack my tiny brain and remember who this woman is. Thankfully, there's Ann right there to go on full chatting mode and reveal her identity without needing me to embarrass myself and frankly asked her name outright.

"Mrs. Wendy! Do you know how hard it's for me to drag my lady here? Lately, despite going out more often, all she ever did is going to the church and pray! Alas, the lady at her age has always been gathering at the tea party and chatting among themselves about all interesting rumors and gossiping which handsome young man they have admired secretly, yet, she refused to socialize! How pitiful my lady is!"

"...", all of the sudden I'm being targeted, are you sure you didn't hold a grudge against me because I denied your request to bring back a bag full of sweets yesterday?

Nonetheless, not only this body knew her, but even my little maid. Judging from the apron she wore and her name, she must be the owner here.

"And good day to you, Melissa, what brought you here? Oh silly me, of course, you too must be here to buy the desserts like them"

Not only was the girl in front of me was taken aback, even me as well. Hold on Mrs. stranger, you're telling me this girl is Melissa? Luckily they didn't have a tea here for the waiting customers or else I would have accidentally spat out into the suspected-to-be-Melissa's face here and there, good grief.

No way, when did the world became so round and small? It's not impossible, but I didn't expect to meet her this fast... What a coincidence. The city wasn't big, so this is reasonable, I thought to myself jokingly.

I hope it did stay as a joke, please, for the love of Mr. Fool don't let there be a certain white-robed priest squatting in some corner here.

"No, Mrs. Wendy I..."

Melissa was panicking, she clutched her skirt tightly and sat there stiffly without any idea what to say. It must be pretty embarrassing, how should I say it, I was talking so passionately with the stranger that I lost in thought and accidentally walked into the shop without realizing it? Since it came to this might as well just bought the pastry here in passing, but the problem is, Moretti family is very... financially tight at the moment. I don't think Melissa would be able to thicken her face and clear Mrs. Smyrin's misunderstood or buy even the cheapest bread among the piles. Every pences and solis Benson worked so hard to earn, it's better to be spent on Klein's academics. That's probably what Melissa would have thought.

"It's my treat this time Mrs. Wendy, I came here with Melissa"

"Oh my, you two know each other?"

"Yes, " just a moment ago, if that counts.

Oh, look how wide her eyes were as she staring at me slightly startled by my answer. I took one paper bag from Ann, in which contained a small lemon cake inside, and handed it to the girl. I smiled at her brightly (?) in front of Mrs. Wendy. That's right, accept my goodwill Melissa, I swear I'm not forcing you or anything.

It's just that you have no choice but to accept my gift under the holy gaze of the greatest baker in the entire Tingen, Mrs. Wendy.

Melissa reluctantly received the paper bag tensely.

"Thank you"

"It's not a big deal, Miss Melissa"

I could see her trying to give me the best smile she could ever give, although it looked so miserable that if a passerby with no prior context came seeing this, they would have thought I was bullying her. Hey little Melissa, what with that face of yours, if your poor evil god knew about this wouldn't I be turned into a characteristic by his blessed one?

Oh wait, I forgot I don't have any.

Forget that, she's much more adorable than I thought, what a lovely girl. Even without the presence of Klein, I would still adore her regardless. It's decided, she's going to be my little sister from now on.

 I held my fist up high into the sky in my mind, declaring to the world about this pleasant event.

I will definitely treat her with a lot of snacks and... lemon cakes. Ah, but before that I'll have to make a good impression first. Unfortunately, my social skill is doomed. Tch, if I've known about this I would have brought the little guy (cat) with me, who wouldn't melt in front of a cat?

"Mrs. Melissa I will have to go now, let's meet at this place again tomorrow afternoon. Have a great day and see you later"

Quickly used the skill of 'quickly left without looking back' so that Melissa wouldn't have time to refuse or even confused as to why I want to see her again. It was pretty effective, I heard a rushing sound behind but with my speed she couldn't catch up with me. I'm sure with her character she would come here, definitely. If not that would be pretty embarrassing...

"My lady, that"

I stopped and looked back, Ann rushed up to my side and weakly leaned against the pole, catching a breath. I think Ann should exercise more, she's too weak, I'm surprised she has never gotten robbed every time she went out.

"Huu...huu... sorry, ah, my lady you run too fast!"

Ann patted her wrinkled skirt in distressed as she complained.

"Miss, I know you may be shy but! I don't think that's the good way to befriend someone!"

Then, Ann began her long reprimands on our way blank while I listen to her blankly. Yeah, none of those went into my head at all...

"That is so confusing and complicated, why can't I just drag someone up and tell them we're friends now?"

Inside my room as I discussed this newfound issue with a certain capable butler Old Hans, he gave me that weird look once again.

"ding"

A bell rang outside, which interrupted our one-sided conversation and caused Old Hans to lighten up as if he heard the coming of his savior.

Who could it be at this time... One of Megose's friend? Or her parent's acquittance?

How annoying, I muttered under my breath.

I got down and tried to open the door. As soon as my hand touched the doorknob, I felt something like I'm being watched by someone in the shadow.

The door opened and I saw him. A man with a plump forehead, black hair, brown eyes, a pair of funny-looking glasses, a faint mocking and smirking grin.

"Greeting Miss Megose, it's me, Lanevus"

After identifying the target, I immediately launched an attack followed by confused and anxious screams behind me.