Prologue: The First Interlude, or So It Was Told

The Vice-Branchmaster of Merchant City Kukrika’s Adventurers Guild, Fritz, sat idly in a guild room designated for his personal use. He was waiting for someone.

“Excuse me.”

The door opened softly, revealing a figure who quickly but respectfully bowed before entering. Fritz got up and approached the visitor. A gentle warmth radiated from his cordial smile. Those who knew him well would have found it a rare sight; that malicious, calculating gaze they had come to expect from him was simply not there. It was as if he was sincerely welcoming his guest. The number of people in this city whom the Vice-Branchmaster would greet with such an expression could be counted on one hand.

“It’s a wonderful pleasure to have you here. Now, pardon my bluntness, but may I inquire as to the outcome of the proceedings?” he asked as he politely showed the visitor to the seat he’d prepared in advance. There was no bite to his words, no edge to his voice.

Rona walked over to the seat she was offered and sat down. Across from her, Fritz did the same. The two traded glances. While her smile was the same as when she was here with Shion, her expression was much softer — almost jarringly so. The man before her, however, showed no sign of surprise at her gentler countenance and patiently waited for her reply.

“It wasn’t easy, but I got him to say yes,” she answered. There was a sense of relief to her words that brightened Fritz’s expression as well.

“Most splendid. I do hope this lessens your burden somewhat. Still, I must question the heavy-handedness of your approach.” Fritz had disapproved of the plan when he first heard about it. The conduct described therein was not at all acceptable for someone of reasonable standing, and was even less acceptable for a woman. However, faced with the fact that it was proposed by Rona herself, he was unable to voice any strong dissent.

Rona gently shook her head at Fritz’s words of concern.

“It’s my assignment. There’s no burden to doing one’s duty,” she said. She paused for a moment to think before continuing. “But it certainly wouldn’t hurt for things to be a little easier.”

A short giggle escaped Rona. Fritz’s face, on the contrary, remained a mask of concern. He looked noticeably anxious, which spoke to the degree to which the situation weighed on his conscience. Had Shion seen the expression on his face, she would surely have stared at Rona, eyes wide with surprise, wondering what kind of magic she was working. As far as Shion knew, the Vice-Branchmaster was arrogant, dismissive of others, and brimming with malice — an absolutely unbearable man. At present, however, his tone was overflowing with sincere apology.

“I’m terribly sorry…”

He rose from his chair and began to lower his head before Rona stopped him.

“You’re just doing your job, too. I’m well aware of that.”

“I know it’s Her Majesty’s orders, but they’re just throwing us one headache after another…”

The reason for Shion’s abhorrence for Fritz stemmed from the fact that ever since she registered as an adventurer, the Vice-Branchmaster had seemingly made it his personal mission to give her a hard time. Again and again, he would force her to do annoying missions nobody else would take up, and even when she completed them, he would pick out flaws and try to lower her compensation or penalize her. Rona, however, had just stated that he was under orders. That implied a mutual understanding between the two in the room that Fritz was actively trying to make Shion’s life hard, and that he was not doing so of his own volition, but rather at the command of someone else.

“I fully understand. It’s not easy being the bad guy.”

Rona lowered her head, which caused Fritz to shake his hands frantically.

“Please! Don’t! One such as myself is unworthy of…”

“Guilds normally don’t help with things like these. You’re bending the rules enough to offer your support. It would be unthinkable for me to have anything but the deepest gratitude for your efforts.”

“Your generous words are a weight off my shoulders. Then… with the Wanderer having joined your party, I assume that means…?” Fritz asked inquiringly.

“Yes.” Rona nodded. “We certainly were not expecting to make friends with a Wanderer, but we now have a reasonably trustworthy and competent ally at our side. After a month of experience, I’ve also yet to hear anything from Miss Shion that would imply she wants to quit being an adventurer. With things as they stand, I intend to report to Her Majesty that it’s fine to continue as is.”

“Will that apply to the guild’s meddling, as well?”

“Yes, I suspect that this will be the last time. You should expect to return to normal operation. Official notification will be delivered by Her Majesty later.”

“Wonderful. Then, shall you be returning to your original post, Lady Rona?”

“No, I will continue this assignment. I suspect it will remain this way.”

Rona’s smile was met with a frown from Fritz. The latter did not seem to approve of her words.

“As the Vice-Branchmaster of the Adventurers Guild, I fully recognize the irony of this statement, but a Chevalier should not be going about the business of adventuring. It’s simply not…”

Adventuring, to put it bluntly, was not an occupation for people who wanted to lead decent, honest lives. The work could get fairly violent, and people could get killed. Though it depended on the mission, there were also plenty of times when adventurers acted according to the creed of “it ain’t a crime unless you get caught.” Of course, no mission would ask for outright burglary or murder, but trespassing certainly came with the job. On many an occasion, adventurers would set foot into areas where entrance was prohibited by the local government or the Crown.

Rona smiled wryly. While she was aware that Fritz was worried about her, it took some mental effort to reconcile the Vice-Branchmaster’s words with his position. There was a bitter humor to a ringleader who deplored his enterprise.

“Now, now, if you think it’s not proper for me, then where does that leave Shion? Besides, I’m the oldest of my siblings. Even if I stayed home, I’d just get married off somewhere. All things considered, I don’t mind this life, to be honest.”

“B-But… Hnnngh…” groaned Fritz, his words failing him. The sight brought a smile to Rona’s lips.

“Moreover, I have a little sister, and she’s the clever one in the family. More so than me, anyway. If somebody had to get married, she’d probably do a much better job of it than I would,” laughed Rona.

Fritz opened his mouth, but no words came. He fell silent. Rona’s cheery countenance made it difficult for him to refute her outright, but approving of her statement would imply that he agreed that she was inferior to her sister. His resultant string of stuttering murmurs seemed to amuse her as she playfully observed his reaction. Eventually, she softly mentioned that she did not mean to put him on the spot and saved him from falling into an endless spiral of stress.

“Anyway, let’s return to the topic at hand. Could you handle the paperwork for adding Renya to Shion’s party?”

“Certainly. I’ll have it done right away.”

“I’ll go report to Her Majesty, and then I’ll head back to Miss Shion’s place. Oh, by the way,” said Rona, apparently remembering something, “if a stand-alone home with a workshop attached ever goes up for sale in the city, could you let me know?”

The Adventurers Guild was a nexus of information. It followed then that the Vice-Branchmaster would have a much easier time gathering large amounts of relevant information on real estate than Rona or Renya could on their own. Fritz, however, seemed to take Rona’s question to mean something else.

“Do you mean to… use it as a base of operations? If so, then I can arrange for a suitable location to be provided…”

He was about to propose that he scout out a few luxury spots close to the Central District when Rona cut him off.

“No, that won’t do. How would you even give it to Miss Shion? What would you tell her?”

“Well… as an apology for everything that has happened so far, I suppose…”

Seeing that he no longer needed to play the heel, Fritz was inclined to go for one big, dramatic apology to close everything out with no hard feelings, but he was shot down by Rona.

“I appreciate the thought, but I can’t allow that. Otherwise, it’d become immediately apparent that the guild was in on it. Even Miss Shion is not that much of an idiot. There are only so many people who can convince the guild to help them, and it won’t take her long to figure out it was Her Majesty’s doing.”

“…Your description of her seems a tad impolite.”

Fritz gave Rona a questioning look, but she brushed it off.

“It’s okay when I say it.”

“Ah…”

“As for the cost, we’ll figure out some way to pay for it ourselves. We only need information. If you could just keep an eye out for any availabilities, that would be greatly appreciated.”

“Understood.”

“Try to keep it a secret from Shion. Be careful around Renya, too. He’s sharper than you might think.” After cautioning Fritz and making sure that he understood, Rona stood up. “Now, then, I’ll be taking my leave. Keep me informed of any happenings, please.”

“I certainly will. And please, take care of yourself.”

Even Fritz’s parting words were mired with worry for her safety. In response to his concern, she showed him one final smile before making for the door.

Once she left the room, she turned her thoughts inward. There were times when Fritz’s concern bordered on annoying. She wondered if the good Vice-Branchmaster was perhaps being too much of a worrywart. However, the image of her charge soon resurfaced in her mind, and she found herself more inclined to forgive him for fretting like an old maid. Considering the fact that she had been ordered to guard Shion, no amount of worry was too much.

“Honestly, where did I go wrong?” she mumbled as she eyed her extra tight-fitting priest robe. It was certainly lighter and easier to move in than the armor she wore before she took up this task, but in what way did this getup evoke even the slightest hint of priesthood? She had entertained the question on many occasions. To date, she still had no answer. However, she knew its purpose: to peel the eyes of onlookers away from the person beside her. Therefore, she had no choice but to simply deal with everything else.

“I’m not one to pity myself, but sometimes, I really have to ask… am I going to be stuck doing this forever?”

A part of Rona fervently wished it were not so. She waited for a moment. The Heavens did not, in fact, answer her call, and she was left with nothing but her own meandering thoughts. The silence of the hallway was broken only by the sound of a short but weighty sigh.