Chapter 56 – Part 1 – I’m Ready (Letty’s POV)
After parting with Lady Sophia, I made my way to Swindfort City with the guards. Even though I was constantly surrounded by guards, I was feeling a little anxious and uneasy. It was a similar feeling to when I first started training as a maid. Back then, I was constantly monitored, as they couldn’t trust an orphan who was literally brought to them from the streets.
Why am I feeling as if someone is monitoring me? Hah, no way. It must be the accumulated tiredness from all the traveling in the past two weeks.
Hah, I’ve come so far…
As I was lost in thought, I realized that our carriage had stopped. I peeked through the window and found out that we were intercepted by a group of adventurers. There was one guy who was pleading with the guards, and three girls. Apart from their exceptional looks, they were well equipped, suggesting that they were at least a B-rank party of adventurers.
While the guy was arguing with the guards, the rest of his party was trying to stop him, telling him to let it go. Soon, one of the guards came up to my carriage and knocked on the door.
Knock knock
I wrapped the curtains around the window and asked him about the commotion.
“This party of adventurers seems to have some business with you, Lady Letica. The man is insisting that they possess something that belongs to Lady Ernius, and wishes to speak to you. How should we proceed?”, he asked.
Something that belongs to Aria… Let’s hear what he has to say.
I walked out of the carriage and made my way towards the group, keeping enough distance between us.
The guy at the front stared at me for a moment, bowed slightly, and said,
“Lady Letica. I must say you look much more beautiful than what those rumors say. I am blessed to be in your presence”
Huh, what’s with this guy? Why is he talking like that? And what rumors?
Before I could even react, I was hit with piercing glares from two of his party members. Woah, chill girls… And one of them was timidly facing the ground.
What a weird party…
I chose to ignore everything, and asked straightforwardly,
“Why did you stop us? The guards said you had something to say, so make it quick”, I said.
With a saddened face, he moved his hands towards his front pockets. The guards, alarmed by this, raised their weapons.
“Relax, it’s just a ring”, he said, showing a ring in his hand.
It was Aria’s storage ring, which was gifted by Sir Richard and which she had carelessly lost. The very same that I bought from the shop, and engraved the Ernius House’s seal on top.
According to what Aria said, it should have at least four to five thousand gold coins as well as a few pieces of jewelry.
Oh dear god, why did he have to show up in front of so many guards? If I now accept the ring, the guards would report it back to Teacher, and she would be very angry at Aria. I can’t let that happen! Plus, it would even give away our secret about the Shop feature.
I think it’s fine if Teacher knows about it, but I’m scared that she would scold Aria a lot. I don’t want her to be sad…
No, there is a very big amount in that ring. I can’t leave it be, I should take it back.
As I was about to say something, the man and the timid girl bowed their heads 90 degrees, and the man said, “I am terribly sorry. I am here to turn myself in. I sold the jewelry and used 6,000 gold coins to treat my friend Lena’s illness. I’m very sorry. I found this ring a few years ago when Lady Aria accidentally dropped it while choosing adventurers to escort her home. I wanted to return it, but when I found out about her illness, I wanted to save her at all costs”.
After he finished, the timid girl said, “I-It was my fault, h-he used the money for my treatment. P-Please punish me instead and let him go”
Why is she so scared of me? Am I scary?
Just when I thought that things couldn’t get any weirder…
“Woah, calm down, and raise your heads”
What should I do now? Even if I have them arrested for stealing money, it won’t bring the money back. Moreover, Aria doesn’t even care about the money. Should I let them go?
Yeah, this is the right thing to do. This way, I can even save Aria from punishment.
“Show me the ring”, I said.
After he handed me the ring, I verified that it was indeed empty, except for a few hundred gold coins. But there was no jewelry in there.
“You must be mistaken. This ring doesn’t belong to Lady Aria. The house Ernius’s seal on top of the ring is fake. I am her closest confidant, so I know. Now go back and don’t disturb us anymore”, I said in a dismissive tone, handing the ring back to the guy.
“What? How is that possibl-”, I interrupted him before he could say any further. “I said, get out of our way. Or do you want me to arrest your entire party for causing a ruckus?”, I loudly said.
This did the job, as they retreated and made way for the carriage.
Sigh… I hope the guards don’t say anything more than they have to.
***
As I entered the city, that weird feeling finally shook off. Maybe I was just homesick. Anyway, I was shocked to see everyone cheering for my return. I could hear people praising me and congratulating me.
I waved my hand through the window, happy with all the attention I got. But I was even more happy to see Aria’s popularity rise again. She deserves every bit of fame and praise that she is being showered with.
Due to the number of people watching, I forced myself not to run up to Aria, who was waiting by the gates of the mansion for my return.
Hehe, she is trying to hurry up with the formalities so we can head inside the mansion and hug each other. She is so cute.
After thanking everyone, I followed Aria inside.
“Lettyyyy! I missed you so much!”, she hugged me tightly.
“Ouch, you are killing me with your bear hug. Hehe, I missed you too”, I said, returning the hug.
After traveling such a long distance, I was itching to just roll on the soft bed and sleep to my heart’s content. So I did just that and slept till the next day’s noon.
As I woke up, I saw Aria working on something on her table. Wanting to surprise her, I tip-toed towards her and gently embraced her from behind. I rested my chin on her left shoulder.
“Kyah!”, she screamed. “Gosh, Letty. Don’t sneak up on me like that”, she said.
“Hehe, sorry… Say, are you happy with my speech?”, I asked.
“Mmn, yes. I got to see my girlfriend’s cool side. How can I not be happy? I am very proud of you”, she replied.
She said I’m cool! I can’t stop myself from grinning like a fool. It’s a good thing she can’t see my face.
“Really? I’m so glad. I was worried that you’d find it a burden. It’s such a relief”, I said.
“Say, Letty, have you made up your mind yet? We should hurry up and buy a noble title for you from the neighboring kingdom. As you get more popular, it will be even more difficult to cover it up”, she said.
There is that too.
“Are you really proud of me?”, I asked.
“Of course, Letty. You are wonderful. Alteria’s Haven would have definitely closed down without your efforts”, she said.
“Don’t lie. Sir Richard could have solved this issue in no time”, I said.
She caressed my left cheek and said,
“Yes, but even he couldn’t have brought such good results. Alteria’s Haven’s name is being revered throughout the entire kingdom as someone who dared to stand up to the royals for the commoners. There couldn’t have been a better outcome. So yes, Letty, I am truly proud of you”, she said.
“Thank you, Aria. Thank you for everything. Let’s go and inform Teacher and Sir Richard”
***
I checked the system real quick. Since I had turned off the SP reminders, I had to manually check them from time to time. I must have earned a lot of SP in the past week, let’s see,
Wow, around a week ago, it was merely at 600, now it’s more than doubled. Now that’s satisfying.
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Satisfaction Points – 1,480
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Oh, there is more,
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Quest Completed–
Get a trade deal
Rewards:
5 EXP + 50 EXP (bonus)
Note: Although it wasn’t much of a trade deal, I’ll count it as a win. Just don’t tell the angels..
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Wow, System, I thought I would fail this one for sure. I guess you do have a heart, despite claiming to be emotionless. Thank you! Although your stinginess is still the same, five more EXP and I would have leveled up.
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Tch, it would have been better to just mark the quest as failed. You ungrateful brat!
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Ah, sorry, sorry. I was just kidding. I am very thankful, Mr. System. Please keep giving me easy quests. And give me a nice skill when I level up.
By the way, why do I feel like I'm forgetting something... What is it...
// Current Status:
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Name – Letica
Level – 4 (145/150 EXP)
Sex – Female
Age – 19
Class – Pleasure Slave
Talent – A (S)
HP – 25/25
MP – 25/25
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Stats –
STR – 10
AGL – 12
INT – 11
DEX – 13
CHA – 15
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Satisfaction Points – 1,480
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Skills (+)
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Quest (+)
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Shop (+)
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