Ayame and I exchange a glance and nod happily. Looks like she’s come to the same conclusion. It looks like Robert is also in the kitchen, he is peeling potatoes at the other end of the room. He seems entirely depressed, which is completely understandable, as his gorgeous wife wishes to separate from him.
Though, from Lucille’s recounting, he was not getting much love for years to begin with, so he should’ve guessed that it was coming at some point.
“Mavena, how have you been?” I speak up, finally alerting them of our presence. Robert flinches at the sound of my voice, he probably has some bad memories coming to the surface upon hearing my sound.
The two girls snap their heads and turn around, then begin examining me greatly.
Mavena, on the other hand, approaches me, begins poking at my stomach with her index finger while looking up at me and scoffing annoyedly. “This area is off-limits for guests, what are you doing here? Can’t you read the sign? Hmph… I guess you can’t…”
I can’t help but let a laugh out. Seems like her cheeky side had returned. “You are using my two servants as free labor, I deserve at least this much, no?”
She eyes me combatively before relenting. “Haah. I guess you’re right. But!” Her gaze turns even firmer, “where have you been with my mother for all these hours?! I hope you know that she is a married woman!”
So she kept her promise and didn’t tell them anything. Great, I like to see that she is trustworthy. Technically she could’ve told them that she went to the labyrinth with us, but then the question ‘how did you get to a labyrinth, since there’s not one here?’ would come up. She is strictly forbidden from discussing my spells, so she couldn’t do it, the same for these two girls.
“We went on a walk, and no, I didn’t forget that she is married. I laid no finger on her, nor made any other moves, and have no plans to do so.” I state confidently and hear a happy, relieved sigh from Robert’s direction. So he was also worried but didn’t dare confront me?
“A walk…” Mavena stares at me with eyes full of suspicion. Sadly, Miss Detective won’t get more from me.
Anna and Beatrice suddenly step forward with surprising grace and make a professional curtsy that lady servants in the employ of a respectable noble house might perform. I bet my left nut that they didn’t know how to conduct such movements before today. I smell Lucille’s machinations being on display here.
It could’ve been Ayame as well if she didn’t spend all her time with me in the labyrinth, but she did, so she is eliminated from the list of suspects. There’s something strange going on with that light caramel-haired woman. I really wanna hear her backstory more and more.
“”We wish to thank you for your generosity once again, Master Quinlan.”” The twins said in a heartfelt chorus. Ah, I see why they were eyeing me so much before. This is the first time the duo sees my face, as in the labyrinth I was in my gear set.
Well, I don’t know how they imagined me with the mask off, but I hope that I didn’t disappoint. “If you wish to thank someone you should say it to this woman over here. She will be your direct superior moving forward.” I responded while putting an indicative hand on Ayame’s shoulder.
“No need to bow again, you two. You’re welcome, and you can pay us back by serving us diligently.” She spoke up, indicating that they’d already discussed the basics when I sent them back through the portal initially where Ayame also came for a few minutes before coming back to the labyrinth.
“Yes, Lady Ayame!” Despite being told not to, they still bowed deeply.
“Alright, get back to it. I’m hungry already. After dinner I expect to have a more thorough discussion with you two, so prepare yourselves mentally.” I informed them, after which we left them to their devices. Once we stepped through the doorway, I heard Beatrice speak up, “we have to make the best dish we can!”
“Of course. Miss Mavena, please help us!” Anna begged desperately. Looks like they really intend to earn their place through hard and excellent work.
Good.
“Haaah… You are way too eager to serve that big oaf. He doesn’t deserve you at all.”
“”Don’t speak of Lord Quinlan like that!””
“Yes, yes…”
…
“So what should we do now? Any suggestions?” Ayame asked, to which I said we could look to sell the monster loot.
“What about the noble’s gear and stuff?”
“We’ll have to use the Consortium for that. They must have people who don’t care if its previous owner was the count’s dead son. Maybe it will even go for a premium. However, I think it’s best we wait until we become Phenoms.
The chances are much lower that they would fuck us over afterwards.” Indeed, right now I don’t wanna risk letting the organization know that we are the murderers, as I can’t predict their reaction.
“Alright, I agree.”
Afterwards we filled multiple bags to the brim, even going as far as getting more from Robert, who reluctantly gave me a few extra, and headed to a monster material shop. Braedon is not known for housing many Explorers since there’s no local labyrinth, thus their shop variety might also be limited.
However, in a big city like this finding a few shouldn’t be a big problem, plus we might get a better deal here than we would in Aldoria. After all, the labyrinth drops there are locally sourced, while the people in Braedon would have to pay for the 100 km (62 miles) transportation fee.
I glance to my left only to be welcomed by the sight of my companion who is more bags than girl at this point. Her petite frame is hidden behind all the bags of loot her high Strength allows her to carry. This is going to be a good haul, I can already tell.