Haha, I messed up…A lot. Anyhow enjoy the chapter

Thanks to Lapin and Vlad for helping out with this chapter

Translator : Hasr11

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Chapter 2 – At the Location of the Job (1)

Riding the luggage rack of the flower wagon participating in the parade march, Tiese crossed over to the neighboring town. With her is a small sum of money and a slender sword.

The large wagon, decorated with flowers, took some time to arrive due to its slow pace. When she reached the guild branch whom she had so often commuted to, the receptionist, Marie, greet her with an unusual broad smile.

「Just when I was looking for someone to ask! Because of all this festive merrymaking, no one wants to work. Since it’s on the way, could you come to the town near the border? If it’s transportation, I have some leftover tickets for the train so I’ll give it to you!」

「……Usually, the first thing you’d say would be 『It’s a hard task finding a job that you can do.』, but what’s with this treatment……?」

「Can’t you just be happy? I’ll even find a return ticket for you for free.」

While Tiese was wracking her brains, the Demon Marie moved her huge pointed ears up and down and puffed up her cheeks in frustration. It was a cute angry face that would make one question whether she really was 20 years of age.

Tiese, after thinking for a while, replied 「OK」

「Anyway, I was thinking of going there as well. I also want to look around a bit, I’ll manage to come back home by myself.」

「Oho, how strange. What? Do you not intend to return home for a while?」

「I thought of taking advantage of the celebrations, coming home after enjoying myself. This country is huge but there’s a chance that there might be a good place in the neighboring country too.」

Tiese replied in a joking tone.

When she said so, Marie was startled. Her eyes were wide and she had stood up.

「Eh? No way. You’re joking, right? You want to leave this place? 」

「What’s wrong? I didn’t say I wanna leave, aren’t you too shocked?」

「But, somehow, it seems as if you don’t have any intention of returning home ……」

Taken aback, Tiese, even while thinking dubiously, smoothed over, saying 「Marie doesn’t know?」.

「During all the uproar of the festival, there’ll be no dearth of discounted services. When should I be extravagant, if not now?」

This alcoholic bastard. Grumbling so, Marie once again sat on her chair.

「At least do it in moderation, for the sake of not giving me too many worries and the peace of the world.」 When Tiese urged her, Marie held out a single letter, all the while giving out a deep sigh.

「If you’re concerned with this, it could become something big.」

Marie voiced out her anxieties, but Tiese didn’t have the slightest clue, and quietly accepted the letter.

「The destination is Lanbell town along the border. Hand over this letter to Luciano Bard

Sector. It’s a crazy big, single chalk-colored mansion, so you’ll know immediately when you get there.」

「By Bard, you mean he’s a subordinate of the Demon King?」

Just like how the title Dector was added to royalty and nobility in humans, the Demons also have that system. The Demon faction which had the most pure blood even amongst the demons, the ones who were conferred a high status were given the title of Bard. The incumbent Demon King, who had just succeeded the throne 200 years ago, were well-known to be a gentle faction.

The current generation’s Demon King’s way of thinking was towards the human side and had built up friendly relationships with the Human King. She heard that there had been many such residences built within the country.

Thinking this far, Tiese realized a single possibility.

「Ah. By any chance, is that mansion in Lanbell the second residence of the Demon king?」

When Tiese asked, Marie noncommittally replied, 「That’s right.」. Even for her, she had the duty of protecting the information about the client and the individuals at the place of request, and so Tiese accepted the look of affirmation and obediently withdrew.

The money she received as deposit was generous for the simple job of handing over a letter. It was a journey without any danger, but she could only guess that the sender of the letter was a person with a befitting status.

「It’s a distance that takes a day even by train but I’ll report to the people there about your arrival. There probably won’t be any celebrations since it is in the countryside. It’s a rural town with only a small branch of the chivalric order which is why they don’t have any tourists.」

Marie, while resting her chin on her hands, called out to Tiese who was preparing to leave.

For Tiese, she was looking forward to this unknown place. Her childhood friend, who become a hero, was too prone to worrying and wouldn’t let her leave her house, more so if it’s a day long travel. Unable to make the guild’s work her primary business, she continued selling herb biscuits.

If she had went along with her feelings, perhaps she might have cross the border.

Being hanky-panky with the continued words with a smile, Tiese left the guild behind.

◆

There was not even a single passenger onboard the train going to the border.

From the story she heard from the conductor, many people had flocked to the royal capital for the celebrations for return of the Hero. He also spoke of how very few youngsters would trouble themselves to leave from the country currently the center of attention.

The season was spring. A journey in an almost chartered train under the calm and tranquil rays of the sun was the best.

As there was only one person, the middle aged conductor kindly offered the nap room to Tiese, free of charge.

The next day, she arrived at Lanbell town before noon, facing the dense forest along the border. The conductor explained to Tiese that there would only be a single train running during the public holiday, telling her to keep that in mind when making plans of returning back home.

The town of Lanbell, unlike Tiese’s imagination, did not look like a provincial town. It had well-ordered streets, many small-sized dwellings, a huge restaurant, two wine stores, the branch of the chivalric order, and a lodging house.

The people of the town stood out. Their calm disposition contrasts to the clamor of the celebrations. Time flew by in the leisure of a public holiday.

When she walked on the Main Street for a while, loitering in front of the dense forest, a huge mansion came in sight. With a fence enclosing the vast plot like the ones seen in the royal capital and iron gates that appeared sturdy, the chalk-colored mansion gave out a sense of cleanliness similar to that of a summer villa.

The mansion was still as death and there was not a silhouette of a servant present.

Tiese was quite at a loss in front of the gate of the grounds which did not even have a bell. She even had a hunch that she would be able to do something if she was able to reach the front gate of the mansion, but the iron gates opened without a warning, but she couldn’t make a judgement of treading on she’d on the long stone pavement was a good thing or not.

Because she didn’t have any experience of calling upon an imposing house, she didn’t know anything with regards to etiquette. Tiese’s knowledge was scarce on the conduct of nobles and their manners.

「Hmm, perhaps the Demons have their own set of manners……?」

She was troubled with that possibility. She felt she should have asked a few more details from Marie.

Tiese, who had been racking her brains and groaning for quite some time, suddenly noticed the gate making a noise and opening. She saw a man with grey hair, red eyes, and a tall and slender stature.

The man was dressed in the formal clothing of the nobles and had an awfully beautiful face. Below his straight nose were shapely thin lips and his skin was far more fair than that of a town girl. Even the sharp gaze that looked down upon her was refined with tapering slits as if it were a work of art.

「What do you think you are doing, daring to make a disgraceful face in front of my Master’s home?」

As frigid words left his mouth, a graceful scowl crept up without a hint of amiability. With just that, he openly showed his displeasure ruthlessly.