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“Here you go, miss.”

With those words, Marybell placed a teacup on the table. The scent of Earl Grey and bergamot that tickled my nose was pleasant.

“I heard you got into quite a fight.” Marybell leaned forward with a big, amused smile on her face.
“What? But I didn’t do anything.”

I brought the cup to my lips with both hands, enjoying the rising aroma, and responded with a slightly upturned stare.

In truth, I hadn’t done anything major. Some shady-looking guys had rushed at me from an alleyway, and I just dodged. Though when I dodged, I accidentally messed with one of the men’s sense of direction, but they tangled themselves up all on their own. We did make a lot of noise and caused a scene—smashing liquor bottles and the like—so a bunch of people ended up gathering.

Those two guys ended up upside down, with their faces in each other’s crotches… I felt sick just thinking about it! Like, no one would ever want to see such a thing! It was humiliating to be seen by so many people. One of the two men even flew face-first across the cobblestones. I didn’t want to imagine what happened to his face.

“I heard that the two men that the young miss seized were the remnants of a robbery gang that had escaped from Dekenbel.”

(I didn’t seize them, okay? I didn’t even touch them!)

“Mr. Roland already told me about that.”
“Oh my. The Chief Guard came to you personally to secure the bandits?”

Mr. Roland was the head of the guards in Cope Town. I had met him several times, especially after he once visited the Cloud family, so I recognized his face.

“They broke into Miss Cecilie’s store, so it’s no wonder he was there!”

Marybell took a sip of her tea and added, “The Chief Guard is head over heels for Cecilie, you know…”

“What?! They broke into Miss Cecilie’s store? How is the store? Is everyone alright?!”
“They’re fine. As expected, Miss Cecilie made quick work of them.”

I was about to jump up from worry, but managed to calm down after hearing that everyone was okay.

Thinking about it calmly, a robbery of that kind wouldn’t be enough to hurt Miss Cecilie. Miss Cecilie, a half-elf, ran a boutique in Cope Town. She looked around 20, but she had once been a Higher Rank member of the Village Guard. Half-elves, like elves, didn’t age in appearance after reaching adulthood. If you underestimated her because she looked young, you would be in for a world of pain. In addition, the workers in her shop were all active members of the guard. Those thugs were doomed the moment they targeted Miss Cecilie’s store.

As we continued drinking our tea, Marybell told me the rest of the story.

The thugs had originally been active in a city called Fabrice to the east. After losing power in a clash with another group there, they were chased out and drifted to Dekenbel, causing trouble as soon as they arrived. Coincidentally, a platoon of the knight order was staying in Dekenbel at the time, and they subjugated most of the group, including their leader. That had been about ten days ago. The remnants of that group had shown up at Cecilie’s store today.

“Cecilie has many admirers among the guards. It’s not just the Chief Guard. All of them were desperate to find the bandits. And you just happened to catch them out of nowhere, young miss!”

“I was just passing by!” I wanted to snap back but held it in and sipped my tea politely.

Honestly, I had only come to Cope Town to pick up a certain item and deliver it to the workshop—not to fight bandits.

The delivery was a bunch of edible wild vegetables from Amukham that Mama Sonia had asked me to gather. I’d come to deliver that basket packed with vegetables, all by myself, mind you! I had behaved like a proper lady!

The dwarves were known as the people of the earth, so I’d assumed they’d love wild vegetables. Living in a town like this, they couldn’t procure them regularly, so they were always thrilled when I brought a bunch. Though that could also be because they used them as a snack for their alcohol.

“Hey there, Cloud Missy, sorry for keeping you waiting.”

While we chatted, Marsh emerged from the workshop in the back, carrying two sheathed swords—my beloved silver swords.

“Next week is your big day, Missy! I’ve taken good care of them!”

Marsh smiled as he handed me the swords. I immediately drew one from its sheath to inspect it. Not a scratch—not even a speck of fogginess. My reflection shone clearly in the blade. They seemed to be 20% shinier than before!

“As for the leather armor, I’ve finished adjusting the Magic Steel and left it at Cecilie. Go there later to have it fitted.”
“Thank you very much for everything.”
“Don’t mention it! It’s a little late to say this, but be careful, Missy!”

I thanked Marsh again, took the swords, and left the workshop. I headed straight for Cecilie’s store, the Après-Midi.¹　

There were still a couple of guards inside when I arrived, but Millie, the shopkeeper, noticed me and came to the front. She greeted me with sparkling turquoise blue eyes and a radiant smile.

“Miss Susie! Welcome!”
“Hello, Millie. Are you all right? I heard you had some trouble.”
“Ahaha. So you heard already. It wasn’t anything worth mentioning. The manager took care of it. Oh my god, I’m sorry! I’ll go call her right away!”

Millie called loudly into the store, “Manager! Manaaageeer!” summoning Cecilie. She was as lively as ever. Millie’s yells were so loud that the guard beside her jumped up in surprise.

“You’re too loud, Millie!”

A graceful beauty with long hair came from the back of the store. Her long slit skirt revealed healthy, tan legs. She was slender but had bumps in all the right places, giving her an alluring aura. Though she didn’t appear indecent. It felt more refined. Her brunette hair flowed down to her waist, and her amber eyes were impossible to ignore.

She wore a brightly colored scarf wrapped like a turban over her head and tied in the back, which hid the tops of her ears. It was hard to tell she was a half-elf.