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We were held up a bit due to Cloud, but we managed to avoid some trouble. Still, this situation felt a little odd to me.

Right, Cloud got rolled up in all that, but neither a busybody like Letina nor the friendly Michelle reacted to it at all. After seeing their friend getting involved in trouble, there was no way these two would’ve stayed silent.

“Wait, now that I think about it, where are those two?”
“Look over there.”

Cloud answered my question by pointing outside the Guild.

There, on the opposite side of the road, Michelle was securing her position next to a spit-roasting stall, with grilled bird skewers in each hand. Next to her was Letina doing exactly the same.

“Those two…”
“Well, Michelle is like a demon glutton, so it can’t be helped. Still, it’s rare to see Letina imitate her.”
“Well, she is a noble lady, so it’s rare for her to eat warm food, you know?”
“Huh, really?”

You wouldn’t believe it based on how she behaved on a daily basis, but she was still the Marquis’ daughter. She had to be careful of getting food-poisoned, or attempts to kill her by poisoning.

Before a meal made it to her mouth, it went through numerous taste and poison checks, so the food was already cold by the time it reached her.

For that reason, the times she adventured with us were few chances for her to have proper warm food.

“Hey, you two, time to go!”

I called out to the two ahead, took Cloud’s hand, and hurried ahead.

Due to all that’s happened, the sun was already starting to set. We had to return by dark, so I wanted to head out as fast as possible.

“Ah, sorry.”
“It looked so appetizing I was lured before I noticed.”
“Hahaha, could I take it as you indirectly praising my skill?
“It was not a bad taste. I shall visit you again.”
“Of course, do come again!”

It was pleasant to see Letina who was a little standoffish and the energetic stall owner hitting it off so well.

But we had no time left now. I already revealed my Thread Manipulation Gift to Michelle, so I wanted to try out a few things using that ability while cooperating with them.

But with the herb gathering added to the calculations, it barely left enough time. In a way, this was also good training.

“It seems today will be a nice exercise to see how we can move under limited time. Also, I’m going to try coordination with my new ability.”
“A new ability?”
“It’s one of my abilities, I explained it to Michelle and Cloud before… I’d like to try fighting with my threads.”
“Threads… That’s quite an unusual ability. No, could it be… The same ability that Lord Reid had!?”
“Well, I guess?”
“How enviable!”
“I can’t do anything about it…”

Thread Manipulation sounded quite plain. When you first heard of it, you wouldn’t know how you could even use it. However, Letina being the Six Hero nerd she was, was quick to link it to Reid’s ability.

Only Letina would find the connection to the least outstanding member of the Six Heroes so fast.

“As you know, I also have the Gift of Interference Magic. In other words, I hold two Gifts. You do realize what would happen if this were to be known, right?”
“It… Would lead to an uproar. Holders of several Gifts are only one in ten thousand.”
“And not just that, even my background would add more fuel to it.”
“The daughter of the Six Heroes who each holds two Gifts also holds multiple Gifts. That would become shocking news.”
“Right. If that became known… It would lead to a serious matter. Even for Elliot.”
“His Highness seems to have found a new sweetheart. But still, someone with such influence could have a concubine or two aside from queen consort. If that happens, even you would…”
“And that’s why I’m staying quiet. So, no telling anyone, okay? That includes my parents.”
“So that’s how it was… But you are keeping it a secret from Lord Lyell too?”

She was coaxed by my excuse and understood the point at first, but then found the part about Lyell odd. But for me, Lyell and the rest of my former comrades were the main people I didn’t want to learn of it.

Still, Letina was not aware of my circumstances. It was natural for her to question why I would keep it a secret from my own father. If I didn’t settle her doubts now, this information could one day reach Lyell and others.

“Hmm, well, you can talk to Maxwell about it.”
“But not to Lord Lyell and Lady Maria? Or teacher Cortina?”
“Uhh, well… My parents, well, they are sensitive about Lord Reid. So if they find out that their daughter holds the same Gift, it would get complicated.”
“It would?”
“I don’t want to see their comrade in their eyes every time they look at me.”
“That’s… True.”

See their old comrade my a̲s̲s̲, I was that old comrade. That said, the plea of “I want them to see me as their daughter” seemed to have pulled on Letina’s heartstrings quite a bit.

Despite being a noble, she had been raised with love, so she ended up developing a very upright nature. It was cute to see her tremble at the thought of imagining me not being looked at as their daughter.

“But Maxwell was the only one who wasn’t there during the incident, so he’s the most rational about it among the Six Heroes. So I only talk to him. Let him decide whether to tell my parents or not.”
“That’s true… It could be problematic if we ignore his will and reveal it ourselves.”
“Right? So let’s discuss it with Maxwell first and wait for his decision.”
“Understood.”

I felt like I once again pushed all the responsibility to Maxwell. Still, he only had himself to blame for exposing my secret.

I revealed a mean smile, thinking that this would be a nice little revenge against him, and then we set off outside the city.