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Once I started working in two different places at the same time, I felt like I barely had any time to rest. I spent three days of the week teaching, and the other four as a receptionist, so it made sense I would get tired. Normally I never felt exhausted like this, thanks to the gods’ blessings I received my muscles would recover quickly, so I never ran out of energy, but mental energy was not so easy to recover.

Since I was working every day, the time when I was able to talk with Ciel, who I was still living with, was cut down to just small moments early in the morning or late at night. I did not like the turn things took, I was afraid I would eventually hate this way of life as well, so I decided to have a direct audience with the guild master Krieck.

“You want some time to rest?”

“Yes. Would it be possible to decrease the days I work here by one so I only work three times in a week? I’m almost at my limit as is.”

Two months had passed since the training school was built. By teaching other people, I was able to polish up on skills I was starting to forget, and I was motivated to keep doing it. Working as a receptionist also allowed me to talk with many different people which is fun, and by now I was getting the hang of it, but since I was going to work in two places, I thought that four days a week as a receptionist was a bit too much.

We had people come over from other guilds to help out, so in our current situation, I figured it would not cause a lot of trouble even if I were to quit entirely. So I thought that finding a good balance in my workloads was more important now, and decreasing the days I worked in the guild by one was the solution I found.

I thought Krieck would get mad at me since I was the one who said I wanted to work in both places to begin with, and it might sound like now I was just coming up with excuses, but he seemed underwhelmed by my petition and relaxed his shoulders.

“I don’t mind if you do that at all. We have more people working here now, and I actually was thinking of talking to you about that already.”

“…Really?”

“Well, of course. All the staff, myself included, have at least one day free in the week. But you on the other hand… I thought maybe you were trying to save up for something because of how hard you worked, so I didn’t want to say anything before.”

“Ah…hahah…”

That reminded me of one time during lunch break when everyone was talking about their plans with their salary, and I said I just wanted to save up. I do not want to keep being a nuisance in Ciel’s home forever after all.

“And talking about your savings, there’s a possibility they’ll increase by a lot soon.”

“What do you mean?”

“Do you remember the celebration after the battle from a while ago? The governor said that everyone who helped would be compensated equally, but those who did the most would get a bonus reward. He’s been busy with a lot of stuff around the territory to keep everything in order, so that kept being postponed time and time again until now.”

Is he for real! I thought that remuneration was a one-time thing, but now it turns out I’m getting a bonus on top of it! I probably started grinning since Krieck made a complicated smile looking at me. I had to control myself better, a lady should not start getting giddy about large sums of money.

This kind of face should only be made in a private space. Once I had relaxed my cheeks, Krieck gave me an envelope. I did not have a habit of writing letters, but even I could tell there were traces of a wax seal on it, and it was made of high-quality materials. The seal had probably been removed when Krieck opened it to read it.

“So about this. I received an invitation from the governor for you, Ciel, and Karin. There were a few other adventurers named, but I don’t think you know them so I’ll tell them directly. Their invitation was scheduled for another date too after all. All you need to know for now is that you three should visit the palace a week from now at 10 o’clock.”

“Got it. Then I’ll tell them tonight about this.”

“Thank you.”

The conversation that started with my wish for a free day led to me learning that I would be getting a large sum of money without me knowing. Thanks to that I was unable to erase a grin from my face for the rest of the day, which caused a slight concern from Camille and Miranda.

§　§　§

“I had been here before, but for some reason I’m still really nervous.”

“Same here…”

“Let’s go in, we’ll accomplish nothing by standing here idly.”

A week had passed since I spoke with Krieck about my schedule. Today I was visiting the governor’s palace together with Karin and Ciel. For some reason I felt like the security there was tighter than the last time I visited. I was not sure if it was something recent, but maybe that was one of the measures taken after the monster invasion. I approached the guardroom beside the main gate to talk with the gatekeeper, while Karin and Ciel followed closely behind me like scared little ducklings.

“What business do you have here, little girl? You want me to tell someone inside that you’re here? And that you want an audience with the governor?”

“We received a written invitation from the governor. Could you go tell him we’re here?”

When I showed the invitation to the guard, he asked if he could read what it said after a quick glance at it. I obviously nodded, so he silently read through it before holding the paper against the sun to check the governor’s seal was authentic.

“This definitely came from the governor. I shall receive you three as the governor’s guests then. Follow me, I’ll show you inside.”

The guard that had been strict and serious before instantly changed his manners turning more gentle, almost like a butler. I could feel the two girls behind me acting more happily, but I knew that if I tried talking to them things could go a bit out of hand, so I tried to ignore them.

We formed a line as we walked along a long hallway. The floor was covered with well-made carpet which completely muffled our footsteps while gently caressing our feet through our thin leather shoes. We were here by invitation of the governor, so we were wearing our casual clothes instead of our usual armor.

None of us owned any dresses though, so Karin and Ciel wore the clothes I had gifted them before, while I was in a white one-piece dress I bought yesterday. It looked a bit more formal than the clothes I normally used, but there was nothing much I could do since this was the best I had.

There were other people in the hallway who we greeted as we passed by until we arrived at the appropriate room. There were two knights poised in front of the door, who said something into the room before opening it.

“Excuse me.”

“E-excuse me.”

“Sorry for disturbing!”

“Welcome and thank you for coming.”

The three of us carefully entered the room as the governor welcomed us, wearing a coarser outfit compared to the one at the celebration party. The room we were in was spacious, with an opening to a balcony overseeing a lush garden with flowers basking in the sun. There was a white table there as well, with a matching set of four chairs. Four maids were stationed near the table, a cart with teacups and multiple sweets on a tray. From the looks of it, the governor had been informed of our arrival at some point and made preparations to receive us.

“Thank you for inviting us, governor.”

“I’m the one who should be grateful you decided to come. I’ve prepared some fresh and delicious tea for you today. I hope it suits your tastes.”

I was sort of the leader of the three of us as I bowed to him, the two girls following suit. He returned the greeting with a peaceful smile and guided us to the balcony himself, then signaled to the chairs. But when I tried taking hold of one to sit on it, one of the maids anticipated it and moved it for me…

Somehow I started feeling like I had turned into an actual princess. Ciel and Karin looked slightly baffled as they sat down themselves. Without missing a beat, the maids standing behind us began moving and served us black tea and tea cakes at almost the same time.

“Please help yourselves to it before it gets cold.”

“Thank you.”

“Thank you!”

“…Thank you.”