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I, too, had been oblivious to it in the beginning. If her ears had been large and pointy like the elves I knew, the scarf wouldn’t have covered them—but Cecilie’s ears were much smaller. Similar to those you’d see on those allies with the small pointed ears and bob cuts that take part in galactic operations.¹

“Oh my, if it isn’t Little Miss Cloud! Welcome!”

Cecilie walked with a warm smile and exchanged pleasantries with the guards
before finally noticing me and walking up.

“Hello, Miss Cecilie. I heard you had quite a day.”

I greeted her with a smile.

“You bet we did! Young Miss, you can’t imagine how the manager went after those guys!”
“Like you’re one to talk. You made the first move, Millie!”
“I did my part in quickly knocking them out! But manager… what you did goes way beyond self-defense!”
“But they tried to lay a finger on my little Millie, you know? They had to face the consequences!”
“When you put it like that…”
“And Rolly already said that those men are nothing more than remnants from a band of thieves. There was no need for me to hold back! Unfortunately, we let two of them get away!”

Cecilie smiled with satisfaction, and Millie blushed as she replied shyly. By the way, Rolly seemed to refer to the Chief Guard, Roland. He turned into a different person when Cecilie was involved. I also believed that Millie was probably quite amazing as well, given that she’d gotten Cecilie’s acknowledgement.

“You’re a part of the Middle Rank, aren’t you, Miss Millie? That’s amazing!” I said.
“I-It’s nothing! While I’m in the Middle Rank, I only just reached the 4th level last year! I’m nothing spectacular. Far from it!”

Millie turned bright red, waving her hands as if to dismiss the compliment. I thought she was quite adorable. I didn’t think she needed to be so modest. From what I remembered, she was only 19. Reaching the 4th level at her age was impressive!

Oh, and by 4th, I meant her Village Guard level. These levels were similar to the dan levels in Japanese martial arts. The lowest level was known as the 1st, then the 2nd, 3rd, and so on. Levels 4 and above were considered Middle Rank.

So Millie, at just 19, was like a 4th or 5th-dan level in Judo or Karate. Most members of the Village Guard usually reached the 3rd level after graduating from high school, so around the age of 18. Yet Millie had managed to climb a level in just a year, which was honestly amazing! She should have been proud of such an amazing achievement!

“I don’t even have a tag yet. You’re amazing, Miss Millie! You should be more confident about this.”
“To think that I’d be praised by you, young miss. T-This is not real!”

Millie blushed again and found it hard to get the words out. Seeing that, Cecilie clapped her hands like she remembered something.

“Oh, yeah! A tag! How could I forget! You’re here to adjust the size, aren’t you, Miss Cloud?”
“Yes! Mr. Marsh told me he’d brought it here.”
“Sorry, I’ve just been so busy. It’s next week, isn’t it? Time sure flies. I’ll finish it up in no time, so let’s get your measurements!”
“Okay! I’m in your care.”
“You’ve gone through a growth spurt in the true sense of the word! We need to make some small adjustments.”

With that, Cecilie’s gaze moved up and down my body, then paused. A growth spurt? Was she looking at my chest? My bust? Seriously? Really? Was the result of my nightly massages finally paying off? Were the results showing at last?! Whatever the case, I did like doing them so… It just meant that I’d have to give them a good massage again tonight!²　

After daydreaming about my time tonight, I followed behind Cecilie as we made our way from the front of the store to the back.

While walking, I scanned the store quickly. Thankfully, it didn’t look like the merchandise had been damaged. The store sold not only clothes but also adorable accessories and knick-knacks. It would’ve been heartbreaking if the bandits had ransacked everything.

“Hm? Are you interested in that, young miss?”
“Huh?”

Cecilie asked me in a teasing manner, noticing that I had been eyeing a certain accessory. Was she talking about this bangle?

“It’s already the second Blue Moon, isn’t it. Thanksgiving Day is just after your trial, isn’t it, young miss?”
“Huh? What? That’s…”
“But you know, you have to make that yourself.”
“Huh? O-Okay, but…”
“You’re at that age after all. Ufufu. Howa… The Boss sure has it tough. Ahahaha.”

I felt like Cecilie was gravely misunderstanding something.

In this world, in Amukham, Thanksgiving Day in the second Blue Moon was similar to Valentine’s Day. During this time, girls would give handmade bangles to the boys they liked.

Cecilie likely thought that I had someone I wanted to give a bangle to. She was misunderstanding things!

“I-I don’t have someone like that!”
“Oh my? That’s unfortunate. I bet that the boys around you would be thrilled to get one from you, young miss. I’m sure of it!”
“Really?!”

I really wish she wouldn’t say things like that. I didn’t want to think about these kinds of things. Cecilie, whether she knew what I was thinking or not, gave me a bittersweet smile and said, “You’re at a cute age, aren’t you?”

She then gently placed a hand on my back and led me toward the back of the store, saying, “Just in case, I’ll teach you how to make one next time.”

(I already told you I don’t have someone like that!)

Just as I was about to object, I heard Millie talking to the guards in front of the store.

“Yes, she’s the young miss of the Cloud family. That’s right. She’s having her coming-of-age ceremony next week.”

That’s right! Next week’s my birthday, and also the time I’d be celebrating my coming of age! I could hardly wait for it!