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‘Thank you so much! I think I’ll be able to do it better now!’
“Mhm, being patient always pays out. Keep at it and you’ll improve in no time!”

Around an hour after the call, Mira’s remote teaching session came to an end.

Her student was called Stella, and that was her real name, not a code name.

As it turned out, she was a Hidden-in-training, who despite her clumsiness and flustered nature was also quite powerful, having already established Contracts with many of the Circlet Summons, considered the gateway into higher level summons.

After easily solving everything that was troubling Stella, Mira gave her a final cheer for good luck and…barely stopped herself from hanging up.

“Wait, no, I still haven’t told you why I called!”
‘…Ah, I forgot!’

Somehow, both Stella and Mira had been so absorbed in their lesson that they had completely forgotten about the most important thing.

‘*Ahem*, well then…’

Making a short pause, she continued, ‘What is the reason for your call?’

“Actually, let me ask something first…”

Just in case, Mira decided to ask something first. She wanted to know if there was a way to contact Kagura, or Uzume as they knew her, while she was away on her travels.

‘…Yes, it’s actually not that difficult!’

Having thought about it for a moment, Stella informed Mira that it was possible. As it turned out, Kagura always got in contact with the headquarters every three days, and it had just been three days since the last call too, so if Mira left the message, it would be passed over within the same day.

“Ohh, I see. Then I have a message for her.”

Kagura always had the tendency of being prepared for any situation that could arise, and thanks to that, it would only be a matter of days before they would be able to extract information from Jorg.

Then again, that request was deeply tied to the existence of Ira Muerte, a vast evil organization. Mira was afraid of the message being intercepted somewhere, so her message simply told Kagura to come to Nirvana as soon as possible since Alma needed urgent help.

After getting in contact with the Fifty Bells’ headquarters, Mira was able to leave her message without issues.

That was all she had to do there, so she hung up and left the room, heading to the office Claus had mentioned.

“…And so a Vermillion Bird shikigami called Piisuke should come here in a few days. Please let me know when that happens. I should be staying in the palace, but I’ll come here as soon as I get the news.”

Her message for Kagura was that Alma needed her help urgently, and that if Piisuke reached the branch in Ratnatraya, Mira would take the shikigami to its destination. Security around the palace was extremely tight, so that was the safest way for the shikigami to get there.

“Alright, I’ll keep that in mind. But wouldn’t it be better if I took the shikigami to the palace myself then?”

Claus understood that Uzume’s Piisuke would arrive in a few days to help Mira in some way, but wondered if there really was a need to be so roundabout about it, when he could just take Piisuke to the palace, saving Mira the trip.

“Ohh, that would be helpful, but can you really afford to do that?”

That would be really convenient for Mira, but she still felt a bit unsure, and Claus replied with a bit of a grimace.

“Yes, I can do it. Or rather, I want to do it. Every time I’m out there the clients just get scared of me, so I’d really appreciate having something to do instead of being holed up in this office all the time.”

He seemed rather enthused about the opportunity of going outside.

“I see… In that case, I’ll leave the matter in your hands.”

His appearance would help a lot when acting as a guard or escort, but it was a demerit when it came to serving clients. Mira pitied him for that, so she decided to accept his suggestion.

Before she realized, it was already past noon. She had spent far longer than anticipated in the branch, especially after her remote lesson with Stella.

By now, Mira was starting to become hungry, so she went out and paced around the streets, looking for something to eat.

“I’m really spoilt for choice here!”

While the east gate had been deserted, the main eastern street was crowded with people, accentuated now that it was lunch time.

Many restaurants were packed with people, and she could see countless food stalls on the street, and girls advertising for other places.

As walked through there, she looked around constantly trying to find the right thing to eat, while also eavesdropping on what the people around her were saying.

Some were discussing their favorite show so far, who they expected to win the tournament, if they had seen some famous guild, and so on. Overall, most of them were talking about the tournament.

It had not even started yet, but everyone was already looking forward to it, and it was easy to imagine that the crowds would only grow even more once the preliminaries for the main tournament started.

In a way, those crowds were proof that the tournament was already a success.

(The city has turned really festive… But this is barely the beginning, knowing everything that is brewing behind the scenes.)

There was a secret plot unfolding under the guise of the tournament. Alma had told Mira about that secret, and even asked for her assistance. Everything was planned to lure out Ira Muerte, and put an end to their evil deeds once and for all. Mira becoming the oracle’s bodyguard was also part of that plan.

Mira was certain that there was a lot more happening that she did not know too, and that the end of the tournament would bring with it great change to the whole world.

(And here I thought I’d be able to sit back and enjoy the tournament once I found Meilin. You never know what this world will throw at you next.)

She had departed to Nirvana with a 10% desire to work, and 90% desire to just enjoy herself, only to suddenly be tasked with protecting the oracle, while also being embroiled in the fight against the evil organization Ira Muerte.

(Wait…or could it be that from the start…)

It seemed like things had simply fallen into place when she arrived, but then she recalled that she had been officially invited as a commentator for the tournament. Maybe it had not been chance after all, but something Alma had been planning.

“Well, it doesn’t matter either way.”

She had not considered that possibility before, but she knew for certain that the oracle was in danger. And if anything, she began grinning devilishly at the thought of demanding a handsome reward for her services.

Such thoughts circled her head as she continued her search for lunch, when a carriage that had been moving through the street suddenly stopped right next to her.

Mira began to wonder why a carriage would stop in the middle of traffic like that.

“This is the Restaurant Feeriebranche’s limited promotion booth to commemorate the tournament! Would you like a taste of our delectable treats?!”

Before she could think more, a man and a woman in showy clothes sprung out while the carriage itself began to open up, showing another two people inside who swiftly set up supports for the roof and various signs, almost instantly transforming the carriage into an outdoors booth.

(Ohh, I’ve heard about the Restaurant Feeriebranche before.)

Seeing the large glowing sign above the booth, which read Restaurant Feeriebranche, Mira thought that. She had seen it mentioned in tour pamphlets she checked before traveling to Nirvana, which all described it as the best place to eat, but also the most luxurious and expensive.

Here they were selling two types of lunchboxes. One centered around fish, and the other focusing on meat. Mira’s eyes were naturally drawn to the meat one on display there.

Then again, it was a luxury restaurant. Mira was planning on staying in Nirvana for upwards of a month, so she could not afford to splurge just yet. As she begrudgingly decided to keep her wallet shut, she noticed something.

The price of those lunch boxes was actually 3000 Rils.

(…Im…Impossible!!)

3000 Rils for a single lunch was still on the pricey end, but the Restaurant Feeriebranche was the kind of high dining place that had even the smallest dishes priced upwards of 6000 Rils. And as far as Mira could see, they had packed those lunchboxes with food that was just as luxurious. It was enough to make one believe there was a hidden zero in the price.

Mira also began to doubt her own eyes for a moment. But there was no mistake there. As she stood stunned in the street, people rushed to the booth and bought lunchboxes, paying 3000 Rils for them.