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The town of Yorks was the central city of the Earldom of Beaton, adjacent to Aulanthia Frontier County. Despite its location near the western part of the region, it was considered the central city because its Teleporter was connected to the Viscounty of Et Cetera, close to the Cilento Imperial Capital. However, it still required about 5 days of travel by carriage from there.

This town was a remote rural area with no significant industries or attractions, and its proximity to a mountainous region necessitated it to become a small fortified city. Essentially, it was one of the many unremarkable towns governed by small to medium-sized nobles, with its economy primarily supported by the Teleporter.

For this reason, the local lords had always been eager to maintain good relations with neighboring Aulanthia County, to the extent of marrying off his eldest daughter, Patsy, as one of the heads of Aulanthia’s concubines.

The toll gate on the road connecting Earl Beaton’s territory and the Aulanthia Frontier County was more symbolic than functional, allowing free passage between the territories. It could almost be considered under the jurisdiction of the Frontier County rather than the Earl.

In the heart of such a town, despite lacking notable places or specialties, the development and activity centered around the Teleporter were conspicuous. The area bustled like a lively district in a small country, filled with travelers, beast-drawn carts, and merchants.

A sign reading “Trading Post” stood beside a well-maintained cobblestone square, resembling a small arena with stables nearby. These stables housed horses, cattle, emus, land drakes, and wildashers, while signs from the Commercial Guild, dealing in carriages and horse equipment, adorned the surrounding shops and warehouses.

In front of one of these warehouses, a group of several men and women conversed, occasionally glancing at craftsmen inspecting an aristocratic carriage with an imperial style.

“It appears Lady Julia has not arrived in this town,” said a man in his early thirties with a sharp demeanor, dressed impeccably in a black tuxedo with silver buttons at the cuffs, white gloves, a flawless dress shirt, and a black bow tie, presenting himself as a butler.

“It seems so. The guards here are a bunch of fools, but they wouldn’t be foolish enough to forget about a noble lady accompanied by a Sirius. I haven’t heard any talk about seeing such a girl around the town, even from the bits I gathered,” said the more mature, distinguished-looking adventurer, furrowing his manly face.

Then, he glanced briefly over his shoulder.

“How about you two? Any clues from places where that young miss might have stopped by?”

The two young adventurer-looking boys, when asked, simultaneously shook their heads with somber expressions.

“We asked around the market and general stores, but no one saw Jill.”
“There weren’t any leads at the confectionery shop or eateries either.”

“…hm.”

The leader-looking adventurer, thinking she’s quite the down-to-earth noble lady, tilted his head. He then turned his gaze to the three girls positioning themselves behind the butler. They wore typical maid attire, sporting navy-blue dresses with frilled white aprons and white headdresses.

That glance prompted the unremarkable redheaded girl, seemingly the oldest amongst them at 17 or 18 years old, to meet the man’s eyes.

“Indeed, Lady Julia made an arrangement for us to meet in this town. —Then again, she took that action without my knowledge, leaving only a message behind,” she said with a slightly pointed tone, glancing sideways at the younger girls beside her who seemed a bit subdued.

“…My apologies, Monika.”
“…Sorry.”

The 12 to 13-year-old girl with chestnut hair and the 10-year-old girl bearing a resemblance to a fox-like beastfolk both bowed in unison. Their expressions weren’t so much about feeling responsible but rather reflecting worry for their missing master.

Feeling the weight of their remorseful gestures, the speaker softened her tone, understanding their concern, and added, “Well, considering that Vier is also with her, I believe Lady Julia’s safety should be fine unless something significant happens.”

That was when a pair of elven men and women stepped back.

“There is no trace of Jill stopping by this town. We asked the spirits of the surrounding forest and meadow, as well as the house-dwelling spirits. …there’s no way they couldn’t recognize a bean as conspicuous as her.”

The words of the astute young elven man were accompanied by the disgruntled nod of the equally elegant elven maiden.

In this context, ‘conspicuous’ didn’t refer to the fragile and elegant beauty of the person they were searching for (though it was a factor). Instead, it stemmed from her way of being—an unusual existence cherished by spirits and regarded as a friend by elves, quite rare for a human.

A discouraging silence fell over the group, who had been pinning their hopes on the elves.

The butler, who quickly regained composure, scanned everyone gathered here and opened his mouth.

“It’s possible that an unforeseen situation is preventing communication from her side of things. Let’s reconfirm the surrounding conditions, and just to be sure, I will arrange a letter to seek instructions from the Empire. Mr. Norman, can we rely on you for continued information gathering in the meantime?”
“Yeah, leave it to me. I only did some casual inquiries at the guild, but in a town like this, there are bound to be reliable information brokers. I plan to check with them.”
“Thank you. The rest of you, please continue with inquiries around the area.”

The tense group nodded in agreement, seemingly ready to disperse, when suddenly, a pair of heels clicked sharply as a man and a woman passed by swiftly.

“Oh, this is just the worst! Why in the world is the road from Eunice blocked?! Thanks to that, I’ve had to take a ridiculously long detour!”

The one voicing her frustration loudly was a noble-looking girl with ash-blonde hair styled in vertically curled rolls. She was a girl of about 13 or 14 years old, equipped with two curly drills in the front, two on the sides, and four in the back. The spirals on her back extended to her waist, and the drills were so magnificent that they gave the illusion of jingling every time she walked.

“The guild and the guards are currently checking the situation. …Well, don’t you frown so much, Fräulein Lieselotte. It ruins your flowery face, O’ Princess of Iris.”

This irritating remark came from a young androgynous beauty with hair the color of violet, standing just a head taller than the girl in heels, around 170 centimeters.

“I was able to meet your lovely self before I even arrived at the school because of that. Shouldn’t we be grateful for that stroke of luck?”
“…you’re still the same as always, Hydrangea. I thought you’d outgrown that hobby of yours by now. Are you planning to stick with that even at the academy?”
“But of course. I simply follow my soul’s calling and be true to myself.”

The cheerful boy laughed and the girl sighed, holding her head with a complex expression.

The noticeable duo passed by, and for some reason, everyone held their breath, watching them closely until they turned the corner of the stable. Once they confirmed they were out of sight, they all let out a collective sigh.

Then, prompted by a sudden thought, the leader-like adventurer called Norman tilted his head.

“Did anyone hear something important just now?”
“It seems the road toward Eunice is closed, and they’re investigating.”

Casting a glance in the direction they had disappeared, even the butler nodded in agreement.

“Something smells fishy. We’ll investigate it, and if it turns out to be true, I’ll send a few of my men for reconnaissance.”
“Yes, please. If needed, you may hire adventurers from the guild here.”

Responding firmly to the butler’s declaration, Norman nodded sternly in agreement.

“Captain Norman! If you’re going to search for Jill, I’ll come with you!”

“You’ll just be a hindrance,” Norman bluntly rejected the enthusiastic boy who was leaning forward eagerly. “Besides, it wouldn’t even be funny if you were missing when the young miss returned. Stay put and gather information around the town.”

Next to the boy who reluctantly followed the order, a petite and slender figure with a circlet on his(?) forehead was staring at the corner where the aristocratic-looking duo had turned. He murmured quietly to himself, in a voice barely audible to anyone else.

“That boy, it’s the dress for men he’s wearing, but…Could he be like me…?”

Following the successive instructions, everyone hurried back to their respective places, including the two young adventurers, who swiftly returned to the streets. Yet, for some reason, the sight of the aristocrats from earlier lingered oddly in the mind of the circlet-wearing boy.