Chapter 14 - Ghosty Town
As a result of Kaori's actions in sending one of the top-level adventurers to Marquess Rommel's territory, my father seemed furious about this matter and called me into his office.
I, who had prepared myself to face the worst situation, had to rush to prepare for my morning activities by taking a cold shower and having breakfast with my twin sisters before visiting my father.
Of course, I had to attend to some of my personal needs as a woman before meeting my father in his office.
Tap...
Tap...
Without the escort of Mio, who was undergoing the punishment I gave, and followed by the cursed weapon flying behind me, this seemed like a boring trip.
My footsteps walking towards my father's office room crossed paths with Alice and Alyssa, who seemed to have received a call from my father, too.
"Fufu~ Lily-nee... you were also called by Father to face him in his office?" asked Alyssa, who met me at the intersection of the Mansion halls.
"Onee-sama, we meet again after being busy with our respective affairs," said Alice, who was walking beside Alyssa.
I could only smile at the greeting my twin sisters said, and I walked with them.
Our footsteps towards my father's office were filled with small talk before my twin sisters fell silent with angry expressions on their faces about something.
"Umm... Lily-nee, do you think father called us because of the incident that morning?" Alyssa continued to ask as she walked beside me.
"Which morning incident? There are too many incidents happening in the morning, Alyssa," I replied, thinking about what Alyssa meant by the morning incident she was referring to.
"I mean about the attack by a mysterious person that almost injured Lily-nee," Alyssa said with a worried expression on her face.
"Don't worry about that one, Alyssa. I'm fine and that's the fastest way to send a letter using an arrow, hahaha," I replied, making a joke that only seemed funny to me.
My awkward chuckle was relieved by my footsteps approaching my father's office, which appeared to be filled with military personnel. There were even several of Marquess Rommel's knights standing guard at the entrance.
Tap...
Tap...
Seeing my arrival with my twin sister, the knight Marquess Rommel immediately opened the entrance and invited us in without prior notice.
My twin sister and I walked into Marquess Rommel's office, which had been completely transformed. Several Black Maids on duty processing paperwork looked mentally and physically exhausted.
In that busyness, I could see my father, who was fixated on a report that had just occurred by one of the Black Maid units who had found certain traces regarding the assistance that had been provided by Duchess Kaori.
"Father, did you call me for something urgent?" I asked after my footsteps stopped in front of my father's desk.
My father, who was busy taking care of some important documents, immediately glanced at me and handed me a well-sealed invitation envelope.
"Lily, this is the final preparation you must do before embarking on an expedition into the dense forest of our territory. There will be some delays that will take up to a day. Please forgive this delay, as we are currently busy with the political turmoil that is occurring in the Royal Palace Capital. Those foolish nobles have done something that surpasses the stupidity of humanity itself, again," said my father while handing me an invitation envelope that had the seal of the Marquess Rommel family.
I received an invitation envelope given by my father.
"For the time being, Marquess Rommel's territory will be safe as several high-ranking adventurer parties contracted by Duchess Kaori are monitoring our borders. I don't know what's going on, but the critical situation that was happening in the Duchess's territory has gradually disappeared, like a miracle that happened in its predicament," my father continued, busy reading the paper reports piled up on his desk.
I also paid attention to Alice and Alyssa, who seemed to have the same task as me.
I handed the invitation envelope to Alyssa, who seemed curious about the invitation envelope I was holding.
"Oh, the restaurant we often order from to buy dried meat in large quantities, huh?" said Alyssa after seeing the invitation envelope my father gave me.
I also realized that the final preparations were almost complete.
"It looks like we'll have to bring a horse-drawn carriage that can carry several items at once," Alice replied, understanding the situation at hand.
"We already know about this task, let's do our best during a heated conflict situation like this," I said to direct Alice and Alyssa out of my father's office, which was filled with military activity and spy reports from the Black Maid unit.
Several gazes were directed at me as if they wanted to get first aid for their physical and mental exhaustion.
With a short exhale, I created a magic circle and pulled in some coffee beans that were able to boost their spirits.
Brruukkk...
Bruukk...
Several bags of coffee beans originating from another world were lying on one of the empty casual tables, making several exhausted knights and Black Maid units feel relieved with a drink that could make them enthusiastic again about working.
Without saying a word and leaving Father's office together with my twin sisters, it made me look like a bad girl who told them to work harder without rest.
Tap...
Tap...
After leaving my father's office and carrying an invitation to a restaurant that had formed an exclusive contract with the Marquess Rommel family, my footsteps headed towards a stable to bring a horse carriage that would carry several main food ingredients for the military expedition we were about to do.
"Onee-sama, this will probably be a long journey with a large number of orders. Should we bring a large horse-drawn carriage?" Alice asked, guessing the number of orders my father had placed.
"I don't know, Alyssa. What's certain is the order that Father has placed seems to have enough for three months, and that's close to the season of the war between the nobles that will occur," I replied while choosing a small enough horse-drawn carriage to take some goods.
"Besides, we won't need to bring a large horse-drawn carriage once you've mastered the magic circle technique that opens the magic storage box, right?" I continued, choosing the horse-drawn carriage we usually use for transportation.
By choosing one of the available coachmen, we quickly got into the horse-drawn carriage and waited for the trip to reach its destination.
Klaakk...
Klaakk...
The sound of horse hooves and carriage wheels echoing made me pay attention to the situation around me, which felt more intense than before.
The carriage ride to the nearest town from Marquess Rommel's Mansion passed quickly. As my carriage entered the entrance of the nearest town, I felt the silence of a town that had been abandoned by their peoples.
There were only a few empty houses and closed shops, the rest were people who decided to survive while placing their hopes on Marquess Rommel to survive the upcoming war between the nobles.
"How ridiculous," I grumbled as I looked at the nearby town that looked like a ghost town.
"They abandoned this town because they were afraid that Marquess Rommel would lose? That's ridiculous and annoying," I continued to grumble, looking at the empty, uninhabited buildings.
Alice and Alyssa, who heard my grumbling, nodded their heads.
"It's like we're being betrayed by our people, isn't it, Onee-sama?" said Alyssa, who seemed annoyed by the current situation.
"Yes, I don't even know whether to be happy about this or not. In addition to the drastic decrease in the number of our citizens, our Father's responsibility as a neutral noble has also been drastically reduced to those who chose to leave Marquess Rommel's territory. I can guess that those who choose to stay at this time are from the families of knights who still serve in Marquess Rommel's military or citizens who love their homeland too much." I felt sadness about this and also a sense of joy at the loyalty that occurred in difficult times like this.
On a horse-drawn carriage journey that felt as quiet as this, the horse-drawn carriage we were riding stopped in front of the adventure building that looked deserted and there were only a few Adventurer Guild staff on duty, one of whom was Helena, Mio's mother who was on duty accompanied by a spirit that had grown up named Nimi.
I immediately got off the horse carriage and rushed into the Adventurer's Building, which was integrated with a restaurant that had formed an exclusive contract with the Marquess Rommel family.
The moment I got out of the horse carriage, Nimi immediately met me with a cheerful smile on her face.
"Ah, Onee-chan, welcome back!" said Nimi with a cheerful welcome.
Nimi's greeting was too cheerful, making her immediately run to hug me.
"Onee-chan... Ehehe... Nimi misses Onee-chan, you know!" said Nimi with a wide smile on her face, and caressed my breasts with her face.
Squuiisshh...
Squuiisshh...
My breasts that were being stroked using Nimi's face made Alice and Alyssa surprised, their faces looked gloomy, accompanied by a black shadow that looked scary.
Nimi, who was previously just a low tier spirit who was still a child, has now grown into a teenage girl's spirit, which makes Zoe interested in her.
"Oh my, Master, you're liked by another spirit?" Zoe asked, crawling out of my hair at the back of my head.
"Onee-chan? Who is this spirit? She looks like she has a magic core similar to Onee-chan's..." Nimi asked with a curious look in her eyes that shone brightly.
"Ugh… dazzling," I muttered in a small voice after seeing the curious glint in Nimi's eyes.
Before an unwanted situation happened, I tried to let go of Nimi's hug before my twin sisters lost their patience.
"I know you two rarely see each other, but you have to restrain yourself to be polite in front of guests, Nimi," said Helena in a soft tone and pulled Nimi's body, who was hugging me.
"Please forgive Nimi for being so cheerful, Lily-sama. I hope it doesn't complicate your relationship with other women. Especially the relationship between an older sister and her twin sister, Ara~" Helena continued, seemingly understanding the complicated situation.
Before I carry out the task given by my father, it seems that I have to calm my twin sister's mood first.