Reincarnated Maid is About To Be Captured by All Players

An hour later, near the Biliran Forest.

I had cleared the traces of our campsite so that even if adventurers came nearby, it would be difficult for them to detect signs of our encampment, unless they were players with high-level detection skills who are adept at finding clues. Unfortunately, such players are few and far between.

“Stay put, I’m going to rent a mount,” Trafalgar instructed us. Being in the barony of Biliran, there was bound to be a stable. Although it’s called a stable, horses are just the most common mounts in human kingdoms; any mount could be bought or rented there, provided they had it.

“Ride a horse, meow?”

“Horse riding is too slow; we’ll take a dragon turtle.”

“Isn’t a dragon turtle even slower, meow?”

“…Is your brain filled with slime? We’re taking the water route.”

Trafalgar looked at Calo Cat with the same expression one would give to Aqua.

Dragon turtles are enormous turtle-like creatures that inhabit the sea, with bodies comparable to small trucks in the real world. They have smooth and hard shells and can be tamed. Although slow on land, they are a stable means of transport for several people if traveling by water.

Coincidentally, the barony of Biliran, where we ended up after escaping through spatial transfer, was located upstream from the barony of Herst. If we rode the dragon turtle down the river, we could reach the barony of Herst before dark, which would be much faster than horseback.

“I’m not familiar with the geography of the Kingdom of Mikael!”

“It’s a matter of common knowledge. Settlements can’t be built in places without water. Don’t you know that civilizations originated near water sources?”

Unable to win the argument, Calo Cat looked like she was about to pounce and bite, causing Trafalgar to hurriedly step aside.

Could it be that the scratch marks on Baron Trafalgar…

“We’ll have to eat lunch on the dragon turtle’s back; fishing while moving is inconvenient. Do you have any particular food you’d like to eat? I’ll buy some when I go to rent the dragon turtle in the barony of Biliran.”

“I have prepared lunch…”

I was about to volunteer when the corners of the mouths of Hildegarde and the others suddenly twitched.

“No, Anna… let’s not…”

“That might have been the most bizarre breakfast of my life.”

“I still think… chimera isn’t edible, meow…”

The rejection from Hildegarde and Trafalgar was relatively tactful, but Calo Cat already started clutching her stomach to express her discomfort.

“Eh? Everyone said it was delicious when they ate it…” I was taken aback, “I went hunting in the nearby forest just to get it.”

“Hunting some wild rabbits would have been nice; that was a bit too rich.”

“Is chimera really edible, meow? I heard it’s a composite beast made of many different creatures.”

“It is edible!”

I defended my cooking vehemently.

“Just remove the head and tail, and it’s crunchy, tastes like chicken, with protein content many times that of beef…”

“I’ll buy some normal food anyway.”

Trafalgar quickly fled after dropping that line, leaving me to question my cooking skills. Despite being at max level in wilderness survival, prepared for a scenario where I’d be stranded on a deserted island with my master, they said chimera was inedible… As long as it’s alive, even dragons are fair game for my cooking.

Trafalgar quickly vanished from sight. He and Calo Cat, being players, could convey coordinates via private messages.

I made a hooded coat for Lily to conceal her face, but it was still best to avoid contact with other adventurers. Trafalgar would bring the dragon turtle to the river near the Biliran Forest, and then we would all board it to head to the barony of Herst.

“Lady Calo Cat.”

“Meow?”

“Please accept my apologies for my earlier offensive behavior.”

I bowed slightly. Although it was necessary caution, since Calo Cat did not betray us, I owed her an apology for my rude hospitality.

“It’s fine, meow~ Miss Anna is always so polite, but I want to be friends with Miss Anna. If you treat me the way you treat a friend, I would be happier, meow~”

Friends, huh…

Calo Cat posed a difficult question to me: how should one treat a friend?

“Right, while Trafalgar isn’t here, shall we discuss whether to do this?”

Calo Cat opened the quest panel again. The description of the quest was very rough, but there was a note at the bottom.

【You can share this quest with other adventurers by sharing information】

This quest could be shared, similar to the time-limited quests issued by Duke Bogia, and could be accepted by multiple adventurers simultaneously, not a unique hidden quest.

“What does Lady Calo Cat suggest?”

“Sharing the information will make Duke Bogia restless, meow.”

The facts of what Lily had gone through were big enough to make the front page of the newspaper, sure to cause a sensation among adventurers and NPCs.

“What do you think, Miss Anna?”

“This would be betraying Baron Trafalgar’s expectations. He hopes to protect the reputation of Duke Bogia until the truth is clear.”

“But by going public, we could at least gather more allies… right?”

Calo Cat glanced at the reward section of the quest, which read “NONE (UNKNOWN),” and added an uncertain question mark at the end.

“Yes, but Duke Bogia had already labeled Lily as an associate of the Demon Lord… The testimony of a criminal can’t be fully trusted, and we can’t be certain how many will believe her.”

Even bringing Trafalgar on board was a gamble, let alone betting that all adventurers would believe Lily’s side of the story. Lily had been on the run for so long; Duke Bogia might have already cleared any evidence within the castle of Reunion. Although we could publicly demand that Duke Bogia produce the children he’s sheltered to cast doubt upon him, Duke Bogia may well have an ace up his sleeve.

Hildegarde and I understand that Duke Bogia defining Lily as an associate of the Demon Lord…

May not be purely derogatory.