Arrival at Marsfield
The caravan successfully arrived at the castle gate of the Citadel City Marsfield. The gate they stood before was not the one that other people were lining up at. It was slightly further out of the way, and it looked much more luxurious.
Frau pulled her Magical horse up besides Ellis’s as Ellis compared the gate before them and the other gate where every other traveler lined up at.
“Is this Ellis’s first visit to Marsfield?”
“Yes.”
Frau once again served to explain things to Ellis.
“Citadel City Marsfield”, as its name implies, plays the role of a fort guarding the capital Sky Castle. Sky Castle is located to the north of Marsfield, and there is only one road leading from Marsfield to Sky Castle.
“So Marsfield keeps well-maintained castle walls and gates that are not found in other cities.”
Oh, I see.
Ellis understands.
If Marsfield’s role is as Frau explains it, then she can understand the roles of the gates somehow. The gate over there with the long line is for the general public who probably get checked in. This gate is for those who possess a certain level of privilege with them, and since Goro led the caravan right to this gate, that must mean there is someone in this caravan who qualifies as “a special individual.”
Ellis’s expectation was high, and sure enough, the mysterious woman who Maria was escorting turned out to be Madame Mirei Marsfield. In other words, it was the current wife of Lord Marsfield.
“I am sorry. I intended to travel in secret, but our caravan was still targeted and you five had to fight.
Maria honestly apologized for the trickery, and she once again introduced Mirei to Ellis who, as anyone could see, was looking down on Ellis with a high-handed smile.
It was a horrible smile that that said, “you people are beneath me.”
Ellis was irritated by such a look.
In short, Mirei obstinately insisted on visiting Lily Garden, and she made the head of the Warren Council Maria escort her.
“What mature women seem to have in surplus….”
This was the honest impression of all five of Ellis’s group.
However, Mirei’s expression abruptly changed to that of a female.
“Miss Reeve, you were just as Maria described, and I would love to have you do a dinner show here in Marsfield.”
Apparently Mirei has been “poisoned by Reeve.”¹
Everyone besides Reeve was able to calmly a.n.a.lyze the current situation, but it took everything the person in question had to just smile and nod instead of outright complaining.
So Ellis changed the topic.
“By the way, shall I torture that dog beastman I caught for information for you?”
Ellis made the same proposal to Mirei as she had given to Maria in order to give the impression that she was “a little girl who liked torture.” While this woman’s hear did give a little, she endured the scenario and didn’t budge on the outside.
“That won’t be necessary. The confession of a beast does not count as proper evidence, and the culprit is already known anyway.”
Maria who was standing besides Mirei looked as surprised as everyone else.
“Who is the culprit?”
It was probably because Reeve was the one who asked that Mirei ended up giving a prompt reply to a question that she probably shouldn’t have answered.
“The concubine Anna, Miss Reeve.”
Mirei didn’t seem all that excessively worried that someone was targeting her life, and she ended up spitting out a few extra words.
“Well, I am also sending out thugs against her, so it’s okay.”
Is it something like that?
In other words, the Lord of Marsfield’s legal wife Mirei, and his concubine Anna are aiming for each other’s lives.
However, neither fear nor impatience can be seen in Mirei’s expression.
Perhaps these women……
Ellis pondered a thought and added it to a list of possibilities, and then she reiterated her past question.
“What should we do with this anubis?”
“Please kill him.”
Madame Mirei with an immediate answer.
But Katie cut in.
“If you don’t have to kill him, then don’t!”
Katie continued to try and protect the anubis.
“These were probably just guys from the beastmen district. They are probably just some sad people who were hired for money!”
Hmm.
“But we already killed four of them.”
Katie swung her head left and right to Ellis’s argument.
“That could not be helped; it was legitimate self-defense. But I don’t want to kill someone who can’t even resist.”
“Even if we release that beastman here, won’t he just end up being eliminated later on by his employer?”
“That’s….”
Katie can’t help but groan to Reeve’s calm a.n.a.lysis.
There’s something bothering me here.
“Miss Mirei. Do you really want this beastman executed?”
Mirei confirmed Ellis’s suspicions with a tremendous smile.
“I do not intend to guarantee that such an insignificant life is taken.”
“Then we can leave him alive?”
“Why should I care about the lives of such people?”
In short, this dung lady wants nothing to do with the lives and affairs of beastmen.
Ellis took a small breath to keep her cool and then smiled to Mirei.
“If that is so, then we will discipline this beastman our way.”
Four other people instantly understood Ellis’s proposal.
If that has echoed into this town, then everyone would be able to understand this man’s punishment.
“Muscles, please help me strip this beastman’s clothes.”
Those who were soldiers charged with defending the castle could only stare with their mouths slightly agape, and those who had heard the rumors about Warren had a big laugh about the situation.
An anubis dyed red was tied up naked and hanging off of the carriage of Mirei, Lady of Marsfield, and if you look closely, you could see five different colored ribbons hanging off of him.
This was the way that Ellis entered through the gates of Marsfield for the first time.
“Well then we will deliver the a.s.sa.s.sin.”
Maria smiled when she noticed Ellis’s intentions when she bowed to her instead of Mirei.
“Since Goro knows the schedule for the plans after this, please follow his instructions. See you all later.”
Saying that much to Ellis’s group, Maria brought Mirei back to their carriage, and they quickly left the caravan.
The rest of the caravan slowly made its way through the city to visit Marsfield’s Adventurer Guild and Thieve’s Guild with Goro driving.
Ellis dared not to ride inside of a horse-drawn carriage. She and her companions rode alongside the carriages on their Magical horses, to show off the five colors of Warren’s Jewelry Box to the entire city.
Ellis is a straight bob-cut of gold.
Reeve is a s.h.a.ggy short blue.
Frau is a long and wavy crimson.
Claire is a long straight black.
Katie is a white cat cotton.
Their hair each flutters in the wind in their own way.
At the same time, the five colors of their flag flashily waves a.s.serts itself on top of the carriage.
Voices carry over from people in the city.
“Who are they?”
“Are they from the rumors?”
“The ones from Warren?”
Ellis had heard from Mirei that Lily Garden and Warren’s Jewelry Box had gained a reputation inside of Marsfield, so she dared to show it to the people of the city.
Their existence.
Let the Thieve’s Guild and the Adventurer Guild know of their presence before they even reach them.
First of all we visit the Adventurer’s Guild.
When they headed to the reception desk, Ellis handed over the transfer doc.u.ment for the guild exchange that was started in Warren. They were going to open a 30 million ril account in the Marsfield Adventurer Guild.
Then, while the receptionist was performing the procedure, the expected person appeared from the back of the guild.
“Are you girls the jewels of Theseus’s place?”
“We are that jewelry … Would you happen to be the guild master?”
“Ah, right. Warren’s Jewelry Box, that was your party name. Marsfield welcomes you.”
The Adventurer Guild Master then walked outside and laughed at the sight that was most likely reported to him.
“So this is the Lily Garden special, the Scarlet Laundry!”
“If it’s okay, would you please hang him from the eaves of the guildhouse?”
The guild master nodded while laughing to Ellis’s request.
“The share of the guild is 50 percent, and we provide him with a hemp shirt when he leaves, right?”
“That’s it.”
“All right then. The man’s punishment stops here.”
As expected, the situation has been examined, but Ellis had already a.s.sumed that.
“That’s right. I’m counting on you.”
Ellis’s party made a large spectacle of punishing this beastman with the Scarlet Laundry in order to erase any lingering grudges on him.
Mirei, the targeted party, has no interest in his life. Even Anna, the one who hired him, has most likely lost all interest in him as well. With that, the only grudge left to handle is the one from his fellow beastmen.
The largest fear for him would be the exposure of his partic.i.p.ation in Mirei’s a.s.sa.s.sination, yet he escaped without injury while the others died. Some people would want to punish him for that. Perhaps that would mean death.
So Ellis created an alibi and a punishment.
The beastman was captured by Warren’s Jewelry Box, and he suffered the punishment of the Scarlet Laundry. Ellis did not believe that this would be enough to smooth over all hostility, but she at least believed that Katie’s hope of him, “not dying in vain,” would be protected.
Ellis placed the anubis’s belongings onto the reception desk. The receptionist had already known about the Scarlet Laundry proceedings and informed Ellis that half of the proceeds would be deposited into their newly opened account.
The next stop was the Thieve’s Guild.
Katie, who is a member of the Warren Thieve’s Guild, headed to the reception desk and offered their greetings to the guild.
“Oh, they cannot see it.”
Ellis and Reeve noticed the gaze on them, but they didn’t say anything. Instead, Ellis just directed her sight to the left, and threw just one wink to someone’s portrait which was hung up for decoration.
Once the girls had finished their greetings and left, the Marsfield Thieve’s Guild Master muttered to himself, “Those are Baltis’s secret girls. I’m pretty cursed.” He then started to laugh happily to himself from within the wall behind the portrait.
Once Ellis had finished her errands inside the city, Goro led everyone to the accommodations that Maria had booked. There was an extra “super” attached to this exclusive accommodation. At least, that is how Goro described it, but Ellis was impressed by the gorgeous lodging inn that she would never have seen in Warren.
“Well then, here we are.”
Nicole was waiting at the entrance of the hotel to take over the role of guide.
“The schedule for today will be dinner and a visit to the opera afterwards, so please wear your evening dresses for the night.”
The five were guided to their rooms by Nicole, and they were surprised once again.
“What is with this size!?”
“We had a party room prepared since there were five of you.”
The luxurious room that they had received had a separate bedroom to the side, and a living room so large, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to just call it a small hall.
“Please hurry then.”
As Nicole left the room, Ellis quickly began preparing for the party.
“I suppose it is to be expected.”
After Reeve had finished exploring their room, she came back disappointed.
“There is no choice.”
Frau’s shoulder also began to droop.
No matter how luxurious this room is, it is only natural that it wouldn’t have a bath or toilet.
“Then should we go back to the carriage once to take a shower?”
Claire nodded happily to Ellis’s proposal.
“I thought that something like this might happen.”
Claire braggingly brought out her favorite rucksack that she was carrying on her back, and she brought out five private rooms in succession from her bag.
They were five luxury shower rooms.
“Do not worry. I brought toilets as well.”
Thanking Claire, everyone quickly finished showering, putting on their favorite perfume, and picked out their dresses for the evening. They each decided to go with the dresses they had bought for Reeve’s Dinner Show a few days ago. Reeve, who was a coward and catered to her audience, wore an evening dress sewn with silver thread.
Incidentally, this was also a gift given to her by her fans, but this one was unusually tailored for a woman.
After awhile a the sounds of knocking echoed through the room.
“Come in.”
“I’ve come to pick you….”
Nicole gasped.
The vibrant figures of the five girls before him overlapped with the fairy colors that had adorned their carriage.
As Ellis was guided to their dinner table, she was surprised to see who else was there. Sitting at the head of the table was none other than the lord of the town himself, Duke Marsfield. Sitting beside him was his wife Mirei, and who Ellis a.s.sumed was the concubine Anna.
Duke Marsfield was an older man with graying hair and a beard that had started to turn white. His body still looked lean and fit, though, and he had the eyes of a hawk.
Maria introduced Ellis’s group to the Duke as a few friends of the merchant guild, but then Duke Marsfield unexpectedly opened his mouth.
“Which one is Claire?”
Suddenly called out by the Duke of Marsfield, Claire became a little scared. She timidly took a step forward and raised her hand.
The Duke took a long look at Claire’s face before smiling and nodding satisfied.
“Please enjoy the city of Marsfield by all means.”
After that, dinner was finished without any awkwardness or any notable conversations coming up.
Once dinner was finished, Nicole brought the carriage around, and he brought Ellis’s group along with Maria to the theater.
“We have arrived.”
Nicole guided the carriage to a bellboy of the theater who opened the door to let the six out.
“Wow.”
Claire’s inhibited an unexpected sigh as she walked into the theater. While she dreamily looked around at the architecture of the building, everyone else freely walked around and observed some of the displays they had set up.
Then Katie reacted to something.
“Nya?”
“What’s wrong Katie?”
Everyone gathered around Katie and took a look at what had grabbed her attention. On the platform that Katie pointed to, there was a display table cordoned off with rope. Sitting on it was a shining golden gauntlet with claws being shown off as if it was a trophy. It was more delicate and beautiful than Katie’s normal claw equipment.
“Funya∼”
Katie was clearly in love.
When Ellis looked at it, she did not see any light shining off of it like if it was a magic tool, but as gazed it, she felt a familiar feeling well up in her chest.
Nicole, who saw Katie’s situation, explained.
“This is the prize for the winner of the Art Compet.i.tion that will be held in two days.
“Art Compet.i.tion?”
“It is a compet.i.tion where people compete to show off their artistic expression during a set time limit. Artists from various fields will come to partic.i.p.ate.”
Hmm.
“Come now, there is no time.”
While Katie was dragged backwards away from the gauntlet, Ellis found herself in deep thought as Nicole rushed them all into the venue.
The opera wasn’t very interesting to anyone besides Maria or Reeve. The band was splendid and the songs were good, but it wasn’t very fun. Just being beautiful does not emote an emotional and pleasurable reaction.
This being the case: Frau, Katie, and Claire started whispering to each other about having a singing contest when they returned to Lily Garden. Reeve was eagerly watching the opera, and Ellis-Eiji sitting next to her making a plan.
First of all, we have to make the stage.
The size of the stage, curtain placement, positioning, and the brightness of lighting.
This is it.
Ellis smiled.
The opera theater also finished safely and the six girls tried to leave the venue while riding the flow of people.
But Katie stopped her feet. Her eyes moved back to the claw gauntlet that was being displayed in the lobby.
Ellis turned to Katie.
“Do you want it?”
“Funya∼”
“Then we will compete in the Art Compet.i.tion the day after tomorrow!”
“What?”
“Hm?”
“Huh?”
Reeve, Frau, and Claire were surprised by the sudden proposal, but Ellis ignored them and asked Nicole for information on how to register for the compet.i.tion.
“Please register us with the name Warren’s Jewelry Box.”
Ellis asked everyone after they had returned to the inn and changed into their pajamas. “Did everyone notice?”
Four people nodded at the same time.
“This is related to the Hero or the Demon Lord.”
After Ellis had made a sudden declaration to partic.i.p.ate in the compet.i.tion, the four had been told by Ellis to ‘feel’ the gauntlet better. When they did, they all felt the same aura coming off of it as the Demon Lord’s Mark they had found.
“It’ll be fun if we grab it.” Reeve smiled.
“You already have a strategy, right?” Frau laughs.
“What are we going to do?” Claire is anxious.
“I want to equip it.” Katie just really wants those claws.
“This is the program.”
Everyone turns pale when they hear Ellis’s explanation.
“I will hear no complaints. Rehearsal begins tonight.”
1. This is a pun on Reeve’s name. Reeve and love in English are spelled the same way in katakana. ‘レーヴェ’ I’ve been waiting 31 chapters for this joke.