Headed By A Snake

Sorina"s concern was more apparent. "Is Uncle Varen going to be okay?" She asked.

Tycon raised an eyebrow. "Those two are related. I suppose that fact could make things easier... If that useless Captain Varen wouldn"t so brazenly sleep on the job."

"A momentary distraction, Miss Sorina. Your "Uncle Varen" is made of sterner stuff, after all, he"s an Iron--"

« System, inquiry: What rank is that Varen fellow? »

[System response: Varen, Bronze-Rank Warrior]

"--uh... an Iron-willed veteran. He"ll be fine."

Sorina wrung her hands and puffed her cheeks in response. Seldin narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms.

"Dozens of spiders and millipedes with faces were crawling out of his mouth," she said coolly, though Tycon noticed her voice quavered with the word "millipedes."

"...Rare delicacies from the western lands." Tycon said without hesitation. "They"re an acquired taste."

The two women glanced at each other dubiously.

Seeing their skepticism, Tycon offered, "Would you like to try?"

The two of them paled in an instant. "N-no, thank you, Sir." "Not a chance, my lord."

Bucket, who listened patiently and went largely forgotten, raised his hand, "Can I try?"

"No, Bucket. Dear G.o.ds, no. (Maybe when you"re older.) I"ve a task for you," Tycon tossed him a small pouch of silver, "Go out and make sure Dragan"s okay. Then take him to town and help Barza with resupply."

Bucket missed the catch, but hurriedly picked up the pouch and fallen coins. "Okay, Sir!" he yelled as he rushed out the door.

Tycon turned his attention to Seldin and Sorina, "Let"s have a seat. I have something to discuss, with the both of you."

...

A silver-haired maid served tea and ornate, miniature cakes. Tycon glanced above her head and gave a professional smile.

"Thank you, Miss Pascale. I appreciate your expertise on the sponge cakes and how ours are different from the traditional Aundairian "fraisier." I can clearly discern your love for the craft."

The maid glanced up, clearly surprised, "Y-you know my name, lord?"

Tycon laughed politely, "Yes. You introduced yourself this morning. How could I possibly forget?"

Whenever Tycon learned a person"s name, the System conveniently placed it onto a floating, transparent display above their head. It was quite possibly the System"s most convenient feature.

"May I ask why you"re working here?" Tycon asked.

"Oh! My lord... I"ve always wanted to be a baker, since a trip to Merylsward when I was about 10."

"Have you learned much, since being here?"

"Well, Sir... Sometimes I get chased away from the kitchens when I eavesdrop with the other apprentices."

"Nonsense, Miss Pascale. Inform Patissier Noel that on my order, you are to learn with the other apprentices. I pray you will not disappoint, young lady."

"Oh, of course, my lord-- I mean, I would never, my lord."

The maid blushed and averted her gaze (which Tycon thought was happening far too frequently) and hurriedly excused herself.

Sorina ate her dessert quickly, enjoying every bite. The Kingdom"s pastries were easily the best in the continent, after all. Seldin carefully watched Tycon"s interactions as she tried her best to leave her slice of cake alone. Unfortunately for her, Tycon noticed she would sneak quick, subtle glances down at the strawberry-topped, strawberry-filled dessert.

"This girl doesn"t seem too honest with herself," Tycon mused.

And so, Tycon stretched out the polite conversation with Sorina until Seldin"s willpower finally failed her. She consumed her dessert swiftly and without mercy, leaving her tiny plate clean and spotless.

"I will be a.s.signing--" Tycon glanced above the girl"s head, "Lady Sorina Capulet as financial officer and the chief executive of the estate. Miss Capulet, you will only be subordinate to me."

"S-sir Tycon," Sorina lost her usual perkiness and began to stutter, "I h-have a boyfriend."

Tycon rolled his eyes back so hard, he leaned back in his chair.

"Seven h.e.l.ls, I"m not trying to bed you, woman. Have some self-respect!"

"Oh... O... kay."

Seldin leaned over to whisper, "Who"s your boyfriend?"

Sorina gazed dreamily out of a nearby window, "Y-you don"t know him, Miss Seldin. He lives far away... in the future."

Tycon continued, "On the morrow, Guild Invictus will be leaving towards the Mosswood Wilds to train near the base of the Icehorn Mountains for a season. Before winter, I plan to head to the northern port of Caractere."

Seldin nodded, "The Mosswood is a dangerous place... I lost my eye there." She brushed her bangs to the side, revealing the scar on her face and her gla.s.s eye.

"Miss Korr, I"ll have you stay here with Sorina as her guard."

Seldin widened her eyes in surprise before she looked down at her empty plate, disappointed.

"I understand, my lord. A broken woman like me has no place in the field."

Sorina began glaring at Tycon.

"Did she really just say that? Really?!" Tycon screamed in his mind. "And why is this girl glaring at me? These two didn"t even know each other before today!"

"Miss Korr, you"re a very attractive woman, you"re obviously very health-conscious, and you"re still of marriageable age. If you like, I can easily find you a dozen bachelors that would literally fight to the death in seeking your hand."

Tycon"s rapid-fire rea.s.surement seemed to lift Seldin"s mood. He continued, "I need you here because I respect your achievements, I trust in your abilities as a guard, and lastly, as you"re a woman of intelligence, you"re the only one I would trust to guide and complement Sorina"s strengths. Now, will you accept this a.s.signment, Miss Korr?"

Seldin Korr nodded shyly in acquiescence. Tycon thought he could hear her heartbeat begin to race, but he desperately hoped he was wrong.

"Now wait a second, Sir Tycon," Sorina stood up. "What if I don"t want to manage the estate-- I want to go adventuring with you!"

Tycon began to cry internally. He glanced to the door, wis.h.i.+ng he had resuscitated Varen instead of leaving him to collect dust in the main hall. Maybe the old man could talk some sense into the girl.
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Tycon nodded, looking down, "Very well, Miss Capulet. Before I can accept you on our expedition, I"d like to ask you a few questions:"

"Hard work and DETERMINATION!"

"That... Wasn"t an answer to any of my questions, Miss Capulet."

The girl sat down obediently, "Oh, go ahead, Sir Tycon. I"m ready."

Tycon took a deep breath and steepled his fingers, facing the young woman.

« System, inquiry: What is Sorina Capulet"s cla.s.s? »

[System response: Sorina Capulet, Bronze-Rank Calculator.]

"Now that"s a rare cla.s.s. It has a slow growth-rate but if she ever gets to Gold-Rank, we can sub her into the Main Team for some niche strategies."

Tycon nodded, sizing up the young woman, "But for now, she"ll be more effective here than in the field. If Guild Invictus doesn"t have to worry about finances in the long-term, we"ll be able to expand with fewer issues."

"Miss Capulet," Tycon began, "the last mission we completed for the Adventurer"s Guild gave us 800 silver--"

Seldin"s eyes widened in surprise for a moment. Clearly, she was surprised by the abilities of Guild Invictus.

"--How do you propose we budget our expenses?"

Sorina thought for a moment before responding, "Well, there"s zero-based budgeting, then there"s value-proposition, which is similar, and then there"s incremental budgeting, which takes the previous period as baseline for what we can spend on. So with zero-based--"

Tycon raised a hand to stop her, "Th-that"s good, Miss Capulet."

He began to sweat with the pressure, "So this is the power of a Bronze-Rank Calculator? ...With only the rumors to go on, I have grossly underestimated this girl"s ability..."

Tycon gulped, his throat parched. He was uncertain he wanted to continue. The fire in Sorina"s eyes daunted him more than any beast in the past had. He picked up his ceramic teacup and sipped his tea, deliberately stalling for time.