The palace had long disappeared behind the trees by the time the road widened and the outer edge of the Capital came into view.
Since leaving the palace grounds, G6 felt something close to genuine anticipation settling beneath her skin. Freedom, uncertainty, and possibility combined into something sharper than childish excitement—the sort of feeling that usually preceded either a very good mission or an exceptionally bad decision.
Her hands tightened lightly around the reins as the road emerged from the woodland and descended toward a massive stone archway built into the Capital's outer wall.
Beyond it, merchants, carts, and pedestrians moved among banners and buildings, their distant voices carrying through the entrance.
G6's mouth curved faintly.
Edmund guided his horse beneath the shade of a large oak several dozen paces from the archway.
"We should leave our horses outside," he said, dismounting.
G6 dropped smoothly from her saddle.
"Are they not permitted on the streets?"
"They are, but traveling on foot is more efficient. It allows you to assess the town… properly."
"Alright."
She tethered her horse with efficient knots and checked the fastening once before letting go. Edmund secured his beside it.
Contrary to their original plan, neither removed the dark cloak.
The matching garments remained draped over their clothing, their heavy black fabric falling almost to their boots.
Both had lowered their hoods, leaving the short braided fastenings loose against their upper chests.
G6 adjusted the edge of her cloak. The deeply tinted eyeglasses concealed her grey eyes, while her cap cast an additional shadow over the upper half of her face.
Beside her, Edmund looked considerably less like the West Villa's butler than he had only an hour earlier.
She slid both hands into the pockets of her cargo trousers beneath the open front of the cloak. They paused at the threshold, taking in the city before them.
Finally.
Then they crossed beneath the archway, and the Capital swallowed them whole.
The palace's quiet order vanished beneath a flood of sound. Merchants shouted from stalls lining both sides of the road, cart wheels rattled over stone, and children darted around adults carrying parcels.
Horses snorted impatiently beside delivery wagons while the smells of baked bread, roasted meat, spices, smoke, leather, flowers, and far too many people blended into an enormous sensory assault.
G6's eyes moved constantly.
Buildings. Alleys. Roof access. Crowd density. Guard positions. Carriage lanes. Possible exits.
Beneath the tactical assessment, however, something else flickered. The place looked absurdly familiar despite being completely foreign.
Old stone buildings with timber-framed upper floors leaned over narrow streets, colored awnings sheltered market stalls, and painted wooden signs hung above shop doors.
Exactly like the historical stuff Pisces used to waste his rest time watching.
A brief memory surfaced of her partner sprawled across a couch, engrossed in another ridiculously long historical drama. It faded when a vendor leaned over a stall piled high with vegetables and called toward them.
"Hey! You there, adventurers! Freshly picked from the farm! Provisions for your journey, and I will give you a discount!"
G6 glanced at the produce. Several vegetables looked familiar, while others most certainly did not. One resembled a purple turnip that had lost a fight with a pineapple.
The vendor smiled hopefully when she looked at him. G6 studied him for one brief, uncomfortably intense second before continuing past the stall.
Edmund offered the bewildered merchant an apologetic nod and followed.
With her hands still in her pockets, G6 moved through the crowd as though she had already memorized its rhythm.
People shifted aside before she reached them, perhaps because of the cloak or the way she walked. Something about the pair suggested that colliding with either would be an unpleasant way to spend the afternoon.
"This town is awfully lively. Their joy disgusts me."
Edmund glanced sideways at her, apparently considering several responses before choosing diplomacy.
"Indeed, Einston is a prosperous kingdom. With Benedictio returned, the land is said to become more abundant than ever."
G6 watched a laughing family pass with bundles from the market.
"Their peaceful faces are nauseating. Such arrogance irks me."
Her delivery remained cold and flat. Edmund gave her another look but did not challenge the statement. He had learned that questioning every disturbing thing she said was an excellent way to exhaust himself.
They continued deeper into the market, where the crowd thickened into a shifting press of bodies. Even there, they encountered strangely little resistance.
A pair of dark-cloaked adventurers walking without the usual loud conversation or jostling drew attention, and people made room as they approached.
A sudden THUD! interrupted the market noise.
G6 turned toward a boy sprawled on the cobblestones several paces ahead. He was thin, dirty, and barefoot, with a piece of bread lying in the dirt beside his outstretched hand.
A well-dressed merchant stood over him, wearing clothes that probably cost more than everything the child owned.
"WATCH WHERE YOU ARE GOING, YOU USELESS, STINKY BRAT!"
Several people turned toward the shouting. G6 stopped, and Edmund halted beside her.
The boy did not immediately cower. He looked up with open, undiluted hatred before scrambling toward the fallen bread.
A cynical curve touched G6's mouth.
Let's see how 'peaceful' this kingdom truly is.
The merchant stepped forward and kicked the bread away before the child could reach it.
"HEY! PAY ATTENTION! How dare you look at me like that!"
The bread rolled several feet across the stones. The boy followed it with his eyes, his small body tightening with a rage he lacked the strength to act upon.
G6 recognized that look. She had seen it on soldiers, gang members, and targets—people seconds away from doing something stupid because hatred had finally become stronger than self-preservation.
Oh? The look of someone who will turn into a criminal in no time.
"What is he, Edmund?"
Edmund followed her gaze toward the merchant.
"A class commoner. A merchant."
G6 looked almost bored, and for a moment, she seemed prepared to continue walking. Then the merchant kicked the boy hard in the side.
"Look what you have done to my new shoes! You worthless gutter rat!"
The child curled inward. A murmur passed through the crowd, and several people farther along the street began approaching, apparently intending to intervene.
G6 noticed them, the merchant raising his foot again, and the opening between two spectators.
Her weight shifted. One step carried her into the gap before anyone realized she had decided to move; a second brought her around the edge of the crowd.
She slipped through the space already available rather than forcing her way between bodies, cutting diagonally across the merchant's line of sight while his attention remained on the child.
By the time his boot came down, G6 stood beside him with one of her own boots planted firmly over his expensive shoe.
The merchant froze. G6 paid him no attention, looking instead at the boy staring up through his tangled hair. Her tinted lenses prevented him from seeing her eyes.
"If you are going to damage his shoes, it should be like this."
Confusion overtook the child's expression. The merchant finally understood what had happened and jerked his foot away.
"What do you think you are doing, woman? How dare you!"
"You are too noisy over a stupid piece of leather."
G6 remained facing the boy.
"You brazen—!"
The merchant raised his hand. Several paces behind her, Edmund moved the instant the man's shoulder rotated and his arm began swinging toward G6's head.
He stepped through the opening she had created, caught the attacking arm before the strike could land, and redirected the merchant's balance forward.
As the man stumbled, Edmund hooked a foot behind his ankle and swept it outward while turning his torso in the opposite direction.
The merchant's back struck the stones. Before he could recover, Edmund placed one boot against the center of his chest, applying just enough pressure to prevent him from standing.
The entire takedown had taken seconds.
A satisfied smile touched G6's lips as the merchant wheezed beneath Edmund's boot.
Pain. Humiliation. Much better.
She finally looked at him.
"And as for you, you uncultured dog. If you are going to be a villain, do it right."
Then she walked toward the bread. The boy followed her with his eyes, as did everyone around them.
G6 stopped over the dirty piece and looked from the child to the strangers who had been approaching to intervene.
"Like this."
She brought her boot down and ground the bread into the filthy cobblestones until it became an unrecognizable paste.
The crowd seemed to inhale at once. The boy's face fell, and one of the approaching men stared at her in disbelief.
"What in the world are you doing?!"
Even Edmund's expression shifted, though only slightly. Behind his composed exterior, the butler was reassessing several things.
G6 returned to the boy, who regarded her with something between anger and despair.
"Give me your hand."
He hesitated. She waited until he slowly raised one grimy hand, then reached into the storage concealed beneath her clothing and produced a gold coin.
She placed it in his palm. When his fingers remained open, she closed them around it herself.
The boy stared. He held enough money to buy far more than a piece of bread—enough to change the next several weeks of his life, provided no one stole it first.
G6 crouched until her face was closer to his and lowered her voice so only he could hear.
"Erase that murderous intent from your eyes. That path is destined for someone else."
His eyes widened. G6 rose and turned away.
"Let's go."
Edmund removed his boot from the merchant, who immediately curled onto his side, coughing. He followed G6 without looking back, leaving the crowd silent behind them.
The boy watched them go, clutching the coin while the ruined bread remained beneath G6's bootprint.
She had destroyed the only food he possessed, then given him more money than he had ever held. Worse, she had looked directly at the hatred he thought no one noticed and recognized it.
He could not decide whether she was a monster or a savior. Neither explanation fit, and he stood watching until the two dark cloaks disappeared into the crowd.
❈.❈.❈
They had walked nearly half a street before Edmund spoke.
"A question."
"What?"
G6 did not look at him. Her attention had already returned to the Capital.
"If you intended to help that boy, why crush his spirit first?"
"What do you mean?" she asked, playing dumb.
"You made certain he was watching before you stepped on the bread. It was likely his first meal in days."
"I simply enjoy watching the light of hope fade from people's eyes."
The answer arrived without hesitation, sending a chill down Edmund's spine.
"Is that all?"
G6 slowed near a broad plaza where several children played around a large fountain. She watched them for a moment before answering.
"Boys like him have never known true kindness. Shattering his old hope makes the new one mean more."
Edmund considered her words.
"Your logic is cruel… yet not without merit. I cannot say whether it is good or evil."
"That is just how it is."
She resumed walking, leaving him to regard her for another half second.
There were times when Edmund wondered whether understanding her better would eventually make her less alarming. So far, the opposite seemed to be happening.
They left the crowded market streets behind, and the architecture gradually changed.
Buildings grew wider, shopfronts cleaner, and larger windows displayed goods behind glass.
The shouting diminished as carriages waited outside cafés and specialty stores, their elegantly dressed passengers moving between boutiques.
"Is this a street for nobles?" G6 asked.
"Indeed. That is the Merchant Guild."
Edmund indicated a refined building across the street. Its expensive construction avoided unnecessary ornament, giving it an organized, professional appearance that earned G6's approval.
"And farther ahead, the larger three-story building is the Adventurers' Guild."
Her pace increased immediately. Edmund noticed and followed.
「CAPITAL CITY — ADVENTURERS' GUILD」
The building was impossible to mistake. Three broad stories rose above the surrounding district, its stone frontage reinforced rather than decorative.
A massive wooden sign bearing the Guild crest hung over doors that admitted a steady procession of armored adventurers, archers, and travelers carrying packs.
Men and women alike wore clothing considerably more practical than anything inside the palace.
G6 paused outside, something close to genuine satisfaction settling across her expression. Edmund opened the door, and she followed him into the noise.
The ground floor was enormous. Several clerks worked behind a reception counter occupying the central hall, while long task boards covered one wall with layers of notices and stamped requests.
The opposite half resembled a tavern, with tables, benches, food, and alcohol serving adventurers who discussed their missions loudly enough for half the building to hear.
G6 examined the room as several conversations faltered around them.
Their matching cloaks already made them noticeable, and G6's appearance invited further attention.
Sleek rose-gold hair fell from beneath her cap to her waist, while her black-and-grey clothing looked unlike the dresses, tunics, leather armor, and plated equipment worn by other women in the hall.
The tinted eyeglasses concealing her eyes only encouraged people to look longer.
Edmund approached the reception counter with G6 beside him. A young man behind it looked up and immediately brightened.
"It has been a while, Eddie!"
G6 turned her head slightly.
Eddie? That is his alias? What a lame ass.
Edmund smiled as though the name were perfectly respectable.
"How are you, Liam? It has been a while!"
"Busy? Out of town?"
Liam's gaze shifted toward G6.
"You have brought company."
"Ah, yes. My niece, visiting from the province. She has decided to join me!"
The lie came smoothly enough that G6 almost respected it.
"Is that so? It will be good to know you finally have company. However, can she manage your rigorous activity?"
"Of course! You know I come from a family of adventurers."
Liam nodded and turned toward G6 again.
"So, your name?" He hesitated. "You look very… striking?"
She tilted her head and studied him.
"Just give me the form. I am not here to chat."
Liam's smile vanished for approximately one second.
"Forgive my niece," Edmund said with a light laugh. "She is not used to strangers."
"Oh, I see. One moment, please."
Liam retrieved an application form and slid it toward them. G6 stepped closer and scanned the fields for her name, birth information, place of residence, and registry history.
"Address?"
Edmund took the form long enough to write one before returning it. G6 read the location: Scutum Town, in the northwest.
Scutum. As in 'shield' in Latin?
Her gaze returned to the name fields.
Hmm… real name from my old life? Or…
Her pen paused before moving across the paper. She entered G6 in the first-name field and Arcadia beneath it.
A tiny smirk threatened.
My great-great-whatever grandmother's surname from Gemcardia Org. Ironic. G6, the Reaper. Arcadia, peaceful paradise. Almost poetic.
She returned the form. Liam read it, his brows drawing together.
"G…6 Arcadia?"
"It is G6. No pause."
"It is… unique."
"Yeah, you would not like the meaning. Hurry up."
"O-Okay."
Liam reached beneath the counter and brought out a large appraisal orb.
G6 and Edmund grew still. Neither made an obvious display of it, but the sphere introduced a complication they had not expected from a simple alias registration. They exchanged a single glance, which Liam noticed nonetheless.
"Is something wrong?"
"Oh, um. Nothing, we just…" Edmund began.
G6 stared at the sphere while her mind worked through alternatives. Registration created records, and records meant identification.
Whatever the Queen had buried inside the palace system might become inconvenient if the orb decided to expose it.
"By any chance… has your registry lapsed for more than six months in any kingdom?" Liam asked.
Edmund blinked. G6 glanced toward him, but neither answered immediately.
"Oh. You must be a traveling adventurer."
Liam relaxed as though their silence had confirmed it.
"Such adventurers are not officially registered in a single kingdom. They usually hold temporary or guest passes and cannot maintain consistent reported activity. Is that it?"
"Whatever. I need a new Guild card."
G6 stepped toward the orb, but Edmund caught her wrist.
"La—G6."
The warning was unmistakable. She looked at his hand, then at him, and pulled free.
"This, or sink."
With no useful alternative available, G6 placed both palms against the appraisal sphere.
Light spread through the crystal's center. Unlike the violent response during the Queen's unrestricted appraisal, this glow remained narrow and controlled, filtered as lines of text formed across its surface.
!! STATUS IS PRIVATE !!
AFFINITY: N/A
AFFINITY RANK: S-RANK
MANA RESERVE: RESTRICTED
G6 and Edmund stared at the result before releasing nearly imperceptible breaths. The protections were working.
Her identity and true affinity remained concealed, and her mana reserve was inaccessible. Even the surviving S-Rank reading revealed only the development level attached to an affinity the orb could not identify.
"Oh."
Liam leaned closer, looking considerably less concerned than either of them.
"It seems your Guild information is private, G6. A distinguished traveler, I see."
He dismissed the display, and G6 removed her hands.
"What do you mean?"
"It happens to certain individuals affiliated with higher positions."
"Who do you think I am?"
Her sharpened expression chilled the conversation without the assistance of magic. Liam swallowed.
"I assume you are like Eddie—a ranger hired directly by nobility for sensitive expeditions."
He gestured toward the dormant sphere.
"The registry recognizes protected authority around your status. That explains why the system accepted you instead of issuing a foreign-operative alert."
"Liam is trustworthy," Edmund assured her. "He will not peer into the affairs of distinguished… adventurers."
G6 held Liam's gaze for another moment.
"Alright. Get this over with."
He nodded quickly and retrieved a sterilized needle and a plain silver Guild card. G6 extended her hand, allowing him to prick her fingertip. One drop of blood fell onto the card's center and disappeared into its silver surface.
Liam took the card into the room behind the counter. Once he had gone, G6 turned toward Edmund.
"What does he mean by the alarm?"
"If a hired ranger under another kingdom's authority attempted to register here without declaring that allegiance, the system would flag them," Edmund explained quietly. "Ordinary adventurers may work between kingdoms far more freely. Individuals directly attached to nobles or military interests are treated differently."
G6 looked toward the closed door.
Useful security feature. Annoying, but useful.
Several minutes later, Liam returned and placed the card on the counter.
"I cannot verify your previous mission history or your actual Mana Reserve while your status remains protected. But the registry accepted your identity, Eddie is sponsoring the application, and what little the appraisal revealed is obviously beyond an ordinary novice."
He glanced toward Edmund.
"So I registered you at A-Rank, like your uncle."
G6 looked down at the card as Liam continued.
"That is already where the Capital's active adventurers have effectively stalled. Anything beyond A-Rank requires a substantial record. I could not justify inventing one simply because your appraisal looks impressive."
The reasoning made sense. Affinity development was not experience, nor could it substitute for Guild history. Even if someone's ability qualified them for S-Rank work, the Guild could not manufacture years of verified missions.
Besides, forcing an unprecedented S-Rank registration into a Capital branch full of stalled A-Rankers would attract precisely the attention G6 intended to avoid.
"Welcome to the Einston Kingdom Adventurers' Guild," Liam said with a smile and a slight bow.
G6 picked up the card bearing her new identity: G6 Arcadia, A-Rank Adventurer.
"Thanks."
She turned away.
"Thank you, Liam!" Edmund added as he followed.
"You are welcome, Ed! See you both around."
They approached the task boards, and G6 slipped the card into her storage.
A-Rank publicly. Good enough.
Access mattered considerably more than rank, and access was what she had wanted.
Rows of requests covered the board: escort work, monster elimination, gathering, investigation, caravan protection, and missing-person reports. G6 read rapidly while Edmund stood beside her.
"We should avoid anything that would keep us beyond our return window today," he reminded her quietly. "We still have the Utility Magic Department alibi to maintain."
Her expression flattened.
Freedom with a curfew. Annoying.
"We must adhere to the plan and avoid suspicion," Edmund added, apparently reading enough of her reaction to anticipate an argument.
G6 passed over several notices before stopping at a C-Rank request.
"What about this one?"
Her finger rested against the heading: GOBLIN EXTERMINATION.
"A C-Rank mission, Lady Reise," Edmund said after reading it.
She turned toward him slowly.
"Call me by my alias, Eddie."
He closed his eyes for half a second.
"Very well… G6. Are you certain you wish to take such a low-ranked task?"
"I wonder how it feels to kill a goblin."
Her sharp, unsettling smile made Edmund's eye twitch. Other noblewomen might have found the prospect repulsive. His mistress looked curious, which was considerably worse.
"Then we shall take this."
He reached for the notice, but another hand appeared first.
"That was supposed to be ours."
G6 and Edmund turned toward a young adventurer standing behind them. She looked barely older than some of the teenagers G6 had seen in the market.
Her clothing seemed more revealing than practical, though the sword at her hip appeared real enough. Four equally young companions hovered behind her, two boys and two girls.
G6 looked from her to the notice.
"Is your name written on it?"
The girl's expression hardened.
"Looks like you're new here. Do not give me that attitude, newbie. You and your… bizarre fashion sense do not fit in."
G6 slowly looked her over.
"So your bra and a skirt showing your underclothes are more appropriate?"
The girl opened her mouth.
"Here to hunt monsters or to parade your body?"
"HOW DARE YOU!"
Her face turned scarlet. G6 offered a mocking smile while one of the boys behind the girl looked thoroughly exhausted.
"That is enough, Riza."
"But that was our task! We agreed after lunch! And she mocked me! I am her senior!"
G6 gave a short, derisive laugh.
"Senior? Give me a break."
"You keep running your mouth!"
Riza stepped forward. Edmund shifted closer, placing himself within reach to intercept without openly threatening her.
"What is going on?"
Another group approached from the entrance before Riza could act. G6 recognized the people who had been moving toward the boy in the market before she intervened.
So they were adventurers.
The man leading them recognized her as well.
"Oh. It is you."
"Sebastian! This newbie disrespects me!"
Riza immediately seized his arm. Sebastian gently freed himself and looked toward G6.
"It was you earlier. So you are an adventurer."
She ignored him and turned to Edmund.
"Give that piece of crap to the loud one."
"What did you just say?!" Riza demanded.
Edmund looked at the notice, then at G6.
"Are you certain?"
"What matters is that I already know where the goblins are."
G6's gaze shifted toward Riza, accompanied by a cold smile.
"What good is the poster if the content is already gone?"
She walked away. Edmund watched her go, suppressing a sigh as he realized she had, of course, memorized the location while reading.
"Did you hear what she said?!" Riza continued shouting.
"Here."
Edmund handed the notice to one of her companions.
"Hey! Ed—where did you pick up that cunning bi—"
"Refrain from vulgarity."
His quiet, firm interruption stopped Riza short.
"It is your mistake for not securing the task promptly."
He left them and joined G6 at a table near the window. Her attention had already moved beyond the Guild to the street outside, where she studied the arrangement of buildings, their heights, and the flow of traffic.
"Trouble may be drawn to you, my la—G6," Edmund said, sitting opposite her.
"They are just amateurs."
"Shall we select another task?"
"No tasks within the Capital. All outside the walls."
"Indeed. The Capital itself is considered secure ground. Most Guild requests involve territories beyond the walls."
G6 tapped a finger against the table.
"Then afternoon stakeouts are useless. Let us change the plan."
"What do you propose?"
"Excuse us…"
Sebastian's group approached before she could answer. Riza was not among them. G6 assessed the woman and two men accompanying him while he stopped slightly ahead of his companions.
"Please forgive Riza. She is still young and not fully aware."
"Forget it."
"Then, here."
He offered the goblin notice, but G6 made no move to take it.
"I don't take back what I have already discarded. Now, excuse us. We are discussing something important."
Sebastian regarded her for a moment before something resembling amusement crossed his expression.
"You are as cold and distant as you appear."
She gave him no answer.
"Very well. We shall see you around."
The group withdrew. Edmund waited until they had moved out of earshot, and G6 resumed the discussion immediately.
"Back to it. Change the schedule. Six days at the Collegium. The first three, I am actually there. The remaining three are for the 'Utility Magic Department.'"
"A sound plan in theory," Edmund replied, his brows rising. "But will Her Majesty accept?"
He lowered his voice further.
"Particularly given certain nobles who are quite attached to your presence."
G6 did not need him to name Prince Dio, Lord Keith, Lord Earl, or Lady Brenda.
"I do not care. That, or I will run away."
Her voice contained no humor. Edmund sighed.
"Knight recruitment begins in two days. An abrupt change may draw suspicion. Perhaps continue the façade of afternoons at Utility until then?"
G6 considered the suggestion.
"I guess you have a point."
"There is a task just outside the Capital, approximately two hours away."
Edmund nodded toward another section of the board.
"Let us take a low-ranked mission first, to ease your… restlessness."
"So glad I have a strategic butler."
Satisfaction entered G6's voice. Edmund smiled.
"We will take the horses tomorrow and follow the carriage path."
"Then for now, we see."
The arrangement settled, G6 leaned back and returned her attention to the window. Tomorrow would bring an actual mission. Since arriving in this world, she had something resembling an operational schedule that belonged to her rather than someone else.
Several tables away, Sebastian's party was concerned with an entirely different matter. Their captain continued looking toward the dark-cloaked woman by the window.
"Quite taken with that… intense lady, Captain," Xena remarked over her drink.
Dante smirked.
"Hmm. Did he not just yell at her earlier? 'WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!'"
"Stop teasing," Nick said, leaning across the table. "He is smitten. Into the… problematic type."
"Shut up. She is just… different."
Sebastian kept his eyes on G6 before taking a slow drink, his expression thoughtful.
"Something about her aura. The kind that breaks you, then comforts you—not from pity, but from amusement."
He paused before adding, "She is… attractively dangerous."
His companions exchanged knowing looks.
"Looks like we were right…" they said in near-perfect unison.
Sebastian glared at them, earning another round of laughter.
Across the hall, G6 noticed that people were looking but cared too little to determine why. Her attention remained on the road beyond the window and the route, target, and freedom the following day might offer.
Her first day outside the palace had given her a new name, a Guild identity, and access to a part of the world the book had barely bothered to describe.
On paper, G6 Arcadia was an A-Rank adventurer. Beneath that convenient classification remained something considerably more troublesome.
Somewhere among the requests behind her, a goblin mission waited.
—To Be Continued…—