‘I overslept!’
With a start and a cry, Alina sat bolt upright in bed.
When she rushed to look out the window, the sun had long since risen and the main street was already crowded with adventurers heading to the receptions to embark upon their quests.
‘This is bad, this is bad, this is bad!’
The pale-faced Alina tousled her tangled bed hair and, with a grim expression, made the minimal preparations for going out. Rather than her beloved home, she was in a cheap inn on the outskirts of town. That beloved home, for a variety of reasons, currently has a large hole in the roof, and until repairs are finished she is forced to take up lodging here.
But just as she finished changing into her uniform, Alina suddenly noticed.
‘Ah, today’s my day off.’
Alina’s grim face brightened.
‘That’s right, today’s my day off!’
In the Ifühl metropolis, the town of adventurers, there are several counters where adventurers can accept quests. By staggering the days on which they are closed, they have created a system where at any given day at least one reception is guaranteed to be open.
‘The feeling of happiness when you wake up thinking you have to work, only to realize it’s your day off… Haa, let’s go back to bed.’
Having savoured her happiness to her heart’s content Alina, still in her uniform, dove back in bed to drift off into a luxurious second sleep. But just then:
‘Miss Alina!’
As if on cue, a man’s voice, the one she least wanted to hear, came from outside the window.
I must be hearing things, Alina tried to convince herself as she wrapped herself up in her blanket. He wasn’t supposed to know that she was using this inn as a temporary base. He wasn’t supposed to be here.
‘Miss Alina!’
However, the voice of that man, Jade Skleid, rang louder than before. The fact that there was an excited bounce in his voice did nothing but make Alina feel all the more annoyed.
‘Come to think of it, I’m moving today.’
Alina sighed as she remembered her irksome plans for today.
At the proposal of guildmaster Glenn, Alina, who had decided to cooperate with the Silver Blades for the time being, was to be given the same privileges as the other party members, which meant that she she was allowed to rent a room free of charge in the exclusive apartments of the Blades located in the most prestigious district of the metropolis.
Alina grudgingly crept out of bed and looked down from the second floor window. In the street bustling with adventurers a single man was making a loud nuisance of himself.
Silver hair and a well-formed, fresh face. It was Jade, the tall, burly young man known in the guild as the strongest tank. To the casual observer he was an impeccable, handsome man.
But Alina knew that underneath he was nothing more than an ordinary stalker.
‘Has he been following me again?’
That was the only reason she could think of as to why he could know she was staying at this particular inn. Alina let out a heavy sigh and, ignoring Jade’s loud cries, slammed the window shut and quickly started to get ready to go out.
****
‘This the first time I’ve seen you in your casual clothes.’
Although she was moving today, the reality was that with her house destroyed, she didn’t have enough belongings at hand to fill a single travel bag.
Jade looked at Alina walking beside him with eyes of curiosity as he carried her luggage for her.
Since it was her day off, Alina was not in her uniform. Today she wore a simple one-piece dress, a plain leather belt, and a pouch around her waist. Apparently Jade didn’t have a quest today, for he was dressed lightly, having left his usual great shield and armour at home and carrying only a sword for self-defence.
‘I’m not such a company slave that I’d wear my uniform on my days off.’
She was such a company slave that this morning she mistakenly thought it was a work day, but he didn’t need to know that.
‘Still. I’m not used to being in this neighbourhood, so it feels a bit unusual.’
The two walked down a quiet street in Ifühl’s prime district.
The pavement was well-maintained and the street lights elegantly decorated. The people commuting the streets were all well-groomed and well-to-do, and every now and then a fancy two-storey carriage would pass them by. Of course, even when they saw the guild celebrity Jade, none was so boorish as to look at him with inquisitive eyes. The atmosphere was calm and relaxed, very different from the parts of town where the adventurers gathered.
Staring at Jade walking next to her with an excitement unbecoming of such a prestigious neighbourhood, Alina grumbled to herself:
‘It would have been great if I’d been able to come here alone.’
‘Miss Alina, I can hear your inner monologue.’
‘By the way, how on earth did you where I was staying? You followed me home from work again, didn’t you?!’
‘Hmm? Of course I did. How else would I find out?’
Just as Alina clenched her fists and decided that she was going to choke the life out of this stalker:
‘If you’re quite finished, I would like to start the tour.’
A woman’s voice interrupted their conversation.
It was the guildmaster’s secretary, Philly, who had been quietly walking in front of the two since a while ago. It had been decided that Philly would guide the move today, with Jade being simply there for the manpower.
Philly glanced at the two, who had finally fallen silent, and pointed to the large building across the street.
‘That way will be your new home.’
The building she pointed as was different from the kind of lodgings available to novice adventurers on a shoestring budget, which were more like stables than inns. There, on a plot of land separated by an elegant fence, stood a building of pure white.
‘These accommodations house several of the guild’s elite teams, including the Silver Blades. I have been instructed to provide you the same treatment as the Blades. Of course, you will receive an equal salary during the time you spend assisting them.
They passed through the gates and proceeded through a courtyard with a fountain. Entering the building, they came into a large entrance hall. As Philly continued her explanation in a perfunctory tone, they climbed a spiral staircase and came to a stop outside of one of the rooms.
‘This will be your room from today.’
Philly opened the door. When she looked inside, Alina’s mouth fell open in surprise.
‘Wow!’
The room was probably twice as big as any in the house she had lived in so far. A canopied double bed was placed right in the centre, and there was a leather sofa and a beautifully decorated chest by the window.
‘Is all this for me?!’
For a moment, Alina stood frozen in the most luxurious room she’d ever seen. According to Alina, the most important thing in any room is the bed, the place where you can lounge around on your days off. Alina timidly entered the apartment and pressed down on the bed. Not too soft, not too firm, and a comfortable spring. By comparison, the beds she had slept in so far were like slabs of rock.
‘Wooow, it’s like this bed is telling me to shut myself inside forever!’
Unable to restrain herself, Alina dove into the bed. A feeling of happiness buried in softness. Even the duvet was top quality.
‘Aah, I never want to leave this bed.’
While Alina was busy burying her face in the sheets, Philly said in a dispassionate manner:
‘I’m glad to see you’re satisfied. It’s at your disposal from today on. Jade, I will leave the detailed explanations and guidance to you.’
‘Eh, are you sure, Philly?’
‘I still have work to do. Well then.’
With that, the secretary was on her way out. Seeing her off, Jade swallowed hard.
‘Alone with the lovely Alina in plain clothes!? In other words, this is a date—’
‘Well then I’m going to be shut in here for the rest of the day, so get the hell out of here.’
In one fluid motion, Alina kicked Jade out of the room, slammed the door and locked it shut.
‘Wh—why?!’
The sound of Jade’s screaming and pounding on the door echoed throughout the guild’s first-class lodgings for some time after.
