Chapter 67. The Capital Tournament (4)

After receiving the approval of the elderly lady, Mana handed six gold coins to her as she said, “This is advanced payment; the final payment will be about eight times more, is that fine?” before the elderly lady looked at her nodding as Mana walked back to me with a proud smile. Well, she is the one who manages our finances, so the salary she is paying must be an appropriate amount.

“How did you do it?” I questioned her while we sat back on our seat with Flora hopping on Mana’s lap in an instant. Leisha and I looked at Mana with plentiful of questions; was it intimidation or did she simply use an orthodox trick… how can one convince someone without even saying any more.

“It was simple. You have to only understand what the other party wants, and it will all fit perfectly like cards falling down on one another,” Mana replied as she took a kebab, biting on it with a smile while Leisha and I looked at her with confusion before the elderly lady came to our direction.

The elderly lady had a nervous expression on her as she opened her mouth and asked, “Excuse me but do you mind if I ask for the address of the party…?” before Mana tilted her head as if she realized she had forgotten something, taking out a map and a quill pen from her mysteriously large pocket and drew some directions on it.

The initial circle or the starting point was where we are located at which is a few straight steps from the exit while the endpoint was near the center of the city. And connecting the two points was a few lines that went different routes, each line had a marking on it that said: “Longest Route”, “Half Route” and “Shortest Route” almost like the Noogle Maps of my previous world.

“You can use this as a guide,” Mana said, handing the map to the elderly lady who took a look at it for a few seconds, nodding as she bowed down before heading off as Mana looked at us for a second before asking.

“Do you want to head back now?”

It was a bit late into the noon; translated time would be around one to two post meridiem which is around lunchtime in my original world, half-day schools would have finished their schedules and whole-day schools would have resume classes soon. This is also the time when Flora would finish her school day since her class is only every four days and starts early morning then ends around this time.

“I am fine with any decision, how about the two of you?” I looked at Flora and Leisha who seems to be in agreement as Mana soon stood up, lifting Flora up on her shoulder while Leisha and I followed as we walked towards the elderly lady and the little girl.

“We will head out, for now, the party will start in a few hours. If possible, I would like the two of you to come in an hour from now. The two of you shouldn’t worry much about clothing since it is a closed party, wear anything you like. Is that fine?” Mana inquired before the elderly lady looked at the little girl who was nodding before she nodded at Mana.

“An hour is fine to prepare, thank you for your patronage!” the elderly lady said, bowing down to Mana who shook her head as she smiled like an angel.

After sending our farewells, the four of us soon continued on our walk towards the direction of our residence before reaching the marketplace where we ended up staying for a few moments; Mana bought some extra ingredients such as flour, some vegetables, and after a billion worth of nagging from Flora, she also bought some pork.

You could say in a way that Flora is a meat-lover especially considering that she tries to avoid vegetables like the plague… well, it does make sense since she is also a Great Spirit of the Forest, which is filled with greenery, but forests also tend to be filled with meat… well, I don’t really understand Great Spirits. Leisha on the other hand acted like a normal person and only bought some candies… yes, candies.

“It’s not like I am a child… it’s just that candies are sweet…” she looked at me with her cheeks puffing as we walked down the streets towards our residence. Her left hand had a few sweet candies hidden while on her mouth was another few. I wonder if people have natural protection against cavities and diabetes here since I would definitely not bother eating that much.

“I know, you are not a child on the outside but on the inside,” I said before her cheeks turned pink as she smacked my back as Mana giggled watching from the side while Flora nagged at her, biting her hand after Mana stopped her from buying more meat. We already have a whole boar on our house, yet this little naggy deer girl still wants more.

I bet you a billion gold coins that even ten boar houses wouldn’t satisfy her meat-loving needs. I need to think of a way to have her abstinence from meat for some time, otherwise, it might become an unhealthy diet for her.

“If you won’t stop biting me then I won’t make you food for a week,” Mana suddenly threatened Flora who looked at her surprised, her jaws went wide open as she hugged Mana tightly with puppy eyes. A single threat against her favorite food is enough to make her obedient, a simple yet tad bit annoying little girl.

After seeing the obedience of Flora, the annoyed Mana soon patted Flora’s head as she kissed the little girl’s cheek before saying, “Good girl, be patient, okay?” as Flora looked at her, nodding before the four of us soon reached our residence where a certain brown-haired lady together with a short orange-haired lady waited.

The two were none other than Aurora and Estelle who we haven’t seen in a while. There was no mourning period in this world which is why the two of them along with Mana can do what they like even after the death of someone. The reason why there is no mourning period is that it is how this world works, people die each passing minute and if there was a period for mourning then more people would die from monster attacks and all those other dangers.

“It has been a while,” Aurora said as we nodded while Mana placed Flora down as she looked at Aurora with a questioning gaze.

“Is there anything you need?” I asked before the two of them nodded at the same time.

“It’s better if we talk inside,” Aurora said with a serious expression on her eyes as we nodded. I can only guess that it is either about the event that will happen or inheritance issues of the Fragaria family, either one is a problem in their own ways.

Around the same time.

“Is everything ready?” a white-haired beauty who had a cold expression on her eyes, dressed in a white dress with a straw hat asked. Her slender leg sat on her other leg as she looked at another black-haired girl in front of her.

The black-haired beauty dressed in black heavy armor looked at the beauty with a nodding expression. Her eyes were filled with fear as she responded in a shivering voice, “I am ready, Master…” before the beauty nodded as she looked out the window with a nostalgic smile.

“Ayumi, you can never escape from me… my sweet angel…” the white-haired beauty mumbled as she stared at the skies, holding a single picture on her hand with the image of a certain brown-haired girl together with her, flicking the picture as it vanished from thin air.