"What do you wanna eat for breakfast, Cael?"
"Hmm, mom usually cooks savory breakfasts, so how about we get some pastries or something?"
"Sure, that's fine by me."
"Are there any good places nearby?"
"Uhmm, I guess there's one around 20 minutes away? I think I heard Maia talk about it once, and I remember the location."
"That's perfect then. I don't mind a nice walk before a sweet treat."
Especially not when the walk is spent holding hands with you, hehe.
Man, I was seriously so happy that I couldn't even be bothered to try and find any issues in this situation. It was still early so the streets weren't too crowded yet, our first destination is only 20 minutes away, we're holding hands and she's wearing a stunning dress? I wouldn't even care if I accidentally walked into a pole or something at this point.
Hell, bring all the trouble in the world my way, I'll gladly deal with them as quickly as possible then resume to have the time of my life! … okay, maybe don't do that, on second thought. But needless to say, I was far from unhappy.
"Maia said she helped you buy that dress, by the way."
"We did go together, yeah. We hadn't gone out alone in a while after all. Work's been pretty busy since you guys came to the capital."
"Sorry about that…"
"It's fine, it's fine. After all, if it wasn't for that, we wouldn't be able to go out together, would we?"
A blush creeped on my face, which forced me to look away for a moment. But even that didn't really last long, since I actually could not hold myself from glancing at her as much as possible to begin with. Thankfully enough she didn't tease me about it though, so I did manage to just nod in response.
Some people around us were staring, the few that were already in the street so early that is, but no one had stopped us yet. Usually when it's either just me or whether I'm with one of my siblings, ever since the trial it has been happening pretty often though.
But after around 10 minutes or so, it seemed like our lucky streak of no interruption had come to an end.
"Excuse me, you two."
First one of the day…
I sighed internally, and we both stopped walking at the same time and turned around. Walking to us was a man, an adventurer from his clothes I think. He has that cliche bulky semi armor, cloak and an armed sword belt after all.
"Do you mean us?"
His eyes lit up when he took a good look at us, and he stopped a few steps away.
"Yes, yes. I thought that it may be you from the back, but I wasn't entirely sure… but you're the Ashford kid, aren't you?"
"I am, yeah. Do you need anything from me?"
Since currently I only have some white hair on the front of my head, when you look at me from the back I probably just look like a completely normal kid with brown hair. Granted, I wouldn't put too much emphasis on normal since we're back to being high ranking nobles, but still.
It has happened before too, for someone to just see me from behind and think "could it be?" Then approach me to confirm. This was another case. Given the nature of this encounter, I decided to give it a name.
Another gambler, huh?
I think that's pretty fitting. After all, it is a gamble on their side, with approaching a random kid as the losing end.
"Yes, well, actually no, but I just wanted to ask you something if I ever met you."
"Is that so? Well, here I am. Ask away."
Whatever. I'm in a good mood after all, so today I don't mind being stopped on the streets.
His face did light up even more when I said that too, to be fair.
"I once read in a news article an interview of yours, and you said that you want to become an adventurer, right?"
"I did, and I do, yeah."
"Since the minimum age required to become one is 10, I'm assuming you still have a few years left until then, no?"
"That's right. I'll be turning 8 soon, so that's 2 years until I can become an adventurer."
"Then!"
He pulled out a paper sheet, then another one for Luna as well. We each took ours, unfortunately letting go of our hands momentarily to take a proper look.
A guild commercial? I see where this is going now…
"Though we only recently started it, we have some really good promising members. It may not seem like it, but my mana density is actually pretty high too."
I glanced at Luna when he said that, to see what she thought.
"It does seem to be that way. I'd say you're around S rank or so? How many other members are there?"
"Woah, I'm surprised you can tell, miss."
"I'm around much stronger people than you every day after all."
He seemed slightly confused by her statement, almost a little annoyed by it, but seeing as he looked at me, I felt the need to give context to her casual statement, since she didn't really seem interested in doing it.
"Ah, uhm… She's technically my sister's assistant. She also interacts with The Commander I'm pretty sure. And the other day, we saw her with 2 captains and 2 lieutenants…"
Though I can't tell him that they all watched me and Cifer train afterwards… this poor guy looks shocked enough as is.
"I-I'm sorry for being so ignorant…! I-I had no idea!"
He bowed almost instantly, but Luna cleared her throat then took over.
"Please raise your head. It is a fact that I'm not really someone with a large public image, despite my role. More importantly, I'll ask you again since I'm actually interested. How many people are in your guild so far? Are you the guild master?"
Shyly, he did as told, then his tone shifted pretty drastically. It was a lot more sincere now.
"Well, to tell you the truth… it's only me and 3 friends. I am the guild master and the strongest one by mana density alone though. But I really mean it when I say that we have a lot of potential. I believe that one day we'll reach the top."
The top, huh?
The only real information about the adventurer system I have may not be too reliable, honestly. After all, we're mostly talking about stuff I only found out in our village from either a few questions or that one live stream in the elven kingdom. Contrary to what I thought at first for example, it turned out that adventurers are more appreciated publicly than recruits.
Then there's also that thing we spoke with the commander about after the trial, before going home. Though my memory about it is a little fuzzy, I remember the part where she explained the need for a better security system for some libraries. It's not like every single strong person is a recruit.
There's definitely bad guys that may be even as strong if not stronger than captains who're just staying low, and other strong people that generally just didn't want to join the sentinels. There's pretty much nothing stopping me from assuming there's adventurers that are that strong, especially when I myself haven't been looking much into the industry so far.
"I see. Then the thing you want to tell him is…"
"Yes. I know that it's a greedy thing for me to say, and I'm aware that trying to recruit someone so early may be considered cowardly and unethical…"
"That goes without saying. You don't even know for sure if he's even capable. You're clearly just riding the hype of the Ashford kid that will become an adventurer eventually."
He frowned slightly at her blunt statement, but surprisingly, he didn't back down.
"You're right. But even then, please, when you join the industry in 2 years, could you, no, both of you, consider joining us? The Guardians of Peace."
What a pretentious guild name… these guys are really setting some insane pressure on themselves.
"Both of us? I didn't realize I was also a target."
But this time, although I'm not so sure if he noticed, Luna's tone was actually pretty jokeful. She was playing along.
"Well, you two seem to be in a really close relationship since you're on a date, so I figured it would be rude to invite only him…"
"D-d-date?! W-we're…"
"Haha, you're right. We'll think about it then. If that's all, then would you excuse us? We're going to have breakfast and we're pretty hungry."
For fucks sake! This guy's expression… no matter how you look at it, he's clearly thinking "ah, she's definitely the older one." Damn it!
Luna grabbed my sheet as well as she folded both neatly and placed them in my pants front pocket.
"Of course. Sorry for interrupting you two. Enjoy your meal and have a good day."
"Thanks, you too. Let's go, Cael."
Before I could answer though, she grabbed my hand and took the lead.
"We're going to get stopped again if you stay still in the middle of the street like that, you know?"
"I-I can't help it…"
"Is that so? You're walking just fine now though?"
"That's because you're almost dragging me…"
"Of course I am, otherwise you would've remained there."
"Well…"
"What did you think about him? The guild master of the Guardians of Peace."
"… I guess he seemed pretty honest? Sure, desperate and debatable morally, but I didn't sense any malice from him."
By now, her pace had slowed already so we were walking normally side to side. Of course though, our hands were still linked.
"I thought so too. He didn't seem that old either, so there's still room for him to grow stronger too."
"But even then, for a practically no-name guild with that kind of pretentious name to say they can reach the top, huh? How do I put this… for some reason, although I do think it's ridiculous, I also wouldn't be surprised if he ends up being right."
He had that "my guild is going to become the number 1 in the continent and I know it" aura to him too, you know? It was pretty hard to not notice, given his cliche personality and appearance.
"I thought so too. You don't often see someone that boldly admitting to their unethical methods after all."
"That too… surprisingly enough though, he's the first that's tried to actually recruit me so far, out of all the people approaching me on the streets."
"Woah, that's a pretty cliche "fated guild master and fated guild member meet" moment, isn't it?"
"You can definitely say that…"
"Then are you joining it?"
"Isn't it a little too early to think about that?"
"Who knows? Maybe you'll forget they exist until then, unless they do reach the top."
"Well… I'm probably going to get jumped by most guild masters around us on my 10th birthday anyway, no? I'm sure he'll be there too."
"That's true too. I guess it is still early to think about it after all."
"Especially on an empty stomach."
"Haha, you're right. Should we hurry up a little?"
I nodded, and around 8 minutes later or so, we finally arrived at the place she was talking about. Despite the early hour, it was already half filled too, but thankfully enough there seemed to be some empty tables inside still, and only 2 people in front of us in line currently.
"Next, please!"
The counter lady was visibly shocked once she took a good look at me, unsurprisingly. Honestly, it's not like I'm not aware that we're really famous for the better or the worst, but I really don't get the hype. I don't really feel like a celebrity whatsoever. But regardless, I acted like I didn't notice, and we just began ordering.
"Good morning."
"Y-yes, good morning. What would you like to order?"
"Good morning. Uhm, I'll have a croissant with peach marmellate, a cup of white tea and 2 more croissants, one with plum and one with chocolate."
"I understood… w-what about the young lady?"
"I'll have a chocolate croissant as well, an herbal cup of tea and… do you guys have tarts?"
"Y-yes, we do have quite a lot of tarts to select from."
"I see, then I'll have a lemon tart slice. As well."
Though we didn't say anything, when Luna and I glanced at each other I'm very sure that we were thinking the same thing.
This lady… is a terrible actor…
Granted, she was definitely trying her best to stay composed, but even then, I couldn't understand the hype. I get that our background is pretty insane as nobles that were proven innocent and all that, but why do people care so much about us anyway? I personally wouldn't have cared if I met a politician in my previous life, for that matter.
"Understood… p-please feel free to take a seat, I will bring them over to your table shortly…"
Let's just nod and pretend we're not noticing, so she won't feel even more embarrassed…
We sat at the furthest seat closer to the right wall, in front of each other.
"… Am I really that famous?"
"I'd be surprised if people wouldn't recognize you, since they saw you in your trial livestream."
"Even then though, I really don't get it. Why do people care so much…"
"Well, it'll die out eventually, but it can't be helped now. Especially since your white hair is slowly spreading."
"It's still only a small part in the front though."
"And clearly that's enough for everyone to confirm it's you."
"Being famous is a pain…"
"Pfft… seems like both siblings share some brain cells after all."
"Hm? Are you talking about Maia?"
"That's right. The other day, she also said something similar. It seems like both of you are looking forward to the public getting used to your presence."
"Well, of course we are. You saw how awkward that lady… was…"
"Hm? What's wrong, Cael? Why did you suddenly freeze like… oh."
Luna was the one facing the wall behind me, so I was facing the counter's direction. Although I noticed it a little too late, I was the first one that noticed her approaching our table, holding a tray. Her face burst as red as a tomato within seconds, standing there frozen for a few seconds before swallowing up her pride, or maybe just trying to not get fired…. And walking to our table.
"H-here's y-Your food… e-enjoy…"
She definitely heard me…
"Wait, uhm. Don't get the wrong idea-"
"It-it's fine… I-i shouldn't have stared at a customer like that. I'm sorry for making you uncomfortable, Lord Ashford…"
"Lord??!!"
"I'm sorry!"
"Stop apologizing! And drop the Lord too…"
"Yes sir!"
It's no use, she's completely gone in the head from embarrassment. Time for a strategy change!
"Luna…"
Puppy eyes and begging to be saved non verbally!
She sighed, but then responded to my plea.
"It can't be helped. Lady, for starters, calm down."
To my surprise, she actually listened. She let go of the tray and looked at her with similar puppy eyes to mine. Granted, mine were cuter.
"Don't take it the wrong way. Though we can't deny that we noticed you were flustered earlier, it's not like we were bothered by it. Cael just isn't used to being recognized so much, that's it."
"I see… I'm sorry for making you have to tell me this. It's just that, I was really surprised to see someone like him in our pastry shop."
"Is that so? I guess it is from your perspective. But don't forget that he's still just a kid. You may see him on the streets every day if he wanders enough."
"Aren't you also still a kid though…"
"Hm? Haha, I guess you're right. That of course applies to me too."
"I see."
She then turned towards me again, kinda scaring me a little with how determined her gaze was for a few seconds.
"I'm sorry for my behavior, uhm…"
"You can call me by my name. I don't mind it, in fact, I prefer it."
"Alright then, Cael. I see now that you don't want to be treated specially, so I won't."
"You shouldn't do it even for someone that wants to… it's not really a good showcase of professionalism."
"Ah. You're right…"
"Pfft…"
"…Pfft…"
"Hahah… see? You can laugh with us like you would with any other person. I'm not that special after all."
"That, I can't allow you to say. After all, you were amazing when defending yourself in court."
I scratched the back of my head nervously.
"Is that so… Well, thanks."
Seemingly satisfied with my answer, she then bowed lightly before walking back to the counter. To begin with, why was she the one bringing us our food? But I did get my answer as soon as I glanced at her destination. There was another person there currently taking some orders. I'm not really sure if their methods are what you'd call efficient, but oh well?
Or I guess it is also a possibility that she usually doesn't even bring food over, and just wanted to bring ours… but that's probably not it.
"What a fun girl."
"You think so?"
"Of course. You should be glad that your admirers have been people like this so far, you know? It could've been the creepy kind or your complete opposite."
"Why would they admire me if they're my opposite…"
"Exactly. There's a lot of weirdos out there."
She shrugged her shoulders, then picked up her croissant and began indulging. I did the same.
Woah, this is pretty good.
Luna seemed to be thinking the same, given her not so subtle grin of enjoyment.
"I didn't expect it to be this good. We should definitely come back sometime, Cael."
"It's not too far from home either after all."
"Exactly. We have no reason to not come back, do we?"
"I guess so? If anything, I guess the only thing that comes to mind is the cost? Not that I looked at the prices though."
"I didn't look at them either… but either way, in our case at least, money isn't an issue."
"Don't state our privilege so boldly."
"Am I wrong though?"
"…You're not."
It is an undeniable fact that we're more than rich enough to not need to look at the prices of anything for that matter, to be fair. I was born into wealth in my previous life as well so I'm not really that interested in it, but I can't deny that I am well aware of how much more comfortable my life is compared to most.
Wealth is the single most powerful and desired privilege by all mankind, undeniably. But it is also the most dangerous one if in the wrong hands, just as undeniably. For instance, while it may not be the case for us, a large amount of rich people will use their power to do anything, regardless of ethics.
In most cases they're hard to actually detect too unless you're in their same world for that matter, so it's even more scary when you think about it. With money, even making someone disappear without a trace becomes as easy as giving an order.
But well, thankfully enough no one in our family really has any of those desires, or a need for them to begin with. Not only is our eldest sibling the Commander's Lieutenant, but we're also once again high ranking nobles. It doesn't really get more privileged than that.
"But still, if I had to take a guess, maybe we're going to spend around 2 silver coins or so. But even if it's more, it won't make a difference to us either way."
I have no idea if that's a reasonable price or not… I may be way more financially unaware than I thought, huh?
"I guess we first have to finish our food in order to find out, don't we?"
"Seems like it."
And thankfully enough, the rest of the meal went by completely fine. The stares had also started to both slow and rise simultaneously with new customers coming in, but most just knocked it off on their own after maybe a minute or so. It seems like that's about the average time most people are willing to dedicate to observing me. I'm not exactly sure if I should be happy about it or offended, but that's a different discussion.
We were still sitting down, both of us having some tea left either way.
"I do think Isolde's savory breakfasts are better, but having a sweet breakfast is really satisfying, isn't it?"
"Agreed, having some pastries instead of a proper meal in the morning isn't too bad."
"Though it may not be the best choice if you're concerned about your weight."
"If anything, shouldn't developing diabetes or a sweet tooth be your biggest concern?"
"Sweet teeth aren't as common as you'd think, surprisingly or not. How many people do you know with one, besides Cifer?"
"None… yeah, that does seem surprisingly accurate. Though I'm not sure about the stats for it."
"Hmph, so you'd trust some statistics more than my words??"
"What!! Of course not. Luna's words are law!"
"That's right, so you better not forget."
"Eye eye sir!- ma'm!"
"Very well. As a reward, I'll let you buy me another lemon tart slice."
"It'll be my honor—-"
"Iaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!"
But that didn't seem to be possible at the moment. The sudden scream had startled everyone in the shop, us being no exception. It was coming from the counter, and when I looked, my eyes widened for a short moment.
You have to be kidding me…
You know, when I said to bring all the trouble my way, I really didn't mean it… like, seriously, why so early? And why this specific pastry shop? And why a pastry shop to begin with? Would you mind telling me, mister robber?
"No one move! If you do, I'll blow her brains out!"
He has one arm wrapped around the throat of the same lady from earlier, while also pointing one finger close to her head, with a small flame at its tip. Everyone was understandably scared, well, obviously not me and Luna, but everyone beside us was. Personally though, I was genuinely just more shocked than anything.
This guy's mana density is so low that I didn't even feel him… is it lower than mine?
An f rank adventurer is kinda like a really buff dude with some not so impressive but also kinda impressive stats. Most people sit pretty much there when it comes to actual mana density from what I could tell. Though with that guild master from earlier I had to ask Luna for confirmation since I wasn't sure if his exact level, I did still feel it being noticeably high.
This dude on the other hand was… how do I put this in a not so mean way? I guess pity isn't really deserved by a robber though, now that I think about it. Yeah, so, he's genuinely just… weak.
"You. Take all the money in here, put it in a bag then hand it to me! Otherwise, this will be her final day at work."
"N-no… nooo!!! S-someone, h-help me!"
"Shut it you bitch! You, move it!"
"Y-yes sir!"
And that, as soon as he tightened his arm around her throat to silence her, was my signal to get the hell up already.
I instantly enhanced my speed. Not to my full capacity since it simply wasn't needed, but enough to reach him within a second or so. And another thing, now that I think about it…
Why's he even trying to rob this shop so early in the morning, when they likely don't even have much money to begin with yet…
I'm aware that putting too much faith into the thought process of an idiot like this is a waste of time, but even then. But regardless, as soon as I reached him, I did a bit of a risky move, which thankfully played well.
The risky part was relative, since the worst case scenario would've just been him falling forward and on top of her, but thankfully enough I was able to grab and pull her away from him as soon as I hit his knee joint from behind, which made him trip and fall.
Once she was out of his reach, Luna had already walked up to us and got to her side, so I stepped forward to the confused thug, still on the ground but looking upward at me.
"What the?! Do you know what you just did you fucking brat?! Do you wanna die?!"
"That's… lame even coming from someone like you."
I wasn't even trying to ragebait either- well, not entirely at least. I genuinely thought he was pathetic. Seriously, who threatens the kid that made them fall on their stomach while still on the ground? But for better or for worse, it seemed to have hit a nerve.
Though I'm not so sure if he was aware that he looked even less intimidating with his face as red as a tomato, he did get up in a rush, and tried to kick me. But unfortunately for him, those delicious pastries from earlier were more than sugary enough to give me not just an energy boost, but also a ragebaiting boost.
Which is precisely why, I just got out of the way and behind him right as he swung his foot. The result? The same as when you're trying to hit a football without any doubt of your foot landing on it, but it doesn't end up being the case.
"You know, putting aside your choice of targeting a pastry shop this early in the morning, I do still have a question."
I got behind him when he swung, just enough to not get caught when he fell backwards this time, and I looked down straight into his eyes while speaking. Of course, he didn't reply though. But it didn't matter, since I wasn't expecting an answer to begin with, so I just continued.
"Why did you try to take her as a hostage? Those kinds of things don't work when you're weak, you know?"
His anger started to rise again, but honestly I had already gotten more than enough satisfaction out of him, so now I was left with just disgust and the urge to end this as quickly as possible. So before he could bother getting up, I lightly or not so lightly slammed my foot on his face.
"Sorry, but you're not going anywhere. So- hm?…"
Shit… I thought I was holding back more than enough too…
He passed out. When I removed my foot, he was already in the dreamland.
"Well, I guess that's an option too… though I didn't mean to hit him that hard. Uhm, someone, can you go see if there's any recruits patrolling outside and get this guy out of here?"
But for some reason, no one replied. I looked around me, and the entire shop was kinda just frozen still, looking at me. All the sudden gazes made me feel a little nervous though, so my composure didn't last long before I realized what the fuck I just did.
I want to die.
Dang it, why the fuck did I do all that for? I should've just knocked him out from the start and move on! Now I put a whole show on for everyone to see…
Damn you, ragebaiter blood in my veins! This is too embarrassing! Everyone's just watching without saying anything…
"U-uhm, guys…? Is something wrong…?"
But suddenly, everyone began shouting and the mood shifted instantly. Their faces lit up, everyone smiling as they swarmed and surrounded me.
"What the hell was that??"
"You're amazing, kiddo!"
"I thought she was a goner!"
"How did you do that?? It was so fast I couldn't even see you move some of the time!"
"Ah, uhm…"
"And calling him weak like that was the cherry on top too."
"I agree. No one here would've stood a chance against him, but you did it with no effort!"
"G-guys… calm down, okay…? It really wasn't anything special…!"
"You're a hero, young Ashford kid! Let me buy you some pastries as a thank you!"
"I-I'm not a hero… and you guys really don't need to do that, we have plenty of money…"
"Haha, we know you do. But that doesn't mean we can't show you our gratitude, does it?"
But unfortunately for me, they didn't really seem to give a shit. It took a solid 20 minutes before everyone calmed down, and the guy was taken away. I'm really not used to being bombarded like that, you know? Not only is it exhausting, but I really didn't think I did anything special.
Through it all Luna was also just watching, clearly enjoying the scene so I was left alone to deal with it. In the end, not only did every single customer present there end up buying something for not only me but also Luna, the girl I helped did too. Obviously it's not like we were able to eat everything though, so instead of just wasting the food, Luna called out to a random recruit patrolling outside.
After a very commanding few whispers which no one really heard, within minutes a carriage arrived in front of the store.
"Please put everything in boxes, and they will take them to Maia's house where the Ashford family currently resides."
She told everyone with a smile, as we both watched them from the sidelines, beginning to pack things up.
"It seems like you just gave everyone here a reason to think you're special after all, didn't you?"
"That wasn't my intention though…"
"I know. Not that they care though."
"Ugh…"