Nfirea sat on the coach seat guiding the horse with Ninya sitting in the cart. He is on his way to the ruined Carne village with Swords of Darkness as escorts.
"So the mission is to only retrieve some human remains, and come straight back?" Peter confirms with Nfirea.
"Yes. I wish for Enri's parents to be resurrected. It would be great to receive their blessings when Enri and I get married, though I don't know if I can come up with the payment for miss Ariel in time. I still have yet to repay her for saving us and Nemu. She only accepted some of the money I offered, saying a business needs liquid assets to not collapse."
"What does she mean by that?" Lukrut asked.
"Dunno. Maybe it's a slang from her hometown."
"Speaking of which," Lukrut turned his gaze towards Ninya, "What do you think of that cute maiden? Smitten by her yet?"
Lukrut has been trying to hook up Ninya and Ariel ever since she met with the Adventurer team. Her deeds paint her as a saint. Another talented magic caster similar in age to Ninya.
"Please don't joke about such things. She could help me a great deal with finding my sister because of her connection to the Warrior Captain. We were only able to exchange a few words before the crowd pushed us back."
"I know. There was a lot people hurt and needed healing. Adventurers and soldiers are not rich. I fear for her safety after healing so many people without being affiliated with the Temple." Dyne's deep voice came from the back of the entourage.
"Do you know about Tia and Tina of Blue Rose?" Peter asks.
"I heard of them a little. What about them?" Nfirea says.
"Rumor has it that they were originally from Ijanyia, hired to assassinate Lakyus because she healed people without the Temple's permission or paying them. Then they somehow became part of her team."
"Peter, why didn't you say this earlier? We could have warned Ariel." Ninya looked at him worriedly.
"Sorry, it didn't cross my mind at the moment. Everything was so chaotic. You know how it was like back then."
"I'm sure she can handle herself. I mean, she defeated two Skeletal Dragons with ease." Lukrut tried to calm Ninya down.
"I sure do hope so. Magic casters are usually weak on the physical side. A powerful magic caster, and one so young like Ariel. She would be a tempting target for assassins."
"Then it is more reason to finish here quickly and get back, while she is still in the city. She recommended us for this job. I don't want a nice person like her to be harmed by those rotten people." Ninya urged Nfirea to go faster, which he obliged. He didn't want anything to happen to Ariel either.
When they reached Carne, they saw a ghostly remnant of the former village. Burnt out houses everywhere. Animals feeding on what was left on the neglected farmlands. Some fresh-looking human bones littered the edge of the villige. Crows flew around looking for more corpses. Nfirea stopped the cart next to Enri's old house.
"This should be it. Let's dig around carefully. Enri said her parents' remains were inside the house."
They found two skulls in good condition, and some bones too large to be burned into ashes. The team collected everything, including ashes, and packaged them carefully.
"This might be too much for Ariel. If she can bring them back, it would be a miracle."
"Enri said she brought Gazef back from just a head. Maybe she can do this too. If she needs to perform a ritual, I shall provide all the alchemical ingredients she needs." Nfirea said with conviction.
That night they made camp at the village. Lukrut hunted some animal from the farmland. They ate the game around the fire in silence. There was an abandoned campfire nearby. Nfirea could guess who used it. What happened to Carne may have been the biggest tragedy for the Emmot family, but because of Ariel, Nfirea and Enri are now living together instead of being dead or worse.
"I will take first watch. Lukrut needs some rest after his hunting. You and Ninya also rest up. We will make for E-Rantel at first light." Peter said to Nfirea.
"So you are saying that Gazef was killed by the people responsible for attacking the Kingdom's villages, but you resurrected him after? That's why he came back without his Warrior Troop?"
"Uherm, uherm." Ariel is stuffing her face with royal treats one after another, between drinking tea to wash it all down. The well-mannered lady act from a few minutes ago was nowhere to be seen.
'This stuff is good.' The sweets on Renner's table were top quality. Candied fruit pieces atop of soft egg flour cookie mixed with honey. None of the high fructose syrup or food coloring crap. 'I hope I can eat like this whenever I want soon.'
"It seems I can provide a valuable service to the people. But I want to be compensated well for it. There might be people jealous of my power or wealth, so I want to find a sponsor to support me."
"A what?"
"Someone with power and influence to shelter me. I thought, what better way to gain the support of powerful people than pandering to royalty?"
"I assume you have already tried this with other members of my family? I am the Third Princess, the last in line for the throne, if I am even in line."
"No, you were the first. The King is old and a fool. The First Prince is a buffoon. The Second Prince is a schemer and might have a jealous wife. I have heard good things about you. You proposed changes that would benefit the common people, so I think you should be a kind enough person to not sell me out."
Climb internally flinched when Ariel made such disparaging comments about the Royal Family, then remembered they were alone.
"I see. I am glad you think so highly of me. Unfortunately most of my proposals were blocked by the Nobles. I can only do so much to alleviate the suffering of the people." Renner looked down with a sad expression.
"Don't worry. With my powers, you should gain prestige. I'm sure you will think of something with my help. Try to bring me into your service once I officially arrive in the capital. People might not mess with a newcomer if she befriends a princess. I will let you decide how to handle the Nobles and all the boring grown-up stuff. Just let me live a luxurious life with plenty of freedom and spending money. While it was fulfilling, I'm tired of living in the wild having to do everything myself."
Ariel stopped talking and got up from her seat. "We should stop here now. I hope you consider my proposal seriously. Farewell, Princess. [Greater Teleportation]."
Ariel disappeared in a blur. A few seconds later, a maid knocked and entered with tea and snacks. She stopped and looked at the table.
"Oh, I'm sorry for taking longer than usual, your Highness. The usual tea set was missing. We thought someone broke it."
That night when Renner was alone in her bed ready to sleep, a hand gripped her shoulder and gently turned her over. Renner was surprised and a little scared, but regained her composure once she saw who it was. Ariel's blue eyes glowed dimly in her small silhouette against the window. "I can offer you a lot more than simply helping the poor. I heard princesses are married off to people they might not be in love with for political reasons. I can help you have a future you can call your own. Are you ready for the real negotiations?"
E-Rantel looked like a real bustling city once people resumed their normal daily lives. The middle district was the most busy and prosperous, with people going to different places, shops busy doing business, laborers transporting goods and materials to and fro. Ariel took in all the different sights as she was on her way to the administration district. In the past few days, she has been shopping around in different shops with all her newly gained wealth from resurrecting people.
'I can't keep pulling items out of my inventory without spending a coin. People would get suspicious where I got new gears from.'
She modified her Divine Class gear to look like the set of low-level gear she also had on her first day in the New World with her Doppelganger ability. She can use a silent quick change spell to switch to her low level gear if she has to "take them off" in certain situations. She can do the same with other items, switching gears quickly and discreetly at will. She bought an expensive mage's staff. It is beautiful, made of one-piece red iron wood, with intricate patterns carved all over, its surface smoothly lacquered with a durable material. It enhances the overall magic casting abilities of its owner. Its effect is negligible to someone like Ariel. She modified a high-level staff to look the same, and have it on hand at all times to be safe. If she has to "leave" her staff somewhere, she can just leave the low-level staff and not worry about parting ways with her valuable gear.
'The mayor sent someone to fetch me today. Supposedly it was to officially meet him and to discuss some kind of reward. I'm no great negotiator, so I will play innocent and rely on my character abilities for now. There is so much to learn in the ways of dealing with different people. I don't want to pretend to be something more than I am and give myself constant stress, like that Ainz person. It was funny in the anime, but I would hate to be in his position.'
Ariel had been indulging herself in the fine establishment of the Shining Golden Pavilion for several days after checking out from the previous inn. It was both for hedonistic pleasure, and to distance herself from people banging on her door asking her to resurrect their loved ones. She had enough money for now and wanted to enjoy the fruits of her labor in peace. The Shining Golden Pavilion does not allow random people to just walk into the living area without appointment. She avoided mingling with the Nobles and rich merchants there as much as possible, claiming mana exhaustion and general tiredness from being in a new environment. People tend to become paternal and forgiving with one look at her small and youthful appearance. Some even felt sorry for her for being an "orphan" because she is all alone.
'What a large place. I feel like I could disappear easily and go anywhere.' Despite the tales of her deeds being spread quickly, her clothing and face are just too plain to notice in a crowd. She dressed like a semi-wealthy traveler, and she is not an other-worldly beauty. The closer she got to the inner district, the more well-dressed Noblewoman and girls appeared. They visited high-end shops with their sharply dressed squires, holding all the stuff they bought.
'The wealth gap in this society must be enormous. Those high-class women spend money like water. Some of the shops don't even post prices on their displays. I wonder if one day I will be surrounded by expensive junk I once thought were interesting.'
Ariel grew up poor in her past life and thought buying nice things for herself would make her happy when she finally had income. Turns out, they were only phases she was going through as a young man. 'There must be more, much more this unique life and unique world can offer me. Show me all the pleasure and excitement there is. I want to experience them all.'
The administration district has more guards and stricter checks. Only people of high standing or those on official business could enter unimpeded. Fortunately, all the gate captains were given detailed descriptions of Ariel and were expecting her. A nice carriage was quickly called over and it brought Ariel straight to the mayor's residence. Once there, she was asked to wait in the guest area for a while. Maids attended to her immediately and served her drinks, which she didn't hesitate to accept.
'Finally, I can put milk and sugar in coffee without worrying about getting fat in this body. I grew to like the smell of coffee out of necessity, but only the instant version to keep me from dozing off in college classes. This freshly ground version is a lot richer.'
The design of the building is not as extravagant as the Shining Golden Pavilion, but it is sturdy with good craftsmanship. Plenty of sunlight filtered through large windows, similar to the Valencia Palace. Still, Ariel saw a much more impressive building next to the mayor's residence. She hoped she gets to live in that one someday if it's better.
It was only a little while before a short fat man dressed in noble attire greeted Ariel. He looks to be about middle age, with balding top and white hair and beard. His fat bulged from several places on his face and body. Despite his physical appearance, he stood with his head held high and exuded a noble aura.
"Welcome, valued guest. I am Panasolei Gruze Day Rettenmaier, the mayor of this humble city. I hope your stay here has been pleasant. I have heard of your valiant contributions to help defend the city from certain ruins. *Heavy breath*. Thank you for taking your valuable time answering my summon. There are few things I would like to discuss with you."
"Thank you for having me." Ariel said with a small bow. Her voice light and soft, presenting herself as a demure girl. She sensed a lot of things going on inside the mayor's head, she could not keep up with them all. But she got the general gist. He wants to gain her favor and groom her into his service. She is not an Adventurer, so she is not barred from participating in political conflicts. She can feel the mayor has made some preparations before receiving her. There were also no nefarious thoughts like confining her inside a dungeon or selling her off to a foreign power.
Panasolei and Ariel both sat down on couches opposite to each other with the coffee table in between.
"First, I would like to put your healing powers to good use. As far as I know, you are not affiliated with the Temple. You may not realize this, but the Temple holds a monopoly on healing services. They have great influences on the government and the Adventurer's Guild. Adventurers healing people not belonging to their parties could be banished from the Adventurer's Guild, for example."
"How does this affect me? I can heal whoever I want. I also made a lot of money resurrecting people."
"Of course it does. The Temple can use their influence to make your life difficult. But here is the thing: If you can provide healing and resurrection services so powerful, that the Temple cannot compete with, I may just use my authority to ignore all their demands such as denying you entry into the city. You can replace them as the new healer for the entire city. Become a servant of the people through me, and I will have everything taken care of."
"This is a lot to consider. May I have some time to think about it?"
Panasolei invited Ariel to stay inside his mansion. They walked deeper into the residence, where two rows of well-dressed servants stood before a large stairway. There were maids on the left, and manservants on the right.
"Welcome!" They all said in unison after Panasolei and Ariel entered the double doors.
"These servants will attend to your needs while you are here. Stay as long as you like. If you want something from your old residence, just tell any of them and it will be brought to you. Benedict? Come introduce yourself to the lady."
A man in a dark suit with shoulder length dark hair and a small pointy goatee approached from the row of manservants. "Greetings. You must be lady Ariel. I am Benedict, the head butler. I am in charge of these fine gentlemen, who are all butlers-in-training. I hope their services will be acceptable to your standards."
'What's with these medicine-sounding names? First Mayor Penicillin, now Butler Benedict.' Ariel didn't know what an appropriate response would be, so she just gave a small nod. 'He looks to be the only adult among the male servants. Does he know how much he looks like a villain? He looks like the right-hand man of an evil overlord, right until he betrays his boss to steal some great power for himself.'
Benedict led Ariel to inspect the other butlers. They are all between 15 and 17. Most of them are at least a head taller than Ariel. She didn't think much about their ages at first, since she was told they were butlers in training. Then some of their thoughts surfaced as she looked at each one of them.
'That's the Oracle? So tiny.'
'She's so cute!'
'I hope she can see my muscles.'
'I want to marry her.'
Ariel checked them out more carefully. They looked like they belonged to a boy band, or some male idol group. 'I know the beauty standards of this world are high, but these guys are still a cut above average. Is this a requirement for becoming a butler?'
"This here is Otto. He will be your squire. If you need to pass word around, just let him know. He is fast and has a good memory. He knows the entire estate like the back of his hand." Benedict motioned towards the last male servant in the group. A boy about twelve years old. Slightly curly dark brown hair. Some freckles on his face. He is shorter than the other boys, about Ariel's height. His expression beamed up when he looked at Ariel.
'This one is eager to prove himself in front of a girl. He wants to show off to his older colleges.'
Ariel read the boy's feelings like an open book. A simple smile and eye contact was all it took to give him a good first impression.
"Head maid Genevieve will show you to your quarters. She oversees most domestic duties." Panasolei interrupted.
"You may call me Gene. If there is any problem regarding cleanliness or maid services, please inform me and I shall fix it immediately." A lean woman in maid uniform stepped forward and made a quick bow. Unlike the other younger maids, she did not smile, but had a respectable neutral expression.
"I'm sorry I must take my leave now. There are some other businesses that require my presence. Please enjoy your stay here, miss Ariel. And you servants, better not slack off because your guest is not from a Noble household. I will check on your performance by asking different people, including miss Ariel."
"Thank you, Mr. Mayor." Ariel's humble and innocent act made her more endearing to the others in the foyer. Only kids would address Panasolei Rettenmaier as "Mr. Mayor."
'Yes, I will enjoy my stay here. The servants will be dying to serve me and make me happy.'