Chapter 24

Having been given a tour of the massive mansion, Mercury decided to take a few days off to further familiarize himself with his new home. Makoto and Daenerys already took a liking to the place, having quickly gone in search for their own rooms.

As for the three maids, they told Mercury that they now lived here as well. Each one had their own room. Fiona and Kyrie showed Mercury to their rooms so he knew where to find them when they finished their work.

However, they didn't bother showing him which room was Christine's. He was curious as to why, but that was quickly thrown away when a knock from the front door echoed throughout the mansion.

Arriving at the door before the maids, Mercury opened it. Before him was a fox demi-human male with a gorgeous female demi-human that looked to be his daughter.

"Can I help you?" Mercury asked.

The male, who was dressed in the finest nobleman attire, took off his hat respectively. "Are you the Dagger Hero? Friend of the Shield Hero?"

Mercury instantly grew suspicious of the man. Narrowing his eyes and crossing his arms, Mercury spoke.

"That depends. Who's askin'?"

The man gestured towards his daughter who stepped up beside her father.

She wore a dark purple dress with matching gloves and boots that went up to her thighs. Her brown hair had clearly been brushed and tied back in a neat bun. Her lips were covered in black lipstick, and she had red blush on both of her cheeks as well as red eyeliner that complimented her blue eyes.

Mercury easily saw that a lot of work was done to make her look this presentable.

"This is my daughter, Satella Elsa-Linde." the man spoke.

The girl curtsied, bowing her head and closing her eyes. "Pleased to make your acquaintance."

Feeling this exchange was a bit too formal, Mercury casually leaned against the door. He didn't care for formalities. In all honesty, he despised them. It reminded him of that red headed bitch Myne and her fucking father. Always trying to be formal while dicking over Naofumi.

He hated it.

"You wanna cut to the chase and tell me why you're here?" Mercury asked.

He already suspected why the man and his daughter were here. Hell, her appearance practically shouted it.

The man wanted Mercury to take his daughter as his own in some sort of scheme to get close to the Shield Hero. Shit, almost every encounter he's had up to now has at least mentioned the Shield Hero.

From despising Mercury for being close to Naofumi, to this. Everything always seemed to include Naofumi.

Mercury didn't hate Naofumi for that, but he'd be lying if he said it didn't bring him some annoyance.

The man looked at his daughter. "My daughter really wanted to meet you, sir Hero." the man said.

"That so?" Mercury asked as he checked his nails. He didn't care about coming off as rude. "And why's that?"

Satella stepped forward. "I've been dying to meet you." she told him. "I've heard stories about each of the original four but you're completely new. No one knows a thing about you, and I was curious if I could talk to you and pick your mind a bit."

Her response seemed genuine, and Mercury could tell she wasn't lying. However, his eyebrows raised at Satella's father.

Grabbing his daughter's arm, he pulled her close to whisper into her ear. However, his voice was loud enough for Mercury to hear.

"What are you doing?!" her father whispered. "You were supposed to ask about the Shield Hero!"

Satella ripped her arm free from her father's grasp. "If you're so curious, ask him yourself!" she growled, not even attempting to be subtle or quiet.

Before their conversation could evolve into a full blown argument, Mercury cleared his throat, getting their attention.

"If you want you can come inside and I'll answer any questions you have."

Satella's eyes glistened at those words as her mouth opened in a wide smile.

"You mean it?!" her fox tail began wagging back and forth furiously.

"A few questions never hurt anyone." Mercury shrugged. "However," he looked to Satella's father. "You can wait outside."

The man was clearly unhappy about this, but he knew he couldn't do anything.

If he hadn't tried to use his daughter as a means of information gathering, Mercury would've been more than happy to invite both of them inside.

Following Mercury into the mansion, Mercury shut and locked the door before leading Satella towards the living-room. Sitting down on one of the three couches, Mercury say beside her.

The two faced each other.

"What'd you want to know?" Mercury asked.

Taking a deep breath, Satella began.

A few hours later

Talking well throughout the day, Satella was quite thorough when asking about Mercury's adventures. Fiona and Kyrie bought them food and drinks while they talked. Makoto and Daenerys wondered who she was but, when told, they went off to do their own thing.

"Your life sounds so exciting." Satella said. "I wish I could go on adventures like that."

"It has it's moments." Mercury said while taking a sip of his beverage. "Not all of them are good though."

"I'd bet." Satella said.

After talking for so long, her formal speech quickly disappeared and she began talking casually.

Running her index finger around the brim of her glass, Satella began fidgeting.

"I didn't come here just to talk." she told him. "I also came with a request."

"Request?" Mercury repeated.

"Ever since I was little, I dreamed about being a heroine." Satella began. "Saving the day and fighting off the bad guys. But, my life was already determined for me."

Mercury grew curious of the woman before him. Leaning forward, he silently begged to hear more.

"I was to be the bride of a man in a wealthy family." she said while gripping her cup with both hands. She let out a brief sigh. "And as soon as you arrived in Siltvelt, my family began grooming me." she gestured to the clothes she was currently wearing. "Said I had to look my best if I wanted a chance with one of the Cardinal Heroes."

Mercury grimaced at this.

"But I don't want to be someone's bride!" she slammed her glass onto the table by the couch. "I want to go on adventures! Fight to help people! Be something more than what my family wants!" taking a breath, she looked Mercury in the eyes. "So, my request, please let me join you on your adventures!"

Leaning back on the couch, Mercury didn't even need to think it over. His mind was already made up.

But he did have one question.

"Do you know how to use a sword?" he asked.

Satella's gaze fell to the floor. "No." after a few seconds, she looked Mercury in the eye with clear determination. "But I'm willing to learn."

End of chapter 24