Chapter 21

"Taylor, Yumeko, I'm sorry that our next gathering will be a bit more… troublesome than normal."

When Taylor and Yumeko were summoned to Shinki's office one day in the autumn a couple of years since that fateful meeting with Yuuka, they weren't expecting this at all as they stared at their (adopted)mother across the mostly cleared work desk.

Or to be more precise; they expected that Shinki may unable to keep up her promise of their monthly gathering due to her duties at some point, but so far that fear never materialized and their pleasant family time has never been interrupted until now.

Yumeko was the first one to ask with skepticism clear in her eyes; "Please pardon my rudeness, Milady, but what is it that requires all your attention instead of letting the local people in the area handle it as you normally did?"

Taylor, however, was perplexed by Yumeko's implication that Shinki would take her and Yumeko to solve whatever problem that cropped up somewhere out there in this world instead of someone more qualified like Haku manipulating things to solve it. She wasn't sure if she should worry or feel proud that the ruler of Makai thought that they were skilled enough to be of help now.

Shinki answered Yumeko's question with a shake of her head; "It's not that inconvenient, dear. I just think that you two should get more experience in interacting with people of various races and ethics, and someone recently provides an opportunity for you two to explore the world a little bit."

Her reasoning wasn't without merits; as their monthly picnic never venture into any populated area at all over the years. It was a picnic after all, not a social gathering event. So, despite interacting with patients at Yang clinic and people working in the castle, Taylor practically never visits other settlements beyond the Pandemonium at all.

"Though I have to honestly admit that I picked that spot because you two may be of some help in the developing situation there too, should it come down to that."

And then Shinki promptly did a 180-degree turn and spilled out that she was picking this location to put Taylor and Yumeko in as some sort of contingency plan for whatever situation was brewing there.

The two maids looked over at each other and the blonde one shrugged, all but silently saying to her junior and her mistress that she'd follow whatever Shinki decreed without any further question. And that left Taylor to inquire about the incident should she wish to know more… which she did.

"I… I'm glad that you think highly of me, Ma'am. But I'd rather know what's this all about first."

Shinki nodded and begins explaining; "You already know that there's a barrier separating this realm from others and that not everyone living on this world originated from me or evolved on this world. There were many sentient beings crossed into this realm after all. Some were explorers who decided to settle down here. Some were refugees from dying worlds who decided to adopt my world as their new home. Some accidentally fall through the void between the realms and ended up here. You get the idea."

Taylor quickly understood what she was telling based on the history of her Earth and surmised; "Someone opened a portal connecting this world to theirs?"

Shinki gave Taylor a proud smile at the quick deduction; "Indeed. Although I make it sounds like this kind of event is a common occurrence, it's not though. I could shut them down at will, as this is still my domain and I don't appreciate someone invading my home…"

"But you let me in." Taylor pointed out the contradiction and added; "And you let this latest one in. What's the difference?"

"You were a disembodied soul who stumbled into this realm through no fault of your own." Shinki reminded casually; "This happens all the time, else how do you think the cycle of reincarnation works? Yours was a bit special because you retain the memories of your past life where others don't. That's all there to it."

"And this one?" Taylor tried steering the conversation back to the topic at hand.

"It's a portal opened in distress..." Shinki replied, and then her face turned serious when Taylor regards her with a questioning look; "Just as people can 'read the mood' of any social gathering, some magically attuned people too can sense the emotion and intent of the caster regardless of if they know what that spell is about or not."

The look Yumeko sent Taylor's way felt accusative, but for good reason as Taylor admits a moment later while fidgeting in place; "This lesson… kind of slipped my mind."

Shinki nodded in understanding as she waved her hand over her desk and summoned a magical equivalent of a holographic map showing the location of the portal. The forest, mountain range, and a renaissance city nearby were all unfamiliar to Taylor, which was not surprising as she hasn't traveled to many places on Makai yet.

Yumeko looked the map over and commented; "The nearest settlement is quite a long way. Emergency response will be slow. Setting up logistics is troublesome if you want to blockade the portal until the expedition team deemed the other side safe."

The assessment was shared by her junior who nodded in agreement, but then she realized something that Yumeko has said and asked; "Has the local already secured the portal site?"

"I've already sent a message to warn them about the incoming portal and asked our academy to deploy an expedition to the site." Shinki replied before quickly elaborating as she tapped the city on the holographic map lightly; "The portal will take time to stabilize itself before anything can cross over. So we still have time to prepare. But preferably, we should get there the day after tomorrow."

Taylor thought about it for a moment and then inwardly shrugged, it wasn't like she was the expert in the art of traveling between dimensions so whatever technical jargon would probably fly over her head. And besides, there will be time to study later on, as now is the time for them to prepare for the first contact.

But speaking of operation in the allegedly foreign land reminds Taylor of one caveat which she promptly asked Shinki about; "What does Haku think of all this?"

The mischievous smile adorning her mistress' face was all she needed to know, and predictably, Taylor shook her head in exasperation; "She probably want to shut that portal down immediately but couldn't because you're the one in charge, right?"

"You know me well." Shinki unapologetically replied with a grin, but her face turned serious a moment later; "However, as I said before; this is not a common occurrence."

Shinki paused a bit and looked over her daughters; "Also, she felt that this will be a good opportunity for you two to exercise what you've learned with people to supervise and help in case something goes wrong."

"I thought that's what you said, not hers, Ma'am?"

Taylor quipped, to which Shinki laughed at the response and Yumeko muttered; "More like trying to get something out of all this I'd say."

Somehow, Taylor felt that Yumeko's comment seems to be the most truthful of this entire exchange so far, but she didn't feel the need to comment on it and decided to focus on the more pressing concern;

"So, you've sent a forward team to the site. Will they arrive in time?"

Shinki tilted her head slightly while giving Taylor an incredulous expression, which prompt the latter to mentally facepalm and mutter; "Sorry, Ma'am, forget about your teleport."

"You're underestimating the professors in the institution of this little land of Pandemonium, my child." Shinki chided her daughter light-heartedly; "Should I remind you why people across the globe sent prospective younglings and scholars to study here? They can do so just fine."

"It's a wonder how there's no theft with so many people who can do that," Taylor muttered as her mind ventured to her past again.

Yumeko shook her head and crossed her arms while her face showed disgust. Her next comment made it obvious she knew what her junior was thinking; "The more I heard about your old home over the years, the more I felt it's a hellish world where evil thrives and no good people would want to live in if they can help it."

Taylor didn't have any rebuttal for her senior's comment. After all, she wouldn't be here if that wasn't true to an extent.

They were brought back to the present with a cough from their mistress; "While it's a good thing to never forget one's roots and history, what is your decision for this trip?"

Yumeko's golden eyes narrowed while an exasperate sigh escaped her lips; "This expedition may take longer than a day, possibly weeks. I'd hate it to leave the castle to the staff without supervision…"

Her complaint was cut short with Shinki lightly bumping her head; "Again, Yumeko dear, it's time to relax and get some changes of scenery…" She paused before correcting herself with a chuckle; "Well, it's probably not a relaxation if my hunch is correct. But a change of scenery or chance to meet other people is still something I think you two should experience more."

Taylor looked thoughtful for a moment before agreeing; "So, how do you want us to prepare?"

Shinki's mischievous smile caused Taylor to quickly regret her decision, with Yumeko shaking her head in exasperation. And that was proven true by the next sentence their mistress uttered;

"Well, what's the fun in asking me for instruction? Why don't you two try to figure it out first and let me fill in what you two lack?" She clapped her hands while looking at her two children; "It'll be a good learning experience too, no?"

Yumeko and Taylor looked at each other as if asking each other for help, but their thought was cut off by Shinki's next advice; "You of all people have a lot of advantages here, my child." her grey eyes locked with Taylor's; "What do you do when you find yourself lacking in knowledge but know someone who does not?"

Taylor's eyes widened and quickly thanked Shinki for the hint while Yumeko tilted her head slightly at being left out of it. Taylor noticed this however and asked if she wants her to pass on the recommendation from the old man. But her senior declined;

"You should prepare supplies as he recommended for me, while I'll make ready some… exotic necessities that he has no experience of. I'd say it'll be more efficient this way, isn't it?"

Taylor was quite sure that Yumeko knows what Yang would probably advise her, but she decided to accept her idea to divide their responsibilities between what the other knows better to not accidentally undermine each other.

They would rather teach each other while preparing, but alas, such necessity never comes to pass and there're many things to learn in the world especially when the magic that can be taught and researched exists. Not to mention her regular work routine.

'Now that I think about it. The monthly get-together might be the only real holiday I have since my rebirth.' Taylor mused while she and Yumeko were dismissed by their mother/mistress and went their separate way to prepare for their next outing.

"Oh, you're going on a vacation out of town for a few days this time?"

The old man and former assassin of a Chinese Warlord curiously asked as soon as Taylor told him about their schedule in the next couple of days while he was busy trimming his herbs in the small backyard garden that afternoon. Mao was away in the town with that young man whose name Taylor couldn't remember at Yang's insistence, or so she was told by the old man.

After a moment of silent prayer to her friend to get a hint, she replied to the old man's question.

"Kind of… I mean, we're there to make sure nothing goes wrong in this potential first contact. We're not exactly sightseeing the other world if there's that."

The scissors in Yang's hand snapped shut as he carefully cut another dead branch off his herb. He put away his gardening tool, which prompted Taylor to offer him a towel. He took it to wipe the sweat off his face before he continued the conversation while handing the towel back; "Thanks for the towel… So, then, you're asking this old man to help you prepare for this expedition, correct?"

"Yes. But if you don't want to…"

"Nonsense! The change of pace keeps things interesting for us all, you see." Yang quickly responded with heartful laughter, eliciting a smile on the maid's face as they made their way back into the clinic/house.

'Maybe he isn't that touchy about his past after all…'

However, as soon as Taylor thought that, the old man's wrinkled face turned into a frown. An air of seriousness enveloped them as he sat down at the dining table and silently motioned her to sit opposite of him.

Silently, he pulled out a paper and a pen and began writing a list on it, while Taylor patiently waited as he sometimes paused and scratched his chin lightly as if trying to remember something before continue writing. Sometimes, he even crossed some items out and pulled more paper to write more when the last one was full.

After two more pieces of paper, Yang finally finished and handed them across the table to Taylor. The maid took the note and frowned just after a glance, and voiced her opinion a moment after; "Isn't this a bit much?"

The response from Yang was as serious as his expression; "We can't prepare for everything, but to neglect what we could be prepared for is reckless."

Taylor was about to argue that Shinki will be with them but stopped herself short and accepted Yang's reasoning. However, she couldn't help but voiced her concern about his attitude; "You seem to think that this simple expedition will go wrong."

Yang shook his head; "I hope that my paranoid will be just paranoid, but after what I went through in the civil war back in my youth, I'd rather see you don't have to use what we've prepared than see you need to use something you didn't prepare for." He sighed; "And let's make this a habit while you still have Lady Shinki and many experienced people watching over you."

Now the girl could understand where the old man was coming from, however, she still felt it was excessive; "I doubt that we can arrange for all of this in time for the day after tomorrow."

Yang blinked, and then nodded; 'Indeed, let's prioritize the most important supplies, shall we? I'll help. But first, we have to close the clinic early today..."

Without further prompting, Taylor left for the front door to do as Yang told while being glad that she wouldn't have to carry all those things on the list thanks to sorcery she learned… assuming Yang could get everything that is…

As it turns out, Yang's resourcefulness didn't diminish with age, but Taylor didn't mind the increased loads in her pocket dimension either after she had a night to think things over. She could appreciate his worry for her who, despite all her training, has yet to face a serious life-or-death situation.

And for someone who never experienced such an event personally except in the shows and movies compared to the one who lived through it first-hand, even Taylor couldn't find an excuse to not listen to the old man.

She's not stupid enough to assume that those shows will portray anything realistically after all.

The morning of their departure saw Taylor saying goodbye to Yang and Mao in front of their clinic while the sun has yet to rise. After all, this has the potential to be the first time she'd be gone from the town longer than a single day, and in a potentially dangerous mission as well, so it was natural for them to be worried.

"…be careful out there…" Yang said as Taylor started applying flight magic to herself; "…and remember to behave around other people."

"You make it sound like I'm a rumbustious child with no sense of etiquette," Taylor replied with a small smile, indicating that she wasn't upset with the old man.

"…Allow me to rephrase that…" Yang said after a long pause; "I have a feeling that Lady Shinki will have to assert her authority as a delegate from this town sooner or later once you all get there. And you, as her escort, consequentially must behave befitting of your position."

Taylor canceled her flight magic and dropped back to the ground in worries, which coincidentally, mirrored the look on his daughter who glanced at Yang as well; "Not to sound rude, but it's not like I haven't done something like that before."

"Indeed, you are…" Yang nodded in agreement before adding; "However, your experience is contained to this town, where all security is guaranteed by the state, not mercenaries that labeled themselves adventurers, and not where Lady Shinki has little authority over…"

Catching on what Yang wanted to tell her, Taylor nodded with a chuckle escaping her lips; "The more we talk, the more this sounds like me going to work instead of vacation."

"In a way it is…" The daughter of the clinic owner said with a teasing grin as she looked Taylor up and down; "…but considering that you're still dressed in that maid uniform, I fail to see why you should complain when you always 'dress for work' even on vacation for all this time?"

Taylor huffed at the comment; "I already told you many times before; none of the dresses catch my eyes yet, so why should I waste my money on it?"

Mao rolled her eyes; "Your taste must be quite exquisite if nothing strikes your fancy at all."

The only retort Taylor could give to such a remark was a shrug; "And you also said it; It's my preference. Also, do we even have any dress code for average people around here, or anywhere?"

Before the argument could continue, a light cough from Yang reminds both of them of the schedule they must keep. And predictably, Taylor begins to panic, at least judging from her voice;

"Sorry, I have to go now!"

Yang waved at her as she started floating away for real while muttering "Safe travel and good fortune." as she disappeared over the roof.

Minutes passed as the father and daughter stood there at the front of their home before the daughter broke the silence first; "Will she be all right?"

Yang's hand shot up to her head and tried to ruffle her hair as if she hasn't grown a year, but that hair found nothing as the girl ducked out of the way and stuck her tongue out at him, which cause him to laugh and her to pout.

However, this bonding between father and daughter came to a stop when Mao's eyes widened in realization, and exclaimed; "Wait, what about her breakfast?"

At that word, the old man quirked his eyebrow before he shook his head; "she said that she wasn't hungry at the time… but now that you've mentioned it, how about cooking breakfast together today? We haven't done that for quite a while lately."

Mao made a thoughtful expression before replying; "I… would rather do it myself."

"Want to impress the young man, aren't we?" Yang quickly rounded on the topic which caused Mao to quickly looked away from him to hide her reddened face. But the act spoke for itself of what the old man's daughter was thinking, and he laughed heartily at it.

"Will you stop making fun of me, dad? There's nothing between us! I just… just want to thank him for helping me with an errand the other day!"

"Whatever you say, my daughter…" Yang laughed at her reaction as he turned around to get into their residence, but not before dropping another bomb; "By the way, I approved of him. So please hurry and get this old man a niece or two to spoil, will you?"

He stepped into the clinic just in time to not hear his daughter's indignant scream outside.

The light faded as Taylor's eyes finally see again. She marveled at the sight of a medieval-era wall standing in front of her with people trickling through and from the large iron gate below. Although the view of the morning sun rising just to the side was tarnished by the perpetual red sky of Makai, the sight was still majestic and conveyed the world of the past well.

And then a loud growl that escaped from Taylor's stomach ruined the mood and the giggles from her mistress drove it home a moment after. Her senior who was standing behind her coughed to draw her attention, and spoke once her reddened face was looking at her; "It seems a breakfast is in order."

Instead of finding a place to sit down and set up a picnic table, Shinki led them to the city gate and slid in behind the queue of people waiting to get checked by gate guards and go inside. And interestingly enough, no one in the line or the patrolling guards find it strange that three women who dressed like a noble and maids were there at all despite they did nothing to disguise themselves as far as Taylor could check.

Once it was their turn to get checked by the guards; they only asked Shinki a few questions with an occasional glance at Yumeko and her out of some suspicion, at least in her opinion.

And true to her nature; Shinki answered their questions truthfully… from a certain point of view such as they're going into the city to find a meal and catch up with friends in the city before moving on the same day. They just didn't mention who said 'friends' were or if they were the resident. But who was Taylor to judge? Considering the state of this world's society it was unlikely that citizen identification will be as commonplace as in her future world.

But then again, when the destruction of settlements due to 'wildlife attack' and displacement of the population are quite common in this magic-rich world, and lies and malicious intent detection skill is supernatural and a sought-after skill for an enforcer of law and order, this's probably as best as one could get.

And when it was her turn to be questioned, she simply mimic Yumeko and told the guards that she was Shinki's servant, which collaborated with Shinki's explanation earlier. The guards then give them pass cards before letting them be on their way, but not before warning them to not lose it lest they cannot leave the city until things get sorted out.

Once inside the city wall, the party noticed that the street was crowded, and not with the regular citizen that they used to see in Pandemonium. Those armed beings, human or otherwise, with no unified dress code, far outnumbered the guards patrolling the street while normal unarmed citizens made themselves easy to spot by way of their not-so-subtle effort to steer clear of these menacing-looking people. Tension was palpable as Shinki and her maids ventured deep into the city looking for their breakfast.

Ultimately, they decided to settle for a skewered meat stand at the first marketplace they came across. As they were enjoying their treats close to the fountain of the main square, Taylor decided to voice her thought of the earlier observation to her mistress and her senior; "Is it me that's feeling like the whole city is on edge for some reason?"

Yumeko was the first to reply after she finished her share of food; Her golden eyes glared at a group of armed men in leather armor that shot them leering glances repeatedly during their meals; "I suppose that Haku wasn't as thorough as she might think, Milady."

Shinki shook her head; "My child, are you sure you're not letting your animosity cloud your judgment again?"

Yumeko, while she didn't look away from her mother's gaze, didn't reply either, which was damning in Taylor's eyes. However, she didn't dwell on it since Shinki didn't seem to be pressing for that matter after that scolding, and instead offered her idea; "Maybe the city needs extra manpower to prepare for whatever may come out of the portal between worlds and thus leaking it to the adventurer guild?"

Surprisingly, her guess was spot on as Shinki smiled at her and nodded, prompting her to speak her doubt; "I thought that you'd be disapproving of this deliberate leak of sensitive information to an antagonistic organization like adventurer guild…"

"Antagonistic? Where did you get that impression from, Taylor?" Shinki rose an eyebrow as she looked at Taylor who begins to fidget nervously at the question, which made her giggle; "I admit that we didn't have the best relationship with the guild. But that's only because of the policy I, and the council of the town made to not rely on them for getting necessities done in our town. So, they're short one town's worth of the customer. That's all to it."

"And their employees are practically mercenaries with a fancy name and big enough ego to think of themselves as heroes have nothing to do with it, Ma'am?" Taylor mumbled quietly, as if afraid that the passer-by, especially those armed 'Adventurers' will take offense.

If Shinki approved of the discretion, she didn't show it, but neither did she challenge it either, as she didn't raise her voice or try anything to get attention as a response except for answering her question; "Taylor, you can't generalize people like that. Or are you saying that it is all right to say that anyone with blonde hair and blue eyes supports… what your world called it… Nazi?"

Taylor's eyebrow twitched at the question but could offer no rebuttal. Still, Shinki gave her an encouraging smile as she gestured at the passing pedestrians; "In the end, it's almost always that one poisoned apple that spoiled the whole bushel. But was it the fault of the bushel that one of theirs was poisoned?"

"I supposed not." The reply felt natural for Taylor when she thought about it.

They finished their impromptu breakfast a moment later and began heading to see Shinki's supposed 'friend'. But when the silver-haired woman took a turn through another road…

"Hey, lovely ladies! Can you give us a moment of your time?"

There was no need to turn around for Shinki and her daughters to know that it was one of those adventurers/mercenaries that called out to them. While there was no reason for them to stop walking, the reaction of the people that slowly parted way around them spoke volumes that this group tailing them probably has some reputation around this settlement whether good or ill…

…and sometimes, it's best to confront the potential trouble instead of ignoring it until things get out of hand.

Shinki's wordless glance at both of her maids told them as such. So they slowed their paces to a stop and turned around to confront the other party which consisted of a redhead handsome man in shiny armor with a big sword strapped to his back, a lecherous-looking man with spiky hair and rapier strapped to his waist, and a middle-aged man who only wear pants and bare his finely tuned muscular bicep and sixpack for the world to see. All of them are human.

Seeing that they gained their attention, the redhead, who was probably a leader of this group, greeted them; "Shouldn't you have someone to show you around the city? We have an influx of thuggish adventurers lately after all, and it ain't safe, especially for ladies like you three."

Shinki's eyes glinted with what Taylor identified as amusement and mischief which caused her to inwardly shivered and almost miss how her mistress addressed the men with a perfect smile and polite voice as if their blatant attempt at hitting on them didn't happen; "While we are grateful of your offer, I'm confident that we can take care of ourselves here."

She held out her hand to stop the men from arguing; "After all, did we not prove ourselves by braving the wilderness to come here?"

Taylor has to try hard not to snort at that 'technically true' claim; They did make a journey across the wilderness to this land, just in an instant instead of days or weeks, probably just like the group of scholars from Pandemonium who arrived earlier. But then the 'aura' that her mistress was emitting should at least prove the point that she and her group isn't one to be trifle with.

Those men, however, called her bluff almost immediately despite the aura of power from Shinki enveloping them; "Young lady, it's not a good idea to lie to experienced adventurers like us. I can't smell any blood from you three and not even a dagger on your person. Please, let us escort you all. I promise we will be having a good time, safe and sound."

Shinki wasn't seem surprised at the development, but Taylor did if the glance she sent her way was any indication. Yumeko was certainly suppressing the scowl from showing on her face, rearing to teach these impudent men a lesson or two, restrained only by Shinki's warning glance.

Then Shinki gave Taylor a telepathic nudge.

'Why don't you 'convince' these gentlemen that they're not well enough to take care of us, my child?'

Taylor blinked twice at the suggestion. However, before she could draw her parasol out of her magical storage and issue a challenge to the three adventurers, Shinki interrupted her with another mind talk;

'What does Yang say about his career? Something about if he has to fight then he already failed his mission, is it?'

The reincarnated maid understood her intent almost immediately and put her hand back behind her apron as a proper maid should. Her eyes, however, glanced at the three men in front of them, taking in every detail, both visible to normal sight and not, while formulating a plan of action in silence as her mistress stalls for time with another conversation.

"You could tell? What makes you presume that we wouldn't have escorts of our own?" Shinki questioned, producing a paper hand fan out of her sleeve and using it to cover her lips as she looked at the trio "After all, we're from out of the city as you have said. So, we have to get here somehow."

The redhead adventurer with a big sword, oblivious to the plot between the mistress and her maid, laughed at the notion of them having any guards of their own; "Well, then where are they now, Miss? They must be so lousy to let pretty women like you and your servants wander off without notice. I guarantee you that we'd make a better hire than them."

Meanwhile, the muscular middle-aged man and the spiky-haired man looks slightly annoyed at the talk getting nowhere, until the spiky-haired man grimaced slightly with his right hand shot out to his thigh while muttering a curse which drew the attention of his companions; "Stupid ants! How the hell did they get into my pants? Ouch!"

"That's uncool you know." The middle-aged man muttered before a flash of pain crossed his face for a second but his arms stayed crossed and refuse to move as if it would break his image in the sight of the ladies, but his words betray his thought soon after; "Must be some fierce magical ants. Their pincers pierced even my ironclad skin!"

"Gentlemen…" Shinki called to the three gentlemen wannabe "…It seems that you haven't properly cleaned up after your last adventure. How about you all… sort things out first?"

It was obvious a moment later that these three still tried to look cool and hit on them, but then their faces slowly turned green and their hands reached their stomach one by one, an action which prompted Shinki to give a meaningful nod to the two maids.

Yumeko took the cue immediately and sighed, while Taylor whose hands suspiciously still hiding behind her apron twitched her eyebrows and whispered; "Must we?"

Instead of replying, her senior took a step past Shinki and smoothly caught the leading lecher by his shoulder before he fell to the ground. But that only got the man to retch, splashing his breakfast just short of Yumeko's feet. The maid's eyes flashed her disgust for a moment before she slowly put him down on a kneeling position and began rubbing his back, making him empty his stomach without complaint.

Meanwhile, Taylor hasn't been idle and saved another from plating his face into the ground just like Yumeko did, though hers was a bit rougher both from the inability to feel sympathy for these three and inexperience. But that left the last one, the bare-chested middle-aged man, who has enough control to kneel and begin emptying his stomach's content.

Shinki wasn't a maid and has no reason to help him out, she has an image to uphold after all.

The city guards soon showed up at the commotion. After a brief explanation from Shinki, they took the three adventurers to the nearest healer while apologizing for taking so long to be notified about the harassment.

"Our hands are full right now due to a… circumstance outside of our control…" the guard hesitated a bit as he tried not to divulge state secret to the obvious foreigners, oblivious to the fact that Shinki already know what was going on near this country.

But as they cooperated with the guards along with testimonies from bystanders, in the end, they were thanked for helping the poor guys and left to explore the city with a stern warning to keep to the populated area to avoid unfortunate incidents during this stressful time.

"I'm sorry." As soon as the guards were out of their earshot, Taylor quickly apologized to her mistress, which drew a questioning look from the white-haired woman as she explains; "I wasn't precise enough and didn't expect them to have such thick skin that my magic needles couldn't puncture them the first time around."

Shinki giggled as they made their way through the street; "You have nothing to apologize for. This's the first time you're trying acupuncture on unwilling subjects without getting caught after all. You'd be a one-in-a-lifetime genius if you can handle such a jump in difficulty without any hiccups along the way."

Yumeko took a turn to impart a lesson to her junior next as she sternly reminds her; "While Milady is correct, you must remember that no matter how prepared we are, something will always be outside our controls, and we must do our best to mitigate it."

"Isn't that quite depressing to think like that all the time?"

To Taylor's inquiry, her senior let out a sigh but didn't say anything. Shinki was the one who took over; "It is a thin line between being pessimistic and being cautious. But even then, we cannot deny the truth that even gods cannot perfectly predict and control everything, and that fate is not set in stone."

Taylor reluctantly agreed with her mistress that yes, best to have this lesson now before a potential hostile with unknown abilities come out from another side of the portal that was going to open soon. Although she's just one person with somewhat okay magic and medical (plus assassination) skills, every man has to play their part and every contribution counts after all.

It was then that Taylor felt a strong presence waiting ahead of them. Despite the throng of people between them, she could pick up and pinpoint said person to be at the square a few dozen meters from them. But what worried her was that she couldn't sense them until this close, which probably means the person in question deliberately flared their power just now to tell them of their whereabouts.

But it's not like she could expect anything less from this security chief.

Once they were in sight, they found not only Haku, but another middle-aged gentleman with chalk-white complexion, swept-back grey hair, and piercing slitted red eyes dressed in a long coat and neat dark suit, which, when Taylor considered many fantastical people she encountered in this realm, she wouldn't be surprised if he's a vampire even if he could stand in the broad daylight, or whatever passed for broad daylight in Makai.

Once they were a couple of steps apart, the man bowed slightly at Shinki and greeted her; "Good morning, Madam. I hope that your journey is pleasant…" he paused a bit, and Taylor swore that she heard his nose sniffing for a moment before he continued with solemn expression; "I have to apologize for the uncouth behavior of the adventurers. It's my responsibility to oversee this fair city, and yet we're stretched thin trying to keep the peace with the influx of these fortune seekers in recent days."

Shinki wanted to say something but her trusted advisor beats her to it first, with her ever-so iconic expressionless voice and face; "It's hardly your fault that the adventurer guild has never done any background check, nor did they strictly enforce discipline over their members."

The man wiped the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief before composing himself; "Even so, it's embarrassing that we have little power over their behavior unless they undeniably break our laws. And since we only have a handful of soldiers, we can barely cover this city on our own. Drafting citizens into an expedition will be too late…"

"The draftees' usefulness is only cannon fodder anyway." Shinki interjected; "…and considering that we know nothing about the world that tried to connect to us, I'd rather get some experienced people in the expedition. It'd be terrible if those on the other side are hostile and can rise the dead to bolster their ranks, no?"

"Besides…" the fox added without a hint of sympathy; "After many vulgar displays in the last week from a lot of them, no one will miss them much if they were to meet… unfortunate ends during the expedition… Should it get violent of course..."

"But wouldn't they run away the moment things turn bad? Some may even steal our supplies too." Taylor couldn't help but voiced her concern out of turn, temporarily forgetting her position which she quickly apologized for when Yumeko sent her a glare; "Sorry, I speak out of turn."

Shinki giggled a bit before motioning them to start walking toward the city gate while talking; "Well, it's fine. After all, sometimes, insights can come from an unexpected place and anyone would do well to be open-minded." She then poked the pale man who was walking beside her and ask; "Isn't that right, Michael?"

The now-named Michael could only nod with a stiff smile at the sudden attention upon him and replied; "It's as you say. But rest assured. The guild will not sit still had it comes to light that the adventurers going on this expedition misbehaved and break the contract from a client as influential as a city mayor. Especially when Lady Haku is around and helps me oversee things from here."

The fox merely nodded at the mention of her role in the upcoming expedition. However, Yumeko looked upset, and Taylor wasn't sure if it was because this white fox wouldn't be facing danger, or because the man was praising her and not her mother for organizing things.

But again, Shinki didn't seem to mind it, it was Haku's role in this event, while she and her two maids have their roles to play here as well.

"We'd best hurry," Shinki said; "I'd like the adventurer expedition to move out of the city before noon so we can reach the site before sunset. Fortification wouldn't do any good without people manning them after all."

"Is this a bit excessive?" Michael asked with concern in his voice; "I remember that the team from the Pandemonium Academy has quite a few professors specialized in controlling hundreds of constructs each. Army of Steel Golems they make and fortification should've been enough to blockade the portal, isn't it? But then Haku even showed up with a group of defensive telepaths too."

Haku and Yumeko glanced at the man impassively. And Taylor looked at the city mayor and then at Shinki who nodded at her. Taking that reaction as permission, she repeated the words of the day while meeting the eyes of the mayor without flinching; "We have no idea what's on the other side of the opening portal. It's more prudent to keep a lot of cards on our hand in case things went wrong."

She briefly paused and nodded her head toward the market square in the distance as emphasis before continued; "As a mayor of this city which is located the closest to the portal, wouldn't it be in your best interest to see to it that nothing bad come out?"

Michael's red eyes stared at the girl for a moment before he turned to Shinki "Your choice of servants never ceases to amaze me. First your blood daughter, now this witty girl?"

"Like I said before; The more perspectives one can have, the better plans and actions one can make." Shinki replied with a proud look; "And I will not raise my daughters to be marriage props or spoiled noble ladies. It's an insult to their potential."

The pale-skinned mayor gave her a wry smile as he seemingly agreed with her; "So do I. My little Iris has the potential to become more than a submissive wife of a ruler. She must be able to stand on her own as well. She's so cute you know…"

And then the conversation devolved into the mayor gushing about his one-year-old daughter to Shinki who played the role of a good listener until they reached the assembly area, where the mayor and Haku left to coordinate with the adventurer guild.

Taylor was glad that she wouldn't have to listen to the man any longer, and hope that the trip to the site would be uneventful…

Taylor's eyebrow twitched as they were moving past the city gate alongside the adventurer caravan whose loud, obnoxious noise suffocated the air with their arrogance of the task ahead.

But the source of her irritation wasn't from these empty boastings and uncouth behaviors, because at least most adventurers still recognized Shinki and her servants to be a VIP of this mission and thus tried not to anger them…

most of them…

"Hey, yo, ladies! When the guild said that we will be having nobles tagging along, we didn't expect them to be you three!"

…it was from the three pests that she was certain she already put out of commission for the crime of harassing them back in the city earlier that morning!

"Why are you three here? Shouldn't you be recovering from that… sickness earlier?"

Taylor blurted out before she could control herself, though thanks to the training over the years, it was less of an outburst and more of a polite question.

And with a glance to the side, she found that Yumeko also sporting an annoyed look while Shinki was seemingly laughing inside at Taylor's (presume) monumental failure if that smirk of hers was any indication.

"Well, the healers in this city are very skilled and managed to cure our maladies completely, and since we accepted this mission from the guild, it wouldn't do for us to cancel the commission from such a small inconvenience. So here we are!

"Rest assured that the evildoers and wild beasts will not lay their hands and fangs on you as long as we draw breath!"

The redhead leader and the bald man puffed up their chest while flashing what they thought was a charming smile at Shinki and her maids/daughters, completely oblivious to the annoyance of the two maids or the fact that one of them was the cause of their trip to the healer that morning in the first place.

"Well, it's assuring that the adventurer guild has such capable and responsible man as you three. We will be in your care for this excursion then~."

Shinki smoothly replied with a polite smile, which did nothing but make the man and his entourages preened. Yumeko's annoyed expression morphed into an exasperated one at the antics while Taylor tried her best to look impassive while lamenting inside her mind the misfortune of having to tolerate these three for the foreseeable future.

'I should just knock them out instead of inducing vertigo and stomachache. Stupid me!'

Author's Note: Well, the one who never fail is the one never done anything before and all that jazz...