Ninya drank the offered tea. As expected, this tasted worse than the ones Mistress Yuri gave her back when she trained, Tsuare noticed it too. Her sister was doing her best to hold back a frown as she sipped on what can only be leaf soup, it was tasteless, to say the least.

  "Is the tea not to your liking?" Orkell asked. The man looked pretty self-conscious about the quality of the drink. "I can change it if you wish?"

  "Oh! No—" Tsuare raised both her hands and smiled, her lips were as stiff as her words. "I just don't feel like drinking tea right now. How about you, Ninya? Would you like tea?.. oh, you've finished yours?"

  "I'm halfway through mine," she told her sister. Compared to the food Lord Antikythera gave her when she was given a "strength-based" diet, the taste of this tea was nothing. "You can leave it on the saucer if you want. I'm sure Mr. Orkell won't mind that you're not in the mood for drinking tea."

  "I won't," the merchant confirmed with a nod. He looked at Ninya. "How about you, young miss? Do you like the tea?"

  Does she be blunt here? No, that would risk the man's opinion way too much. Ninya decided to tell a half-lie, "I've had worse."

  Orkell ughed, "So you have!" He smiled and took a sip from his cup. "Do you often leave your home, miss?"

  "No, not really. This is my first time leaving for an extended period," Ninya admitted. Most of the time she went to the capital for festivals or some other reason. Right now, she's going there to become an adventurer and make a name for herself.

  "I see." Orkell looked down; he seemed to contempte something. "I'm gonna be honest with you, I'm curious where you two have gotten your weapons. They look high quality and, I dare say it, even better than the ones which Princess Renner got. Last I checked, those did not shoot artillery spells. And that's despite their size!"

  That might have been a mistake... Ninya did her best to not meet her sister's eyes as she cleared her throat and tried to give a satisfactory answer, "They're... not really avaible anywhere else." Lord Antikythera himself had told them this. Their weapons were unique. "You won't find them no matter how hard you try."

  "That's..." Orkell looked Ninya in the eyes to see if she was serious and didn't find any fault in her expression. The merchant looked down at the table before them, the one with a kettle and cups full of tea. "To think that I have such highly esteemed guests grace my presence."

  "It's nothing." Ninya shook her head. She couldn't believe that this guy actually bought the fact that they were nobles. "We won't bother you much. We'll even pay extra to make sure you keep quiet about where we are."

  Orkell nodded, "You don't need to, I'll keep my mouth shut."

  "Thank you," Ninya smiled. That was easier than she thought. "I don't really want to make the rest of the ride uncomfortable, so how about you treat us formally? I don't really mind."

  "I appreciate the gesture, your grace." The merchant smiled. "Allow me to serve you two more tea?"

  Ninya accepted it without compint while Tsuare only watched. Her sister's eyes were strangely focused on her face, like Tsuare saw nothing but her features. It made Ninya pretty uncomfortable, but she did her best not to let it show. She wanted to prove to Tsuare that she is ready for the real world, and showing her sister that she can handle situations of all ranges was the first step to doing that. A selfish thought came unbidden in her head; she was proud that she managed to do this.

  The rest of the ride didn't have anything interesting happen. Orkell merely talked about one topic or another to keep things from getting into an awkward silence. Ninya, for her part, did her best to keep up with the merchant. She wasn't sure of even half the words the man spoke about, but she could read between the lines.

  Then the carriage suddenly stopped and the door opened to reveal the knight they had met earlier standing outside. He looked at Ninya and Tsuare, then to Orkell. "We are here. She's waiting for us outside her mansion."

  "You're meeting someone?" Ninya asked.

  Orkell nodded, "It's best that you two wait here. I'll be back as soon as possible."

  "No, I want to take a breather," Ninya told the merchant. Outside, the knight tensed, but she didn't see it thanks to her armor. Ninya peered out the window. They were in some kind of walled manor with a yard that was a hundred times rger than the farmnds back in her vilge.

  "What happened to that wall?" Tsuare asked, and when Ninya followed her sister's gaze, she frowned. A part of the estate's external walls had been decimated by something. As of now, workers were doing construction work and repairing it, but the damage was still clear to see.

  "I don't know." Ninya shrugged. "Probably some kind of demi-human attack." She stood up and began making her way out; the knight by the door didn't make a move to stop her.

  The first thing she noticed were the piles upon piles of White Stalks that were being taken out of the wagons. Ninya frowned at the sight of it. What's going on here? Is this some kind of shady sale? She looked back at Orkell and then at the armored man next to him. The tter had his sword drawn out.

  Tsuare gulped. Ninya looked at her sister. "Take out your gun."

  No one dared to make a move once they saw Tsuare's weapon, so Ninya took the time to observe her surroundings. Enemies were everywhere and there were only two of them. She wasn't sure whether or not Lord Antikythera's sigil would be of use here, but she had high hopes that these people would be able to recognize it.

  If they did, then she was one step closer to finding an answer to her teacher's mysterious background. Ninya had never ventured out of her vilge willingly before, so she didn't know much about the wider world. But these people should, right? They're merchants!

  Out of everyone, Ninya noticed that two figures stood out the most; one was a woman with blonde hair and a pretty face, and the man next to her was a person much rger than the knight the merchant was with and had armor with the color of rich midnight.

  "You two!" Ninya pointed her staff at them. "What's going on here?! Where are we?"

  The woman raised an eyebrow and ughed. "What, are you trying to py hero or something, little girl?" She looked Ninya up and down. "I understand that you're probably confident in winning against my guard, seeing as spoiled brats like you won against paid opponents, but I assure you that it's best to leave us be. Otherwise things are gonna get ugly."

  "You think I'm scared?" Ninya growled. "Tsuare, watch out for that guy and point your gun at him."

  "What's that? A crude imitation?" The armored man ughed. Then he did something Ninya never expected. He opened a crate by his feet and took out a rifle—one of Lord Antikythera's. There was no mistaking it.

  Ninya ughed, startling the man. "I knew it!"

  Now the woman had one eyebrow raised. "Knew what?"

  Instead of answering, Ninya took out her sigil and fshed it. Recognition crossed the woman's face and she bowed; the man next to her did the same thing.

  Ninya grinned. She turned to her sister. "Has he told you that he sells weapons?" Tsuare thankfully nodded. Good. She knew. "This must be one of his customers."

  Ninya hid her weapon and neared the woman. "Raise your head." The woman followed. Ninya took a good look at her pale face. She’s scared? Undoubtedly. She knew her teacher's identity. "Who are you? What are you doing here? Actually no—are you some kind of big shot?"

  The woman nodded hastily. "I'm Hilma Cygnaeus, the head of Eight Fingers' drug division. My guard is called Peshurian, a member of the Six Arms."

  Ninya nodded. Okay, so this is someone important in the Eight Fingers' hierarchy. She hated this woman's guts, but she didn't want to mess with Lord Antikythera's customers, so she couldn't do anything about it. She bit her lip. This is what her teacher meant when he said he is a neutral party working for himself. Ninya promised herself she would follow after him, but seeing what's going on here made her want to rethink her pns.

  She breathed. No, she wanted to do this. It's fine.

  "You got these from—" Ninya paused. If she calls her teacher using an important title, they'd assume she's on the same level as them. "—Antikythera, right?"

  Hilma nodded. Jackpot.

  "Tell me more," Ninya ordered.