SMASH or PASS

Chapter 4: Chapter Four: The Second Young Lady

Morning.

I woke up because of a knock.

Or to be precise, I woke up because of Fenra’s movements.

She, who had been sleeping on my stomach, suddenly sat up three seconds before the knock.

Her ears woke first, then her body, and finally her amber eyes fixed on the door. Three seconds later, there was a knock.

It was a very elegant knock.

The sound of knocking on the door of this building was remarkably refined. Too refined to be the sound of the old hag knocking on the door for rent.

’Rent collection is at the end of the month anyway...’

Rose has her shop. Helena would just use her magic to enter.

’...Who is it?’

I sighed as I rose from the bed, resisting Fenra’s possessive arms that tried to pull me back.

I got out of bed and grabbed my shirt.

I opened the door.

"..."

A ’golden rose’ stood there.

She had black hair and a gold headband. Gold rose hair ornaments adorned both of her temples. A hint of red peeked out from beneath the hem of her well tailored black dress, and her red eyes were staring straight at me.

In the morning light, a beautiful painting stood out in this corridor, completely out of place for this shitty building.

"Good morning, Noel."

"...Who are you?"

"Oh, how awful," she said, showing no sign of being hurt. "It’s Karen. Karen Vellmont. We’ve met at the dinner table at least ten times."

Vellmont?

The baron’s daughter?

Yes, the baron had seven daughters. Helena was the eldest, but a different sister sat at the dinner table in the mansion on a rotating basis. I left the mansion before I could match all of their names to their faces.

Karen was...

The second oldest? I think.

She and Helena have different mothers. Her red eyes are from her mother’s side of the family, and when placed next to Helena’s blue eyes, they look strikingly contrasting for sisters.

Without waiting for my reply, she looked around the hallway. Peeling wallpaper. A crooked railing. Even I couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed at the state of my apartment.

"I see," she nodded in understanding. "So this is where my father’s investment is being depreciated."

She was merciless from the start.

I took a sigh.

I was not going to have a good morning.

◇◇◇

"Lady Vellmont, what do you want so early in the morning?"

"You just called me ’Lady’ didn’t you? You used to just call me Karen at the mansion."

I didn’t call you that... Probably.

I don’t really remember.

"Hey, Noel~" she said, taking a step closer to me. She held my shirt with one hand. "It was fun when you were at the mansion, wasn’t it? The food was delicious, there was hot water, and the bed was clean."

"Yes, I admit that."

"Right? You really have no intention of coming back? Everyone misses you, you know?"

"The definition of ’everyone’ seems pretty broad."

"Seven sisters, their mothers, and all the servants," Karen counted on her fingers. "About 23 women, I suppose. That’s the total number of women who miss you."

It was broad.

"I appreciate your kind offer, but I’ll have to decline."

"How boring."

She looked genuinely bored. Then she peered over my shoulder towards the back of the room.

Fenra was sitting up on the bed. Her silvery white ears were turned towards me, and her amber eyes were fixed on Karen. Her tail wasn’t moving. She looked a little pale.

"Oh," Karen’s voice changed tone. "That little dog, she’s still with you?"

Little dog... You’re the one to talk.

"Helena Onee-sama gave her to you as a gift, didn’t she? The night you arrived. She said, ’You’ll need a guard dog when you live alone.’"

...That’s true.

Fenra’s ears twitched at the mention of Helena’s name.

A month ago. On the first night I arrived at the mansion, Helena brought fenra to my room. She called her a "guard dog for my protection".

"You must be quite attached to her." Karen said, placing a finger on her chin. "Hey~ Noel, maybe I should get a tail too?"

"Huh?"

"If I put on a tail and ears, and sit at your feet and wag my tail~ do you think you’ll come back to the mansion? please? Woof~ Woof~"

She slowly traced the back of her waist with her fingertips. Her red eyes were smiling.

Gulp

This is bad...

Something was rising within me, and it wasn’t the Shield Hero.

"...I don’t think it suits you."

"I don’t think it suits you."

"Oh, so you did imagine it."

...She’s quite the talkative woman.

"So, Karen, what’s the main point?" I dropped ’Lady Vellmont’ On purpose.

"You’re just assuming there’s a hidden motive to this, aren’t you?"

"I don’t think the reason for coming to this apartment at seven in the morning is just for small talk."

"...You’re very perceptive. I think I can tell what Onee-sama likes about you."

Karen took out a fan. It had a gold trim. The Vellmont crest.

"So, to get straight to the point. Are you free today?"

"Why?"

"There’s an auction today. It’s at a venue called Elysion."

Auction?

"What kind of auction is it?"

"The real thing~"

She laughed. Her red eyes narrowed.

"Magic tools. Antiques. And then—well, you’ll see when you get there. My father is also involved in the venue’s funding, so we can get good seats."

"We?"

She said, pointing the tip of her fan at me. "There’s one invitation slot left and I’m bored~"

Huh...

"You haven’t seen anything interesting in this town since you left the mansion, have you? It’s a charitable act."

"Charitable work"

"That’s where the counts and viscounts have their seats. And as I said, my father is also a sponsor, so we can get very good seats~ Private rooms with balconies."

Well...

I did the math. It took only three seconds.

Expenses: Morning hours.

Income: A free ticket to a room where the city’s money and power are gathered. Who sits where, who sits next to whom, and who spends their money on what. A place where the seating chart of politics and economics is laid bare before my eyes.

Not bad.

It’s not bad at all.

Wasn’t this type of opportunity what I was looking for?

In addition, I have to take into account the other Vellmont sisters besides Helena. Helena has had me all to herself for a month, but I’m pretty sure the other sisters will start causing issues soon for me too, having good relationships with some of them might be useful later.

"I’m going."

"That was an immediate answer. I like that kind of thing."

"I’m taking Fenra with me too."

"Go ahead. Beastkin are allowed in private rooms. As for the muzzle—" She looked at Fenra. Fenra looked back at her. "...Looks like it won’t be needed."

"Not needed."

"Okay, get ready in five minutes. I have the carriage waiting downstairs." Karen said, turning on her heel.

Such a poisonous comment...

It runs in this family’s blood, doesn’t it?

◇◇◇

The carriage bore the Vellmont family crest.

It was a two-horse carriage. It was painted black with gold trim. When parked in the alley in front of the apartment building, it looked as if two different worlds had a strange crossover.

Sitting on the driver’s seat was a lizardkin woman.

This is a species I’ve never seen before.

Her scales shimmered with a pale green light from her neck to her cuffs. Her pupils were narrow vertically, and the moment our eyes met, she blinked. Sideways. A transparent membrane crossed her eye.

"...What was that just now?"

"It’s a nictitating membrane," Karen said as she got into the carriage first. "It’s standard equipment for lizardkin. It’s resistant to dust and rain, so it’s perfect for a driver. We employ three of them. Lina-san, drive."

"Yes, Ojou-sama."

The driver, Lina, licked the air with her tongue before they set off.

"It will rain this evening, Ojou-sama."

"Oh, then let’s head home early."

...So she can predict the weather with her tongue?

That’s convenient.

Fenra crouched at my feet. Each time the carriage floor vibrated, her ears seemed to be fine tuning. She was probably recording the vibration patterns of the new vehicle.

The carriage started moving.

◇◇◇

The city flowed by outside the window.

The Patchwork’s crowds disappeared, the road widened, and we entered a district lined with gas lamps. It was the direction of the baron’s mansion. But the carriage turned before reaching the mansion and entered a street I didn’t recognize.

"This area is a high-end neighborhood right by the wall," Karen said, pointing out the window with her fan. "The land prices are high because it’s close to the Sovereign Wall. The logic is that being close to the wall means being close to safety. I don’t know if it’s actually safe, though."

"Is it even higher inside the wall?"

"There’s no comparison. Only High-level nobles can own land inside the walls. Even we are outside the walls. Did you notice Onee-sama looking up at the wall every night?"

The flicker of a certain memory came back to my mind.

"Not really." I lied.

"Such a cold man~"

I could see a white building across the street.

It had white and gold exterior walls with a line of women had formed at the entrance. It was a very long line.

"What’s that?"

"The Covenant of Purity chapel," Karen didn’t even look. "My father makes a donation every quarter. It’s not just our family; every family in this district does. It’s cheaper than being audited."

"Audit?"

"The Covenant auditor comes twice a year. To check the ledgers, the people, and the family trees," Karen opened her fan. "What do they check? The composition of the races. The slave registration. The breeding contract ledgers. Everything. And once they start counting, all you can do is pray they stop."

"So the donation is like an insurance?"

"...That’s one way to put it."

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