(Maia's Pov)
It was the 19th of January, and I had just woken up around 10 minutes ago. My mornings aren't really that fancy honestly, I'm pretty quick to get out of bed, since I actually do manage to sleep more often than not, unlike her. After going to the toilet real quick, I went downstairs, where of course she was already sitting at the table, sipping on some tea while reading the newspaper.
"Morning…"
"You woke up pretty early today, huh?"
I sat down next to her, and a cup of coffee appeared for me.
"I have that interview today…"
"Ah, that. I forgot about it."
"You're literally holding the newspaper that should mention it…"
"Anyway."
"Oi."
"Do you have any other plans after the interview? A new restaurant opened yesterday, and I haven't tried it yet."
"Well, I can't say I do… but say, Mio. I happened to read something a little weird about me in the newspaper recently… Do you have any idea what that may be?"
She stiffened up at my question, and her tone started shaking slightly as she replied.
"I-I have no idea what you're talking about."
But unfortunately for you, playing ignorance won't work this time. After all, the newspaper you're holding has all the proof I need. Which is why, I snatched it from her hands, and began reading the article which took me less than 5 seconds to find.
"'Maia Ashford, seemingly being spotted at every single newly opening restaurant that serves spicy food. Is this perhaps one of her quirks? Is the Blazing Empress also trying to set her tongue on fire? Due to her constant appearances at such places, not only has the popularity of spiciness in general increased, but so has the amount of restaurants serving mainly spicy food.'"
"…maybe they misspelled the name, and were talking about someone else…"
"'not only that, but the mysterious black haired beauty that is always spotted alongside her has slowly started to become a local legend. Many claim to have seen her on a day to day basis on the street, yet no one can even confirm what her name is. She attracts glances everywhere she goes, but it seems like the only thing she has eyes for besides Maia herself, is that tingling sensation of capsaicin.'"
"Alright, alright! I get it…"
"The latter part aside since that was your goal to begin with, people are really starting to think that I'm the spicy loving freak here, you know?"
"So what? It's not that big of a deal. I'm pretty much gifting you a publicity of having great taste buds here."
"Why don't you publicly present yourself with such great taste buds instead…"
"Don't be ridiculous, you know very well that I can't yet."
Well, I guess she has a point.
Or rather, it's obviously not that she can't make herself public or anything like that, but it's just a choice to give her more freedom for the time being. Her face being hidden from the public gives her the freedom to go around all day long as much as she wants to, and not having to deal with anything that a regular girl wouldn't have to, although someone as beautiful as her will still have a different experience by default… but regardless it's really just a matter of comfort for now.
I have no intention of depriving her of her freedom, since I think we can all agree that while a good chunk of people probably think of her as a goddess, there's also probably a larger amount of people who fear her. Imagine going to a store to buy a pair of underwear or something, and having to deal with the cashier being as scared of you as if their life is about to be taken from a minor mistake…
Well, technically people are just as scared of me, or my status, but honestly, I don't really think I have that kind of intimidating presence that Mio does. So far, I've obviously had my fair share of terrified employees taking my lunch order, but at the same time a good chunk of people are either just accepting of me and my position, or are just ignoring me. Maybe in their heads it's something like "it's the filthy Ashford elder… let's just not get involved, since she could get us erased from the world if she wanted to" or something like that.
"What will happen in a few years when you do finally go public though. Wouldn't your local legend dream crumble to pieces?"
"Well, I'd hope that people will just forget about it in 4 years, but if that's not the case and it does eventually crumble, then so be it. I'd have had 5 years of time to enjoy it by then anyway."
"I guess you're right."
"Are you having breakfast out?"
"Yeah, I'll go after I'm done drinking this, since I want to pass by him as well as usual."
"You sure enjoy spoiling that freeloader, huh?"
"He's as much of a freeloader as any other kids in that institution, so I don't see any issues with just having a favorite."
"My, how cold of you. Bluntly admitting that you have favorites, you're such a naughty girl, Maia!"
"Shut it."
"Well, regardless. There's a shop that opened recently, which has high end produce from Sylara. It's a little far from here, but I can open a portal if you want. That little shit has a terrible sweet tooth after all."
"How many places is she intending on furnishing…"
"I don't see the issue with it personally. Putting us aside, she's the 3rd richest person in the entire continent after all, even if we exclude her Sentinel salary."
"I would've called you crazy for lying to my face, if only I didn't know her stuff is genuinely that good."
"Yeah, if someone told me that the 3rd richest person in the continent got her wealth by selling mostly fruits and vegetables alone, I would've called them crazy as well, but it's her we're talking about."
"Mostly?"
"She also sells the plants or trees themselves, although only a handful of people actually do go for it. It requires a pretty strict contract after all."
"Hmm, ah, I think I get it."
"Part of the contract agreement is to only use the vegetables or fruits you get from them, either for your own business which needs to be approved by her, or for your own personal use. It's illegal to sell any of the products that they nurture you though."
"What if you give, say, an apple to a friend, and that friend tries to plant it?"
"In that case, luckily enough you wouldn't be directly reliable for it, but said friend would face pretty bad consequences. We're talking about fines ranging from 10000-100000 gold, to 1-5 years in prison depending on how many and what they tried to plant."
"…I never thought we'd live in a world where replanting an apple seed could get you in jail or cost you a fortune in fines."
"Me either, but it's not that frequent in the end. I've once checked the records just out of curiosity, and only around 100 people have been arrested for it in the past 10 years or so."
100 people still risked it, huh? To me that just shows how much greed there is in certain people. Of course, that doesn't mean that me or Mio don't have any ourselves, but at the very least in our case it's almost minimal, considering we're at the very top to begin with. Money is something that we have absolutely no issues with either, of course.
"But what if you ask her for permission on your friend's behalf to replant, but for personal use only?"
"Hmm, in that case I think it just depends on who your friend is, plus how Sylara is feeling when asked. If you ask if your friend with shady hobbies and a poor background can do it, then good luck convincing her that he won't try to sell them without permission. She does fairly good background checks on every single one of the people she sells her stuff to after all. But if it's someone with a clean record, and that's genuinely just a nice person that wants some high quality fruit or whatever, she's pretty likely to agree."
"I doubt it's a common occurrence though…"
"I'm pretty sure that let's say, if she sells an orange tree, around 1-5 usually get to replant from those seeds. However, due to the intense background checks, it pretty much stops there. Not everyone has the living conditions to support a tree of that high quality, or enough friends to pass her background check after all. All in all, I think it's just around 5 trees per sale. And while it may look like she's losing money on it, that's not really the case either. It costs her absolutely no money or time to make them, and she sells them for a fortune. Add that to her general furnished stores sales, so on and so forth, and those few losses mean nothing in the end to her."
By now, I had just finished my coffee as well, so I got up from my seat, and stretched my arms.
"Well, I'd say that's enough vegetable and tree talk for now. I'll go get dressed up then you can open the portal for me."
"Alright."
It took me about 5 minutes or so to get dressed up, but I went back downstairs immediately after. Given that it was still pretty early, I wasn't necessarily in a rush, but I like to get to the headquarters around 2 hours or so before any interviews, so I can enjoy a little peace and quiet on my own, while also seeing if any immediate work appears while I'm there. It's a more efficient way of balancing work and the little free time that I have.
"Do you want me to also open a portal to his house when you're done buying his stuff?"
"Yeah, that would be great. I don't really know how far the shop is after all."
"It would be around a 2 hours walk from there to his house, so yeah I assumed you'd want a portal."
"Thanks, I'll gladly take it."
Thinking about it though, maybe I should ask Sylara about her trees and stuff someday.
I would definitely not mind having some strawberry plants in my own house yard after all. And on top of that, I can get some for the soon to be rebuilt Ashford mansion too. Nala would probably go crazy over a mandarin tree from her. Yep, alright I've decided. We were currently living together at her own place, but soon I'd have to move to mine since Cael and the rest would be arriving in more or less a week and a half at max.
It would be a pretty nice way to treat my family after a long journey, since I can also just make a barrier around them so they'd be protected from the weather, and keep producing fruit 24/7. Oh and of course, this is where my greed comes in, as I also really just want a load of those strawberries in my yard, without needing to go and ask for more from her every time… but anyway, she opened up the portal, so I went in after quickly waving at her.
The portal of course, didn't open right inside the shop or anything like that, but it was around 10 meters or so away from it, in a currently empty small alley, where no one would see me randomly appear. My appearance itself wouldn't be an issue, but honestly I'm pretty sure that a lot of people would just get scared if the Commander's Lieutenant appeared in front of them, or in their shop out of thin air. After getting there, I didn't really waste any time deciding on what to buy. I simply got one of everything, and a few extras for myself which required pretty much 0 thought behind the choice. Anything that had strawberries in it, would get doubled.
Honestly, everything looked genuinely amazing. I expected a lot from a place that received Sylara's high quality products, but this exceeded them. The interior was spotless, not a single speck of dust in sight. The pastries and desserts were all displayed on large glass counters, where you could choose from ready to go ones, or place specific orders which would be made right there and then. Anything that wasn't displayed, was kept in large fridges, and I have no reason to doubt that they're not at the perfect sustainable temperature. The staff seemed nice as well, considering that they didn't bat an eye when I entered.
Whether they were trained to not be surprised in case they see a filthy Ashford, or just genuinely didn't care, I wouldn't mind either one of those being the reason. There weren't many people inside, but the few that were already sitting and eating were obviously just staring at me for the whole time, but that much was expected. That was the usual reaction after all, to which I was pleasantly surprised to not see from the staff.
I wouldn't really care even if the staff was rude to me and what not, but this meant that I could take my siblings here once they arrive, and not have to worry on their behalf, at least not from the staff.
"Mio, I'm done."
I had 4 large bags on me, each of them being filled to the brim with boxes of individual pastries or dessert. I walked to the same empty alley, and reached out to her.
"That was pretty quick, huh?"
"The staff here is just that effective I guess?"
"Maybe I'll give it a shot sometime as well. But anyway, I'll go watch over Cael and the rest, since I don't have anything to do. So here you go with your portal."
"Alright, thanks as usual."
This portal however, did actually take me right in front of his house to be fair. No one there is really going to get scared if either me or Mio appear out of nowhere after all, much less Cifer himself. I walked to his door, and knocked while calling to him.
"Cifer… are you awake yet?! I brought you some-"
Before I could even finish my sentence though, the door swung open, almost hitting me in the face, if I didn't dodge it. And well, saying that his expression was showing excitement would be an understatement, that's for sure. I sighed, but my lips were still curled upwards.
"I'll take that as a yes. Let's go inside first."
"Please, by all means, be my guest!"
He bowed and pointed with his arm towards the inside, as if inviting a noble to his house- well, I am a noble to be fair, but it did seem a little overboard considering I'm treating him as my little brother, and he knows that. All jokes aside though, I obviously didn't really think of it as weird or anything like that, just a little funny.
He helped me with my bags even though I didn't ask for it, and we opened everything up on his large kitchen counter, and took a few items for the time being and sat at the table. It seemed like he even already had some tea brewing before I arrived, which was now ready. He poured a cup to each of us, then began digging in.
"How's everything going these days?"
It had been around a week or so since the last time I went to visit him after all.
"Mhhh, normal I guess?"
"Have you tried sorting things out with any of the kids that were bullying you?"
"Is there a need for it? If they had any intention of being my friends, they wouldn't have bullied me to begin with."
Though in your case you're not avoiding them because you're scared, but to avoid trouble.
"How about other kids then? I'm sure there must be a few at least that would love to be your friends. Who knows, maybe there's even some girls that secretly admire you?"
"I haven't tried yet, but I don't really have any rush with it. And even if there were such girls, I don't really have any interest in any of them. I have a very strict requirement for me to like a girl."
I know. I know that really well…
"Hm? And what may that be?"
After all, she's the only one you've ever fallen in love with.
"Why're you so fixed on it… seriously, you need to make yourself more busy, so you won't have to rely on mingling with my business so much."
"Awh, come on… I'm just curious about what kind of girl my soon to be little brother likes."
"It's not decided that I'll be your little brother yet…"
And I'm sure that even in this life, even before we'll eventually unseal both of your memories, she'll still be the only one.
"Fine… I think that the only girl I could ever fall in love with, would be… someone that…"
"Can heal any type of injuries with her magic."
"Can heal any type of injuries with her magic."
"I see, I see. So you basically want a girlfriend that can do the impossible just for you, huh? You're one greedy little guy, you know?"
At least teasing him about it is fun.
"S-shut up! … you know that my mana control is terrible, no? I honestly don't think I can ever learn to regenerate my body, even if I have more than enough mana to do so. I know that my mana useage is limited, so I just you know…Awh, forget it. I'm not talking about this anymore!"
"Ehh? Come on, come on. You were getting to the good part!"
But of course, I didn't really need to hear the rest. After all, I already know who that person is, and I can confirm that she exists. Healing magic cannot possibly regenerate any lost limbs or organs, and that's a law of reality and existence itself. Of course, Mio can do whatever she wants with anyone's body as long as they're inside her "domain", but outside of it, not even she can actually regenerate someone else's limbs or anything along those lines. Granted, Mio can release it at any time, anywhere, in any area, and with as much coverage as she wants, so it's really not an issue for her.
But I've briefly once mentioned it before. There is someone else who can regenerate limbs for others, but unlike Mio… she can do it with her base healing magic. And of course, she's also someone both me and Mio know really well. She's actually a few months younger than Cael and Cifer, but she's still around the same age as well. And yeah, of course I think of her specially, just like Mio and Cifer, even if we aren't related. I just wanted to tease him a little though, so I won't actually pick on him about it more than this, nor I'll go into details about her. It'll eventually be her turn to appear in the end, so there's no reason to rush it.
Afterwards, we spent around an hour or so together, eating all of the pastries and desserts I brought, then it was time for me to go. I didn't ask Mio for a portal this time since it wasn't too far anyway, and I wasn't in a rush to begin with, so I just walked towards the headquarters, then went inside my office to just relax for a while.
Thankfully enough, it didn't seem like I had any spontaneous work to do, probably since the recruits knew that even if there was something that needed me, I'd be busy with the interview in a bit so they just chose not to report momentarily. Of course though, I encourage them to send any documents and tasks of major importance in, regardless of what I'm doing, but since that didn't seem to be the case now, it probably means there's just nothing important me to
do.
I had someone to make sure that all the lower drawers in my office's desk would always be filled to the brim with Strawberries from Sylara, and sure enough as I checked, it was as full as it gets. Normally a full desk would last me around a day or so, but it really just depends on how much time I spend in my office. If I don't go in at all, I tell someone to just bring them to our house. Sylara simply makes a fresh batch every morning and sends it here, so it doesn't really require much effort on her end either.
I really need to ask her for some strawberry plants…
With my free time being over, I began walking towards the interview room. On the first floor of the main building, there was a room made specifically for live interviews, where reporters from all over the continent would come, when one is scheduled. All Sentinels or Lieutenants get interviewed wherever the main headquarters are, which obviously depends on who's the Commander, but basically, yeah everyone gets interviewed here now.
As I walked inside the room, the live transmission had already begun, and there were as usual around 100 reporters waiting silently for me. I waved my hand while smiling lightly, and sat down at my desk, with my hands intertwined resting on top of it. There were a few other recruits in the room, next to my desk, and as general security, but they wouldn't really do too much in the end.
"Good day to everyone, I hope you're having a great day so far."
They were surprisingly well behaving honestly. The live transmission was being broadcasted not just around the capital here but around the entire continent, in major cities only though. That was the case for every interview of a Sentinel. There were multiple angles of myself that would be showcased around for a chance of pace, but generally speaking none of the reporters actually got any screen time.
"I'd say it's better if we don't waste the time of everyone watching, and we get straight into it then. Please raise your hands, anyone that has any question."
There were around 20 hands raised or so, which was more or less what I expected. A lot of these people would just blindly write down any movement or words I do and say usually.
"You, you can go first."
She nodded while slowly standing up, looking a little nervous to me at least. I don't really recall seeing her in any previous interviews either actually now that I think about it. Was she new? For a newbie to manage to get a spot inside a Sentinel interview is no small feat, since there's only around 100 seats or so, and it's pretty much first come first served. I'll be a little more mindful of her then.
"Uhm, I-I… he-hem. Excuse me. I wanted to ask if you know anything about how far along your family is, on their way to the capital. And when they'll arrive, where will they stay?"
She did a great job at focusing, even though she clearly stuttered at first.
"Considering the pacing they're going at so far, they should arrive in about a week and a half at most I'd say. And as for their housing, they will all live with me until the trial at least."
"But it's a known fact that you don't seem to be living alone at the moment, so are you not currently staying at your own residence?"
"I guess you can put it that way. My own house is honestly just a little too large for me to use alone. It was gifted to me when I came here so it wasn't really my choice though. But after they'll leave, I will permanently move in however, since I think that by then I'll also have hired enough staff to not have the place be deserted? But who knows."
"Then, can you share with us anything about the person you're living with? And is it correlated to the mysterious and highly rapidly rising in popularity, local legend about that beautiful black haired lady?"
"I'm staying with a friend of mine, but whether it's her or not, it's not really up to me to share. Granted that people can tell there's someone else in the house from the outside, I'd prefer to keep her privacy as secure as possible on the inside."
"I see, that's all I had. Thank you for your time."
"No problem. Let's see, let's see… you. You can be next."
I locked eyes with him just like I did with the first one to let him know who I was talking to, and he wasted almost no time in getting up from his seat. I've seen his face around once or twice before, so I knew what kind of questions he'd go for. He may not be the first choice of others when it comes to interviews, but I think that it's more liberating to get those kinds of reporters out of the way first.
"Seeing as the trial to determine whether the Ashford household should regain their status or not is approaching, what are your thoughts on it? Are you nervous? And what will you do if they lose the trial?"
"Hmm, I'm not particularly nervous honestly. Of course, I have my own worries, but they're not actually linked to the trial itself. After all, I have no doubt that we'll win."
"It appears that it's becoming a really well known fact among the Sentinels, that you and the Commander have become really good friends. Are you confident because you're secretly plotting to rig it all, and use your friendship as a token?"
"You sure don't hold back, huh? But it is true that me and Mio are great friends. I would even call her my best friend if you will, but I'll ask for you to not insult her like that. We plan on fighting this trial with her as the judge in order to prove to everyone that we're innocent through earnest proof, not with lowly scheming."
"How can we be sure about it though? We know that the trial will be transmitted live, but any other information regarding it is really vague. Can you give us more information?"
"I can't display any information about it, as it's strictly confidential for the time being. However, there is one thing that I can let out."
"Please, do."
"I've heard that many people doubt Whether Mio will really be present or not as the judge. Many assumed that she'd just be in a different room, and only her voice would be transmitted. Is that correct?"
"Yes, that does seem to be the most commonly believed theory regarding the process of jurisdiction of the trial. After all, the Commander's identity is still not publicly announced, other than her name and age."
"I guess that makes sense. But I'll let you know that, that's not how it's going to be. Mio will be present, physically. Everyone in that courtroom will be mainly high ranking nobles in the end, excluding Sentinels. We're all familiar with her appearance, so to us it would make no difference wheter she's there or not, which is why to avoid any suspicion from the public, she will attend it physically."
For the first time at that point, the whispering and gasps had gotten noticeably louder than before. I guess people really wanted to have that confirmation, huh?
"But what about her identity? If the trial is broadcasted live, wouldn't that be an issue for the Commander?"
"You don't need to worry about that. Mio can adjust the streaming spell. To the public, her face will be completely obscured, and black. Call it a form of censoring, since that's what it is in the end. She may allow maybe some glowing of her eyes or something like that to be visible, but honestly that part is just my assumption, and shouldn't be expected. What is official though, Is that to the public, Mio's face will be hidden, but her voice will be heard."
"…that's all. Thank you for your time."
The rest of them didn't really have any particularly annoying or specific questions in all fairness. A lot of them were also just personal questions about myself too in the end, so i won't bother with talking about those. However, it was the very last question that I think was worth talking about.
"Alright then, you're last up. Hit me with it."
He got up, looking relaxed enough to not appear nervous, but not full of confidence either.
"You've said that your family will be staying with you at your house until the trial, right?"
"That's correct."
"Are you worried at all? I'm assuming you won't just be keeping them inside until the trial, so what I'm asking is if you're concerned about their safety within the capital. After all, I'm sure there's many people that may be plotting ways to harm them, possibly even as we're speaking right now."
I guess that explains his seemingly lack of confidence. Asking the Commander's Lieutenant if she thinks her family will be safe isn't an easy task. I commend your guts for this one.
"I'm sure you're right about the last part. I am aware of the fact that many may be thinking about trying to harm them, but I'm not particularly worried."
"Can you elaborate on the reason?"
"It's honestly not really anything special, but sure, I don't mind. For starters, both my parents, and their best friends who we think of as a second branch of our family, are really strong. They can most likely protect themselves fine enough."
"Then what about your younger siblings? I recall that you have 3 of them."
"That's right. The oldest is currently training, and before taking my leave I was the one in charge of his training so don't worry, he can do more than fine against the average thug. And I'm sure he can also protect our younger siblings if needed to some extent."
"What if it isn't just your average thug that attempts to hurt them though? Can you guarantee their safety?"
"It's not that easy to assault my family in the capital where I reside, you know?… but let's assume that something would happen, and someone that's stronger than my younger brother tries to harm all 3 of them. It would take close to no time for me to be notified about it."
"I see… Do you have anything to say about the people that may be listening to this, while plotting to harm them at the same time?"
"Let's see. Yeah, I do actually. And this will be my closing line, so any further questions will have to wait for the next interview."
He nodded.
"I'm not really sure if there's any point in warning you, since if you're even considering it, then you mustn't be smarter than a goblin. So instead, I'll just let you know this: you can try to harm my family, but you will fail. However, unlike you I won't fail to find and punish you for it, so please reconsider it if you're even thinking of it. This isn't a threat, it's a plea for you to use your brain, for your own safety."
I then got up, and walked out of the room. Honestly, I doubt anyone will ever try to touch them to begin with, since most people who plot on assassinating nobles are usually too cowardly to actually go through with their plans. But even if someone does try, it's exactly as I said. They will fail, but I won't. And on top of that, though no one will know this besides us, if anyone tries to touch them, they'd have to face a certain someone instead of me most likely, which as you already saw once, it's a lot scarier.