Kei and his party arrived at the City of Freyport. It was where they were supposed to meet Little John and his sister Little Daisy.
"Tifa, where should we meet Little John and Little Daisy?" Kei asked Tifa who was seated beside him on the coachman's seat of the carriage.
"Their last letter said that they were staying at the Red Horse Pavillion," Tifa replied while scanning the surroundings. "If my guess is correct, it should be that inn over there, Handsome Young Master."
Kei looked in the direction Tifa was pointing at and saw a familiar face waving at them. "Oi Kei! What took you so long?!"
Tifa urged the horse to move faster and the carriage stopped right in front of Little John. Kei descended the carriage and shook hands with his best friend.
"Sorry for making you wait," Kei said. "A lot of things happened in Amaranth and I had to deal with the aftermath."
Little John flicked Kei's forehead with his finger. "My sister and I were very worried when we heard the news of the Dungeon Outbreak. She even wanted to rush to Amaranth in order to save you."
"Nonsense!" a tall and beautiful lady stormed out the inn and admonished Little John. "You were the one who insisted to go!"
Kei rubbed his forehead and chuckled. "Come Little Daisy, let's ignore your brother and talk about my heroic feats in Amaranth."
Little Daisy glanced at him and narrowed her eyes. "What happened to your hair?"
"Ah this? This is the new style that is very popular in Amaranth right now. I decided to join the trend and try it for myself." Kei made an arrogant pose and raised his chin. "Do I look more handsome compared to the last time you saw me, Little Daisy?"
Little Daisy snorted and came closer. Her hand reached out to his waist and pinched it hard. Kei yelled and writhed in pain from the merciless greeting that he received from her.
"Handsome? When was the last time you looked at a mirror?" Little Daisy said with disdain. "You better tell me everything or else…"
"Stop ah! It hurts ah! I'm still injured ah!"
Little Daisy stopped pinching him and grabbed his hand. She dragged him inside the inn leaving everyone behind. Little John scratched his head and volunteered to bring the carriage to the stable of the inn.
Tifa accompanied him while Milfa and Shino talked to the innkeeper for their room arrangement. They took the rooms that were adjacent to Little John and Little Daisy's room and booked it for four days.
Kei told them in advance that they would be staying in the city for a few days because there was some important business that needed his immediate attention. The two decided to stay in the rooms that they had reserved and waited for their young master to return.
"Little Daisy seems to be very close to Master." Shino said as she lazily lay in the bed. "What kind of relationship do they have?"
"Good question," Milfa replied. "I've been with them for a few years and all I can see is Young Master treating her like a little sister."
"Hmm… is that so?" Shino pondered for a bit. 'Strange. Mother didn't tell me anything about Little Daisy. Does she not consider her as Master's lover?'
Shino rolled back and forth on the bed while Milfa stared outside the window.
"Little John is indeed handsome. No wonder your sister is smitten with him." Shino decided to start another conversation because she was bored.
"Yes. It's quite unfortunate that he is dense." Milfa said deep in thought. "Or he is pretending to be dense in order to ignore my sister's advances."
"You asked to become master's retainer because you wanted to stay by his side. If that was the case then why did your sister not ask to become Little John's retainer as well?" Shino asked like an old lady looking for juicy gossip.
"Little John is not a noble, so my sister can't become his retainer." Milfa shook her head. "Of course, my sister didn't give up and insisted to become his maidservant instead."
"From the looks of it she didn't succeed."
"She didn't. Little John told her that his family couldn't afford to hire a maidservant."
"Pffft!" Shino giggled after hearing Milfa's reply. "What happened next?"
Milfa walked towards the bed and sat beside her. she took out a brush and started brushing Shino's hair. Shino closed her eyes and allowed her to make her look more presentable. The two of them had become sworn sisters to each other and their relationship had improved since then.
"My sister told him that she could work for free, but Little John flatly refused." Milfa continued her explanation, "Since grandpa and I decided to work under the Frieden Family, my sister decided to become Handsome Young Master's retainer as well."
"Did master erase her mark of slavery?"
"He did."
"I see…" Shino's lips curved into a smile. "Then have the two of you awakened your bloodlines?"
Milfa stiffened at her question and almost dropped the brush in her hand.
"Not yet," Milfa answered. "The requirements have not been met."
"Oh?" Shino hugged Milfa's shoulder like a little girl asking to be spoiled. "What are the requirements?"
"That..." Milfa was about to answer her when someone knocked on the door of their room. The two exchanged glances and immediately stood up from the bed.
"Who is it?" Milfa asked.
"The most handsome man in the continent of Eleison!"
Milfa smiled and opened the door. Kei entered the room with Little Daisy walking behind him. Little John and Tifa also made their appearance.
Kei sat on the bed and gestured for Shino and Milfa to seat beside him. Little John and Little Daisy sat on the couch while Tifa stood with her arms crossed on her chest. Everyone was silent and waited for Kei to start the discussion.
"I have some good news and bad news," Kei said. "What would you guys like to hear first?"