"I'm sorry but my friend is very shy" The girl said.
"Hmm, I see" Evelynn seemed disappointed in her response but didn't push the issue further./
Tiefa was dumbstruck.
[Are you seriously going to just let that slide!] she thought
She tried to whisper something in Evelynn's ear.
"Eve, shouldn't we figure out who she…"
Evelynn batted her away.
"Shhh remember? We're just normal adventurers today" She scolded Tiefa.
Tiefa immediately stopped talking. Evelynn was right that on all accounts they were just normal adventurers today.
The girl raised her eyebrow as if she had already discerned their identities. This wasn't possible, even under the strongest of [status] skills but Tiefa still felt like the girl knew.
"We'll be on our way then! Don't worry we'll make sure to hunt farther away so we don't get in the way." Evelynn said with a carefree smile.
The girl gave a curt nod
Tiefa and Evelynn quickly left the clearing. The whole way the girl was watching them as if she wanted to make sure they had no other moves.
When they were a far enough distance away. Tiefa finally spoke.
"I assume you and me both recognized that girl, right?" Tiefa asked
Evelynn nodded
"She's much older than I expected. Don't tell me the adventurer's guild has been supplying false reports." She said thoughtfully
Tiefa gave a dry laugh.
"That's not possible," She said
The adventurer's guild took great care to corroborate the account of the girl before sending them as information. They would give extra rewards for correct information but would still pay for even false information because it helps them find out what was true. Of course, they had to do the work themselves but Tiefa could say with a 99.9% accuracy that all the reports they sold to the kingdom were true. At worst a few pieces of information could be slightly incorrect but anything important like her true appearance was most definitely true.
Tiefa had even managed to put all the accounts together and commission a picture of the girl based on the accounts.
She was most definitely supposed to be much younger.
"Perhaps she has an older sister?" Evelynn thought
Tiefa furrowed her brow at Evelynn's suggestion. It would make sense but if the girl had an older sister she would've been found quickly. An investigation into her backstory said that she was from the south of Feran but a deeper investigation had told them that it was a false background she had made up.
They had to ask nearly all the villages south of Feran if they knew the girl and none could say they did. There was a village that had seen the girl, but she only stayed the night as a traveler and also apparently took down a bandit raid by herself.
Her background was a mystery.
[Is she from the great forest?] Tiefa thought
It would make sense. If she had lived in a wood elf village she wouldn't have been known about from the kingdom. But even so, why would a human girl be living in a wood elf village. Tiefa knew that despite the claims the elves were "bandits" they didn't actually do any kidnapping of the sort.
[Then is she from Atlea?] it seemed unlikely, but it would make more sense. The people of Atlea and Faramouth look quite similar so there wasn't a way to physically notice if she was from Atlea or not.
It would make more sense why such a mysterious girl was in Faramouth in the first place.
[If she came from Atlea then there must be a reason] Atlea was also a monarchy like Faramouth
[Disgraced royalty? It would make sense then…] Tiefa pondered
If Kotori was disgraced royalty or nobility that was running from the capital, she would obviously come to the kingdom of Faramouth where she would be unrecognizable. The south of Atlea was filled with assorted smaller countries were always at war with each other. The peaceful kingdom of Faramouth would make more sense to run to.
Since Kotori was quite good-looking. Tiefa could only assume that she was some form of nobility. The average commoner rarely had such looks.
Her companions made more sense. The knightly refined man next to her would probably be her guardian knight who ran with her. The other women were handmaiden? Though, Tiefa didn't quite know why they knew how to fight. Her half wood elf companion was probably a guide of some sort that help her get across the forest.
Tiefa told her theory to Evelynn who place her finger on her chin and considered it.
"It makes sense, but it still has holes," She said after thinking for a moment
"Do you have a better explanation as to her origins?" Tiefa said
Evelynn shook her head.
"No, you're assumption is better than mine. I guess you do have some gears in that head of yours." Evelynn teased Tiefa
Tiefa pouted.
"I am the guildmaster of the adventurer's guild after all." She said
Evelynn didn't respond and instead was adopting a thinking pose.
"Is something wrong?" Tiefa asked
"No, I was just wondering, if it were true that the girl was disgraced royalty what did she do to get rejected from Atlea. Her skills should be valuable enough that they would keep her as an asset and a breeding sow." Evelynn explained
Tiefa grimaced. Some skills could be passed hereditarily, so it was highly likely the girl would be used as free genetic material for high-ranking noble.
She felt even worse for the girl. She was in an unknown country with only a single guard knight being hunted by two kingdoms