The Earl walked off of the stage and joined the rest of the party and quickly began socializing. After tending to a few conversations with individuals of higher ranks, Earl Gray walked over to Alice and Alicia who are sitting at a table with no one else talking about various subjects.
"I have heard of your achievements." Gray said.
"I see. Well, I do not think you could call them achievements." Alice said with a light tone.
"Quite the contrary, actually. After all, defeating a demigod is quite the accomplishment." Gray said.
"I... Suppose." Alice said. "Well, I prefer to believe that I did not defeat a demigod and that the minotaur is actually just a very rare monster. Yes, that is it. It was just a rare, powerful, and god-descended monster." Alice said as she nodded.
"Is that not what a demigod is?" Gray asked.
"No. I refuse to accept that it was a demigod. There is no way I am that powerful." Alice said.
"Well, actually, that would be incorrect, I think that I may have given you a bit too much in terms of mana... You actually may be able to take on some minor deities..." Alicia said.
"I am just going to ignore what the goddess has told me and continue living in my fantasy world where I have not completed grandiose things." Alice said.
"G-goddess? What are you two talking about?" Gray asked.
"Ah, right, my apologies, Lord Herms." Alice said. 'I kind of forgot he was there for a moment...' Alice thought. "There are two goddesses here tonight. One of them is Alicia." Alice said.
"Are you certain that this is truly the goddess of magic, Alicia?" Gray asked.
"I am indeed that goddess, however, tonight I am just a regular person accompanying friends to a party." Alicia said as she waved her finger and created a small amount of metal, making a ring.
"There is most definitely nothing regular about you." Alice said.
"You're one to talk." Alicia said blandly.
"Well, I never claimed to be a regular person. I just denied the fact that I have accomplished anything beyond a certain point." Alice said. Alicia sighed.
"Yeah, that's fair. Though I will say, you should probably take more pride in your accomplishments instead of hiding from them." Alicia said.
"But with accomplishments come titles and responsibility that I literally am incapable of refusing because if I do, who knows what will happen...' Alice said.
"Yeah, that's a fair line of reason." Alicia said. "Well, I suppose I will leave you two to socialize for now. I have other things to tend to, one of those is Braydon, after all, getting involved in other people's love lives is fun." Alicia said.
"Try not to tease him too much. Plus, we don't even know if Kenna will act on her emotions." Alice said.
"Yeah, yeah, I know! Just let me do my thing!" Alicia said energetically.
"What was that about?" Gray asked.
"There's a girl that likes Braydon. She's the daughter of the innkeeper of the inn we are staying at and Braydon isn't particularly sure about what he should do, especially since he is not interested in girls in his age ranges, he prefers women who are older." Alice said.
"I see. That must be an awkward position, should we assist him?" Gray asked.
"Nah, he will be fine. A little bit of teasing won't get under his skin either." Alice said.
"You two seem close. How long have you been traveling?" Gray asked.
"I don't really remember. All I know is that we have been traveling for a while." Alice said.
"Really?" He asked.
"I don't really keep track of time, since it doesn't really matter to me. I'd lose track of it anyway." Alice said.
"Right. And it has just been you two for how long?" He asked.
"Six years." Alice answered immediately. 'This one isn't a complete lie either. My family wasn't around often so I would usually only have Braydon and maybe a couple of other people around me at a time.' Alice thought.
"I see. That was much more immediate than I expected." Gray said.
"It is one of the few things I keep track of. It's important to me." Alice said.
"I see. Sorry for asking, but were you two abandoned by your parents?" Gray asked. Alice grabbed a piece of paper and wrote on it, then teleported it in front of Braydon.
'Come here.' It read. Braydon walked over.
"What do you need?" He asked.
"He was asking some questions out of curiosity, I figured it would be best if we both answered." Alice said.
"I see, what was the question?" Braydon asked.
"Ah, well, I was wondering what to the parents of you two." Gray said.
"Ah, well... How should I put this... We aren't related by blood. We've known each other for six years and consider ourselves siblings. We also do not have contact with our parents." Braydon said as Alice hugged his arm and looked toward the floor.
"I see. Sorry for asking." He said.
"Nothing wrong with the question." Braydon said.
"For me personally, my parents weren't around often when I was younger. One day, they stopped coming home. It probably seems weird that I remember that despite me being so young though." Alice said as she hugged Braydon's arm tighter. "Braydon's family are nice people, but recently we lost contact with them, so here we are, traveling." Alice added.
"I think we've been traveling for a little over two weeks now, maybe closer to a month." Braydon said.
"I don't remember, I lost track after the first week." Alice said quietly. "Sorry, I'm feeling a bit fatigued, is there somewhere I could rest." Alice said with an awkward expression as she looked at Gray.
"I have rooms arranged for each of the guests, allow me to escort you to yours." He said as he stood. Alice and Braydon followed him. Alice kept her grip on Braydon's arm.
"You alright?" Braydon asked. Alice nodded softly. After a few moments of walking, they reached the room and Alice entered. "I will speak with her for a few moments, thank you for taking the time to escort her." Braydon said.
"I am the host, after all." Gray said then walked away. Braydon entered the room and saw Alice sitting on the end of the bed.
"Are you sure you are fine?" Braydon asked.
"I just remembered something is all..." Alice said.
"It seems like it's affecting you." Braydon said.
"I just remembered some happy things that aren't so happy anymore." Alice said.
"Does it have to do with-" Braydon started.
"It does. I was only seven at the time, but I remember a lot of it." Alice said with a grim tone and expression.
"Wanna talk about it?" He asked.
"Yes. But also no." Alice said.
"Well, I'll stay here, even if you don't talk about it, I think you could use the company." Braydon said.
"Thanks." Alice said.