After finishing their meal, a burly man entered the dining hall while pushing a cart that had a large covered tray on it. The man was dressed in a chef's attire and had a bushy brown beard. A scar over his eye only enhanced the intimidating feeling he gave off.
The staff glanced at each other while smiling, knowing what was about to happen.
Stopping a little away from Lenna, the man placed the covered tray onto the table and lifted it, revealing a cake coated in chocolaty brown frosting.
The chef scratched his cheek, awkwardly saying, "This cake is from all of us. We wanted to say thank you."
"Thank you?" Lenna was confused.
A young man with black hair stood up, "Yes, you are always so nice to us, and we know that we can't repay your kindness, but we wanted to do something for you before you leave."
Linda, the maid from earlier, followed suit, "In our line of work, we are tossed aside like tools if we don't do our job right, but you treated us like actual people."
Another young man with orange cat ears and a fluffy tail followed suit, "Truth be told, the highlight of my day was when you would talk to me- to all of us actually- after you finished your daily training. Also..." The beast-kin glanced around before loudly 'whispering,' "Don't tell the other nobles, but you were probably the best person I have worked for. It was also nice to be in a laid-back environment for once. Honestly, how do the other nobles even survive wearing something like five layers of clothing?"
Morg chuckled in agreement, "Yeah, you said it. I don't think any of the nobles even enjoy wearing the stuffy and over-the-top outfits that are expected from other nobles to be worn by them."
Interrupting the conversation, the chef clasped his hands together before saying, "Now then, let's have some cake. Shall we?"
The chef proceeded to cut it into slices before handing the first one to Lenna.
She bit into the cake and, immediately, her eyes widened in delight. She quickly wolfed it down, leaving only a few smears of frosting on her plate.
A little bit of frosting was left on the corner of her lips but quickly got removed after Lenna licked her lips in satisfaction.
She was about to get another piece but promptly stopped herself, 'This cake is dangerous! It's just too tasty!'
"Must... Not... Give in! ..." The beast-kin held his own wrist as if to hold back his desire for more cake. It seemed like he was losing, though. His hand kept inching closer as time went on as it retracted back and forth.
"Mmmph." (Cake eating noises)
The beast-kin lost.
His ears drooped as he shoveled more cake into his mouth.
The chef beamed in pride as everyone enjoyed the cake. He nodded contently. Nothing made him happier than seeing others enjoy the food he cooked.
It was a festive night, but as with most things, it had to end. Lenna still needed to sleep a little early, so she had enough rest for tomorrow.
After helping the chef wash some of the dishes and saying goodnight to everyone else, she went to her room to get ready for bed.
Lenna quickly stripped down to only her white undershirt and underwear before diving into her bed, which seemed especially inviting at the moment.
She thought about the letter she got from the guild master as she lay in bed.
Lenna brought it out to read it again.
It read:
"Hi Lenna!
"I sent my best friend Krom to come and get you! He is strong, very strong, so no doubt you will be reading this soon. You need to come to the guild headquarters ASAP. I have a lot of things to talk with you about. The strings of fate around you are becoming evermore numerous. Both strings of good fortune and bad fortune are wrapping themselves around you. More than that, the Aquerima is changing, and you are going to be in the center of it. As you are now, you are nowhere near strong enough. As such, Krom is also going to train you! I don't know if he is a good teacher or not, but I'm sure you'll find out really soon!
"From, the GM
"P.S. If you get an opportunity, try and catch Krom shirtless. You won't regret it!
Reading the last part of the letter, Lenna's face turned a little red. Why did the guild master want her to act like some sort of pervert?! Sure, Krom was her type, but they hadn't even known each other for more than a day yet!
She thought back to when they had first me.
'He had such pretty eyes, and his hands were rough and powerful, but gentle. I wonder how they would feel around my...'
Her face turned beet-red and she stuffed it into a pillow before kicking the air repeatedly.
She cut off that dangerous train of thought and moved on to a new one.
Lenna only had four years left to live, and she was apparently at the center of change that would affect the entire Aquerima.
Peeking from the pillow, she stared at a picture on her nightstand.
'What would brother do?'
***
Meanwhile, Krom sat atop a hill and leaned against a tree, thinking about how exactly he would save Lenna.
It would be difficult.
Incredibly difficult.
Despite having existed for more than a millennia, very little was known about elemental diseases.
While they were all fundamentally elemental diseases, none of them were truly the same. In fact, there was a variant for every element. Trying to treat each one was comparable to needing to find a new treatment method.
In addition, Lenna's Myth-rank floe corruption was the most deadly of them all.
However, because it WAS the most lethal of its kind, Krom had an idea of how to save her.
Krom smiled wryly. It was kind of ironic in that sense.
He looked toward a softly illuminated mansion in the distance.
It was unfair for someone so young to be afflicted with such misfortune.
He leaned against the tree and closed his eyes.
Krom didn't know how long it would take, but Krom would not let her suffer as he did.
***
"Lady Hero, you need to get up."
"Mmm... Five more minutes..."
Linda, the maid, opened the curtains to Lenna's room, but the latter had already pulled the covers over her head.
Linda sighed internally, 'Why must she not be a morning person...'
After a few minutes of struggle, Lenna finally got ready and was at the door. She had a leather satchel slung over her shoulder, holding a few basic necessities and personal belongings.
She hugged each of the staff, "I'm going to miss you guys!"
The chef had tears welling up as he handed a jar filled with a red-purple substance to Lenna, "This *sniff* is some homemade Jelly I made. Please take it, and *sniff* st- *sobs*!"
The chef burst into tears. He may have looked intimidating, but he was a big softy.
Up next was Linda.
"Lady Hero, I wish you the best of luck on your journey." A wicked smile crept up to her face as she said, "Remember, if you aren't responsible, then I will hunt you down, drag you back, and make you take etiquette lessons until your thirty..."
Lenna quickly nodded in fear, "Yes, ma'am!"
Walking over, Lenna gave another quick hug to Morg.
Morg crossed his arms and looked away, "Hmph, you better stop by from time to time in the future."
The other staff laughed inwardly, knowing that Morg essentially treated Lenna as his own granddaughter. If given the opportunity by the other staff, he would talk about Lenna non-stop and tell stories about her. Of course, Morg would never admit to that.
Lenna smiled brightly, "Thanks, for everything!"
She quickly left the manor. Goodbyes were hard, and she didn't want to linger too long.
Lenna walked towards town while kicking a stone along the road. The manor was about three kilometers from town and was in a pretty secluded area.
The road she walked along went through a forest for the first part, then went through a hilly plain with trees dotted about in the second part.
After a little less than half an hour, Lenna could see the town in the distance.
On the larger end for a town, the town was called Landrow. Five-meter tall stone walls surrounded Landrow and its thirty thousand inhabitants.
As Lenna approached Landrow, she suddenly remembered Krom's note, 'Ah! I need to bring a flower!'
She quickly ran over to the side of the road and plucked a blue flower from the ground.
After getting a flower, Lenna walked to a gate located along the wall of Landrow.
Two guards were stationed at the gate, armed with spears and boiled leather armor. Going by their mana, they were both low D-rank.
Upon taking notice of a white-haired girl, the two guards stationed there squinted their eyes for a second before opening them wide in realization. They quickly straightened their posture.
"Lady Hero! What brings you here?" Asked one of the guards.
Lenna sighed, "I'm leaving Aston soon, and I'm here to meet someone for a meal."
A little surprise appeared on the guards' faces, "Ohh, we get!" They elbowed each other, "You can head on inside. You don't want to keep them waiting forever, right?"
Lenna gave them a questioning gaze but proceeded to walk past.
Once Lenna had gone past, the two guards nudged each other for being in the know. They hadn't missed the flower in her hands, and the sigh, which was mistaken for an adoring one, mixed with her saying that she was going to meet someone made them come to one conclusion: A girl in love!
Of course, it could just be her saying goodbye to someone she cares about, but today just so happened to be the day of partnership.