A few days later, a new person appeared in our guild. The red princess behaved like a hostess, sitting smugly on the couch, sipping tea prepared by Kurone.
"Hmm. We welcome the new member to our guild, hooray, hooray," Katrina grumbled with no hint of joy in her voice.
"I hope to get along with everyone," Seleria replied with a slight nod.
Katrina narrowed her eyes a bit. "Let's get to the point. How can you financially help our guild?"
"Mmmm, I probably can't right now," the princess shrugged.
"How can that be?! You're Princess of Leran; I won't believe you have no money!"
"Doesn't your father send you money?" Kurone chimed in.
"Well, I wrote to him about everything that happened and about joining the guild," Seleria lowered her gaze. "His response was something like this: 'How could you lose a fight to that failed princess?! You won't get a single penny from me anymore!'"
"But he must have given you money for the journey here, right?" Katrina didn't lose hope.
"Well, I was late for my studies here by almost a month for a reason. On the way, I visited all the major cities, bought dresses, and accessories—everything a true princess should have, or rather, everything a real girl should have," Seleria smirked, casting a disdainful look at Katrina and Ragni, who had no more than three or four dresses in their wardrobe.
"Oh, you!!!" Ragni was about to pounce on her, but Kurone held her back.
"And what about your scholarship? With your strength, it should be at least a fourth-class one!"
"How rude. Of course, I receive a fifth-class scholarship," Seleria glanced at the beautiful gold ring with a sapphire on her finger, "I recently noticed this ring and, well, bought it... a bit on credit. I thought I'd pay it all back when my father sends money, but now I think it will take about three of my scholarships to cover it."
"You... you spent three scholarships on some ring?!" Katrina boiled with anger.
"I didn't have much else to spend money on, and you wouldn't understand what a real ornament looks like, given what you wear," another scornful glance fell upon the bracelet on Katrina's wrist.
"Then you're utterly useless!!!" Katrina and Ragni exclaimed in unison.