In the forest Nadine stood, her expression unreadable behind her round glasses.
A sharp noise echoed through the morning air.
"...huff"
She exhaled sharply, her knife soaring through the air
It sunk into a nearby tree with a dull thud, a fallen leaf caught in it's path.
"Fuh!!"
Another knife swiftly followed, pinning a withered leaf next to the first.
Her skill could only be described as divine
Sadly, few in this world knew of her talent, throwing knives were a last resort after all.
She much preferred to poison and murder if need be, assassin's blades were a last resort.
If they were used the target would often not have enough time to appreciate her expertise.
"Excellent work Miss Nadine"
"Riel!!"
Nadine hadn't noticed Riel's approach, as an assassin this was highly unusual, did she perhaps have some skill in disguising her presence?
"Riel, please don't scare me like that!!"
"I have brought you breakfast, Miss Nadine"
She had ignored Nadine's complaint
The silver haired maid kept a neutral expression, seemingly highly dedicated to her work
Her expression was frozen in place, an astonishing devotion.
She reminded Nadine of someone.
Ah yes, she was just like Nadine's past self...
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The high-class residential area of the royal capital Ode
The SS-rank party, Lillium Manison
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"You want me to teach you how to cook?"
Riel the maid tilted her head, curious
"Yes, I'm rather ashamed to say that I've never cooked before..."
"Haah"
The mistress was Nadine Amarilis, the healer for an SS- rank party
Though her level was oddly low, sitting at a laughable 3
However in secret she was the last surviving member of a powerful assassin's clan
"I apologise, but was there something wrong with my cooking?"
"No, no, that's not it!"
Nadine was waving her hands franticly
"It's amazing Riel, I thought I should learn from the best"
"If you would like to learn from the best wouldn't Miss Catherine be preferred?"
Catherine Foxy, the fox mage, comes from the long running and sucessful tavern Kogitei
As her grandmother is the current owner, she often helps out in the kitchen
Riel's older sister had told her the two were close.
"No I would like to keep it a secret from Catherine"
"A secret you say?"
"Yes. Actually, I sometimes help out at Kogitei with Cathy... ah, Catherine"
She almost called Catherine "Cathy" the two must be quite close
"So, I was invited to a cherry blossom viewing party where regulars gather"
"A cherry blossom viewing party?"
"Yes it's going to be by the Adimas river"
"Why cooking?"
"The party is a potluck"
"Potluck?"
Riel didn't know this word
"There's no participation fee, but instead, everyone brings their own drinks and food, and we all eat together."
"Hmmm"
"So I would like to bring food but..."
Riel was beginning to understand
Catherine is busy with the preparations as the host of Kogitei, as for Nadine...
"I understand, I will help you"
"Really!"
Riel nodded
"Then, let's start training tomorrow."
This would be a good story for her sister