"What if the novice we send gets discovered by accident? Only you can be truly silent and absolutely undetectable!"
Sayu remained unmoved, even furrowing her brows slightly as she spoke. "That sounds like even more trouble. It is not a wise choice to provoke such people."
"It's not provoking, it's observing! Just watching from a distance!" Katerina emphasized. Seeing that logic wasn't working, she immediately changed her strategy. She lowered her head slightly, her fiery red hair falling forward, her shoulders slumping a bit. Even her voice took on a slightly aggrieved tone, like an abandoned puppy.
"Sayu... good Sayu... just help me this once... Look, the guild's funds have been a bit tight lately, and the commission rewards from the City Lord's Mansion are always very generous..."
"And what if they really are good people? We could take the opportunity to befriend some powerful experts, right?"
"Do you have the heart to watch me, your Guild Master, lose sleep over such a small thing? To watch the guild's capital chain break and everyone go hungry?"
As she spoke, she peeked up, trying her best to make a "pitiful" expression with her bright red eyes as she looked at Sayu. The corner of Sayu's mouth twitched imperceptibly. What she was worst at was dealing with the Guild Master's persistent acting cute. Despite being a powerful woman with a tough style, she could always strike this scalp-tingling pose in front of her.
She fell silent for a few seconds. Finally, Sayu let out an extremely faint sigh. Those violet eyes turned back to Katerina, filled with the complex emotions of "I really can't do anything about you" and "Don't ever ask me again next time."
"...Only this once." Her voice was still cold, but she had finally relented. "Location, target characteristics, observation time limit."
"Yay! I knew Sayu was the best!" Katerina's mood instantly went from "cloudy to sunny." A brilliant, triumphant smile bloomed on her face; her speed at changing expressions was startling. She immediately turned to pick up the letter on the desk and began explaining at a rapid pace.
"They are currently at the Silver Oak Inn, likely having just checked in. One is a girl with blue hair and green eyes named 'Belle,' who seems to be the leader of the two. The other is a maid with black hair and red eyes, whose most notable feature is a very prominent shark tail; her name is 'Ellen.' Her strength is unknown, but according to Captain Roy of the guards, she should be quite strong. Just observe their movements and the people they contact to make a preliminary judgment on their goals and level of danger. As for the time... let's observe for two days first to see the situation?"
Sayu listened expressionlessly, her gaze quickly scanning the brief description on the letter, committing all the information to memory.
"Understood." She gave a faint response and turned, intending to melt into the shadows and leave.
"Wait, Sayu!" Katerina called her back again, pulling a small coin pouch from her chest and handing it over. "Take this. It's an advance on mission expenses; it might come in handy. Remember to buy something good to eat, don't just chew on dry rations all the time."
Sayu stared at where she had taken the coin pouch from, then caught it with precision. She weighed it in her hand before tucking it into an inner pocket of her clothes.
"...Meddlesome."
Leaving behind those two cold words, her figure quietly blurred like ink dissolving in water. A moment later, she vanished completely into the room's shadows, as if she had never been there...
The next morning, in the innermost room on the second floor of the Silver Oak Inn. Luna Belle slowly woke up to a rich aroma of food. Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the curtains, casting warm patches of light on the floor. She opened her eyes dizzily, momentarily unsure of where she was.
"Ah... time to get up and grind the dailies..."
The bed beneath her was soft and comfortable, and she could hear the faint bustle of the market from outside the window.
"Dailies?" Hearing the girl's voice, she subconsciously turned her head to look beside her. Ellen was leaning against the headboard, still wearing her maid outfit, tilting her head as she stared at her face. She was holding a wooden tray. On the tray were two large cups of frothy, honey-colored juice, several pieces of golden-brown crispy bread, two sizzling fried steaks, and a bowl of steaming vegetable soup.
"Are you awake? What were you saying just now?" Ellen asked, looking at the now-conscious Luna Belle.
"Uh... just assume I'm still half-asleep..." Luna Belle scratched her cheek sheepishly. Ellen thought for a moment, then came to a sudden realization.
"I get it. Is it because you can't scratch lottery tickets or drink coffee for a while, and you're not used to it?"
"? How... how do you know that?"
"I saw it in a post on Inter-Knot by someone with the ID 'Phaethon's Number One Fan.'"
"Vivian... you brat..." Luna Belle rubbed her forehead helplessly. Ellen handed her the tray and said, "Just in time. I just went downstairs to get breakfast; it's still hot. I tasted it for you, it's not bad."
Luna Belle propped herself up, rubbing her eyes. She stared blankly at the meal, which was far too lavish to be a standard inn breakfast. "This... this is the breakfast provided by the inn? Didn't Captain Roy say it only included a simple breakfast?"
This certainly didn't look simple. Ellen swallowed the food in her mouth and licked her lips before answering lazily.
"Oh, this. I paid extra to have the landlady help buy it from the tavern next door." She added, "Mainly because breakfast time has already passed... and I was hungry."
Luna Belle didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She picked up the coin pouch and weighed it; it was indeed a bit lighter. However, seeing Ellen eating with such satisfaction and feeling her own stomach growling, she felt the money was well spent.
"Alright... speaking of which, what time is it now?" Luna Belle looked at the bright sunlight outside, feeling like they had slept quite heavily.
Ellen took a large gulp of juice and let out a satisfied sigh. "It seems to be almost noon. The landlady came to knock earlier, but I told her we wanted to sleep a bit longer, so she didn't disturb us."
Luna Belle was startled. "Almost noon? We've slept for so long!" She quickly grabbed a piece of bread and took a bite. It was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, with the salty aroma of butter; it was indeed delicious. "Then we need to finish eating quickly and go out to gather some information."
"What's the rush..." Ellen remained unhurried, gently tapping Luna Belle's calf with the tip of her tail. "Finish your meal properly first. Your AI assistant hasn't sounded any alarms. We're not in a hurry right now."
As if in response to Ellen's words, Fairy's calm voice echoed in Luna Belle's mind. "The safety of the current surrounding environment is being monitored by Fairy at all times. Master, you may dine in peace."
Luna Belle nodded and began to focus on tackling her breakfast. The steak was fried to perfection, and the soup was fresh and delicious. The two enjoyed their food quietly, the room filled only with the faint sounds of chewing and the bustle of the city outside the window...