An Escort to Wizheim
I ate my fill of a delicious dinner. I could have gone for more — the portions left me wanting — but there had been plenty of times when I hadn't even gotten this much, so I made do.
"That was really delicious."
"Wasn't it? That's why my family always stays here when we pass through."
Plenty of inns had decent facilities but terrible food. Some didn't serve food at all. If they offered fare of this quality, that was more than enough.
And when you were only staying one night, going back out to find a meal was a hassle. After a hard day's travel, checking into an inn and washing up clean — then going out again? Ugh. I'd rather just eat travel rations than leave.
"Well then, shall we discuss our next plans?"
"Can't we just keep going as we are?"
"Didn't the lodging here cost quite a bit? I know a better way."
Talking with him brought the earlier incident flooding back, and embarrassment rose all over again. I did my best not to think about it as we conversed.
"A better way?"
"Yes. As a major transportation hub, this place draws all sorts of merchants."
As if I didn't know that. I'd seen plenty of wagons and merchants on the way here.
"It'll take longer, but there's a way to travel more comfortably — and earn money while we're at it."
"Earn money?"
Our travel funds were running low, and the thought of burning through them before we even reached the capital had been worrying me. Living in the capital would take money too. We either needed to earn some or tighten our belts, so this was a welcome suggestion.
"Yes. This territory may be a hub, but the royal capital is still a long way off. Between here and there, bandits and monsters are always a possibility."
The roads to the capital were periodically cleared by the kingdom, but routes elsewhere often weren't. So merchants coming through here would hire new hands to replace any losses they'd taken along the way…
"Two of Knight Class and a mage make for rather expensive personnel, after all."
Maximilian and my sister were Knight Class, and I was the mage… With that kind of strength, we were stronger than most adventuring parties. Perfect for escort work!
"Sounds good."
"Mm."
If we undercut the usual rates a little, we'd find work quickly enough, he said. No worries there. The problem was…
"Is it all right for nobles to take escort jobs?"
Nobles had their pride, didn't they? A noble working as a merchant's bodyguard — that seemed like it would sting.
"Haha. Perhaps if one held a high title."
He waved it off, joking that he was merely a baron's son and didn't care about such things.
"Well, if that's the case…"
I looked at my sister. Emma nodded. And just like that, tomorrow's plans were set.
"Then let's find something first thing in the morning."
Escort work… not bad. Traveling just the three of us hadn't been terrible, but standing watch during nights outdoors had been exhausting.
With the rough plan settled, I figured it was time to head upstairs and sleep — but then…
"If you don't mind, would you care for a drink?"
"A drink…?"
"Yes. My treat."
I looked at Emma. Drinking… I didn't particularly enjoy it, but I'd had some during the occasional village festival.
Otherwise I rarely drank. Alcohol was a luxury, after all…
In the village, if you had grain or fruit, you ate it. Of course, there were still people who went hungry just to brew liquor from fruit and grain…
Emma shook her head.
"Busy. Tomorrow."
Fair enough — we'd be out early looking for work. Getting a hangover would only make hiring harder.
Merchants would prefer people who looked sober over people reeking of last night's wine.
"True… we can't show up to the merchants hungover."
Emma stared blankly at me for a moment, then nodded belatedly. Hmm… had she not thought of that? Maximilian looked at me with a disappointed expression. He'd probably wanted a drink, coming to a nice place for the first time in a while…
"Well… it's a shame, but let's save it for the capital."
I wouldn't have said something like that before this journey started. I must have grown fond of him after traveling together. And he'd offered to treat us, hadn't he? Free drinks — I could share a round with him sometime.
Once the conversation wound down, we rose from our seats to return to our rooms.
"Well then."
I gave him a slight bow of farewell.
"Sweet dreams, my lady."
He answered my greeting with that sly, teasing manner of his. At least he didn't grab my hand and kiss it or anything — thank goodness. We were just starting to clear up the misunderstandings; something like that might have made me start hating him.
Once we were in the room, Emma looked at me.
"What?"
"Bed."
Ah. The room we'd rented was a single, so there was only one bed. Meaning only one person could sleep in it!
Of course, there was a solution. The bed wasn't small — we could share.
The problem was… I was a man! My body was female, but my mind was still male!
"You take the bed, Sis. I'll just spread out my bedroll."
The soft bed was tempting, but it was only right that she sleep in it. This was the kind of thing you yielded to a woman.
"Really?"
She asked me again. Why ask like that and make me waver? I steeled myself to say yes.
"Th-th-tha— um."
But I stammered hopelessly, and my whole manner went awkward.
"Just sleep together."
"Th-that's…"
"You're a girl. Anyway."
In that moment, her words drove straight into my chest. To my sister, I was no longer a little brother — I was a little sister now… My body was female, but I'd still thought of myself as a man inside…
When everyone around me treated me as a woman without a second thought, I could feel my own heart starting to shift. Especially Maximilian, who knew nothing of my circumstances and simply treated me as a girl — that made it even more so.
Emma stepped up to my hesitant self and pulled me into a firm hug.
"S-Sis?!"
"Sleep together."
In the end, she dragged me onto the bed with her. Fortunately I was small enough that two of us fit fine on a single bed.
Mmm… a soft bed really was nice…
I slept soundly and woke early. Emma was still terrible with mornings.
"Since I'm up first…"
Might as well enjoy a proper shower. Before heading into the bathroom, I stripped off my clothes and underthings in a flurry, then slipped inside and washed.
"Ahh, this is what makes life worth living."
Maybe it was the modern sensibility in me, but I couldn't live without showers.
"When I make a lot of money someday, I'm putting shower facilities in the village no matter what."
If that didn't work out, at least in my own house!
"Though building a proper drainage system on top of that won't be easy."
Thinking it through, it looked hard enough that I let out a long sigh. After washing up thoroughly, I came out of the bathroom and immediately put on underwear and clothes. One mistake like yesterday's was more than enough. Then I gathered the laundry I'd hung out the day before.
"All dry."
I folded the dry clothes neatly and packed them in the bag. When I went to fold the underwear, I hesitated for a second.
I might be a girl now, but handling my sister's underthings still felt a little awkward… Still, just get it done!
I turned my head away so I wouldn't look, sorted them by feel alone, and tucked the underwear between the clothes before stuffing everything into the bag.
"Ahem."
I was properly dressed and ready to go. Once Emma woke up, we left the room, headed downstairs, and found Maximilian waiting.
"Have you been waiting long?"
"Not at all. I only just came down myself."
It still felt like he'd been waiting a while, though.
"Shall we go find work now?"
"What about breakfast?"
Emma and I looked at each other.
"Spending money is a bit…"
"Then I'll treat you."
"That's all right."
"No, no. If we're going to take on escort work, we should eat a solid meal first."
Even ordering three portions wouldn't cost a full gold, he said — and eating alone was lonely, so please join him.
"W-well, if you insist…"
Emma hesitated too, but the memory of last night's food must have swayed her. In the end, we had breakfast on Maximilian's coin. The same dishes as yesterday came out, and they were just as delicious the second time around…
After breakfast, we headed to the adventurers' guild where people gathered. Then we walked around, putting in the legwork to land an escort job.
The problem was that people didn't believe us.
"Two of Knight Class and a mage? Sounds like a load of nonsense."
"It's the truth."
We'd split up to canvass separately. Emma and I came up empty, but Maximilian was currently in negotiations.
"And the rate is far too low…"
The merchant pointed out how cheaply we were offering ourselves.
"We're just looking to earn a little on a road we were already traveling."
"Even with meals included, it's still too cheap…"
The merchant kept being suspicious, and Maximilian kept trying to persuade him.
"Will this do?"
I'd been watching the negotiations from a distance, and things hadn't seemed to be going well — until Maximilian used his mana.
"Mana, is it…"
"Our mage can also use Holy Magic."
"Huh…"
The merchant hadn't simply jumped at the low price. He picked through every detail, as if checking for a scam.
"And there are so few of you…"
"We can handle most situations ourselves. We just need a few people for lookout and watch duty."
"Hmm…"
After mulling it over, the merchant finally threw up both hands in surrender.
"Fine. You've got a deal."
Yes! Once the contract was drawn up, we followed the merchant. The daily rate was a full two gold! Two gold per person, at that. Considering an ordinary adventurer's daily wage was only about twenty silver, this was what Knight Class and a mage were worth… High-end personnel commanded high prices. There was a reason Emma had earned so much money in such a short time.
When we arrived at the merchant's wagons, he explained the itinerary. The destination was a place called Wizheim — a major city a little ways from the capital, Barga. The journey would take more than ten days, which meant a guaranteed twenty gold on the contract! And if anything came up during the job and we resolved it, there would be extra pay — even better.
"Wizheim, of all places. We're in luck."
"Are we?"
"Yes. It's a famous city."
Emma and I were frogs in a well — we didn't know much. Even after becoming Master's disciple and reading a great many books, it was a place name I didn't recognize.
Once the contract was settled, while we waited for them to hire the rest of the escort, I asked Maximilian.
"So what kind of city is it?"
"Hmm… In a word, it's a city where knowledge and wisdom gather."
An academic city? Something like an academy?
"It's where the people who value knowledge most in the world live together. And though it sits within the kingdom, it isn't kingdom territory."
At that point, I couldn't help but catch on. Inside the kingdom's borders, but not kingdom land… And they treasure knowledge?
"The headquarters of the Metis Church…"
"Correct."
I never imagined we'd end up going there like this… I couldn't tell if this was good luck or bad.
Escort work was clearly a sweet job, but…
Of all destinations, the Church itself…
"Ah, come to think of it, Miss Julian."
"Yes, I'm a believer in Lady Metis."
"Isn't that perfect, then?"
Ordinary faithful usually wanted to visit the headquarters at least once in their lives, didn't they? Looked at that way, it was good fortune…
Except I wasn't ordinary…
"What do you think, Sis?"
Emma tilted her head.
"Pay's good."
Apparently the destination mattered less to her than the pay. Well, the pay was sweet enough even by my standards.