บท 21: Touring Jurim City
Looking at the itinerary for the whole duration, Ein couldn't help but feel a headache coming. First of all, even with someone threatening her life, her travel destination included a lot of public facilities. If Ein was the mastermind of the assassins, then he would have a ton of opportunities for that day alone, not to mention the next two days.
Looking closer, though, he realized that rather than leisure, it was a trip for business inspection.
"Is Lady Sophia in the city to inspect it?" Ein couldn't help but try to ask the maid.
"No, it's not." The maid quickly shook her head. "Originally, she should be having an audience with Count Jurim today; however, with the attempted assassination of Milady, the Count decided to postpone the audience to tomorrow."
Looking at the itinerary again, he noticed the note that the audience was for noon the next day.
"A lunch meeting?"
"It was supposed to be a normal audience, but the Count changed it," the maid said with a wry smile.
As the main guard of the lady, this would mean that Ein and the others too would be forced to stay inside the room with the Count. Even if he expected something like this, Ein couldn't help but feel a bit down.
'I just hope that the Count is actually a good guy.' Ein prayed.
If he were even remotely similar to the fat noble and tried to take Nayta and Melina for himself, then Ein would probably leave the city instantly, never to return again. Even using Sophia's name wouldn't be as effective if the other party is similarly a Count. She, who was just the daughter of a Count wouldn't be able to fight an actual Count in terms of authority.
After reading the itinerary over and over again, he memorized it. Ein's party then quickly went outside together with the maid as they were already about to set off for the first item on the itinerary for today. They would be visiting the orphanage.
Sophia rode in an expensive-looking carriage with the emblem of Count Auxburn painted on the sides. The image was a dragon's head with a shield-shaped relief. Ein, Nayta, and Melina rode their wolves as they escorted the carriage. Ein was positioned in front of the carriage while the two were on both sides, with the other guards and followers riding horses following the carriage from behind.
The travel was peaceful, but they gathered a lot of glances from the populace. Not only did the three wolves stand out, but the elves riding atop them were also absolute head-turners.
The orphanage was in an old building that was previously a church. However, the said religion was chased out of the country due to some reasons, leaving such churches unused in several cities. Most of the city lords turned those churches into orphanages, such as the one in front of them.
Sophia disembarked the carriage and entered the orphanage. She was greeted warmly by the civil servants and the kids. Her popularity was a bit of a surprise to Ein. They stayed for a few hours, right up until noon. While there, the kids even invited Sophia to play with them, which she agreed to with a smile.
After saying their goodbyes, Sophia rode in the carriage and set off. Their next destination was a famous restaurant in the city. Both nobles and wealthy merchants frequent the restaurant. There, Sophia reserved a room where she ate lunch. She invited Ein and the others too, but Ein opted out, only allowing Nayta and Melina to eat with her.
The three beauties having a meal together was a great sight. Not only Ein, but the other guards also seem to be thinking the same. Just watching the three eat lunch made the guards feel full already.
After they finished lunch, in the few hours left before sundown, Sophia went around several shops looking for accessories and clothes. She even invited Nayta and Melina to choose some clothes for themselves as gifts. In just a few hours, she had already bought enough products to fill up a whole carriage.
When Ein asked her if she really needed to buy so much, Sophia replied with a smile.
"No, I don't. However, it is the duty of nobles to spend money to keep the economy rolling."
Ein, hearing this, nodded his head in understanding. If nobles just kept their money piled up, then the economy would slowly stagnate until the populace suffered the backlash of deflating currency value.
When the sun was about to set, the entourage passed another restaurant that wasn't any less extravagant than the one they went to for lunch. Here, too, the three women ate their fill before finally returning to the inn.
After returning to the inn, Sophia went into her room, followed by several maids. They were carrying a wooden tub, so she was probably about to wash her body for the day. Ein, too, allowed Nayta and Melina to wash up as he left the room. He went straight for the well behind the inn and fetched water to wash his face and limbs.
After he washed, he changed from his adventurer clothes into one that was more comfortable. After doing so, he went straight to Sophia's room and knocked.
"Please enter."
After hearing Sophia give her permission, Ein entered the room. There, Sophia, Nayta, and Melina were all wearing some sort of thin sleepwear similar to a negligee. Sophia, as a noble, was accustomed to showing her body to her servants, so she wasn't that bothered by her appearance. The two elves, on the other hand, were blushing up to their ears as they noticed how Ein was staring at their attire.
"Ahem." The maid, who was Sophia's aide, cleared her throat.
Ein, noticing that he was staring too much, quickly turned his gaze to the side as he pretended to look for a chair to sit on. Although Ein didn't get to see clearly as the light source in the room was only candles, it was enough for him to claim that his day was worth it.
Ein sat down on a chair by the door, facing the window. The large bed was to the right, so he could still see the three from his peripheral vision. Nayta and Melina were tasked with sleeping with Sophia on the same bed, as they were all girls anyway. The maid and Ein were left for the night watch inside the room.
"Then we'll be sleeping now," Sophia declared. "Mr. Rain, I'm counting on you to protect us in case something happens."
"Of course. I promise that you will be sleeping peacefully throughout the night," Ein assured her.
Hearing this, Sophia and the others smiled. They couldn't help but feel a sense of peace after hearing Ein's confident declaration. Sophia quickly turned on the bed and laid down. Nayta and Melina quickly crawled and lay on both sides of Sophia. Ein just watched as two cute butts shuffled atop the bed as they moved to their position. The negligee they were wearing was tracing their every curve, leaving nothing to the imagination.
When the three covered themselves with the blanket, Ein felt a bit disappointed. However, as he was a guard, he just continued watching the room throughout the whole evening. Ein, who didn't actually need any sleep as a Dungeon Master, was surprised at how Sophia's maid kept up the whole night without so much as a wink.
Soon, the rays of the sun started filtering through the window curtains. Seeing this, the maid went ahead and woke Sophia up. Sophia woke up almost immediately as she rubbed her sleepy-looking eyes.
Since Nayta and Melina woke up a bit earlier than her, they quickly moved out of the way after she woke up. Sophia quickly went down to the bed and slid down the shoulder straps of her negligee. In an instant, Sophia was standing in front of Ein with nothing but a pair of underwear covering her body.
Nayta, who was surprised at how quickly Sophia took off her clothes, quickly glared at Ein, who was staring at them without blinking. Noticing her glare, Ein couldn't help but turn his head as he scratched the back of his neck.
The atmosphere quickly turned awkward. Ein quickly decided to go outside the door, escaping from the piercing glare.
Today was the day that they were to go and have an audience with the Count. Ein hoped that nothing untoward happened to their entourage.
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