Thanks to a particularly talkative merchant, rumors of the curious new foods on offer in the Yupiter resort town of Côte Sud spread out and eventually reached the ears of the nobility. Although, once they learned that it was all made from small fish and other things that no self-respecting aristocrat would eat, not one felt compelled to travel all the way to Côte Sud. On that point, at least, the portly merchant’s fears had been unfounded.
Some, however, saw the report from the accounting bureau stating that changes to the town’s commoner neighborhood necessitated a yearlong observation period, and became interested for very different reasons.
One of them was Marquess Donquis.
The house of Donquis was one of the most illustrious and distinguished noble families, but its marquess had no ambition whatsoever and always kept his distance from the political strife of the central empire. He had vast holdings that he hired other people to manage, so even if he ignored them, he never wanted for money nor had to get his own hands dirty. The only thing he had to fill his time was collecting intelligence—in other words, he had more leisure time than he knew what to do with.
“Well, well... It almost sounds as though someone’s pulled one over on Count Oolonteil.”
The marquess was at his large estate in the capital and had just finished reading the report brought to him by his elderly butler. He was a middle-aged man with an inclination to plumpness, large eyes, and a boyish face. To stave off boredom, he spent his days gathering and analyzing information and had long ago seen through the count’s schemes.
Of course, he hadn’t done anything about it. He had no interest in getting mixed up in the tedious ins and outs of Côte Sud development projects. Nor did he tell anyone. It was enough for him that he knew and could chuckle about it in private. He was well and truly a man of leisure.
“So which noble was behind it all? I’d love to know...”
“That’s just the thing, my lord...” the butler said. “None of my investigations turned up evidence of any noble involvement.”
“What’s that?” Marquess Donquis’s eyes lit up. “You mean there’s a noble out there wily enough to deceive even you? That’s news to me. Must be one of those newly elevated families.”
“I cannot say, my lord. The sole lead I have at this stage is the appearance of a maid who had no place being in the commoner neighborhood.”
“A what?” The marquess cocked his head questioningly—an odd gesture for a middle-aged man.
“The maid in question is rather interesting... You will recall, I’m sure, the stir that recently arose when the Dark Frost Mercenaries—the capital’s preeminent mercenary company—applied to disband.”
“Mm, I remember something of that nature. But I abhor everything to do with war, you know.”
“It would seem Her Imperial Majesty summoned their captain thereafter.”
“Oh? Because they’re such an established company, I suppose?”
“I am told that they played a part in Her Majesty’s accession to the throne.”
“But that was half a century ago. I hadn’t even been born yet.”
The empress of Yupiter had celebrated her fiftieth jubilee this year.
“I imagine Her Majesty still remembers those days well.”
“Once you spend all your time on old stories, you might as well just call it a day, don’t you think? Good grief.”
“My lord,” the butler said, “you are forgetting yourself.”
“Yes, yes, I know. I didn’t mean it. My apologies to Her Imperial Majesty,” the marquess said, not sounding at all contrite. “Now, what were you saying about those mercenaries?”
“When the empress asked the captain why he decided to disband his mercenary company, he was overheard saying that seeing the diligence of Maid & Co. was what made it clear to him.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I’m afraid I don’t know. When I investigated the maids in the service of the mercenary company in question, I learned that the long-term employees are still working there—at the mansion that formerly housed the mercenary company, that is—just the same as they always had. However, a few days before the company disbanded, they hired a new maid who resigned again immediately afterward. I wanted to summon her here to find out more, but she had already left the capital. Apparently, she is traveling as an adventurer of all things.”
“The maid is also an adventurer?”
“It turns out that ‘Maid & Co.’ is the name of an adventuring party. Whether that is supposed to be some sort of joke, I can’t say. But this party took a job escorting a merchant caravan to Côte Sud.”
“So what? You think the maid who inspired the capital’s top mercenary company to disband is the same one who showed up in the area of Côte Sud due to be redeveloped? I suppose she hoodwinked Count Oolonteil too?”
“I am not certain of anything, but it cannot be denied that she is highly intriguing.”
“Hmm...” The marquess’s nonplussed look suddenly morphed into a grin. “She does sound interesting. I’d rather like to meet her.”
“I thought you would, my lord. I am currently working to ascertain her whereabouts.”
“How do you think she’ll compare to our maid?”
The butler chuckled. “You jest, my lord. At the end of the day, this is just an ordinary maid out of a job. It’s hardly fair to hold her up against an elite Lorsted maid like our Ciara.”
With a respectful bow, he left the room.