A wall surrounded the city of Fulmoon. Beyond it were farms, shops selling travel supplies, and even houses, but for the most part, the city gave way to nearly untouched wilderness.
“Two girls? I know it’s Cray Spring, but you be careful, you hear?” The guard returned Emily’s adventurer license, adding, “No bandits around there, but lately, I’ve heard alarming rumors of a giant bird that’s been carrying off horses.”
“A giant bird? Cray Spring’s in the forest, so it should be fine, right?”
“Hmmm. Fair point. Still, I’d keep an eye out if I were you.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Emily waved off the guard, who moved on to checking the next traveler.
The two of them set off through the plains. The road was narrow but easy to walk on, and although they passed a number of people who appeared to be on their way back from Cray Spring, fewer than half had bodyguards with them. That seemed to indicate they wouldn’t run into thieves or monsters.
About three hours after they left the city, the forest came into view.
“We’ll go into the forest next, but I wouldn’t recommend we spend the night in there,” Emily said. “Let’s camp here.”
“All right.”
Emily looked at Nina. “Hey, you okay?”
“Oh, yes... I’m fine, really.”
It wasn’t surprising that Emily would ask. In preparation for this unnecessary camping trip, not only had they brought indispensable blankets and food, but Nina had come out and said, “I’d like to cook outside,” so they also had cooking equipment. Someone had to carry all of it. Normally, an adventuring party would have split the load, but Emily was on her own. Nina, without skipping a beat, had offered to help, so she too carried a significant amount of luggage.
At first, Emily couldn’t work out how such a tiny girl could possibly have the stamina to walk with such a big backpack for long. Yet here they were, three hours later, and Nina looked as fresh as ever.
“You’re pretty tough, aren’t you?” Emily commented.
“Any maid could do the same,” replied Nina. She clasped her hands together and bowed.
Any maid? I don’t know about that... Emily was skeptical, but she’d never been around maids before, so what did she know? That said, she seriously doubted the strength of a burly man was one of the job requirements.
“Right, let’s get a fire going...” said Emily. “I can do that much. Well, it’s actually the only thing I can do.”
“The only thing?”
“Don’t worry about it.” Emily neatly stacked the firewood, then held her hands over it.
“Spirits of flame, come to my hands.” Following her incantation, the fire burst into life.
“Oh my!” Nina exclaimed in amazement. The flames spread hungrily, burning through the dry branches.
“Have you...never seen magic before?”
“Not fire magic, no. It’s so curious, isn’t it? Not to mention wondrous and beautiful.”
“Huh...” For reasons that Nina did not understand, Emily gave a melancholy smile.
“Now, then! This is where I take over!” Nina rolled up her sleeves and began to pull ingredients out of the bags.
“Huh? You can cook? Oh right, what was it you said? Any maid can do it?”
“Just leave it to me,” said Nina. She laid a hand on her breast and bobbed her head courteously—every gesture graceful, Emily noted—then, she got to cooking.
“I’m gonna burst...” Emily could have happily died then and there. Well, that was going a bit far, but that was how blissful she felt.
She was in awe. Who could have imagined camp cooking could be so good?
“I’m so stuffed I could die...”
None of the ingredients were anything out of the ordinary; Emily had bought them at the store she always used.
Nina, however, took cooking seriously. She browned the meat before stewing it, added varieties of herbs that Emily would never have touched, and brought it all together with all sorts of seasonings. The resulting dish looked like a simple meat and tomato soup—but with a depth of flavor beyond anything Emily had tasted before. Before she knew it, she’d gone back for seconds—and taken the whole pot.
“I’m glad it was to your liking,” said Nina.
“You bet it was. You could be a pro. I sure didn’t expect to eat Italian out here...”
“Ita...li...? What is that?”
“Oh, um. Don’t worry about it.”
“Well, if you’re sure. Will you be retiring for the night, then?”
“Gah!” Emily, having been sprawled on the ground, sat bolt upright. “I’m the adventurer here—I keep watch! I can’t let you—”
“Come now, there’s no need to trouble yourself.” Nina sat beside her and pulled on her hand. To her confusion, Emily was unable to resist and found herself lying down. The back of her head rested on something soft. She realized it was Nina’s lap.
“Wha... Wha... What the?!”
“You are plainly exhausted. Now, if you’ll just relax for me...”
“Huh?”
Nina ran her fingers over Emily’s hair, then, finding the spot she was looking for, squeezed down hard. Emily felt a prickling like electricity and went limp. Nina was giving her a scalp massage.
“Mrmmm...” she sighed.
“You’ve had to be on guard to keep me safe. Thank you,” said Nina. “Right now, you can relax.”
“Mrm...mmmm...” Emily could feel the tension drain out of her in response to the pleasant pressure. Right next to her, the campfire crackled. Around them, the night was dark and still, and looking up, the sky was full of stars. For one, drowsy moment, Emily let her guard down, and fell asleep.
“Agh!” She sat bolt upright again. It was still nighttime.
“You’re awake? I’ll put on some tea.”
“What? No— Wait, was I asleep?!”
“Do lie down and relax.”
“No, no way! I told you I can’t do that! How come you’re the one looking after me?!”
“Drink your tea. It’ll wake you up.”
“Oh, um, thank... Wait, no!” An herbal aroma wafted up from the wooden cup of tea Nina held out to her. Emily could tell it would be soothing and refreshing. But she went on. “Look, I don’t know why I fell asleep like that, but—”
“Because you were tired.”
“But I never want you to do that again,” she finished firmly.
Perhaps because of her tone, Nina grew flustered. “I-I’m terribly sorry. It wasn’t my place,” she stammered, bowing deeply.
“N-No, it’s not like that! Ugh, I’m sorry. I really am. I shouldn’t have spoken to you like that,” Emily said. “Would you stop bowing?”
“But...”
“Look, you offered me a job and I took it. That makes you the client and me the adventurer you hired, and...when I don’t live up to that role, it makes me feel pathetic.”
“Emily, I am a maid without any clue what I’m doing. It is a great comfort to me that you are here at my side. Isn’t that enough?”
“It’s nice of you to say so, but if that’s what you want, there are plenty of adventurers with more experience and skill than me. I get it. You...felt sorry for me.”
“No, I...”
Emily knew she’d put Nina in a difficult spot. To wash the bitter regret from her mouth, she swallowed a mouthful of herbal tea.
“I should have told you from the start. You know why I got in that fight at the guild? Why he called me Forever-a-Rookie?”
Emily decided she would tell Nina, who knew next to nothing about adventurers or magic, her story.