Commission

As a formerly outstanding youth, and a currently active young girl.

At this moment, An Ye encountered another problem after transmigrating to this other world.

That is… her stamina bar was flashing red and was about to hit bottom.

She truly, almost couldn’t walk anymore.

Actually, she really couldn’t be blamed for being this weak.

In the time since she transmigrated, the only things she had eaten were three dry, unnourishing pieces of bread.

Her hunger meter had never been full.

Then there was this rugged forest path, full of rocks, tree roots, and bushes, which was a bit difficult for An Ye, who was wearing thick-soled leather shoes.

And, in order to keep her legs from showing outside her cloak, she had to constantly control the size of her steps, all while keeping up with Sophie and the others.

The result was that her stamina depleted at a rate almost rivaling when she was being chased by the slimes.

After walking just a short distance, An Ye could already feel the aching pain in her legs.

“An, are you alright?”

Due to her guilt, Sophie had been paying attention to An Ye’s condition the entire way, clearly watching her go from full of energy at the beginning to her current, unsteady state.

They hadn’t even walked that far.

She knew that even the children from her hometown could walk several times this distance without any pressure.

Comparing the two, and looking at An Ye’s shaky appearance, Sophie became even more certain of the guess in her heart.

‘An really is a young lady from somewhere.’

“I’m fine, just a little tired.”

“Then let me support you. There’s still a ways to go, and it’s quite difficult.”

Although An Ye’s heart strongly resisted Sophie’s suggestion, and she really wanted to stubbornly say she could walk the rest of the way, when she thought about how this would slow them down, and how if she refused and then collapsed from exhaustion… she might as well just find a different world to live in.

So, in the end, after confirming that Sophie had put away all her weapons, An Ye accepted her help.

“Then… I’ll have to trouble you. I’m truly very sorry.”

Ahhh, this is so embarrassing.

To think my stamina is worse than a girl this young, and I even need her to help me walk.

An Ye, having suffered a heavy blow to her pride, subconsciously used honorifics.

“Ah… n-no, it’s fine. Then… if you’ll excuse me.”

Hearing An Ye’s reply, Sophie now completely saw her as a young lady.

She remembered her father telling her many stories about his youth, and the one that left the deepest impression on Sophie was about the noble family her father had served.

In her father’s stories, those noble young ladies, or the daughters of rich merchants, would use honorifics just like An did when they spoke.

But for common people like them, like Vic and Snow, or even the adults around them, they might only add a ‘Lord’ or ‘Lady’ when speaking to a noble, if they ever met one.

Sophie had practically wracked her brain just now, pulling a phrase that a young lady might use from the stories her father told.

At the same time, seeing a ‘character’ from her father’s stories in person for the first time, Sophie, as a girl herself, couldn’t help but feel a little curious.

For example, does An always speak with honorifics?

Does she talk in circles to express a single idea?

Does… ah, so thin.

The sensation from her hand pulled Sophie’s consciousness back to reality.

Taking the opportunity of supporting An Ye, she gently squeezed the slender shoulder in her hand.

‘She’s really thin. Isn’t this almost all bone?’

So what her father said was true, that those young ladies would deliberately control their diet to maintain their figures.

No wonder An’s stamina was so poor.

While An Ye was still struggling with the uneven ground beneath her feet, she was completely unaware that the curious Sophie was carefully observing the details she inadvertently revealed.

For example, the small leather shoes that occasionally peeked out from under the cloak.

The soft hum she made when she stepped on uneven ground and her center of gravity became unstable.

The hem of her pure white dress, revealed when her cloak was occasionally snagged by branches as they passed bushes.

If before she was suspicious, but about 80-90% sure, then now Sophie was 100% certain: An Ye was a helpless young lady who had run away from home.

Unconsciously, her movements in supporting An Ye became even gentler.

And that feeling of guilt from earlier became a little heavier.

At this moment, An Ye, who was about to collapse from exhaustion, was clearly in no position to notice this slight change in Sophie’s movements.

She just wanted to get through this stretch of road quickly, to free her feet, which were aching from the rubbing.

The rest of the way passed in silence.

When An Ye finally saw the trio’s carriage, she felt her feet burning with pain.

She had spent almost the entire latter half of the journey leaning on Sophie.

“An, you rest here for a bit. Vic, Snow, and I will go get the horses. We can set off in a little while.”

Watching Sophie walk towards the carriage parked on the side of the road, An Ye found a rock and sat down, taking the opportunity to let her feet rest for a moment.

“Hey, Sophie, I didn’t hear anything about bringing this person of unknown origin to Kexel.”

Earlier, because they were the ones who had started the trouble, Vic and Snow couldn’t really interrupt while Sophie was talking to An Ye.

Now, while An Ye was resting off to the side, Vic complained in a low voice.

“This time, I agree with Vic. No matter how you look at it, letting someone of unknown identity travel with us is too risky.”

Sophie looked at her two friends.

An Ye’s identity as a young lady probably shouldn’t be revealed.

She trusted the two of them after so many years of friendship, but she also knew that while Snow was fine, Vic had a big mouth.

If she only told Snow about An Ye, she would feel bad for Vic.

She was torn on whether to say anything.

“Actually, An, she might be…”

In the end, Sophie chose to tell them everything she knew, and at the same time, handed the longsword to Vic as proof of her speculation.

After all, she was the one who accepted An Ye’s request, so they had a right to know.

And she was willing to trust her two best friends.

“Hah!?? You’re saying she’s…”

“Shh… shh… Vic, your voice is too loud.”

Sophie quickly covered Vic’s mouth, but he broke free after only a moment.

“What’s there to be quiet about? I can’t believe you agreed to her request for someone so troublesome. And if it’s really as you think, Sophie, just being in contact with her is dangerous, let alone taking her to Kexel Town. For a request of this difficulty, this one sword is far from enough.”

After speaking, Vic walked towards An Ye, who was resting on the side.

Sophie really wanted to stop Vic, but Snow, who was beside her, grabbed her arm first.

“Let Vic go. I know you want to help her, Sophie, but our abilities are limited, and we have our own lives to live. It’s better for everyone if we get things clear.”

Snow was right.

They had to make things clear.

They were willing to take the risk and bring An Ye to Kexel Town, but An Ye should also pay a corresponding price.

Their relationship would be just that.

Once they reached Kexel Town, the request would end, and the two parties would no longer have any connection.

If An Ye couldn’t pay a reasonable reward, then they had no reason to take this risk for her, a stranger of unknown origin.

At most, they could leave her some supplies and let her go to Kexel Town on her own.

Although Sophie had already agreed to the request, and backing out wasn’t good, this was reality.

Besides, the request An Ye proposed didn’t go through the Guild.

There wasn’t even a contract.

At most, it was just a verbal agreement.

Sophie understood all this, and could only accept it in her heart…

“Hey, you’re An, right?”

An Ye noticed Vic walking over aggressively.

On the other side, Sophie didn’t seem to have any intention of coming over.

She immediately stood up and became vigilant.

“You don’t need to be so on guard. We heard about the situation from Sophie. Looking at your physical condition, your shoes, and your way of speaking, you must be a young lady from somewhere, right? Fleeing from someone, you escaped here alone.”

Hm?

An Ye’s brain went into overdrive.

No way.

She thought this kind of “reading too much into things” only happened in anime.

Or were people in this other world just particularly good at jumping to conclusions?

An Ye’s silence, in Vic’s eyes, was a tacit admission.

He held up the longsword Sophie had given him earlier.

“As you can see, we’re just three ordinary adventurers. Whether you’re a noble, a rich merchant, or something else, we can’t afford to get mixed up in the troubles of you big shots. Of course, we occasionally take on some dangerous requests, but those also require a corresponding reward.”

Ah, so that’s how it is.

In a way, their assumptions had helped her quite a bit.

After hearing Vic’s words, An Ye understood what they meant.

This kind of simple relationship was exactly what she needed.

And, it was a legitimate way to compensate them for hindering their request.

Moreover, with this “young lady” identity they had imagined for her, some things would be much simpler.

Thinking of this, An Ye re-equipped her coat, which served as a tacit confirmation of their assumptions.

Then, under Vic’s gaze, she reached into the hood-covered interior and took off a headpiece inlaid with an unknown gemstone.

[Headpiece: A cosmetic item. Makes you look pretty when you wear it. But, it also depends on the person.]

“Will this do?”

Vic’s gaze lingered on An Ye’s sleeve for a second before he took the headpiece.

Although he didn’t know anything about gems, he could at least tell that this was even more valuable than those he had seen on the nobles in Laifeng City last time.

The fabric of her sleeve, too.

“Tsk, I didn’t think you were really a young lady. Let’s get this straight, we are only responsible for taking you to Kexel Town. After that, we have nothing to do with each other.”

“No problem. That’s fine. Thank you.”

“Tch, just a word of advice. If you want to hide your identity, you’d better change your way of speaking. And when you get there, change out of those clothes that scream ‘expensive’.”

Looking at Vic’s retreating back and the situation with Sophie and Snow, since she had now chosen to use this “young lady” identity, the next skills she needed to unlock were clear.

An Ye was willing to believe these three weren’t bad people.

After all, they were willing to give her advice.

Seeing her take out a valuable item, they didn’t choose to just rob her, and were still willing to take her to Kexel Town.

But, she had to leave herself enough of an escape route, to ensure her own safety when danger arose.