Recruitment

"Alright then," Chloe says, "Wait here one moment."

"For what?" I ask.

"To get changed, of course. I can't let people see me like this," she says and closes the door.

What? She was dressed in her typical scant fashion, with nothing more than what's essentially a semi-translucent piece of silk covering her chest and hips, but I thought the whole reason for her dressing up like that was for other people to see it.

If she wasn't trying to appeal to the public, then why was she wearing that? For comfort?

Whatever, fashion is not a place for me to talk. I've usually just worn the most expensive suit my private tailor had. People had complimented me on my choice of fabric or the cultural origin of my tie, but I've always thought that to be superficial and downright stupid. I am not better than others because I wear a more exotic set of clothes. I am better than others simply because I am.

Quite some time passes, and Chloe finally comes back to the door. This time, she swings it right open, but before I could get a look into the other side, she jumps down the doorstep and slams it closed.

"Alright, let's get going," she says.

I glance her up and down. This girl is clad in iron armor. Well, not clad, many parts of her body, like her waist and thighs are for some reason missing their plates, which is a little odd, given that I would assume those to be some of the places needing the most protection.

I can't lie though, it does look good on Chloe. The armor brings an aura of power and strength to her without damaging the charisma of her femininity.

"What, you want a piece of this?" Chloe says with a smirk and sticks her hip out to her side, her armor clanking to her movement.

"No, I was just wondering why you don't have a helmet," I say.

"How will the people see my pretty face if I cover it up?"

What is with this girl?

"Uh, alright. Just come with me," I say and begin to walk out from the back alley.

This is my first time actually seeing Chloe outside. From the few times I've interacted with her, she has just been a figure behind a door. Now, she is walking around beside me. She is much shorter than she appeared when I looked up at her from below the doorstep. How old even is she? Do I bother asking?

A couple of steps in, Chloe digs the metal toe of her boot into the grass and stumbles forward, almost falling onto her face.

"Whoa, careful there. Have you never been in armor before?" I ask, as if I have ever.

She recovers her stance and clears her throat, pretending nothing had happened.

"Yes, of course I have," Chloe says while spreading her stray hair out from her face.

"Sure."

The traffic is rather loose in the afternoon. Everyone probably already has a mission in progress and is currently fighting out in the Pitted Woods, but that's not saying there is no one here. Quite a few crusaders walk these roads, just not much compared to the mornings.

"Where are we going?" Chloe asks.

"Right up at the stable," I say and point to the structure in front of us.

"Is that yellowish carriage yours?"

"Yep."

"And who are those girls? Oh, is she your Blessed Beast from the first time we met?"

"Yeah. Her name is Lohikaarmi."

Chloe squints her eyes and tries to see clearer.

"Ooh, and an elf," she says, "Wow, she is cute."

Chloe looks at me with a grin. "So you are not celibate. Why wouldn't you ever take up my offer?"

Huh? That is so wrong on so many levels. If I have an attractive servant, do I have to have some sort of intimate relationship with her? And why would she talk as if servants have no choice but to bend to their Master's every bidding? And why would she have tempted me if she thought I was celibate?

Is it just because I haven't talked to many women my age back on Earth, or do the people here appear somewhat psychotic?

"What? No, I haven't done anything to them," I say, "And for the sake of it, you can just assume I am celibate."

"Ah, that's no fun. What about that little girl? She's got your hair. Is she your sister?" Chloe asks.

"Yeah."

"She looks like a little angel."

Close. Angel is not quite there.

"And those two, are they with you, as well?"

"Hm? Who?" I ask, gazing into the distance to look for what two Chloe was referring to.

"Those two."

She points to where my carriage is parked. Now I see them. The figures of a man and a woman appear from the other side of a plank wall and approach Faye and the others.

Connor and Tessa? No, Connor is considerably bigger than that man.

"No, I don't know them. Come on, let's go find out what's going on," I say and pick up the speed.

"What? Oh, okay."

Once we get off the grass onto the stone road, Chloe's soles crash into the ground with every step she takes.

The man begins to get really close to Faye and Lohikaarmi, like, an uncomfortable distance, even for me to look at. The woman stands unmovingly beside them and watches. At least the carriage is not the area of interest.

Astra is waving around and probably talking, but I can't hear her. The weird thing is that she seems to be directing her gestures toward Lohikaarmi more than the man, which is a good thing since she is likely stopping Lohikaarmi from burning the place down.

When we get close enough, I can see the details on their faces. The man is dressed in knight armor. His hair is short, dark, and well-trimmed. Slick white gold patterns decorate his metal chest plate. He is very visibly some young nobility, which does not give the current situation a good outlook.

The woman, on the other hand, is not at all armored. She is in a fairly classy-looking dress with laces around her waist, but it doesn't fit her well. The sleeves extend past her hands, and the bottom of the dress drags on the ground. She bears similar conduct as Lohikaarmi, standing straight, reserved, and mostly motionless. A servant, probably.

And like Lohikaarmi, something is not quite human with her. At the top of her curly, dark-yellow hair, two flaps of fur droop down the side of her head. They are dog ears, more specifically, some time of retriever ears. There is a small hump underneath her dress around her rear. It is not the type of hump possessed by a well-physiqued woman, but rather, it resembles a tail.

Another real Blessed Beast? I doubt she is much older than Faye.

"Aw, crap," Chloe suddenly says and touches her forehead with her hand.

"What?" I ask.

"That's Julian van Weston."

"Who is that?" Seeing the displease on her face, I can't expect to hear a good reply.

"The cardinal's nephew," she says.