The first thing I saw when I woke up was Firana-oneesama, gently looking at me.

I could also feel my hair being brushed gently, it felt really good.

What was I……

…..!

I immediately tried to get up from my position but Firana-oneesama stopped me by pressing on my forehead and holding my head in place.

“F-Firana-oneesama, I apologize for…..!”

Firana-oneesama’s small giggle stopped me before I could even finish my sentence.

“No need to worry so much, I do not mind it at all.”

“B-But for me to just fell asleep on my own like that…..”

“You were tired from using all that magic right? Setting aside whether you were awake or not, the wall of vines you left before falling asleep let us rest easy. Thank you for that.”

“N-No, I did not do anything worth getting thanked for……”

Firana-oneesama then looked at me directly in the eyes with a serious expression.

“Misa, you should not undermine the value of yourself and your action. Humility is good but knowing the worth of your action is even better.”

“Y-Yes……”

Firana-oneesama let out a sigh before continuing to brush my hair gently.

I thought Firana-oneesama still had more to say but we just spent our time together there for a while, it was so comfortable that I almost fell asleep again.

“F-Firana-oneesama…..?”

“Yes?”

“Are we not supposed to escort back the girls here back to town…..?”

Firana-oneesama let out another sigh, still stroking my head.

“It was a miscalculation on my part.”

“Miscalculation?”

“It seemed like some of the girls were feed less than others, to the point where some of them hadn’t eaten in days and the last time they ate they were only given a piece of bread. When they got free access to the food stored by the bandits, some of them ate too much. Now a lot of them cannot really move so we will have to wait until they recover.”

Ahhh, I’ve read somewhere that if you haven’t eaten for a long period of time then ate a lot after, your stomach wouldn’t be able to handle the sudden change or something, I guess it’s a case of that?

“How long do you think will it take for them to recover?”

“It should take no more than a day or two, though regardless our plan to go to the neighbouring town is completely out of the window. I apologize for that.”

“N-No, it is fine! We can always go after the expedition.”

“Yes, I suppose so…..”

Firana-oneesama still sounded a bit down.

Surprisingly, Firana-oneesama can be quite sulky when things don’t go according to her plan.

Just like that time too when she forgot that me and El’s planned debut was clashing with the expedition.

I inadvertently let out a small giggle as I thought about it.

“Hmmm? What is it?”

“No, it’s nothing~”

I said in a playful tone and let out another giggle.

Firana-oneesama didn’t pursue any further and continued brushing my hair.

Still, if Firana-oneesama always acts like this when things don’t go to plan, does that mean the whole thing with the bandit……

With how strong Firana-oneesama is, she could’ve easily wiped out all the bandits when we were still at the carriage.

Still, despite that she let herself get captured and brought here.

It feels a bit sad that Firana-oneesama valued exterminating the bandits entirely as compared to…..

No, I shouldn’t be thinking like this!

We ended up saving a lot of people in the process, and even tracked down the bad nobles who’ve been involved in slave trafficking so result-wise it’s definitely good.

Besides, the fact that I get to spend time with Firana-oneesama like this is already something to be grateful about.

“What are you thinking about Misa?”

“N-No, it’s nothing.”

Firana-oneesama let out a sigh from my reply.

“…..Is it something you cannot talk with me?”

“That…..”

To be honest I didn’t exactly want to talk with her about it but after looking at her concerned face, I set aside my own insecurities and asked her.

“Firana-oneesama, you could have beaten those bandits when we were still at the carriage right? Right before they brought us here.”

“That is so.”

“Then why did you not do so?”

Firana-oneesama averted her gaze, looking straight ahead.

She looked like she was deep in thought.

Just when I was about to call out to her again to tell her never mind, she looked back at me with a serious expression.

“I apologize for that. I knew we were never in any real danger, but I did not consult with you beforehand or even said anything after we got here. You must have been scared.”

“N-No…! W-Well, it was true that I was scared and got a bit worried when Firana-oneesama started acting all timid and scared when the boss bandit came……”

“Yes, I thought he would spill everything more easily if I were to do so, though the fish ended up coming on its own.”

It was amazing how convincing her acting was, I was honestly fooled too back then.

It was a good thing that I didn’t accidently step out of the line and ruined Firana-oneesama’s plan.

“Once again, I apologize for doing that without consulting to you first.”

“N-No, I do not mind it at all! In the end, both of us are safe and that is all that matters! Besides, we ended up saving all the other girls here and even tracked down the bad nobles, it also helps me reaffirm my trust to Firana-oneesama.”

Firana-oneesama let out a sigh to my reply and looked at me with a firm expression.

“Misa, you should not be so trusting to other people. With how gullible you are, you will only end up being taken advantage of.”

“I-I do not think I am that trusting…..”

Besides, being taken advantage of means I’m of use to someone else at least.

“Anyway, I promise I will tell you more about my plan in case we encountered something similar again. I would like to say it is best if we do not encounter something like this again but as nobles, or rather as part of the Selesia family that is highly unlikely.”

Firana-oneesama’s word really got me curious.

“Does Firana-oneesama get into trouble like this a lot?”

“What do you take me for? This kind of thing is not common, it just so happened that we were a bit unlucky, or I suppose lucky to be attacked like that. Besides…..”

Firana-oneesama suddenly stopped her sentence and looked towards the entrance that I blocked off.

“More of them?”

“Ehhhh!?”

Now that Firana-oneesama mentioned it, I could hear some voices from beyond the vines I created.

“Misa, prepare for battle.”

I got up from Firana-oneesama’s lap and prepared myself.

My mana still hasn’t fully recovered but it should be enough to support Firana-oneesama.

Firana-oneesama also took out her pair of giant scissors from who-knows-where, as they just suddenly appeared out of thin air like all the previous times.

“Your top priority is to not let any of them pass through and get to the captives. I will handle the rest.”

“Y-Yes…..!”

Even if it’s for something simple like this, it felt really nice to be relied on by Firana-oneesama.

Soon enough the sound of a sword cutting through the vines could be heard as sunlight poured in from the gap that was cut.

Firana-oneesama split the giant scissors into two like she did before and got into stance, I also prepared myself to summon a wall of vines in case thy charged in.

As soon as the gap on the vines was opened enough that I could see the silhouette of a person behind it, Firana-oneesama immediately sprung forward with her scissors and stabbed forward.

I could hear the sound of metals clashing after, followed by Firana-oneesama jumping back and taking distance again.

“It seems like they have some skill.”

I may not be that adept of a fighter but the vines should’ve still blocked the vision of the person in front of the hole from seeing inside, and Firana-oneesama wasn’t exactly slow with her attack either.

I felt like if it was the bandits that were here before that Firana-oneesama killed, they wouldn’t be skilled enough to block that attack.

Maybe the bandit boss might be able to do it? But then again I didn’t know how he could react to a surprise attack like that.

Maybe agitated by Firana-oneesama’s attack, the person outside picked up the pace and cut through all the vines in one go, it was in such a swift motion that I could call it in an instant.

The sunlight now poured in fully to the room though maybe because we’ve been in this relatively dark room for so long that it took me a bit to adjust my eyes as their figure was a blur to me.

I could see that there were 4 people at least, 2 males and 2 females?

Before I could see properly, one of them charged ahead at Firana-oneesama with a sword in hand, swinging it at a speed that my eyes couldn’t follow.

Firana-oneesama didn’t have any issue blocking it with one of her scissor, though in basically no time at all another also came swinging from the other side, which Firana-oneesama blocked with the other half.

One of them then vanished from sight and appeared right behind Firana-oneesama with a dagger on hand, swinging it to the defenceless Firana-oneesama.

It had a bit of time lag compared to the first 2 swings so I had time to react this time, creating a wall of vines between the person and Firana-oneesama.

The dagger cut through my vines but it was enough to stop the momentum from reaching Firana-oneesama.

Afterwards, the two that were promptly clashing their swords with Firana-oneesama suddenly stepped back together, the guy with the dagger also dashed towards me this time probably noticing that I was the one who made that wall of vines.

I could see the person on the back raising what looked to be a staff as a large something rapidly approached Firana-oneesama.

I summoned a tree in between Firana-oneesama and the approaching object and I could hear something similar to the sound of a glass breaking, was it ice?

Still, because I did that I barely had any time to react to the person holding the dagger, but the person suddenly stopped in his track and turned around, blocking Firana-oneesama’s scissor with the dagger.

The other 2 who were holding swords didn’t miss the opportunity and quickly covered the distance, but with an unnatural twirl Firana-oneesama dodged both of their swing.

After that the dagger-wielding person separated and went back to the other 2, keeping their distance from Firana-oneesama.

Firana-oneesama also moved closer to me as she got back into stance.

Amidst that tension…..

“Hmmm…..? W-Wait, isn’t that the girl we saw on that we saw on that café!?”

A familiar voice could be heard.

I took a closer look at them now that they stopped attacking.

Wait, it’s the guys from [Union of the Crest]!

“You guys are bandits!?”

I shouted out in surprise.

“No no no, wait wait!!!!! It’s a misunderstandiinnggg!!!”

Roja shouted out as he sheathed back his dagger and lifted both of his hands up.

Gio and Kanade also sheathed their swords and Tulip walked closer to us.

Firana-oneesama was still fully vigilant but took a glance at me, her eyes looked at me as if saying she demanded an explanation.

“Firana-oneesama, they are a group of high ranking adventurer I got to met while I was going out with my friends. Or rather, didn’t Firana-oneesama watched me through Rosa back then?”

“I did not see such a thing. Rosa-sama only told me about your conversation with your friends back then.”

Probably getting that they’re not an enemy now, Firana-oneesama also connected her scissors back to one, though she’s still holding it in her right hand while keeping vigilant.

The 4 of them stepped closer to us with Gio leading the way.

“Let us introduce ourselves. We are [Union of the Crest]. I’m Gio, this is Roja, Kanade, and Tulip.”

Gio gave a brief self-introduction of themselves to Firana-oneesama, handing her his guild card.

After briefly glancing at it, Firana-oneesama handed it back to Gio.

“Firana Selesia, 2^nd daughter of the Selesia family, though I suppose that does not mean much to you adventurers.”

Firana-oneesama stabbed her scissors to the ground and give a curtsy.

Gio then started explaining the reason they’re here.

“We came here to finish a bandit subjugation request from the guild but from the looks of it, there’s nothing for us to do anymore here.”

“Y-Yes, we have dealt with all the bandits here yesterday. Some of the captives were still unwell so we decided to wait another day or two before escorting them back to town.”

“Is that so? Seeing how skilful the two of you are, I have no doubt in my mind that that’s what happened.”

We went deeper inside so we could take a seat and and discussed further.

Some of the girls let out a shriek as they saw the party, probably scared of the unfamiliar people thanks to the trauma from the bandits.

Me and Firana-oneesama had to explain to them and calmed them down, it ended up taking a while.

After we were done, we regrouped with the party and started discussing further.

“So what are you two going to do now?”

Firana-oneesama went deep in thought for a bit before looking back at Gio.

“Could you tell me what time of the day is it now?”

“Hmmm, the sun was right above us when we arrived.”

“I see. Then, could I entrust you with handling the task of escorting back the girls here?”

Gio looked around the room for a bit.

“From the looks of it, there are 8 girls held captive here?”

“15. 2 of them are tending to the 5 that’re not feeling well. There’s also 1 noble you need to escort back and hand over to the guards.”

“Even a noble?”

“We were here mid-transaction after all.”

‘Or rather he was even planning to buy us!’, I shouted in my mind, though I didn’t voice it out and let Firana-oneesama lead the conversation instead.

“I see. With the way you put it, I’m guessing you want us to escort the girls and the noble back?”

“It is good that you are so perceptive. Yes, that is what I want you to do, seeing as how Misa trusted you.”

Well, it’s not as if I know them that well either though……

“That’s no problem to us, since that’s why we came here in the first place after all. Still, how should we split the reward?”

“That is of no concern to me. You can split it between yourself.”

“But that’s…..”

“It is simply too troublesome for such a small reward. Besides, I have already gotten what I wanted.”

Frillia-oneesama took a piece of paper from her pocket and lightly waved it around.

“I see…..If you insist, then we’ll gladly accept your offer.”

This time Gio took out his guild card and placed it on the table right in front of Firana-oneesama.

“Then at the very least accept this. It’s our guild card, in case you want to nominate a quest to us then just hand this over to the receptionist and we’ll finish the quest.”

Firana-oneesama didn’t say anything further and just pocketed the card.

“Well then, we shall bid our farewell here. Misa, let us go.”

Firana-oneesama stood up and promptly left Gio and the others.

I also waved my hand at them and chased Firana-oneesama in a hurry.

“Do we need to be in such a hurry, Firana-oneesama?”

“Yes we do. We would not make it before night falls if we were to go at a slow pace after all.”

“Make it where?”

“To Tidia, the neighboring town we were planning to head to in the first place.”

“…..!”

I was surprised when Firana-oneesama’s words.

“Ehhhh? We are really going there now?”

“Yes. We had no choice but to abandon the plan a while ago but now that those guys are here, they can handle the whole thing. They are definitely skilful enough to do so. Do you not want to?”

“N-No, it would be my pleasure!”

Firana-oneesama let out a small giggle.

“Good. I saw that you looked dissapointed after I mentioned we could not go.”

“Ehhh!? W-Was it that obvious…..?”

“Yes. I also felt bad for having to cancel our plan due to my choice of actions so this works out. I was also looking forward to spending time with you after all.”

“T-That….! I-It is my honor to get to spend time with you Firana-oneesama!”

“No, it is my pleasure.”

We both let out a little laugh as we exited the cave.