Martha entered Ayumi's office with a broom and bucket in hand, placed them on the floor, and began to gather the various papers scattered around the room.
'Shit... If she finds me here, I'll have no way to explain myself.' Luke thought.
The room wasn't big, but it wasn't small either. Besides the huge table at the back of the room and the armchair, there were three shelves with books, documents, and scrolls on each side.
"Atchhinn!" Martha sneezed loudly because of the dense forest dust coming in through the window. "I guess it won't do any good if I try to gather everything and the window remains open." She talked to herself.
Then the servant girl walked past the two guest chairs and stopped beside the table.
The half-wolf was holding his breath. Glancing around, he could see the pantyhose Martha was wearing and a bit of the black skirt from her uniform.
'I know it's been a while, but now is not a good time to think about it.' If the situation allowed it, Luke would have slapped himself in the face for staring at the maid's legs.
''Transfer document? Looks like things aren't going well in Oukiwa either." After absentmindedly reading the first document in the stack of papers she picked up off the floor, she said. "No, no... That's none of your business. You're just a maid and one of the best. Take care of your own problems."
'Oh! So, she's reliable like that? You should try to learn from her, Luke.' The half-wolf cautioned himself as he took advantage of the slight sound of the wind to breathe a little more.
Luke heard the woman carefully leave the papers on the table. As soon as she finished organizing them, she saw the projection artifact on the table. "What is that doing here? I guess she forgot to put it away, too."
Martha opened one of the desk drawers and put the artifact away. As she turned to close the window, Luke took a moment to get out from under the table and walked by the woman's side.
Martha heard the sound of the window locking and returned to the table. Since the Matriarch's chair was far away, she pushed it into the slot, which was where Luke had previously been hiding.
However, although he managed to get out of the room in time, Luke couldn't help but gasp for holding his breath for so long. Martha heard his breathing in the hallway.
"Is anyone there?" she fearfully questioned loudly. The silence remained for a few until the same one broke it. "Huf! I think I need more rest... I'm starting to hear things." Martha muttered low.
"Hi, excuse me. Did I make too much noise?" Luke inquired, appearing in the doorway. His black T-shirt had parts of it highlighted by sweat.
"Oh, it's you... No, you just startled me a little. Is practice over already?" she questioned, turning to the window again, trying to disguise not looking at the man's breasts. 'Did he hear me talking to myself? I guess not, huh?'
"Ann... Yes, training just ended. I was on my way to the sauna. Is everything okay here?"
"Yes, everything is okay. Have a nice shower."
Luke nodded and withdrew. After closing the sauna door, he sighed deeply. It was frustrating that he couldn't find anything relevant about the large batch of genes, but Luke didn't let himself get discouraged.
A little more relaxed, he left the sauna just twenty minutes later. However, he did not expect to find Alexis waiting for him outside.
"Can I help you?" He inquired as he put on a white shirt.
Luke didn't even realize that the half-dragon was dressed differently than usual. Alexis looked ready for a special occasion with a short red skirt, a blazer with white embroidery on the sleeves, and a neckline that highlighted her breasts.
"Actually, you can..." she said, looking more coy than usual, and then handed Luke a flyer.
On the paper was a drawing of a classic festive mask. At first, Luke didn't understand what she meant, and he didn't try to hide that fact.
"What do you want? I can't read."
"Ah! Sorry about that... it's just that there's a festival in town tonight, and Nathalia and I would like to go. Would you join us?"
"Sure." Luke agreed; he didn't have much else to do after all.
Alexis smiled, satisfied, and patted the half-wolf on the back as she whispered:
"I convinced Nath to pay everything for us. Take it easy..."
"That's great! I don't have any money."
During the sunset of that day, Vasconcelos looked like a typical city. Cheerful merchants set up their food stalls for that evening, and excited children ran through the streets. For the first time in a long time, the adventurers took off their armor and weapon belts.
With the Dungeon and the Guild closed, the adventurers now had an excuse to rest.
Meanwhile, things were beginning to heat up behind the scenes in the neighboring town a few miles away.
Gathered in a circular hall with eight thrones, the eight commanders of the eight noble families of the Broteforge Empire would soon be discussing the past, present, and future of the kingdom.
"Vasconcelos was a farming town until you discovered the Dungeon there, and then I agreed to sell my land to you. I trust the decision-making potential of both of you, especially yours, Mrs. Strogueher." Jimbe Collalto stated and finished with a smile for Ayumi.
Jimbe is a balding old man whose dark skin manages to hide his true age well. He has sharp eyes and clothes full of details, which assert his elegance.
The blind owl over the old man's shoulder gives him even more respect, both for those who judge him as a pulchritudinous man and those who realize that this handicapped owl is actually a very powerful invocation.
"Thank you, Mr.Collalto. Your support means a lot to us." Ayumi said, pleased, after all, many years ago, Jimbe was against her ascension to the post of Matriarch of the Strogueher in order of her young age.
"It is no more than your duty." Amanda Hangen retorted, with her arms crossed. This woman is a redhead and is over six feet tall. Her barbaric clothes, made from monster hide, do not show her real social standing.
Among the eight families, the Hangen family is one of the most powerful, not because of their influence over several cities in the empire, as the Stroguehers are, but because this family owns a good part of the large city of Forge Hill.
"They've arrived!" announced Oliver to Jimbe, Amanda, and Ayumi, who were the only three present in the hall.
When the five other commanders of the noble families entered the hall, they each sat on the throne whose symbol was carved on top corresponding to the coat of arms of their respective families.
"Shall we begin?" The Elf with white hair and tattoos on the upper part of her face inquired. This was Nico Sallow.
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