Chapter 22: He has laurel! This person has laurel!

The inner car’s speed was neither fast nor slow, and before long it entered the imperial capital.

Medieval-style majestic buildings were everywhere, as common as wholesale goods.

Cathedrals with grand domes were nothing out of the ordinary here.

With magic, you really could accomplish so much more.

Including this subway—or rather, the inner car.

There was no roar of steam or hum of electric motors.

So it really was magic-powered.

Before she could take in the scenery along the way, the train arrived at the station.

She looked up at the sky.

The sun was already gone, leaving only a faint glow on the horizon.

“Looks like we won’t make it in time today.”

Selina felt a twinge of regret.

She wouldn’t be able to check in at the church.

Better find the nearest inn and rough it for one night.

All the travel money was spent, so she’d have to cover the inn herself.

With a sigh, Selina could only pick up her beloved little leather suitcase and go looking for an inn.

Darkness fell quickly.

Streetlights flickered on along the road.

This city was ridiculously modern.

Selina wandered aimlessly along the street, trying to find an inn that would take her in.

She had already checked three places ahead—unfortunately, either they were full or the price was ugly.

Was she really going to have to sleep on the street tonight?

Selina furrowed her pretty brow.

Just as she was about to accept her fate, she spotted a girl lying under a streetlight not far away.

The girl lifted her head, and their eyes met.

After about three seconds of staring, Selina made a decision…

Turn around and leave.

Sorry, but she still had a main quest to follow.

She didn’t want to pick up a side quest.

“Wait! Why are you turning around and leaving? When you see a beautiful girl collapsed by the roadside, shouldn’t you help her up!!!”

How—when did she wrap herself around her leg?!

A flash step?

Teleport?

This girl is cheating!

She’s totally cheating!

….

At some restaurant in the imperial capital.

“Who am I? Where am I? How did I suddenly end up eating?”

Selina looked around in bewilderment.

At least from the menu and the décor, she could tell it was a budget restaurant.

The girl in front of her was already ordering without any hesitation.

Cheese sandwich, roast lamb leg, fried sausage, half a roast chicken.

Looked like a bunch of high-calorie food.

Selina sized up the girl, who didn’t look much older than her.

Brown, slightly wavy hair, sharp facial features.

If she had a more serious expression, she would probably come off as an elegant, mature woman.

Her chest wasn’t particularly full, but it was well-proportioned.

Her clothes were practical: a black short skirt with leggings, paired with one long stocking and one short one.

On top, she wore a plain gray shirt under a loose jacket.

On Earth, she’d be considered pretty fashion-forward.

“Hey, who are you anyway? Dragging me here all of a sudden and ordering without asking…”

Selina wore a grumpy cat face, thoroughly expressing her displeasure.

“Sorry! I was just so hungry! Let me introduce myself—I’m Melrose.”

“Selina.”

She answered grumpily.

Just then, the dishes Melrose ordered began to arrive one by one, while in front of Selina was only the complimentary vegetable salad.

The girl across from her began to eat heartily, without a shred of table manners, wolfing down food like a storm.

“Aren’t you eating? Why not? Does the food not suit your taste?”

Even though the way the girl ate was strangely appetizing, Selina thought about the prices in the imperial capital.

Suddenly, she wasn’t hungry anymore.

She took a couple of sips of plain water, then used her fork to put some vegetable salad into her mouth.

Selina felt like a sheep eating grass.

No comparison, no harm—it was tasteless as wax.

It was called vegetable salad, but there was no dressing in it.

After a couple of chews, she stopped eating.

Melrose, on the other hand, had already devoured everything in front of her.

She licked the grease off her lips.

Seeing such an energetic girl was actually kind of endearing.

“If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going now. Maybe we’ll meet again someday.”

Selina prepared to stand up and leave, but suddenly felt a pressure on her shoulder.

It was something more terrifying than the aura of death.

Just as she got up, she was pushed right back down.

The waitress—a big-sister type in a server outfit—squinted her eyes and stared straight at Selina.

“You haven’t paid yet~”

Selina turned to look at Melrose.

Melrose looked away, refusing to meet Selina’s eyes, with a guilty expression on her face.

Clearly written on her face were three big words—I have no money.

Selina’s blood pressure shot up.

Even if you’re a pretty girl, isn’t this going a bit too far?!

Suppressing her anger, Selina asked the waitress big sister.

“How much is this meal?”

“Eleven iron coins and two copper coins. I’ll round it down—just eleven iron coins will do~”

How much?!

A country nun’s monthly wage was only four silver coins.

This one meal cost a quarter of that.

This place looked like a budget restaurant!

Had she run into a restaurant assassin?

A rip-off!

A definite rip-off!

Just as Selina was about to protest, the waitress big sister’s smiley eyes drained her of the courage to resist.

She leaned in and whispered in Selina’s ear.

“You can pay on credit here… but the price is ~ becoming big sister’s girl~”

She let out a breath, blowing right into her ear.

Selina instantly went weak, and her cheeks flushed pink.

Selina.

Age: fourteen.

Mental age: unknown, but at least over thirty.

Still an innocent maiden.

In the end, she paid out of her own pocket.

Ouch, that hurt. (╯▂╰)

Too many tricks in the city—I want to go back to the countryside!

Outside the restaurant, the waitress big sister sweetly waved them goodbye.

At this point, Selina could have strangled Melrose.

“Um… once I get my salary this month, I’ll pay you back right away…”

Melrose said sheepishly.

Selina just looked at her with a resentful expression.

“Like I’d believe you. You’re rotten to the core!”

“Uh… then could you leave me your address? I promise! I swear I’ll pay you back! I swear by my identity as a Rose Knight!”

Never heard of it.

Probably some no-name order.

Selina sighed.

“Don’t bother. I don’t have a place to stay yet. We’ll talk later. Just think of it as me buying a lesson.”

Melrose blinked and asked, “You don’t have a place to stay? But aren’t you a nun… Oh, oh, I see! I get it!”

What did she get?

She hadn’t misunderstood, had she?

“Then why don’t you come stay at my place? My house is huge. I live alone, and it gets kind of lonely.”

Uh…

Selina fell into thought.

She didn’t seem like a bad person, but she couldn’t just let her looks decide her morals.

“Big sister can guarantee she’s a good person~ If you’re still worried, you can come sleep in big sister’s room~”

The waitress big sister waved a handkerchief from the second floor, her beautiful eyes full of sincerity.

Selina felt like they were teaming up to scam her.

A group operation?

After thinking for a moment, Selina chose to follow Melrose.

Grandpa Laite had told her that there was a huge gap between Tier 3 and Tier 4.

With a bit of talent, one could reach Tier 3.

But once you reached Tier 3, you needed the methods provided by the Church or the Empire to break through to Tier 4.

In other words, Tier 4 and above were monopolized by the Empire and the Church.

Among commoners, unless you were an absolute genius, even if you had talent, you couldn’t break past Tier 3 on your own.

As a peak Tier 3, Selina might not be able to beat her opponent, but at least she could still run away.