I followed Noele to a spare room in her house. A guest room. I would’ve thought I’d be staying in Nora’s old room or whatever, but this house was bigger than I thought. There were five bedrooms total— two spare rooms on the first floor, and three on the second floor reserved for their family.
One of the spare rooms was being used by both Skye and Deon, so that just left the last room which I would be sleeping in. I set my things down onto the bed and turned back to Noele.
“Right, here are your things,” I said and passed her a Bag of Holding.
She accepted it with a nod. “Oh, thanks. I’ll just put this in my room real quick.”
“Sure.”
I watched as she started to scurry off, then pause. The blonde girl stopped by the doorway, glancing down the hall.
“By the way, what’s Garron doing here?” Noele asked curiously. “We don’t exactly have an extra room for him to stay in.”
I shrugged. “He wanted to tag along. Said he was tired of just hanging around Windrip.”
The blonde girl’s brows furrowed. “I see.” But she didn’t add anything else. She just accepted my answer and took her leave. “I’ll be right back.”
While she was gone, I took my time to unpack my belongings, although I didn’t have very many belongings in the first place, so it didn’t take me long to unpack. Then I just collapsed into the bed to wait and lay there in silence as I wondered how I should tell Noele about the Frenzied Five.
They were a part of the Miststorm Riders— the bandit group responsible for killing Nora, the Noble Spellsword’s sister. So Noele could take the news in two different ways. The first would be that she’d celebrate. After all, the people she vilified were dead. Justice was served, and it was sweet.
Or maybe she’d be upset with me. It was entirely possible Noele herself wanted to exact revenge against those responsible for murdering her sister. I didn’t know. It was just a pain in the ass.
“Dealing with people sucks…” I murmured.
“Oh, I apologize if I’m bothering you,” a soft voice said.
Blinking, I sat up to see a middle-aged woman standing by the door. I sat up and faced her apologetically.
“Sorry, I was just thinking aloud to myself. You’re Nicole, right? Noele’s mother?”
“Indeed I am.” Nicole spoke with a slight twang— her accent wasn’t entirely evident, but it was still there. “We haven’t properly been introduced to each other, have we?”
That was true. While I had helped save them from the Fallen Wyvern’s Keep, we didn’t get a chance to speak. They were too busy having a heartfelt reunion with Noele.
“Right, I’m Amelia. I’m, uh…” I started, but I wasn’t really sure how to describe my relationship with Noele. Before I could come up with an appropriate description, I was cut off.
“You’re her mentor,” Nicole said with a nod. “My sweet little pumpkin pie told me you’re an S-rank adventurer who picked her up as a student just a few months ago. But that is odd…” She quirked a brow, and I blinked.
“What’s odd?” I asked.
Nicole peered at me before shaking her head. “It is strange that an S-rank adventurer like you has no Class.”
And I paused. “What…?”
That comment took me aback. Out of all the things Nicole could have said, I didn’t expect her to remark on my lack of a Class. I just stared at Nicole as she gave me a mischievous grin.
“How did you—”
“How did I know?” Nicole tilted her head and chuckled. “I’m a Level 27 [Farmer’s Merchant]— it’s a hybrid Class between [Farmer] and [Trader].”
I narrowed my eyes as she spoke. “Don’t you have to be a [Mage] to see my Class?”
“Well, even most [Mages] lack the [Appraisal] Skill necessary to see your Class. But as a [Trader], you’d want to be able to intuit the levels of your customers and partners, especially when you’re going to be making deals with strangers. So I guess you can say I just have [A Keen First Impression], and I inferred you were Level 0.”
Nicole winked at me as I massaged my chin.
“That’s… a Skill, huh?” And judging by its name, it didn’t exactly tell Nicole my level like with an [Appraisal] Skill, she just felt like I had no levels, which meant I had no Class.
It wasn’t a big deal to me. I mostly kept it a secret to avoid any troubles it could bring my way. And considering this was Noele’s family, I doubt they’d cause me too many problems for having no Class. However, I couldn’t be too certain…
“You’re right,” I said as I shrugged. “I don’t have a Class. I hope it’s not a big deal for you—” I started, but I was interrupted once again.
“That’s intriguing!” Nicole clapped her hands together. She leaned forward excitedly— surprisingly spry for her age— and she spoke as the twang in her voice entirely vanished, oddly enough. “I have so many questions to ask you! I knew my Noele was lying to me, but I can see why she’d keep it a secret.”
“Oh, uh, I guess I can answer your questions.” I backed up, glancing past her. I hoped Noele would return soon, but the blonde girl was nowhere to be seen.
I didn’t expect her mother to be like… a teenage girl.
“You know, I was Class-less for a bit too!” Nicole exclaimed, and I blinked.
“You were?”
“When I was changing Class— I used to be a [Mage], you see? Not the adventuring-type like Noele. I was going to become an [Adept] or a [Scholar] once I went to Astral’s Academy of the Arts and Arcane. But then I met my husband…” the middle-aged woman trailed off her as her gaze softened.
“R-right.” I wasn’t sure what else to say. I resigned myself to listening to her backstory, only for her to shake her head.
“But it’s in the past now.” Noele’s mother nodded as she stepped back with a smile. Her accent mostly gone. “I do wish I could stay and chat even longer. Unfortunately, I have to go now. I have a meeting with a [Trader] from Whiteridge, and I’m running late. I am glad I could properly introduce myself to you. Let’s speak more later, alright?”
“Uh, sure.” I watched as Nicole turned to leave the room.
But right as she was about to exit, I spotted Noele walking down the corridor. The Noble Spellsword blinked as she stared at her mother.
“Mama? What are you doing?”
“I was just catching up with your mentor, my sweet little pumpkin pie,” Nicole replied cheerfully, much to Noele’s chagrin.
“Mama! I’m not a little girl anymore!” the blonde girl flushed. She scowled and walked past her mother. “Don’t call me that…”
“I will call you what I want, sweetie. Now Mama’s going to go now.”
The middle-aged woman scurried off as Noele was left grumbling at the doorway. The Noble Spellsword entered my room with her shoulders slumped, and I smirked at her.
“Nice nickname,” I said.
And she rolled her eyes. “If that’s how you’re going to play it, I’m going to call you master from now on.”
I just snorted in return.
—--
I took my time to settle into Noele’s farm home. Meeting her mother was almost exhausting, but her father was a lot calmer in comparison. We had an ordinary conversation once he returned from working out in the fields for the day.
“Once again, I must thank you,” Nolan said with his head bowed, and a straw hat held to his chest. “For not just taking my daughter under your care, but for saving our lives just a week ago. I owe you a great debt.”
Unlike Nicole, Nolan’s accent was quite clearly there. Proof that he had grown up here in Wolfwater, rather than moving to this village later on in his life like his wife. I just waved a hand dismissively as he raised his head.
“IIf you want to pay me back, you can teach me how to farm,” I replied simply.
Nolan paused. “That’s all? I can certainly do that…”
Hopefully he’d be able to explain all the requirements necessary to become a [Farmer]. I wasn’t optimistic that this would play out any more successfully than my past attempts at getting a Class, but I was going to give it a try anyways.
Meanwhile, Noele profusely apologized to Garron since they weren’t able to provide him shelter.
“We really didn’t expect you to be coming. Maybe you can squeeze together in the spare room with Deon and Skye? But I’ll have to ask—” Noele started.
“It’s fine,” the Steel Tank said. “I can find my own lodging in Wolfwater. I do not wish to impose on you or your family.”
Noele sighed in relief. “You can stay over for dinner, of course! My Papa and I are going to be cooking a delicious stew…”
I was glad to see that after some bonding time with Deon, Garron had recovered from the trip to Wolfwater just fine. I didn’t see Saros hanging around, but to be honest, I didn’t expect this house to be so crowded either. So I was glad that gnome wasn’t here to make things even more rambunctious than it already was.
I was starting to miss the peace and quiet from when I was alone. Which was an odd paradox, since I preferred being alone when I was in a crowd, and I preferred being in a crowd when I was alone.
Deon and Skye helped prepare the dishes for dinner, and once Noele was done chatting with Garron, she headed for the kitchen to give her father a hand. I decided now was as good of a time as any to speak with her about the Frenzied Five, so I intercepted her, giving her a small nod.
“Can we speak real quick, Noele?” I said as I brought her over to the side.
The blonde girl followed me curiously. “Of course— did something happen?” she asked with a frown. “Did my Mama say something weird to you again?”
“She didn’t.” I shook my head. “I just wanted to talk to you about the Miststorm Riders.”
“The Miststorm Riders…?” Noele blinked. And her gaze darkened. “Right, what about them?”
“Have you heard of the Frenzied Five?” I asked first, to which she nodded.
She closed her eyes as she spoke in a low voice. “I have heard about them— they’re a terrible bunch. The worst of the Miststorm Riders. They’ve committed unimaginable atrocities all throughout Laxo. Their leader even has a larger bounty on his head than the boss of the Miststorm Riders. I… why do you ask?”
“Do you hate them?” I peered at her.
“I do,” Noele said without any hesitation. “Why wouldn’t I hate those bastards?”
“And what would you say if you found out I killed them?” I asked the final question.
“You… killed them?” The Noble Spellsword’s eyes grew wide. She stared at me in disbelief and shock for a second, before she lowered her head.
This was the moment I had been dreading. I wasn’t sure how Noele would react. I really hoped she wouldn’t snap at me— it would be so annoying if I had to somehow make it up to her over this. I watched as her brows cast a shadow over her face, and I nodded.
“I killed them,” I agreed.
“I… see,” Noele said and raised her head. “That’s a relief.”
I frowned. “That’s it? That’s your reaction?”
She gave me an approving look. “You did a good job— from what I’ve heard, the Frenzied Five were pure scum. They’d burn down entire cities just for the fun of it. They took pleasure in hurting the weak, and they would even go out of their way to target the children. I’m glad you killed them.”
That wasn’t what I expected. I was glad to see Noele wasn’t upset at me, but she didn’t luxuriate in their deaths either, which surprised me. I raised a brow at the blonde girl.
“Are you not upset at me?”
“Why should I be?” she asked, blinking.
“Aren’t the Frenzied Five part of the Miststorm Riders— the ones responsible for burning Wolfwater and killing your sister?”
Noele stared at me blankly. “But the Frenzied Five didn’t murder my sister… I don’t think they were even at Whiteridge that day…”
And I could only mouth a single word in response. “Oh.”
Well, as it turned out, I was stressing over nothing.
“Right,” I said as I massaged my temples. “My mistake.”
MelasD
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I followed Noele to a spare room in her house. A guest room. I would’ve thought I’d be staying in Nora’s old room or whatever, but this house was bigger than I thought. There were five bedrooms total— two spare rooms on the first floor, and three on the second floor reserved for their family.
One of the spare rooms was being used by both Skye and Deon, so that just left the last room which I would be sleeping in. I set my things down onto the bed and turned back to Noele.
“Right, here are your things,” I said and passed her a Bag of Holding.
She accepted it with a nod. “Oh, thanks. I’ll just put this in my room real quick.”
“Sure.”
I watched as she started to scurry off, then pause. The blonde girl stopped by the doorway, glancing down the hall.
“By the way, what’s Garron doing here?” Noele asked curiously. “We don’t exactly have an extra room for him to stay in.”
I shrugged. “He wanted to tag along. Said he was tired of just hanging around Windrip.”
The blonde girl’s brows furrowed. “I see.” But she didn’t add anything else. She just accepted my answer and took her leave. “I’ll be right back.”
While she was gone, I took my time to unpack my belongings, although I didn’t have very many belongings in the first place, so it didn’t take me long to unpack. Then I just collapsed into the bed to wait and lay there in silence as I wondered how I should tell Noele about the Frenzied Five.
They were a part of the Miststorm Riders— the bandit group responsible for killing Nora, the Noble Spellsword’s sister. So Noele could take the news in two different ways. The first would be that she’d celebrate. After all, the people she vilified were dead. Justice was served, and it was sweet.
Or maybe she’d be upset with me. It was entirely possible Noele herself wanted to exact revenge against those responsible for murdering her sister. I didn’t know. It was just a pain in the ass.
“Dealing with people sucks…” I murmured.
“Oh, I apologize if I’m bothering you,” a soft voice said.
Blinking, I sat up to see a middle-aged woman standing by the door. I sat up and faced her apologetically.
“Sorry, I was just thinking aloud to myself. You’re Nicole, right? Noele’s mother?”
“Indeed I am.” Nicole spoke with a slight twang— her accent wasn’t entirely evident, but it was still there. “We haven’t properly been introduced to each other, have we?”
That was true. While I had helped save them from the Fallen Wyvern’s Keep, we didn’t get a chance to speak. They were too busy having a heartfelt reunion with Noele.
“Right, I’m Amelia. I’m, uh…” I started, but I wasn’t really sure how to describe my relationship with Noele. Before I could come up with an appropriate description, I was cut off.
“You’re her mentor,” Nicole said with a nod. “My sweet little pumpkin pie told me you’re an S-rank adventurer who picked her up as a student just a few months ago. But that is odd…” She quirked a brow, and I blinked.
“What’s odd?” I asked.
Nicole peered at me before shaking her head. “It is strange that an S-rank adventurer like you has no Class.”
And I paused. “What…?”
That comment took me aback. Out of all the things Nicole could have said, I didn’t expect her to remark on my lack of a Class. I just stared at Nicole as she gave me a mischievous grin.
“How did you—”
“How did I know?” Nicole tilted her head and chuckled. “I’m a Level 27 [Farmer’s Merchant]— it’s a hybrid Class between [Farmer] and [Trader].”
I narrowed my eyes as she spoke. “Don’t you have to be a [Mage] to see my Class?”
“Well, even most [Mages] lack the [Appraisal] Skill necessary to see your Class. But as a [Trader], you’d want to be able to intuit the levels of your customers and partners, especially when you’re going to be making deals with strangers. So I guess you can say I just have [A Keen First Impression], and I inferred you were Level 0.”
Nicole winked at me as I massaged my chin.
“That’s… a Skill, huh?” And judging by its name, it didn’t exactly tell Nicole my level like with an [Appraisal] Skill, she just felt like I had no levels, which meant I had no Class.
It wasn’t a big deal to me. I mostly kept it a secret to avoid any troubles it could bring my way. And considering this was Noele’s family, I doubt they’d cause me too many problems for having no Class. However, I couldn’t be too certain…
“You’re right,” I said as I shrugged. “I don’t have a Class. I hope it’s not a big deal for you—” I started, but I was interrupted once again.
“That’s intriguing!” Nicole clapped her hands together. She leaned forward excitedly— surprisingly spry for her age— and she spoke as the twang in her voice entirely vanished, oddly enough. “I have so many questions to ask you! I knew my Noele was lying to me, but I can see why she’d keep it a secret.”
“Oh, uh, I guess I can answer your questions.” I backed up, glancing past her. I hoped Noele would return soon, but the blonde girl was nowhere to be seen.
I didn’t expect her mother to be like… a teenage girl.
“You know, I was Class-less for a bit too!” Nicole exclaimed, and I blinked.
“You were?”
“When I was changing Class— I used to be a [Mage], you see? Not the adventuring-type like Noele. I was going to become an [Adept] or a [Scholar] once I went to Astral’s Academy of the Arts and Arcane. But then I met my husband…” the middle-aged woman trailed off her as her gaze softened.
“R-right.” I wasn’t sure what else to say. I resigned myself to listening to her backstory, only for her to shake her head.
“But it’s in the past now.” Noele’s mother nodded as she stepped back with a smile. Her accent mostly gone. “I do wish I could stay and chat even longer. Unfortunately, I have to go now. I have a meeting with a [Trader] from Whiteridge, and I’m running late. I am glad I could properly introduce myself to you. Let’s speak more later, alright?”
“Uh, sure.” I watched as Nicole turned to leave the room.
But right as she was about to exit, I spotted Noele walking down the corridor. The Noble Spellsword blinked as she stared at her mother.
“Mama? What are you doing?”
“I was just catching up with your mentor, my sweet little pumpkin pie,” Nicole replied cheerfully, much to Noele’s chagrin.
“Mama! I’m not a little girl anymore!” the blonde girl flushed. She scowled and walked past her mother. “Don’t call me that…”
“I will call you what I want, sweetie. Now Mama’s going to go now.”
The middle-aged woman scurried off as Noele was left grumbling at the doorway. The Noble Spellsword entered my room with her shoulders slumped, and I smirked at her.
“Nice nickname,” I said.
And she rolled her eyes. “If that’s how you’re going to play it, I’m going to call you master from now on.”
I just snorted in return.
—--
I took my time to settle into Noele’s farm home. Meeting her mother was almost exhausting, but her father was a lot calmer in comparison. We had an ordinary conversation once he returned from working out in the fields for the day.
“Once again, I must thank you,” Nolan said with his head bowed, and a straw hat held to his chest. “For not just taking my daughter under your care, but for saving our lives just a week ago. I owe you a great debt.”
Unlike Nicole, Nolan’s accent was quite clearly there. Proof that he had grown up here in Wolfwater, rather than moving to this village later on in his life like his wife. I just waved a hand dismissively as he raised his head.
“IIf you want to pay me back, you can teach me how to farm,” I replied simply.
Nolan paused. “That’s all? I can certainly do that…”
Hopefully he’d be able to explain all the requirements necessary to become a [Farmer]. I wasn’t optimistic that this would play out any more successfully than my past attempts at getting a Class, but I was going to give it a try anyways.
Meanwhile, Noele profusely apologized to Garron since they weren’t able to provide him shelter.
“We really didn’t expect you to be coming. Maybe you can squeeze together in the spare room with Deon and Skye? But I’ll have to ask—” Noele started.
“It’s fine,” the Steel Tank said. “I can find my own lodging in Wolfwater. I do not wish to impose on you or your family.”
Noele sighed in relief. “You can stay over for dinner, of course! My Papa and I are going to be cooking a delicious stew…”
I was glad to see that after some bonding time with Deon, Garron had recovered from the trip to Wolfwater just fine. I didn’t see Saros hanging around, but to be honest, I didn’t expect this house to be so crowded either. So I was glad that gnome wasn’t here to make things even more rambunctious than it already was.
I was starting to miss the peace and quiet from when I was alone. Which was an odd paradox, since I preferred being alone when I was in a crowd, and I preferred being in a crowd when I was alone.
Deon and Skye helped prepare the dishes for dinner, and once Noele was done chatting with Garron, she headed for the kitchen to give her father a hand. I decided now was as good of a time as any to speak with her about the Frenzied Five, so I intercepted her, giving her a small nod.
“Can we speak real quick, Noele?” I said as I brought her over to the side.
The blonde girl followed me curiously. “Of course— did something happen?” she asked with a frown. “Did my Mama say something weird to you again?”
“She didn’t.” I shook my head. “I just wanted to talk to you about the Miststorm Riders.”
“The Miststorm Riders…?” Noele blinked. And her gaze darkened. “Right, what about them?”
“Have you heard of the Frenzied Five?” I asked first, to which she nodded.
She closed her eyes as she spoke in a low voice. “I have heard about them— they’re a terrible bunch. The worst of the Miststorm Riders. They’ve committed unimaginable atrocities all throughout Laxo. Their leader even has a larger bounty on his head than the boss of the Miststorm Riders. I… why do you ask?”
“Do you hate them?” I peered at her.
“I do,” Noele said without any hesitation. “Why wouldn’t I hate those bastards?”
“And what would you say if you found out I killed them?” I asked the final question.
“You… killed them?” The Noble Spellsword’s eyes grew wide. She stared at me in disbelief and shock for a second, before she lowered her head.
This was the moment I had been dreading. I wasn’t sure how Noele would react. I really hoped she wouldn’t snap at me— it would be so annoying if I had to somehow make it up to her over this. I watched as her brows cast a shadow over her face, and I nodded.
“I killed them,” I agreed.
“I… see,” Noele said and raised her head. “That’s a relief.”
I frowned. “That’s it? That’s your reaction?”
She gave me an approving look. “You did a good job— from what I’ve heard, the Frenzied Five were pure scum. They’d burn down entire cities just for the fun of it. They took pleasure in hurting the weak, and they would even go out of their way to target the children. I’m glad you killed them.”
That wasn’t what I expected. I was glad to see Noele wasn’t upset at me, but she didn’t luxuriate in their deaths either, which surprised me. I raised a brow at the blonde girl.
“Are you not upset at me?”
“Why should I be?” she asked, blinking.
“Aren’t the Frenzied Five part of the Miststorm Riders— the ones responsible for burning Wolfwater and killing your sister?”
Noele stared at me blankly. “But the Frenzied Five didn’t murder my sister… I don’t think they were even at Whiteridge that day…”
And I could only mouth a single word in response. “Oh.”
Well, as it turned out, I was stressing over nothing.
“Right,” I said as I massaged my temples. “My mistake.”
MelasD
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