The room next door.
Jeanne lay curled up under the covers, her face burning red as she squeezed her eyes shut and clamped both hands hard over her ears, cursing that say-one-thing-do-another scumbag over and over in her heart.
"You bastard... we're leaving on the Expedition tomorrow, and tonight he's still, still going at it like this...!"
But each time those faint sounds drifted over, she'd think, for no reason at all, of all the humiliation she herself had endured, of being toyed with at his whim like a doll... and her body would tremble faintly with it.
"Mmm..."
"I'm already broken..."
She buried her face deep in the bedding, certain she'd never be able to face anyone again.
She bore the title of [Holy Maiden], yet her body had been "corrupted" to the point where a single thought of those scenes, or a light touch from Leon, would set it spasming beyond her control.
"Pervert..."
At the same time, on the other side of Leon's room.
The fire in the hearth burned quietly, the warmth cozy. By the window, Rose sat in a rocking chair in a silk nightgown, legs elegantly crossed. She gently swirled the whiskey on the rocks in her glass, the high, soaring cries of Kureha and the broken, intermittent whimpers of Margaret reaching her ears from next door.
As the liquor slid down her throat, a faint trace of a smile curled at the corner of her mouth. Her gaze passed through the glass to the night snow swirling outside, and she murmured to herself:
"At this rate... Kureha's about to level up too, I'd say."
"Mm, Margaret and Iri need to put in more effort as well! As for Princess Lydia, that can wait until we're back from the Expedition..."
As the familia's head housekeeper, Rose had plenty to keep her mind occupied.
Especially with so many women in the household, the question of how to balance everyone's relationships so things didn't devolve into a battlefield was... well, an art form in itself.
The next morning, as the first light broke through.
With the Expedition at hand, the whole estate was charged with a clear-headed, coiled-spring readiness.
So everyone had crawled out of bed early, and among them, Irisviel, Margaret, and Laurier were especially giddy.
Even though Laurier had been on plenty of Expeditions before, every time the eve of departure came around she still couldn't sleep, like a child going on her first outing. Her eyes sparkled, and her every movement carried an irrepressible lightness.
For Irisviel and Margaret, this was their first time taking part in a group operation as members of the familia, and an all-important "Expedition" at that. The excitement, woven through with nerves and longing, was written plainly on their faces.
That mix of tension and yearning in their hearts went without saying.
Only...
Iri rubbed her bleary, sleep-heavy eyes and sidled up to Margaret, who looked unusually flushed and radiant, and asked in a curious whisper:
"Margaret, you look... so full of energy! How'd you manage that? I was so keyed up I didn't fall asleep until the dead of night..."
She gently hugged Margaret's arm and shook it, half-coquettish, half-envious:
"Is there some secret? Teach me, come on..."
Margaret thought back to that morning, of the scene where she'd come stumbling out of his room, legs sheathed in stockings and trembling, clutching the Christmas present Leon had given her, a pair of red-soled, studded high heels, and an unnatural flush crossed her face. She guiltily looked away and answered vaguely:
"There's, there's no secret... I just... counted sheep with my eyes closed, that's all."
Iri's little face went blank:
"Huh?"
But that sixth sense women have told her something wasn't right.
With that thought, Iri glanced around, her eyes lingering pointedly for a moment on Kureha, who was likewise full of vigor and rosy-cheeked, then comparing Margaret's complexion against Aura's, Laurier's, and Jeanne's. Her expression shifted from baffled to suspicious.
"Margaret, you didn't..."
Margaret turned her face away, scarlet, stammering:
"Don't, don't ask..."
"It's, it's exactly what you think!"
Iri's eyes narrowed, then she had her epiphany:
"What!? You, you actually snuck off and got a head start?"
But the next second, she was kicking herself:
"Damn it. If I hadn't been busy mixing compounds yesterday and crashed the second I hit the bed..."
With that, she pounced on Margaret, reached for the soft flesh at her waist, and started tickling her.
"Eep...!"
"I, Iri... stop, stop tickling... hahahaha! Let, let me go!"
"Gah... ah, ahhhh!"
A short distance away, Rose, already dressed in her sleek combat gear, watched the two of them bicker and tumble, a barely perceptible smile tugging at her lips. She turned to Jeanne, who was adjusting her gauntlets beside her, and teased:
"Jeanne, you didn't rest well either, did you? Your eyes are a little shadowed."
Jeanne didn't feel like indulging Rose's knowing question and just shot her a sour eye-roll.
Far from being annoyed, Rose only smiled a little deeper at that.
Before they knew it, another hour had slipped by.
In the courtyard and the sitting room, everyone repeatedly checked the grip of their weapons and the fit of their armor, and the supplies were tallied over and over with care. When Leon finally appeared too, calm as still water in his "Sage"-like bearing, the whole group was at last gathered together in the white expanse of the yard.
For this Expedition, only Lydia, who wasn't suited to combat, would stay behind. She'd lodge for the time being at the goddess Demeter's base, keeping the goddess and Flora company. As for Persephone, the captain of the Demeter Familia, the pressure brought on by Leon and the others reaching Lv.4, along with her own craving for real-combat practice after her recent breakthrough, made her resolutely join this Expedition.
"Everyone."
Through the falling snow, Rose's voice rang out clearly as her gaze swept over every face.
"Weapons, armor, medicines, maps, food and water, supplies. Has every item been confirmed one last time?"
Seeing everyone nod in unison, she gave a light clap, the crisp sound cutting through the morning quiet.
"Then, let's move out!"
"It's finally starting!"
"Expedition!"
As her words fell, everyone sprang into motion.
The clink of weapons against light armor and the crunch of boots pressing into the snow rang out one after another as the figures filed out of the little courtyard.
Once the last of them had left the yard, Rose, walking at the rear, turned to look at Leon and asked in a low voice:
"The Monster Hunter Special and the Wild Mixture, do we have enough?"
Leon lifted his chin slightly and grinned with cocky bravado:
"Relax. You still don't know my style?"
"This batch isn't huge because of raw material issues, but for getting through this 『Expedition』, trust me, it's more than enough!"
Rose made a circle with her thumb and forefinger, flashing an OK.
The procession threaded through the streets and alleys of the Seventh District, dragging a winding line of footprints across the snow.
Rounding a corner, the bustling Adventurers Street suddenly came into view.
Ignoring the curious looks thrown their way from both sides of the road, all of them cloaked in hooded black mantles with gold trim, faces hidden behind masks, they made for Babel quickly and without fanfare.
"Hm... which familia is that?"
"Just the one guy, and the rest are almost all women?"
"Hey kid, new to Orario?"
"Yeah! Hey man, you know them? Could you introduce me? I really want to join!"
"It's urgent!"
The old adventurer gave him a sidelong look that wasn't quite a smile:
"You?"
He looked the young man up and down, taking in the sunken eyes, the pale face, the whole noble getup, and curled his lip in contempt:
"Tsk tsk... the [Demeter Familia] isn't going to take a useless twig-armed, twig-legged thing like you, who clearly couldn't tell wheat from weeds or do a day's honest work."
"Hahahahaha!"
The crowd around them didn't bother holding back and burst out laughing.
The mocked young noble flushed crimson on the spot, instantly losing his temper:
"You, you bunch of low-born..."
"Bam!"
"Ow, who hit me?"
"Do you people know who I am?! My father is a Marquis!!!!"
"Dumbass!"
Leon glanced back at the "stinking out-of-towner" now surrounded and getting kicked around, and clicked his tongue softly:
"Damn, running his mouth at adventurers, in Orario of all places."
"Truly a role model for us all!"
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