Upon hearing those words, the receptionist's eyes widened with a spark of joy.
"Why, yes. Everyone in the guild knows about him. A gallant spearman clad in red—he was the trailblazer we owe our thanks to. Without him, the guild wouldn't even exist."
"Did you know him?"
"Not personally, unfortunately." Lucina shook her head with disappointment. "He left long before I became a receptionist here."
"I see…"
Priscilla's eyes glanced downwards at her own hands.
'So my father didn't use his name…' From the conversation she had just now, it was clear the people of Arivaul knew the red spearman by his moniker 'Red Baron' as opposed to his real name: 'Marcus Avellion'. 'That being the case… she wouldn't know if he came here or not… unless…'
"Sorry about the questions but are there any silver ranked adventurers here?"
"Um… it's not like I could tell you, Miss Priscilla. Guild's policy, you see."
"Oh…" The knight's hands tightened ever so slightly, enough to fight the building anxiety but not to the point that Lucina could perceive it. "But let's say hypothetically, if there was, would they be able to access the fourth floor?"
"In terms of skill?" Priscilla nodded which made the receptionist reach for her chin as she was lost in thought. "Maybe? Floors one through three are accessible to iron ranked adventurers so it wouldn't be terribly hard for a silver plate adventurer to explore the fourth floor, but not by themselves of course. That floor is largely unexplored—there aren't even maps of it. The first team sent there found the staircase leading below from sheer luck."
Priscilla nodded a few times as she took a deep breath.
"I understand it better now, thank you."
"Are you planning to go to that floor?"
"Huh? No, I was just curious. I'm here to improve my skills—not die a pointless death."
Were the knight's words, but she knew there would be a point in time where she would eventually go down there. She leaned back against the chair and clasped her hands together on top of her lap.
From the corner of her eye, Priscilla spied a few customers coming into the establishment. Some were farmers and others were builders coming for lunch from their respective jobs. They settled on the tables around the two women while waiting for someone to come to take their orders.
One of the farmers glanced at the knight's table and his eyes narrowed upon seeing her.
"Hey, isn't that the adventurer the other guys were talking about?"
He whispered to his colleague that was beside him which in turn, looked at her as well.
"Hm? Oh, yeah, she matches the description alright. Blondie with red eyes. Rapier at her hip."
"She's very pretty."
One of them was perked up trying to take a better look at her but one of the older farmers elbowed the younger one in the ribs.
"Shut your trap boy. She's too good for you."
"Ow, hey!"
Forceful footsteps came from behind Priscilla and as she turned her head around she noticed Karla lumbering towards the rowdy men only to give them a stern warning as she flicked her wooden club around.
The inn was starting to become more lively and as more patrons started to come into the establishment, more and more eyes started to land on Priscilla with recognition.
"Blond hair and red eyes…"
"Wow, she really exists."
"A noble turned adventurer?"
"You wish you had seen her handle Geralt's hammers, that was a sight to behold."
"Hey I was there too."
The chit chat was becoming intense, not a single table wasn't commenting on her exploits which made the knight feel awkward.
'I'm not used to this sort of attention…'
She sighed and rolled her eyes. At that moment she felt a tug on the right side of her jacket and as she looked to the direction it came from, Rionara was standing there with a wide smile on her face.
"Pris, sure is famous."
"Haha, not that I want to." She ruffled the young woman's hair before looking back at the full inn's hall with a bittersweet smile. "This is too unfamiliar to me."
"What did you do before coming to Arivaul?" Lucina inquired while also leaning forward with a certain interest in her eyes. "Were you a traveling swordswoman? Maybe a mercenary for hire?"
Priscilla raised both hands while shaking her head with resignation.
"None of that. I'm just a nobleman's daughter trying to improve her own skills."
"Hmm…" Lucina held her chin with one eyebrow slowly raising up. "From where I stand, you are very skilled already." She then crossed her arms and leaned back against the chair. "It is no small feat to capture an armed assailant, one experienced in assassinations nonetheless."
'Most knights should be capable of doing that much.'
It was her first thought, but she couldn't say such a thing in front of her, instead, the knight turned her gaze to the ceiling and clasped her hands on top of her own lap. A bittersweet smile curled on her lips.
"This is not enough. My father is still a much more skilled fighter than I."
"Haha, you sound like he would be one of the Arcadian royal knights."
Priscilla remained quiet but her wistful expression seemed to tell a much larger tale than what she wanted to share.
'If I'm a royal knight, then he would certainly…'
As she contemplated her father's achievements, she couldn't help but feel a mix of pride and determination burn inside her chest. She had to find him sooner rather than later.
"Lasses!" Gerolt proudly approached the table with an astronomical portion of food on two wooden trays that he almost had to use the entirety of his arm to carry. "Your food is here."
He placed down the two trays—one of them had a colorful stir-fried buckwheat mixed with bits of eggs and vegetables on a plate while the other had an assortment of side dishes around a whole roasted chicken.
"Woah!" Rionara gasped in surprise by the amount of food presented in front of her. "Is this all for you again, Miss Lucina?"
The receptionist raised her hands and shook them while smiling.
"Oh, no, no, I thought we could share a meal together."
Rionara pulled one chair back and sat beside Priscilla, who was still engrossed reminiscing about the past.
"Pris, what's wrong?"
"Huh?" The knight turned at her and smiled instinctively. "Nothing, I was thinking about the past. Sorry."
"It's okay." She turned and motioned to the table—making Priscilla follow her gesture with her eyes. "Lucina said we should eat together, can we?"
"Oh, huh…" Priscilla looked at the receptionist, who flashed a smile at her. "Sure, we can eat lunch together."
"That's great!" Lucina was thrilled to have someone to share a meal with and she wasted no time in putting wooden plates and the iron cutlery in front of them. "Here, grab as much as you'd like. I made sure to order a lot."
Priscilla looked at the amount of food and then turned to Rionara—who was still unsure where to start from.
"Do you want me to help you?"
The knight asked her, but the young woman shook her head with a faint smile on her face.
"I'll figure it out, thank you, Pris,"
"Hmm. Okay."
Seeing how she didn't need any help, Priscilla picked up the knife with her right hand and the fork with her left. Despite being a rather modest inn, the knight unconsciously switched to the graceful movements of a fine diner the moment her hands had tools to work with.
Both Lucina and Rionara could feel the regal movements coming from her as even the way she held the rather rudimentary wooden handled iron knife and fork showed just how familiar she was with nobility's table etiquette.
Straightened back, leveled shoulders, tight and precise movements never once scraping her cutlery against the wooden plate, each piece of food cut no more than two bites worth of size—it all made her look out of place. Only after realizing she had gone completely on muscle memory, she relaxed her shoulders but it was already too late.
She could feel the stares.
"Was that nobility's etiquette?"
Lucina asked curiously. Priscilla settled the knife on the side of her plate before switching the fork to her right hand and quietly stabbing the other pieces she had already cut—while averting her gaze, she answered.
"Y-yeah… when you are taught it everyday for a few years, it kind of becomes a habit."
"It felt regal, alright." Lucina smiled softly. "Have you had to use it before? Etiquette, I mean."
"Once, but surprisingly it wasn't needed."
"Really? Was it another noble?"
'It was dinner with the Queen.'
But obviously she couldn't say that, so instead she chose to brush it off with a generic answer.
"An acquaintance of mine. We met before so she wanted to break the ice, I suppose."
"Ho… I thought you were the only outlier of nobles." Lucina chuckled shortly. "Not many of them would stand being among 'commoners'."
Priscilla followed the receptionist's gaze as she looked around her. There were many different types of people. Some were drinking, others were eating, but everyone seemed happy talking and cheering with one another.
It yet again made her feel homesick. Arcadia was close to her heart but far enough away to make it ache. But at the same time, her father meant too much for her—she wasn't about to turn back and return to the capital without at least knowing what happened to him.
At that point, Rionara tugged her jacket which prompted her to look at the young woman and ask.
"Yes? Do you need anything, Rio?"
"Ah… how do you hold your fork properly?" The question was well warranted as she held the utensil in an unsightly manner by simply wrapping all of her fingers around its handle. Serviceable? Yes, but perhaps brutish looking for the otherwise young woman. "I… I feel like I'm doing it wrong."
"Oh… here, let me teach you." Priscilla reached for her hand and gently released her palm grip on the handle before adjusting her thumb forefinger and middle finger around the wooden haft. "There. It's not exactly the same grip I used but-" She stopped herself from bombarding her with information with a short chuckle to herself. "-no one should look at you weirdly now."
"Ah! This actually feels easier!" Rionara turned to the knight with a beaming smile. "Thank you, Pris!"
"You're welcome."
That familiar warmth made Lucina feel at peace. It had been too long since she had others to spend time with, especially with another young woman around her age.
They kept eating in silence amidst the clatter and chatter.
Two men wearing worker outfits were eyeing Priscilla from the corner of the hall. They leaned closer to each other while whispering.
"Is that her?" The taller and more muscular man asked while adjusting the worn hard cap on his bald head. "You're telling me she killed him?"
"Keep your voice down." The slim man devoid of any striking features was holding a wooden walking cane against the side of his seat. "That is what Ivan said, but even if she wasn't the one who killed him, if he hired us, you know something is up."
"Aye…" The taller man cracked his fingers as he clenched his right hand. "One good strike is all that it takes."
"Just don't do it here, moron." His hands clenched around the walking cane. He sighed before taking another glance at Priscilla's table until he noticed the knight wiping Rionara's mouth with a napkin. "Maybe, we don't even need to fight her."
"Eh? What do you mean?"
The slim man smirked deviously as he leaned even closer to whisper.
"An ambush."