The annual monster hunting competition held in autumn was the most popular sport among the nobles.
Even though it was a tournament held on Mount Rosetta, where most of the monsters were low-level monsters, it wasn't particularly dangerous because each of the six knights was assigned a specific area to guard.
Since the stronger monsters usually lived deep in the mountains, the men hunted in the inner areas, while the women hunted the lower monsters under the protection of the knights at the foot of the mountains.
And the winner of the day was decided by combining the level and number of magic stones collected from the monster's body.
Those who did not hunt spent their time having tea or entertaining themselves in large, luxurious tents.
“Will you also be attending this hunting competition, Madam?”
Alvin asked Emily.
“Yeah, I’m thinking about attending this time.”
During the lifetime of Count Sinope, he had prevented Emily from participating in hunting competitions.
So Emily usually spent the hunting days having tea or playing cards with other nobles in a fancy tent.
But now that she had received training in various weapons from Cezanne, she thought it would be a good idea to attend and test her skills.
“Then, what kind of weapon would you like to use, Madam?”
The use of firearms was prohibited in hunting competitions.
Guns are ineffective for hunting monsters (because it takes a long time to reload magic bullets), but they are easy to accidentally kill people with.
“Wouldn’t a bow be the best?”
Women's shortbows are smaller than men's bows and require less force to draw the string, making them easier to shoot. However, they also have the disadvantage of being less effective at inflicting fatal injuries.
“If you’re going to use a short bow, wouldn’t it be better to use a dagger?”
“Oh, I didn’t plan on using a short bow either.”
"Yes?"
Alvin, who was initially skeptical, soon remembered that Emily currently possessed Class A magical powers.
Emily, who was controlling her magical power through contact with Killian rather than through drugs, was now in the best condition and was using high-level magical power.
“Have you ever used a longbow?”
"I've used it a few times with Cezanne. Still, I need to train harder before competing."
“Hmm, I guess I’ll have to start preparing diligently from now on if you're going to get new hunting clothes.”
Alvin left to coordinate with the designer to get Emily's hunting outfit tailored.
Emily also had no plans after that, so she prepared to go out for the first time in a while.
“Where are you planning to go?”
Roxy asked, packing Emily's going-out clothes.
“I’m trying to do some hobbies I haven’t been able to do for a long time.”
“What are your hobbies?”
Madam had more hobbies than she thought.
“That’s a secret.”
When she went outside, it was a very sunny day with not much wind.
“It’s really perfect weather for a walk!”
Emily decided to leave the cumbersome carriage and walk to the bookstore.
“Hello, it’s been a while.”
The bookstore owner greeted Emily happily.
“Have you received the new novels?”
“Of course. There's been a ton of stuff to see while you were gone.”
“That’s really exciting news.”
Emily calmed her pounding heart and quickly entered among the books.
The bookstore owner, not wanting to miss out on a chance to make money, began to pile up books that Emily had never seen before next to her.
“You don’t have to give me the Lily Dan novel. I already own it.”
“Huh? How come you already have a novel that was just published yesterday?”
Emily said with a proud smile.
“I became acquainted with him.”
To be exact, she became acquainted with Lily Dan's younger sister.
Mrs. Blunt never failed to keep Emily informed of Lily Dan's new books, and if she was lucky, she even sent her a copy.
“Wow, you’ve succeeded in becoming an acquaintance with the author.”
“That’s right.”
Emily realized that a lot of time had passed while she was chatting with the bookstore owner.
“Please count all the items you just brought out and deliver them to the Starr Mansion.”
“Can I send it this time as well, writing that the contents are a history book?”
“No. Since you wrote it like that last time, please write ‘economics book’ and send it this time.”
"All right."
As she was paying the price and leaving, rain started to fall heavily outside.
“Oh, it’s raining. Do you have an umbrella?”
The bookstore owner asked with a worried look on his face.
“I thought the weather would be nice today, so I didn’t prepare anything.”
Emily looked up at the sky with a sullen face.
“Would you like to borrow mine?”
Even though it was a tournament held on Mount Rosetta, where most of the monsters were low-level monsters, it wasn't particularly dangerous because each of the six knights was assigned a specific area to guard.
Since the stronger monsters usually lived deep in the mountains, the men hunted in the inner areas, while the women hunted the lower monsters under the protection of the knights at the foot of the mountains.
And the winner of the day was decided by combining the level and number of magic stones collected from the monster's body.
Those who did not hunt spent their time having tea or entertaining themselves in large, luxurious tents.
“Will you also be attending this hunting competition, Madam?”
Alvin asked Emily.
“Yeah, I’m thinking about attending this time.”
During the lifetime of Count Sinope, he had prevented Emily from participating in hunting competitions.
So Emily usually spent the hunting days having tea or playing cards with other nobles in a fancy tent.
But now that she had received training in various weapons from Cezanne, she thought it would be a good idea to attend and test her skills.
“Then, what kind of weapon would you like to use, Madam?”
The use of firearms was prohibited in hunting competitions.
Guns are ineffective for hunting monsters (because it takes a long time to reload magic bullets), but they are easy to accidentally kill people with.
“Wouldn’t a bow be the best?”
Women's shortbows are smaller than men's bows and require less force to draw the string, making them easier to shoot. However, they also have the disadvantage of being less effective at inflicting fatal injuries.
“If you’re going to use a short bow, wouldn’t it be better to use a dagger?”
“Oh, I didn’t plan on using a short bow either.”
"Yes?"
Alvin, who was initially skeptical, soon remembered that Emily currently possessed Class A magical powers.
Emily, who was controlling her magical power through contact with Killian rather than through drugs, was now in the best condition and was using high-level magical power.
“Have you ever used a longbow?”
"I've used it a few times with Cezanne. Still, I need to train harder before competing."
“Hmm, I guess I’ll have to start preparing diligently from now on if you're going to get new hunting clothes.”
Alvin left to coordinate with the designer to get Emily's hunting outfit tailored.
Emily also had no plans after that, so she prepared to go out for the first time in a while.
“Where are you planning to go?”
Roxy asked, packing Emily's going-out clothes.
“I’m trying to do some hobbies I haven’t been able to do for a long time.”
“What are your hobbies?”
Madam had more hobbies than she thought.
“That’s a secret.”
***
When she went outside, it was a very sunny day with not much wind.
“It’s really perfect weather for a walk!”
Emily decided to leave the cumbersome carriage and walk to the bookstore.
“Hello, it’s been a while.”
The bookstore owner greeted Emily happily.
“Have you received the new novels?”
“Of course. There's been a ton of stuff to see while you were gone.”
“That’s really exciting news.”
Emily calmed her pounding heart and quickly entered among the books.
The bookstore owner, not wanting to miss out on a chance to make money, began to pile up books that Emily had never seen before next to her.
“You don’t have to give me the Lily Dan novel. I already own it.”
“Huh? How come you already have a novel that was just published yesterday?”
Emily said with a proud smile.
“I became acquainted with him.”
To be exact, she became acquainted with Lily Dan's younger sister.
Mrs. Blunt never failed to keep Emily informed of Lily Dan's new books, and if she was lucky, she even sent her a copy.
“Wow, you’ve succeeded in becoming an acquaintance with the author.”
“That’s right.”
Emily realized that a lot of time had passed while she was chatting with the bookstore owner.
“Please count all the items you just brought out and deliver them to the Starr Mansion.”
“Can I send it this time as well, writing that the contents are a history book?”
“No. Since you wrote it like that last time, please write ‘economics book’ and send it this time.”
"All right."
As she was paying the price and leaving, rain started to fall heavily outside.
“Oh, it’s raining. Do you have an umbrella?”
The bookstore owner asked with a worried look on his face.
“I thought the weather would be nice today, so I didn’t prepare anything.”
Emily looked up at the sky with a sullen face.
“Would you like to borrow mine?”
“Isn’t there only one?”
“Well, I think it’ll stop by the time I get off work.”
Emily still looked out the window with a troubled look on her face.
She was worried that the bookstore owner might be inconvenienced because of her.
'Huh?'
At that moment, Knox and Chambers were seen entering a building across from them.
Emily was delighted to see them again after such a long time.
'I wonder if Killian is in there too?'
She impulsively wanted to see him.
Emily's worries didn't last long.
“I don’t think you need to lend me an umbrella.”
“Yes? It’s going to rain more and more.”
“It’s okay. Then I’ll come again next time!”
After saying goodbye to the bookstore owner, Emily quickly ran into the building that the two had entered.
“Oh, I missed it already.”
The building had a staircase that stretched out right from the entrance.
Emily started climbing the stairs without even thinking about looking around.
“Where on earth is this?”
Emily slowly climbed the stairs, one step at a time, with curiosity in her eyes.
“Haa... But why isn’t the floor finished?”
Emily, who had been climbing the stairs for a long time, gasping for breath, suddenly had a strange thought.
The door didn't appear until she had climbed the stairs four times.
She had a feeling something was wrong, but since she had come this far, she felt it would be a shame to just go back down, so she decided to go all the way up.
The stairs still had as much left as they had climbed.
“I should have just borrowed the owner’s umbrella and gone home.”
Climbing the stairs while holding onto a heavy skirt wasn't easy. Fortunately, her stamina had been boosted by her extensive training with Cezanne.
How high did it go? The end was finally in sight.
However, the place she arrived at was different from what Emily had expected.
"...what's this?"
Outside the wide-open door lay a desolate rooftop.
Emily stood there for a moment, her mind blank, turning the doorknob in despair.
“Is this really the end?”
She wondered if seeing Knox and Chambers was her own illusion.
She couldn't believe this situation, so she looked around the rooftop, but she couldn't find any entrance.
Emily had no choice but to stumble back down the stairs, feeling aggrieved.
After another long walk, Emily arrived at the bottom floor, sweat pouring down her face and neck.
“Ugh, it’s hot.”
Emily took off the bonnet she was wearing and began to fan herself.
But, as if all the strength had left her hand, she let go of the bonnet, and it flew off, hitting the wall.
“Nothing really works.”
Emily swallowed an annoyed sigh and bent down to pick up the bonnet.
At that moment, light was seen coming through a faint crack in the wall.
"What?"
Emily carefully pushed against the wall.
The wall moved more easily than she expected. And behind the moving wall, a different scene unfolded in the city.
An empty clothesline stretched out, and children played under it in the rain.
As it turned out, this building was a passageway connecting to a residential area on the other side of the shopping street.
Emily looked around in embarrassment.
There were so many identical houses that she had no idea where to go.
“Huh? What brings you here, madam?”
Then, Pete appeared like a savior.
“Mr. Donahue!”
Emily was so touched to see Pete that she almost cried.
“You’re going to catch a cold.”
Pete quickly put an umbrella over her and put his coat on top of it.
“How did you end up here?”
“I saw Knox and Chambers and followed them, but I missed them.”
“Those two are the problem, after all.”
“I’ve never been to the office where he works, so I wanted to go. Is he there now?”
“Yes, he's there.”
Pete hesitated for a moment about whether he should take Emily there.
'Well, I guess it'll be okay.'
Pete, having reached his own conclusion, took her to the office.
***
This time, Killian was also participating in the hunting competition, so there was a lot of discussion about hunting gear in the office.
Killian, the person involved, was actually dozing off in his room.
“Boss! Come out!”
Outside, Knox knocked on the door, waking Killian from his deep sleep.
"What's the matter?"
“Once you come out, you will know.”
Killian pushed back his chair as if he was annoyed and went outside.
“...Madam, how did you come here?”
Killian looked at Emily, who was standing with Pete, with a surprised and blank expression.
Then he quickly checked the surroundings to see if there were any dangerous weapons.
Fortunately, the quick-witted members of the organization had hidden the weapon under the desk.
As he turned his head in relief, Killian looked over Emily's shoulder, and his face immediately changed.
“Why is your coat draped over my wife’s shoulders?”
“It was raining outside, and Madam was shivering without an umbrella.”
'Was I shivering?'
Emily had never been particularly cold, but she just stood there.
“I dressed her up because I was worried she might catch a cold, but if you’re jealous of something like this, I can only think that your character has been ruined.”
“...I said that to compliment you on a job well done.”
“I see, that’s true.”
Pete gave Killian a thumbs-up and led Emily to a comfortable sofa.
Most of the staff in this office were looking at their madam with curious eyes, having only seen Emily at weddings.
“Ahem.”
In that unfamiliar atmosphere, Emily raised her right hand cautiously with a slightly stiff expression.
"Hello?"
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