"I've always been directionally challenged, but I never dreamed I’d board the wrong stagecoach. I use the same one every time, yet I somehow keep making mistakes...?"
Mariana tilted her head in confusion. To me, it didn't look like a simple mistake; it smelled like a scheme.
Specifically, Patricia’s.
It seemed all too likely that she was manipulating things behind the scenes to keep Mariana away from every key event.
"You’re surprisingly scattered, aren't you?" Alicia asked. "Since you’re a Sage's Disciple, I assumed you were some sort of peerless genius."
"I’m good at magic! But my parents always told me that since I’d put all my points into magic and was a total klutz at everything else, I should always ask the people around me for help..."
Heroines are usually designed to be a bit useless for the sake of the plot. Even if they have oddly sharp intuition in certain areas, they’ll inevitably miss crucial lines of dialogue, or their lack of direction will be so extreme that they stumble into the middle of an outrageous scene by pure accident.
Originally, Mariana—as the true Heroine—had possessed those Protagonist Attributes in spades. Why she now looked like a stereotypical bookworm running a coffee shop was anyone's guess. Her extreme humility toward nobility was another mystery entirely.
"By the way, what about your parents?" I asked, finally joining the conversation.
"My parents... well, they passed away from an illness a year ago..."
"Ragna, didn't you hear her mention that when she was panicking earlier?"
Mariana cast her eyes downward while Alicia leveled a judgmental stare at me, her hands already fiddling with a collar.
Wait, does Alicia just carry that collar on her at all times now? The realization sent a chill down my spine.
"My apologies. That was inconsiderate of me."
"No, it’s quite alright," Mariana said, standing up and heading toward the counter. "I am who I am today because of them."
As I offered my sincere apology, she began arranging some sweets on a plate.
"Would you two like a refill? I was the one who invited you, so I’m sorry for making you brew the first round, Ragna-san."
"May I? I’ll be sure to pay for it," Alicia said.
"Ah, I’ll have another cup as well. Thank you."
Soon, Mariana served the coffee she had brewed herself, accompanied by homemade cake.
"Oh! This is delicious!" Alicia exclaimed.
"What is the difference between this and mine...?"
I was genuinely shocked. We were using the same beans, yet the flavor was worlds apart. What was this incredible smoothness?
Whenever Sebas drank my coffee, he always told me it was harsh. He’d say things like, "Is this a grim omen reflecting your life, Young Master?" I’d practiced a lot, and the bitterness was mitigated if I added milk or sugar, but apparently, my black coffee was still an assault on the senses. No wonder Alicia had choked the first time she tried it.
In contrast, Mariana’s brew had a mellowness that felt like being enveloped by a holy mother. I know that sounds absurd, but it was the only way to describe it.
"It’s a world of difference from yours, Ragna! Mariana, you’re amazing!"
"Wait a second." Did she really have to compare us? Mariana was a professional running a specialty shop. Why make the comparison at all? Alicia really was starting to act like a member of House Brave.
"Ragna-san’s coffee still has a long way to go! It’s harsh!" Mariana added.
"Hey." I wasn't exactly aiming to become a professional barista, you know. And "harsh"... stop sounding like Sebas.
"We must learn the essence of coffee, Ragna. This is a grave situation," Alicia declared.
"I suppose you're right."
I went along with her suggestion. From a narrative standpoint, Mariana was a vital character, and I wanted to become close with her by any means necessary. I was a "hated noble," and Mariana had a literal Noble Allergy. We were starting from a negative position with the hurdles set high; I was grateful to Alicia for clearing them so effortlessly.
"In that case, I shall call you Master. Please teach me, Master."
"Eh? No, wait, I just said that on a whim, I didn't mean you had to take it so seriously..."
"Oh, don't mind him," Alicia chimed in. "Ragna does everything on a whim, so you don't have to take him seriously either."
"Ehhh?! Is that true?!"
"Hahaha."
I just laughed it off. Now that I’d gotten her to agree to the title of "Master," I was going to keep using it, whim or not. This was the perfect opportunity to learn the trade, and more importantly, it would increase my chances of interacting with her, making the coming events easier to manage.
"Still, it’s strange," Mariana mused, sipping her coffee. "I’m not afraid of you two at all. I have this faint memory... a long time ago, a child in my neighborhood told me that nobles were terrifying creatures who would kill you if you ever defied them. It’s a very vague memory, but I’ve always believed it."
Well, she wasn't exactly wrong. That's precisely the kind of person who usually ends up in the Brave Territory.
Mariana continued, "Actually, when I was little, I was careless and jumped out in front of a carriage carrying a noble. I was struck, and just like that child said, they didn't help me. They didn't even stop the carriage."
Alicia listened in silence. Judging by her expression, she was likely reflecting on the fact that her former self probably would have ignored such an accident too.
That was the reality of this world. In such a distorted society, these kinds of tragic accidents were common. Even in the Brave Territory, if someone trespassed into a domain where I couldn't intervene and got hurt, it was treated as the fault of the trespasser.
"Ah, but even though you’re nobles, you aren't scary! People who love coffee are good people. You’re in a much harsher environment than I am, so I respect you!"
The adventurers in the Brave Territory who chugged coffee weren't particularly virtuous, so I had to wonder who had fed her that line. It was a curious thought.
"Even if you were careless, that is a horizontal tale," Alicia said softly. "I will apologize on their behalf. I am sorry."
"Alicia-san, please don't! My eyesight was damaged because of those injuries, but it was because of that that I discovered coffee."
Apparently, her vision had been severely weakened by the accident, which was why she wore those thick bottle-bottom glasses. Her parents had heard a rumor somewhere that coffee could improve one’s sight, and she had been drinking it religiously ever since.
"I never imagined my whole family would become so obsessed with coffee that we’d end up opening a shop... Ehehe... This mellowness... this mellowness... ehehehehe..."
S-Scary.
As Mariana sat there savoring her coffee, her bottle-bottom glasses gleaming suspiciously, she no longer looked like a Heroine. She looked like a Coffee-Savoring Specter.
"Ragna always talked about how 'mellow' things were, and I never really understood what he meant, but drinking yours makes the difference clear," Alicia said, watching Mariana with perfect composure. "So this is what mellowness is."
Alicia was taking Mariana’s erratic behavior completely in stride. I had been drilling Brave Common Sense into her quite aggressively so she could survive life in our territory, but I began to worry my education had gone too far.
She was being a little too accepting.