What she produced was a gold coin.
It looked like a perfectly ordinary gold coin, devoid of any special features. I took it and inspected it, but it bore no watermark. That was to be expected.
"I had it sewn into my clothes," she explained.
So she’d had a secret stash. "I see. Is that so?"
"My late mother told me to always keep it on my person. She said one never knows what might happen."
That was a sound piece of advice. In fact, it seemed like it would be quite useful. A single gold coin might not go very far, but on the other hand, carrying a large sum wouldn't be easy either. A platinum coin would probably be far too high in value to be practical for an emergency.
"I thought I should hand it over to you," Rutina said.
"Hand it over... should you?"
"Well," Sherry chimed in, providing an example. "I’ve heard accounts of criminal slaves who had money sewn into their undergarments. In those cases, the money was legally recognized as the slave's property."
"Is that so?"
"However, a slave isn't generally considered the owner of their outer clothing. Outer garments are usually prepared by the slave trader and sold along with the slave. In the case I mentioned, the money only remained the slave's property because it was kept specifically in the underwear."
"So clothes are no good?" I asked. The law was surprisingly meticulous.
"It would seem so. Therefore, please take this," Rutina said, offering the coin again.
"No, you keep it, Rutina." I stopped her.
In Rutina's case, she hadn't become a slave because of financial ruin, so there shouldn't be any legal issue with her bringing her own money along. I didn't know what Duke Harz would have to say about it, but the finances of an earl's house weren't likely to collapse over a single gold coin. Rutina didn't have the Thief job, either, so it would likely be treated as her simply having brought a personal possession with her.
"Are you sure?"
"It's best to be prepared for the unexpected. I could hold onto it in my Item Box, but it’s probably better to do as your mother taught you and keep it on your person."
"Yes, Master."
"If you'd tucked a platinum coin in there, you might have been able to buy your freedom back."
In reality, I wondered if that were true. Surely she didn't mean she could buy herself back with just one gold coin? No, that was impossible. That would truly require a platinum coin at the very least.
"Oh, no. I have never even seen a platinum coin," Rutina admitted.
Even an earl's daughter hadn't seen one? Well, even if the family possessed them, they weren't exactly the kind of thing you’d go out of your way to show the children.
"I see. To be fair, I only have one myself."
"Pardon?"
"Want to see it?"
Since her reply sounded skeptical, I decided to show her. I pulled it from my Item Box and handed it to Rutina. It was too risky to leave at home, and carrying it on my person invited the risk of dropping it. In the end, having to store it in the Item Box was the biggest drawback of platinum coins; even though I only had one, it occupied an entire row of storage. If I exchanged it for gold coins, it would take up two rows, so this was technically more efficient. Given its value, it was a burden I had to bear.
"So this is a platinum coin... You truly possess incredible things."
"Oh, right. Give me your left hand."
"Yes?"
"Perfect."
While taking the platinum coin back, I had Rutina hold out her left hand. I switched my job to Slave Trader and updated her Intelligence Card, officially setting myself as her owner. Now I could breathe a sigh of relief. Even if someone tried to buy her back—or if Duke Harz had a change of heart and tried to reclaim her—it wouldn't be so simple now. The Duke hadn't handled the transfer himself, so he’d told me to visit a slave trader later to have it finalized.
"You really can do anything, can't you?"
"Not everything. Now, let's eat."
In truth, I’d fumbled the scrambled eggs a little.
"Right."
"Yes, Master."
We all carried the food to the table and began breakfast. The scrambled eggs weren't a total disaster, though.
"Well, they aren't exactly fluffy, but they aren't bad."
"No, I think they are wonderful," Rutina said. "Do you have meals like this every day?"
"Pretty much."
"That is amazing. You go to this much effort every morning?"
Rutina seemed impressed, which surprised me. I would have thought a noble would eat much better than this. Was our spread actually comparable to a noble's meal? Come to think of it, I had been invited to dine with Duke Harz several times recently. If I had been stingy with food costs and hadn't fed Roxanne and the others well, they might have started feeling a strange longing for the high life.
As expected of the Duke. One can't let their guard down around him. He was almost certainly plotting to poach Roxanne. I couldn't afford to show even a moment's weakness.
"Fish. Eat. Make it happen, desu."
I see. To Miria, a good meal was defined solely by the presence of fish. Or rather, as long as there was fish, she didn't care about anything else. It wasn't just that she wanted Rutina to experience it; she clearly wanted to eat it herself. Still, Miria was generous; she often shared her fish with Vesta and didn't give me resentful looks when I took a piece.
"Fish, huh?"
"Mix it together, desu."
Meaning she intended to make the tartar sauce herself.
"I see. Since you're so insistent, maybe we'll have a fish fry tomorrow night."
"Eat, desu."
Yep, she definitely just wanted to eat it herself.
"Well, fish does tend to appear often in this house, so please get used to it, Rutina."
"I understand. I don't have any particular likes or dislikes."
"Amazing, desu."
No, Miria. Rutina only said she didn't have any dislikes, which meant she didn't hate fish, but she didn't necessarily love it either. Though, being able to eat anything without complaint was a virtue in its own way. I suppose that was the mark of a noble's upbringing. The upper class were raised strictly, so they learned to be unfussy. The lower class had to eat whatever they could get to survive, so they also had no room for picky eating. Having "likes and dislikes" might be a modern luxury unique to an era of total abundance.
"By the way," Rutina said, "have you given any thought to which Labyrinth you will conquer?"
"Conquer?"
"Yes. The Labyrinth that, once cleared, will lead to you being granted a title of nobility. Since you are already fighting on the forty-fourth floor, I think you have reached a stage where you should start considering it."
Rutina dropped that bombshell right in the middle of breakfast. Well, maybe she felt comfortable enough now to bring it up. In this world, clearing a Labyrinth was a shortcut to nobility. Duke Harz had egged Rutina on by suggesting that I would eventually achieve it.
Can't we just enjoy our breakfast?
"No, I haven't gone that far yet. I'm still at the stage where I'm hesitant to go above the forty-fifth floor."
"From what I saw, it seemed you could fight well enough on the higher floors, though."
"Yes," Roxanne agreed. "Master will surely be able to go higher soon."
I wished they wouldn't say such unsettling things. Now Roxanne was getting ideas.
"However," Sherry noted, "even if you defeat a Labyrinth within an existing noble's territory, you cannot become a noble. The Labyrinths that grant titles are those that have been left alone for years and have grown much deeper than the fiftieth floor. It might not be such an easy matter."
Good job, Sherry. Calm everyone down with some cold, hard logic.
"That is true, but..."
"Of course, there might be some 'easy' Labyrinths among them, but the competition for those spots would be fierce. Unless, of course, there's someone who would secretly tip us off about one."
I see. Rutina's question might have been a subtle way of asking if I had a lead on a hidden gem. From her perspective, Duke Harz would look like exactly that kind of connection—despite being her family's enemy. It made sense she'd be wary.
"I don't have anything like that."
Duke Harz might tell me something, eventually. However, rather than pointing me toward a Labyrinth that was easy to defeat, he was more likely to point me toward one that was convenient for him. I felt like I was being played in the palm of his hand. It might be too late to change that, but just like Rutina, I needed to be on guard, even if my reasons were different from hers.
"I see."
"Well, when the time comes, we can just choose from what's available. It's not something we need to rush."
"Yes," Roxanne said confidently. "Master will surely be able to defeat a Labyrinth that has grown larger than anyone else's. There is no need to worry."
If I didn't find a Labyrinth that had only grown a little past the fiftieth floor, Roxanne was going to drag me deeper and deeper. Damn. Did I have no choice but to rely on Duke Harz here? If I didn't, Rutina might feel at ease, but I wouldn't. Roxanne looked like she could be thrown onto the sixtieth floor right now and walk out effortlessly after dodging every monster attack in sight.
"I shall also keep my ears open to see if there are any promising Labyrinths," Rutina offered.
"I'm counting on you."
I meant that quite sincerely. Still, was it wise to rely on Rutina? She probably had connections, but could she actually use them? And if she could, what would that entail? I wasn't sure. The hardware shop lady, who was part of Roxanne and Vesta's social circle, certainly wouldn't have that kind of information.
"I will also make sure to pay attention to those matters from now on," Sherry added.
If Sherry said so, I could rest easy. It seemed most likely that she would find something through public guild information or at the Empire Liberation Society's lodge. In that case, we might end up facing a Labyrinth much larger than those found by "clever" people, but that couldn't be helped. I had Durandal, and I had multiple jobs. A brute-force approach would probably be sufficient. Power truly was might. I really couldn't deny Roxanne's logic.
"Then, let's leave it at that."
Our immediate policy was decided. Of course, no one should expect a miracle from me. Aside from Duke Harz, I didn't have the connections, nor did I have the social skills to actively seek them out.
And before we tackled any of that, there were other things to do. We’d bought basic equipment and sundries in Quratar, but we needed to get her some proper clothes. We had to go to the Imperial Capital. For starters, the camisoles that Roxanne and the others used as sleepwear were an absolute necessity.
In every sense of the word. For the sake of tonight’s entertainment... and every night thereafter. No, that wasn't it; it simply wasn't right to treat her differently from the others.
But that wasn't all. At that specific shop, they made maid outfits, aprons, and white robes for shrine maiden training. Of course, I wanted to get them made. I wanted to see Rutina in them. I wanted her to wear them for me. In every possible sense. Take the apron, for instance. It might feel like I was forcing a fallen noblewoman to taste the bitterness of her station, but the white robes were perfectly fine. Using them for waterfall training would make them transparent, but that was just part of the discipline. No problem there. Even when not soaking wet, they were strangely provocative. Also no problem. I could even have her wear them in the bedroom. Absolutely no problem.
As for the maid outfit... I wondered. If the castle back in Selmer had staff dressed like that, it might be in poor taste. It could serve as a cruel reminder of her lost life. However, I’d heard the design was modeled after the garments worn by the imperial palace’s own ladies-in-waiting. If daughters of the nobility entered the palace to learn etiquette, then surely the outfit was safe territory.
Or maybe it would just make her feel worse.
Well, I’d cross that bridge when I got to it. If I was being honest, I just wanted to see her in it. I wanted to admire her, then proceed to mess up those perfectly arranged clothes.
Is this okay? Is it really okay? Is this the spot? Is this the one?
"Is something the matter?"
Whoops. Had I said that out loud?
"Rutina will need various things as well," I said quickly. "We'll buy the immediate necessities in Quratar later, but we also need to visit the clothing shop in the Imperial Capital."
"A clothing shop?" Rutina asked.
"That's right," Roxanne said. "We need to buy sleepwear for you in a different color from ours."
Roxanne's innocent agreement was a godsend.
"Oh, like the ones you were all wearing last night? The ones I borrowed were quite nice."
"Yes, they're very comfortable," Roxanne smiled.
"Would that be alright?" Rutina asked.
She seemed to like the idea.
"It's fine. Also, I want to get an apron for you, like the ones everyone wears when they make breakfast. You'll be helping with the cooking, after all."
"I understand. Thank you very much."
Taking advantage of her good mood, I successfully pushed the apron on her too. For the sake of cooking. Definitely for the sake of cooking. I’d just keep it a secret that I was having a silk apron made as well. Since that wasn't for the kitchen, but for the bedroom. And it wasn't exactly meant to be worn over other clothes.
"Then, let's head there this evening."
Once I had the clothes, everything else would fall into place. I’d make sure of it. I wouldn't let it end any other way.