The figure who entered made Finn’s stomach drop—it was her. The same maid he had seen back in the Whispering Forest. Sharp, ghostly, that same poker face that looked like she’d never cracked a smile in her life.
Then it clicked. Was this what she meant by her "maid company"? Was this man her boss? Haus Silbertraum or whatever she’d called it?
Finn suddenly wasn’t buying the whole "maid company" story anymore. This felt less like a cleaning service and more like a federal government agency that just happened to wear maid uniforms.
The maid—girl—stopped beside him, studying him closely. Her cold eyes scanned him head to toe, as if examining every bone in his body. Then, shockingly, her expression shifted. For once, her face changed from indifferent to faintly amused.
"What’s the matter, Silvara?" the man asked.
"I’ve come across him before," she said, voice calm and measured. "In the splitting section of the Whispering Forest. He crossed my path along with three other girls—the same ones we dealt with earlier."
Finn’s eyes bulged. "What do you mean dealt with?! What did you do to them?!"
"We did nothing to your friends. Relax." The man’s calm tone only made Finn more tense.
"’Dealt with’?!" Finn snapped. "The robotic knife-lady just said we had to deal with them earlier! That doesn’t sound good at all!"
The man sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Yes, there was no harm done. We simply restrained them when we dragged your body in here. They were... persistent about staying with you."
"’Restrained’?!" Finn glared. "I don’t trust you people with your shady wording, or anything else you do..."
"They are simply tied together. That is all. Is that acceptable to you?"
Finn paused. "...Oh yeah, that’s actually wonderful. Keep them tied up. I need a break."
The man blinked, surprised by Finn’s sudden shift in tone. He turned his gaze to Silvara. "What were they like when you first met them?"
Silvara tilted her head slightly, almost as if the question amused her. "Where do I start?"
Silvara stood in silence for a long moment, as if deciding which disaster to begin with. Finally, she spoke.
"I heard them for a while before I saw them. Loud. Constantly bickering. I assumed they were children, given how they sounded. But then they stumbled into my section of the forest."
She glanced at Finn. "They just stood there, gawking at me as I finished off a slime. As if they had never seen combat in their lives."
"That’s not true..." Finn muttered defensively.
Her cold eyes flicked toward him. He shut up instantly.
"One of them had a weapon drawn, so I took immediate action. I threw my Die Nadelrosen. They scattered like foolish toddlers."
She lifted one finger. "The first to give in was the Vaultari girl. After a few strikes, she folded instantly. Transformed into a chest for protection instead of resisting. Useless."
Another finger. "The second was the elf woman. The one who drew her weapon. She was completely oblivious, no awareness at all. I hooked her to a tree, dangling upside down. Instead of panicking... she giggled. And seemed to enjoy it."
She raised her third finger. "Finally, the woman in the revealing dress."
"Majestria? Oh yeah, she’s something else." Finn grinned like an idiot, adding commentary nobody asked for.
"Ma...jes...tria?" Silvara tilted her head, as if tasting a foreign word. She looked at her superior, who also gave her a baffled look.
Her eyes returned to Finn. "Are you that illiterate, that you mispronounced ’Majestic’?"
Finn shook his head in disappointment, as if she were the one making no sense. "That’s her actual name."
Silvara stared at him, visibly trying to process that information. She looked... lost.
"Right," she finally said. "She was extremely self-absorbed. Her ego... the way she carried herself—"
"I know! Tell me about it! She’s so narcissistic and prideful it’s insane!" Finn interrupted, suddenly in full rant mode. "But her narcissism and uh... also being bratty? Yeah, that just makes her really hot." He said this in the most casual tone imaginable.
Both Silvara and the man froze, staring at him like he had just spoken a completely alien language.
The man finally muttered, "...From all the people I have interrogated, you are the only one who has ever made me question myself and what I am doing."
"Oh, right. I’m being interrogated." Finn smacked his forehead, as if he’d only just remembered. "So, uh, what do you guys even want from me again?"
The man sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "We want to know who you are and—"
"No, no, let the crazy knife girl speak. I wanna hear the rest of her civil analysis-ion session." Finn waved him off like a heckler at a comedy show.
The man just stared at him for a beat, then turned to Silvara and gave her a resigned nod. She accepted it without question.
"Like the man-child said earlier—"
Finn immediately snarled like a dog, teeth bared.
"—Finn," she corrected flatly. "As I was saying: she was narcissistic, concerned only with her appearance. I tied her hair to a branch. She cried, dangling helplessly like a child caught misbehaving."
Finn nodded in solemn agreement, like a proud father co-signing the insult.
"After they departed, I finished clearing the area. But I observed them further, out of caution. They are... the strangest combination I have ever documented. Simultaneously dysfunctional and functional."
She ticked the group off one by one.
"The Vaultari girl clung to Finn constantly. As if he was her emotional anchor... or a lapdog."
Finn shrugged, not denying it.
"The elf woman—highly perverted. Revolting. Completely distracted."
Finn muttered, "Yeah, that checks out."
"And finally, Majestria. Everything you said about her is true. But also... for some inexplicable reason, she seemed to cling to you as well. Having you carry her."
"Forced! Not willingly," Finn snapped back immediately.
"Right..." Silvara’s eyes narrowed slightly. "My conclusion: they are a chaotic, unstable group that should be sedated and locked away."
"Hey!" Finn shot up from his seat.
The man raised one hand for silence. Both Finn and Silvara obeyed instantly, like scolded children.
A knight stepped into the room, his armor clinking faintly as he marched straight to the silvery-white haired man. He carried a sealed scroll and bowed before offering it.
The man took it, eyeing the wax seal before glancing back up. "What is this?"
"A message," the knight said, voice crisp, "from one of the Great Wizard Towers of this region."