"Aren't you going to take a little more rest today? You can take a holiday these days and do whatever you like. I can clean the house myself," Laine said to Alia with a smile.
"No need, Mr. Laine, your kindness to
is not an excuse for
to slack off. I'm already deeply grateful that you agreed to take
in, after all... you helped
save Blood Axe," Alia said, her face shy but her tone firm. The girl knew Laine saw that she had secrets, and even in such a case, he was willing to take her in. Alia dared not ask for more.
"I see, well then, since it's Winter Festival today, how about we go out and take a look around!" Laine suddenly suggested, walking over to Alia's side. "Even though it's just the two of us, we should decorate the house a bit nicer, shouldn't we?"
"Then... Mr. Laine, you have to protect , okay!" On hearing about going out, Alia felt a bit of instinctive resistance, but the presence of Laine gave her a lot of confidence, so the girl hesitated and asked.
Alia was still in her usual maid outfit today—a long, plain-colored dress with a white apron adorned with ruffles. Her golden hair was tied up with a maid headband, and her big watery eyes along with her delicate features gave off an impulse for people to want to protect this girl tenderly.
The girl's temperant was just like that; she seed to particularly easily arouse n's protective instinct.
"Leave it to , but make sure you stay close to !" Laine promised with a smile, prompting Alia to decide to follow him outside. The little maid opened an umbrella and stayed tightly by Laine's side.
The streets during the Winter Festival were less crowded than usual, but the shops remained widely open. The shrewd rchants would not miss any opportunity to make money. Several major comrce associations coordinated their opening dates to ensure that custors could enjoy the joy of shopping during the holidays.
Snowflakes were fluttering between heaven and earth, and at approximately 1.63 ters tall, Alia appeared quite petite beside Laine. Her effortful struggle to manage the umbrella made Laine find it quite amusing, so he took the umbrella from her hand: "Let
hold it!"
"Thank you!" Alia's cheeks turned a rosy red as she continued to trail behind Laine.
Thus, the two of them started to stroll through the streets.
It seed like it was the day for the Half-Elf's Kunisberry Comrce Association to open stores, as most of the shops on the street were run by Half-Elves. The Half-Elves, mostly short in stature with an average height of about 1.1 to 1.2 ters, were all dressed in magnificent outfits, warmly welcoming guests with flowery words to lure custors into their stores.
Wherever there are humans, there are Half-Elves. Once upon a ti, Half-Elves had a very low status in the Empire, without human rights but burdened with heavy taxes. Every Half-Elf had to pay taxes according to the standards for normal humans, even though their work pay was only a fifth to a half of that of humans, as employers believed they didn't need much money for food, drink, and sleep.
So human nobles even considered Half-Elves as "two-legged sheep," extorting from them whenever in need of money, and if refused, they would slaughter Half-Elves rcilessly. That period was the darkest ti for Half-Elves, who struggled and endured, seeking chances for a coback and recognition.
The turning point ca with the Great Holy War 150 years ago.
When Savior Ludwig successfully unified the allied forces of various races and ford the Order Alliance Army, he encountered an awkward fact. This army, nearly 300,000 strong, faced a severe supply issue. The devastated Empire could no longer provide logistical support for this great force, and the Alliance Army might risk running out of food before confronting the Chaos Army. The rightful source is novelfire(.)net
At this crucial mont, Half-Elf Elder Mut appeared, humbly offering nearly all the stored food and wealth of the Half-Elves, ensuring logistical supplies for the Order Alliance Army and solving a major problem for the desperate Ludwig.
Returning the favor, when the New Empire was established, Half-Elves beca legitimate citizens of the Empire, starting to enjoy the rights of Empire citizens, with humans and Half-Elves gradually becoming indistinguishable from each other.
"Oh my! On this wonderful day, we are graced with the presence of a distinguished guest! That is the hero of humanity! The great La~ine!" A sharp-eyed Half-Elf imdiately spotted Laine and shouted aloud: "What would Mr. Laine like to see? We can assure you our store has everything! Really, everything!"
Laine thought to himself that this Half-Elf was boasting without reservation, as this was clearly just a tailor shop.
"Really? Then I'd better go in and take a look." Laine laughed heartily, leading Alia into the shop. Seeing him really enter the store, the Half-Elf excitedly shouted to the pedestrians on the street, "Mr. Laine entered the store! Mr. Laine has co into our Kunisberry Comrce Association's tailor shop! Today is truly a day of honor for Half-Elves!"
Pedestrians on the street turned their heads to offer congratulations, a testant to Laine's great fa.
"Mr. Laine, what are you planning to buy?" Alia asked curiously.
Because... this is a tailor shop mainly selling won's clothes.
Could Laine have a preference for that kind of thing? The little maid tilted her head and wondered.
"It's the New Year, everyone should have a few sets of new clothes, my dear Alia," Laine said, leading the maid to the splendidly stocked wardrobe with a smile. "Pick out a few sets of clothes you like! Consider them my Winter Festival gift to you."
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