Leaving the Amber Manor

I get up out of bed quickly, and rush to put my Gift back on my head. This is the last day I’ll be spending in the Amber manor for the foreseeable future, and I have to prepare everything I need before I have to go. I only have a few hours.

First thing is clothes. I’ve already asked Mother for all the clothes that I wanted to take with me, so it’s just a matter of grabbing them out of my closet.

Surprisingly, the solution to my mobility problem was actually quite simple. Just wear clothes meant for girls my age. A stupid solution yes, but I’m 10 now, and due to a certain substance I drank I haven’t grown a single inch since I was 8. This makes clothes meant for my age just a bit too big on me.

After finding that out, it’s just a matter of having someone trim and fit them to me to more match my size, while maintaining the flexibility to move around in. It's a pretty funny solution, I think, but it definitely does work.

The clothes I put on today is a long sleeved undergarment that Rain would recognize as just a shirt. Long sleeves because I need space to hide the rocks around my joints without anyone noticing. Above that is a corset, then a dress that only comes down to just above my feet. Not what I normally would have worn before this, but now most of my outfits are like this. I need to play the part of a noble, and be able to fight at a moment’s notice after all.

Next order of business is making sure that I have all the earth golems that I’ll need. So that’s just a matter of taking inventory and then creating the ones that I don’t have.

Alright, so several humanoid ones the size of humans that can carry weapons and fight for me? Check.

Small ones in the shape of snakes I can put my Gift onto for surveillance? Check.

Huge, 40 foot tall stone ones that I made to be really tanky and do a lot of damage with their attacks? Check.

That bigger one, that served as a prototype for making mecha later, the one I’m meant to summon around me? Check.

Bird golems that can actually fly and carry my Gift with them for surveillance? Don’t have those yet, let’s see… um… yeah making something like that doesn’t seem to be possible for me right now

Super small ant sized golems that are meant to crawl into the opponent's eyes and other vital areas. Check, even if the thought of having to resort to that makes me shutter.

Small humanoid ones to run around my opponents and stab them in the legs from all directions? Don’t have those, surprisingly. Alright, let’s make a bunch of those then. And a whole bunch of little knives for them to use. I’ll also have to practice controlling a huge swarm when I get the chance.

One that’s my exact height, has my exact proportions and facial features? Check. I won’t be using this one for a while. It’s more of a prototype than anything. Honestly, mold might be a better word to describe it. It will be incredibly important later though.

I walk through into the dining room to begin breakfast. I find my family, but I also see Wolstan and a stranger there waiting for me. The stranger has an aura of calm around him. He’s blonde, and dressed in a green coat. I notice a sword at his hip.

“Lilith, you’re here. I have someone to introduce you to.” Wolstan says.

“Clearly.” I say, “Sir, I am the youngest daughter of the Amber family, Lilith Amber. Pleased to meet you.”

“Hi.” Is all he says.

“Lilith, this is Galen. Not that you’d need one but your Mother and Father insisted on getting you a bodyguard. Galen here is the strongest one that I could secure. He’s nowhere near my level, but he makes up for that in experience.”

A bodyguard for me? He says that it was Mother and Father’s insistence that wound up getting me one, but do I really need one? I mean… right, no matter what I can find allies. I’ll simply keep an eye on this guy, but I won’t be entirely distrustful. Right, that’s the approach I’m going to be taking with everybody for now on.

“In terms of strength, I’d say he’s probably on par with you. With you using a halberd though and him using a sword you could probably beat him. He also comes from Nymet, so he should be a pretty decent guide”

Right, that’s good to know. He actually has a use and even if he does randomly decide to betray me for some reason, I should be fine so long as I keep my guard up. I do want a bit of a psychological profile though. He doesn’t seem to talk much and he isn’t very expressive so I don’t quite know what’s going on in his head, and I don’t like that.

“Leah! Are you here?!” I yell, walking into the maid’s personal quarters.

“Ahh, Lady Lilith?! Just what are you doing here?” Leah asks, only half dressed.

“Leah, I’m going to be leaving for Nymet soon. I simply wanted to say bye, and thank you for all the things that you’ve done for me.”

“Uhh, Lady Lilith I really appreciate the sentiment, but can this wait for just a few more minutes?”

“Unfortunately, no. I am leaving in a few minutes so I have to say bye now. Besides, I’m ten years old and a girl. I see no issue with talking to you like this.”

Of course, I’m pretty sure that Rain was only into girls, but I don’t appear to be able to have any sexual thoughts at all. Probably because I’m operating with a prepubescent brain. A metaphor that Rain would understand is trying to use software too advanced for the hardware I’m operating on.

“Even then Lilith, it’s inappropriate for me to be seen like this by my masters!”

“Hm? I’m not your master though? I would have thought that after these two years I could at least be considered your friend.”

“H- huh?”

“I mean, after that night where you worked so hard to save my life I was legitimately grateful to you. I wanted to know your name, get to know you, and treat you with as much respect that I possibly could. I liked to think that we were friends, but if that’s how you see it I guess I can just leave.”

I really feel as though we are friends. Leah is too caring towards me for it to just be her maid’s sense of duty. Still though, if it turns out that she really only thought of herself as a servant I might actually cry. Rain and Lilith never really cried unless they had a really good reason to.

“Uh, Lady Lilith! That isn’t it at all, I do genuinely care about you, it’s just that I’m embarrassed at you seeing me like this!”

Just as I expected. That’s honestly a relief.

“That’s good. Thank you Leah, if you really didn’t like me I would have been really upset.” I say.

“Huh? What do you mean? I don’t believe I’ve done anything for you to warrant a reaction like that.”

“Don’t sell yourself short, Leah! You’ve helped me out so many times! I’m super grateful towards you!”

Leah looks incredibly confused.

“Uh, Lady Lilith… you seriously don’t need to be so grateful…”

I walk up to her and hug her, just flustering her even more.

“You can say that all you want, but I’m still going to miss you. Here, as one last order to you, I order you to have a higher opinion of yourself while I’m gone. I don’t want any of this “I’m just a maid, all the good things I’ve done are just because of my job” mentality you have going on when I get back, alright?”

“L- Lady Lilith? I don’t… I don’t know what to say… Um… Alright! I’ll try my best. I’ll try not to disappoint you, Lady Lilith.”

“Good.” I say as I come out of the hug.

“Oh, and one more thing before I leave, it’s just a request.”

“I’ll try my best, Lady Lilith.”

“Can you tell me “Bye, Lilith?””

“Of course, bye Lady Lilith.”

“Hmm? I don’t believe I said the “Lady” part. Tell me bye, but without any honorifics this time.”

“Ah, Lady Lilith! I could never do that. I must address my masters with the correct honorifics at all times…”

“I thought I was your friend, though?”

Leah flinches when I say that. If I pushed a bit harder, I’m sure that I could get her to say it, but I want her to want to say it. It’s no use if I just manipulate her into saying it.

“A- alright… Goodbye, Lilith. I look forward to seeing you again.” She says with a smile.

“Aha! I knew you could do it! Thanks, Leah! I’ll see you as soon as I get out of school! Bye, Leah!”

I walk through the halls with Wolstan as we walk to the stables so that I can leave. I’m not carrying anything on me. Anything that I haven’t stored in my Gift or put in the cart already is being handled by the servants.

“So, Wolstan, since we’re alone just when are you and Brother leaving for the front lines?”

“Immediately after you’re out of sight. He insisted on making sure that we didn’t do anything to tip you off that we’re going anyway. Hell, we only have about half an hour to get ready after you head off, not that I have all that much to pack.”

Huh? Brother would put himself under that much stress just to keep from worrying me? It’s taken me most of the day to get ready, compressing all of that down into half an hour sounds like a nightmare.

Of course, he probably has a lot less to pack since he’s going to be grouping up with an army, and guys have much less things to worry about in terms of outward appearance that girls do, but still. I don’t really like the fact that he’d be willing to stretch himself thin just to keep me from worrying…

“Oh, don’t worry about that. He has a lot less to worry about traveling than you do. Not to mention he’s used to much tighter schedules in the military.”

Hm? Am I that predictable? First Brother, and now Wolstan. Maybe it would be better to just keep my expression covered rather than try and do a poker face. Yeah, but how would I do that though? I obviously can’t use a mask. I’ll think about it as I travel to Nymet.

Wolstan and I arrive at the stables where my cart is waiting for me. It’s a rather large noble cart with enough space inside of it to be considered a small room by mansion standards. This is it, this is going to be my bedroom pretty much for the next couple of weeks.

Damn it, I should have put pillows and bed sheets inside of my Gift so I could use that to sleep. Oh well, a bit too late to run all the way to my room now, even if I do have the “Sprint” skill. I’ll just ask Galen to buy some fancy ones on the way. I’m sure I’ll have a rather large allowance for this trip.

Galen waits on the front of the cart, at the reins. Is he going to be my driver too? I guess if he can drive as well as fight, that makes sense. Mother, Father, Brother and Sister are all waiting for me as well.

“Lilith, have you gotten everything you need?” Mother asks me.

“Yes Mother. Everything that the servants haven’t grabbed is already stored inside my Gift. The trip can proceed just fine.”

“Ah, that’s my Lilith, always so capable~” Father says, patting my head.

“Thank you., Father. I try my best.”

“Now Lilith. Wolsan has assured me that Galen is safe for you to be around, and I trust his judgment. Galen is not only going to be your bodyguard but also your driver and servant during the whole trip. I’ve already paid him in advance, so he will be keeping this job until your first year at school ends. After that you will be on your own.”

“I understand, Mother.” 

Right, it wouldn’t make sense for him to stay with me all the time unless he was getting paid. I should probably just be grateful he’s remaining with me my entire first year without any further effort on my part. If he proves useful though, I’ll have to secure enough income to keep him moving forward.

“Now, here.” Mother says, handing me a very heavy bag. “It’s your allowance for the trip. It comes out to 50 white dimes total. Given your Gift, you shouldn’t have any problem holding onto any of that. If you need anything, make sure to consult with Galen first.”

“Yes, Mother, I understand.”

“Alright then. Goodbye Lilith, I wish you luck in your travels.”

“Goodbye, Mother.” I say as I move onto Father.

“Make sure to write home as often as you can, Lilith. I’ll make sure to do the same, so please respond.” Father says.

“Of course. I’ll try to write every day, although I’m not sure how long I’ll be able to keep that up. I’ll start writing as soon as I arrive in Krysdale.”

“Thank you, Lilith.” Father says as I move onto Brother.

“Remember what I told you Lilith. This isn’t going to be easy, but as long as you try hard enough you’ll be able to enjoy yourself well enough.”

“I’d never forget what you told me Brother. Thank you for everything.” I say as I move onto Sister.

I love Brother so much. Putting on a brave face even though he knows where he’s heading as soon as I leave. Well, I guess I should probably appreciate the whole family for that, for somehow not tipping me off. The only reason I know is that Wolstan told me.

“Well, this is goodbye, sis. I’d tell you to be careful but I’m pretty sure you have everything on that front handled. I’ll try to visit if I ever get the chance.”

“I’m looking forward to it, Sister.” I say before moving onto the cart.

“Goodbye everybody. I love each and every one of you. Thank you for everything.” I say, as I walk into the carriage.

Everybody starts saying their final goodbyes to me, but I mostly tone it out. It’s a nice sentiment, but it’s mostly just the same words over and over again. The carriage shakes, as Galen begins to drive out of the stables. Alright, this is the beginning. It’s time to start finalizing my plans for survival.