[Book II Chapter 63] ROSE: Edelweiss

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“The world certainly has changed, hasn’t it?” Roxanne whispered.

Without answered, Rose took in the skyline. Above a sea of tall buildings, five towers shot all the way up the bedrock above. The sheer amount of engineering and labor needed to construct such a city was awe inspiring.

“You two coming?” Lucy called out. She stood next to two small children as the airship took off behind her. When Vandril had decided to send Rabaster’s survivors to Edelweiss, Lucy had immediately insisted on accompanying them, dragging Rose and Roxanne with her. She still refused to explain why.

Rose switched her focus to their immediate surroundings. They were in a field on a hill in the orphanage’s private park. Beyond the walls she could see narrow streets full of cramped living spaces.

Roxanne walked over and bent down before the nervous children, smiling. “Let’s go see your new home. I’m sure you’ll make lots of friends.”

They hadn’t taken a dozen steps towards the main building when Lucy burst out laughing. She tried to control herself, but instead doubled over cackling. They all watched dumbfounded. Eventually, she pulled herself together, but then her eyes met Rose and it started again.

“Come on!” Rose exclaimed. “At least explain what is so funny.” Lucy simply gesture for them to continued, mumbling they would understand.

The Directress of Edelweiss welcomed them in warmly. Dozens of children of all ages filtered into the entrance hall to see the new arrivals. Under this attention, the former Rabaster nobles, a girl and her younger brother, shyly named themselves. In a broken cacophony, the gathered children returned the greeting.

“Let’s not forget the kind folk who brought us these two.” The Directress said. “Why don’t you introduce yourself too?”

Lucy jumped in. “I’m Lucy Vance. The pretty lady over there is Roxanne Sibil. And this…” She gestured grandly. “is Rose, the daughter of Astra Skyfell.”

The reaction was immediate. Small eyes fixated themselves on Rose as excited whispering echoed the room. The clamoring grew until one young boy pointed at her, “Weakling!”

Rose jaw dropped. What is the meaning of this? From the corner of her eye, she saw Lucy giggling to herself.

“That wasn’t very nice.” The Directress frowned. “Now say sorry or no dessert this evening.”

“But it’s true!” The boy protested. “Dawn said so!”

Rose eyes narrowed. “No need for apologies. Instead, could you show me to this Dawn? I’d really like to meet her.”

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The boy nodded and scurried out of the room. Rose followed, turning towards Lucy. “You knew about this?”

“Yes,” Lucy admitted. “I’d heard a great deal about your sister from Wise. When I sensed she was here, I had to meet her. She didn’t disappoint.”

Dawn was outside under a tree, in the middle of telling some tale to the orphans around her. Once she saw them, she got up and waved. “Rose, fancy meeting you here! I was just telling them about you.”

“She’s the weakling, the one who died once.” Exclaimed a small girl.

Rose’s eyes flicked from the girl to her sister. “What nonsense have you been telling them?” She demanded.

Dawn’s face lit up. “Listen, it’s wonderful. No matter what I say, they accept it without objections. I don’t have to filter myself at all!”

She’s brainwashing them with her deluded ego, Rose realized with horror. As she tried to grasp the scale of the damage, another little girl came up to her and said. “Don’t give up. You can do it.” She then ran back and hid behind the others.

Rose grabbed Dawn’s arm and dragged her to the side. “What are you even doing here?”

“I just got back from a fairly draining dungeon run.” Dawn explained. “The adventurer party I joined came here to recuperate.”

Rose noticed Roxanne talking to the children and winced at the big grin on her face. Slander has been spread all over this place. “How did you managed to find teammates? And why would you even want to? I figured you’d be off adventuring on your own.”

“That’s a long story——” Dawn began.

“Excuse me” Lucy cut in wearing a serious look. “Yuria just arrived looking for Zentrias. It appears something big has happened. We should head to her private study.

“I’m Lucy, Wise’s girlfriend, by the way.” She added.

Dawn shot Rose a glance. “It’s also a long story.” She answered.

On their way up the main building, Lucy revealed Yuria was the head of Nordric’s Adventurer’s Guild and the immortal who sponsored this orphanage. They entered a large room on the top floor with a balcony overlooking the park. Three people sat around a table.

On the right was a woman in black covered in Xarst’s symbol. On the left was a man wrapped in dark leather. In the center… Rose’s mouth dropped again. The woman looked identical to Lucy, only older and somehow more beautiful. She wore a stunning yet functional outfit of blue and white.

“Elliot mentioned that Lucy resembled Yuria, but I didn’t think it was to this extend.” Roxanne commented.

Once everyone had recuperated from the shock, they greeted each other and took a seat.

“It’s good that you are here, Dawn. I was about to call for you.” Zentria glanced toward Rose. “Is your sister joining our party too? With Juda’s departure, we are short a member.”

“I’m not sure——” Rose said.

“She is.” Lucy interjected. Noting Rose’s indignation, she rolled her eyes. “It’s what you would have decided. I’m just saving time.”

“With that settled,” Yuria said. “We can move on to why I’m here today. A new dungeon has appeared on the edge of Ground Zero. I’m sure you can appreciate the significance.”

Everyone fell quiet. The theme and rewards are often determined by location. If it appeared there then…

“It hasn’t opened yet, but Anna Sorelli has revealed it’s a saint-level undead dungeon.”

Both Carol and Zentria swore at the same time. Rose was surprised at their vitriol.

“Undead dungeons are rare and exceptionally deadly.” Roxanne offered. “Anyone who has lived the experience knows to hate them.”

Yuria nodded. “Unfortunately, we can’t ignore this one. The problem is the rewards. The Adventurer’s Guild believes artifacts left behind by Sola are inside. Prizes so dangerous the HEAVENLY DAO waited for a dark age to release them.”

“You want us to recover them?” Zentrias guessed.

“Yes,” Yuria agreed. “Torak’s disciple are active in the surrounding Twisted Lands. No doubt they are recruiting proxies to act on their behalf. We can’t let these items fall into their hands.”