Chapter 10 Ashley’s Memory — Part ① — Long-Awaited
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Ashley looked down at the list. Around twenty names were written there, each accompanied by details such as age, gender, background, hometown, and skills.
Each one was said to be a skilled guide for a labyrinth. Even so, Ashley had no idea how to choose just one. She could not tell how they were different from each other.
Princess Marina was going to enter a labyrinth, and Ashley, as her maid with some magic skill, had been told to go with her. Ashley always obeyed her dear princess without question, and while she said “yes” again and again, the job of speaking with the guild somehow also fell into her hands.
Normally, a special officer would take this role. But Ashley did not have the right to refuse. Just before she left the princess’s room, Marina had said, “Something good will happen,” in a strange way that only made Ashley more confused.
She did not feel happy about this work, but since she had been ordered, she had to do it well.
She read the list again from the top.
There were names, ages, genders, backgrounds, hometowns, and skills. Even if the person would stay near the princess only for a short time, nothing bad could happen. Ashley hoped for a woman, but the two women on the list had weak records. They were likely added just for the princess’s comfort, and the guild probably did not expect anyone to choose them. There would be knights to guard them, and anyone on this list was trusted, so Ashley decided to choose by record and skills.
Even so, the bright records meant little to her. The list spoke of “completed this gathering task” or “led that search to success,” but Ashley did not know enough about labyrinth to understand how great those things were.
At last, she let her eyes pass over the skills column, thinking she should simply follow the guild’s “recommended” mark. At that moment, one shocking word jumped out at her.
— (No Skill)
Ashley stared. That could not be right.
People who entered a labyrinth were usually skill users. A skill was seen as a blessing from the goddess Shelm, and the more someone used it, the stronger their body became. Every other guide on the list had a skill. Even if a skill seemed useless, the blessing still made the body stronger, and that could mean life or death inside a labyrinth.
Yet here was someone without a skill, and their name was on the special list for the princess.
Her interest rose at once. She checked the name, and her eyes opened wide.
— Yuuri.
Her heart jumped as she slowly checked the age and hometown.
Twenty-one. From Cantero Village in the Alegria lands.
”—Yuuri.”
She had tried to forget. No—she had closed the lid on that feeling, telling herself it would never bear fruit because he had no skill.
She had closed the lid on that feeling, telling herself it would never bear fruit because he had no skill.
”You have a good eye, Alegria Count’s daughter.”
Ashley’s heart beat fast. She remembered she was in the guild meeting room. She lifted her head from the list. Across from her, the guild officer, Roeni-san, smiled at her.
”If possible, please call me by my name, Baroness Confianza,” Ashley said.
”Then I will. Please call me Roeni as well, Ashley-san,” Roeni replied with a soft laugh.
Between nobles, they used family names unless they were very close or in a private place. This was still official, but since they would need to talk many times, Ashley had suggested using names.
”So, about this guide called Yuuri,” Ashley said.
”Yes, it is surprising,” Roeni said. “But of course, we only offer someone the guild trusts.”
Since Roeni had heard her whisper the name, Ashley had to ask for details.
The truth was she wanted to know. Was this really the Yuuri she had met when they were young? And if so, how had he gained such high praise in the guild without a skill?
It was a longing, Ashley thought. As the Count’s daughter, she was expected to have a child with a skill user to keep the family blood strong. She had wished so many times that Yuuri had a skill. To keep thinking of someone whose path would never join hers was like a small betrayal of her duty. She had to let go of those feelings.
But maybe, just maybe, it was allowed to hear how an old friend was doing now.
Even knowing it was an excuse, Ashley listened to Roeni speak about Yuuri.
”And so, sometimes a labyrinth guide without a skill is better,” Roeni said. “People with blessings can become overconfident and less careful because they feel safe—”
Ashley listened to stories of Yuuri’s adventures. By the end, she felt she had come to a stop inside herself. She made up her mind to choose Yuuri as their guide.
Even so, she could not meet him that day.
As the guild’s high opinion showed, he was away on a job, inside a labyrinth for a client. Ashley asked Roeni for his return date and made an appointment to meet him then.
That day, she went back to the castle and gave a report to Princess Marina.
”It seems something good happened to you,” the princess said at once, smiling in her private, friendly way.
”What do you mean, Your Highness?” Ashley asked.
”You do not smile much, Ashley. But you looked so soft and happy while you spoke, so I could tell.”
Ashley touched her lips without thinking. Princess Marina’s smile grew more playful as she pressed on.
”So, why did you choose this Yuuri-kun from your own hometown?” she asked.
”I did not choose him just because he is from my home,” Ashley said. “Madam Confianza told me he trained himself well during her active days, so she recommended him.”
It was true that Roeni had spoken well of him, but Ashley kept quiet about how that praise had begun only after she had whispered his name.
”Oh? That strong lady praised him?” Princess Marina leaned forward. “But it says he has no skill. Will he be fine?”
”I also received her full support on that point!” Ashley said a bit too fast. “Having a skill is not always an advantage for an guide. And he has worked in labyrinth for ten years and earned great trust!”
The princess’s point was not wrong.
Most people had no skill, and they lived normal lives. But inside a labyrinth full of danger, skill users did have an edge. Yuuri must have faced bias for having no skill. Hearing her beloved princess imply such views made Ashley raise her voice without thinking.
She noticed how much she had spoken and went quiet.
”You protect him a lot,” Marina said. “Are you two… old friends?”
”W-well… I met him ten years ago, when I stayed in the village for rest.”
After speaking so strongly, Ashley could not push away the question. She answered honestly.
”Ohh, so he was your first love!”
”Wha— n-no, that is not true!”
Ashley must not allow herself to love Yuuri.
She tried her best to deny it, but her face felt hot. She was so glad no one else was in the room. If any other maid had seen her, the news would be all over the palace by supper.
Princess Marina was excited for a moment, but then she seemed to notice the truth. Her face grew calm, and she asked in a gentle voice:
”So, you gave up. And now you want to help him shine because you feel sorry for him?”
”That is not it,” Ashley said. “My eyes stopped on his name because I knew him, yes, but I chose him after talking with Madam Confianza and thinking about his skill… or rather, his strength.”
She knew it was a weak excuse. Making the princess question her motives was already wrong. If she had chosen someone with no ties, none of this trouble would have come.
”If that is so, then it is fine,” Marina said.
”Thank you. Your kindness means much to me.”
Ashley had said everything she needed to report. She bowed and was about to leave when Marina stopped her.
”Ashley, I am not angry,” the princess said. “Your choice of Yuuri-kun is, in the end, what I hoped for. Do you remember what I told you before you left for the guild?”
”You said… ‘Something good will happen.’ Wait—did you already know I would see Yuuri’s name?”
Marina nodded with joy.
”The truth is, it was a message from Shelm-sama. To be exact: ‘If Ashley goes to speak with the guild, something good will come.’”
She took a paper from her desk and showed it to Ashley. It was written on royal paper with special ink, in handwriting unlike the princess’s usual hand, asking to send Ashley to the guild.
Again? Ashley thought.
Princess Marina sometimes called these things “messages” from the goddess. Ashley did not really believe the goddess Shelm gave out skills. But strangely, things never turned out badly after these “messages.” Even so, they had never helped in politics, so to Ashley, they felt more like trouble than blessing.
”So you see, I will not blame you for choosing Yuuri-kun,” Marina said. “You meet him in… three days, right? It has been ten years. Dress up a bit. But do not go too far and make me bow to the Alegria Count later.”
”I will not! I am not that kind of woman!”
Princess Marina’s teasing was often wild, the sort one never learned in a palace. But it also showed she trusted Ashley.
Since the princess had given permission, Ashley felt she could act more freely—within reason.
She thought of the boy she had not seen for ten years. Back then, she had relied on the blessing of her skill and acted wild, while Yuuri, the same age, had been calm and steady. If he had come to the capital and found success as an guide, he must be much stronger now. She had changed too. She could no longer act like the “big sister” she once pretended to be. And her body had changed as well—
”You know, Ashley, your chest is quite big,” Marina said with a grin. “Yuuri-kun must be living with no fun inside the labyrinth for days. If he attacks you, make sure you fight him off.”
”Yuuri would never do such a thing!”
No, Yuuri would not do that. He would remain calm, just as she remembered him, perhaps taller now, with stronger arms…
Every time she argued with the princess, the picture of Yuuri in her mind grew more ideal.
She knew she was looking at him with too much favor, yet she felt more and more excited to see him again.
Would they be able to talk about the past? Would they speak about their lives since then?
Would they share a meal?
Ashley could not wait for the meeting three days from now.
Notes:
• Ashley – Count’s daughter, royal attendant, has a crush on Yuuri.
• Marina – First Princess of Restea—needs labyrinth escort.
• Shelm – Wicked Goddess, reincarnated Yuuri, manipulative, wants him to use his power.
• Roeni – Guild receptionist, former adventurer, now a baroness—mentor to Yuuri.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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