"Tap, tap, tap"—the crisp, rhythmic sound echoes as the men swing their wooden mallets.

  It’s already been a month since the Stampede.

  Even after the Stampede subsided, we weren’t allowed outside the castle gates for a week until the surrounding area was confirmed safe. After that, the kingdom’s knights worked with the Adventurer’s Guild to thin out the dungeon monsters that had caused the Stampede. Until safety was fully restored, trade and movement were kept to a bare minimum.

  Those days passed, and it wasn’t until st week that citizens were finally permitted to move freely again.

  And now, the royal capital, damaged by the Stampede, is being rebuilt.

  So, what are we doing in the middle of all this?

  **"We’re counting on you again today, ss!"** **"Yeah! Leave it to me!"**

  We’re preparing for a live performance for the workers at the construction site.

  Huh? Think we’re joking?

  Nah, we’re dead serious.

  After all, the construction crew went out of their way to hastily build a stage for Amina to sing on, and they even prepared a wooden crate for me to use as a chair while I py the lute.

  Not only that—

  **"Is the water okay here?"** **"Thanks!"** **"No problem. Hearing you girls py gives us energy too. We’re counting on you again today!"** **"Leave it to us!!"**

  They even set up a proper break area for us. Talk about being spoiled.

  The royal capital’s reconstruction is being led by the kingdom, so the site supervisor here is supposed to be overseeing things under the kingdom’s orders. Normally, they’d never invite kids like us to a pce like this.

  **"Liberta, are we starting soon?"** **"Yeah, work’s already begun, and there are plenty of people around."**

  Nell, straddling a cajón—a box-like percussion instrument—already knows the timing by heart after pying with us almost daily.

  **"Let’s get started."** **"Got it! Here we go!!"**

  Nell begins tapping the cajón with a lively rhythm, and I match it with my lute.

  Say what you will, but after cycling through so many different pystyles in games, I can at least py an instrument decently.

  Though, since it wasn’t my main character’s skill, it took a ridiculous amount of effort to remember how.

  **"?～"**

  Amina’s powerful singing voice fills the construction site, harmonizing with our performance.

  **"Here it comes, here it comes!!"** **"Hell yeah, I’m pumped!!"** **"Gah!! I can feeeel it!!"**

  Her songs apply area-wide buffs—Regeneration and Attack Power Up—which apparently boost work efficiency too. Some of the workers are getting way too hyped, but if it speeds up reconstruction, then it’s all good.

  For us, this isn’t just volunteer work. The more people listen, the faster Amina’s Singing skill levels up.

  A true win-win situation.

  Watching the middle-aged construction workers get weirdly fired up and start working in rhythm, I find myself reminiscing about how we ended up like this.

  Not that it was all that long ago.

  It goes back to when I was asked—while standing atop the castle walls—whether I’d consider serving House Edelgard.

  Even though the Stampede had died down, battles were still raging. At the time, I remember giving the Duke a skeptical look, thinking, *What the hell are you talking about right now?*

  I get why they’d see me as a walking bomb. Dangerous.

  And I understand why they’d want to keep tabs on me.

  But the reason I didn’t outright refuse their request for cooperation was because of the intel they shared—something I recognized from FBO.

  It tied into why Iris Edelgard was known as the Viliness.

  Among the noble-reted quests in the southern continent, there are three particurly major ones:

  - **The Serpent Duke’s Tail** - **The Boar Duke’s Foot** - **The Fruit Duke’s Ear**

  Each of these quests has its own twists, and they’re all pretty dark.

  Every st one of these power-hungry nobles pretends to be a loyal servant of the southern continent while secretly colluding with nobles from other continents, scheming to overthrow the nation.

  The "sinister shadow" is none other than their faction.

  Even in the game, these were annoying quests—if left unchecked, they’d detonate into massive disasters.

  *Why didn’t you deal with this sooner?* was basically the gist of the questline.

  So when they begged for my help, knowing how hard House Edelgard was struggling alone, I couldn’t bring myself to refuse.

  If it had been any other ducal house, I’d have noped out instantly.

  As my fingers strum along to Amina’s song, I wonder—*How did I end up like this?*

  I’d pnned to live this new life a little more carefreely.

  But after a moment of reflection, the answer is obvious: *I brought this on myself.*

  Even if I spent an hour debating the merits of my past actions, the conclusion would still be the same—*This is my fault.*

  My ck of restraint, my willingness to help—I should’ve seen this coming.

  With that in mind, when formalizing my cooperation with House Edelgard, we id down some ground rules.

  First and foremost—**I am not a servant of House Edelgard.**

  My strength lies in my knowledge of this world’s systems—something no one else has. Being tied down to one pce would strip me of that advantage.

  So, I’m strictly an **external colborator**, keeping a clear line between me and the Edelgard family.

  I’ll take on their requests to some extent, but I retain full veto power.

  Likewise, I can request their assistance when needed.

  A dry, transactional retionship, you could say.

  Lady Esmeralda seems to want something deeper, but I’ll pass on that.

  Of course, a verbal agreement alone wouldn’t satisfy a ducal house.

  So, as a "liaison," they assigned me a **watcher**—and provided a residence to keep tabs on my whereabouts.

  **"Haaah! That was a great performance!"** **"Well done. We’ve prepared water for you here."**

  Yeah, the whole live-performance setup in the middle of a sweaty construction site was already weird enough, but now we’ve got a cssical maid here too? The dissonance is off the charts.

  Like some kind of manager, the moment Amina steps down from the stage after singing for nearly an hour, the maid appears out of nowhere with water.

  **"Thank you!! This helps a ton!"** **"Of course. Lady Nell, here you are as well."** **"Thanks, Ingrid."**

  Ingrid—a girl with light-blue hair tied into a ponytail, just slightly older than us.

  Behind her round gsses, her gaze is sharp, but at heart, she’s earnest.

  She’s the one connecting me to House Edelgard—liaison and watchdog in one.

  I’ve heard she’s the daughter of a viscount, yet she treats commoner kids like us without condescension, always polite and proper.

  **"Liberta, here you are."** **"Ah, thanks."**

  But man, she’s **stiff**.

  Her expression is like stone—completely unmoving.

  Her tone is polite, her gestures refined, yet her face never so much as twitches.

  I’ve never seen her smile since Lady Esmeralda introduced us.

  It’s like she’s a robot or something.

  *"I am Ingrid Grulier. Starting today, I shall be attending to you, Liberta. I look forward to working with you."*

  I still remember her deadpan self-introduction.

  The day she met Nell and Amina, they were so unnerved by her expressionlessness that they were practically trembling.

  **"You’re… human, right?"** **"I am indeed of the human race."**

  The way she answered Amina’s fearful question with a straight face suggested she’d been asked that before.

  But beneath that stoic exterior, she’s genuinely kind. Over time, the girls’ wariness faded, and now we’ve grown comfortable around her.

  She hands me water and even has a towel ready for wiping sweat.

  The Duke said he’d send someone trustworthy, but I never expected **this**.

  Sure, I wanted a tight-lipped, reliable liaison, but still.

  **"Is something the matter?"** **"Nah, it’s nothing."** **"I see. Should you need anything, do not hesitate to ask."**

  Honestly, who’d have thought they’d send a **maid**?

  In neither this life nor my st have I ever lived the kind of life where maids wait on me.

  Don’t get me wrong—she’s helpful. But having a maid in my daily life is just… weird.

  I stare at Ingrid’s face for a moment too long, and she tilts her head, asking if something’s wrong.

  No way I’m telling her I was reminiscing about our first meeting—that’d be way too embarrassing.

  Truth is, since she arrived, life’s gotten a lot easier.

  She’s the one who arranged this whole construction-site concert setup.

  House Edelgard owes me—first for helping take down the Wyvern, then for aiding in suppressing the Stampede.

  At first, they tried to pay me in cash, but for future leverage, I left it as a favor owed.

  Money’s easy enough to make if I really want it.

  So, the first thing I asked of them was help finding a pce where Amina could sing for a crowd.

  It’s tied to her **Singing skill**.

  Leveling this skill is a bit… special.

  Just singing raises proficiency, but barely. What really matters is **having an audience**.

  Honestly, during the Stampede, singing for both allies and enemies gave her skill a massive boost.

  The sheer number of goblin zombies alone skyrocketed her skill level.

  **"Are we singing again after the break?"** **"Yeah. How’s your throat holding up?"** **"No problem! I’m full of energy!! Maybe it’s the skill’s effect?"** **"Probably. The Singing skill extends buff duration and reduces vocal strain, so it’s protecting your voice."**

  To recreate those ideal leveling conditions, we pulled some noble strings to set up these construction-site concerts.

  At first, the site supervisor eyed us suspiciously, but after a day or two of experiencing Amina’s buffs firsthand, he did a complete 180.

  Now, hailed as the site’s songstress, Amina gets cheers from the workers daily—and today, she’s as fired up as ever.

  **"It’s getting hotter. Please be careful, everyone."**

  Ingrid gnces at the sky, noting the clear weather and rising temperatures.

  It’s been a while since I arrived in this world, and as the seasons shift, the sun grows fiercer—summer’s approaching.

  While "heatstroke" isn’t a term here, people know that working under the scorching sun without water is dangerous.

  You can see workers taking frequent water breaks all around the site.

  **"Okaaay!! Let’s go!!"** **"Got it."** **"Of course."**

  Lately, Amina’s been extra motivated—maybe because she realizes her singing helps people.

  Honestly, she’s got the most skills out of all of us.

  Pumped up, she marches back onstage, and we follow, unching into our second set.

  The result?

  **"Well, this was inevitable."** **"Zzz…"** **"Liberta, shall I carry her instead?"** **"Nah, it’s fine. She’s not heavy."**

  She went all out—and now she’s completely drained.

  **"She really went for it today."** **"Yeah. Maybe she’s extra excited since she’s close to mastering her Singing skill?"**

  Amina snoozes peacefully on my back as I walk carefully, Nell and Ingrid matching my pace.

  She must really love singing—the joy she gets from performing for others drives her to give it her all every time.

  That’s why her voice resonates so deeply.

  **"That’s part of it, but I think she’s just having fun."** **"Yeah."**

  She knows she’s sharing her energy.

  Beyond just skills, her songs are healing the scars left by the Stampede.

  In the game, after an event ended, you’d just exchange a few "good jobs" and call it a day.

  But in reality, the capital’s streets are still damaged, repairs ongoing.

  The aftermath of that chaos won’t fade in just a few weeks.

  As we walk home, those sights fill our view.

  **"Oh, Nell—are you coming over today?"** **"Obviously!"** **"Then I’ll prepare tea upon our return."**

  We’re heading toward the shopping district, but our destination isn’t the stable behind the shop Nell’s father runs—where I used to live.

  A nearby building was renovated—a remodeled house, you could say.

  The first floor has storage, a kitchen, a bath, and other utilities, while the second floor has six private rooms.

  A house provided by House Edelgard.

  It’s way too vish for kids like us.

  At least it’s not a full-blown mansion.

  I heard it used to be an old inn.

  Now, it’s our base.

  Quite the upgrade from a stable.