"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 Amelia with a smile.
"No need, Mr. Laine, your kindness to me is not an excuse for me to slack off. I'm already deeply grateful that you agreed to take me in, after all... you helped me save Blood Axe," Amelia 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. Amelia 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 Amelia'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 me, okay!" On hearing about going out, Amelia felt a bit of instinctive resistance, but the presence of Laine gave her a lot of confidence, so the girl hesitated and asked.
Amelia 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 temperament was just like that; she seemed to particularly easily arouse men's protective instinct.
"Leave it to me, but make sure you stay close to me!" Laine promised with a smile, prompting Amelia 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 merchants would not miss any opportunity to make money. Several major commerce associations coordinated their opening dates to ensure that customers could enjoy the joy of shopping during the holidays.
Snowflakes were fluttering between heaven and earth, and at approximately 1.63 meters tall, Amelia 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 me hold it!"
"Thank you!" Amelia'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 seemed like it was the day for the Half-Elf's Kunisberry Commerce 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 meters, were all dressed in magnificent outfits, warmly welcoming guests with flowery words to lure customers into their stores. The source of thɪs content is NoveI(F)ire.net
Wherever there are humans, there are Half-Elves. Once upon a time, 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.
Some 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 mercilessly. That period was the darkest time for Half-Elves, who struggled and endured, seeking chances for a comeback and recognition.
The turning point came with the Great Holy War 150 years ago.
When Savior Ludwig successfully unified the allied forces of various races and formed 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.
At this crucial moment, 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 became 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 immediately 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 Amelia 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 come into our Kunisberry Commerce 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 testament to Laine's great fame.
"Mr. Laine, what are you planning to buy?" Amelia asked curiously.
Because... this is a tailor shop mainly selling women'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 Amelia," 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."