"Azur? What are you doing here?" Mina asked, clearly surprised.
"Huh?... Weren't you the one who sent me a message to meet?" Azur blinked, confused.
"Oh, right! Sorry, I did send it. I just… needed some help," Mina replied in a whisper, her eyes darting back toward us.
"Help? Is it because of them? Are they with the Merchant Guild? Are they bothering you?" Azur asked sharply, stepping forward and placing herself protectively in front of Mina.
"No, no, you're misunderstanding! They're my clients… In fact," Mina said quickly, holding Azur back by her arm, "he's my first ever client who hired me as an Information Broker."
"Oh… well then. You're in the best hands possible," Azur said with a small grin, patting Mina's shoulder proudly. "Mina's the most hardworking, honest, and trustworthy person I have ever met."
I hadn't said a word. I was still frozen—utterly stunned by the woman in front of me.
She was breathtaking. Long, straight blonde hair. Piercing blue eyes. She was also a head taller than Brina. She wore a sleek white dress, one of those types I had seen female knights wear under their armor, complete with pants and a steel sword strapped to her waist. She looked like a noble knight out of a storybook—elegant, strong, and radiant.
For a second, I genuinely mistook her for Darkness from Konosuba—but the hairstyle was different. And as my eyes traveled downward, I confirmed something else too. She definitely wasn't Darkness… Azur, while beautiful, was quite lacking in comparison in one very obvious department.
And Appraisal was also in agreement with my assessment. In fact, it clued me in something that gave me a pleasant surprise.
"Thanks, Azur," Mina said with a wry smile, catching my dazed look.
I finally stepped closer, locking eyes with the blue-eyed warrior.
"Are you, by any chance, related to Knight Radia from Vale?" I asked.
Appraisal had already told me the answer. I was asking just for confirmation.
[Azur Vanguard Nantes Gozzeru
Warrior Level 28
Equipment: Sacrificial Misanga, Steel Sword]
"Oh? You know my cousin?" she asked, surprised.
"I have had a brief encounter with her—twice—so I wouldn't say I know her per se. I'm Michio Kaga, and this is Anastasia," I said, offering my hand as Anastasia bowed in greeting.
"I am Azur Vanguard Nantes Gozzeru. Pleased to make your acquaintance," she said, shaking my hand firmly with her gloved one.
"Wait… are you the explorer who cleared out a Labyrinth trap with just one party member?" she asked, her blue eyes going wide.
"Yes, that's me. Although I am associated with the Adventurer Guild right now," I replied, withdrawing my hand. "So Knight Radia mentioned me?"
"No way! I was hoping that I would run into you someday—this is great!" Her blue eyes lit up with excitement.
"You wanted to meet me?" I asked, a bit confused by her enthusiasm.
"Yes! I have a proposition for you," she said with a smile. "Michio, add me to your Labyrinth party!" she said proudly, pointing her thumb at herself.
"Sorry, what?" I blinked, completely thrown off.
"Not again…" Mina muttered, covering her face with her hand.
"Yes, just as you heard," Azur said with a grin. "I would like to join your Labyrinth party and go on Labyrinth runs with you! Big Sis Radia mentioned you're into exploring new Labyrinths—it's your weird little hobby, right?"
"I do go on Labyrinth runs with my party, yes," I replied, choosing to ignore the 'weird' part. "But… shouldn't you already have a party of your own? You look quite strong" I asked as she was already a Level 28 Warrior.
"Yeah, but they are all wimps," she said with a scowl. "I am training to become a Knight in the Vale Knight Guild, but my cousin never lets me join her party. She just sticks me with other weak trainees exploring the lower labyrinth floors."
"Knight Radia must have her reasons," Mina said gently from the side.
"She still sees me as a child," Azur grumbled with a pout. "At my age, Big Sis Radia was already a Knight! If I keep lagging behind, I will never achieve my dream of joining the Royal Guard!" she said passionately, her eyes fixed on the ceiling and her gloved fist pressed over her chest.
"Azur, you will succeed. I believe in you," Mina muttered, rubbing her arm with a warm smile.
"Thanks, Mina," Azur said with a grin, her cheeks flushing slightly as she noticed me watching her. "I got a bit carried away there—but in short, my Big Sis said you must be powerful. And if I go on Labyrinth runs with your party, I might be able to become a Knight sooner. So… do we have a deal?" she asked, extending her hand with a confident smile.
"I'm sorry, Miss Azur, but I can't add you to my Labyrinth party right now," I said, not taking her hand.
"Why?" she asked, clearly shocked as she pulled her hand back. "If you are worried I will hold your party back, please don't be. I am a powerful Warrior—we can even spar if you want to test me," she added, resting a hand on her sword hilt.
"No, that's not it, Miss Azur." I shook my head with a wry smile. Honestly, I would have liked having someone as beautiful and strong as her in the party, but there were just too many red flags.
For starters, she was a Noble. Sure, she seemed friendly on the surface, but in the heat of battle, would she really follow my orders? I wasn't convinced. Bringing someone I barely knew into the Labyrinth was a risk I wasn't ready to take.
And then there was the biggest issue—my secrets. The more time someone spent around me, the more likely they would figure out something was off. Even if I was careful, all it would take was one slip—one odd phrase, one weird idea—and they would know I didn't belong here. Afterall it has just been a week for me in this whole new world.
That's why the original Michio only partied with his slaves. And honestly? I completely understood his reasoning.
I couldn't exactly list all these reasons out to her, though.
"I have just had a large influx of members into my household today," I explained, glancing at Mina, who nodded in confirmation. "So for the next few days, I will be busy training many of them in the Labyrinths. My party is already overfilled right now. So I hope you understand my position," I added with a polite smile.
"Ha… that is regrettable," she said with a sigh.
"I'm sure Miss Azur will become a Knight on her own soon enough," I said, knowing she was already a level 28 Warrior—just two levels away from getting it. "So I don't think you should feel too down."
"Yes, but I feel like if I were in your party and could observe the powerful techniques you used to clear that Labyrinth trap, I would become a Knight much faster," she said, her blue eyes looking up at me with expectation. "Can't you make some space for me in your party?" she asked, gently taking my hand in hers.
Well, her feeling wasn't entirely wrong—but not for the reason she thought.
If she actually watched me fight, or worse, sparred with me, she would quickly realize I was just a novice at swordsmanship. We had only been blitzing through the lower levels thanks to my multiple job bonuses and the high-quality equipment we had.
In truth, I could use my EXP-boosting abilities to help her level up faster, which might lead to her becoming a Knight sooner—but even so, I would always prioritize training my own girls over someone I just met… no matter how attractive she was.
"I apologize for my friend, Michio," Mina interjected, gently pulling Azur's hand away from mine. "She gets a bit too enthusiastic whenever it's about becoming a Knight. Otherwise, she is a very calm and collected girl—from a Noble house," she added, clearly emphasizing that last part.
"My apologies for the misconduct," Azur said, her face slightly flushed.
"It's fine," I said, waving it off. "Now, I would love to talk more with both of you, but the auction will be starting soon, so we should get going," I said, glancing toward the quiet Anastasia, who gave me a small nod of agreement.
"Of course," Azur said, stepping aside.
"I will contact you after the auction, Michio," Mina added.
"Sure," I said as Anastasia and I passed by them.
"Hey, by the way, how did you know I was related to Big Sis Radia?" Azur suddenly asked just as I reached the door.
"Oh, it's a bit awkward to say, but… you're just as beautiful as her, Miss Azur," I replied, smiling as I looked into her blue eyes.
"Oh…" she muttered, visibly stunned.
From the corner of my eye, I noticed Mina shooting me a little pout.
Well, I couldn't exactly tell her I figured it out using Appraisal, could I? So this was a reasonable cover.
"Let's meet again sometime," I said with a nod as I stepped out.
"You can come by the Vale Knight Guild and ask for me—if you ever change your mind about adding me to your Labyrinth party, Michio," Azur called after me.
"Sure," I replied, waving back at her and Mina.
"It seems even Noble girls are after you now, Master," Anastasia teased as we walked away.
I just rolled my eyes at her.
But yeah… I was definitely being noticed now.
In the original story, Michio had gone out of his way to stay hidden and keep a low profile, which was a smart move in a foreign world—especially when you were still weak.
I had planned to do the same, at least until I reached higher levels. But today's auction had forced me to use a lot of funds, and now I was suddenly on everyone's radar.
And on top of that, I had just run into my second noble in this world—who also happened to be related to Radia, the first noble I met. Honestly, I didn't want to get involved with nobility so soon. That's why I hadn't visited Radia again after our last encounter.
Even with Azur, it wouldn't hurt to wait until I became sufficiently strong before reconnecting… which, truthfully, shouldn't take too long.
Still… was she just a beautiful girl, or was she a waifu?
She was Radia's cousin, so she should be just a native, right?
I shook my head, realizing that now—knowing this was an AU world—I would probably keep second-guessing whether every beautiful girl I met was secretly a waifu from some series I didn't know.
The corridor was already crowded with people heading toward the stairs. Looked like the auction was about to start.
As we made our way forward, I heard some commotion up ahead.
"What is a bitch like you from the Lawrence family doing here?" a male elf shouted angrily, pointing at someone near the stairwell.
"I am here to take part in the auction, just like everyone else," came the calm reply from a tall girl with shoulder-length blue hair.
"Y-You can't talk to her like that!" another girl snapped, standing protectively beside her. She was a bit shorter, with long dark brown hair.
"Hmph. Lawrence scum shouldn't even be allowed inside the Empire!" the elf sneered before turning on his heel and strutting off.
"Hey! Come back and apologize to Miss—!" the brown-haired girl barked, looking ready to pounce.
"Don't waste your breath on ignorant people," the blue-haired girl said, gently stopping her.
"But he insulted you," the brown-haired girl said, clearly upset.
"Don't worry. Let them curse, eventually... Vengeance will be Mine!" the blue-haired girl said passionately, placing a clenched fist to her chest.
"…Fuck. Genshin?" I muttered, stunned to see those two popular characters here.
***
[Whitewings has used his points to add waifu, Vanguard from Azur lane to this story!]
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