Upon Trudy's resignation declaration, Arian immediately made Norn duel with her again.
Devisha also took Zecht to train with her in another training ground. The heavy sword mercenary had never been so excited.
Apparently both newcomers were eager to be in Party 1 and would do their best to make sure they did fill the fifth spot.
Those of us who was already in Party 1 strode off leaving them and made our way to the manor sitting at the center of the third floor.
The intricately-carved entrance of the new lodging reminded me of the one on the Zeref's mansion in the countryside.
Still could not compare to the glory of our castle in Seraphold, of course.
Once we got past the doors, we found ourselves in a fancy entry hall floored with gold-trimmed crimson carpet and a beautiful crystal chandelier hanging on the ceiling. A grand marble stairway was stretching at the center.
"This sure isn't Lightland Hut."
Shanny commented with a whistle.
"The lodging looks like a noble's mansion!"
Trudy stated.
Soon enough, a dozen servants clothed in either a maid's or a butler's clothing poured into the hall from a side corridor.
They formed a line in front of us and bowed deeply.
"Fortune to the raiders!"
A skinny old man in a neat black suit was leading the servants.
His straight posture and unwavering composure gave him the sort of elegance which made him stand out of the rest of the servants standing in a row slightly behind him.
Pavarin Toros. A 1-star who was summoned to the forged land sometime after we cleared the fifth floor.
Master made him work as a cook upon his arrival but had now been promoted as the chief servant of the third floor lodging. Under Pauline's recommendation to the fairy when master was recruiting for the position.
Reasonable appointment since he used to be the head butler to a count in southeast Tsatu. Or so the fairy heard from Pauline, the chief cook.
"Lady Zeref as well as the ladies and gentlemen of Party 1, welcome back! Pavarin Toros, at your service."
Pavarin greeted us with another flourishing bow.
Behind him, the butlers performed similar bow and the maids showed deep curtsy. Each of them had experience serving a noble house, or so the fairy heard from Pauline as well.
I already knew it was futile to convince them to call me 'Serafina' instead.
My comrades were taken aback by this treatment. Especially Trudy.
"Um, since I'm no longer in Party 1, am I still allowed to stay here?"
She asked out loud.
It was then that the fairy appeared.
[Trudy Calle. As the first combat instructor in the lobby, master has allowed you to stay on the third floor. There are uniforms already prepared for you in your room. Master is also ordering you to start your new job right away!]
Trudy quickly nodded to the fairy.
"There seems to be plenty of newcomers on the first floor. I best get going and introduce myself. I need to begin their training immediately."
Pavarin walked up to her with a young wide-eyed maid behind him.
"In that case, Rasuha shall escort Lady Calle to her room."
The maid gracefully curtseyed to Trudy and gestured to the grand staircase.
"If mistress would follow me."
She said to the newly-appointed combat instructor.
Being a former maid herself, Trudy could not help but to be petrified in shock for a moment before following the girl up the stairs.
After seeing Trudy being escorted away, Pavarin turned to us once more.
He was eyeing the luggage my comrades were carrying. The items we brought from the Exploration Dungeon.
"If Lady Zeref would allow it, we could carry those items to wherever Lady Zeref wishes them to be brought to."
I nodded to the chief servant.
"Both the trunks and the sacks of elemental stones are to be delivered to the magic hall. Just put them neatly inside the library. I'll take care of the rest."
Pavarin clapped his hands and several bulky butlers immediately scurried to take away the luggage from my comrades.
My eyes caught on the trunks of maps I got from Jeanine.
500 maps were not just a few stacks of paper. And I also expected their number would grow in each exploration trip.
These maps would need to be organized properly so they would be easily accessible at any time.
I turned to the fairy who was still with us inside the entry hall.
She seemed to enjoy seeing the servants being ordered around.
"Warden, I would like to hire a librarian to the magic hall. Someone who could manage all the documents we collected in the expedition."
The fairy formed a frown.
[The level of the Hero Reaction Research isn't high enough for master to create such position in the lobby.]
The research level was not high enough?
It affected how master could run things in the lobby?
How? And why?
Interesting mystery, but I had to put it aside for now.
"Can't I just make someone do the job anyway? Without master's order?"
I asked.
The fairy shook her head immediately.
[Even if it's you, it can't be done. Master would not acknowledge the position and it would be bad for you and the hero involved. What you can do, however, is appointing a manager to the magic hall depository.]
"How does that help?"
[Master could appoint a depository manager through your recommendation. You can order them to organize the depository as well as the library. Master would not mind so long the depository is managed and they worked inside the magic hall.]
I nodded to the fairy.
That should be sufficient for what I needed doing.
I turned to Pavarin next to me.
The chief servant immediately nodded upon meeting my gaze.
"I will ask around and find someone suitable for the position, my lady."
He was not a head butler for nothing.
The man knew what I wanted without needing me to spell it out for him.
I just knew Pavarin and I would get along swimmingly.
"Please do. Someone who knew how to make good tea would be preferable."
"As you wish, my lady."
This manager would be spending a lot of time working in the magic hall with me, after all.
It would be better if they could make a pot of refreshing brew every now and then.
[Well, don't forget to tell me about it when you finally find that person for the job.]
The fairy reminded before vanishing.
Since they no longer needed to worry about the luggage, my comrades began to look for their rooms.
"Is Tarran around? I wishes to train with him after I stop by my room."
Darius said to the chief servant.
"Sir Royle is currently in the Weekday Dungeon with the chief gatherer. He should be back soon, Sir Mare."
Pavarin replied while summoning a timid frail-looking young butler to attend the archer and escort him to his room.
"Does Sir Brohm would like to be shown to the bedroom? We could also prepare the bath and send up meals if Sir Brohm wishes to recover from the trial's fatigue."
A shot plump butler asked Jonah.
"Yes, please! And no, I just want to change my clothes and check out the new training ground."
"Jonah, we'll duel after this, yeah? I've been itching to fight after resting for two days."
Shanny spoke to him as she was being escorted by a tall maid twice her age.
"Of course. We should call Zecht and Norn while we're at it. And maybe those newcomers as well."
"It's a plan!"
Shanny shouted before she vanished up the grand staircase.
Jonah looked to me before he was escorted away.
"Fina, I suppose it's too much to hope that tonight we can…"
I chuckled at his words. I shook my head.
"Not tonight. I have too much work waiting for me in the magic hall. And you need to catch up with those in Party 2. They've been training for a week while we were resting in Damai."
Jonah nodded regretfully to me.
"Shanny, Darius, and I will keep an eye on Devisha and Arian. We will tell you what we think of them. Or do you already have someone in mind to replace Trudy?"
"Both of them are equally skilled. Having either of the women would prove beneficial to our party."
I told him.
"Then we'll see who can work the best with us. See you later, Fina."
Jonah said before walking away with his butler escort.
I was left alone with Pavarin and two maids in the entry hall.
They were waiting to escort me to my room.
But my bed could wait till tonight, or perhaps tomorrow.
I had another matter to attend to first.
"Are the mages here?"
I asked the chief servant.
There were many people in the lodging aside from the raid team. There were servants and cooks working throughout the building.
So I could not be sure even with my detection field.
"They are in the main dining hall, my lady."
"Bring me to them."
The chief servant and the two maids escorted me through the lodging's luxurious corridor.
They guided me to the grand doors which led to a great space in the heart of the lodging.
"Go on with your duties. I would like to meet these people alone."
"As you wish, my lady."
Pavarin said with a bow while the maids curtseyed.
The three then swiftly vanished into a turn in the corridor.
I pushed open the doors and entered a massive hall filled with rows of long carved table decorated with embroidered cloth and golden candelabra.
Sitting around the head of the center table were three people.
A pale middle-aged man with disheveled curly dark hair that went to his shoulder.
He was devouring a plate of thick pork cutlets as if it was his last meal. Grease was dripping from his thick black beard onto his worn dark brown coat and ruffled gray shirt.
A cream-haired girl about as old as Arian and Deria. Her hair was tied with a black bow into a ponytail which went down to her back.
Her frilly knee-high white dress made her look like a child as she ate the biscuits from the tray in front of her.
And finally, a woman about several years older than me whose glimmering straight gray hair flowed like silk beyond her waist.
Combined with the colorful wide-sleeved eastern gown she wore, the woman made Devisha's beauty looked pale in comparison.
The eastern woman watched me walked up to them as she was gracefully sipping her tea. She managed to look like a painting while doing such simple act.
Her sharp emerald eyes were studying every part of me. I replied the gesture with a cold piercing gaze of my own.
Eventually the overwhelmingly gorgeous woman put down her cup.
"Are you that mage they claimed is in charge of this forged land?"
The beauty incarnate said grumblingly in the lowest pitch of voice I had ever heard coming from any human.
She was a man!