[Ren’s POV]
I mean, I had already come this far. The least the universe could do was reward me with a beautiful woman. It was only fair, considering all the bullshit I had been dealing with lately.
The guard led me through the estate, and I quickly realised that the outside had done this place a serious disservice. From the gates alone, I had thought the estate was impressive, but the interior was on another level entirely.
The entrance hall was enormous. The floor was covered in polished marble, so smooth that I could almost see my reflection in it. A massive chandelier hung from the ceiling, its golden frame decorated with what looked like dozens of crystals. Sunlight streamed through the tall windows, spilling across the floor and making the entire hall shine.
There were paintings everywhere. Landscapes, portraits of people who looked like they had been born with a permanent stick up their asses, and a few paintings whose only purpose seemed to be reminding visitors that the owner had enough money to spend a fortune on things nobody understood.
I was no art expert, but even I could tell that some of those paintings could probably buy an entire neighbourhood back home.
The walls were decorated with gold trim, and the furniture was made from dark, polished wood. Even the flower arrangements looked expensive. I wouldn’t have been surprised if someone had told me the flowers were imported from another continent and cost more than an average worker earned in a year.
Seriously, what did these people even do with all this money?
I could understand wanting a big house. A spacious home was nice. Having enough rooms that you could go an entire day without bumping into another person was even better. But this? This was ridiculous.
If I had this kind of money back home, I would have retired before thirty, bought myself a nice house, and spent the rest of my days playing games and writing novels whenever I felt like it.
Actually, scratch that. Writing novels was probably what got me into this mess in the first place.
Maybe I would take up gardening instead.
Yeah, gardening sounded good. Plants didn’t transmigrate into other worlds and try to kill their creators.
At least, I hoped they didn’t.
"Please follow me, Valiant Traveller," the guard said.
I snapped out of my thoughts and continued following him.
We passed through a wide corridor lined with more paintings and decorative tables. Every few metres, I spotted another servant or guard. The servants bowed their heads as we passed, while the guards stood at attention. The entire estate seemed to run like a well-oiled machine.
It was almost unsettling.
I had expected the hideout of a shady organisation to be a little less... refined. You know, secret passageways, dark corridors, maybe a few suspicious-looking men standing around with weapons hidden beneath their coats.
Instead, I was walking through a place that looked like it belonged to a royal family.
Honestly, I was beginning to feel underdressed.
Not that I had a choice. I had arrived in this world with more problems than possessions, and looking like a proper aristocrat wasn’t exactly at the top of my priority list.
Still, I couldn’t help wondering what kind of person was running the Thorn Collective from a place like this. Whoever she was, she clearly had money, influence, and enough confidence to operate an organisation that apparently had members hiding in plain sight throughout the city.
That was either very impressive or a massive red flag.
Probably both.
After another turn, we finally reached a pair of tall wooden doors. The guard stopped in front of them and straightened his uniform before knocking three times.
"Her Ladyship, the Valiant Traveller has arrived."
There was a brief pause.
"Send him in."
A woman’s voice came from the other side. It was calm, almost lazy, as though she had known I was coming and couldn’t be bothered to make a fuss about it.
The guard opened the door and stepped aside.
"Please enter, my lord."
I nodded and walked inside.
The first thing I noticed was the smell of tea.
Not that I was some sort of tea connoisseur. I couldn’t tell you the difference between an expensive blend and the stuff people drank because they couldn’t afford coffee. But the room had a pleasant, fragrant smell that immediately made it feel different from the rest of the estate.
The study was spacious without being absurdly large. Dark bookshelves lined two walls, packed with books, scrolls, and neatly arranged documents. A large desk stood near the windows, its surface covered with papers and a few decorative objects. There was a fireplace on the opposite wall, and in front of it sat a pair of comfortable-looking chairs beside a small table.
The late-afternoon sunlight filled the room with a warm, golden glow.
And seated beside the window, holding a delicate teacup in one hand, was a woman.
I stopped.
Oh.
Oh, damn.
She appeared to be in her early thirties, with pale skin, delicate features, and a figure that made it difficult to believe she had reached that age without the heavens personally intervening on her behalf. Her beauty wasn’t the sort that screamed for attention. It was the kind that made you look twice, then a third time, just to make sure your eyes weren’t playing tricks on you.
But what caught my attention most was her hair.
It was black, cut neatly into a bob that framed her face just above her jawline.
I stared.
A bob?
In this world?
This was the first time I had seen anyone with that hairstyle since arriving here. Most women I had encountered preferred long hair, usually styled in elaborate braids or tied up in ways that probably required the assistance of three servants and a small prayer to maintain.
But this woman had a bob.
A proper bob.
And somehow, she made it look unfairly good.
I had to admit, whoever had designed this NPC had excellent taste.
Then I noticed what she was wearing.
A nightgown.
Not a formal dress, not some expensive aristocratic outfit, but a loose, elegant nightgown that looked far more appropriate for lounging in bed than receiving visitors in the late afternoon.
And yet there she was, sitting comfortably in her study, drinking tea as though receiving strangers while dressed for bed was the most normal thing in the world.
Was this some sort of aristocratic custom I hadn’t read about?
Or did she simply not give a damn?
Either way, I respected the confidence.
She raised her teacup to her lips and took a small sip. Then, without looking away from me, she set it down on the table.
Her eyes were on me.
Not in the way the guards had looked at me, with fear and uncertainty. There was no nervousness in her expression, no obvious attempt to measure my strength. She looked at me with the calm curiosity of someone examining an interesting object she had just acquired.
I didn’t know why, but that made me a little uncomfortable.
Then a familiar chime rang inside my head.
I nearly jumped.
No. Absolutely not. Not now.
A translucent screen appeared before my eyes.
[System Notification]
[A Companion Bond Candidate has been detected.]
I blinked.
Then I blinked again.
A companion bond candidate?
My gaze slowly returned to the woman sitting by the window.
She lifted her teacup again, completely unaware of the mental crisis currently unfolding inside my head.
I stared at the notification.
Then at the woman.
Then back at the notification.
Holy shit.
Was this Sera Voss?
I had spent the last few days dealing with one problem after another, chasing after Joseph, losing aura points, and being dragged into a mess that had nothing to do with me. And now, out of nowhere, I had been presented with a beautiful woman who looked like she had stepped straight out of a painting.
A beautiful woman with a bob, no less.
I almost wanted to cry.
Maybe the universe hadn’t abandoned me after all.
Maybe this was the beginning of my comeback.
I straightened my posture, carefully composed my expression, and tried to look like the sort of man who belonged in a room like this.
After all, I was the Valiant Traveller.
I was the hero.
And if the system was telling me that this woman was a companion bond candidate, then that meant she was all mine.
Or am I wrong, chat?
The woman tilted her head slightly, observing my sudden change in demeanour.
"Is something the matter?"
Her voice pulled me out of my thoughts.
I smiled.
"No, my lady. Everything is perfectly fine."
For the first time in a while, I had a very good feeling about how things were going to turn out.
Whether that feeling was justified remained to be seen.