"John... Do you really think they'll let me in with you?

" Asked Lydia as she nervously looked around.

"Relax, it'll be fine.

" Said John with a smile as he tried to calm her down

"But they'll know I'm just a maid...

" Lydia muttered

John gave Lydia another look. Her long pink hair, shining after having been recently washed and dried. Her pink dress matched her pink eyes and pink lips displaying her good proportions and feminine older sister aura.

"No... I doubt that.

" Said John as he continued to stare

For a maid, she was quite the beauty and she was an adult.

With her looks, there's no way she wouldn't have been able to find a good husband even if she was a commoner.

"What makes you so sure? it'll be obvious that I'm a commoner if they see me...

" Lydia asked as she looked at her dress

"Hm... I once heard this story as a kid, A young girl had lost her family and became dirt poor. One day, that girl was granted a wish and she wished to be able to go to the prince's ball which was being held for him to find a worthy marriage partner.

"

Lydia listened in closely, immersed in John's story.

"What happened after?

" She asked

"She ended up dancing with the prince and they ended up together. The end

"

"Eh? That's it? Really?

" She asked slightly saddened that it ended that fast

"There was more, but we're about to reach the gates, so we'll have to leave it for later.

" Said John as he placed his hand over the ring.

"It's a promise.

" Muttered Lydia as she watched him pull out masks.

John pulled out to masks with rather nice-looking ornaments and designs on them. They were small enough and were meant to be placed around the eyes, so that the persons face and mouth could still be seen.

It would just be harder to recognise who exactly it was as the eyes would be covered. But John doubted that no one he knew wouldn't be able to recognise him.

"Huh? Did you say something?

" John asked as he handed her, her mask.

"Did the mask have to be pink too...?

" Lydia asked

"I got various different colours.

"

"Isn't that just a waste of money?

"

"Don't be silly, It's a necessary investment. I've been an adventurer for over a year now, I'm an expert.

"

"Only a year?

"

"That's right.

"

"Most people can barely make it to C-Rank after a year

"

"Is that so...

"

"Yeah, that is so... Just what kind of school did you go to...?

"

As the two reached the gates where other carriages could be seen around, they stopped in front of the gate before one of the guards went over to them.

"You are standing in the duke's territory. State your business.

" Said the guard

Lydia gave John the 'I saw this coming' look, while John simply smiled back before saying.

"I was invited here.

" John proudly declared

"Where's the invite? And why didn't you come in a carriage?

" He asked as he looked Them up and down.

"The invite? It's right here, of cours-

"

John suddenly stopped talking once he remembered what he had done with the invite

I gave it to Master and Serena...

"You were saying?

" One of the three guards asked as he approached John

There were quite a few guards, two guarding the gate, and others guarding the ball from the inside. John could tell due to the amount of magic which was oozing out of it.

"I just remembered, I handed it to my party who's inside. If there are any other ways to confirm my ident-

"

Before John could finish, one of the guards placed their hands on his shoulder before saying

"Listen kid, go somewhere else, don't start causing problems here. Some of the most well renowned families in the city including the duke himself, are here.

" Said the guard

John listened to this without saying a single word.

"Rather than just causing problems for yourself, why don't you just make things easier and head back home?

" The man asked

As Lydia moved her hand towards John's shoulder to pull him away, She noticed a drop in the air's temperature. Everything was getting colder.

John let out a sigh, his breath visible due to how cold it had gotten as he said

"How impudent, to not recognise the very own S-Rank adventurer which you invited to your party... Perhaps I should remind you?

" John asked as he stared straight at the guard

Intimidated, the Guard stepped back for a moment, his expression changed from one of the realisation to despair shortly after.

"You're really him...? I-I apologise, I failed to notice something so simple. You even match the description... I hope you'll find it somewhere in your heart to forgive this old man.

" Said the guard as he suddenly crouched on the floor and bowed

Eh? What?

Confused, John quickly looked around, the attention of the some of the other guards were on him. One of them even whispered something to another, before that say person went running off as if he were trying to make a report.

"I-It's fine, I'm not mad, I was just trying to prove a point. There's no need to bow, please raise your head.

" Said John with a troubled look

"T-Thank you... I had no idea that you were that S-rank adventurer... P-Please, pass through.

" He muttered as he pointed towards an entrance beside the gates.

Are S-rank adventurers really that scary?

***

Lydia let out a sigh of relief as the guards let them through the entrance without noticing what they had been hiding.

The two stayed quiet after passing the entrance, and once they were a good distance away, she finally opened her mouth

"John... while it was a good idea, you should be more careful, people are quick to misunderstand when it comes to cases where the other has a large amount of power.

"

"Yeah... Sorry, I didn't know he was going to react that way, and I doubted that he'd believe me.

"

"N-No, it's mainly my fault, so sorry.... More importantly, where will we put them?

" Asked Lydia as she pointed at the two kids who were invisible two others