Exactly two days had passed since Ana, Lydia, and Charmy's trip to the bathhouse, two days since Ana finally appraised Lydia, confirming her status as Peon, one with impressive vitality and stamina, but a peon nonetheless, as proven by the race status and the lack of skills and abilities section in her status when appraised. A sight that both disappointed Ana and relieved her somehow—disappointed because that meant that for the first few days she had been cowering from a mere peon, relieved because at least the girl wasn't the menace she instinctively felt she might be. But still, despite that relief, she wasn't entirely at ease; there was still a certain prospect that ruined everything: the possibility that what was displayed on the girl's stats when appraised was the result of an ability like hers that passed her off for a peon. But that prospect was, this time, something, Ana decided to bury in the recesses of her mind.

  It was a bad idea, she thought, but at the same time, what could she do? Confront the girl? If she weren't a mere peon as she thought, wouldn't she be in trouble confronting such a person? Ana was confident in her ability to investigate, her ability to create contracts, her ability to force her will onto people more vulnerable than her, but she had no confidence in her ability to fight someone stronger than her or even at her level. In fact, fighting was just not her strong suit; that is why, instead of being that one kind of inquisitor, she preferred to be a secretary full time and, at times, work at extracting information if her unique services were ever required.

  So she really didn't want to be put in a situation that might complicate things, and with this girl, she really felt that it could potentially get that complicated. Truth be told, thinking back, Ana realized that with the girl, the situation had just returned to what it used to be on day one. After all, she had felt that day that the girl's stats flagged her as a peon; Madam Acacia had appraised all of them back then, and she would have noticed if one of them was anything other than a peon. All Ana did by appraising the girl was confirm it with her own eyes.

  So yeah, they were back to day one, or at the very least she was, except that perhaps this time Ana was not so tense around the girl. After all, they had spent over half a month together; that time didn’t go to waste. With her appraisal, behaving as she did before that day, Ana spent the next two days like she had before, following their routine: she woke up, had her breakfast, met up with the two girls for their training with Uta, and broke off early in the evening once done with the said training.

  Today, Ana woke up following that same routine, or at least intending to, until the training with Uta part, because, as the Vine said, she would soon be going home.

  "Don't you think it's strange how lucky we are?" Charmy suddenly observed, a clear attempt to distract Ana and Lydia so the girl could avoid continuing her study.

  "What do you mean?" Ana chose to entertain the girl's attempt.

  "Don't you remember our discussion with the girls in the bathhouse? At first I didn't get it, but when I heard how being a petal was from them, I think they weren't kidding when they said that we got it easy," the girl reasoned, a quite rare display, Ana thought.

  "I guess you're right."

  Charmy made a point: from what the girls said back then, she and the two girls were lucky, they got it easy with their kind trainer, Uta. Well, for that part, they could thank Ana, but all she did was put Uta in charge by having Laura drop her aspiration for the position, so they were still lucky. Another display of such good fortune was the fact that they got to meet Madam Acacia whom even bloom don’t meet easily.

  That wasn't all.

  As petals, Ana and the girls should've been trained but also given small, if not outright annoying, menial tasks such as doing laundry and being assigned to the lower floor kitchen, which they said wasn’t as bad as the restaurant kitchen. When it came to the chores, but as far as the bleakness of the place is concerned, they were equally terrible, but they were exempted from that.

  "We all should thank Uta for that," Ana remarked.

  "You guys should thank me for what?"

  The trio turned toward where they heard the familiar voice. "Uta."

  "Hello."

  "Hello," they greeted, with Charmy greeting Uta her own way: by throwing herself onto the girl.

  "So what were you talking about?"

  "We were talking about how lucky we were to have you, but more importantly, what are you doing here? Weren't you supposed to take your leave today?"

  That's right: today was the day meant for Uta to take her leave, to get back home, a reason for which Ana and the others would not be adhering to their typical routine. For the past two days, Ana had been waiting for this moment. With their routine, Ana struggled to make time to carry out her investigation. Now that she intended to take it to the people representing the Garden, Uta being away represented the best opportunity for her.

  Uta said that it was suggested to her by the Thorn that in her absence Laura would take over, but knowing the girls' stance toward the flower, she made sure no-one replaced her in her absense, which meant that for the time she wouldn't be here, the trio to their own devices. Well, to be exact, she would leave them free, but should they need anything, she told them to approach Madam Datura directly. That was perfect for Ana, for it gave her the perfect excuse to approach a representative of the Garden.

  This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

  Ana noticed Uta glance her way before answering the question. "That's right, I'm supposed to leave today, and I am about to, but I wanted to say bye."

  "Awww, Utaaa!" melted Charmy. "You thought about us."

  "Now, now."

  "I will miss you so much."

  "I'll only be gone for three days."

  "Three days! THREE WHOLE DAYS! HOW WILL I LIVE!"

  "Now you're exaggerating."

  "I'm not. Uta, listen—I can't live without you for three whole days. Just take me with you, introduce me to your parents, hide me. You know what? Hide me in your luggage! I'm coming."

  Uta burst into laughter. "There would be no need for that."

  These words made the three girls look at Uta. "What do you mean by that?"

  "You could just come with me, without hiding inside my luggage."

  There was silence for a moment, until Lydia broke it. "Oi, Uta, don't say things like that, a certain fool will take that serious—"

  "Seriously?! You mean that I can come?"

  "Surely that is not what—" Ana began, but Uta's nod cut her mid-sentence. "You're serious about taking her with you?"

  "I am, if she wants."

  "I want to!"

  "Do you want to come, Ana?" she asked.

  Ana was far from unfamiliar with the sight of Uta making things conveniently happen for petals like her, so her offering this should not even come across as a surprise. In fact, it was not to Ana anymore, but there was something about the way she suggested this that made Ana frown.

  "Will the Garden allow this?"

  "So long as I ask permission," she asserted. "I think they'll allow me to take you three with me into the city, so long as I bring you back the same day that is."

  "I see."

  ***

  "Surprised she let us go," Charmy sighed in relief as they made it past the garden's threshold through the front door, casting a glance back at the palace-like facility.

  "You expected her to say no?" asked Uta.

  "I mean, when you said that you'd ask permission, I thought it would be to Madam Violet. She looks more relaxed. Madam Datura, however, looks like someone who is absolutely against anything that is remotely fun."

  As much as Ana did not want to admit it, she saw Charmy's point and had, in fact, the same impression of the woman. She did not expect her to accept Uta's suggestion at all, and even when she did, Ana expected her to suggest that they be escorted by either one of the guards or the tenders, a very reasonable measure after all, since Uta's suggestion mentioned that the trio would be coming back to the garden before the end of the afternoon.

  "What kind of terrible image do you have of Madam Datura," Uta snickered, "sure, she does look strict, and she is, but she isn't an unpleasant or despicable person."

  "What happened today convinced me of that," Charmy decreed. "From here on out, I'll be respecting her more than I ever did."

  "You… seriously."

  "Anyway, off we go, guys. This is your first time being out of the garden since your arrival, right? Is there somewhere you want to go before we head off to my family's place?"

  Going on this little expedition was not in Ana's plan. Today was, in fact, meant for the day she would initiate her three-day investigation plan, a three-day plan to make contact with the Garden representatives. But given the circumstances, it would have been impolite or suspect to refuse. Anyway, they were coming back the same day, so it wasn't like this change wiped out the existence of her three-day investigation project; it was just that the investigation period had to be shortened to two days and a half.

  Her mind resolved to make up for it as soon as she returned to the fortress, Ana focused on the present moment. At Ana’s question of where they wanted to go first, a question that any human with minimum consideration would have replied to with “nowhere,” Charmy offered the market. The girl herself wasn’t focused on what to get; it seemed that going to the market was more the point than buying anything. After a surprisingly fast couple of hours in the mercantile district of the holy capital, the group finally headed for their true destination: Uta's home.

  "When you first said you would be heading home, I was thinking you would leave the holy capital," Charmy commented, taking a large bite of an apple purchased from the market. "This is super cool, having your home so close by."

  Uta nodded. "It's true that it's convenient."

  Lydia, Charmy, and Ana all came from faraway places. It was mostly the case for many of the garden's flowers. Ana was willing to bet that only a handful could afford the luxury of taking three days off to visit their family like Uta did.

  "Does that mean that you're a native of this city?" Ana asked curiously.

  "Me? Not at all. We moved here four years ago. We're originally from, well, not sure if you know about it, it's a small town called the Basse, in—"

  "In the eastern corner of Auroravia."

  "You know about it?" Uta marveled in surprise.

  "Ah," Ana scratched her head. She should have pretended she never heard of that place; after all, it was a small town in the middle of nowhere. "I once heard someone mention it. It has a… name so bizarre it stuck in my mind."

  "I see."

  "I see, I see. So you're not from here originally."

  "Yep, I'm somewhat of a village girl, like all three of you."

  "Hahaha, I guess."

  "Why did your family move here?" Charmy went on to ask. "Was it because of the garden?"

  Uta shook her head. "No, I didn't move here because of the garden. Back then I didn't even consider becoming a flower. I moved here because it was the holy city."

  Such a sentence could only mean a couple of things. This was the city with the highest ratio of highbreed to peon population on the continent, and the city with the most temples on the continent. So coming to this place because it is the holy city could mean either to find faith, to find fortune, or to be there for a miracle.

  Uta went on to confirm which of the three it was. "We came here to heal my mom."

  "Your mom was sick?"

  "Yes," Uta nodded.

  From the sound of it, it must have been something serious, Ana realized, something that could not be handled by regular temples that could be found in major cities, of which there were a plethora between here and the Basse where they came from.

  "She was, but she's alright now. She is in fact healthier than ever."

  "That's a relief."

  "Yes, it is," Uta responded before pointing. "Oh, we're getting close. It's right around the corner."

  After walking for several minutes in a corner of the city that seemed to belong to the upper-middle-class section of the city's population, the group arrived in front of a house that blended well with the others.