The sun was high above the mansion, lazily pouring its golden light across the forest clearing like thick syrup. In the workshop beneath the mansion, a faint hum echoed from within — not of magic, but of metal, oil, and raw invention.
Lindy stood still, her gloves blackened, face smeared with grease. But her eyes… they were shining like twin stars.
She looked at the object in front of her.
Four wheels. A steel body. A crystal-core engine carved from mana-charged stones. And a steering rod. It wasn't a car like Earth's, but it moved — without horses, without magic runes constantly draining, without needing a beast's energy.
It ran because she made it so.
Sarah stood nearby, holding a jug of water, watching her with awe. "Is it... finally done?"
Lindy didn't answer with words. She simply stepped forward, turned a small metallic lever on the side of the vehicle's frame, and mana-charged sparks jolted into the central core. The crystal lit up.
A quiet vrrrmmmm noise began.
The wheels turned slowly at first, then smoothly rotated forward. The thing moved — just a few feet — but enough to change everything.
Sarah blinked. Darcy clapped from behind, eyes wide in disbelief. Aric, who had just entered from upstairs, froze.
His eyes traced the sleek body of the carriage. "No horses?"
"No horses," Lindy whispered. "A mana-crystal powered engine. I had to combine what I remembered from the drawings you gave me and what little this world knows of physics... but it works."
Aric grinned, walking over and patting her shoulder. "You just gave this world its first damn vehicle. And it belongs to us."
---
Later that day, in a quiet stone room dimly lit by candlelight, Rozie placed four medallions on the table. Beside her stood Shelly, relaxed, arms crossed, a wine glass in hand.
"These are imitation insignias," Rozie said. "They aren't official noble house crests, but they're good enough for low-tier identification. With these and your current status, you'll pass as minor nobles in most outer settlements."
Darcy looked at the emblems — each made of silver with a blue gemstone in the center. Clean, simple, but elegant.
"Where did you even get these?" Aric asked, inspecting the one handed to him.
Shelly spoke up this time. "From my private collection. You think nobles just throw away their power tools after every generation? These are retired seals. Hard to trace."
Rozie added, "And if anyone does investigate… well, that's what Sarah and Lindy's recent training is for."
Sarah smirked, standing tall in her new, more refined outfit. Darcy looked equally radiant. They no longer looked like common village girls. Their posture, their eyes — everything screamed authority, however subtle.
"From this moment," Shelly said, lifting her glass, "you're not just commoners with a secret mansion."
She looked directly at Aric.
"You're nobles of the quiet kind — the ones people don't notice… until it's too late."
...
...
That morning air was sweet and cold, filled with the distant chirping of birds and the whisper of wind brushing against trees. The sun peeked through the forest canopy, casting golden spears of light onto the mossy ground outside the mansion.
Inside, the atmosphere buzzed with a kind of nervous excitement.
Sarah was the first to come down, her braided hair cascading down her shoulder, dressed in a deep maroon dress with a warrior's edge — a leather belt wrapped around her waist, a hidden dagger snug beneath her thigh-high boots. She looked both beautiful and dangerous. Her axe was strapped across her back, like a queen prepared for war.
In the hallway, Darcy twirled in a lighter dress — soft blue, sparkling slightly under the light. She looked at herself in the mirror over and over, fixing her neckline, smoothing the silk fabric nervously. She had never worn something so elegant before. Her eyes sparkled not just with excitement — but pride.
Nora, calm and collected as ever, descended the stairs in a black and green robe that shimmered with faint mana lines, her mage staff in hand.
Her usual composed aura was still there, but even she couldn't hide the tiny smile playing on her lips.
She had tied her hair up neatly, adding a dark blue ribbon at Aric's suggestion. "Simple… yet fitting," she muttered to herself.
Lindy came from the west wing, dressed plainly, but practically. Her engineer's gloves were tucked in her small satchel, and she had a pair of goggles perched over her forehead, nestled in her short-cut hair.
Her pants and tunic were clean, brown leather and white cotton — she was not dressing to impress. She was dressing to build.
Shelly looked like she had just stepped out of a royal painting. A tight black corset laced over a velvet dress of deep green, her blonde hair curled, her lips crimson, her jewelry glimmering subtly.
The richest of the group, she didn't need to look noble — she was. She held a fan lazily in one hand, as if this trip were just another tea party.
Then came Rozie. A noblewoman through and through. Dressed in white and gold, armor light but decorated with her guild's emblem on the collar. Her sword sat by her hip, her gloves spotless. When she walked into the main hall, the air shifted. She was born for this world.
"Ready the carriages," Rozie said softly.
And outside — under the mansion, hidden behind thick trees — two pure black noble carriages waited. Intricate golden engravings shimmered across their surfaces. Four white horses each, tall and proud. Rozie had called in a favor from her guild to borrow these — the very same used by royals during formal visits.
The wooden steps creaked slightly as they all walked outside.
And there, Aric stood — the only one not dressed extravagantly. He wore a simple dark outfit: black shirt, open at the collar, sleeves rolled up, sturdy pants and boots, a light coat hanging from his shoulder. His hair was tied back lazily, and yet… he looked like a man the world should fear.
Everyone paused.
Sarah, Darcy, Nora, Lindy, Shelly, and Rozie — they all looked at him.
And then…
They bowed.
Not out of force. Not out of compulsion.
But out of loyalty.
"Master Aric," Rozie said with a small smile, eyes lowered in respect.
The others followed. One by one.
Aric just smiled.
"Time to take those Soulbeet herbs"