Strongest Maid In Another World

"Fine...I forgive you."

The words hang in the air long after Sarah spoke them, Loraine’s eyes widening in shock as an immense relief began to wash over her, a huge weight lifted off her shoulders.

Sarah took a deep breath, placing a hand over her chest as she looked Loraine in the eyes, still a bit angry with her best friend, but now finding the peace she needed to forgive her and keep moving forward.

"Just...be sure to tell me next time at least, I don’t like being left out in the dark, even if it’s to protect me." Sarah said, awkwardly scratching her arm as she momentarily avoided Loraine’s crimson gaze.

"The thought of you fighting monsters still terrifies me, but if you’re really being sincere...if you’re really doing this for me..." Sarah stopped, her chest feeling tight as a small flush creeped up her face from embarrassment.

"Then I will allow it, I’ll allow you to go on these stupid adventures, and I’ll allow you to go become the hero you so desperately want to be." Sarah said, turning back to look at Loraine with a small pout on her face.

"But just promise me one thing," She spoke, her tone turning more serious as her expression hardened with her resolve and will. "That the moment things get too hard, or that you feel like you can’t continue on with adventuring, that you will never force yourself to persevere for my sake.

"Because if you constantly have to put yourself in danger with the possibility of losing your life, then I would rather have you quit for your own safety." Sarah said, receiving a nod from Loraine.

"I will, I promise." Loraine said, a shaky breath escaping her lips as she took a hesitant step towards Sarah. She was relieved that the issue was resolved, and she knew that she would have to wok much harder if she wanted to protect Sarah.

’If things get too hard for me huh?’ Loraine thought to herself, her hand wandering to her palm as she gazed at it for a moment, remembering the abilities she possessed and just how stronger she had become, and how she will continue to get stronger with time.

While she herself would want to push herself to her limits and pursue what she could accomplish, she knew that doing that was very dangerous and would go against what Sarah wanted, so she would have to pace herself and progress steadily in order for Sarah to build trust in her abilities with time.

"I’m not going to die, Sarah, for as long as you’re in my life, I have all the strength I need to accomplish anything." Loraine said, her voice gaining a determined edge as she flashed her best friend a small smile, Sarah blinking in surprise as Loraine’s words as she felt a small heat creep up her cheeks.

"Well that settles it then..." Sarah said, staring into her best friend’s gaze.

The two stared at each other for a moment, the situation too awkward and still charged with residual tension in the air as neither moved for a moment, before Loraine finally made her move and took another step closer to her best friend, Sarah’s blinking in surprise as Loraine closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around her.

"!?" Sarah flinched slightly in surprise, feeling Loraine wrapping her arms around her, hugging her tightly. "L-Loraine!" Sarah said, sounding a bit annoyed and agitated, but she made no real effort to push her away.

Loraine didn’t budge, as she held Sarah close, the blonde haired maiden’s armor slowly melting away as she eventually wrapped her arms around her best friend, returning the gesture.

"Thank you...for everything." Loraine said, expressing her gratitude. "You won’t regret this, I promise."

Sarah felt a small warmth settle in her chest, breathing out a sigh of peace as she felt a bit more reassured by Loraine’s words. The two remained embraced for a moment, basking in each other’s warmth and presence, before the sounds of footsteps approached them.

"Oh....am I...interrupting something?" Yura asked, feeling a bit awkward as she stared at the pair hugging it out, analyzing the situation as she internally concluded that the conflict was resolved.

Sarah felt an embarrassed heat creep on her face as she quickly broke the hug between her and Loraine, Loraine being a bit disoriented as she felt Sarah break off, her [Maiden’s Intuition] telling her that she was feeling rather embarrassed, a small laugh escaping her throat as she found the situation adorable.

"No you’re not," Sarah said, crossing her arms as she stared away from Yura for a moment, sighing as she placed her hand on her face. "We’re just working things out, no funny business."

Her expression turned serious as she remembered that Loraine had also been with Yura, as the both of them had been locked out an they had to rely on each other’s presence to fall asleep and feel safe.

’Yura...she at least helped protect Loraine, so I can trust her to look after her for the time being.’ Sarah thought to herself.

"You can take care of Loraine right, you were there when she was out fighting correct? So can I trust on you to take care of her in the mean time, and not do anything that’ll guarantee her death. She’s strong, yes, but that doesn’t mean she’s immortal."

Sarah asked, Yura blinking in surprise at her request.

Loraine too was surprised by Sarah’s demand, but soon a rather cherished feeling washing over her, as she felt that Sarah was doing this out of sincerity and still wanted to see her safe and protected, rather than dead and discarded.

’Awww....’

Loraine simply found Sarah’s attitude adorable, a small laugh escaping her throat. Yura grinned, a challenging look in her eye sparking to life.

She found the request almost laughably funny, she, a top-tier A-Rank adventurer, struggling to protect someone she believed to be far weaker be beneath her, her mind briefly wandering to the sparring match they had previously had before, only for her to eventually overwhelm Loraine with her sheer power alone.

"I won’t need to do that, your best friend is already far more capable than you give her credit for." Yura said, Sarah blinking in surprise at her words. "She’s strong, she’s fast, she adapts well in combat, and she’s smart enough to use her abilities in a creative way that puts some experienced adventurers to shame."

Yura said, her voice full of praise as she stared at Loraine, the white haired maiden meeting her gaze as the two of them didn’t speak about the sparring match they had, but silently communicating of the limits of power they had witnessed within each other, something they didn’t outright communicate but purposefully left out to give depth to the conversation.

"E-eh!?" Sarah said in surprise, her expression turning to confusion as she stared at Loraine, the white haired maiden only meeting her confused gaze with a sincere apology of her own.

’Loraine? How so? She couldn’t have gone stronger than the last time I’ve saw her.’ Sarah thought to herself, thinking back to the last time she had witnessed Loraine fight, being against the confrontation with the maids.

"Anyways, now that we’re done here, we might as well get moving again, as everyone’s waiting for you both to finish up so we can continue our journey towards Lazarus." Yura said, reminding Loraine and Sarah of their goal.

"Oh, right." Loraine muttered, awkwardly scratching the back of her head. "We need to get going, I can tell you’re pretty confused, and I’ll answer the rest of your questions later once we begin moving on the trip." Loraine said, the promise of answers surprising Sarah as she didn’t think Loraine was able to perceive her thoughts and emotions so easily.

"O-Oh, okay..." Sarah nodded, the trio making their way out of the Inn as they approached the cart outside the town of Aveldon, the wealthy merchant and group of adventurers waiting for them as they were already seated in the back of the caravan.

The merchant glanced up at them as he heard their footsteps, his expression turning mildly annoyed as he didn’t like being made to wait. Finding their tardiness to be an insult.

"You’re late," The merchant spoke, clicking his tongue in annoyance. His gaze flickered towards Loraine and Sarah, the two women who he could probably boss around, as he knew that messing with someone as dangerous as Yura was probably a death sentence, not daring to meet the crimson haired woman’s piercing gaze.

"Forgive us, something came up and we had to resolve it quickly." Loraine said, apologizing sincerely as she bowed her head humbly and respectfully at the travelling merchant, the merchant gaining a small smirk on his face that Loraine didn’t miss, feeling rather pissed off that she could sense his intentions and how superior the merchant must’ve felt in the moment.

The group boarded the caravan, the whip cracking as they resumed their journey towards the city of Lazarus, Loraine’s senses twitching as she felt an ominous presence trailing behind them.