Walls tall and thick enough to block me 3 times over, a massive iron gate guarded by a dozen guards wearing winter gear, and a cobblestone road leading to the inner compound that's wide enough to hold 4 carriages side by side with room to spare.

  Beyond it is a garden that might as well be a field of grass, fountains, statues, and well trimmed hedges are artistically placed all over the area, no doubt making a good looking pattern when viewed from above. Or maybe it represents some kind of sacred geometry or something, I wouldn't put it past nobles to make their home magically secure.

  Ifira's mansion was gigantic, and yeah, this place is hers, not her family's, or the people, hers. Even with the little information she's given me through her stories, it's clear that she's the one who rules over Ghorise and not her father, even if her "ruling" can be summed up as doing nothing, it doesn't matter.

  "Welcome to my home, Rontress." Ifira had no hesitation as she passed the guards— who are still operating in this weather. — by the gate, she faced me with a smile. "I wasn't kidding when I said that your home is rather sub par."

  Did she say that? Maybe she implied it? She said our house is humble and there should be some insult in it right? I thought that she was just mocking my family for holding no titles? Guess there's a deeper meaning to it.

  "Well, yeah, it is, how can our humble house ever be compared to a mansion belonging to a noble? Isn't this normal?" So normal in fact, that I don't even feel offended at the comparison. "I do like the statues and stuff though, they're very well thought out."

  For example, a few feet to our right is a fountain made of marble, it doesn't stop there though, instead of running water, there's a line of ice from the basin going up to the hose, which is connected to a statue of a marsh frog spitting into the air.

  Surrounding the frog are these artificially carved rocks and swamp flora, creating a scene straight out of Misery Swamp through a statue. Everything about the artwork is clean and well made, even the sharp angles of the grass.

  And this type of work is basically all over the front yard of the mansion, the statues vary and they can go from simple swamp animals, to great beasts such as griffins resting on a miniature cliff, even weaponry, tools, and instruments. You can see them no matter where you look.

  "Thank you, my father loves such things and so we grow them. My mother also has a green house full of plants which I think you would appreciate, that's what peasants like correct? Plants and the like?" Ifira gave me this excited grin like she knew what I was thinking, she'd be disappointed to learn that I wasn't exactly happy with what she's saying.

  "No, not really, we don't like plants." I correct her, causing her to frown.

  "Why?" Her brows crease and she stares at me like I'm the weird one. "That is what you like isn't it? Mud and other similar things?"

  "We're not pigs, Ifira," actually, do pigs like to play with mud? Where did that expression even come from? Since when did those two things get associated? "We're as normal as you are, we eat food and have interests that don't revolve around dirt."

  "Weird, I've always believed that peasants prefer those kinds of things rather than, say, dresses." She nods, weirdly enough. Did I just convince her to change her way of thinking? Is that possible?! "What do you like then?"

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  "I dunno, magic? I guess?"

  "Now I know you're lying." She laughs lightly, then it turns into a full fit of happy cackles. "Peasants can't learn magic, they don't even know how to read! In both cases, very few peasants actually accomplish such things, ones like you!"

  "No... I mean..." I sigh. "I meant myself, I like magic, but that obviously doesn't apply to everyone now does it? Some peasants like dresses too, others like animals, what I'm saying is that everyone has unique tastes, they want different things."

  "Everyone has different things that they want?"

  "Yeah?.." Why is she saying it like it's a relatively new revelation for her? How am I supposed to react to this? "Of course different people want different things, sure some of them can be summarized fairly easily, like the poor wanting money, but it's a lot more complicated than that, you know? You can't figure out a person's heart."

  "Like my family wanting my younger brother over my older one." Ifira explains, sounding breathless. "Why would they do something like that?"

  "Because... They don't like your older brother I guess? Some reasons can be selfish, you know? And people do things for no reason other than to hurt others, it doesn't actually benefit them but they do it anyway." Can I say that Ifira is the perfect example of this? I feel like it doesn't apply to her since she didn't understand human desires until now.

  "You're saying that my family hurt my brother because they are selfish right? That they did it because they didn't like him? I don't like them either!"

  "Yeah, that." I decided to agree, I could have told her that forgiveness is also part of being human but then she's gonna ask me why her family didn't forgive her older brother and I honestly don't want to explain that to her.

  Ifira's family can continue to suffer under this girl's tyranny for a bit longer, they did it to themselves so they can't blame anyone else for what's happening to them.

  "Okay, so if I don't like them then it's fine if I hurt them?" She gave me such a hopeful look that I felt guilty for not quickly having an answer to her question.

  "Kind of? There are consequences to your actions, you know? Obviously this doesn't apply to everyone," case in point, the literal child in front of me. "And the more powerful someone is, the less likely they'll be punished for what they do but most of the time? People will want to hurt you back."

  "They can't do that though." She tilted her head.

  "Yeah, I know, like I said, it doesn't apply to everyone."

  "Then why don't you hurt other people?" She pointed at me, then at my wand. "You can hurt them and they won't be able to hurt you back right? Everyone who visits will have a hard time fighting you."

  "You're not inherently wrong," and she really isn't. With my passives, magic, and classes, I can technically fight an adventurer that's at least D rank, assuming it's one on one and I have ample time to prepare. "Most of the visitors here barely even reach E rank, let alone D, so they're not a problem for me."

  "Great! That's cleared up, so tell me then, why don't you do whatever you want? You don't have to play along with them don't you?"

  "Well sometimes you have to tolerate them, they haven't done anything to me and I'll be honest with you, I also need adventurers and other people if I want to feel comfortable." Not to mention the part where I go insane from loneliness. "There's things I can't do all by myself, like cooking and cleaning the street."

  It can be argued that there wouldn't be a need for a street if there aren't other humans however, I won't say that though.

  "Yes, I can see why you would say that, I also keep my maids alive for this very reason, thank you for explaining this to me." With one last nod, Ifira turned away. "Now go, I wish to go back to my room and sleep, I assume you also have business you need to take care of don't you?"

  "I do, yeah." I smile stiffly, I rub my forearms, the thick woolen sleeve over them and the gloves that I'm wearing made it so that I couldn't feel the goosebumps on my skin. "See you when spring comes."

  "See you then."

  Turning away, I moved back to the gate and stepped into the streets of Ghorise once more. Walking around for a few minutes made me realize just how much I took for granted the convenience of cabs. I'm also kind of pissed that I had to accompany Ifira back to her home yet had no one when it was my turn.

  Kinda annoying isn't it? I mean, I'm also a little girl.

  Rubbing my arms together barely gave me warmth, the breath I huffed out had more heat than both my hands combined.

  Looking up, I can see dark clouds forming in the sky. Snow is gonna start piling up tonight, I better get going and prepare my igloo by the dungeon, otherwise it will be harder for me to work on it.