“Why wouldn’t I be in a bad mood? We spent most of the day just sitting on a train. And with your strange behavior on top of that, how could I possibly be in a good mood?”
“Well, what you say makes sense, but…”
“There’s no but! Let’s go.”
I cut Leon off before he could launch into one of his weird tangents. With one last glance behind me, I strode toward the nearest inn.
Having done a bit of research beforehand, I knew exactly where to go. Stepping away from the main street into a more secluded area, I soon found myself in front of a large wooden building.
The building was quite large, with several pots of flowers and plants adorning the windows, their leaves cascading downward.
At the front of the building was a large sign that read; [Moonlight Inn].
“This should be the place.”
From the research that I managed to gather, this place was rather cheap and comfy. Ignoring Leon’s gaze, I moved into the Inn and walked over to the receptionist.
“Two rooms, please.”
“That would be 67 Rend for the night. For two, it would be 134.”
“Can we do less?”
“No, the price is fixed. We are almost fully booked.”
“…Alright.”
I tried to negotiate the price at the inn, but with so many people around, I had no luck lowering it.
‘It’s a pity, but I guess I have no choice.’
“Hm?”
Pausing, I looked at Leon. He was staring at me with a strange look. One that seemed to be a mix of disgust and disappointment.
It was a look unbefitting of a knight.
“Why are you—”
“You know you’re a multi-millionaire, right?”
I blinked my eyes.
“…Yes.”
I more or less had over 70 million Rend saved up.
But where was he going with this?
“You know the money you’re using was given to you by the family head in order to take care of the accommodation for the two of us, right?”
“Yes.”
Indeed, the Family Head had given me some money for this trip.
It was about 20,000 Rend.
‘Cheap bastard.’
“He gave me a little, but it’s not much. Anyway, what’s your point?”
It couldn’t be that he wanted my money, right?
Hell no.
“…..”
Leon just stared at me without saying a word. And yet, his stare said a thousand words. It was so intense that I instinctively began justifying my actions.
“Okay, well, I have to save up a lot.”
“You can also sell if things go bad.”
“Right?”
Though I agreed, I could tell his words were dripping with sarcasm.
But I wasn’t joking. If things did go bad, he was gone.
“Every little Rend counts, you know? It may only seem like 67 Rend, but if I spend it continuously, it’ll just add up.”
“Sure.”
“It’s true that I get to keep whatever I don’t spend, but that’s not the main reason I’m doing this. I’m just teaching you the value of money.”
“Yes.”
“It’s my money…”
“I know.”
“Fuck you.”
“Okay.”
I pursed my lips. Why did it feel like I was the one losing the argument?
“Tsk.”
I clicked my tongue and turned away from Leon. Taking the key to my room, I didn’t wait for him and made my way up to my room, which was located on the third floor.
For a small inn, the room was quite decent. With a dominant wooden theme, its simplicity stood out, while the white walls provided a perfect contrast to the wooden floor and furniture.
I set my things on the floor and took a seat on the wooden chair.
Crossing my legs, I checked my pocket watch.
“Any minute now…”
Knowing the importance of the congress, I understood it was best to arrive early. That way, even if there were delays, I would still be on time. Of course, it would have been even better if I had gone earlier, but I had only just received the news, so there was no way I could have prepared in advance.
Still, as of right now, I had about a few hours to myself.
And I was also sure I wasn’t the only one.
“Are you waiting for someone?”
A soft voice whispered in the air as a figure soon appeared before me shortly after. Looking up, Delilah stood in front of me, her clothes the same as they were before.
I stood up and put my pocket watch away.
“Yes, actually.”
“Who?”
“You.”
“Eh…? Me?”
I simply smiled at her. I knew her well enough to know what her patterns were. In that sense, I knew she was going to come find me when she had time.
“I take it that you’re free now?”
“….A little.”
She blinked her eyes, seemingly unable to follow the conversation.
“How much?”
“Ten minutes.”
Her tone sounded rather resigned. Well, indeed, ten minutes was practically nothing.
“Oh, I see. It’s a pity.”
“Why do you ask?”
“Well, I have some free time, so I was thinking of going around to visi—”
“I’ll go!”
Delilah’s voice raised.
“Uh? But didn’t you—”
“I have free time.”
Before I could get the next words in, she faded away from the spot.
“Ha.”
I stared at the empty spot before me and scratched the side of my neck.
‘Things turned out as I expected.’
For the past six months, she had done nothing but work. As her part-time assistant, I saw firsthand just how busy she was. During those times, I frequently overheard her saying, ‘I want a break. I don’t want to do this.’
I even grew a little worried when I saw her reject chocolate from me. In that sense, I thought it would be good if she took some time off work.
It was good that she liked the idea, as she reappeared in front of me ten minutes later, wearing different clothes. More casual and lighter ones.
She also appeared to be holding onto something.
“I’m ready!”
“What is that in your hand? Is that a book? Why is it so big? Hold on…”
I took a closer look at the book and saw the title that said, ‘Nezurat Guidebook: Places to visit and sightsee.’ But not only that, I could even see that it was somewhat worn out.
‘Wait, don’t tell me she had been planning this from the start?’
I was stunned, but before I could fully snap out of it, I felt a tug on my arm as she pulled me toward the door.
“Trust me, I know where to go!”
“No, that’s not the issue…”
“Then what is?”
Delilah stopped and looked at me, impatience clearly written on her face; ‘Come on, what are you waiting for? Stop dragging things out.’
“I’m just saying, we don’t have that much time. Like three hours at best. Considering how big that book is, I don’t think we’ll be able to—”
“Oh, that’s fine. Don’t worry and leave it to me. We can spend the three hours like they’re three weeks!”
“That’s…”
Why do I not trust her at all?
“Hurry.”
“Alright.”
Seeing how impatient she was getting, I decided to stop dragging things out.
Leaving Delilah aside, whose lips were twitching in an upward curve that she tried to pull back down repeatedly, I walked over to the next room and knocked.
Leon opened the door shortly after.
“What is i—”
He froze the moment his eyes landed on Delilah, quickly wiping them as if to make sure he wasn’t seeing things. But when he looked at us again, his expression twisted.
Seeing his reaction, I contained my laugh and showed up the time.
“Well, let’s go. We don’t have much time for ourselves.”
“He’s coming?”
“Eh? Of course.”
The moment I agreed, Delilah’s lips finally stopped moving, and her expression twisted—yes, twisted. She looked like she was ready to murder someone.
I covered my mouth then.
On the other hand, Leon took a step back.
He hastily looked at me.
‘What is going on? Why is she…’
I dismissively waved my hand.
“Come on, let’s go! Stop wasting time.”
Leon pressed his lips tightly before glaring at me and then lowering his head in Delilah’s direction, as though he was trying to greet her.
All he received was a cold and murderous look.
This look persisted on our way down as we made our way out of the inn.
Though her face remained stoic, I could see right through her facade as her expression shifted through a range of emotions—sadness, anger, disappointment. She looked even more dejected than when she was overworked, as if questioning her life choices and convincing herself the world was against her.
‘How amusing… I wish I could take a photo of her face.’
My fingers twitched at the thought, but I didn’t want to push my luck.
By the time we finally stepped out of the inn, Delilah’s expression had shifted from that of a murderer to that of a mass slaughterer.
It almost felt as if she were leaving a trail of blood in her wake.
Her expression was so terrifying that people around us instinctively stepped aside, creating a wide berth. And this was even when Delilah had made it so that people couldn’t see her.
“Well…”
Coming to a stop in front of the Inn, I looked at Leon.
“Have fun. Make sure you get your stuff.”
“…Yes.”
As if eager to escape, Leon gave us a quick nod before swiftly backing away and disappearing into the busy streets.
I waved until his figure quickly faded from my sight.
At the same time, I felt Delilah’s dazed gaze on me. She appeared to have so many questions for me. That was when I explained.
“Leon doesn’t have any formal clothing for the event. He is going to one of the shops to get something for himself.”
“….!?”
Delilah’s brows rose, and soon she looked at me in shock.
“Why did you—”
“Hm? Is there an issue?”
“Ah.”
Delilah quickly shook her head.
“No, none at all.”
“Okay, then.”
I moved a little closer to her, much to her shock.
“There’s a lot of people, so we might get lost. You don’t mind, do you?”
Shake. Shake. Shake.
Delilah hastily shook her head.
She seemed to want to say something but appeared unable to as her mouth pursed into an ‘X’ shape. Well, not really, but it felt like it did.
“Should we go then?”
“Yes!”
Stepping closer to me, she strode forward, her steps fast.
I followed her from behind, and we soon entered the main streets of the city, completely unnoticed by everyone around us.