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“I didn’t see her in the morning report. Is she not home?”
“She wasn’t.”
Stan spoke, his face utterly ravaged by fatigue. The dark circles under his eyes suggested another sleepless night.
‘What on earth did he do at his hometown to look so utterly drained?’
“Renki, have you seen Lorelai?” Stan asked, turning to Renki this time.
Renki shook his head from side to side.
“I’ve been in the inn all day, so I haven’t seen her.”
“Really? There’s nothing to eat at home, and she didn’t even come to the inn for a meal. Ugh, if she was going somewhere, she could at least leave a note!”
He ruffled his neatly combed hair, an irritable gesture. Hay Styles merely shrugged at his outburst.
“Well, what could possibly be wrong? It’s not that late yet; the sun just set. Why don’t we wait a little longer?”
“If you’re really worried, why not try using a tracking spell? Master can do it easily!” Renki suggested.
His eyes sparkled, seemingly eager to witness the tracking magic in action.
“No, I can’t. I got an earful for using a tracking spell two years ago.”
“You got an earful?”
“Two years ago, I used a tracking spell and burst in on Lorelai while she was on a date with her boyfriend at a teahouse, not knowing. I got chewed out for days.”
Stan winced, as if the mere memory sent shivers down his spine.
He deserved it.
Anyone would be furious if their brother suddenly showed up during a date.
“But why are you looking for her so urgently? Is something wrong?” Hay Styles inquired.
“Nothing’s wrong, but there’s something I need to confirm with Lorelai.”
Stan, clearly exhausted, swept a hand over his face and let out a sigh.
“Alright, I get it. If you haven’t seen her, then it’s fine. I’ll just wait a bit longer, I guess. I’m off.”
“Yes, go ahead.”
Hay Styles spoke to Stan, who gave a brief wave as he turned to leave. Suddenly, Stan halted, as if remembering something, and looked back at Hay Styles.
“Oh, right. You. By any chance…”
He began to speak, as if curious about something, but no complete sentence emerged from his lips.
Hay Styles waited for him to finish. Stan, however, remained silent, then sighed and waved a dismissive hand.
“Never mind, it’s nothing.”
“Why did you stop talking?”
“It’s nothing important. I’m going.”
With that, he swiftly departed.
Hay Styles watched the door click shut, a vague sense of unease lingering.
“I thought something serious had happened.”
“What if something serious did happen?”
“Nah, no way. I heard a guest came this morning; maybe she went out with them.”
“A guest?”
‘Ah, could it have been a boyfriend? Is that why he wanted to send her away so quickly? Perhaps so.’
Just then, Hay Styles’ stomach rumbled loudly. ‘I should eat first, before training.’
He pondered what to eat for a moment, then turned to Renki.
“Renki, let’s have chicken today.”
“Sounds great!” Renki exclaimed instantly, his eyes sparkling.
He quickly retrieved Hay Styles’ coat and even placed the neatly arranged shoes from under the bed right at Hay Styles’ feet.
“Let’s go quickly!”
His unusually enthusiastic reaction today clearly showed how much he craved chicken.
Hay Styles chuckled softly, put on his shoes, stood up, and, coat in hand, exited the room.
Renki, excited at the prospect of chicken, seemed to bounce with every step he took.
“What are we having today? Seasoned? Fried? Peanut?”
“Peanut!”
“Alright.”
Descending to the dining hall, Hay Styles called for Caleb, the chef. As he didn’t plan to eat in the restaurant, he requested the meal to be packed for takeaway.
“Packing it for you is no trouble at all. Shall I put it in a basket?”
“Yes, please do.”
“You’ll want pickles, won’t you? Anything else you need? Would you like beer in a bottle? I have some suitable bottles.”
“Oh, that would be wonderful.”
“You’ll need milk for Renki too, right? Oh, I remember now, we ran out of milk early today. We have some high-quality rooibos tea; shall I pack that instead?”
Caleb was truly kind.
While Caleb fried the chicken, Hay Styles and Renki settled into their usual spot and waited.
“Where are you planning to eat, by the way?” Renki asked.
“By the lake.”
“Really? Why there?”
“Yes. It’s not too cold today, and I have something to show you. More importantly, it gets stifling if you’re cooped up in your room studying all day. You need some fresh air too.”
“Hmm, I was actually thinking I needed to clear my head. Being stuck in the room just makes me sleepy.”
Hay Styles hadn’t even opened the window, fearing Renki might get cold while sleeping, so it must have been quite stuffy for him.
Soon, Caleb handed Renki a basket, prepared like a full picnic set, and Renki carried it out of the dining hall.
“The chicken smells incredible.”
He hugged the heavy basket close, sniffing at the lid. He looked utterly delighted.
“If you drop it, no dinner for you tonight. Don’t drop it.”
At Hay Styles’ warning, Renki nodded vigorously. His gaze was solemn, as if vowing to protect the chicken at all costs.
Borrowing a lantern from the reception, they left the inn together.
Going through the backyard would have meant climbing over a wall, and the path behind the wall was unpaved and difficult to walk. So, they took a slightly longer route, following the forest path behind Stan’s house.
The moon was exceptionally bright tonight.
Even without the lantern, the path was faintly visible.
Hay Styles felt a subtle surge of happiness, anticipating both his level-up, the delicious chicken, and the moonlit scenery. A hum naturally escaped his lips. Renki, walking beside him, glanced over.
“What? What is it? Why are you staring?”
“Master, is today the day you sing with Sylph?”
“Huh? No, it’s not. Why? Do you want to play with Sylph?”
“It’s not that. It’s just that whenever you’re in a good mood, Master, you always summon Sylph to sing.”
He did sometimes.
Sylph’s hardcore metal songs were surprisingly addictive.
“You’re right. Maybe I should ask Sylph to belt out an amazing song today?”
“…How far have we walked?”
Renki changed the subject, quickening his pace.
As they walked, they soon neared the lakeside. However, someone was already there. A flickering campfire was visible.
Hay Styles immediately sensed it was Lorelai. Emerging from the woods, he saw Lorelai sitting in a wheelchair, bundled in a thick wool coat, warming herself by the fire.
“Lorel?”
“Hm? Oh, Mr. Styles. Is today your training day by the lake?”
“Hello, Lady Lorelai!”
Renki, seeing Lorelai for the first time today, greeted her brightly. Lorelai smiled sweetly and waved at Renki.
“It’s cold out here; what are you doing?”
“I just felt stifled and came out for some fresh air. And you, Mr. Styles?”
“A bit of everything. We’ll eat, relax a bit, then I’ll train.”
“I smell chicken.”
Lorelai’s gaze drifted towards the basket.
It was cold. Hay Styles and Renki moved to sit beside Lorelai.
“Oh, Mr. Demonic is back. He was looking for Lorel rather urgently.”
“Really? It’s already time for him to return. No wonder I’m feeling hungry.”
“Have you been sitting out here all this time without eating?”
“I forgot, I was lost in thought,” Lorelai replied, crinkling her nose with a smile.
Renki busied himself, opening the basket lid and carefully taking out the contents one by one. He then inverted the basket, using it as a makeshift table to place the chicken, still in its serving dish.
“Lady Lorelai, you should have some chicken too!”
“No, I’m fine. Renki, you eat plenty.”
Lorelai waved her hand, declining. Renki stared intently at Hay Styles.
“I’ll have a chicken wing.”
Renki put down one drumstick, then pulled out a chicken wing and gave it to Hay Styles. Lorelai chuckled softly at the sight.
“By the way, is today a day for celebration?”
“Celebration?”
Hay Styles, tearing into his chicken wing, looked back at Lorelai, perplexed.
“This morning, I followed you because I had something to give you, Mr. Styles, and I saw Nix. Aren’t you eating chicken to celebrate that?”
“Ah.”
Hay Styles felt a little embarrassed. He hadn’t realized at all.
“You… you saw that?”
“I wasn’t trying to peek, I’m sorry.”
Lorelai offered an awkward smile.
Renki rolled his eyes, clearly unaware of what they were discussing.
“Renki doesn’t know yet, it seems?”
“No, I haven’t told him yet.”
“What don’t I know?” Renki asked, taking a hearty bite of his drumstick.
“I told you I had something to show you, didn’t I?”
At Hay Styles’ words, Renki nodded.
Hay Styles summoned Nix. The lake water rippled, then surged upwards, taking the form of a colossal dragon.
[“You called me, Hay Styles.”]
Renki was so startled that he dropped the chicken drumstick he was holding.
****
After they had finished all the chicken, and even summoned Thea and Sylph to play with them, Renki’s eyes were slowly drooping, likely from the food-induced drowsiness. He had woken up early today, so it was understandable that he was tired.
Hay Styles was just thinking he should take Renki back to the inn and then go to the backyard for his own training.
“Um, I have something to tell you, Mr. Styles. Could you take Renki back and then return?” Lorelai asked.
Though he wasn’t sure what she wanted to discuss, he readily assumed it concerned her treatment and nodded.
Her legs were improving with rehabilitation, but her mana channels showed no progress after two months.
‘Perhaps that was what she had been pondering all this time.’
Hay Styles was about to take Renki back to the inn and return to the lakeside.
However, he paused briefly in front of Stan’s house.
He knocked on the door, thinking Stan might not know Lorelai was at the lakeside and wanting to inform him.
If Stan had been inside, he would surely have opened the door with magic, but there was no response.
Hay Styles remembered how utterly exhausted Stan had looked earlier. ‘Perhaps he fell asleep waiting for Lorelai.’
At the forest’s edge, Hay Styles used
“Ow, hot!”
He stumbled back, having flown straight into the flame message.
It wasn’t actually hot; he was just startled. The message, which he hadn’t managed to snatch, fluttered down.
Descending slightly, Hay Styles picked it up and read the flame message by the moonlight.
[Your master is currently being chased, so it’s hard to reply. I’ll contact you once things settle down. Oh, those damn bastards. I’m unjustly furious.]
It was Hellheim.
Hay Styles sighed. ‘Being chased? What on earth has he been doing and where has he been wandering off to?’ He shook his head, flying towards the lakeside.
A moment later, unnoticed by anyone, purple mana enveloped the forest like a dome, then quickly faded away.
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