Chapter 33

Chapter 33. "The Dark Elf, the Dwarf, and a Single Rose." 13

Luna answered Jimant without the slightest change in expression, and at that, Jimant gave a short snort of laughter, rose from his seat, and picked up his pack.

"I am not that stubborn of a man. I will hear your answer later. Ah, innkeeper? Do you have a room?"

"Ah, yes. Please follow me."

I led him upstairs to the room next to Luna’s. Come to think of it, that means there is only one empty room left now, does it not? If I gave the downstairs room to Narsh, then for the first time since I started the innkeeping business, I would have no vacant rooms at all.

"This is the room. By the way, how long will you be staying?"

"Two or maybe three days."

He was going to leave after staying about three days? Hmm. More importantly, if the people who arrived first woke up and saw Jimant, things would probably get rather noisy.

I gave him a few parting words and told him to rest well, then went back down to the first-floor hall. Rene, Luna, Narsh, and the two golems were there. Of them, the three intelligent ones seemed to be in the middle of some conversation.

Let us listen in for a moment.

"So you are not going back?"

"Even you are trying to send me back, Rene? You opened the door of this place for my sake, did you not? So I closed that door for you. And now you are telling me to go back home?"

"It is not like that, but what about your mother? I do not know about the father you hate so much, but your mother does not seem to be the same."

When Rene said that, Luna, sitting on the edge of the table, turned her head to look out at the sky beyond the window and replied in an indifferent tone,

"It is fine. That much I can guarantee. That bastard treats Mother very well, though I do not know what scheme lies behind it. And my mother cannot think normally, so she would not be of any use in magic experiments. There is no need to worry about that either. If she has one wish, it is probably only that she wants to wait until the day I am fully grown and can kill that bastard myself."

"Do you hate your father that much?"

"Yes, I hate him. The engraving in my chest generates mana using the caster’s body as a base and allows it to move according to the caster’s will. That is why I can use magic freely even though I never learned it. And if you apply the absolute law that everything in this world comes at a price, what conclusion do you reach?"

"...The more magic you use, the more of your lifespan is reduced."

"That is right. If this keeps up, I doubt I will live much beyond three hundred years."

Narsh, who had worn a sorrowful expression ever since hearing Luna’s story, lowered her head and stroked the teacup set before her as she spoke. Not wanting to interrupt their conversation, I quietly sat down on the stairs where I had been standing.

"Luna. How old are you now?"

"Fourteen."

Luna answered lightly, and at that, Narsh turned with an even sadder face to look at Rene.

"Ms. Rene? What is the average lifespan of elves?"

"It varies a little from one to another, but about six hundred to seven hundred years."

Rene finished speaking and turned her head toward Luna, who was looking out the window. Luna did not appear to have much expression on her face.

In any case, after asking the two elf girls her questions, Narsh lowered her head deeply and slowly opened her mouth.

"Then... does that mean elves can live about ten times longer than us humans?"

"That is right."

"Then does that mean Luna will only live to about her thirties in human years?"

At her tearful words, Luna lowered her head and looked down at Narsh. Then, with a perfectly expressionless face, she said,

"So? I never asked you to understand my sorrow, so do not cry. Tears do not suit a pretty face."

Narsh stared blankly up at Luna, then wiped away her tears with the back of her hand and nodded. Luna, watching her, turned her head and looked at me.

"By the way, Han? Why are you over there?"

"Hm?"

"I am asking why you are just sitting over there staring at us. Is your place not beside Rene?"

At her words, I gave a bitter smile and rose from my seat. Then I looked at Rene, who was sitting there with her arms crossed, and she responded to my gaze with narrowed eyes. Hmm, if I leave things like this, it will probably drag on for over a week.

"Ah, something happened."

"So you fought."

"...You really are quick."

"That is how I managed to protect myself even when I was being held captive."

Luna shrugged as she said that, then stepped down from the table. As she walked toward me, she turned her head to look back at Rene, who was sitting behind her, and said,

"I looked around while you were asleep. I am going to use the study for a while. That is all right, is it not?"

"Luna, can you read human writing?"

"Yes. My first master taught me."

After saying that, Luna turned her back again and walked toward the door beside the stairs where I was standing. Narsh, who had been quietly watching Luna’s back, suddenly sprang to her feet and said,

"Ah, um, I am going too."

At those words, Luna stopped where she was and turned back.

"Can you read?"

"Even if I cannot, I am still going."

Narsh said that with a bright smile, and Luna gave a small laugh before replying,

"Do as you like."

And so the two of them, from different races, disappeared into Rene’s treasure vault. A little while later, I heard a faint cry of "Waaah~" from beyond the door, so Narsh must have been a little shocked by Rene’s collection. It was no joking matter, after all.

Just then, I felt someone’s gaze and turned my head. There sat Rene in the hall, arms crossed, staring intently at me. Come to think of it, the only ones left in the hall now were her and me. Thank you, Luna. You left the place for us. Just then, Rene, sitting across from me, raised her hand and said,

"Han? Come over here for a moment."

At Rene’s call, I got down from the stairs and walked over to her. She looked up at me once, then patted the seat beside her and said,

"Sit down. No matter if you are my husband, I cannot talk while looking up at you."

I sat down beside her as instructed. I said nothing. No matter how I thought about it, I was the one who had done wrong, so it was only natural for Rene to act like this. I had nothing to say. Well then.

Seeing that I had sat beside her, Rene slipped an arm around my shoulders, pulled me toward her, and said,

"You wronged me, so do not complain."

I nodded. There was nothing else I could do.

"Now then. From this moment on, we are going to have a conversation to resolve this unpleasant state between us.

You will answer what I say."

I turned my head and glanced at her, and Rene continued speaking with an expressionless face.

"You said something you never should have said to me. Asking what I would do if you abandoned me? That goes beyond all reasonable bounds. You admit that, do you not?"

"Yes, I admit it. It was my fault."

I let out a sigh and admitted my wrongdoing. What kind of lecture is coming next? While I was thinking that, Rene, who had been quiet for a while, smiled sweetly and said,

"Good. That is enough. I will forgive you. So do not say such things again, all right? Hearing that from you frightened me, even if only a little."

Frightened? Ah, I see. I suppose she could have taken it that way. Still, this is being resolved more easily than I expected....

"There are many guests right now, so I am ending it here. Understood? There will be no forgiveness next time."

Rene said that while holding up a finger and wagging it from side to side, and I nodded as I looked at her smile. In the twenty-odd years I had spent with her, this was the first time she had let go of her anger so quickly. Usually, once she got angry, it took quite an ordeal before she calmed down.

"Yes. Understood. I will be careful next time."

"Really? Good. Then..."

"Hm?"

Rene closed her eyes slightly as she spoke, and I asked in confusion. She slowly opened them again and said,

"Kiss me. It is a light price, but I still want to receive it."

With those words, she closed her eyes once more, and after glancing around us, I leaned in and kissed her on the lips. At that very moment, the arm she had draped over my shoulder tightened, her hand gripped the back of my neck, and her other hand came up behind my head to press me forward.

"Mmph...."

"Did something happen to you?"

"No."

"Really? Your face looks awful."

I lifted a hand and touched my face once. Well now, my cheeks really have sunk in. Then I turned my head and glanced at Rene, who was busily moving around in the kitchen. For a full thirty minutes, I had been trapped by her. Ugh....

Jeff, who had come down from his room and taken one look at my face, roughly dropped into a seat and said,

"Yaaawn. What time is it now?"

"It is eleven o’clock."

"Really? Since there is no point in sleeping more, make lunch and some packed lunches. Hm? But where did Narsh go?"

I lifted a hand and pointed at the door beside the stairs.

"She is in the study. She went in with Luna earlier, but there has still been no sign of them."

"Well, she said she likes books, so leave her be. But is that unlucky middle-aged man still not up yet?"

"Unlucky middle-aged man? Want to say that again? You ill-mannered brat."

When I turned my head, I saw Kal coming down from the second floor wearing black trousers and a white shirt.

In other words, he had taken off his cloak and outerwear. As soon as he came down, he spoke to Rene, who was making food in the kitchen.

"You have my thanks for your efforts, Miss Rene. Will lunch be ready soon?"

"Yes. I am preparing it now, so please wait a moment."

Hearing Rene’s words, Kal gave her a pleasant smile and bowed his head, then turned with a frown toward Jeff and said,

"You brat. What use is a young man if he is already drained of strength like that?"

"Well now, since when did you start worrying about me? More importantly, get your weapons ready. We are heading out as soon as we finish eating."

"Where to?"

Kal asked in a bewildered voice, and Jeff replied with a scowl,

"Are you an idiot? We have to deal with the reason we came here in the first place, do we not? We are lucky there happened to be an inn in a place like this. Otherwise, we would have had quite a rough time."

Only then did Kal nod, turn his head toward me, and as I fetched him his bow from where it was leaning beside the fireplace, I said,

"It is a fine bow."

As I handed it over while saying that, he looked amused and plucked it a few times.

Twang, twang~

"You must be quite strong. I did not think you could string a bow without calling me over."

"He is even stronger than this monstrous middle-aged man. It was the first time I had ever seen anyone draw it all the way back."

"Really?"

"Go outside and look. You should find a large stone split in two. That bow of yours is quite something. It was my first time seeing an arrow split a stone."

After hearing Jeff, who was spinning his sword this way and that, Kal went outside with a face full of disbelief.

I merely smiled at the two of them, left them there, and went over to Rene, who was busily working in the kitchen.

"Is there anything I can help with?"

"Ah, perfect timing. Decorate the packed lunches for me. I have finished cooking the food, but I have been too busy to arrange them."

"All right."

After saying that, I took out lunch boxes woven from wooden strips from the cupboard. Then I wiped them down roughly with a dry cloth, lined them with paper, and started filling them with the food Rene had prepared beforehand.

Fried ham and sausages, cheese, several kinds of meat dishes, and bread—I arranged them with vegetables as neatly as I could.

I had finished three and was filling the last one when a shadow fell over me. I glanced to the side and saw Rene standing there with a ladle in her hand, quietly looking at the packed lunches I had filled.

"Heh. They are pretty, are they not?"

I smiled and finished the last one as I replied,

"If you are saying that, then they must at least look decent."

"Yes. And now that you are done with the packed lunches, come over here and help carry the dishes into the dining room."

"Aye, aye."

I placed lids over all four lunch boxes and tied them shut, then stacked them neatly in one place.

After that, I turned around and carried all the food Rene had made out to the table in the dining room. After going back and forth several times and finally bringing everything out, a sudden shout rang out from outside the house.

"Aaagh! H-Hey, let go of me, you bastards!"

Startled by the shout, Rene and I quickly turned our heads toward the hall, and there, through the open door, were those same Lizard Men from before, dragging Kal inside by the collar.