CHAPTER 77 – FREELOADER
The sun was beginning to set.
rc arrived on the outskirts of Logholt, guided by Astard, exactly as she had heard.
A modest ho nestled in the midst of a barren land overrun with weeds. That appeared to be Astard’s present ho.
“Oh, yea. Wait for a mont.”
rc was about to step onto the barren land when Astard extended his hand to stop her. Astard’s palm released a bit of Mana, which surrounded rc’s body.
“Approval!”
Astard’s spell gave rc permission to enter this magically protected land.
rc had the sensation akin to passing through a radar, as she and Astard were able to securely access the premises.
“Um, Ester… Wait, you go by rc now, right? It’s probably best if I call you that in front of others, no?”
“Yea. I should also be cautious about how I address myself. It would be strange for such a beautiful girl as myself to speak like an old man.”
“To think you’d call yourself a beautiful girl… To be honest, calling you rc makes feel rather uncomfortable.”
“Oh, drop it. Still, you should be able to call Estert now. After all, you do live alone, right?”
Astard averted his gaze, as if he was having difficulty explaining himself. Finally, without saying anything, he knocked three tis on the house’s door in a rhythmic manner.
Huh? There isn’t anyone here. Why is he knoc…
“I’m coming!”
From within, a bright woman’s voice could be heard, accompanied by the sound of light footsteps approaching them.
The door was suddenly opened from the inside, and a woman in her early twenties appeared, much to rc’s astonishnt.
Her waist-length hair was pale gray, and her eyes were a similar dull tint.
She exuded a calm deanor, yet the pleasant smile on her face revealed that she was a lively young lady. rc felt she resembled soone else.
“Welco back Great Sage… Um, who is this with you?”
The woman who smiled as she greeted Astard glanced at rc with a puzzled expression on her face.
“Oh… This girl’s na is Es… I an rc. She’s an old friend of mine.”
“What? A friend?”
The woman cocked her head, a confused expression on her face, at Astard’s sowhat clumsy introduction. rc realized she couldn’t mislead the girl in any other way, so she smiled and spoke as if she were following Astard’s narrative.
“Despite the way I look, I am undoubtedly Astard’s friend. And who might you be?”
“I-I’m Kena. It’s a pleasure, Miss rc.”
“The pleasure’s mine. So, Miss Kena, what’s your relationship with Astard?”
There’s no way she’s his spouse, right?
rc internally shook her head at the notion of this possibility, which had montarily entered her mind.
In any case, Astard was thirty-five years old, no matter how youthful he appeared. This ant that the girl in front of rc would be over ten years younger than him. The thought that Astard had managed to marry soone this younger than him made rc jealous. Kena also packed a decent package, so rc couldn’t accept it.
She simply couldn’t.
“My relationship with the Great Sage? That’s…”
rc snapped and glared at Astard when Kena turned her head sowhat ashad.
Astard shook his head exaggeratedly as he flinched.
“P-Please wait! It’s not what you’re thinking. I found Kena collapsed by my house so I just took her. She had evidently collapsed due to hunger.”
“Huh?”
“T-This is so embarrassing…”
When rc saw Kena suddenly conceal her face with both hands, she believed Astard was telling the truth. Nonetheless, Kena’s reaction was a strange one.
“So you’re saying you took care of her after you found her collapsed next to your house? Are you being serious?”
“Hm? What do you an?”
“It’s nothing…”
Count Fonan and others were after Astard’s research.
rc felt it was strange that Astard would let such an unknown person in his house, but Astard rely gave her a suspicious look. rc could see Astard didn’t have any hesitations about Kena.
“Eitherway, let’s go inside. Kena. We’ll be in the room in the back, make sure not to bother us.”
“What? By the room in the back you don’t an… I will…”
Astard, who had entered the ho with rc, remarked to Kena casually. Kenna nodded slightly after seeming perplexed by his statent.
“rc, this way.”
“Okay.”
rc felt a cold stare lock onto her as Astard instructed her to accompany him.
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“…?!1”
She quickly turned back and noticed that Kena, as imagined, was looking at them. Kena bowed deeply to rc with a shocked expression on her face. rc was caught aback as well, and she offered a slight nod.
What was that just now?
“Is sothing wrong?”
“No. It’s nothing… Let’s go.”
Following Astard’s prompting, rc resud walking. This ti though, she didn’t feel any eyes on her. rc, on the other hand, was certain that Kena’s face, which she had just seen, had been unmistakably glaring at her.
“I’ve cast a soundproof spell on this room, so we can talk freely.”
“I see.”
The room in the back which rc was led to wasn’t that large. To be precise, it was rather spacious, but it appeared to be small due to the nurous scattered docunts and unidentified items that appeared to have been used for research.
rc deduced that this was most likely Astard’s laboratory.
“My real laboratory is in the Kingdom of Sphinia, so I don’t have much here, although I do have a few Falgaro-related research papers. That’s why I don’t let outsiders in, but since it’s you I suppose it’s fine.”
“That Kena girl hasn’t been here?”
“Of course. Kena is also not allowed to enter.”
“Astard, just who is that girl? We’re talking about you here. You’d never help soone like that.”
When rc questioned him about what had just transpired, Astard purposefully gave her a puzzled look.
“Oh my. I’m not sure I get what you’re trying to say. Is it really that unbelievable for to help soone?”
“No, it’s not. It’s just that Kena seems perfectly fine to . There should be no other reason for you to allow her to stay in your ho.”
“You’ve got this wrong. She, herself, expressed a willingness to assist because I had saved her. And because I don’t normally stay here, I just left her to look after the place.”
“You did what?”
Astard stated it so casually that rc couldn’t help but be taken aback.
“Don’t make such a scary face. Your beautiful face will go to waste.”
“Are you aware of what you’re doing? For the love of God, you’re researching the Falgaro? She may be a spy hired to investigate that research.”
“Kena?”
Astard had a surprised expression on his face, as if he had never considered that possibility before. However, there was no way he hadn’t done so.
There was no way this man, who was far wiser than rc and was even known as the Great Sage, hadn’t considered this possibility.
“There’s no way she’s one. From the ti I’ve spent with her I’ve noticed that she’s quite awkward and naive. She couldn’t possibly be a spy.”
“It might all be an act!”
“Now, now. What I’m more concerned about right now is whether or not Count Fonan’s n will attack her. They could see her as a potential hostage because she’s been in my house.”
“……”
While rc had major doubts about Kena’s identity, Astard was concerned about her safety. As one could assu, rc was mortified by the scenario.
“Y-You… Have you fallen for her?”
“What? What are you saying? The age difference between us is far too great.”
“I know that, but still…”
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rc’s statents were t with a casual rejection from Astard. To begin with, Astard was a man who had dedicated himself entirely to Iriem, the Saintess. rc was well aware of this. She had just asked him to confirm it.
“I would have left her in the hands of others rather than caring for her if I had known Count Fonan was after my research. However, Count Fonan’s n attacked after she had already moved in. It caused a lot of trouble.”
“Can’t you have her go sowhere else?”
“They’re already aware that Kena exists. I can’t think of anywhere else that is safer than this house right now. There’s also the possibility that the risk she faces will grow as she gets further away from .”
“Still, that doesn’t an you can keep her locked in here forever.”
“Whenever she goes out, I have my familiars protect her. However, as you just said, I can’t keep doing that forever… It seems I really need to take care of the Count.”
rc couldn’t get rid of her reservations about Kena. However, rc realized that there had to be a reason why Astard didn’t suspect her in the least.
rc couldn’t trust Kena, but she could trust Astard, who appeared to trust her. That’s why rc chose to put away her suspicions of her for the ti being.
“Phew… So? Will you finally tell about this Count Fonan?”
rc enquired again after she had relaxed and renewed her determination.
Robinxen: Ah a woman’s scorn.
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