#065
Actually, there was another problem with Eira coming to the village. Namely, time. We had entered the village around sunset. Now, after visiting Kate ajumma, the village was already dyed pitch black with night. In other words, for Eira to return home, she would have to cross through the midnight forest.
Since Eira wasn’t a hunter, that was impossible. Eira’s Small Fry Repellent wasn’t enough to handle monsters that attacked in swarms at night. I was also just a mediocre novice hunter without even a weapon, so there were limits to escorting Eira.
Eira said she could sneak into a closed government office or community center since she was invisible to everyone anyway, spend the night there, and sneak out as soon as the sun rose, but I couldn’t leave her like that.
I also couldn’t secretly bring her to Carlisle’s mansion, which was designated as my lodging. First of all, even though it was just something in a game, both Eira and Carlisle were my ex-spouses, and the picture of me secretly bringing her to his house in the middle of the night and entering the bedroom would be too strange.
Most of all, the problem was that Eira’s very existence was illegal. Recalling when I had brought up Eira’s potions before, if Carlisle were to catch us, I didn’t think a favorable reaction would come out at all.
In the worst case, whether out of emotional resentment or simply a thorough law-abiding spirit, he might even threaten to turn both Eira and me over to the police.
So what I came up with was the guild’s lodging. Since I had already arranged with the Mayor to participate in the next expedition, I still had the right to stay at the guild lodging. Couldn’t I just leave Eira in that room and briefly visit Carlisle’s house myself?
I brought this up to Eira, and while she showed a subtle expression for a moment when I mentioned staying at Carlisle’s mansion, she eventually agreed to my plan.
So where we were heading now was the guild. Everything went smoothly until we received the room key from the lobby and went upstairs.
“Oh, Raon!”
But luck wasn’t on our side. Unexpectedly, we ran into Taro in the hallway lined with rooms.
“Taro?”
Not knowing my inner thoughts, Taro looked happy to see me.
“What brings you here at this hour?”
“You, you…”
“I’m a long-term guest here originally.”
Taro tilted his head.
“But I heard from Kipling ahjussi that you were going to stay at the boss’s mansion. Wasn’t that right?”
“Uh… right, that’s right… I just… wanted to rest here for a bit?”
“Rest? Isn’t the mansion the best for resting? Just the beds alone would be incomparable. It’s like the difference between a country inn and a 5-star hotel.”
“That’s true, but… um… it’s more of a mental issue.”
“Ah, is it uncomfortable because you’re divorced?”
Taro understood on his own, casually mentioning what could be a sensitive issue.
“That could be it. But the boss has some controlling tendencies, so I wonder if it’s okay to not go home like this after promising to stay at the house.”
“I-I’ll go back. I should sleep where I’ve been sleeping.”
“Yeah, that would be better. Then go back before it gets too late. See you next time.”
After Taro disappeared with a smile, I finally released the tension I’d been holding in my shoulders. I could hear Eira letting out a long sigh beside me, probably having been nervous too.
“Let’s go in quickly.”
Not wanting to run into anyone else, we quickly found the room and went inside.
The room was originally a 4-person room, with bunk beds on either side. Each bed had curtains for privacy, and there was a partition set up in the changing area in the corner. Two wardrobes, one table in the middle of the room—that was all the furniture.
“It’ll be uncomfortable, but just bear with it here until sunrise.”
“Uncomfortable? What do you mean, there’s even a bed and it blocks the night dew, so this is excellent. Even if someone comes, they won’t see me… It’s fine now, so you can go back. Just come early in the morning to pick up the medicine.”
I was a bit anxious about leaving her alone, but Eira would also be uncomfortable if I stayed. I nodded.
“Alright. You won’t be able to rest well since you have to make medicine, but still, make yourself comfortable…”
Growl.
“……”
The sound didn’t come from my stomach. I was also quite tired and hungry, but I had eaten a simple breakfast at the mansion and filled my stomach with food I’d obtained from the hidden dungeon here and there while traveling, so I wasn’t starving.
Sure enough, Eira coughed awkwardly.
“I couldn’t eat dinner because I came here in a hurry… It’s fine, don’t worry about it. It’s just one meal.”
“……”
I was worried because it probably wouldn’t be just one meal. I had just poured out all the edible things I’d brought from the expedition at Eira’s house, so there was nothing to eat in my inventory right now.
“Rest for now. I’ll bring some food.”
“It’s fine…”
“Wait here. Honestly, it might be better for me to stay with you while you’re making the medicine. Someone might knock on the door saying they hear strange sounds or smells.”
Saying that, I left the room. I ran through the darkened streets and entered Carlisle’s house. Luck was on my side. Whatever was keeping him so busy, Carlisle, who had left early in the morning, hadn’t returned yet.
“He seems like he’ll be very late, so you’ll have to eat alone. Shall I prepare it in the dining room, or shall I bring it up to your room?”
The situation worked out well on its own. To Hayden the butler who asked about my preference, I requested he prepare something simple and bring it to my room.
“I’ll put the dishes outside after eating. I walked around all day today and I’m tired, so I’ll probably sleep early. Please don’t wake me until tomorrow morning.”
I didn’t forget to mention words I hoped would be passed on to Carlisle, the mansion’s owner.
I filled my stomach with the foods Hayden brought up that would be awkward to take with me, and packed the rest separately. I wanted to take the warm stew too, but lacking a suitable container, I pondered for a moment before putting it in a glass bottle I’d gotten from the settlement support box.
It didn’t seem like the right use for it, but… well, what could be more important than eating and living in this world? This thing needed to be used for something useful instead of just taking up inventory space. After some hesitation, I filled the glass bottle with stew and put it in my inventory along with the other food.
Honestly, while packing the food, I did wonder if it was okay to give away food that wasn’t mine. But when I have food in my hands and a close acquaintance is starving, I can’t just pretend not to know. It’s a tough world. We have to help when we can. Anyway, I’m sharing my portion of the meal, so let’s say I’m doing Carlisle’s good deed by proxy.
The lights in the dining room and kitchen area went out and the mansion sank into darkness. Everything was pitch black except for the dim light at the entrance. I locked my room door and exited the mansion through the window. I retraced the now completely familiar dark streets back to the guild.
Before entering the guild building, I confirmed no one was around and drank a drop of the yellow potion Eira had shared with me. She said this amount would provide about 10 minutes of stealth effect. I weaved through the hunters in the lobby and made it up to the hallway with the rooms.
My nerves were on edge for a moment because some guys were gathered in the hallway giggling and hanging around, but fortunately they all scattered shortly after. As soon as the hallway was empty, I knocked on the door according to our agreed signal so Eira wouldn’t be startled, then opened the door with the key and entered.
“What, what?”
But the one who was startled wasn’t Eira, but me. Because I could clearly see Eira, who should have been invisible.
“Shh, close it first.”
Eira whispered and quickly closed and locked the door again.
“Why can I see you? What happened?”
When I asked in a lowered voice, Eira made a dismayed expression.
“The medicine must be old and losing its effectiveness. It should normally last about five hours, but the effect wore off after just over three hours.”
It was absurd.
“Don’t you have more medicine?”
“I have one more bottle, but I need to drink that when escaping the village in the morning.”
“Ahh.”
The effectiveness wearing off because it was old. It was an unexpected situation. At least the effect wore off after we safely entered the room. We could just hide in the room until sunrise, then immediately drink the medicine and escape the village.
Just as I was relieved, my appearance also gradually became visible. The medicine’s effect had worn off. I wondered if it had even been 5 minutes, let alone 10. It was chilling.
‘What, I was the one in danger just now.’
I had snuck in because I was worried Carlisle might hear rumors about me returning to the guild at night, but I almost got caught ridiculously.
“Anyway, we didn’t get caught, so it’s fine.”
Sighing and saying that, I went to the small table in the middle of the room and began laying out the food I’d brought. Eira’s eyes widened.
“H-how did you get all this…?”
Eira, who had been amazed even by the crude salad made from wild berries I’d picked up in the hidden dungeon, naturally had her eyes spin at the freshly baked bread, stew, and dessert.
“Don’t ask, just eat before it gets cold.”
Eira was perceptive enough to obviously know where I’d gotten this from. There was only one person in the village who could make and eat such food. She hesitated for a moment but didn’t refuse any longer. She probably thought the same as me—when would we eat something like this again—so let’s eat first and think later.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
