Chapter 88
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ED: LonelyMatter
Chapter 88 – A New Side and a Gift?
Since the situation made no sense, Ain decided to blame it on a poltergeist for the time being.
He then went to Lloyd’s tent with a subtle expression on his face.
And at the same time as they were discussing the recent incident.
Krone, who had stayed behind to work in the city of Baltic… no, at the guild, came back into the room after finishing the day’s schedule.
“Hah… I’m tired.”
She could not get used to the cold region of Baltic at all.
Maybe that’s why she feels tired, not so much physically, but mentally as well.
Back in her room, she took off her coat and hung it on the sofa.
The room was kept warm, so she took off her jacket as well.
Over it, she put on a light blue shirt and changed into a lighter outfit. Underneath, she only wore a skirt.
The top two b.u.t.tons were unb.u.t.toned to give more room for her chest. Her bosom, which had been gradually increasing in size, swayed gently as she unb.u.t.toned her blouse.
“I wonder if they arrived safely over there…”
Since there was no way to keep in touch with them now, it was hard to know how Ain and the others were doing.
But she was sure that they would be fine. They had prepared quite a large force. If that didn’t work, Ishtalika would be finished.
Thinking of Ain, who was not there, she reached for her gla.s.s.
The cool drink soaked into her tired body. This feeling, which seemed to reach every single cell, made Krone relax with a “Whew.”
After seeing Ain off, Krone also had a busy schedule.
Although Krone didn’t show up at the guild herself, she went to interview Count Baltic and gave instructions to the remaining members, so much so that she didn’t even have time to eat lunch.
She would probably complain if she knew that Ain was having a lavish lunch.
“I’m all alone, aren’t I?”
Although the rooms were separated inside, she slept in almost the same s.p.a.ce as Ain until this morning.
But now that she was alone, of course, she couldn’t hear his voice or the sound of him doing something. She couldn’t hear them all.
Come to think of it, this was probably the first day that she did not have anyone close to her.
The room prepared in the castle was somehow in the same building where Ain and the others were.
At her home near the main office of the August Trading Company, Graff, Alfred and the others were there.
Thinking about it, Krone felt a sudden loneliness.
“Does that mean I was lonely? I was…?”
It seemed ridiculous, but she could think of nothing to deny it.
The snowy landscape, still falling, stretched out the window in all directions.
Staring at the scene, she couldn’t help but feel a little depressed.
“Before I think about anything else, I think I’d better take a bath…”
She really wanted to get some work done first.
She had acc.u.mulated a number of things that needed to be checked, and she wanted to get them done before she prepared to go to bed.
She decided not to work after bath time.
It may sound childish and ridiculous, so she did not tell Ain, but Krone was easily overtaken by drowsiness after a bath.
Maybe that was why she had trouble concentrating, so she finished what she had to do and then took a bath. This was one of her rules.
“But I can’t go to bed yet, and…”
She wanted to change her mood now.
In this feeling of being somewhat sad, it felt like a ch.o.r.e to go to the remaining work.
——And after thinking about it for a few dozen seconds, her conclusion was this.
“I have decided. I should get up early.”
Let’s just go to sleep quickly.
Then, she would wake up early. Get up and get the rest of the day’s work done.
Either way, the situation was such that she couldn’t seem to get her concentration back.
She believed that this was the best choice she could make.
“Now that I’ve made up my mind let’s hurry. I have to prepare for tomorrow.”
She spoke to herself a lot today.
She was aware of it, but she couldn’t help it, partly because she wanted to escape this unshakeable loneliness.
——She went to her room and got a new pair of underwear and a nightgown.
What underwear should she wear tomorrow? Just thinking about it made her feel a little better.
Although she probably won’t get a chance to show it to “him” yet, Krone was more picky than most people when it came to underwear.
It was embarra.s.sing to talk about it openly, but collecting underwear was one of Krone’s secret hobbies.
She also chose a negligee to go with her underwear. She enjoyed this pastime before taking a bath.
“I wonder if there is a store in Baltic that sells them.”
If there was, she would like to visit it.
If there was new underwear, she would like to buy it and go home.
She would look for it when she had time while Ain was away.
Once in the bathroom, Krone started unb.u.t.toning her blouse.
She began to undo the remaining b.u.t.tons except for the top two, gradually exposing her skin.
“Hmm… yeah. It’s still a nice color… Pink is good too, but I like this color the best.”
A luxury item with fine embroidery and lace.
It felt good on the skin, and combined with the design, it made her feel happy when she wore it.
The underwear Krone had prepared for her to change into was black. Like the pink underwear she was wearing now, it was decorated with beautiful lace and embroidery.
The design and colors changed from lovely shades to s.e.xually attractive designs and colors.
…There was a simple reason why she chose black underwear for her change of clothes.
It was because, like the black pearl necklace, it was the color of “his” image.
She had this kind of consciousness even in her underwear.
If such a thing were to be known, it would be a blunder that would not make even Krone blush.
That’s why she probably won’t tell anyone about it. As long as she’s the only one who knows about it, that’s fine.
——After that, Krone’s skirt fell to the floor.
She pulled off her beautifully sculpted legs and the rest of her shirt.
She placed them in a nearby basket and then placed her hands on the hooks of her remaining underwear.
＊＊＊
After enjoying the bath for a few minutes, Krone left the bathroom and dried her long hair.
It was only natural that a fine guest room such as the one she was staying in this time was equipped with such magic tools, and as a woman, she was very thankful for them.
After that, she took a few sips of water, put down her work tools in the living room s.p.a.ce, and headed for her own bed in her room.
As she had decided, she would rest early and get up early.
This way, she thought, there would be no deviation from her schedule.
…But that wish was to remain unfulfilled.
“…Why?”
Normally, she would have felt sleepy, but today, she didn’t. Instead, she felt light-headed.
She didn’t feel like she’s getting rather bright-eyed. But she wondered if she should go to work. For some reason, that was not something she felt inclined to do.
…It was the worst situation.
Let’s have something warm to drink. With that thought in mind, she got up from her bed and headed for the living room s.p.a.ce.
As she sat down on the sofa and relaxed a bit, she realized that she didn’t really feel the need for a drink.
——That’s the worst thing she could have said. Krone wondered why this situation didn’t make sense.
Was it that the unusual environment was affecting her psyche? When she thought about it, she was overwhelmed by her own pettiness.
She was a subordinate of the crown prince, Ain, but she couldn’t show him that she’s doing this.
She could not help but wonder what to do, so much so that she let out a big sigh.
…In the meantime, Krone looked around the room.
She looked around every corner of the room, where she was the only one, perhaps feeling out of touch.
——Then suddenly, her eyes stopped in one place.
“…I-is it okay?”
Looking there, she felt strangely calm.
She naturally stood up, told herself it was okay, and walked over to it.
After walking less than ten steps and standing in front of the door, Krone took a deep breath and opened it.
“S-sorry for intrusion…”
She knows there was no one there.
But somehow, she felt like she had to say so.
The door was lit, giving a good view of the entire room.
“…I’m really a bad a.s.sistant to enter the Crown Prince’s bedroom.”
With a chuckle, she stepped into Ain’s bedroom.
Of course, there was no one inside. Krone was the only one there.
But naturally, she felt a calmness return to her heart.
“Hey Ain, even if you are not here… you can still help me, can’t you?”
She sat down on the bed that Ain used and felt his gentle scent lingering in the air.
It’s a scent that she’d grown accustomed to and loved. It began to soothe Krone’s weary heart.
She stopped trying to hold back and climbed into the bed, hugging the pillow that Ain used.
Considering that only a few seconds had pa.s.sed before she got there, it’s hard to say that she was holding back.
“Nn…aah…hah…”
She was surprised to hear her own voice, which sounded quite seductive, leak out.
She tried to fool herself into thinking that she was that relaxed, but she couldn’t stop her face from blushing.
She hugged Ain’s pillow tightly. She tried desperately to justify it somehow.
——Then Krone was so wrapped up in his scent that she felt as if she was wrapped up in Ain.
Her eyelids gradually became heavier as she made excuses to herself for blushing.
“…Come home early, you idiot…”
A backward, understated complaint that she understood was selfish. The only saving grace was that she now knew her weakness: loneliness.
——And Krone was able to fall into a deep sleep in Ain’s bed as if it was a lie that she couldn’t sleep earlier.
A few days later.
After Ain returned to the inn, the scent of the bed caused him “agony,” but that’s another story…
＊＊＊
When dawn broke, it began to get light outside.
Ain rose and stretched his back.
Last night, he had no idea what it all meant.
He still didn’t know who had given him such a gift, but he decided to accept it gratefully for now.
He went to Lloyd’s place and called for Dill.
Lloyd came to check on the situation and saw the scene.
Of course, Lloyd and the others had no idea what was going on and how the lamprey rabbits that had run away were caught. It was concluded that it was not a human skill.
After that, Lloyd and Dill took turns guarding Ain’s tent, with several more knights of the Royal Guard attached to each of them.
They were apologetic, but Ain asked them to rest, and so they did as he asked and rested obediently.
“Ain-sama. Are you awake?”
“Good morning, Dill. I’m sorry I had to keep you awake all night.”
“It’s nothing to worry about. I’m glad you’re alright.”
Dill stayed in the tent and kept watch.
Dill noticed that Ain was awake and went over to the curtains around the bed.
“Huh, is Lloyd-san resting now?”
“About that, Father said he had something to tell Ain-sama as well, and he is waiting outside.”
Was something wrong?
But right now, it’s bad to make him wait. Ain, now that he was awake, went to Lloyd as soon as possible.
He was just outside the tent, so he put on his jacket and went straight outside.
“Lloyd-san. Good morning.”
“Oh, Ain-sama. I hope you had a good night’s rest after what happened last night.”
“It is thanks to all of you. But I’m a little sorry.”
“Hahaha! We have nothing more to ask as long as Ain-sama is well rested.”
The bold words were delightful.
The fact that he was so understanding was one of Lloyd’s “good points.”
“Dill said you had something to tell me?”
“Oops… Yes, I have an interesting discovery to report. Please come this way.”
Lloyd led him to the area right next to Ain’s tent.
The two lamprey rabbits brought in yesterday had been placed there.
“It’s light now, so I checked the wounds on their necks.”
“Wounds? Is something wrong?”
“Yes, sir, on the left side. In a word, this is art.”
Ain didn’t know what to make of the wound as art.
He wonders if there was some kind of pattern written on it.
“A-art…?”
“Both are in a straight line through the core from about the same angle and position. It’s a frighteningly accurate technique.”
However, when AIn examined it, it was indeed pierced at a precise angle, just like a machine.
Why did the person bring it, and who was the person who brought it? The questions still remained, but it was clear that the person who brought it was highly skilled.
“But this looks like a gift.”
Ain and Dill agree with Lloyd.
When it came right down to it, bringing two such high-end items was a gift.
It’s one of the worst ways to give.
“But if it’s a gift, I’m the target…”
“Huh, you’re right. Now… I’d like to find out what kind of person this is a gift from.”
“That’s the hard part. Father.”
“Ah yes… Maybe it has something to do with the person who watched us. Besides, it is possible to go to Ain-sama’s side without being found by anyone. It also means that the person has such power.”
This last sentence was more deadly than anything else.
If it were a perfect hostile creature, it would kill Lloyd and the others before they knew it. It would not be funny if that happened.
The idea of keeping only Ain alive at all costs… would easily fall apart.
“So, first of all, we should be glad that it is not a completely hostile creature.”
Lloyd’s feelings are mixed.
His main thought right now was to end the investigation and return to Baltic.
There were too many uncertainties in this situation. Given the contingency of the situation, perhaps they should just leave.
As he groaned, Ain spoke up with a thought as if he had reached a point of agreement.
“By the way, Dullahan and Elder Lich. Neither of them reacted, so maybe it’s okay.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m just hoping that we’re about to work something out with the Red Foxes. And I don’t think Dullahan would abandon me. If he wanted to abandon me, he would have taken my body.”
He said this with a dry smile on his face, but it was something Dullahan would do.
Thinking back to the incident in Euro, it was unlikely that he would just be beaten up.
“Anyway, we were so close. I wanted to talk to him directly because we were so close. Who is this guy, and what does he want?”
Ain emphasized the “directly” part and said it.
Lloyd and Dill, hearing Ain’s thoughts, could sense the legitimacy of his ideas.
“Certainly… That Dullahan would at least try to take Ain-sama’s body, you know.”
As Dill said this, he remembered the incident aboard the White King, the ship dedicated to the King of Ishtalika.
He took over Ain’s body and destroyed part of the ship.
The fact that he didn’t pull anything else meant that he didn’t find last night’s incident particularly problematic. Couldn’t that be what he meant? He guessed what Ain meant.
“But the most suspicious place is over there.”
He looked at the Demon King’s castle.
Suddenly, the gates of the Demon King’s castle opened. If they went there, they might find “that” someone who had come to deliver a “gift” to Ain.
However, they had not yet decided to enter the castle.
“It is a bit frustrating.”
If they went there, they might find some answers.
It was unfortunate that they could not enter the Demon King’s castle because it just seemed that way.
“Let’s start with what we can find out. If we get greedy from the start, it’ll be a bit of a ha.s.sle.”
Seeing the two of them nod, Ain started walking, wondering what to do.
After all, they did not know who came here and for what purpose.
“(Since it’s a good opportunity, I’ll take this rabbit meat, though.)”
The second day at the former Demon King’s territory.
The investigation would finally begin.