Although it made Riley feel uneasy, he chose to leave Andal with Abyss. Riley returned to the mansion and promptly went to find Nainiae.
“Ah, Young Master!”
“Sera.”
Riley turned his head around in response to the voice that was coming from the rear. He found a maid who was quickly walking toward him. As if he was glad to see the maid, he raised his hand.
“By any chance, do you know where Nainiae went?”
“Nainiae?”
Sera tilted her head to the side and asked why he was asking that.
“She isn’t with you?”
“Huh?”
“I heard that you were taking a nap in the library? Nainiae told me that you said you were sleepy, so she ended up going back to her room.”
“She did?”
Riley asked while floating a question mark on his face. Sera nodded and continued.
“Yes. Still, one thing was very odd… It’s spring now. If it is a nap, I think you would prefer to nap in the garden, but you didn’t? I asked Nainiae why you weren’t napping in the garden and she said you seemed to have an allergy.”
Sera said she thought it was odd that her Young Master, who liked taking a leisurely nap in the garden around spring time, was napping in the library instead.
“Young Master, you don’t actually have allergy, right?”
“Um? Ahah…”
Riley figured out why Nainiae ended up mentioning ‘allergy.’ Riley rubbed his nose with his knuckles and said with a voice that sounded like he might sneeze any moment.
“Until now, I lived while never noticing anything like that, but I suddenly got a really runny nose… It is so difficult to have this happen.”
“Runny nose?”
“Yes. Maybe it is not an allergy but a cold? The season is changing right now. The change in the temperature is quite extreme. My body feels a bit off, so perhaps I was careless…”
“Well. You had an extreme fever during the last winter when you were hibernating. In the end, Nainiae managed to fix it somehow, but still...”
It seemed Sera wanted to go scold Nainiae for not even properly identifying if Riley had a cold or an allergy. The look on her face changed. She looked stern.
“I cannot let this pa.s.s. I should have a word with her…”
“Ah, wait. It’s all right. I’ll do it.”
Sera was about to quickly head to the library. Riley hurriedly blocked her path and said he would do it instead. However, in Sera’s eyes, she was burning with desire as the senior maid to go and give advice. The look in her eyes was not about to calm down.
“No. I really cannot let this pa.s.s. You are not in a good condition, yet she let you wander around in the corridor by yourself. Instead of nursing you, just where is she and what is she doing? I should go find out and bring this up to her for sure.”
Having heard her stern voice, Riley was now certain that he had just stepped on a landmine. Sera was about to walk away again. Riley went to block her path again and started to try to convince her otherwise.
“In that case, let’s go together.”
“Together?”
“That’s right. I have been looking for Nainiae as well.”
Sera held her chin and pondered on this. She nodded as if she found the idea to be acceptable.
“All right. I would be able to scold her properly with you present, Young Master.”
She was even snorting as she vowed a hard scolding. Watching this… Riley apologized to Nainiae inside and walked.
“First, should we go check out the library?”
Based on what Sera had said, Riley wondered if they should visit the library first, so he muttered. Sera tilted her head to the side.
“The library? Didn’t you just come from the library?”
Having heard the question, Riley thought about the doll that Nainiae had made to look just like him. Riley flinched a little and responded as if he didn’t know much about it.
“Ah, I think maybe we just missed each other along the way… I was thinking about the possibility that Nainiae may have come back just after I left.”
“Hm. Really?”
“…”
As expected, although Riley couldn’t quite figure it out, he felt like he could understand why Nainiae was so concerned about Sera’s senses. Riley sighed inside in secret and asked Sera,
“In that case, what about you, Sera? Can you guess where Nainiae is?”
“… Huhu.”
She smiled confidently as if she was waiting for this question. She raised her index finger and waved it a few times as if she was trying to say that Riley should wait for a moment. She closed her eyes.
Sniff, sniff sniff…
It looked like she was trying to utilize her sense of smell. Watching her sniff with her eyes closed, Riley thought she would be able to find where Nainiae was right away.
“Um?”
“Did you find her?”
It seemed that Sera had found a strange smell. She cringed and tilted her head to the side. Riley also tilted his head to the side, wondering why she was being like this.
“I found her, but… Something is…”
“Why? What is it?”
Sniff Sniff…
“Um? It is strange?”
Now, Sera tilted her head to the other side and brought her face up close to Riley. She started to smell him.
“Young Master, you are definitely here?”
She looked puzzled. Sera explained why she was thinking like this.
“There are two.”
“Two?”
“Your smell… There are two sources?”
Sera looked confused. Riley realized this was because of the doll that Nainiae had made. He flinched inside.
‘Should I just tell her what really happened?’
It was not going to be possible to hide it forever… Riley wondered if it would be better to just tell her what happened now instead of being found out later and getting scolded. Leaving him behind, Sera started to walk first.
“Do I also have an allergy?”
Sera wondered about that since spring had just come. She tilted her head to the side once again.
“Have you found Nainiae?”
“Ah, yes.”
Riley thought it would be better to talk to Nainiae first instead of telling Sera what really happened. Riley asked where Nainiae was and Sera looked back at Riley.
“Please follow me. She is in the same place. It is probably…”
It seemed Sera was doubting her sense of smell because she could smell two different sources of Riley’s smell. Sera blurred the end of the sentence as if she was not confident.
‘They are in the same place that means…’
Having watched Sera’s response, he concluded that the doll and Nainiae were in the same place.
“Sera, isn’t this the way towards the library?”
“Ah, it is.”
With her eyes closed, she was focusing on her sense of smell as she walked. Sera didn’t realize which direction she was walking towards. After hearing Riley, she nodded in agreement.
“In the end, your guess was correct. It looks like you just missed her, but… why do I sense another source of Young Master’s smell?”
Sera had a puzzled look as if she was trying to figure out a maze. As if she was thinking that she just needed to check, Sera was trying to enter the library first. Riley panicked inside and flinched his face.
“Aaaaaachhhhh!!!”
“… Kiiiaaak?!”
Sera nervously had her hand on the library door’s handle. Having heard the sound of his coughing, Sera screamed from being surprised.
“Y… Young Master? You scared me!”
“How am I supposed to control sneezing?”
Riley coughed loudly so he could let Nainiae inside the library know that he had come back. Riley moved past Sera.
“Let’s go in.”
“Ugh, I thought my liver was going to drop!”
“Ugh, I’m telling you that it was not intentional.”
[TL: ‘I thought my liver was going to drop’ is something that people say to express how frightened they were in Korea.]
Riley opened the library door while apologizing to Sera. He found Nainiae hurriedly putting away the doll’s legs. He glanced at Sera who was right behind him.
“Nainiae!!”
Nainiae’s shoulders flinched.
“Just where did you go while leaving the Young Master behind!”
Standing next to Riley, Sera was scolding Nainiae in a loud voice. Riley sighed in relief inside.
‘Ugh.’
Fortunately, Sera walked into the library a step later than Riley. It seemed that she hadn’t seen Nainiae putting away the doll.
“T… That is…”
Nainiae looked at Riley and then at Sera to check their moods. Like a person who had just got asked a very difficult question, Nainiae started to open and close her mouth like a fish.
“I went to the restroom for a moment while Young Master was sleeping on the sofa. In that brief period of time…”
Veins popped out of Sera’s forehead.
“So?”
“I… lost track of Young Master.”
Riley was sure Nainiae must have been feeling wronged about this. Still, Nainiae looked ashamed and lowered her head.
“…”
Riley felt sorry for Nainiae. He directed his gaze away while whistling.
“And?”
“Pardon?”
“Other than that, didn’t you do one more thing wrong? I think it would be best for you if you thought hard about this.”
Nainiae discovered that Sera’s eyes were burning in flames. The look on Nainiae’s face looked like she was asking Riley why Sera was acting this way. Nainiae stared at Riley.
“Ah, the book in such a place…”
Riley was not looking at Nainiae in the eyes. He found a book that was rolling around on the ground. He picked it up and try to act like he was busy with something else.
“… Nainiae!!”
“Uuu… Yes!”
Because of Sera’s shouting, Nainiae stiffened her shoulders and responded.
“Don’t you think you have become careless while Mr. Ian is away?”
“T… That is…”
“You should have done something, even magic!”
“However, Ms. Walla said… She said it is against the rules to use magic while handling maid work, so…”
“Uuuuuuuum?! Are you saying you did the right thing?”
“N… No… That is…”
“You can’t even tell if Young Master has a cold or an allergy?”
“… Pardon? What are you talking about?”
A question mark floated up on Nainiae’s face. Sera was shaking the broom that she was holding. She looked infuriated. Sera quickly walked to Nainiae and extended her hand.
“Come follow me for a bit.”
“Ah… M… Ms. Sera! Wait! What was that about? Young Master has allergy?”
Nainiae’s wrist was grabbed by Sera. As Nainiae was dragged to the outside of the library, she extended her hand out toward Riley.
“Young Master? Young Master!”
“A…. Aaachhhhh!!”
Riley had been avoiding her gaze. He opened his mouth big and coughed out loudly.
“…”
“…”
Nainiae was being dragged away by Sera. It seemed that Nainiae was shocked. She was speechless. Riley, who was avoiding her gaze, also didn’t say anything.
* * *
“…”
Nainiae returned to the library after being scolded big time by Sera. She pouted all the way out as she sat on the sofa.
“Ah, I said I’m sorry.”
“You could have notified me through Telepathic messaging.”
“It didn’t occur to me.”
“…”
Riley smiled nonchalantly. Nainiae ballooned up her cheek and put on a p.i.s.sed look.
“Hey. Last time, you thought about floating magic very late while we were climbing Andal’s mountain and that put me through a tough time.”
“…”
“Let’s just say we are even.”
Although Riley was the one who said it, even he thought that was ridiculously shameless. Riley broke out in a cold sweat in the rear of his head.
“… Ugh.”
Nainiae sighed.
It seemed she had been seriously scolded by Sera.
“All right. I know that Ms. Sera… didn’t scold me because she hates me.”
It seemed that she was scolded badly. Although she was saying that, Nainiae was in tears. Riley was feeling awkward about this. He scratched the back of his head.
“Still, I’m glad you came back soon.”
“… You worked hard.”
Nainiae wiped off the tears around her eyes. She looked happy. Riley looked sorry and said Nainiae had worked hard. He then started explaining in detail about what had happened in Asyrium.
“At Ansyrium… Abyss was there?”
“Yes.”
Nainiae was having a hard time believing this and asked. Riley nodded.
“I think it is caused by the fact that he died almost at the same time and through the same method with me in the past life.”
Riley explained to Nainiae about the Demon Lord who had been reborn in this world with his abilities and memories intact just like Riley. He then also explained about the Six Parts that Abyss proposed.
“Six parts?”
“That’s right.”
The plan was that Riley and Abyss will gather Six Parts and send them to the other side where Helena was at, using the same method.
“I wanted to ask for your thoughts on this.”
Nainiae was sitting on the sofa. Riley presented her with a paper that had something written on it. He moved his chin to say she should check it.
“… Um?”
Nainiae looked at the paper and saw the names that were written there.
“Young Master, this is…”