It was weird.
Usually, at this time, he would be taking a long nap alone in his room.
Just in case he was only sleeping too deeply, Lara raised her hand and knocked on the door.
Knock knock.
He did not answer. She could not even feel any sign of people inside.
She knocked louder, but it did not work. It seemed that he went outside. But for all she knew, let alone friends, he did not even have anyone that he knew in Hautean.
Where did he go?
When will he come back? If I just wait in the arena, I can eventually meet him, right?
Lara hid her disappointment and went back to where her friends were waiting.
∘₊✧──────✧₊∘
Unaware that Lara had come to the arena to find him, Demian was at an inn on the outskirts of the capital of Hautean. Hautean was a small country, so it did not take long to get to the outskirts of the capital. Even if he went back after finishing his business, he would be able to arrive at the arena by dawn.
Creak.
The old door opened and let out a precarious sound.
Demian gave a glance at the dangling hinges, then came inside and sat down at the bar.
"Goodman."
The innkeeper was sitting on the floor peeling potatoes at a breakneck pace.
His skill of thinly peeling the skins while slowly turning the potatoes with a small pocket knife was unusual.
"It's been a while."
The innkeeper noticed who Demian was without even looking at his face. A mischievous smile spread across his bearded face.
"You have become so famous nowadays. As far as I'm concerned, your work is not to make a name for yourself."
"That's none of your concern."
"If you happen to become a Marquess while doing your work, set up a store for me in the main street so that I can eat and live well."
"That won't happen."
The innkeeper knew everything about the situation in the capital.
He stood up with a grin and roughly rubbed his muddy hands on his pants.
"Do you know what your owner lady is called among the outsiders these days?"
"Are you talking about Lara?"
"Bailey lottery."
Demian snorted after listening to the innkeeper.
He knew why she was called like that, but he didn't even feel it to be worth saying because it was a pathetic reason. Though that was not the case for the innkeeper.
"Your owner lady is someone generous enough to go out with a slave. She's also a conglomerate heiress and whoever becomes her husband will get a peerage title for free… Wouldn't anyone desire that?"
"So that's the reason she's Bailey lottery?"
"Well, it's just a figure of speech."
Demian no longer smiled.
When he stood up from his seat as a sign to settle their business quickly because he had no time, the innkeeper came out of the bar and guided him to basement storage.
"Don't talk too long. It tires me as I'm getting older."
It was ordinary basement storage.
Demian went inside, moved some potato bags as if he was accustomed to it, and lifted an old lamp in the corner.
Then, the innkeeper began to chant a long spell.
There was a faint glow in his palm. It was magical power, mana that was hard to find now. Unlike the black sorcerers Demian was chasing, he was using pure natural mana.
The faintly shining mana soaked through the old lamp.
Then, a light flashed from the lamp. It was like the magical light that was widely used in Hautean or a gasoline lamp.
As the innkeeper chanted a long spell and breathed a heavy sigh, a man's voice came out of the lamp.
『Finally, I'm hearing from you.』
It was a heavy, manly voice. But the tone and the content were not.
『It's been a long while, you bastard. Didn't I ask you to contact me whenever something happened, you bastard?』
"I did."
『Say what? You're only making contact after catching two black sorcerers.』
The owner of the voice heard in the lamp seemed very angry.
The innkeeper giggled and murmured that he was such a consistent man, as he thought of the man's smiling and cursing face.
"Continue your conversation then."
Then, he closed the storage door and went outside to stand guard.
Demian waited for the door to close completely, then he slowly opened his mouth.
"Acerus."
Acerus Elin Tarragon—the Crown Prince of Tarragon.
The very person who gave the surname 'Drake' to Demian, who used to be a slave, and sent him to Hautean as a spy.
『If you're going to act as you please, don't just call me by my name, call me Your Royal Highness Crown Prince properly, you bastard.』
"What a hassle."
『Why the hell did I try to befriend a bastard like you?』
"That's none of my business."
Demian did not give a damn about Acerus' whining.
Realizing that Demian really could not be bothered with their conversation, Acerus let out a heavy sigh beyond the lamp.
『You're the savior of my life, Demian.』
"Not again…"
『So I will let it slide 80 more times from now on, and then I will really get mad at you.』
This time, Demian could not help laughing.
Where did the specific number 80 come from? It occurred to him that the Crown Prince really had nothing to do.
"Acerus."
『I'm listening.』
"The black sorcerers are looking for the saintess in Hautean."
『Saintess?』
"The temple did not say anything about that. The demon yakked that a saintess had appeared in Hautean. Demons have always acted recklessly when it comes to a saintess. So the black sorcerers are keeping an eye on Hautean."
『Crazy…』
The reason why Demian was the first one to enter Valentine and his master's hideout was to avoid the content being leaked to Isadora's mercenaries.
Valentine's master also said the same thing before she died.
Demian thought that rather than just waiting for the third black sorcerer to appear, it would be better to contact Acerus first.
"What do you want me to do?"
He asked.
Acerus did not respond for some time as he was lost in thought. Then, as the lights of the lamp slowly faded, he told Demian.
『I will take a look at the movements of the temple here, Demian.』
"Keep going."
『If it's possible, find the saintess before the black sorcerers.』
"What?"
『The war against the demons is not far away. We need to secure anything that we can use.』
It was annoying and bothersome, but Acerus was right.
Demian could not help but nod.
『Can you not just nod your head just because it's annoying, you bastard? Give your answer directly. It's frustrating because I can't see your face.』
"Conversation over."
Demian blew the light on the lamp out.
The faint flickering light disappeared with a click sound.
∘₊✧──────✧₊∘
"Whew…"
Let's think of this as pulling out a thorn.
Lara was holding a short needle in one hand.
From there, she slightly bent the thumb of the other hand and pierced the flesh between the fingernails and bone with the needle.
Blood quickly formed.
Lara, who was looking at the blood oozing little by little, flinched her eyebrows at one point.
After a while, the pain—which was weak, but painful enough to be bothered about—disappeared without any trace.
When she wiped the blood with a handkerchief, the mark that was pierced with the needle was already gone.
What is going on?
The most probable answer was that she was already dead, so she would not die anymore.
Then, am I going to die on the same day ten years later?
She was not like that after she came back to the past.
This was also not the first time she got hit by her father. The marks when she got hit last time remained for several days.
But what has changed?
Is it because I changed the past and cut ties with father? Because I cut my wrist and let the blood spill?
Or because I prayed to the existence that was probably either God or demon? Can that even be called a prayer?
"This is so frustrating."
She was grateful because her wish was fulfilled. But she hoped someone could tell her about what kind of mysterious phenomenon she was going through.
It was late at night.
It will be dawn soon.
As she kept thinking and struggling, she thought her head had gotten hot. So Lara opened the window wide.
"Milady, why are you still up?"
When the light did not go out in Lara's room, Konny came in and asked what was going on with concern.
Lara hid the bloodstained handkerchief along with her needle and smiled casually.
"I just can't sleep. Maybe because it's hot."
"It's going to get cold soon. These days, cool wind blows even at dawn. Whew, even Valentine could not sleep and just wandered around, so I forced him to go in."
"Valentine?"
"He said he had been sleeping during the day and awake at night for a long time. Meanwhile, everyone in this house is so diligent that they wake up early in the morning and go to bed early in the evening. I guess it's not easy for him to adjust to a new schedule."
"Is he still avoiding people?"
"Yes. he even stutters when he is flustered. I don't think he will get better soon."
Valentine lived as the disciple of a wicked black sorcerer for so long that he did not get along with people. It was hard to approach him in a friendly manner because he kept avoiding eye contact, stuttering, cowering, and avoiding people.
But Konny was an exception.
Valentine quickly classified Konny, who was like a squirrel, as harmless.
It was instinctive. One day, he started treating Konny like his mother bird and followed her around. Sebastian also murmured that he would have Konny bring the employment contract to Valentine to be signed when it was completed.
"As expected, my Konny is amazing."
"Not really. I didn't really do much, but Madam Isadora raised my salary too much. I feel guilty… So I'm wondering if I should at least clean the windows starting tomorrow."
"Just hang out with Valentine."
"But that's not work."
"Then, should I cut your salary?"
"No!"
Konny laughed and ran away while leaving a smart remark that it was money from Madam Isadora anyway so Lara had no right to do that.