They were still far away and in thick clothes, but he could still recognize the girls by their green and silver hair as they raised their hands and tried to make themselves heard.
"Normally they were excited by my arrival, they haven't seen the most handsome man in the world for a long time. They will feast on my face for a while."
"Ha!"
Yurine grabbed Yu's ear and pulled it down to punish him, but his jealousy made Yu laugh.
"I'd be happier today if it wasn't for that son of a bitch Cecilus..."
He decided to deal with Yurine again to calm his frayed nerves.
"I guess you don't want to give your daddy away."
"You've got your nose up again!"
Their wagon had just entered the cathedral when Sivina and Ana blocked their way.
"Welcome!" Two beautiful girls greeted them at the same time.
They both couldn't stop giggling and there was a joy on their faces that Yu was glad to see. Their eyes sparkled and warmed Yu's chest.
"To be loved and missed..."
He stopped the car before it went any further and got out. Then he took Yurine in his arms and brought her down.
"Mr. Valarfin, you're even more handsome than I remember!"
After months of separation, it was satisfying to see that he had been faithfully waited for and he was happy to have them with him, but he had not expected such a warm welcome.
Sivina hugged Yu's neck and planted a kiss on his cheek.
Yu brought his left hand to his cheek and put it where Sivina had kissed him, while Yurine and Ana looked at them with open mouths.
"And you're warmer than I remember."
Sivina's silver hair was tied back so Yu didn't notice a change, but Ana's hair had grown longer. Her straight green hair, which used to reach her shoulders, now fell gently down her back.
"You think so?" Sivina smiled. She squinted her eyes and tilted her head to the side. She laughed as she covered her pink lips with her hand as she kissed Yu.
"Y-yo-you... YOU! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?"
Sivina was caught by Ana as Yurine grabbed Yu by the leg and pulled him to her. Unlike Yurine, Ana had no words for Sivina, but she was clearly angry. She looked at Yu.
"Mr. Valarfin... It's so strange that you do such things as soon as you meet..."
"I don't think I've done anything but be born handsome."
After Yu's arrogant reply, Yurine twisted Yu's flesh with both hands.
"YOU PERVERT!"
"I didn't even do anything. And Sivina is clearly the one to blame here, why am I being scolded?"
Yu was hurting, at first he didn't show it to protect his charisma, but when Yurine continued to twist his flesh a little more, he had to pull her apart with his hand.
"Don't make such a big deal, little lady, I'll kiss you too."
"Nya! What are you doing! You're a pervert!"
Sivina took Yurine in her arms and started kissing her.
"I can agree with that."
When Ana joined them, Yurine tried to shield her cheeks from their lips, but her attempts failed. Meanwhile Yu was watching them with his mouth open.
"I'm a little jealous."
In Rolderhelm's case, instead of finding such a sight sweet, he would have been driven out of his mind by the fear of losing Yurine, but now things were very different.
"Yu! Save me!"
"I'm sorry, but the view in front of my eyes is very nice, I want to watch it for a while longer."
Yu left Yurine at the mercy of the girls and crossed his arms, watching them. He did not regret his decision at all.
"After being away from my little lady's sweet face for so long, she should let us endear ourselves to her and make up for it. Mr. Valarfin would think the same in our place."
When the two released Yurine, Yurine immediately ran behind Yu and started wiping her cheeks, which were decorated with kisses.
"Yu, I told you to save me."
"Sorry, I can disobey orders from time to time."
Even though Yu didn't save Yurine from Sivina and Ana, Yurine still stood next to him and held his hand. Her cheeks were flushed, but it was unclear whether it was because she had been kissed too much or because she was embarrassed.
At that moment Sivina and Ana stepped aside and others appeared behind them, who had been waiting for Neko's arrival for a very long time.
An old butler leaning on his cane, a middle-aged woman and two young girls greeted them as the entourage of the Virgo Cathedral.
"The old butler cliché, never fails."
The old butler bowed his head.
"Young lady, welcome."
"Thank you, Bart."
Yurine's eyes seemed to be searching for others. She looked around to see if there were others, but she couldn't see more than Yu did.
"Is that it?" Yurine asked.
"There used to be more people? Four people seem to be enough to keep this place running."
Although it was a cathedral in name, it was not as big as the cathedrals Yu knew. Four servants seemed to be enough to take care of the Virgo Cathedral's business.
At least in Rie's place, the maximum number of employees she would have hired for this place would have been four, he would have thought it unnecessary to pay more people wasted salaries.
"Forgive us, we are the only ones left. The other staff didn't hear from you for a long time and left the cathedral before the young ladies here arrived."
"I see."
"We are at your service."
The old butler knelt down and the other three maids imitated him.
"You don't need to feel sorry for those who have left. If they left, they lacked loyalty and would only hurt us if they stayed. Come on, smile."
He also sympathized with the servants who had abandoned them. They had been gone too long and no one wanted to wait for months as if their own life did not exist.
"Instead of waiting in the cold any longer, let's go inside, we'll bombard you with questions!"
Sivina first turned towards Yu, but then changed her mind, turned to Yurine, took her by the hand and started walking into the cathedral. Ana had joined Yu.
"Mr. Valarfin will be reprimanded for worrying us so much."
"I may have deserved a bit of a scolding, so be it. But don't be too hard on me because I had good reasons."
Unexpectedly, they had gotten into a battle and the journey they had planned for two people had ended up with two hundred. He believed that the two girls would agree with him when he heard their reasons.
"As for you, which of you were with Link?"
Yu was holding Yurine's hand and when he stopped, Sivina had to stop too.
Before Yu went inside, he turned and counted the prisoners in the trailer. Twelve of them were with Link.
He had doubts about whether to release them, he didn't want them to go around telling the world that they had been captured by the Virgo Cathedral, but if Link's story was true, they were not bandits and there was no need to keep them as prisoners.
"The fact that they attacked us and put Yurine's life in danger is reason enough to keep them as prisoners, but I don't want any trouble between us and the Andromeda Church."
If they turned against the Church on the first day, they were doomed.
"In this day Link will come for you, and the rest of you will be sold as slaves."
"Sir, please!"
When the prisoners to be enslaved began to plead with Yu in unison, Dimen slapped his hand on the trailer to silence them, and the prisoners jumped up and shut up.
If Yu or Yurine had fallen into their hands they would not have been kind, so there was no need to be kind to them.
He did not know what Sivina and Ana thought about his slave trade, but he was not going to let the prisoners go, and he had a clear conscience in passing such a sentence because they were guilty.
"There is a cellar downstairs in the cathedral where you can house prisoners. I can accompany you."
"Dimen, put the prisoners in the cellar with him and come back."
As Dimen unloaded the prisoners from the vehicle and lined them up, Yu and Yurine walked into the cathedral with the girls dragging them. The maids continued to greet Yurine as she passed them.