212 – It’s Because of You -1-

Four days before James received a mysterious customer.

A letter arrived at the Academy girls’ dormitory.

A letter from afar.

A letter from a foreign country.

A letter from a lover.

Yuria, who found her letter among many others, smiled brightly and entered her room.

Without needing to confirm, Yuria could guess who sent the letter. There were only two people who would send her letters.

Dad.

And Ricardo.

Yuria felt good.

Letters from these two people were like a vitamin in her dull Academy life.

Holding the letter in her hand, Yuria started to open the envelope without hesitation. She wondered what kind of content it would have today and even smiled slightly.

“Who could it be…?”

-James, the Northern region’s greatest heartthrob.

“Pfft, what’s this!”

The letter that arrived through the transmission stone contained a story from four days ago. The story brought by the flying bird was faster than a horse, so it had relatively recent news.

As Yuria ripped open the envelope with a ‘tearing’ sound, she smiled faintly and began to read the letter written in sloppy handwriting.

-To my beloved daughter Yuria,

Yuria’s face lit up with a subtle smile as she caught the faint scent of her hometown in the letter.

“Dad…”

-Are you doing well?

The letter from her father, living alone in the North, always inquired about Yuria’s well-being.

Are you eating well?

Are you sleeping well?

Do you have enough spending money?

Yuria smiled faintly at the typical concerns of a father.

“I’m eating better than you, Dad… You’re the one who’s always hungry…”

As if responding to Yuria’s concerns, James’ letter answered her questions.

-Dad is doing well and eating well.

-As I’ve grown older, I’ve come to appreciate the taste of meat more… Haha, I’m getting stronger, you know!

-Yuria, do you know that worrying about Dad is the most unnecessary worry in the world? Even if you’re not around, I still eat breakfast every morning, so don’t worry about it.

Yuria smiled faintly at her father’s teasing, her eyes welling up with tears. For some reason, her father’s letter always touched her heart.

The ordinary words in the letter made her eyes turn red.

Yuria wiped away her tears and grasped the letter tightly.

“I miss you.”

After reading the long letter for a while, she finally reached the end, where her father’s letter contained a special piece of news.

A man and woman had arrived at her father’s inn.

Yuria’s smile froze as she read her father’s letter, feeling her body stiffen.

“Huh…?”

-I received some guests after a long time. I was feeling lonely since there were no guests for a while, so it’s a good thing.

-They seem to be around your age, and they came to the North for a trip or something… But I thought they were crazy people, saying they came to the North during this dangerous time.

Yuria’s eyes widened as she read her father’s letter. Having lived in the North all her life, she knew how dangerous it was at this time.

Like her father said, Yuria thought they were no ordinary people.

“They’re quite extraordinary…”

-I know it’s dangerous, but they said they knew what they were doing.

“Incredible…”

But who were they…?

Yuria began to question the existence of the two guests at the inn. And the next sentence in the letter started to stir up her anxiety.

-I couldn’t kick them out because the woman had a broken leg, and it would be too cruel. They seem suspicious.

“A woman with a broken leg…?”

-Anyway, they were really great friends, and I don’t usually say things like that. They’re kind… and the man is incredibly handsome, reminiscent of when I was young. He’s also a great cook. He learned how to make ‘national soup,’ and I’ll have him make it for me when I visit next.

-He’s an Academy graduate, but I don’t know if you’ll remember, Yuria. He has red hair and a four-character name… I don’t remember well. Anyway, don’t you think he’s a decent guy?

“It’s just a joke.”

As Yuria read the letter, she caught her breath at two phrases.

“A woman who can’t move her legs.”

“A handsome man with red hair.”

There was someone who perfectly fit these two descriptions.

Yuria thought it was a misunderstanding and shook her head, but she couldn’t shake off the unease that came from undeniable evidence.

She wondered if Olivia had gone to the north to hurt her father.

Yuria bit her nails, trying to dispel her anxiety.

“No way…”

Yuria shook her head, trying to shake off the thought.

“It can’t be.”

Even if the person who came to the inn was the one she suspected, nothing would happen, so she decided to brush off the complicated thoughts.

But.

She couldn’t dispel the anxiety inside.

No matter how much she made peace with it and thought of Ricardo as her savior, the incidents that had occurred while she was with him had always ended in tragedy.

At the academy, too.

In the dungeon, too.

In everyday life, too.

Yuria, who couldn’t fully trust Ricardo, who only thought of Olivia, tried to soothe her darkening heart and lowered her head.

“This can’t be…”

Yuria was anxious.

And four days later.

Yuria rushed to the north.

“I shouldn’t have trusted him…”

She muttered to herself, filled with resentment.

And rushed to the north.

*

Time flowed back to the day before Yuria received the letter.

A peaceful and quiet night.

It was a time when Yuria was hated, and she returned to that moment.

*

I received a recommendation from James and was relaxing at the hot spring with the young lady.

“Ah…”

“Hehe.”

The fatigue accumulated in my body was melting away in the hot spring, a paradise of peace.

I turned to look at the young lady, who was holding a hard-boiled egg to her chest.

“Is this… fun?”

The young lady was gazing at the egg with a serious expression.

I let out a dry laugh and asked her.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m incubating eggs. I’ll hatch them and eat them as chicken.”

“That’s amazing.”

“Yeah. Ricardo can do it too? If Ricardo does it, we’ll have two chickens.”

“I’ll try to relax my body more.”

“Okay.”

The lady put the eggs back in her treasure pouch and furrowed her brow. I couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight of her holding the hard-boiled eggs with a serious expression.

“I’ll talk about it later.”

It’s fun to tease the lady.

As I thought about teasing her, I smiled slightly and looked up at the bright moon, letting out a tired sigh.

“It’s tough… it’s hard.”

I’ve been thinking about it for three days.

Even if I think about it from the perspective of life, or if I think about it with a selfish heart, I couldn’t come to a conclusion.

If I make the decision to run away, Yuri will be caught, and if I decide to take responsibility, I’m afraid of the consequences. My heart was heavy.

“Sigh…”

The only thing that was growing was my sigh.

It was too late to do anything, anyway.

When did Yuri’s father die?

I didn’t even know his name exactly… and there was nothing I could do.

I had to go back and talk to Malick about business, and deliver new recipes, but I didn’t have the time.

“I don’t know.”

I looked at the lady with a bitter smile. The lady, who was soaking in the hot spring, was enjoying her peace, stretching out like a slime.

“Hehe…”

“Did you give up on making chicks?”

“I was hungry, so I ate them.”

“…?”

“My body was too hot, so I think I cooked them.”

“They were hard-boiled eggs from the start.”

“…cooked?”

The lady looked at me with a betrayed expression, as if she was going to take revenge on me with her clenched fists, her cheeks puffed up.

I chuckled and responded to her anger with a smile.

“Hehehe! Why did you tell me so late!”

“Hahaha! Who knows? Maybe the lady’s love can hatch them!”

“I’m not stupid!”

“Hahaha! Ah, I made a mistake!”

After a brief argument, I looked at the bright moon and smiled, seeing the lady laughing beside me.

“Was the northern trip fun?”

“Yeah. I’m glad I came to the north. It’s a shame I couldn’t see what I wanted to see, but… it was fun.”

“That’s good, then.”

The lady stretched out her arms and leaned on a pile of rocks. She looked like she was about to transform into a slime completely, with a relaxed expression.

“Hm?”

My gaze naturally fell on the grand treasure pouch wrapped in a towel, belonging to the lady. I hadn’t intentionally looked, but I was worried she might be cold, so I glanced over. I swear on my conscience.

I smiled and nodded my head.

“I think I’ve adapted well to the north too.”

The north.

It doesn’t seem like a bad place.

The lady gazed up at the sky, which seemed to have been torn open, and smiled faintly.

“There’s no one at the hot spring. And the stars are incredibly numerous.”

I replied to the lady’s casual remark, hiding my trembling shoulders and speaking confidently.

“That’s to be expected. We’ve reserved the entire hot spring.”

“Hiiik…! You reserved it?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“For a peaceful bathing experience?”

In reality, I had done it because I didn’t want anyone to see the lady’s naked body, but I didn’t mention that trivial reason, as it would be more stylish not to. Instead, I enjoyed the luxury of being a rich man and spoke to the lady.

“This is something we can easily do.”

“Hoo…”

The lady raised her thumb and smiled slyly. Even her small movements made her grand treasure pouch sway, and I didn’t mind spending money on it either.

As expected, the innkeeper.

I thought I’d have to give her a good tip when we returned to the inn.

After gazing up at the stars in the night sky for a while, the lady turned her head and stared at me intently.

“Ricardo.”

“Yes.”

“Ricardo, your body is amazing.”

“…?”

The lady, who was astonished by my impressive physique, reached out her hand as if she wanted to touch it. I wrapped my arms around my body and let out a “Kyaa!” of surprise.

“What’s with that lewd remark?”

“It’s just… I was wondering if Ricardo’s body was really that good.”

“It’s always been good.”

“You’re not modest at all.”

“Too much humility is…!”

“Ahahah! You’re being too loud!”

The lady scooped up water in her hand and started splashing it on my face.

“Are you trying to provoke me?”

“Hehehe!”

I appreciated the lady’s consideration in not saying my scar-ridden body was disgusting. It wasn’t like her usual wicked self.

I smiled faintly and played along with the lady’s water fight, passing the time.

“The Manager’s Authority, Chapter 1”

“Hehehe!”

Because I misjudged my strength, a massive amount of hot spring water suddenly gushed out towards the lady’s face.

“Uwaah!!”

The lady, trying to defend herself with her hands.

The lady, who had just blocked the Sword Master’s powerful gust of wind, was now receiving the full force of the water cannon with her entire body, stumbling about.

“Don’t do it!”

“You did it first, milady.”

“Heehee…!”

And then…

-Whoosh.

“What’s going on?”

“It’s been stripped away…”

“…?”

“Heeheehee!”

I decided to give the innkeeper a massive tip.

*

After finishing our bath, the lady and I were drinking milk with our wet hair. Although we had a somewhat embarrassing incident, the lady’s strong sense of pride quickly recovered, and it didn’t become a big issue.

“Ricardo, pervert.”

“…”

I was touching my stinging cheek, trying to calm down the lady’s tantrum. Although I had seen paradise with just one slap, I had a strong desire to receive another one personally, but I hid my honest feelings deep down and started walking towards the inn.

And.

When I saw the inn, I stopped humming and clenched my fists.

“What’s going on? The inn’s light… “

“It’s out.”

The time for decision had come.

I felt it instinctively.