episode_0012

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‘Ah, there’s nothing more to do… How long are you going to keep looking like that?’

It’s burdensome to have the eyes of assassins chasing me wherever I go.

While I was looking around to see if there was anything I could do, unable to rest properly due to their gaze, I saw a woman I had never seen before come down to the basement and look around.

‘….What is that woman?’

I looked over the woman.

She was an ordinary-looking woman with brown hair and brown eyes, the kind you see anywhere.

The appearance of this person who seemed completely out of place in this bleak underground space made me wonder if he was a servant working here, but the clothes he was wearing were completely different from mine.

‘Anyway, it’s good. I have something to do.’

I was thinking that since I had nothing else to do, I should at least do some cleaning.

I walked briskly toward the wandering woman, excited at the thought of finally having something to do.

‘….Since you came down here, you must not be an intruder, but a guest who came to the family, right?’

“….Where are you going?”

What, are you ignoring me now?

I asked politely, but the woman seemed to have either not heard me or was ignoring me. I quickly blocked her path as she tried to approach the cave, and spoke again, one word at a time.

“You must not come in here without permission. Please leave.”

“…..Are you doing that to me, kid?”

I paused for a moment at the sound of the low, languid voice that seemed to suck me in.

‘What, why is your voice so pretty?’

I thought she would sing really well. She had a beautiful voice that was almost enchanting, but I came to my senses.

Even if it’s just for a moment, if you can’t come to your senses because of the voice, you’re disqualified as an assassin…

First of all, who are you calling a kid?

I just grew up eating poorly and am small and skinny. Even though I look like this, I am 15 years older.

“Kid, I’m not a kid. I’m a servant who guards this place.”

“…..Oh, you’re a servant? You’re so cute~ How old are you?”

Is this what my way is?

It was only then that I began to feel a little strange at the sight of a woman who only said what she wanted to say.

It felt as if I had come to my own yard.

If the assassins watching me don’t even step forward, I can tell that I’m not an ordinary person…

What the heck, I feel like I’m missing something… What did I miss?

He was trying to lose himself in thought, but the woman didn’t give him time to think.

“Ah, I’m late in introducing myself. This older sister is not dangerous at all. She’s Luan’s friend. I heard there are a lot of interesting things in the underground cave, so I came to see it~ My name is Ashira. I’m 18 years old, and my mom and dad passed away early, so I live with my grandpa. Also….”

“Wait, wait a minute.”

“Huh? Why? You seem suspicious of me, so you’re telling me about yourself? Isn’t this enough? Why? If you want to know about me, why don’t you take off your clothes and tell me your body measurements in detail? I can take them off right now… If not, then…”

I, the woman, was disgusted by Asira’s words.

What are you talking about, this woman… Why are her body sizes shown here?

It was hard to tell whether he was sane, cheerful, talkative, or playful.

When our eyes met, she smiled brightly and asked naturally, “Can I come in?” But she was afraid that she would be swept away by Ashira again, so she told him to wait and went to the communications seat where Luan had told her to call if anything happened.

“Hey, what are you doing, checking? This is too much. I told you everything, from my family relationships to my body size… and you don’t believe me. Dude, it’s hard to date a man who’s so suspicious. You need to have a certain level of enjoyment for a man to fall for you…”

“…..Yes. Yes. Please be quiet. I have to talk.”

I interrupted Asira’s noisy remark and nodded dryly.

Yes, she was a very talkative and noisy woman.

The people of the Duke’s Castle were all quiet, as if they had clams in their mouths, so it had been a long time since they had seen someone so talkative, so they were even more immune to it.

Even more so because Bella, the only conversation partner I occasionally met, was on the quiet side.

[“What’s going on, Jodell?”]

“Yes, Mr. Luan. It’s just that a woman came to see me and said she was going into a cave. She’s a friend of Luan’s and she says her name is Ashira. Do you know her by any chance?”

For a moment, silence flowed beyond the communication seat. After a long silence, Luan spoke tremblingly.

[“…..Yes. I know you. Please let me into the cave.”]

Hey, do you know me?

Why is the reaction like this?

“Yes, I understand.”

“….what do you think? Am I right?”

Although it was awkward, Luan gave permission.

As if to say, Asira raised her nose and tried to open her mouth again.

I quickly intercepted Ashira before she could open her mouth.

“Yes. You can go into the cave.”

“….We should go together. I can’t go alone. Is this my first time here? You work here. You should be the guide. How can a weak woman like me go into such a dangerous cave alone? If you act without manners like that, you won’t be popular with the girls later on. Oh, by the way, what’s your name?”

“….This is Jodelle. Follow me.”

I only said one word, but I heard more than ten words.

He was a person who was tiring to be with.

I thought it would be better to show them the inside of the cave quickly and then come out, so I walked inside the cave.

Fortunately, Asira followed along without saying anything.

“Wow, this is the cave. That cave with so many fun things~ I’ve always wanted to come here. What the heck!”

“…You can follow me. Ah…Sira-ssi, it’s dangerous to run out like that so suddenly!”

Ashira, who seemed to be following along quietly, suddenly charged forward and ran as if she was going on a picnic, even humming a song.

I was terrified and tried to grab it, but Ashira moved without hesitation, even singing a strange song saying, “Catch me if you try.”

‘What, that kind of…’

A strange woman…

Is that girl really Luan’s friend? She’s such a polar opposite? She’s the type that Luan absolutely hates?

There were many things I wanted to say, but the first priority was to catch Asira.

This is a section where traps will appear soon, so if you accidentally step on a trap and get hurt…

It was terrifying just to think about it.

I ran out quickly.

“Mr. Ashira!”

“Oh~ Jodel is playing well~”

“It’s dangerous to run alone! There’s a trap ahead! If you step on it by mistake!”

Asura entered the trap section before I could finish speaking.

As expected, Ashira, who entered there, stepped on the floor where the trap was.

As soon as Ashira stepped on the trap, arrows began to pour out from the side wall.

It was a fleeting moment.

Asura was frozen by the arrows flying towards her, and was unable to move, just staring blankly at the arrows flying towards her.

In that short, tense moment that lasted only a few seconds, my body instinctively went out.

I ran towards Ashira faster than an arrow and threw myself at her.

“Hey, hey!”

Asira ran towards me in a panic and hugged me in her arms, and Asira and I rolled around on the floor.

I waited for the rain of arrows to stop, hugging Asira with my whole body, fearing that she might get hurt.

Fortunately, the rain of arrows stopped shortly after.

‘….ha, I survived.’

I almost turned into an arrow flower.

I let out a sigh of relief and slowly got up from my seat. No, I tried to get up.

“Ugh, Asira-ssi?”

As I was trying to get up, Asira held me tightly and wouldn’t let go.

What kind of power is this?

As I was momentarily confused, Asira’s condition seemed a little strange.

“….Are you okay, Asira-san?”

The smile had completely disappeared from his playful face.

She looked at me with a blank expression.

Her brown eyes, devoid of any trace of playfulness, were terribly dark and eerie. However, as if my feelings were an illusion, Ashira’s eyes began to fill with playfulness again.

“……Wow, Jodell. You saved me? Are you a gentleman?”

“Ugh, ugh, stop it!”

As if she had done a good job, Asira began to rub my hair with both hands.

As Asira shook her head without hesitation, her entire head started to hurt.

Asura stopped moving her hands roughly only after I complained of the pain.

I was released by Asira and barely managed to get up from my seat.

Ha, I almost got in big trouble.

If Luan’s friend had been hurt… oh, the thought was horrible. But I guess this incident taught you how dangerous this cave is.

I reached out to Ashira, who was still sitting on the ground.

“….Let’s go together from now on. It’s dangerous to go alone.”

“Uh… okay.”

Asira seemed to be entranced and stared at my hand, but unlike before, she nodded obediently, took my hand, and got up from her seat.

I was surprised that the hand I was holding was stronger and rougher than I thought, but I didn’t show it.

I checked Asira again to see if she was hurt anywhere, and since she seemed fine, I started walking again.

Asira followed along obediently, unlike before.

I glanced at my hands.

You can see my hand, which has turned white from the blood flowing out of it because Ashira is holding it so tightly.

‘…..But when will this hand be let go?’