Ch.130129. Summer Vacation (3)

# 129. Summer Vacation (3)

Actually, it made no sense that I didn’t know.

I had met those two people directly and heard firsthand about where they were taking us during the vacation.

‘Right… it doesn’t make sense to just say we’re going somewhere.’

When I met those two, I must have heard in detail about where we were going, when, with whom, and why.

Yet my parents still asked me questions about it.

As if they didn’t know.

It seemed like they were curious whether I would tell them directly about it or not.

After all, I had been hiding quite a lot of facts until now.

“Ah… no? I didn’t know…”

An extremely awkward lie.

It was so unnatural that anyone could tell it was a lie.

Still, I pretended to believe that lie.

“Is that so? Must have been my imagination.”

Then I was the first among my family to get up from the table.

I had finished eating, and there wasn’t much else to talk about.

My parents seemed to have many things they wanted to ask me, but they didn’t actually pose any questions.

“I’ll excuse myself first.”

“Already?”

I said to Ellin, who was still talking with food in her mouth.

“You’ll get fat that way. Eat moderately.”

“Mind your own business.”

“Even when I’m worried about you…”

Just as I was about to leave, my father asked me a question.

“By the way, when are you leaving?”

“We depart this Friday.”

“Friday?”

“Yes, Friday.”

Considering today was Tuesday, I realized there really wasn’t much time left.

Just 3 days.

In 3 days, we would depart for the Persian Kingdom.

Realizing this fact, my mother looked at me and said softly.

“Be careful…”

“You don’t need to worry. I prioritize my safety above all else.”

Ellin’s expression froze in real-time upon hearing those words, but my parents’ expressions seemed to ease a bit.

“What nonsense…”

“I’m going.”

I left Ellin, who was looking at me incredulously, and exited the dining room.

Then I left the house and visited the Hunter Guild after a long time.

‘I can’t just rest.’

Although I would soon be living in what was essentially a dungeon, that didn’t mean I could afford to rest.

If I rest too long, my senses would dull.

So today too, I visited the guild to clear a dungeon.

‘Ah… I should have brought her along…’

I did feel some regret, but Ellin would probably manage well on her own by now.

Probably…

***

While Albert was struggling alone in the dungeon, Ellin, who was the subject of his expectations, was betraying those expectations.

After eating, Ellin received some kind of message and immediately left home, heading somewhere.

“Where on earth is he…”

Ellin, who had come to the Clock Tower, was searching intently for someone at the entrance.

After looking around for about 5 minutes, many people found her behavior strange.

In the midst of this, the person Ellin was supposed to meet finally appeared.

“Hey, what are you doing here?”

A familiar and friendly voice, yet somehow displeasing.

Ellin turned her head toward the direction of the voice.

The person who came out from inside the Clock Tower was indeed the very person Ellin had been looking for.

“You said you’d be at the entrance!?”

“Obviously I’d be inside. Please think before you act.”

The person giving Ellin this sharp advice was Leo.

Like Ellin, Leo was still in his school uniform, probably because it hadn’t been long since the end of the semester ceremony.

“Is that enough? Won’t people recognize you?”

“If they recognize me, so be it. It doesn’t matter.”

Though Leo said this, he still seemed to dislike being recognized, as he pulled down his already low-worn hat even further.

“Let’s go inside first.”

Leo and Ellin, the two of them entered the Clock Tower while watching each other cautiously.

As they entered, Ellin asked Leo why he had called her out.

“Why did you call me here anyway?”

“To go shopping together.”

“Me specifically?”

“We’ll be going there together soon, and I came to buy some items that might be necessary then.”

Even with Leo’s explanation, the question mark floating above Ellin’s head didn’t disappear.

The reason was quite simple.

“But why me? There are plenty of others. Like the princess, or that guy, or you could ask someone else to get the items.”

“Ask?”

Given Leo’s status and the situation, he could probably get whatever he needed without leaving home.

However, Leo chose not to do that and moved personally instead.

It’s true that it’s better to see items with your own eyes before buying them, but it didn’t match Leo’s image.

And hearing that, Leo made an unexpected comment.

“You should see items in person before buying them, you idiot.”

“Who told you that?”

He certainly wouldn’t have realized that on his own.

“Albert.”

“Ah… he’s been talking nonsense again…”

“And you seemed the least busy.”

“I’m plenty busy too, you know?”

It was true that compared to those two, Ellin was less busy.

Those two would probably train in some way whenever they had time, but Ellin didn’t seem like she would.

Leo tried to prove this assumption by asking:

“What was Albert doing?”

“He left after eating. Probably—no, definitely clearing dungeons.”

“That guy is always like that.”

Leo’s sister was also likely heading to the guild to receive and complete dungeon clearing missions, just like Albert.

They were certainly two people who were always busy training.

“But what were you doing? Just playing around as usual, right?”

“Uh…”

Ellin, seemingly hit right on the mark, couldn’t offer any rebuttal.

“What was I doing again?”

“See? You’re not busy.”

For some reason, Leo let out a sigh of relief after confirming her response.

“That’s why I called you. There’s no other particular reason.”

“Really? I thought there might be some other reason.”

Seeing Ellin’s very honest reaction, Leo appeared momentarily flustered.

“Why do you say that?”

“Ah… it’s nothing. Anyway, let’s get off here. It’s the 12th floor.”

“Oh.”

Visiting the 12th floor of the Clock Tower after a long time, Ellin looked at Dren’s shop and asked:

“But why here?”

“I have something to buy.”

After saying that, Leo entered the shop in front of them, and Ellin followed behind.

As soon as the two entered the shop, the owner came out to greet them.

“Kid… it’s been a while.”

“It certainly has been.”

After exchanging greetings with Dren, Leo immediately headed toward the spears—his main weapon.

They were piled up in an area filled with weapons of outstanding performance.

Ellin also greeted Dren, whom she hadn’t seen in a long time.

“Hello.”

“It’s been a while for you too.”

“It certainly has.”

After finishing their greetings, Ellin headed to where Leo was.

There were numerous spears there.

However, it seemed none of them caught Leo’s fancy.

“By the way, mister, don’t you have anything cooler?”

“You like the cool ones, huh.”

“Yeah, just buy the one with the best performance.”

“It needs to be both. Style is the essence of a warrior.”

Ellin sighed deeply upon hearing those words.

“What nonsense…”

Leo smiled faintly at the exasperated Ellin, while Dren watched them from the side.

Then he asked them:

“What’s your relationship anyway? Are you two dating?”

“It’s not like that!”

“Please, mister…”

Seeing their strong denial, he muttered quietly.

“Really? You two look good together…”

“Mister, stop talking nonsense and find me a weapon. Don’t you have anything decent?”

Upon receiving that question, Dren took out the heaviest-looking spear among them and showed it to Leo.

“How about this? Isn’t it cool?”

“Wow….”

A dark-colored spear reminiscent of demon skin.

Leo looked at the spear with sparkling eyes.

“It is pretty cool.”

“Right?”

“But that…”

Ellin stared blankly at the weapon.

Then she mentioned another weapon that looked quite similar to the spear.

“It looks similar to that one he uses.”

As Ellin said, it had a design similar to Albert’s [Sword of the Distant Abyss].

Of course, comparing them would be unfair, but they were indeed similar.

“He? Ah~ the one Albert uses?”

“Yeah, it looks similar.”

“It does have that feel to it.”

Leo seemed to like the spear and wanted to check its performance as well.

“How’s the performance of this one?”

“Strength +40, Dexterity +30, and Magic Power +10%.”

As expected of Dren’s weapons, the performance was outstanding.

Not only did it have basic strength and dexterity bonuses, but it also had a 10% magic power effect.

Moreover, Leo was among the warriors who valued magic power.

“Not bad, mister. I’ll take this one.”

Afterward, he proceeded with the payment, and Leo paid the tens of billions of won in a single payment.

“Wow… as expected of someone with money, just buying it right away if it’s good…”

Ellin was envious of his wealth.

She wasn’t poor herself, but the gap between them was too vast to ignore.

“Are you jealous?”

“N-not really…”

Ellin showed an ambiguous reaction.

Leo handed her his card and said:

“You buy one too. I’ll treat you.”