Ch.6The Party He Left (4)

Elin’s startled shout echoed throughout not only the dining room but all the way to the kitchen.

The inn owner, who was preparing food for them in the kitchen, heard her voice and kept cheering inwardly. He hadn’t been able to sleep last night because of that corrupt priest, so his joy was beyond words.

‘Of course the Goddess doesn’t need prayers from a corrupt priest! Absolutely not! I’ll offer twice as many prayers in his place!’

He clutched the necklace he always wore, offered a prayer to the Goddess, and then transferred the completed dish onto a plate. Though he made a bit more food than usual due to his good mood, this too was the Goddess’s revelation to be generous to others.

The Goddess’s zealot placed the heaping plate of food on the table where the women sat facing each other.

“Enjoy your meal.”

“Yes, thank you.”

Lael didn’t even glance at the food that had arrived, waiting only for him to disappear before quietly speaking to Elin.

“Don’t speak so loudly. What if someone hears?”

“I’m sorry. But is it really true?”

“Yes, Derin told me this morning. She said she killed him herself.”

“Why? Derin doesn’t particularly have a reason to kill…”

Elin couldn’t continue as an ominous thought crossed her mind.

What if Derin had the same feelings as her?

What if she truly loved Crow?

Given her personality that pursued practical benefits without hesitation, she would certainly have killed Franz. Because that was the quickest and easiest way.

To be honest, I also thought about killing Franz more than a dozen times last night.

But I couldn’t act on it.

Not only did I not hold his hand, but if I killed someone too, he would surely hate me.

Elin stabbed a tomato with her fork, red juice dripping down.

Serves him right anyway.

Watching her, Lael belatedly added:

“I heard Franz tried to give Derin an aphrodisiac.”

“A-aphrodisiac?!”

“Shhh—”

Lael put her index finger across her lips.

Understanding what this meant, Elin lowered her voice.

“Sorry. But this is just one shock after another.”

“Right? I thought so too.”

“Still, it’s fortunate. Now Crow can…”

Elin cut herself off mid-sentence and hurriedly covered her mouth with her hand.

To say “fortunate” in a situation where someone died—what a terrible slip of the tongue.

Of course, it was true that Crow would be more comfortable now, and she had secretly wished for Franz’s death, but she shouldn’t have said it out loud.

Elin cautiously observed Lael’s reaction.

As a duke’s daughter, she was particularly sensitive to improper conduct, so she surely wouldn’t let this slip pass.

But far from getting angry, Lael only wore a bitter smile.

“Well, I can’t scold you. I had the exact same thought.”

“Ah…”

It seemed Lael was a woman before being a duke’s daughter.

An awkward silence fell between them.

The flow of conversation had only been maintained by their efforts, so once it broke, it naturally didn’t continue.

Unable to bear the awkwardness, they began eating.

Of course, they merely picked at their food without appetite.

The one who broke this atmosphere was none other than Derin.

With a refreshed expression, she sat down in a chair and said:

“What are you two doing?”

“Ah… well…”

“Um… you see…”

Derin seemed to understand the situation without needing to hear their explanations.

It was strange to see these two having a meal together in the first place.

They usually bickered and fought, knowing they were rivals for the same man.

They might be getting along temporarily because Crow had left, but that wouldn’t last long.

She was starting to find it pathetic that she had considered these fools as rivals.

She had told them to eat properly for the sake of the party, but they’d barely touched their food.

If anything, the portions seemed larger than usual—had they performed some kind of alchemy?

The zealot, a middle-aged man, appeared from somewhere and approached Derin.

“What would you like to order…”

“Oh, I won’t order separately. My companions seem to have no appetite. I’ll eat for them.”

He nodded, looking at the heaping plates of food still remaining.

After he disappeared again, Derin took a fork from the wooden container.

She had deliberately said that to the man to give them a hint, but they still seemed out of it, their forks merely stirring the air.

Irritated to her limit, Derin finally scolded them.

“Hey, are you two going to keep this up? Is this how you plan to go find Crow?”

The two bowed their heads with their lips tightly shut.

Exasperated by their behavior, Derin pushed further.

“If I were Crow, I wouldn’t want to see people like you either. You didn’t even try to hold onto him, and now you’re crying and making a fuss because he left.”

“Take that back.”

The duke’s daughter, apparently still having some pride left, responded with a sharp voice.

Seeing Lael finally showing a human-like expression, Derin slightly lowered her tail.

Well, not that she had raised it in the first place.

“Yes, Lady Duchess, I’ll do that. Now please finish your meal. You’ll starve to death soon.”

At Derin’s words that scratched at her pride, Lael began aggressively moving her fork to devour the food in front of her.

Though Derin had ended up helping her rival, she didn’t care.

No, it was shameful to even acknowledge these idiots as rivals in the first place.

She simply couldn’t stand by watching these two fools acting stupidly right in front of her.

‘You’ve never seen Crow naked, have you? It was amazing.’

Having won this mental victory, Derin began inhaling food like a vacuum cleaner, not to be outdone by Lael.

Watching them both, Elin picked up her fork in confusion and tried to follow suit.

Of course, being someone who normally ate slowly, she couldn’t keep up with their pace.

After their brief but intense meal, as silence was about to fall upon them again, Lael spoke up after some deliberation.

“I’m going back to the duchy.”

“What?! What about the party?!”

Elin seemed quite shocked, but Derin had already anticipated this to some extent.

Lael was the type to jump up even from sleep for Crow, so it would be strange to maintain the party as it was.

“I’m not disbanding the party. I won’t ask you… to stay in the party. Do as you wish.”

“I’ll stay. What about you, Derin?”

“Well… I’ll stay for now too.”

“Alright, then I’ll consider you both as remaining in the party. Now everyone go rest.”

With those final words, Lael got up and headed to her room.

In truth, though she hadn’t told the party members, letters had been continuously arriving through the guild.

They were from the Duchy of Gideon.

Her father was urging her to stop adventuring and return home for arranged marriage meetings.

But of course, she had no intention of doing so.

It was absurd to meet other men when she already had a man in her heart.

Of course, breaking her father’s stubbornness would be difficult.

But it wasn’t impossible.

If only time would allow it, she would somehow find Crow.

‘I’ll enroll in the Academy.’

Considering that noble children typically enrolled at age 20, she was late at 23, but enrollment wasn’t impossible.

Moreover, with her experience of leading an A-rank adventurer party, she would likely be an object of admiration.

Lael planned to use all her connections there, along with the full backing of the duchy, to find Crow.

* * * * *

In the dining room after Lael had left, a strange atmosphere flowed between Derin and Elin.

Elin was suspicious that Derin might like Crow, while Derin paid no attention and was enjoying the rain outside the window.

Looking out the window, Derin asked:

“Elin, what are you going to do? Where will you go?”

“I’m planning to go to the Great Forest first.”

The Great Forest.

A forest densely packed with massive trees reaching dozens of meters high.

A forest of terror where ordinary people could never find their way out once they entered.

And the dwelling place of elves.

Elin thought that the ancient sages there would surely know an easy way to find Crow.

Of course, it wouldn’t be that simple.

She had stormed out after getting angry at her father, one of those sages, telling him to get rid of the elves’ old-fashioned rules.

But now wasn’t the time to be picky.

“What about you, Derin?”

“Me? Well… I’ll just get by somehow. I have plenty of money.”

“I see. Well, please stop by the guild occasionally. If I find Crow, I’ll send a letter.”

“Yes, yes. Then I’ll head up first, Elf Princess.”

“I… I told you not to use that title…”

Derin returned to her room, leaving the disgruntled elf princess behind.

Of course, saying she would just get by was a lie.

First, she needed to gather as much information as possible around this area.

That was a thief’s specialty, after all.

Throwing herself onto the bed, Derin quietly closed her eyes.

She would have to move diligently starting tomorrow, so she needed to rest well today.

Besides, they say beauties need plenty of sleep, right?

And so, the next morning, confirming that it wasn’t raining, the three set off on their separate journeys.

Of course, each had packed one of Crow’s possessions in their magic pouches.