episode_0184

We made a satisfactory contract and parted ways coolly.

Unfortunately, the same thing did not happen.

“By the way, everyone, have you found a place to stay in Hwangdo?”

“Ah.”

“I thought so.”

Unfortunately, Hwangdo is a place where ordinary travelers cannot stay for long.

In the countryside or cities on the outskirts of the Empire, you can solve the problem flexibly with your body or through barter, but Hwangdo does not accept that.

It’s not that nomads don’t have money, but Hwangdo is a burden to stay for a few weeks, even if it’s just a day or two.

Besides, if you were to sleep outside around Hwangdo, you would be caught by soldiers.

“Um, that… Master William.”

“Yes.”

“Can you let us sleep for just one night…?”

So, the only thing they can do is ask me for help.

“Stay at my house for the time being.”

“I’m sorry to ask you to do that, but it’s enough to let us sleep for one night because we can find a place to stay when it gets light.”

“Do you have money to spend a few days in Hwangdo?”

“Keueung…”

Of course, these people had a sense of shame, so they didn’t want to receive a lot of help, but the wall of reality was very high.

“I’m not so poor that I can’t afford to host three of you for a few days, and in a way, you can be seen as teachers who teach me skills, right? Think of it as a disciple serving a teacher and stay comfortably at my house.”

“No, even so…”

“And wouldn’t it bother me to just leave someone who came to see me in trouble? I don’t think we’ll only see each other once or twice, so please accept my help this time and repay me later.”

“Eueuk… Okay, I’ll take a little favor, thank you for helping me.”

“Thank you.”

“Thank you.”

“Haha, no, it’s nothing.”

I gave a faint smile as I watched the elves, who received my help, bow their heads and express their gratitude.

In fact, there were many ways to find a place for them to stay without having to invite them to our house.

I could find a place to stay by asking around, or I could have them stay in a vacant room in the atelier, but I deliberately didn’t mention it.

Because it would be more fun to have them sleep at our house.

I wonder what their reaction will be when they run into my father at home without knowing anything.

“Hehe…”

Unfortunately, my father’s work was delayed in the evening, so they didn’t run into him as soon as they entered the house, but the next morning, when everyone gathered in the dining room in groups of three or five.

“……”

“……”

I was able to find three elves trembling like mice in front of a cat, and my father and brother looking at them with interest.

“Hehe.”

It’s funny to see the already white elf faces turn as pale as paper, even though I didn’t do anything.

“Ahem, did everyone have a good night?”

I couldn’t leave this situation unattended indefinitely, so I cleared my throat, revealed my presence, and greeted everyone in the dining room.

Everyone’s eyes turn to me at the same time.

“Ma, Master William…”

One side had eyes of relief as if they had found a savior.

“Yes, William, did you sleep well?”

The other side slightly raised the corners of his lips and sent a look full of interest.

“I slept well too.”

I shrugged my shoulders with a nonchalant smile, pretending not to notice such a look.

“More than that, William, you’ve brought some interesting guests.”

“Yes, they’re people who communicate well with me about work.”

“Work… you seemed to have a lot of worries a while ago, but it’s good to see that you’ve shaken them off and your work is going well.”

“Haha, that’s because the people around me help me a lot.”

“It’s also a skill to meet people well, but rather than standing there blankly, sit down and have a meal. It looks like there’s a lot to talk about.”

“Yes.”

At my father’s words to have a meal, I slowly moved and sat next to the elves.

I glanced sideways to check the elves’ complexions, and Stefan’s face was especially pale among the three.

“Ma, Master William…”

As soon as I sat down and pulled out a chair, Stefan tilted his body, put his face close to mine, and whispered quietly as he looked at me with eyes as if an earthquake had occurred.

“What’s wrong?”

“I think I’m seeing something strange from this morning…”

“What are you talking about?”

“That, why, that, why is that person here?”

“That person, who are you talking about?”

“Hyu, Hume, I don’t know his face well, but this energy is definitely Hume.”

“Energy?”

“Te, ten years ago? Jo, I encountered him from a distance a long time ago, and the energy I felt then is exactly the same. It’s like facing a huge rock, but it’s a heavy and violent energy like a fierce storm…!”

“Oh… I see…”

This was some interesting information.

To people who can see mana, my father looks like a walking natural disaster.

Was that why the elves’ complexions were so pale?

If you wake up and a natural disaster is staring at you, it’s only natural to be scared.

“Uh… did I see it wrong? Is that it?”

I am someone who doesn’t feel mana well, so I was wondering if people can judge people by their energy, and Stefan, who interpreted this a little strangely, slightly brightened his complexion and began to eagerly spin the hope circuit.

“Mr. Stefan, as you said, that person is Count Hume.”

“……”

However, Stefan’s face turned so pale that it was almost blue to the negative words that flowed out between my lips, and he glanced at his father.

“Th, that human, why, why is he eating here…?”

“Why?”

I smiled and pointed at myself with my finger.

“He’s here because that person is my father.”

“Hiccup… Hiccup…!”

“Tsk…”

The other two elves look at Stefan with pity as he bursts into violent hiccups after learning the shocking truth.

They must be thinking of what Stefan said to me yesterday.

He said things like ‘Butcher Hume’ or ‘If you do something wrong, your head will fly off’ in front of his son, so Stefan’s heart must be very tight right now.

“Why… is Hume’s son making clothes like a woman…?”

“My father is a really great person, but unfortunately, I didn’t inherit that talent, so I’m living the way I want to.”

“So the energy…!”

“It must be very different, unlike the other brothers who inherited my father’s talent.”

“Keuk…”

When I glanced at my brother, who was looking at us with great interest, Stefan had a betrayed look on his face, like someone who had heard that the cripple was the culprit.

It must be frustrating for Stefan.

What are the chances that Hume’s son would be a no-mana, or that he would come to buy his favorite clothes and the owner of that clothing store would be the son of Hume, the scourge of the prairie?

But it was Stefan who brought up the name Hume and told all sorts of stories.

I didn’t induce him to say bad things, and I didn’t lie that I wasn’t Hume’s son.

If he hadn’t said anything like the two elves next to him, he wouldn’t have felt such a great sense of betrayal.

“Master William, what I said yesterday, that… it wasn’t sincere, anyway… um…”

So Stefan quickly came to his senses and started to act low.

He seems to be working hard to come up with an excuse, but it won’t come to mind easily.

“I don’t care much, it’s a well-known fact anyway.”

“Ah, no, even so, parents in front of their children…”

I glanced at my father with a sad expression that wasn’t okay at all.

“What can I do, it’s my fault for only resembling his useless face and not inheriting my parents’ energy.”

“Ah, ah…”

Stefan’s ears droop.

“Th, Master William…”

Stefan called me with a pitiful expression like a puppy soaked in the rain, but unfortunately, the timing was not good.

“Young master, your meal is here.”

Stefan had no choice but to stop talking and straighten his posture because of the servant who was placing food in front of everyone just as he was about to say something.

“Ah, thank you, Mr. Stefan, would it be okay to continue the conversation after the meal?”

“Ah, yes, you have to.”

After asking Stefan for his understanding, I immediately picked up a fork and knife and skillfully cut the meat on the plate.

“……”

The other people were also picking up utensils and cutting meat, but Stefan was just staring blankly at the plate with a pale face.

_

After a normal meal that only Stefan was dying from.

“Mr. Stefan, Father, I have something I want to talk about, so can you spare some time?”

“Um, of course.”

“Uh, yes, okay.”

I called my father and Stefan separately to create a place for conversation.

“Th, Master William.”

“Yes.”

Unlike my father, who noticed something, Stefan, who had too much to be caught, whispered to me with anxiety while heading to the reception room.

“Th, what’s going on now…? You’re not going to tell me what I said yesterday, are you? I’m really sorry about that, so please save me just once…”

“That’s not the case, I said I’d introduce you to my acquaintance about the problem of purchasing clothing materials.”

“Oh, yes, that’s right.”

“That’s what we’re doing now.”

“… Huh?”

Stefan’s face became hazy.

“Wh… what are you saying…?”

“My father is that acquaintance, you can discuss the material purchase issue with my father.”

“Eek…?”

Stefan made a dumb sound and froze.

I learned at that moment that elves can turn green in the face.