The Response

Just as Midir was agonizing over how to answer the barrage of questions, Blake squeezed through the crowd with a look of shock on his face.

“Ah, Blake, you’re just in time! Give me a hand!”

Seeing Midir’s frustrated expression, Blake hurried forward, pulled him around, and whispered.

“I guessed people would come looking for you soon, but I didn’t expect so many! Mr. Midir, don’t you have the token Miss Aila gave you? If you don’t want to deal with them, just use that to bluff your way through for now!”

Midir finally remembered the badge that had allowed him to enter the city so smoothly. Since he hadn’t had any other use for it, he had long ago tossed it into a corner of his storage space.

“My apologies, everyone, but I have already made an arrangement with the Starlight Moon Shadow adventuring group. I cannot respond to your requests for the time being. Please, see yourselves out.”

As he spoke, he pulled out the badge emblazoned with the star and moon mark and displayed it to the surrounding crowd.

“Damn! They moved that fast?”

“Ah! Are we too late?”

“Mr. Midir, won’t you reconsider?”

“We will await your response at any time, sir. Here is our contact information.”

Upon seeing the badge Midir produced, the crowd’s soaring enthusiasm gradually cooled. Blake, who was far more adept at handling social obligations, naturally took over the conversation and politely dispersed the crowd.

Midir breathed a sigh of relief and stood silently to the side to wait.

By the time Blake had properly dealt with the dozen or so groups of visitors at the door, over half an hour had passed without them noticing.

Blake wiped the sweat from his brow and let out a breath. Returning to Midir’s side, he said respectfully, “Mr. Midir, I’ve managed to fend them off for now. Fortunately, I recognized many of them and could exchange a few words. Mm... I must say, the badge Miss Aila gave you is truly effective.”

“Indeed. No one questioned me when I used it to enter the city, but is it really alright to keep using her identity to settle things?” Midir asked, looking back at the dispersing crowd before closing the door.

“You seemed to use it quite naturally, though. Does this count as impersonating one of our members? Perhaps I should arrest you~” Aila had entered the house silently at some point. She suddenly jumped out from behind the sofa, speaking to them with a teasing smile.

“Huh? Uh... Miss Aila, where did you come from?” Blake was startled by Aila’s sudden appearance, his face looking a bit awkward since he was the one who suggested the idea.

“Didn’t you see all those people at the door? Of course I came through the backyard! Is it that hard to just hop over with a ‘whoosh’?”

“Er, it’s not hard, I just never thought of doing it. It’s not very polite, after all.”

“Midir won’t mind, and besides, this is Rosal’s house, right? She’ll mind even less~ I was actually hoping to see him make a fool of himself, but you ended up bailing him out!”

Aila walked over to Midir with a playful step, pulled a stack of papers covered in dense writing from behind her back, and handed them over.

“Here, the information you asked for yesterday. Quite a bit of it is exclusive!”

Midir took the documents and put them away without looking closely. He never doubted Aila’s ability in this regard; if she said the information was complete, it certainly would be. He nodded solemnly in thanks.

“If you want to thank me, go make breakfast~ I’m starving! Also, you’d better not wander around for the next few days. Those people will definitely come looking for you again. It won't be as exaggerated as today, but you probably don't want to deal with their bickering, right? Just have Blake handle it and refuse all visitors.”

Aila waved her hand dismissively and sat down at the dining table, picking up the utensils and striking a pose ready for a meal.

“Just wait a moment. I haven’t had time to prepare breakfast yet.”

Midir gave Aila a helpless glance as he walked toward the kitchen. “How about some fried eggs and bacon?”

“Yes, please! Make the bacon extra crispy, and I want the eggs with runny yolks!” Aila waved her fork, satisfied as she stated her requirements.

To the side, Rosal obediently poured juice for everyone before sitting down to whisper in Aila’s ear. It was unclear what the two of them were discussing.

When Midir brought the breakfast out from the kitchen, Aila and Rosal shared a look and ended their private conversation, returning to their respective seats.

“Mr. Midir, what color do you like?” Rosal asked, seemingly at random, as she listlessly turned over a piece of crispy bacon with her fork.

“Color? I haven’t really thought about that... let me see.” Midir was momentarily stumped by the unexpected question.

He looked down at the blue mark of Starflame on the back of his hand, and then he thought of the pair of blue eyes he had seen in his consciousness space. Midir quickly found his answer.

“I think... it would be blue. Why do you ask so suddenly?”

“It’s nothing, I was just curious. Sister Aila and I were discussing something just now... and it just came to mind.”

Having received Midir’s answer, Rosal quickly changed the subject and began to focus on enjoying her breakfast.

Midir didn't pay much attention to her slightly odd behavior. Rosal had always been a sensitive and shy girl, often hesitating when she spoke. Over the past month, Midir had long since grown accustomed to it.

After breakfast, Aila and Rosal made plans to head out together, leaving the two men to stare at each other at home.

Midir didn't mind. He leaned back on the sofa and began flipping through 《Carlos's Great Journey》 again. Over the past month, he had read the book several times, but he truly hadn't found any information useful to his current situation.

Aila had also helped him search for news related to his past through the adventuring group’s channels and her family’s archives, but all inquiries were like stones dropped into the ocean, yielding no response. This caused him a great deal of distress.

“Then why did I feel that strange sense of familiarity with this book? Was it just an illusion?”

While Midir was lost in his thoughts, Blake sat down beside him with a solemn expression.

“Mr. Midir, I hope to accompany you on your journey as an attendant. What do you think?”

So spoke the young master of the Duke's estate.