「Grey-oniisama, are you done yet?」Eliza

「Just a minute～!」Grey

Currently, I'm cooking dinner for Liz in the Lord's mansion. And as to how it came to this, well...

「Huh? A request?」Grey

「Yes, I know this is unreasonable, but I would like you two t serve as my daughter's bodyguards.」Fritz

「But don't you have bodyguards here already?」Yuna

「Yeah. And isn't it the same as saying that they're not trustworthy if you hire other people to do their job?」Grey

「I know that, but you witnessed what just happened today. If it weren't for you two, Liz would have already been abducted. And if they send stronger men, then it would be over. That's whyー」Fritz

「Alright... we get it.」Grey

When he said it that way, I understood where he was coming from. Of course, if there was an attempt on their child's life, any parent would do anything in order to prevent that from happening again.

But before that, I wanted to know what we're going up against.

「Before we consider your request, Fritz, do you have any idea who is behind all of this?」Grey

「It's just a guess butー」

Fritz was about to answer my question, but when he noticed that Liz was listening, he cut his own words and then gave Sebastian-san an order.

「Sebas, please escort Liz outside. And after you do that, make sure to not let anyone inside.」Fritz

「Yes.」Sebastian

As per Fritz's instruction, Sebastian-san escorted Liz outside the room. And just by analyzing Fritz's instruction, one could easily tell that the topic we are going to talk about is confidential.

After Sebastian-san locked the room, silence then swallowed it whole, and a tense atmosphere lingered upon us. And in order to break the silence, I asked Fritz a similar question. 

「So, do you know who's behind this?」Grey

「Not quite. Though I do have a suspect in mind.」Fritz

「And who might that be?」Grey

「Goldstone Company's president, Algerio.」Fritz

「What makes you say so?」Grey

「Well...」Fritz

According to Fritz, ever since two weeks ago, Algerio has been currying favor with him in order to obtain early access to the Labyrinth of Gale. But of course, as a lord, he needs to be fair to his subjects, that's why for that period of time, he has been declining Algerio's gifts.

Then, three days ago, Algerio stopped sending gifts to him. That time, Fritz thought that he had given up already, but just yesterday, Fritz had an attempt on his life. Of course, Fritz survived the assault unscathed and the assaulters were caught. But other than the request letter for Fritz's assassination, there weren't any evidence gathered.

The only reason why Fritz suspects Algerio was because the handwriting on the request letter and the letters attached to Algerio's gifts were the same. He wanted to arrest Algerio, but with just the similarity of handwriting as his evidence, he would not be able to. He also investigated Algerio but all his efforts had only gone to waste.

Having heard Fritz's reasoning, I understood where he was coming from. Well, just from those bits of information alone, it was obvious that he was one of those scum merchants who will do anything for wealth. And with a headstart in exploring the labyrinth, one would be able to collect a lot of treasures. A labyrinth won't regenerate it's treasures until the next activation, after all.

「Are you done with your meeting!?」Eliza

「Liz, we're stillー」Fritz

I was pondering over Fritz's suspicion, when suddenly, Liz barged inside the room. Of course, Fritz tried to scold her, but before he could finish his sentence...

「Hey, hey, hey, is it true that Grey-oniisama and Yuna-oneesama will be my bodyguards?」Eliza

... Liz cut his words with a question.

「Liz, about thatー」Grey

I wanted to think things thoroughly before agreeing, but Liz's sparkling face prevented me from doing so. In the end, Yuna and I couldn't win against a child's innocent face, and decided to agree to Fritz's request.

It's also worth mentioning that we checked out from the Blue Spring because Fritz forced us to stay over at the mansion. Of course, we tried to decline his offer but it was all to no avail.

And that's how we arrived into the current situation. Well, the only reason I'm cooking curry is because Yuna told Liz to ask me to.

How shrewd of her... Using a child like that in order to make me cook curry. But truthfully, she could have asked me herself and I still would have cooked it.

Also, other than Yuna, I'm also cooking along with the Landevar family's head chef. This was because the head chef wanted to learn what I'm going to cook, while making sure that nothing unusual gets into Liz's food.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

「Rhodes-san, can you check on the rice for me?」Grey

「Oh, sure.」Rhodes

Haah... Just how did I get myself into this situation...

Some more minutes passed, and it was finally time to serve the food. And even though Rhodes-san was learning how to cook curry from me, he also helped out the other chefs in preparing other dishes.

As expected of a professional, he's very experienced in multitasking. Because of his efforts, everyone was able to cook a lot of magnificent dishes.

After the food was served, everyone headed to the dining room where Fritz and Sebastian-san were waiting. Liz in particular was very excited to try out the curry.

「「「Itadakimasu!」」」

Without waiting for another second to pass, Liz quickly took a spoonful of curry and fed it to her mouth. 

「Delicious!」Eliza

Liz commented as she savored the curry. Her reaction was just like Yuna's when I first cooked it for her.

After the first bite, the rate at which Liz fed herself sped up drastically. Even when her mouth was full, she kept feeding herself, making her look like a chipmunk with nuts inside its mouth.

「Liz, mind your manners.」Fritz

「But ish shoo dewicioush!」Eliza

「Slow down, Liz-chan. The food is not going anywhere.」Yuna

「Right, and you don't want to choke yourself, now do you? 」Grey

「Alright...」Eliza

After our reminders, Liz's slowed down in eating, but it's worth mentioning that her hands were still the fastest amongst all of us.

「Grey, this... curry, is it? It's really is delicious.」Fritz

「I agree with Fritz-sama. And in my thirty years as a chef, I haven't tasted anything like this. Grey-sama, where did you learn to cook like this?」Grey

Ah... A question quite common in isekai mangas and novels. But I wonder if the "I learnt it in my hometown" kind of answer will suffice...

I want to say that line, but it would be annoying If he starts asking where my hometown is. Well, how about this...

「Um... I learnt from my parents.」Grey

I was pretty confident that he wouldn't ask anything else with my answer, but there was just one flaw that I forgot to consider...

「Your parents, eh? Is there any way I can meet them?」Rhodes 

Crap! How do I answer that!? There's no way I can make him meet people that don't exist in the first place!?

Think, Grey, think! There's gotta be a way toー

「Ah, I apologize for asking that.」Rhodes

Huh?

「I did not think that that would be the case, I apologize, really.」Rhodes

What?

「I will not inquire any further.」Rhodes

Eh?

Without me understanding what was happening, the room was filled with silence and everyone's hands stopped from moving.

Seriously, what's happening?

「Grey-oniisama, are your parents already dead?」Eliza

Huh? What is Liz talking aboutー

Oh... I see... So everyone thought that my parents are already dead because I became quiet. Well, they're not wrong because my parents on Earth really are dead. But it's not like they will forever be gone or anything.

「Don't worry, I'm sure they're on a better place right now.」Grey

I said with a big smile on my face as I gently patted Liz's head, in order to reassure her.

It's not like I'm lying when I said that to Liz. I'm a living proof that you can go to a better place after you die, after all.

I wonder... How are my parents doing in their new lives......

Well, I'm sure they're doing great. They're my parents, after all.

After hearing my reply to Liz's question, the atmosphere of the room came back to the way it was and everybody resumed eating with lively expressions on their faces.

When dinner finished, Fritz instructed a maid to guide us to our rooms. And while we were following the maid, I just realized once again just how huge the mansion was. It was really breathtaking.

「Grey-sama, Yuna-sama, please pick a room that you are comfortable with.」Maid

「From all of these...?」Grey

「Yes.」Maid

In front of us were a number of doors, each with a corresponding guest room behind them. And if I were to guess, each of the rooms were made to treat nobles with courtesy during their visit.

The corridors were already so luxurious-looking, how much more on the inside. Ugh... Just thinking of it makes me dizzy.

「Well then, I'll be excusing myself. Please call me when you need something.」

「Ah, yes...」Grey

Having finished the task given to her, the maid left the two of us alone in the corridor, still astonished by how well Fritz treats his guests.

「Grey, are you sure it's alright to be treated this politely by a noble?」Yuna

Strictly speaking, Yuna and I are nobles ourselves, ones who are a rank higher than Fritz. But experiencing this kind of treatment, I understand where Yuna is coming from.

「Grey, I'm picking this one.」Yuna

Contrary to her previous statement, Yuna suddenly pointed at a room and decided to use it on her stay. Of course, her sudden actions made me confused.

I was about to ask why she suddenly decided like that, but when she saw the expression written on my face...

「It's no use standing around, and it's not like we can go back on our words.」Yuna

... she answered before I could even do so.

Yuna's right... We already agreed to become Liz's bodyguards, and as a part of that agreement, we have to stay in the mansion in order to respond if ever something happens. Thinking too much about these things will just make our heads hurt.

「In that case, I'll pick the one beside yours.」Grey

After picking which rooms to use, the two of us entered our respective rooms and like I expected, the inside of the room was on another level of extravagant.

There was a fancy king-size bed, completed with drapes and canopy. There were also high-quality chairs, desks, and drawers, full of intricate designs. Heck, even the curtains look very expensive.

Haah... I wonder if I can survive this place without damaging something. It's not like I don't have the money to pay for it, it's just the thought of damaging an expensive object is very mentally exhausting.

Uuu... I wanna go back to the Blue Spring.

With my mind getting dizzy from thinking of not damaging anything, I subconsciously headed to the bed and lied down to take a break.

Ahhh... So comfortable～!

The comfort of the beds from the Rabbit's Den and the Blue spring were already terrifying, but the beds here are on another level!

I wonder how much these beds cost... Uuu... just thinking about it makes my head hurt.

Not being able to handle the stress from the luxury of the room, I went outside of my room and headed into the balcony, and there, I saw the back of a familiar figure.

「Need to take a breather, too?」Yuna

Before I could even greet her, Yuna already noticed me approaching and took the initiative to call out to me.

「Yeah, the luxury of the room was just too much for me.」Grey

「Looks like we're on the same boat.」Yuna

Haha... It seems that I wasn't the only one troubled over it.

「So, what were you thinking before I came over?」Grey

「Nothing much, just things about the past and some what ifs.」Yuna

The past, huh... I wonder, is it about that incident again?

「You see, before that day came, I never knew much about the outside world. All I know is from the stories the grown-ups told us. That time, my biggest dream was to explore the world and meet all sorts of people. It was a good dream, right?」Yuna

「I suppose so.」Grey

At some point in time in my childhood, I also had a dream to explore the whole world. I wanted to take pictures of the places where I had been, try all sorts of food, and experience all sorts of things. 

Ahhh... How innocent I was at that time. I even wanted to visit all the planets in the universe and take pictures with the aliens.

「Grey, you're smiling.」Yuna

「Ah, I just remembered some things in the past.」Grey

「I see... It must have been wonderful.」Yuna

「Yeah, It was.」Grey

Seeing me reminisce about the past, Yuna giggled softly.

「Anyway, after that day came, I was so overrun by grief and sorrow, I forgot all about my dream...」Yuna

Grief and sorrow, huh...

Well, I also experienced the same. After my parents died, I shut myself from reality, only going out of the house to earn a living. Other than buying the necessities and working, I was at home all the time.

One way or another, I found myself immersed in mangas and novels, especially with the isekai genre. I was so fascinated with the idea of going to another world and leaving the painful reality. It made me feel less lonely.

Thinking about it now, most of my actions and decisions up until now were due to my desire to experience those things that happened in those mangas and novels.

「But when saw the scenery outside the balcony, I realized how much I had been travelling all this time, and I remembered that innocent dream of mine.」Yuna

「So how was it? Was travelling as fun as you thought it would be?」Grey

「No, it wasn't. Why would it be? You have to travel long distances, you need money to stay at an inn, and there are also dangers in doing it! Traveling is a nightmare!」Yuna

Yuna ranted as if she just got scammed. And after letting all those emotions out, she then heaved a short sigh and continued with what she was saying.

「But... meeting all sorts of people, encountering all sorts of things, and creating lots of memories, I realized that it's not the traveling itself that makes it fun, but the experiences you've had. And it was all thanks to you that I was able to have those wonderful experiences, that's why I'm really grateful to have met you.」Yuna

「Well, that makes the two of us!」Grey

Although living in the forest alone, learning magic, and fighting monsters was fun, it's nothing in comparison when you have someone to share those fun times with. That's why I'm also grateful for meeting Yuna.

「Grey, look! A shooting star!」Yuna

Yuna pointed towards the night sky where millions of stars shone brightly as if there was no tomorrow.

「You know, someone on the past told me that if you wish something before a shooting star, your wish would come true.」Grey

「Really!? Then what are you waiting for?! Let's make a wish!」Yuna

After I said a popular saying on Earth, Yuna frantically closed her eyes and then started wishing. 

Hehe... Although she acts all mature, there are still times her childish nature prevails. I wish I could see her act more naturally.

「Done.」Yuna

While I was thinking of such things, Yuna finished wishing upon the shooting star and opened her eyes.

「So, what did you wish for?」Grey

「I wished that I would have more fun travels with you!」Yuna

Yuna declared with a bright smile on her face as she basked in moonlight.

Ba-dump Ba-dump Ba-dump

Before I noticed it, my heart already started racing. My chest felt tight and I felt my body getting warmer. It was a sensation I haven't felt since high school in my past life.

I see... So that's how I feel towards Yuna. It's crazy how long it took me to notice. I'm such an idiot.

「Grey, something wrong?」Yuna

「No, I just noticed... The moon is beautiful tonight, isn't it?」Grey

「Un, it really is.」Yuna

CHAPTER 31 END