Yu watched her with a defeated look on his face as Yurine walked away as if nothing had happened.

They went to the night staff at the inn to see if they could buy food. Even if the food would be cold, Yu was okay with that because he didn't want to make his bad mood worse by paying for food.

“It's late, there can't be much left for dinner at this hour. I'll heat up the leftovers and bring them over,” the employee said.

He didn't even think he could exercise his right to dinner now, but now a hot meal would be brought to him, and even though he wouldn't be able to taste it, it would lift his spirits by zero comma one.

“Why did you do that?”

As they always did, they sat down at the corner table they could choose and waited for their food.

“Hmph.”

Yurine had no regrets and was convinced of the rightness of her action.

“It was the only one in the world, we could sell it if you had to get rid of it...” Yu sighed. “Who knows how much it was worth?”

Nowhere else in the world could someone find such realistic pictures. And the pictures in that magazine were not realistic, they were directly real.

Of course, even if they decided to sell the magazine, Yu would keep it instead of selling it. To Yu, that magazine was a priceless product that he had left after selling his phone. There was no other material in the world that could do the job.

“Oh, man! There were good archives on that phone, hentai and stuff... Good thing the battery died so that asshole merchant couldn't hit on them.”

After exchanging a little information with Yurine about the value of magical tools, he had put a value on his phone and tried to sell it to the merchant he had found at the price he had in mind.

At first the merchant offered a ridiculous amount of five gold coins, but Yu managed to raise the price to fifty gold coins by showing the merchant sexually explicit videos on his phone.

“If I had my wits about me now, I wouldn't give less than a hundred, I was a beginner.”

He felt sorry for the merchant, he had probably only been able to use the magic product he had bought for a day at most, and then he had tried to figure out why it had shut down and couldn't find a way to get it working again.

“You're telling me to sell human souls for money? You really are a monster.”

“Why don't you believe me? They weren't human souls.”

Their argument seemed to be going nowhere and Yu was not going to prolong it by explaining the logic of the photographs.

“Mandatory nofap, forever and ever.”

He didn't like to use only his imagination to get the job done, he had never even tried.

“We're really going to have to travel back in time to get that magazine...”

“If you're going to travel back in time, can you tell me the result of tomorrow's match?” His whisper was overheard by the waiter who brought them their food.

“Sell your everything and give on the Sea Monsters.”

The employee took Yu's advice with a wry smile. “Here you go.”

When he placed the tray on the table, Yu was surprised by the food he saw, and a little sad that he couldn't taste it.

“This is the second most surprising event of the day.”

“Why?”

“So you finally brought us something other than fish.”

He looked at the food with a bitter smile. If he still had his sense of taste, his happiness might have increased his current mood by five percent, because the food in front of Yu was simply dried beans.

“They say fish is scarce this season, therefore fish prices are on the rise. You will see other dishes from time to time, you better get ready.”

“For me all food is the same, I'm just tired of seeing fish.”

There was white bread with the beans. He had heard that white bread was a luxury food for people in neighboring countries, but in Rolderhelm it was one of the two staples.

“When I put it on rice, it was very good.”

He took a spoonful of the food after chopping the bread into the beans, hoping to taste it. Unfortunately, he still couldn't taste it.

“So you mean the Sea Monsters. Don't you think that team is a potato? What makes you think they'll win?”

“I feel that way, I hope the Sea Monsters win.”

He would get money in the final even if The Sea Monsters' opponent won, but the money that the Sea Monsters team would pay Yu at the end was the highest agreed upon among all the teams.

But he didn't deny that the other man had a point. The Sea Monsters were a team no one expected to win.

“I'll still put my money on Vesthelm Storm.”

“So be it...”

When the waiter left the table to take care of other business, Yu and Yurine were left alone.

Even though he liked baked beans, he did nothing but play with his food. He dipped the spoon into the food, took it out, poured what he took into the spoon and repeated the process.

When he looked at Yurine, he saw that she was no different from him. The only difference was that Yurine's lack of appetite was not caused by a lack of taste, but by something else.

“Aren't you going to eat?” he asked Yurine, she was just watching her food. “What's wrong this time? Did I do something again?”

They had closed the meeting with Nerissa, they had closed the fainting incident, they had closed the magazine incident. She must have been upset about something else.

“Maybe the fainting made her more worried than I thought? Should that make me happy?”

Yurine was as reluctant to talk as she was to eat. After watching her food for a while longer, she answered Yu.

“Something happened when I was in the park with Nerissa.”

“Wait a minute, you call her by her name, but you don't call me by my name? Or is it just my imagination? Did you love her more than you love me? Oh no...”

Yu was deadly serious, afraid that Yurine might love someone else more, but he chose to speak his words in jest.

“Don't be silly,” Yurine said, and she was completely serious. “We met him in the park, the guy you were talking about.”

“What?” His knees were shaking, and he suddenly stood up, surprising several other people in the inn. “What was I thinking? I shouldn't have let you leave my side.”

He also called himself cautious, but he had let her out, even though it was clear as day that Yurine was likely to run into that man.

“Wait a minute, listen first.”

Yu put his hands between his head and thought about what to do. Yurine was right in front of him and she was fine, but the thought of meeting that strange man disgusted Yu.

He sat down slowly, feeling a headache. Yurine continued to explain.

“He was Sharley.”

“Sharley...”

Had the scenario Yu had built in his mind come true? Sharley was the first name that came to his mind when Lucia mentioned her.

“Alive then.”

“So it is.”

“And then he looked everywhere for you and Rie?”

“Yes.”

Yu put his left hand to his chin to think. “If he looks the way Lucia says he does, he must be in a terrible state. If his body is burned, he's weakened, and he can't cast healing spells, or he wouldn't have wrapped himself in bandages. Maybe we can defeat him if he shows up again. Unless...”

If Yurine answered no to the question of “Are you going with him?” they could beat Sharley when he caused trouble.

But he didn't dare to ask the question. He didn't want to be abandoned, he didn't want to be alone. He was afraid to be alone again.

“What should I do? There's no way out, I have to ask. I have to find out.”

He took a breath to gather his courage, put his hands on the table and opened his mouth.

“Yurine, are you going to ask Sharley for help?”

It wasn't the question he wanted to ask her, the question that was eating him up inside, but it would buy time until he got up the courage to ask the real question.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

"What do you mean?”

“So... I mean... are you going with Sharley?”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“You're going to stay with me, are you?”

Yes, we will be together from now on, all he wanted now from Yurine to say those words.

He was waiting with excitement and fear for the answer of the girl in front of him.

Instead of answering the question, Yurine held her arms and looked away.

After the reaction Yu felt a tremor in his heart, he bowed his head in frustration and became silent. What should he do? Should he be angry?

Yurine had dragged Yu into this whole thing. And now she's going to abandon him when she finds a more powerful ally?

Was he supposed to shout at that point and say she couldn't do it?

He couldn't yell, he couldn't be angry with her. Yu wasn't the kind of person who would react like that and even if he was, he wouldn't want Yurine to be sad.

“And I don't even have the right to be angry with her. I'm the one who killed her mother and I'm the one who pretended to bring her back. I didn't do anything for her.”

Nevertheless, he wanted Yurine to stay with him.

But he didn't want to force her to do it.

Because what he wanted was for Yurine to be with him willingly. If she was there out of obligation, it wouldn't matter.

“W-what are you trying to make me say, idiot?”

“What?” He looked at Yurine before he could understand what she was saying.

“You're going to bring my mother back, that's it... Why are you laughing? I'm not saying anything funny!”

He could have cried. His fear was dispelled with a few simple words. Yu couldn't stop himself from being happy, from smiling. Yurine cared about him, she wanted to stay by his side.

“Can I hug you?” he asked with a big smile on his face.

“No.”

“Well, can I kiss you just once?”

“No!”

He kept smiling even though he was rejected twice by Yurine. If Yurine would continue to be by his side, they could keep talking.

“So, what was Sharley's problem? What did he tell you? Did he do anything?”

He needed to know what happened after the displays of affection ended. He was certain that Sharley had asked Yurine to work together to bring her mother back, and Yurine confirmed her thoughts with her next sentence.

“He told me to come with him and he would bring my mother back.”

What Yurine expected from Yu was to bring her mother back. The apparent reason for the road they were on, for everything they had done so far, was to get Rie's life back.

“Yu Valarfin is a selfish asshole...”

Sharley was also trying to bring Rie back and wanted Yurine with her to do it.

And Yurine had rejected Sharley even though he was her mother's apprentice, and choosing Yu who had never promised to bring Rie back.

Yu was selfish. He wanted Yurine to stand by him, even though he didn't believe in her, rather than go with Sharley who could fulfill her wish.

“He asked about you too. I believe we will meet him again.”

Yu and Sharley had not spoken a word. So he couldn't make inferences about his character, couldn't predict his moves.

But he too believed that they would meet in the future. If it was Yu, he would have tried to get Yurine.

“But you rejected him.”

“Yes.”

“For me?”

Yurine blushed and started playing with her tail.

“Why don't you indulge me a little, Yurine? It would increase your sweetness.”

“Shut up!”

For the first time, thanks to the happiness he felt Yu was completely finished a meal that he could not taste.

As they were about to get up to go to their rooms, two city guards wearing white and green uniforms entered the inn. Yu watched them out of the corner of his eye as he greeted the guards who had just brought them food.

“Yes?”

“We're looking for two people, Yu Valarfin and Yurine Valarfin.”

First the waiter looked at Yu and Yurine, then the city guards.

“I am Yu Valarfin.”

One of the city guards held the hilt of his sword while the other showed Yu the arrest warrant.

“You're under arrest for kidnapping and detention.”

***

“Commissar-”

“Headcommissar.” Floy arrogantly corrected Yu's misspelled title.

“Headcommissar, there must be some mistake. What does kidnapping mean?"

They were in Floy's office, in the same room where they had been interrogated by Floy earlier. Unlike the first time, he had come here in handcuffs, not of his own accord.

But Yu was not the only one handcuffed. Yurine's wrists were handcuffed with wooden cuffs that would be useless if she tried to break free.

Yu, charged with the crime of Deprivation of Liberty, was apparently handcuffed.

But Yurine, the person deprived of her liberty, was handcuffed because she was facing a very different and more serious charge.

The reason for the handcuffs on Yurine's wrists is that she used magic to attack the guards while they were handcuffing Yu.

The crime of Assaulting an Officer in the Line of Duty was the main problem they had to worry about.

It was just a suspicion on Yu's part, Yurine's single statement could have been enough to exonerate Yu, and even if it wasn't, there were a few people who could provide a defense on Yu's behalf.

But after Yurine's action, there was nothing that could be done to exonerate her. It could also be decided that Yu had made Yurine attack the guards and Yurine could be sent to the orphanage while Yu was arrested.

“Worse, what if we are declared terrorists and executed?”

“That's the tip,” Floy said.

“Okay, that's the denunciation, but did you have to choose such a noisy method? Didn't we come here voluntarily before? Haven't you spoken to Yurine before? You know I didn't detain her. What was the need for such an outrage?”

Yu's arrest might have reflected badly on Lucia's inn, but right now Yu was thinking about his own reputation, not Lucia's.

“Besides, Yurine is officially my daughter. Am I going to be charged with kidnapping my own child? And what kind of kidnapping is that? If there was a problem, wouldn't she have told you during your interrogation? And above all, is it possible for me to keep Yurine, for God's sake? She is strong enough to kill me in one move.”

“I understand your complaints,” Floy said calmly in response to Yu's long speech.

“So?”

Floy didn't say anything else, he was going to follow protocol even though he knew Yu was innocent.

“Who is this whistleblower? Can we get his name?”

“The person he's claiming to be is someone of some importance, Sharley von Bishory. It's hard to know for sure if it's him.”

Yu bit his lip and tried to suppress his anger, but he couldn't relax until he said it. He looked at Yurine.

“Yurine.”

“What happened?”

“Is Sharley's mom single?”

While he was sad about Sharley’s mother, Stella’s son was causing trouble for them.

“Why?”

“Because I’ll fu-”

Everyone knew the rest of the sentence, Floy slammed his hand hard on the table and stopped Yu.

“Don't forget you're at the police station!”

Floy was angry at Yu's seemingly disrespectful words. Yu, angry at being brought here like this.

“I can do it if I want to, the Wizarding Academy is right there. I could really do it, it would only take two wooings. What woman could refuse me? I'm gorgeous, I'm so handsome.”

He was sure he could seduce Sharley's mother by taking advantage of her emotional breakdown. He could if he wanted to, but he wasn't going to because he was trying to be a good dad for Yurine.

“I leave you for two hours and in two hours you've got us in the police station.”

“When I leave you for two hours, you become mortingen straße.”

“Are you selling me the words you learned from me?”

It was nice that Yurine was attracted to him, but it was not nice to be hit by his own words.

“Sharley von Bishory will be here soon,” Floy said. It bothered him that Yu and Yurine were suddenly acting like they were the only ones here.

A few minutes of waiting on his word was enough. Sharley von Bishory entered the room accompanied by four guards.

“Are you Yu Valarfin?” he said as soon as he entered the room. Anger and hatred dripped from his low voice.

“Ungrateful pimp, I wish I'd never carried you on my back.”

His only regret about Sharley that day was leaving him in the tunnel under the tower. He wanted to leave him somewhere inside the tower to ensure his death.

“I am Yu Valarfin,” Yu said comfortably.

As soon as Sharley got the answer, he threw his hands in the air and started shouting.

“THAT'S THE GUY! THAT'S THE GUY WHO KEPT NEKO AND MADE HER ATTACK ME!”

After he finished his sentence, he started coughing, and after a few coughs he coughed up blood. He did nothing but pain himself.

“He's not keeping me.” Yurine, unlike Sharley, spoke quietly and calmly. “The only problem here is this bastard,” she said, pointing at Sharley.

Sharley kept coughing and everyone looked at her.

“Sharley von Bishory was your mother Rie's apprentice, if I remember correctly.”

“Yes!” Sharley shouted, spitting blood again. One of the four city guards who had brought Sharley here left the room to fetch a healer.

“Why you didn’t tell anything about him?” Floy asked but Sharley continued to speak.

“I... I was my master's apprentice.” His voice was hoarse, unlike before. “This man must be responsible for her death too!” He raised his voice again, and pointed his crooked fingers at Yu.

“No, it wasn't him...”

"Did Yurine just defend me?"

Yurine had blamed Yu for her mother's death and called him a murderer. Now she was defending him against Sharley.

“You've been brainwashed...”

“No, you disgusting creature. I cannot be brainwashed because of my superior nature.”

“You've been brainwashed! Kill this guy and let's go!”

“Don't be ridiculous, you disgusting creature. He'll come with me, that's the deal.”

“What de-al-!” Sharley had just started when he broke into a coughing fit.

When a healer arrived with the guard who had just left, he sat Sharley in a chair and began to cast a healing spell. Sharley could breathe easier with the spell.

“You had a fight in the park, tell me about it, Yurine.” Floy gave Yurine the first word.

“I was in the park with Nerissa when this creature came and tried to kidnap me.”

“Tried to kidnap-!” Sharley broke into another coughing fit. Yu was amused that he couldn't finish his sentence.

“When Nerissa and I were trying to get away from him, he used magic against us, and we used magic after that. People must have seen it too.”

“That fairy was trying to kidnap you...” Sharley looked at Yurine as if betrayed.

“You're out of your mind,” Yurine said.

Yu could see that Sharley had gone crazy. The pain of his body burning had taken its toll on his sanity.

He had no idea of the extent of his love for Rie, but Rie's death must have taken its toll on Sharley's sanity. In short, the events overlapped.

“We haven't found the girl Nerissa, but two people who saw the incident will come here as eyewitnesses. After listening to them, we will decide what to do.”

“Stupid Sharley, he's really out of his mind. He will be found guilty at the end of this.”

“Headcommissar,” another city guard called through the open door and greeted Floy. “Witnesses.”

In the afternoon, two people who had been in the park and witnessed the incident were taken into the office. One was a young man and the other an old woman.

“Can you tell us what happened?”

The old woman took the floor and began to describe what she had seen.

“This child and the black-haired girl were about to leave the park when this man came. I didn't hear the conversation between them. What I saw was that when the black-haired girl tried to take this child away, this man here used magic to stop them from leaving. Then he reached out his hand to the child and the black-haired girl pushed him away.”

“Did she do it using magic?”

“Yes.”

Floy took note of what she said and then looked at young man. “I'm listening.”

“It was as aunt said, when this man reached out his hand again, this time the girl here used magic.”

The young man took a step back, saying he had nothing more to add.

“What do you say?” Sharley looked around the room with reddened eyes. Her voice was a little better. “This man, this man... Enough is enough! Why doesn't anyone understand? This bastard standing here tricked Neko!”

“Calm down, please.”

“I won't calm down!”

Sharley shouted at Floy and tried with all his might to stand up, but the guards next to him grabbed him and put him back down. Sharley flailed his arms and legs, struggling to get up.

“I'll kill you, bastard!” he shouted at Yu.

Yu was scared. To hide his fear, he turned to Floy and asked her in a mocking tone.

“Are death threats criminalized?”

“Yes, put him in the holding cell. We'll contact Mr. Bishory at the academy.”

“Then we should get up now...” Yu said and stood up as one of the guards uncuffed him and Yurine.

“We haven't talked about Yurine's action yet.”

“Wasn't that a misunderstanding?”

Floy wasn't going to let Yu just brush it off and leave.

“You are forbidden to leave the city until the trial takes place, we will send notices to the city gates to that effect.”

“Oh, no. We are adventurers and we need to get back to our friends in Redchapel.”

“Being an adventurer gives you no privileges outside the guilds. Be thankful that Yurine did not injure them, or you would have faced harsher conditions.”

“Got it...”

There would be no point in fighting back. For now, all they could do was calmly accept the situation and be grateful that they would not see Sharley for a while.