Chapter 72
Leaving Lucy's house, I looked up at the sky.
The weather was lovely again today. A walk beneath the clear, cloudless sky was a nice change of pace.
"Lovely weather again today."
"It is. If this kind of weather keeps up, it'll be pleasant and easy to get around. Yaaawn..."
Lucy replied to my casual remark.
It was certainly more pleasant to walk on a sunny day than in bad weather like rain or snow. Lucy seemed to agree, stretching and yawning as she walked.
"So, where abouts is this house?"
"It won't take long to get there from here."
Since it wasn't far from Lucy's current house, her old place was probably in the Central District too. That alone made it a pretty nice property. Land prices in Bartlreen's Central District were quite high.
It'd be nice if it were close to the guild or the Order's headquarters.
"...Oh, right. About what happened yesterday..."
"Hm? Is there something else?"
As we strolled along, I brought up another subject.
It was a rather grim topic to bring up while we were enjoying a pleasant walk.
"One of the corpses I cut down looked like Myui's older sister. ...I can't say for sure, though."
"...I see."
Maybe it was just someone who looked like her. They say there are three people in the world with faces just like yours, after all.
Still, as far as I knew, not many people had hair of that color. It wasn't unreasonable that I'd made the connection.
"We shouldn't tell Myui. There's no point in telling her."
"Ah, you think so too, Lucy?"
Like Allucia, Lucy also thought we shouldn't tell Myui. It seemed my instincts hadn't been wrong.
Your sister was conveniently used by an evil bishop, then controlled, so I cut her down. No matter how you looked at it, that wasn't something you could tell a young child.
"Still, do look after her. She must be lonely."
"...? Yeah, I intend to."
I wasn't planning on leaving her to fend for herself, either, but wouldn't that be more Lucy's job, since Myui was living with her? These days, I probably didn't have that many day-to-day interactions with Myui.
"Oh, right. About Myui, I'm thinking of enrolling her in the Mage Academy. It'd be a shame to let her talent for magic go to waste."
"I see. I agree."
Well, Lucy seemed to be thinking about Myui's future, too.
Rather than letting her spend her days aimlessly, she needed something to work toward—or, to put it more simply, something to take her mind off things.
Whether she'd eventually join the Mage Corps was a separate matter, but having her hone her skills at the Mage Academy seemed like a good choice, given her talent. If she stayed depressed forever, nothing would ever get resolved.
"Oh, here we are."
"Oh... Not bad."
After walking and chatting, we arrived at a quiet spot a little removed from the center of the Central District.
There wasn't much foot traffic. There were probably a few houses around here, and everyone was at work right now.
By my estimation, it was about halfway between the Order's headquarters and Lucy's house, though a little closer to Lucy's.
It wasn't too far or too close to the headquarters—just right. Yeah, it was within walking distance, even if I had to commute every day. It seemed like a good location.
"It isn't very big, but that shouldn't be a problem, right?"
"I think it's plenty."
Where I had stopped, a single-story house stood before me. It was a little on the small side for a building in the Central District.
Small or not, it was more than big enough for me to live alone. I hadn't brought much luggage from my family home in Bidden Village in the first place. Just my sword, spending money, and a change of clothes.
"All right, let's see... Anyone home?"
"Huh?"
Lucy pounded on the front door of the single-story house.
Wait. Someone's there? You said no one lived here. My brain froze for a moment at her sudden move.
"Who's there...? Oh, Lucy-san."
"...Myui?"
The one who came out was a girl with dull blue hair and upturned eyes. It was Myui Freia.
She wasn't wearing the rags she'd had on when we first met, but simple, clean clothes. Looking closer, her hair and skin seemed a little healthier, too. I was glad to see she was living a proper life after being taken in by Lucy.
I wondered why she wasn't at Lucy's house, and here she was.
"...Old man—ah... Beryl-san is here too... You're here, too, aren't you...?"
"It's fine, you don't have to be so formal. Just act like you normally do."
Her way of speaking made her seem like a completely different person. She looked around awkwardly, as if unsure what to do, and seemed to be struggling with the unfamiliar polite speech.
Aw, this is kind of cute, too. I was looking at her with the indulgent gaze of an old man looking at a child.
"Hahahaha. Harwi's strict about the way people speak."
"I see."
Harwi-san really was everything one could ask for in someone serving another. She was the complete opposite of Lucy's free-spirited ways—a proper, dependable person.
Maybe that's exactly why she couldn't let a girl staying as a guest get away with behaving so roughly. I could picture Myui looking downcast after Harwi-san had scolded her.
"So, what are you doing here, Myui?"
"Uh... Cleaning, cooking, and stuff?"
Hmm. I felt terribly guilty about accepting a house cleaned up by a girl Myui's age. Was this one of those things I shouldn't think too hard about? Right, I'd try not to think about that part.
I figured Lucy wasn't just extending Myui's stay under her protection indefinitely, but was getting her ready to live independently little by little like this.
I thought that was better for Myui. There was a big difference between watching over her and being overprotective.
"Well, since we're here, shall we take a look inside?"
"Sure."
If I was actually going to live here, I'd want to check the interior, and since we'd come all this way, I might as well take a look inside.
"I haven't gotten to the details yet, but most of the cleaning's done."
"Good work, Myui. You did great."
"...Hmph."
I sincerely praised her for working hard, but the reception was lukewarm. Still, she seemed to have softened quite a bit compared to when we'd first met.
A peaceful life really did seem to mellow people out. Myui was still young, so I imagined she'd change a lot in that respect.
"Well, Beryl? What do you think?"
"Yeah, it's not bad. It's a nice house."
"Haha, that's good to hear."
The three of us looked around the whole place. It was a little old, but perfectly suitable for someone to live in. Myui having cleaned it up recently probably helped; nothing seemed out of place.
It seemed to have all the furniture it needed, too, so I could move in right away.
If I actually moved in here, I'd think of the inn where I'd stayed for so long, and the tavern near it that I frequented.
Well, I could still go to the tavern even if I moved. And it wouldn't be bad to explore some new places to eat.
"It's settled, then. Don't worry, I won't charge you. Consider it an apology for trying to rip you off when we first met."
"Oh, right. That happened, didn't it?"
Come to think of it, my first encounter with her had started with a fight. What a nuisance.
Still, if going along with one of her whims had earned me a house in a good location, maybe it was a fair deal after all.
"Well... I look forward to living with you."
"Hm? What do you mean?"
As I mused a little about the fact that this house would be my new home, Myui gave me a strange greeting.
Look forward to what?
"What do you mean? You're going to live with Myui. Didn't I tell you?"
"Huh?"
Huh?
I never heard a word about that!