Chapter 32
“No… sir.”
…Awkward. So awkward!
Using honorifics with Kainel of all people felt unbearably stiff.
Clicking her tongue inwardly, Ceres turned around to bring out the stew.
“I’ll do it.”
“It’s fine.”
Ceres filled a bowl with stew, dismissing Jay’s outstretched hand offering to help, and headed out of the kitchen with it herself.
How often would she get such an opportunity? A chance to see him up close like this?
‘Probably never again.’
She didn’t know why he had come here, but if she could see him, she wanted to take this opportunity to get even a little closer.
Clink.
“Enjoy your meal.”
As Ceres set the bowl of stew in front of Kainel, he stared intently at the food.
Why? What’s he looking for? Is something wrong?
‘Ah!’
This guy, don’t tell me…
“Don’t leave the bell peppers.”
‘Hey, what are you picking out now?’
‘Bell peppers.’
‘…I diced them as fine as sand, and you still see them?’
‘I see them.’
‘Just eat them.’
‘No. I won’t.’
‘From tomorrow on, I’ll make nothing but bell pepper dishes for you!’
‘G-Grace? That doesn’t mean I’ll have to eat them too, does it?’
‘Of course, Arthia. You’ll eat them too. Don’t be stupid. Do you think Grace would only give them to me?’
‘Damn it! Whose fault is this? Why are you so smug about it, you idiot?!’
Kainel had always hated bell peppers since he was a child.
No matter how hard she tried, she could never get him to eat them.
“…….”
Kainel picked up his spoon but glanced back at Ceres.
“…Bell peppers?”
“Ah, you like them… sir? Well, that’s good.”
Ceres clicked her tongue inwardly again.
He would’ve immediately picked them out back in the day. Has his taste changed?
Realizing she had spoken without thinking, lost in old memories, she forced an awkward smile.
“…….”
Kainel briefly looked at Ceres without answering and then moved his spoon.
But as he ate, he deliberately pushed aside the pieces of bell pepper as if to show her.
‘You little…!’
Are you doing this on purpose? Just to spite me?
Your personality has gotten even worse than before!
‘Sigh.’
What have you been doing for 300 long years? Not even your taste buds have changed.
Suppressing the urge to grab the spoon and shove the food into his mouth herself, Ceres let out a quiet sigh.
Ding.
“Huh? What’s this? Why is it so quiet today?”
At that moment, someone entered the shop—it was Chaian de Devrica, the Tower Master.
Noticing the unusually empty shop, he tilted his head in curiosity.
“Well, at least I don’t have to line up today. That’s nice.”
“…Is that something you should say in front of the shop owner?”
“Hey, I didn’t mean it that way.”
Seemingly in a great mood, Chaian smiled despite Ceres’s reproach.
“Isn’t your shop about to go under?”
“What about your tower? Isn’t it close to collapsing?”
Can the Tower Master afford to be away so often?
Ceres was used to Chaian visiting the shop almost every day, but she still couldn’t understand why he kept coming. He didn’t seem particularly fond of the stew, unlike other customers. Why do you even come here?
“Don’t worry, don’t worry. My tower functions even better without me.”
“…….”
…Is that really something to be proud of?
‘Then again.’
For someone as notable as the Tower Master, few people actually recognized him.
Despite putting his face on the cover of books, he wasn’t particularly famous. That just showed how little he interacted with the outside world.
‘Well, Yulia seems to like him.’
A Tower Master adored only by kids.
“Are you having stew?”
“Yeah!”
Looking at Chaian with a hint of pity, Ceres turned back toward the kitchen.
“Huh?”
Chaian, who had been smiling as he watched Ceres disappear, casually turned his head and finally noticed Kainel.
Tilting his head in confusion, his eyes gradually widened before he abruptly shot up from his seat.
“Frozen Man!”
At that shout, not only Kainel, who was eating stew, but also Ceres, who had just stepped into the kitchen, turned to look at him.
“Sigh.”
Ceres let out an involuntary sigh, lightly shaking her head.
Does the Tower have some kind of registry for assigning nicknames?
‘Shut up, Frozen Man!’
Long ago, Arthia had also called Kainel by that nickname. How could it be that the Tower Master and others kept coming up with the exact same name?
“…….”
Was Kainel thinking the same thing? He looked at Chaian with a slightly peculiar expression.
“Excuse me!”
Chaian quickly approached Kainel, his eyes sparkling.
There was something he had always wanted to ask him!
“By any chance, have you seen my Bluedol?”
“…Bluedol?”
Despite Kainel’s expression that screamed, What nonsense is this?, Chaian continued without pause.
Kainel might still have the same taste in food, but it seemed he had mastered the art of cursing with his expressions… Watching her old friend’s growth brought Ceres a small moment of internal applause before she suddenly froze.
“I keep thinking it came from the North, where you live. It looks like this…”
Before she realized it, Chaian had pulled out a Recording Orb and was about to play it.
Thud!
“Ahhh!”
But a hand swiftly snatched the Recording Orb and threw it to the ground.
“What are you doing!”
It was none other than Ceres.
Bang! Crash! Crash!
She didn’t stop at throwing it. She stomped on the orb repeatedly, crushing it entirely. Chaian let out a wail, screaming in despair.
“Ah, sorry. My foot slipped.”
“…Couldn’t you at least make a more convincing excuse?”
Looking at the shattered remains of the Recording Orb, Chaian let out a hollow laugh of disbelief.
“What the hell was that? Why are you doing this all of a sudden?! Ugh…”
‘What else? I’m trying to prevent chaos.’
Ceres sighed softly, her foot still planted on the orb’s remains.
She had recognized that the footage Chaian was about to show Kainel was the very magic stone video she had planned to sell in the shop. She had no choice but to destroy it.
‘Why the hell did this guy suddenly pull that out?’
If Kainel had seen it?
‘Ugh, damn it.’
The mere thought sent chills down her spine.
“I’ll compensate you.”
“Compensate?”
“Yeah. But you’re not expecting the price of a brand-new item, are you? It was second-hand. You’re not that shameless, right?”
…Looks like Colin’s going to scold me again.
Hopefully, it wasn’t anything ridiculously expensive.
As Ceres furrowed her brows in silent anxiety, Chaian stopped his fake sobbing, his eyes lighting up as he spoke.
“I don’t need money.”
“Oh. Thanks.”
“No, no! That doesn’t mean I’m not accepting compensation!”
Chaian quickly grabbed Ceres, who had already turned around after hearing the word “money.”
“If not money, then what?”
Ceres’s response carried a hint of reluctance, but Chaian smiled brightly.
“Just do me a favor later.”
“No, I don’t want to. I’ll just pay you.”
“Why not!”
“Because you’re going to ask for something weird.”
“I’m not!”
“I’ll find you the same second-hand item and give it to you.”
“But my Bluedol isn’t in that!”
…Bluedol, again.
She wanted to fetch the magic stone with Bluedol from her storage space and throw it at him right that second.
“Do whatever you want.”
“Really? You promised.”
Promise, my foot.
If he asks for something ridiculous later, she planned to fix this whole mess by reversing time.
Determined, Ceres carefully picked up the shattered remnants of the Recording Orb.
‘It’s better to erase the footage, just in case.’
Who would’ve thought Chaian would try to show that footage to Kainel here?
Her gaze flicked sideways.
“…Tsk.”
As expected…
Even as they made a ruckus right beside him, Kainel calmly continued eating his stew. Ceres lightly shook her head at the sight.
***
“Have they still not found my wife and son…?”
“We’ve expanded the search area, but there are too few clues… We’re truly sorry.”
“Dave… Sniff… My poor Dave…”
“Please wait a little longer. We’ll find them.”
From early morning, Nox, Dave’s father, was at the guards’ office again, sobbing weakly on the floor.
“If something happens to my wife or Dave in the meantime…”
His trembling voice, full of fear at the mere thought, made those around him look at him with pity.
“We will find them. Please don’t worry.”
“Yes, please… Please, I beg of you.”
After crying for some time, Nox left the guardhouse, supported by another person.
He had become a familiar sight, visiting the place multiple times a day.
Everyone sympathized with him, knowing that his wife, who had eloped, and his son were now at risk of violence and even losing their lives.
Despite the guards’ best efforts, their heartfelt attempts to locate the two yielded no results, leaving everyone feeling helpless.
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