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Chapter 54
It was the moment when I sought to hold that warmth I'd yearned for so long with even greater firmness.
"Oh, I'm sorry."
Vivian, who had been focused on the sound of the maids' footsteps, belatedly noticed his gaze and released the hand she'd been holding.
Lahedis, watching the hand slip away from him for a moment, returned to the previous topic.
"Which Guild are you planning to visit?"
"Terrak? I heard that's ‌the most famous one these days, isn't it? Do you know about ‌‌‌it?"
At that, Lahedis flinched slightly.
'...I had a feeling something like this would happen once ‌‌‌the Guild came up.'
Since his subordinates were already investigating Dias's movements, Vivian ‌‌‌visiting the Guild again would be unnecessary trouble.
"Why don't ‌‌you just trust the Duke and leave it to him? The back alley where the Guild is located doesn't have good security either...."
"Are you scared of going there?"
"...."
Vivian deliberately needled Lahedis's pride as he proved uncooperative.
Though she didn't know much, if Rachel had assigned such a person as her escort, he must be quite skilled in combat.
'If I ask him if he's afraid of such a person, his pride ‌‌‌‌‌would make him insist on going anyway, wouldn't it?'
Vivian went even further as she grasped the door handle.
"If you're really scared, I'll just go alone."
The moment I stepped out of the room, leaving behind Lahedis's exasperated hollow laugh.
A large hand gently grasped my wrist along with a languid sigh.
"Come with me. There's another way."
Lahedis led Vivian toward a side entrance of a Town House he ‌‌‌knew.
'After all, only Hector among those in the Guild knows my face.'
Since Hector was a high-ranking executive, the probability of him directly attending to clients would be quite low.
* * *
A short while later.
"Is this really the Terrak Guild?"
I asked Lahedis as we arrived in front of a small Antique Shop in the back alley.
"It's one of many buildings. Let's go inside first."
Lahedis, as if to prove he wasn't intimidated, skillfully brought me to this place.
I found it hard to trust that this small Antique Shop belonged to Terrak, but since we'd come this far, I decided to enter.
Ding―
"Is anyone here?"
As the small bell ‌‌‌‌attached to ‌the door chimed, I felt movement from inside the shop, and a burly man with platinum blonde hair and bronze skin emerged.
"Welcome."
He was a man whose image seemed somewhat incongruous with being the owner of an Antique Shop.
'Is he really affiliated with the Guild?'
As I approached the owner while swallowing nervously, his eyes, which had been looking at me indifferently, suddenly shifted to something behind me, and they widened in shock.
"M-Master―"
Just as the man was about to say something.
From behind, Lahedis's hand gently covered my ear, and then....
Bang!
The shop door suddenly slammed shut with a deafening crash. ‌‌‌
The man's voice that ‌‌had been speaking was completely drowned out, and a heavy silence descended in the wake of the commotion.
'There wasn't even much wind today, was there?'
Bewildered by the door closing as if by magic, ‌‌I snapped ‌out of ‌‌my thoughts upon noticing the strange atmosphere around ‌‌‌us.
The shop owner's gaze was fixed on Lahedis behind me.
"Do you ‌‌‌‌two know each other?"
The shop owner hesitated to answer, but Lahedis let out a sigh and responded instead.
"...We're friends. It's been almost ten years since we ‌last met, so I suppose the shock was considerable."
"Really?"
"I never expected to run into you here. Isn't that right, Hector?"
Was it just my imagination, or did Lahedis's voice sound unnervingly cold as he prompted the man named Hector for a response?
"Y-yes, well, it's been ages. I kept thinking it couldn't be, but when I recognized your face, I thought my heart would stop. ...Of course, I'm delighted."
I could see beads of cold sweat forming on the shop owner's forehead.
Despite the shop being shaded and not particularly warm.
But moved by what seemed like a miraculous reunion between two old friends, I paid little attention to such details.
'A chance meeting after ten years!'
After parting with Rachel, perhaps we too might someday encounter each other by chance on the street. ‌‌‌
Would we recognize each other then?
For someone who had often entertained such daydreams, this felt like an overwhelming moment as if it were ‌‌‌my own story.
"You two ‌‌should shake hands! Come on!"
I took it ‌upon myself to orchestrate their touching reunion.
Still unable to ‌‌‌‌believe their chance encounter, the two men grasped each other's hands with somewhat awkward expressions.
Unable to resist my insistence, Hector briefly took Lahedis's hand before quickly releasing it and changing the subject.
"W-well then, might I ‌‌ask what your relationship is...?"
Upon hearing that question, it belatedly occurred to me that others might perceive my relationship with Lahedis quite differently ‌‌from what it actually was.
'But what would I even call our actual relationship?'
Calling him an escort sent by a friend didn't quite capture it—it ‌‌‌was an unusual arrangement that would be difficult for others to understand.
"We're friends."
A friend of a friend is a friend, after all!
"Ah.... I-I see."
Upon hearing my answer, I noticed a hint of sympathy in Hector's eyes directed toward Lahedis.
"Anyway, I'd like to place a request." ‌‌‌
Lahedis interjected abruptly, cutting straight ‌‌to business, and the atmosphere shifted immediately.
"What sort of ‌‌request would that be?"
Hector asked Lahedis with a visibly tense expression—though I couldn't fathom why he was ‌‌so on edge—but instead of answering, Lahedis simply gestured toward me with his chin. ‌‌‌‌
"We're looking for someone."
"Would you be willing to share all the information you have about this person? Physical ‌‌characteristics or minor behavioral habits would be ‌‌helpful as well."
I had barely opened my ‌‌mouth when Hector already displayed an eager willingness to fulfill my request.
But no matter how much of a friend's friend he was, I wasn't naive enough to fall ‌‌‌‌for a merchant's schemes. ‌‌‌
"Well, before ‌‌that, I'd like to ask about the commission fee first. If it's too burdensome an amount, I'll need to think ‌‌‌‌it over."
I'd seen plenty of merchants who vaguely mention the price at first, then announce the final amount after completing the work.
But his response that followed rendered my concerns moot.
"Of course it's ‌‌‌‌free for the lady!"
"Huh? Then how do you make a living here?"
At my question, Hector drooled like someone who'd just realized their mistake.
Then he glanced at Lahedis's face and carefully changed his words.
"Then 100 gold...."
"Gasp."
100 gold was worth roughly 10 million won ‌‌‌‌in modern currency.
'I was expecting around 50 gold.'
I checked to see if the gold bars I'd brought would be enough, and Hector, who'd been staring at Lahedis, broke into a cold ‌‌‌sweat and lowered the price.
"50... no, just 10 gold will ‌‌‌do."
"You're accepting so little?"
"W-well, since you're a friend's friend, I'm giving you a discount."
"It seems like you'd have nothing left...?"
"Ahem, first I'll take 10 gold as a deposit, and then I'll receive ‌‌additional payment depending on the difficulty. If I ‌‌‌can't find them, I'll ‌‌‌refund half."
Honestly, I couldn't guarantee whether we'd be able to find Curtis Rohan or not, so from my perspective, the smaller the deposit, the better.
I paid the deposit and described Curtis Rohan's appearance.
With that, the commission was registered.
"Then I'll contact you as soon as I obtain information."
"Yes, thank you very much."
Lahedis didn't even greet Hector before ‌‌hurrying to ‌‌‌leave the shop.
I grabbed Lahedis's arm, feeling sorry for Hector.
"You two haven't seen each other in so ‌‌‌long—shouldn't you at least catch up?"
"...The shop is still open. Now that I know he's here, that's enough."
Lahedis glanced at Hector once, then left the shop ahead of me.
"Then I'll see you ‌‌‌‌again!"
I bowed respectfully alongside Hector, who was bowing at a perfect 90-degree angle, and stepped outside the shop.
I trotted over to Lahedis, who was waiting leaning against the side ‌‌‌‌of the shop, and waved the gold coins.
"Since we have plenty of budget left, I'll buy ‌you cotton candy on the way."
"...Isn't it that you want to eat it?"
Just pretend you didn't notice that!
His words struck right at the heart of what I'd been trying ‌‌‌‌to gloss over, so I answered with a sheepish grin and lightly grasped his sleeve.
"Come on, let's go."
As I led the way out of ‌‌the back alley, I suddenly recalled my ‌‌‌own musings and asked.
"You know, Lahedis, when I first saw Hector, I got the feeling right away that he ‌‌was that friend?"
"...Yeah."
Lahedis's expression seemed somewhat bitter as he answered, but I, caught up in excitement over the two's reunion, paid it little mind and asked on.
"Then, if I happen ‌‌‌‌to run into Rachel by chance, will I be ‌‌able to recognize him?"

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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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