"Brother! Brother! Brother!!! I heard! You won in a duel, right?"
Hours after Lawrence was defeated in our duel. Muir came running into the house, wearing an apron.
"Muir, didn't you say you were going to stay at the guild today?"
"I had some small business to take care of and came back early! But that's not what I wanted to talk to you about! I heard that you defeated the eldest son of the Earl of Eldegard with one hit! Is it true!?"
"Ah, yeah."
"You did it! Taking down a noble with one hit! Your reputation is going to explode through the roof! Let's celebrate! Fufufu~!" She was strangely high-spirited.
Since Muir said she was going to take requests from the guild today, she should have been in school. How did she find out about the duel...?
I was honestly happy that she wanted to celebrate, but I had a bad feeling about it. I thought that Muir wouldn't come back today, so I was a little careless.
"Muir, um...I actually have a friend staying over at my house from today."
"A friend? ...well, it's okay if it's my brother's friend. Is it Laios or Eddie?"
I haven't told Muir about Laios or Eddie yet. I wonder why she knows about my classmates too...while I was thinking that, I slowly shook my head.
"No, neither of those..... Hey! Come in." I turned around and called out to the person waiting outside the door. The person who came in was a silver-haired girl.
"Well, it's nice to meet you. I'm Crenna B. Viliens.” Crenna gazed at Muir for a while introducing herself. "Wow, it's the sword princess .......” she remarked.
"Why are you here?"
"I’m sorry?"
"You just barged into someone's house without permission and you're really brazen."
"No, no! I already got permission from Kale!!" Crenna opened her eyes wide and protested.
“The reason she's here is that--well, it's part of her job. Crenna had been staying at an inn in the capital until the day we met. However, the empire's military had found out where she was and attacked her. Now she's sleeping at other inns, but if they find her again, she'll end up stepping into the same trap." I stepped in.
There are a lot of inns in the capital, but it would be easy to find the one she's using if they did a widespread search.
“Then, why don't you come to my house?”
It was about three hours ago that I made the suggestion, about the time after I had won my fight against Lawrence. As far as I'm concerned, I want Crenna, the target of my escort to be by my side as much as possible.
Since Muir is basically staying at the guild, I thought she won't be getting dragged into this.
But still......
"It's......the worst......If this is what's going to happen, I shouldn't have taken that long-term job."
"A long-term job?"
"Actually, I came back today to tell you that I'm going to be gone for a couple of weeks on a job. I have to leave tonight, but I was hoping to be able to have dinner with you first......I didn't expect to find you here with this fox woman !"
Crenna was dejected when she was called a fox woman and I tried to calm down Muir, who was furious at the idea of Crenna staying over.
"Muir-san, is it no good? I'm not going to be sleeping here forever. Just for a few days......" Crenna remarked.
"It's no good! This is mine and my brother's love nest! I will not allow any other woman to sleep here! I don't want any other woman's smell here!"
What the hell is she saying? Sometimes I really don't understand what Muir is thinking at all.
Muir stands at the entrance, as she's trying to intimidate Crenna.
“Muir, please. I can't tell you much, but... there's something complicated going on, and Crenna is a vampire aristocrat, but she's not someone to be suspicious of”.
Muir wasn't ready to accept, instead her face kept turning red.
"B-But... even if you look at me with that kind of face... I can't do it." It seems like her face hasn't changed. However, this is troublesome. I can't go looking for a place at this moment.
"How about for just today?" I suggested this, and Muir shows the signs of considering it with a voice that's strained.
After a long while of grumbling, Muir says in a voice that's squeezed out. "I accept...but, there are conditions. The water in the bathtub must be replaced every time. And no contact after 10 pm. I'll lend you my room, so please sleep there."
"I understand."
"W-We understand..." After I nod, Crena also nods with a white face, watching Muir. It's unclear what Muir is trying to accomplish with this kind of attitude but after she laid out her conditions, Crenna silently nodded her head.
“And also! I'm sure you'll agree with me. I'll leave the breakfast I made for you, so please don't go in the kitchen, Crenna-san! I won't let my brother's stomach go empty!"
Why is there rivalry in this?
“I'm not going to let you grab get close to brother's stomach!” As she exclaimed, I cringed not understanding a single bit.
"That's it. If you follow these then I will forgive you just for today."
Looks like I've managed to get Muir's permission. I patted my chest down with relief, and let Crenna stay for today.
After dinner, Muir prepared to go to the guild. As I saw her off to the door, she gave me a smile. Then she glared at Crenna next to me.
"Crenna-san. If you break your promise--I'll kill you." With that, Muir drew her sword and made a metallic sound. Crenna became pale and shook her head repeatedly.
After Muir had gone out the door, it closed with a thud.
Crenna let out a deep breath and looked at me.
"Muir-chan... she looked really mad." I broke the silence.
“I'm sorry. but your sister seems like she has a brother complex”.
"I’m not even sure if it goes beyond that" Crenna and I, exhausted, returned to the living room.
Sitting wearily in a chair, Crenna took the tea I offered her. After a moment's hesitation, she sipped it. I learned that she was of the nobility in the vampire society, but she didn't look like it.
"So, where should we stay tomorrow?" Crenna’s words prompted me to answer after taking a sip of my tea.
"It’s fine here."
"What? But the promise was for just one day..."
"I know. But I can't go back on my word to Muir. After all, it's just a verbal agreement."
Muir was gone on a long assignment and wouldn't be back for two weeks. Even if Crenna sleeps over for a few days, as long as she doesn't leave any evidence, she won't be found out.
Crenna felt guilty about lying to Muir, even though she had been stared at a lot.
"I see... well if that's the case, Kale-Kun. What about your parents? Are they away?"
"Yeah. They're... missing."
"Missing?"
"Yeah. I've been worried about them, but I can't seem to find them. It's been a long time since then, and I don't think either of us is really bothered by it, so there's no need to worry about it.”
I wonder if it's not just a coincidence...... It's been so long ago, I don't even know if they're alive or dead, so I can't decide if I should mourn or resent the absence of my parents. I suppose if it goes on like that for too long, I can't help but lose interest.
After finishing her tea, Crenna stood up slowly and began to wander around the living room. While she was walking, she noticed a sword that was mounted on the wall and stopped to look at it.
"Is this Muir's sword?" She glanced at it.
"No... it's my mother's." The fact that I couldn't properly say "it was my mother's" probably meant deep down I still hoped that my parents were alive somewhere.
"My mother was also a famous swordsman, but she was from a different continent. I don't think she's very well-known in this country."
"Is that so... Then your dad is probably from this country, right?"
"Yeah. My dad was an adventurer. He met my mom while he was on an adventure, and they ended up buying a house here."
"Hmm. If that's the case, maybe your mother and father are having an adventure somewhere right now.”
She said exactly what I was thinking moments ago.
“That's ...... possible. Now that I think about it, both my mom and dad had crazy personalities. Before my parents disappeared, they often took me and Muir out to play. We enjoyed the beautiful nature, being guided through majestic temples, and exploring eerie ruins, but I don't think they did it just to entertain us. They seemed to have as much fun as we did."
As I was reminiscing about the past like this, I noticed Crenna looking at me silently.
I wondered if she has a weird face on.
I checked and realized we both had a soft smile on our faces.
"Kale, I'm going to stay at another place from tomorrow on." Creana looks away and says.
“There are so many memories of your family here. I don't want to jeopardize them because of me. I'm sorry for causing this trouble." She's really making me feel guilty now.
Originally, she was against staying at our house for more than a day, because of her promise to Muir. Her attitude seems even more resolute. I don't think I can persuade her any further.
"......But it's dangerous out there."
"I know. Hmm, what should we do?" We both start to worry. If this is how it's going to be, we should have never agreed to let her stay for just one day.
"I wonder if Muir is at the guild right now. Maybe it would be better to go see her now and negotiate with her again."
I realized it when I thought about it that far. THE GUILD!
"Oh right! It's a guild! We'll stay at the guild's lodging facility. It's well guarded and safe there."
Since I don't belong to a guild, I had not realized it but I am impressed with myself for having thought of it.
"Rather, the guild would be safer than my house. The guild is operated by the country so, the risk of leaking personal information is really low. Even if the imperial army were to ask for the list of guests, I would be able to refuse them as long as I followed the proper procedures."
"I've never used the guild before, but can anyone use the lodging facility?" Crenna asked with a glimar of hope.
"I don't know because I've never used it either, but it shouldn't be a big hassle. Let's go to the guild tomorrow after school."
Crenna nodded happily, saying, "Yes!"
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