Kaze stepped onto the wooden floor of the tavern in Renn Town, making the wine glasses on the counter tremble slightly.
The tavern owner looked up at this big guy carrying a greatsword, then continued wiping glasses as if nothing had happened.
“Excuse me, sir, have those bastards from Kol’s group been here?”
Kaze slapped his hand on the counter, raising a layer of floating dust.
“About three hours ago, they came by in the afternoon,” the halfling seemed long used to such scenes and answered briefly. “They drank three barrels of ale and left, yelling about heading to the bathhouse for some fun.”
“Thanks, sir.”
Kaze sighed.
He pulled a silver coin from his pocket and placed it on the table, then turned to leave.
“I’ll come by another day. Remember to save me some good wine.”
……
“Damn it, they started fooling around from noon…”
Kaze strode through the sparsely populated streets.
Renn Town’s nights should have been livelier than its busy days.
Ever since Her Highness the Princess arrived in Renn Town, the people in the town had behaved much more obediently.
Everyone knew Her Highness was investigating clues about the heretics, and after last week’s fire started by a witch was made public, the entire Renn Town was in a state of panic.
Kaze had originally thought that in such a critical moment, even the laziest people would become more reliable, but the facts proved he had still underestimated how outrageously unreliable Kol’s bunch could be.
Kaze had already figured out exactly how he would deal with Kol’s group once he caught them.
This time he would have to use his fists to teach them a lesson.
If they refused to listen… he glanced at the greatsword on his back—it would mean bringing out this big fellow to intimidate them.
Although Kaze looked like a fierce, burly man, he actually had no interest in fighting—unlike most hot-blooded people from the Northern Border… if not for certain unavoidable reasons forcing him onto the battlefield, Kaze would have preferred to stay home and farm for the rest of his life.
Chaotic thoughts kept flashing through his somewhat dizzy head, probably from overusing his brain lately.
Kaze felt as if every step he took was soft and cotton-like.
He could not help envying Gro’s sharp mind.
No matter how complicated the information, that guy could always extract the most valuable parts in an orderly fashion.
Kaze’s vision blurred slightly as he scanned the buildings on both sides of the street.
The night wind carried a chill as it brushed his cheeks, but it could not dispel the dizziness in his mind.
He stopped, leaned against the wall at the street corner, and caught his breath.
“Damn it, I shouldn’t have copied Gro’s schedule.”
Just as he adjusted his breathing, a familiar figure caught the corner of his eye turning from the street corner.
A certain familiar girl was walking forward quickly, her silver-white long hair gleaming coldly under the moonlight, her golden eyes flashing with obvious displeasure.
“Huh?”
Kaze rubbed his eyes.
At first he thought his dizziness had made him see wrong.
Ileil should currently be serving as Her Highness the Princess’s personal guard and logically should not leave her side for even a moment.
But he quickly came to his senses—this rare combination of silver hair and golden eyes could only belong to Ileil.
“Wait, Ileil… what are you doing here?”
Ileil, who had been called, turned her head.
After clearly seeing Kaze’s face, she spoke indifferently. “Because I said the wrong thing and made Her Highness angry. I tried to reason with her, and in the end she told me to get lost.”
“…” Kaze looked at Ileil’s overly calm face and for a moment did not know where to begin his complaints.
“Although I don’t know how you managed to argue with Her Highness, given your personality…” Kaze forced himself to straighten up. “But you can’t just abandon your duty when she tells you to get lost, right?”
“It’s fine.” Ileil did not look panicked at all. She answered, “The saint beside Her Highness approved me rolling out for a while tonight. I’ll go apologize to Her Highness tomorrow morning.”
Roll out… for a while?
“I see.” Only then did Kaze notice the towel clutched in her hand and the wooden basin she was carrying. “So… where are you heading next?”
“To take a proper bath and have the bathhouse wash my dirty clothes. Since I’ve been kicked out, it wouldn’t be right to trouble the manor’s servants again.”
Something occurred to Kaze, and an ominous thought surged up.
He took a step forward to block her path. “Wait, you’re not thinking of going to that bathhouse in Renn Town, are you?”
“What’s wrong with that?” Ileil raised an eyebrow. She looked at the somewhat overreacting Kaze and said impatiently, “If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going first.”
Kaze’s expression immediately became colorful.
He looked the innocent girl up and down, fell into a daze over how to express his opinion, and finally, as if possessed, came up with a lame excuse.
“It’s just… uh… the prices there might be a bit high, and the environment is dirty and chaotic. It feels like you should make do tonight and wash back at the manor tomorrow.”
“I have an allowance, and whether the environment is bad or not, I have to see for myself.” Ileil walked around Kaze and said without looking back, “You go handle your business. Goodbye.”
Kaze stared at Ileil’s receding figure and broke into a cold sweat.
He knew exactly what kind of place the bathhouse in Renn Town was—that shop with the bathhouse sign was actually the town’s most famous house of pleasures.
If this girl barges in…
Kaze imagined Ileil’s expression upon seeing those scantily clad girls and could not help shivering.
He quickly chased after her. “Hold on, don’t go yet—let me finish what I was saying—”
Ileil had already pushed open the ornate carved wooden door.
By the time he reached the entrance, Ileil had already entered and was surveying the bathhouse’s interior decorations.
“I think the environment here is quite nice. Where’s the dirty and chaotic part?” Ileil glanced back at Kaze standing outside the door. “At least it looks pretty clean.”
Kaze opened his mouth, but before he could speak—
At that moment, a heavily made-up middle-aged woman twisted her hips as she walked over. “Good evening, beautiful miss. What service do you require?”
It was over.
It was already too late.
Kaze closed his eyes in despair. The situation had still developed to this point.
“You’re in luck… tonight, our shop’s most handsome young lad happens to be available. A beautiful lady like you would make a perfect match with him—talented man and beautiful woman. Or… would you like to see the other boys first before deciding?”
“What the hell?” Ileil froze for a moment. Slow as she was, she finally sensed something was off. “I’m here to bathe. I don’t need these services.”
The madam’s expression immediately turned strange.
She gave Ileil a meaningful look, as if scrutinizing a little deer that had strayed into a wolf pack. “Darling, we are indeed a ‘bathing’ place, however—”
……
“Ileil? Why are you here?”
Before the madam could finish, a familiar voice came from the second floor.
Gro was leaning against the railing, his black shirt collar open far too much, exposing his well-defined collarbones and firm chest. He held a glass of red wine in his hand.
Kaze could not bear to look at Gro at all and simply covered his eyes.
Gro glanced at the dazed Ileil and smiled as he greeted her. “My dear adopted daughter, you’ve truly grown up.”