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Chapter 55
Afterward, the one who saved me was another employee who had come to fetch Euclase. Apologizing repeatedly, he dragged Euclase away with much effort.
Of course, Euclase didn’t leave quietly. He only finally separated from me after I kept soothing him, saying I was fine.
“You can’t just run away like that!”
“S–Sorry. But what… what could I have done in that situation?”
“Still!”
Of course, if it were me, I probably would’ve run away quietly too…! But even so, I couldn’t help finding Gilbert, who had bolted at once, unbelievably irritating.
“Why did that brat hide behind you? At first glance, I thought you two knew each other.”
Gilbert smoothly changed the subject as he asked.
I shook my head and took a bite of the fluffy cake.
“I don’t know either. He suddenly just slipped behind me.”
“That’s weird. That kid is infamous for his awful personality. People can’t stand him.”
“…Really?”
Ah, right. Even in the original story, he didn’t exactly have a soft, easygoing personality.
Because of everything he had gone through, Euclase had a particularly strong sense of wariness.
He didn’t easily trust or rely on others—to the point Gilbert’s comment made complete sense. Euclase was someone who was more accustomed to surviving alone.
But…
‘Did Amelia and Euclase ever interact?’
I didn’t think the two of them had met in the original work. Their spheres of activity were far too different. Euclase mainly stayed in the underworld or battlefields, while Amelia was basically confined to the temple.
Felix had also said he first met her at the temple.
And besides, Euclase didn’t even know my name—so it was hard to say we knew each other.
“But you’re dressed really pretty today. Going somewhere?”
“N–No. Just a little mood-lifting outfit! The Young Lord bought it for me.”
I hadn’t meant to brag, but since we were all in the same place, pretending he didn’t know felt a bit odd.
“Th–The Young Lord?”
A startled Gilbert snapped his head around.
Receiving his stare, Felix frowned.
“What.”
“N–Nothing. Was just asking.”
“Shut… your mouth.”
“Wow…”
He’s even holding back curses.
Seeing a sight he had never imagined, Gilbert quietly covered his mouth.
“It’s my first time seeing the Young Lord buy someone a gift.”
“What— I gave you something before.”
“That was more like a bonus! I’ve never received a heartfelt gift.”
“Why would I put heart into anything for you?”
As Felix cut him off sharply, Gilbert let out a hollow breath and turned back to me.
“You heard that? Can the difference in treatment be this extreme?”
“Umm. Maybe it’s just a bribe from someone who doesn’t want to lose a promising talent…?”
At my words, Felix pulled one corner of his mouth up into a smirk.
“You’re saying you two are the same?”
“…He has more potential for growth than you.”
Gilbert’s shoulders slumped. Feeling awkward at the blatant praise, I flapped my hands.
O–Of course Gilbert is more valuable! As the guild master, he handles countless important tasks—he’s incredibly competent…!”
“Well— I mean— No, wait, that’s kind of true…”
Counting the things he’d done on his fingers, Gilbert nodded.
Felix clicked his tongue as if Gilbert were pathetic. Gilbert muttered that the difference in treatment really was something else.
Then suddenly, as if he remembered something, he asked:
“Oh! Right. Lady, didn’t you say you live with your grandfather?”
“My grandfather?”
Why suddenly bring up my grandfather?
As I stared blankly, Gilbert added with an “oops” expression:
“Since Angelo lives a little far from here, I wondered if you lived alone. I was worried.”
“Oh.”
Right—one of the attendants who helped carry my things had seen my grandfather. Guess the news spread.
“Did you always live with him? I don’t think he was around when we first met.”
“No. We’ve been living together since a few days ago. Something happened at home.”
“A relative of yours?”
“Yes, well…”
A grandfather-like grandfather, anyway.
I nodded obediently.
His eyes wavered strangely for a moment, but he soon smiled as if nothing happened.
“What about him?”
“Oh, nothing. I just wondered if you were doing well. If you were living alone, I was going to arrange housing support.”
“Whoa…”
So this is what it means to work a technical job.
His determination not to lose talent looked quite pretty, actually.
“But you look really bright today?”
Meital, the Young Lord—now Gilbert too. Everyone looked strangely radiant today.
At my comment, Gilbert beamed.
For the first time, light returned to his face, which had looked exhausted enough to make me worry he’d collapse any minute.
“I finally found him!”
There hasn’t been a moment this good in ages.
“Ha, finally!”
We found Wistons Casrieden.
Even thinking about it now filled me with indescribable emotion.
Do you know how much hell I went through all this time searching for the missing family head?!
“Seriously… I’ve rotted away in Raymond my whole life, but I’ve never had a mission this exhausting, grueling, and tear-inducing.”
“But you got a hundred billion in the middle of it.”
“Yup. Which is why I shut up and ran around everywhere.”
Well, he did take the money.
If they’d ordered him around without paying, that would be different. But they shoved ridiculous amounts of money into his hands and then made him work—how could he complain?
“Ahem. Is the cake good?”
“Yes. It’s really, absolutely amazing. I could eat this every day.”
“Come more often. Things aren’t urgent anymore.”
The Young Lord didn’t have much of a sweet tooth, and neither did the guild members. Even if they did eat cake, it was maybe a slice or two at most.
But Amelia wasn’t like that. How did that tiny body devour half a cake between us? It was the first time he’d met someone who shared his exact taste, and it made his heart race.
‘Thank goodness.’
To have such a talented person passionately love our guild’s cakes.
Besides money, we could use our proud pâtissier, Vincent’s cakes as another recruitment perk—unlimited cakes for guild talents.
‘But still, it’s surprising.’
How did this small girl end up living with Casrieden’s family head? When Felix said last night that Wistons was staying with this genius kid, Gilbert truly didn’t believe him.
Naturally. Sure, human relationships can be unpredictable, but the head of the underworld living with someone? That was too absurd, even as a joke.
And yet… Amelia was housing him.
The head of the underworld was lodging at someone’s home. That was beyond ridiculous.
But it turns out Felix and the attendant weren’t the only ones who knew.
‘L–Lord Dion. You’re not kidding… the family head is really staying at the lady’s house?’
‘…Yeah. He looked real healthy, too.’
‘Then why didn’t you tell me…?’
‘He said he’d kill me if I did. What do you expect me to do?’
‘Ah.’
