Chapter 20
“Reuter?”
Letier turned har head to check the man’s face, and let out a welcome voice.
She unknowingly smiled brightly.
Dante, on the other hand, turned to face her and furrowed his dark eyebrows.
He was regretting that he should not have faked his name as Reuter.
His first thought when he found her squatting on the ground a few moments ago was to ignore her.
As Reuter said, it was not good to be involved with a princess who had seen his face any longer.
But as soon as I realized that she was reaching out to the dangerous scene, I couldn’t help but move my legs.
I was angry at her thoughtless behavior, but seeing her spit out Reuter name that didn’t belong to her with that look on her face made my stomach turn.
“What were you trying to do? Isn’t it too foolish to touch something that looks dangerous at first glance with bare hands, even for a young lady who doesn’t know much about it?”
A sharper and more aggressive tone came out than I thought.
Letier raised her clear eyes and stared blankly at Dante without answering.
He quickly regretted his hasty action.
“I didn’t mean to touch you.”
“Then what is it?”
Letier stretched her finger up and pointed to the sky.
The sky?
Dante, not understanding the meaning, furrowed one eyebrow.
“Sun.”
“Sun?”
“Look closely at this bubble. It seems that only the part illuminated by the sun is burning white. I tried to make a shadow with my hands to see if it was really like that.”
Dante looked down at the floor she was pointing to.
The messy purple foam on the floor looked like it was burning white in the sunlight, just as she said.
Conversely, the bubbles hidden in the shadow of the building by only a few centimeters did not lose their original color.
“… What is this?”
“I’m not sure, but this reaction could be related to poisonous plants that bloom in dark, shady places.”
“Poisonous plants…?”
Dante’s eyes narrowed as he recalled a dark and shady place within the Empire.
No, maybe it was brought from outside the Trillante Empire.
“Last time it was Lithupis flower, and this poisonous plant… It’s definitely weird. As if someone deliberately uses poison, not by accident…”
Just as I was wondering if this was why Reuters was interested in poison, a stern voice came from the side.
“Lady, don’t worry about this any more.”
“Why?”
“Because it can be dangerous. Wouldn’t it be better to just leave the rest to the imperial guards? They’re the ones who get paid for that.”
“I suppose.”
“It’s not like that. In the future, even if you witness a scene like this, just pass by…”
“Reuter.”
That damn Reuter.
Dante turned to Letier, regretting once again that he had given Reuter’s name.
Stunned at the sight of her face from a closer distance than he thought, he moved his body slightly back.
No matter how many masks he wore in the imperial palace, through repeated encounters, it’s impossible Letier didn’t notice.
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you contact me?”
“What contact?”
“You got my business card.”
Dante, who had been listening to Letier’s determined voice with a tense face, suddenly relaxed.
Are you really not noticing?
At this point, it was clear that the princess was completely ignorant.
Dante stared down at Letier before opening his mouth.
“… I have my work to do and I don’t expect a precious lady to chase after me just because she’s offering me a little paper.”
“That true.”
Letier uttered in a calm voice.
She lowered her eyes again and looked down at the scene.
It kept bothering me that the man was scratching his face in pain.
“Just get up. Where are your knights and maid, and what are you doing here alone?”
“Ah.”
Come to think of it, Ziegler, did the knight catch the man who ran away?
After pondering for a moment, Letier turned her eyes to look at Dante.
Her small mouth opened without hesitation.
“Where was Reuters going? Come with me.”
“What?”
“I have nowhere to go. I am lost.”
“You know you’re bad at lying, right?”
“……”
Letier quietly shut her mouth.
“Looks like you must have come to the raw material store again. Let’s go, I’ll take you.”
“Yes.”
Letier had no choice but to respond obediently.
It’s true that I originally intended to stop by the raw material store…
They moved east and stopped at the raw material store that Letier was going to visit.
Letier bought several bottles of Glycanol, which she needed right away.
Ziegler still hasn’t returned to her even while she’s been shopping for Glycanol and looking at some new ingredients.
I don’t know what’s going on, but it seemed obvious to me that he would get scolded by Ephron.
Letier, who had seen enough to see the raw materials, returned to the street with Dante.
Letier glanced at Dante, who was walking alongside her, carrying a vial of glycanol instead of her.
The fact that she had met him made Letier feel better than the bottle of glycanol he was holding in his hands.
“Reuter, would you like something to eat?”
“I’m not hungry. Go back soon.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll buy it for you.”
“What? It’s not because I don’t have money…”
I was about to respond in disbelief, when Dante stopped talking.
Perhaps he had suddenly changed his mind, and he looked at Letier with the corner of his mouth smoothly raised.
“In that case, there is something I want to eat.”
*****
“Reuters, did you really want to eat this?”
Letier looked down at the large plate on the bar table.
I wasn’t sure if this was meant to be eaten.
How can food be fluorescent blue…?
Letier picked up her fork and rolled a lump of flour drizzled with fluorescent blue sauce around.
“…….”
There was no answer from the person who ordered the food.
Letier turned her head and looked at Dante, who was sitting next to her.
“Reuter?”
“Ah yes. Eat a lot.”
“… You want to eat this?”
Dante had been unable to concentrate on the food from earlier and had been staring at the door behind Letier.
Letier let out a small sigh.
The food on the table was really strange, but the inside of the restaurant was full of people.
After all, the table seats were full, so we were guided to the bar seats.
It looks like this, but does it taste good?
“I don’t know how to eat….”
“Yes? What? What, what is this…”
Dante, who lowered his head to the table, was taken aback by Letier’s blunt muttering.
You asked for anything, and he gave you anything, you stupid bastard…
Dante glared at Raphael, who was watching him from afar with a mischievous look on his face.
As soon as Dante’s eyes met, Raphael, the owner of the restaurant, flinched and ran into the kitchen to avoid him.
“I’ll order another one, just wait.”
Dante, who was slowly getting up, grinding his teeth, stopped at the sound of the store door opening.
Several men were noisily entering the store.
Judging from the fact that they all wore the same patterned armband on their right arm, they must have been members of the same guild.
“Letier, wait a minute.”
Dante muffled his voice and looked at the men in silence.
The men who entered the store made eye contact with each other, exchanged signals, and began to look around the store.
“What? Who is it? Who?”
Letier opened her mouth to speak when she saw Dante glancing behind her.
Dante covered Letier’s mouth and yanked her toward him.
In an instant, she slipped into Dante’s wide arms, hugging her tightly.
“Shh.”
A low voice settled in my ears.
I didn’t know why he was doing this all of a sudden, but he seemed to be carefully watching someone’s movements.
Letier had no choice but to lie still in his arms and waited for a while.
‘Huh? However…’
At that time, something felt familiar.
The sound of breathing high above my head and the warmth of his strong body against her back.
What? Have I ever been hugged like this by someone?
Letier couldn’t escape the strange feeling of deja vu.
As she rummaged through her memories, she tried to notice this unknown familiarity she felt now.
Meanwhile, Dante did not take his eyes off the men who had entered.
He watched with sharp eyes as the men browsed the store, met eye contact with someone, and even accepted a small pouch from that person.
When the men with the bags walked out of the store, Dante exhaled and relaxed his whole body.
Everything was going according to plan.
“Letier. That’s it….”
Without thinking, he lowered his head and, in surprise, released the strength in his arms.
He realized belatedly that he was holding Princess Letier tightly from behind.
Dante pulled her away with the most nonchalant movement possible.
“I have committed disgrace.”
Dante pushed Letier away as far as he could and with a look of considerable embarrassment, he picked up the largest of the glasses on the table and drank in a big gulp.
Letier, pushed forward in an instant, blinked her eyes.
He hugged her at his will, then suddenly pushed her away?
What kind of rude behavior…!
“What are you doing now…”
Just when I was about to say something because I was in a bad mood, I saw the large letters written on the glass Dante was holding.
Nitiria…. Nitiria State?
Surprised, Letier jumped up from her seat and blocked his hand.
“Reuters!”
“Yes?”
“That’s alcohol.”
“I know. I don’t look like I’m underage either way, so what are you worried about?”
“No, I don’t think people eat them.”
“What?”
At Letier’s strange reaction, she looked down at the glass Dante was holding.
Come to think of it, it doesn’t look like an ordinary drinking glass…
“It says Nitiria State! It looks like alcohol used to stun large monsters? What do we do? It must be pretty strong, and if Reuter gets a taste of it…”
Damn.
“… It tasted kind of bad.”
Dante’s red eyes were already slightly unfocused as he muttered quietly.
