Chapter 56

There were two characters named Levi: the head of the guild (Ruela's father) and Tempest's assistant. I have kept the head of the guild as Levi, but changed the name of Tempest's assistant to Malachi. I apologize for the confusion.

Around the time the sun was about to set, Al was in the reception room of the Levi Guild in the border city of Lester with Patricia and Joanna.

Al and the others arrived in the border city of Lester the evening after the day they left Clarence Village as scheduled. On their way to their regular inn, The Red-Faced Sheep, they stopped by the government office to ask Cain to relay a message to Narech. At that time, it was said that Narech had just arrived in the border city of Lester a few days ago, and it would take a few days to get in touch with him. However, surprisingly, a messenger came within an hour, asking them to come as soon as possible, and to try to be as inconspicuous as possible.

Following the instructions, Al, Patricia, and Joanna waited, and then a woman in her thirties, who looked like Narech, entered with two maids, accompanied by Cain, who had arranged the contact.

"Oh, you must be Lady Patricia. I recognized you right away. You look just like your sister, Selina..."

The woman approached Patricia as soon as she saw her face.

"I'm Tara. Your mother's sister. It must have been tough. You can relax now."

"Tara Aunt..."

She is Patricia's mother Selina's sister, the first wife of the Viscount of Lester, and Narech's mother. Patricia stared at Lady Tara's face and began to shed tears. She hugged the frail Patricia tightly, stroked her crying head, and comforted her, rejoicing at their reunion.

Standing beside them, Al shook hands with Narech, whom he hadn't seen in a long time. They had not had much interaction during their school days, but Al always felt nostalgic when he met him, thinking about the time they spent in the capital as students. It seemed the same for Narech.

"Al, I want to thank you again. Thank you for bringing Lady Patricia and the others safely. You might have been confused by the message to come secretly, but there were reasons. Has she told you about the situation in the Kingdom of Tempest?"

Al nodded honestly in response to Narech's question. He wouldn't have brought her here if he didn't know about her background. There was no point in hiding what he knew.

"I confirmed with my father as soon as I received the message. It seems that my father and the border lord had already discussed Lady Patricia. They decided not to make an announcement immediately if she was protected, to avoid provoking the Kingdom of Tempest. But don't worry. To me, she is an important cousin. Even if her existence is kept secret, she will not be treated carelessly."

Al nodded lightly.

"It was the same with Ruela, and even before that, I didn't even thank you properly. I've been relying on you a lot. I was lucky to be in the same class as you at the intermediate school. By the way, did you receive that from Cain?"

He was referring to the book of physical enhancement spells. Al, of course, had received it and said it was very useful and thanked him with a smile.

"Knights who can use physical enhancement spells are the stars. I would have liked to become one, but I didn't have the talent."

There was a hint of regret in his words, but Al encouraged him, saying that Narech could excel in command rather than leading the battle. Cain also nodded. They talked for a while, but when they saw that Patricia had calmed down a bit, Al decided to leave the room. It was getting dark, and Lady Tara, the first wife of the viscount, needed to return to the mansion.

"Well, Lord Narech, we have a lot more to talk about, but I'll be going now. Lady Tara, it was an honor to meet you. Lady Patricia, Lady Joanna, I'm glad you were able to meet your aunt. Please take care of yourselves."

When Al said this, Patricia looked surprised. Although Malachi had been entrusted with her, Al had thought it would depend on the situation. However, it seemed that was not the case. Perhaps she was also troubled by the formal way he addressed her.

"Does that mean we won't meet again?"

She looked worried, with tears in her eyes. Seeing this, Lady Tara and Narech exchanged glances.

"Don't worry, I live in this city, so we can meet whenever necessary. Just talk to Lady Tara or Lord Narech."

"Whenever... that's good. Then, tomorrow?"

Al tried to choose his words carefully, but he was at a loss for how to respond to Patricia's question. She was a princess connected to the royal family of a neighboring country. He couldn't meet her that often. Al also wanted to work hard and obtain the flight spell as soon as possible.

"Lady Patricia, he has his own schedule. Let's have Levi adjust it. Please wait until then."

"That's a good idea. Mother, I'll talk to Lord Levi and ask him to assign me as a guard while I'm in this territory. That way, we can meet occasionally."

Lady Tara and Narech tried to comfort her, but Patricia still looked worried.

"Lord Narech, thank you. I'll talk to Lord Levi as Lady Tara suggested. Lady Patricia, please wait a while."

When Al said this with a smile, she wiped away her tears and looked serious.

"If Lord Al says so... Meeting Lord Al must be a sign from Lord Tempest. Aunt Tara, please take care of me."

It seemed she understood Al's words. She was probably just worried, and Lady Tara and Narech would talk to her and help her calm down.

"It's late now, so I'll talk to Lord Levi early tomorrow and send him to Al. I also need to prepare a gift for this. Cain, can you make sure Al and I can stay in touch?"

Cain glanced at Al, probably to confirm if he had changed. Al nodded, indicating there was no problem.

"Then, I'll take my leave."

Al bowed politely and left the room.

-----

"Al, thanks. This is a token of gratitude. Codi said he was saved."

When Al returned to The Red-Faced Sheep, Orson, who had been delivering goods to Alknight, was already back and was drinking with the innkeeper, Lars, in the first-floor dining room. The table was piled high with meat dishes, suggesting it was a small celebration for his safe return.

"Really, I'm glad. When I saw Orson unable to get up, I was worried about what would happen."

Al said this and sat down at the table. The inn was quite full of customers. Lars' son, Tally, was working hard in the kitchen, and Lars' wife, Lauren, and her daughter, Iris, were busy serving drinks and taking orders.

Inside the leather pouch Orson had given him were five gold coins. Al was surprised by the amount and tried to return them.

"Take them. It's a little extra from the reward I got from Codi. And just to be clear, if you get anything for that girl, I don't need it. I didn't do anything."

They exchanged a few times, but Orson's mind didn't change. Al thanked him and put the pouch in a hidden pocket inside his clothes.

"Still, it's bright in here today. Did you change the lamp oil? There are a lot more customers."

Orson looked around with a cup in his hand.

"Actually, it's because of Al. He used a light spell. The customers say the oil doesn't smell, and the reviews are great. We've been very busy for the past few days, even when we switched back to lamps."

"The moon is thin tonight, so the darkness makes the brightness stand out. I see."

"Al, Tally and I talked about it. Making the inn brighter brings in more customers and makes the business more profitable. We think we should show our gratitude somehow."

Hearing this, Al tilted his head. He didn't mind using the light spell, but he sometimes had to leave for long-term requests. It would be a problem if they relied on him too much. Seeing this, Lars shook his head.

"It's not a big deal. It's a small dining room, so just think of it casually. For the days we're bright, I'll make Al's lodging and meals free. We're making enough profit to cover that."

Al nodded, thinking that was fine.

"Thanks. Orson is back safely, so today is a good day. Both of you, I hope you'll use The Red-Faced Sheep for a long time. Lauren, let's toast. Bring us some good wine."

Lars said this with a big smile.

Thank you for reading.

I plan to post twice a week, on Mondays and Fridays at 10:00. I appreciate your support.

I couldn't get to the next request... It was unexpectedly long. I feel like this part could have been included in the first five chapters.

Thank you for correcting the typos. I always appreciate your help.

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On June 25, 2023, I changed "Tara" to "Lady Tara" (I considered using "Viscountess Lester," but since there is a second wife, it might be confusing. In formal settings, it would be "Tara, Viscountess Lester").