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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: Another Family (2)
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“Hmm, a bar.”
“……”
Moments later, after winding through alleys, they arrived in front of a dilapidated bar. Tucked away in a secluded part of the alley, it seemed to attract few customers.
Sei-an observed the establishment for a moment, then walked directly toward its door.
“...! You’re going in?”
“Yes.”
“I told you, it’s not good to get on Lark’s nerves.”
“Yes, I’ll be careful.”
“……”
Kanto, who had hastily tried to stop Sei-an, let out a long sigh once more as Sei-an simply opened the door and stepped inside despite his words.
Then, Kanto cautiously followed him into the bar.
Creeaaak!
True to a rundown pub, the door opened slowly with a creaking sound of old friction.
“Welcome, welcome. You two are new faces.”
“Yes.”
As they entered, an old man, easily over 70, greeted them warmly.
It seemed to be a pub frequented mostly by regulars, as the old owner offered a kind smile and spoke to Sei-an and Kanto, who were stepping inside for the first time.
“Have a seat over here.”
“Yes, thank you.”
Sei-an gave a slight bow at the old man’s words and went to sit where he indicated.
“……”
Then, he turned his head to look at the one person sitting alone at the most secluded table in the bar, drinking—it was Lark.
“Are you acquainted with that fellow, Lark?”
“We’re only acquainted by face.”
As if noticing Sei-an’s gaze, the old man spoke to him again.
“Haha! Is that so?”
The old man chuckled heartily at Sei-an’s reply, then went to the kitchen and returned with two full mugs of beer, placing one in front of each of them.
“Since you’re Lark’s friends, this is on the house.”
“I didn’t say we were friends.”
“It’s fine. I thought that fellow would never have a friend come looking for him in his life, but seeing you two makes me feel a little relieved.”
“……”
Sei-an said nothing further, seeing that the old man simply brushed off his words and only spoke what he wished.
“Thank you, but I don’t need this.”
“Hm? There’s no need to feel burdened.”
Then Sei-an pointed to the beer mug in front of him and spoke to the old man again.
“It’s not a burden, I just don’t drink alcohol.”
“Huh?”
“What? You don’t drink?”
“No.”
At Sei-an’s words that he didn’t drink, Kanto also looked at him with a surprised expression. There were almost no people his age who couldn’t even drink a single beer.
“Ha… haha! You’re quite the quiet one, just like you look.”
“Drinking and appearance have nothing to do with each other.”
“Alright, alright, I get it. I’ll bring you a different drink on the house then.”
The owner took back the beer mug he had brought and quickly returned with a fruit drink, placing it in front of Sei-an.
“Thank you.”
“If you’re grateful, come visit often. As I get older, I miss the sound of young people’s voices, you see.”
With those words, the old man walked back to his own seat, where a rocking chair as old as the bar itself was placed.
“……”
After the old man left, Sei-an turned his head again to look at Lark, who was still drinking alone.
In the empty bar, one might expect him to at least glance over if he heard conversation, but Lark seemed to hear nothing, simply drinking quietly as he had been from the start.
“Let’s go.”
“What?”
Sei-an, after watching Lark for a moment, gulped down the drink in front of him in one go, then quickly stood up from his seat.
Kanto also quickly emptied his beer and stood up, following Sei-an without understanding why.
“Thank you for the drink.”
“Hm? Leaving already?”
“Yes. I’ll stop by again next time.”
Sei-an approached the old man, bowing slightly as he bid farewell. Then, he placed a few coins in front of him.
Clink.
“……? What’s this?”
“It’s the cost of our drinks.”
“Huh? Didn’t I say this was on the house because I was glad to see you?”
The old man looked at Sei-an with a puzzled expression as he placed money down, even though it was offered for free.
“As I said again, we are not his friends.”
“Hm?”
“When we truly become friends later, then I’ll gladly accept a free drink.”
“……”
With those words, Sei-an bowed once more and then left the place.
“Ha… haha!”
The old man stared blankly for a moment at Sei-an as he left the bar, then burst into hearty laughter.
Then, he slowly walked over to Lark, who was still drinking in the exact same posture.
“Did you hear that?”
“Hear what?”
“He said he’d accept a free drink when he becomes your friend.”
“……”
“Isn’t he an interesting fellow?”
“I’m not interested.”
“Is that so.”
The old man wore a bitter expression as he watched Lark, who only tilted his glass as if uninterested in everything. Then, he walked back to his own seat.
“……”
Only then did Lark slowly raise his head, subtly frowning as he looked at the spot where Sei-an had been, now empty.
He felt an inexplicable irritation rising within him because of the man who kept appearing in his sight these days.
***
“Why did you just come out after going all that way?”
Outside, Kanto asked Sei-an why he had simply left without even speaking to Lark, especially after chasing him all this way.
“It seems to be his resting place, so I just came out.”
“What?”
“……”
It didn’t feel like a place he should intrude upon.
He had followed Lark out of curiosity, wondering where he went since he rarely came to his room or classes, but he had no intention of disturbing him.
And since it seemed like a place where Lark rested comfortably alone, he wanted to disturb him even less.
So, he simply left quietly.
“……?”
Of course, Kanto, who couldn’t know such a fact, still looked at him with eyes full of questions, but Sei-an said nothing further and simply walked away.
“Kyaaak!”
“……”
“……!”
As Sei-an and Kanto exited the alley and headed toward the street, they suddenly stopped dead in their tracks at the sound of a woman’s scream.
Then, they looked toward where the sound came from and saw women being dragged away by men.
“Oh! Those are!”
“……”
Among the women, there was one face familiar to Sei-an.
It was Aymela, the one whose presence had made his heart pound against his will when he passed her in the hallway before.
But now, even seeing her, Sei-an’s heart didn’t pound. He merely watched her and the others being dragged away with an indifferent expression.
“We have to help them!”
“We probably should help them.”
“What?”
On the other hand, Kanto, watching the scene from afar, fretted, not knowing what to do.
But when Sei-an still spoke with a calm, nonchalant tone despite his agitation, Kanto looked at him with a bewildered expression.
“Of course, we have to help them!”
“Hmm.”
“You, you don’t know who they are, do you?”
“Haven’t I seen them before?”
“Not Aymela! The woman next to her!”
“……”
Then, at Kanto’s exasperated words, who was looking at him with a bewildered gaze, Sei-an also looked at him with a puzzled expression.
“You, you didn’t forget your family’s face, did you?”
“……”
“That’s your sister!”
“…My what?”
“That woman next to Aymela is your sister!”
“……”
And at his subsequent words, Sei-an turned his head with a slightly surprised expression, looking again at the women who were quickly disappearing into the alley, held by the men.
“Wait here for a moment! I’ll go call for people who can help!”
Kanto judged that it would be too much for just the two of them to face the many men who clearly looked like they were ready for a fight, and he quickly exited the alley.
He wanted to bring someone to help with the situation as quickly as possible.
“……”
Even as Kanto left, Sei-an stood there, unable to take his eyes off the one who was supposedly his sister.
Then, after Kanto completely disappeared and the women were no longer visible, Sei-an quickly began walking toward the dark alley to find them.
“Kyaaak!”
“Let go of me!”
Aymela and Arisa, Sei-an’s sister, were classmates.
They, along with two other classmates, had come out today, a day without classes, to explore the streets, just like others.
Then, they remembered hearing about a street vendor who occasionally sold beautifully crafted jewelry deeper in the alley, so they entered the alley to find the place.
But suddenly, someone covered their mouths and began dragging them away, and they were pulled all the way here without a proper chance to resist.
Meanwhile, there was no one around to ask for help.
“Why do esteemed ladies like yourselves wander into an alley like this?”
“Hehe.”
The five men who had dragged them into an even more secluded alley, where people rarely ventured, surrounded them and flashed sinister smiles.
These were notorious thugs who caused trouble among the city’s merchants.
They were also the ones who handled the dirty work that nobles needed done discreetly.
Many merchants had already been robbed by these ill-natured men, but they couldn’t even properly report it for fear of retaliation later.
So why would they, who feared nothing in the world, be afraid of the children of noble families?
They had no intention of letting go of these girls, even if they were students from the academy attended by children of prestigious families, simply because they had found their way into their alley.
“I-I’m from the Count Cais’s family!”
Aymela, the only daughter of Count Cais’s family, shouted that she was not someone to be trifled with, but such words had no effect on these men.
“Heh! We don’t care who you are, girl.”
“Just play with us for a bit and then disappear, that’s all.”
“……”
At the sight of the men, Aymela and all the other girls turned pale, looking as if they were on the verge of tears.
“So don’t play so hard to get.”
“……”
At that moment, Arisa looked at the man reaching out to her with fear-filled eyes.
“Aargh!”
Then, as the man touched her, she bit his hand with all her might.
The man let out a pained groan and glared at Arisa with a furious expression, then raised his hand to strike her.
“You little brat!”
“……”
Arisa squeezed her eyes shut, and Amelia and her other friends beside her couldn't bear to watch, so they also instinctively shut their eyes tightly.
“……”
“……”
However, as time passed, Arisa felt no pain anywhere on her body, so she cautiously opened her eyes, puzzled.
The others also opened their eyes, sensing that their surroundings had become quiet, and began to assess the situation.
But they all looked on in surprise at the scene before them.
