CH 47

“…Huh?”

“I’m not quite fond of such an unstable hold on my shoulders, you know.”

She also wasn’t quite fond of sudden physical contact, but it’s like his handsome face was enough to pardon his ac… Ah, no. Get it together. She’s in a hurry to get a fiancé, so she made up her mind to forgive him.

Perhaps he didn’t expect Reina’s reaction, but her answer made him pause for a moment. Soon enough though, he burst into laughter.

“Really? I didn’t know that! Okay, I got it, I got it.”

When he fixed his arm over her shoulder more firmly as if to hug her, Reina coyly tucked a lock of her hair behind one ear.

“Thank you. If you hold just one side, it’ll be out of balance, yes? So please, scoot over a little and move riiight here. You’ve got to hold me evenly on both sides.”

Eventually, even if it sounded like he was being scolded, the side of her shoulder that wasn’t held became covered.

“Kehehe, I’m going crazy, seriously.”

“I’m perfectly serious though. I’m not joking.”

“I got it, I got it. I’ll do that for you.”

Reina inwardly let out a sigh of relief as she watched Letis Stymist laughing while wiping away tears of mirth.

‘Huu… Success. I passed the first hurdle.’

House Stymist, of the nine households.

Letis was the heir of his family, which had the distinct repute of being a household immersed in the arts. To match this, Letis himself held the title of ‘master artisan’. Still, as much as he had a unique mindscape, he was popular because of his cool, refreshing personality.

And.

“You’re as funny as the dwarves.”

He’s famous for hanging out with dwarves, who didn’t really like humans.

‘…No, wait a sec there, buddy. What do you mean by that?’

For him to compare her to the dwarves, was he cursing her out or was he complimenting her?

Trying to guess what he meant by that, Reina looked back on what she knew about the dwarves of this world.

‘They’re good drinkers, and they’re quite the gluttons, but… Just like any other fantasy novel, they’re characterized as a race who had no artistic spirit at all despite their golden hands. They just reluctantly do business for the sake of getting to afford food.’

“……”

Uh-huh. That sounds exactly like he’s cursing her out.

“What are you thinking, Reina?”

But how could she get annoyed here? This guy was a VIP who was proudly occupying a top spot in the broken engagements list.

“It’s just that, oh, how could my eyes not be blinded by your brightly shining appearance? So for a second, I was wondering whether I should walk with my eyes closed.”

In the middle of saying all that, Reina tucked another imaginary lock of hair behind her ear. And as expected, there came a strong response.

“…What? Bwahahaha!”

Just as she thought, this guy… was most probably the most insane one of them all. According to the standard definition of ‘insane’, that is.

“You’re a riot. You’re really by type. Why am I finding out about this only now?”

“I know right? Such a shame.”

She gave a vague reply as she felt a hunch sweep past her.

‘If I stay next to Letis, I’m sure as hell that I’ll be drained to the bone.’

Not just drained, she was certain that her bones would be squeezed until they’re broken—squeezed out of all the pick-up lines that she could possibly think of.

“From now on, let’s get to know each other more, Reina.”

“Yep. Okay.”

‘No. From now on, you’re on the waiting list.’

Fran first. Then Luke. Everyone else. If it wouldn’t work with them, that’s the only time that she’d go with Letis.

“Ah, Reina.”

With the corners of his lips raised into a pleased curve, he suddenly stopped walking as if he thought of something just now.

Reina stopped alongside him, glancing up.

“According to our schedule, we’re free until tomorrow.”

“……”

What the. What’s up with this sudden turn of events. Was he going to ask her out already?

“What’cha doing tomorrow?”

Ah, Reina might have just played her part too well to suit his taste. It seriously sounded like he’s actually going to ask her out.

“……”

But why the hell was crazy the norm for crazy people.

To answer his question, Reina spoke vaguely with words that sounded like neither a rejection nor an acceptance.

“My eyes will have a feast tomorrow, thank you very much.”

Truthfully as she said this, Reina herself wasn’t sure whether this answer would work.

“Bwahaha!”

But it did. Not only did it work, but the answer knocked it out of the park.

“Ah, what should I do. I think I’m about to like you a lot, Reina. Bwahahaha!”

Why in the world did Lehman decide to seduce a guy like this…

* * *

Early the next morning, after the day of the ultrafast-gear-shift-pursuit of Fran to Letis.

“What? What are you trying to pull here, other than someone else’s leg.”

FYI, these coarse words popped out of none other than Reina’s lips.

“Hehe.”

And the cause of all this was Paul, who was smiling in front of her right now.

“Haa… You’re trying to win me over with that smile again.”

“I’m pretty when I smile, aren’t I?”

Should she really hit him, even just once? She’d been pissed at him ever since they arrived at Cressen.

“Stop it with the bullsh*t.”

“I’m not sh*tting you, seriously.”

“Don’t even try to joke with me. You said we have free time until today. But then, you woke me up at such an ungodly hour. And for what? Survival?”

“It’s not good for your health to sleep in and stay in your room all the time, Reina.”

“You’re making it sound like you made this bullsh*t event for my sake.”

“Pfft.”

The way he kept laughing really made it seem like he wants to get hit.