8: Want to Sleep
Lizel rarely woke up early in the morning.
In his original world, he would wake himself up to head to the castle for work or sometimes have the servants wake him up, but nothing in this world would disturb his rest.
Moreover, this world was full of books Lizel hadn’t read yet.
It wasn’t rare for him to read until dawn, and this also promoted his inability to properly wake up.
But, an adventurer’s morning generally started very early.
It wasn’t the case for days when they didn’t need to work, but they would begin working at sunrise on days they accepted requests.
This was naturally to claim the better requests first thing in the morning. Also, they would need to leave early when heading to a labyrinth away from the city if they wanted to return home the same day. No one wanted to camp outside if they had the choice.
Lizel had no plans for such so far, so he had been sleeping through the time other people began working. However, he insisted that something be done in the future on the occasions he must wake up early. He would probably ask Gil just in case.
“Mr. Lizel, are you awake?”
Recently, someone would call him while it was still dark outside.
He heard the hostess’ voice together with a knock on his door. Lizel had only been in bed for less than three hours, so he blearily opened his eyes.
There had been times when he was a busy nobleman and three hours of rest a day was considered good, but this was a different story.
After hearing the sound of the next room’s door open through his fuzzy head, he could hear Gil coming out as usual and conversing with the hostess.
“Hey, I’m comin’ in.”
Gil opened the door without knocking first and entered.
He looked down at Lizel who was still in bed, dozing off and drifting between dream and reality. He pulled up the fringe covering that face, exposing Lizel’s absentminded face and half-closed eyes.
“You’re probably sleepy from readin’ late every single night. But, if you say you can’t move from a lack of sleep in the middle of a request, I’ll beat you up.”
“…I’ve never…said that before…have I?”
“I’ve told ya to stop since you won’t be able to act right away.”
In fact, Lizel had never allowed his personal circumstances to cause any hindrances during requests.
He should be commended that he didn’t show a single sign of lacking sleep, but there was nothing better than having a proper night’s rest for an adventurer who often took on dangerous requests.
It was the basic among basics for those who performed physical labor as a living to always be prepared.
Even if there were no issues so far, that didn’t guarantee that none will happen in the future.
But, Gil never took the books away from Lizel.
Gil was confident that he could provide backup if Lizel were to mess up since Gil was hired to do exactly that. Therefore, while he voiced his complaints, he never forced Lizel to go to sleep. Nothing good could come out from interfering with someone else’s hobby.
Simply put, it was impossible to take books away from Lizel.
“The usual came. The room’s okay?”
“Ngh~…”
Lizel’s head flopped down to nod. Gil was astonished that Lizel showed no signs of getting out of bed and greeted the hostess who had diligently opened the room’s window.
The chilly morning air caused Lizel to shiver and bury deeper into his sheets. The hostess smiled at him as she left the room.
Immediately after, the sound of someone nimbly climbing the staircase was heard, and the door to the room was opened.
“Mornin’…”
“Knock.”
“Sorry!”
The one who entered was Ein.
Those who worked early in the morning had finally started their preparations around this time, so he had a truly refreshing smile on his face as he greeted them.
When Gil, standing beside Lizel’s bedside, grumbled that, that refreshing face immediately stiffened.
Ein’s appearance was like that of a cool, young adventurer, but his attitude wasn’t at all defiant.
He would probably have his fists up ready to fight if any other adventurer warned him to knock, but he certainly wouldn’t have that kind of attitude towards Lizel or Gil.
“Is Mr. Lizel really awake?”
“Just barely. If you don’t hurry up with your business, he’ll fall asleep again.”
“Gotcha.”
When Gil rocked the large lump buried in the bedsheet, the sheets rustled and Lizel woke up.
While still faced-down, he used his elbows to support his body as he got up and held out a hand.
When Ein placed the sheet of paper with the labyrinth puzzle that stumped him in that hand, Lizel glimpsed at it.
It was unclear if the rows of unrecognizable symbols that filled the paper were letters or drawings.
As Lizel’s eyes ran across the page, he looked somewhat disappointed at Ein who was completely awake so early in the morning.
“…You could have come by yesterday on your way back.”
“We worked super hard yesterday. Or, more precisely, we did nothing but finely comb through the new floor. A bunch of monsters showed up, but we got through a lot by ourselves. Though, we did end up goin’ home in the middle of the night.”
“…Uh-huh.”
Lizel would actually appreciate it if Ein came in the middle of the night since he’ll certainly be awake, but that would be a problem for the inn.
It was completely locked during the night, so anyone who wasn’t already staying in the inn couldn’t enter or leave.
Since it took three hours one way by carriage from the new labyrinth to the city, Ein had no choice but to visit Lizel early the next day whenever he couldn’t help but return late.
Lizel looked at Ein with half-opened eyes and beckoned him to come over with one hand.
“What’s up? I can’t give any advice ‘bout the puzzle though. Even after thinkin’ about it all last night…”
“……”
“I couldn’t get it, so… Huh?!”
Ein peered over to look at the puzzle, so when Lizel silently patted his head, Ein dynamically moved his head away.
Lizel didn’t seem to mind Ein’s reaction and handed back the sheet of paper.
Ein was dumbstruck as he received it, but his face was clearly flushed.
“There were… ten doors…?”
“Eh, ah, um… Ah, yes!”
“Enter the second one from the left, then the fifth, third, seventh, fourth… Turn around, face the door you just entered, go through the fifth one again, fourth, ninth, turn around…”
“W-wait. Gotta write it down…!”
Lizel probably intended to praise Ein and his group for completing numerous floors by themselves.
Lizel had been in charge for many years of the education for the king of his country in his previous world, but this resulted in his habit of often spoiling those younger than him.
It wasn’t that Lizel acted like this with everyone, and he had never shown this kind of tenderness towards those older than him, but Gil hoped deep down that Lizel would stop.
Besides, he couldn’t understand what kind of man would be happy from being patted on the head in the first place as he looked at Ein being taken by immense embarrassment.
“Um, one more time from the top…!”
“……”
“Mr. Lizel! Wake up!”
“………”
Ein didn’t show any signs of disgust, so things should be fine.
If asked, Lizel would probably say, “There’s no child who would hate it,” but Gil didn’t know exactly how and from where Lizel was determining whether they liked it.
Ein somehow managed to wake up and ask Lizel again. After he thanked Lizel, Lizel saw him off as he went back downstairs to where his comrades were apparently waiting for him in the first-floor dining hall.
Since they’ve visited numerous times by now, they appeared to have completely gained the hostess’ trust. It also seems that they gained permission to wait in the dining hall and would be given food and drinks.
“Pft…”
Lizel’s shoulders under the sheets suddenly shivered.
“…Don’t enjoy teasing the young ones. Got a nasty personality, huh.”
“I was rewarding him.”
Lizel couldn’t completely hold back his laughter but also didn’t bother to hide it. He stuffed his face into the pillow.
Since Lizel still looked tired, Gil assumed that Lizel would go back to sleep and walked towards the door.
Depending on the day, Lizel would wake up completely and begin working, but today didn’t appear to be the case.
As Gil was about to leave the room, Lizel added with a certainly tired voice, and the bedsheets still covered his head.
“Aren’t you glad we don’t dive again?”
Gil slowly closed the door, hearing only the sounds of someone sleeping behind it.
The door hardly made a sound as it closed. Gil looked at it, and a smile formed on his face as he recalled Lizel’s last words.
There was a reason why they delivered the teddy bears for the request before. If they dove into the labyrinth one more time after they did that appraisal, they wouldn’t be in the inn by the time Ein and his group visited.
Lizel didn’t think that they would only visit one time, but having said that, it was hard to believe they would come back to the inn if they were harshly turned away by the hostess.
Lizel also did not wish for them to talk to him outside since there will be folk who would pursue him, asking him to tell them what he told Ein’s group.
To prevent such, he first needed to meet them in the inn, and he was convinced he needed to return that evening when he considered the hostess’ safety.
In short, in turn for resigning himself to the teddy bear, Lizel chose to obtain the new labyrinth’s treasure.
Moreover, Lizel himself did not need to move. He could take advantage of leaving it to others and observing.
Furthermore, there was no better way of having other adventurers become indebted to him.
“He really did somethin’ troublesome.”
As he chuckled, Gil returned to his own room.
There were various benefits in this deal, but Gil ended up honestly summarizing his feelings in that statement.
When Lizel woke back up from his second rest, the sun had already risen and it was eight in the morning.
By the way, Gil was killing time while waiting for Lizel to wake up by training in the inn’s garden and taking and reading some of the books Lizel finished reading from his room without permission.
Lizel barely made it in time to grab a meal, and the two arrived at the guild. Incidentally, the last time they visited the guild was when they brought the teddy bears with them.
“D-rank… Are escort requests still not available?”
“Escorts start from C-rank. But it ain’t somethin’ you can get through with just fightin’.”
Lizel had advanced to E-rank from that last request, so he was now able to accept D-rank requests.
When he looked over the request board to see if there were any brand-new requests available, he heard a voice calling him from the reception area.
He knew that this monotone and disinterested voice belonged to Studd without having to turn around.
As usual, the adventurers who witnessed Studd personally calling someone for the first time were dumbfounded, but Lizel didn’t care as he headed to the reception desk.
“What’s the matter, Studd?”
“This way. It turns out that the client who requested the labyrinth item the other day was elated and said that he would like to personally give you his thanks.”
“Hah?”
“You as well.”
Gil had never heard of a client personally thanking someone.
He reflexively had on a suspicious face, but Studd merely glanced at him before leading the way for the two.
He also frowned when he was told “as well.” His problem wasn’t that he was told this but rather that Studd declared that Gil come along.
For someone who was not only taciturn but also ignored Gil, Studd was essentially telling Gil to stay with Lizel.
What was more troublesome was that Studd agreed to the client’s demand.
Gil had always thought that Studd would firmly reject anyone seeking to meet Lizel even if it went against Lizel’s wishes.
Gil could only hear warning bells as he looked at Studd leading the way without giving Lizel a chance to decline.
When he looked over at Lizel to ask, Lizel followed behind Studd with his usual smile on his face.
There was no way Lizel hadn’t noticed something Gil had noticed. There should be no problem if Lizel was following after knowing this. Gil sighed in resignation.
“Please wait in this room.”
The two proceeded inside a room that appeared to be the guild’s parlor.
Based on how neatly it was furnished compared to the other rooms, this must be used for guests, but this also meant that it certainly wasn’t intended to be used for normal clients.
Lizel sat on a sofa and appeared to have seen through everything. Studd observed Lizel and left the room, telling them to wait for a moment.
Gil didn’t sit next to Lizel but remained standing, and he looked down at Lizel with a displeased face.
“You knew and hooked a big catch.”
“It’s not that I completely knew. I merely assumed the possibility based on how someone with a clearly conspicuous desire like collecting wouldn’t give their name and how they would give the standard ten silver coins to reward anything given to them.”
“…So, why did ya pick it if you didn’t wanna connect with ‘em?”
“I thought that it would be nice to meet the dignitaries of this world once.”
Could that be the reason why Lizel sent a labyrinth item that didn’t match the price and even wrapped it?
Gil had a feeling that Lizel would have done it regardless of who the client was, but it appeared that Lizel had put some thought into this.
“If you don’t like this, please feel free to wait somewhere else.”
“Idiot.”
Lizel asked, knowing well that it would be rejected, so Gil clicked his tongue and turned away.
He had his pride as an adventurer who accomplishes the requests he takes, and he realized that the significance greatly changed depending on if he stayed here or not.
Even if his intention wasn’t to intimate, having the famous Gil standing here would change the impression given to the other party.
In the first place, Lizel was often underestimated because of his gentle face. Gil didn’t know what kind of person would be coming, but there was no harm in being prepared.
As the two conversed, they waited in the parlor for thirty minutes. Despite being aware, it was still fairly tough to wait that long in an empty room.
When they finished conversing, Lizel didn’t have to worry about how to pass the time since he always had some books on him.
By the time there was finally a knock on the door, Lizel was no longer concentrating on reading. Gil stood up from leaning on the back of the sofa, but if Lizel hadn’t taken the book away from Gil, Gil’s reaction would have been delayed.
As Lizel stood up, he also put away the books Gil had been reading into his pouch.
“The client has arrived.”
“My apologies for making you wait! …Oh, dear. Have I perhaps mistaken the room?”
“This is the right one.”
The man who entered with a grin stretching across his whole face looked flamboyant.
It wasn’t because he was wearing particularly gaudy clothes, but his clothes immediately screamed ‘nobleman’ from a glance. Likewise, his shimmering blond hair and sparkling smile combined with his handsome, masculine face caused the surrounding air to sparkle.
The man was probably between his late thirties and early forties. The faint wrinkles by his eyes gave away his age, but he also had a very youthful feel to him.
There was no majesty in how Studd promptly ripped the proposed question in two, but there probably wasn’t anyone who could conclude that Lizel wasn’t a noble after seeing him.
Lizel showed a grin to the confused man looking at him as he softly lowered his head.
Although he was formerly a nobleman, he had no qualms with lowering his head. There were hardly any among the nobles who could obediently accept this position, so Lizel, capable of adapting himself to his situation accordingly, must be a rarity.
When Lizel raised his head, he was met with the man’s gaze. This was not the royal palace, so Lizel demonstrating this bow adhering to the formal standards must have looked strange.
“I am Lizel, the adventurer who had been given the opportunity to fulfill your previous request.”
“This is a surprise!”
The man spread both arms in an exaggerated sign of surprise. His eyes sparkled as he rushed up to Lizel.
He openly looked over Lizel, from head to toe, before abruptly grabbing both of Lizel’s shoulders.
Lizel looked at the golden eyes, shiny like the man’s hair, as they peered at him at this proximity. While he maintained his smile, he inwardly gave a strained laugh at how there were also unique characters in this world.
“I never imagined there would be an adventurer out there like you! You appear so remotely different from the image of an adventurer that I thought some other guest had arrived when I entered the room! Ah, apologies. I meant no harm in that.”
“I’m often told that, so please do not mind.”
“You’re close. Please back off, Lord Ray.”
“How rude of me. Do take a seat!”
Lizel accepted the offer and sat down. Gil stood behind Lizel, and Studd showed no signs of leaving the room as he stood near the door.
The man called Ray released Lizel according to Studd’s request.
Ray said that he was a viscount who was in charge of managing the military police, so Lizel also gave a simple introduction in return.
Gil saw Ray as a nobleman who was rather noisy for his age. However, Ray was completely oblivious to this and appeared friendly as he held out his hand to Lizel.
After grabbing that hand, Lizel remembered and brought this up before they got to business.
“I have put those in the military police in a difficult position recently. I would like to take this opportunity to apologize.”
“Oh? You don’t look like someone who would be involved with them… Are you perhaps naughtier than you look?”
“No, but there appeared to be a strange rumor going around.”
“Strange rumor? Recently?” Ray muttered and looked up at the ceiling, trying to recall.
Then, he suddenly looked at Lizel and burst out in loud laughter. It was only to be expected that even though this outburst was loud, it wasn’t meant to offend.
Ray’s eyes narrowed in amusement, and he took another thorough look over the seated Lizel.
“I see. You’re the noble who appeared in the city! Yes, yes, now I understand. Exactly… I can see how this happened!”
As Ray loudly laughed, he applauded this inevitability.
The aristocratic air around the current Lizel had remarkably thinned since coming to this world, but if he were to label himself as a nobleman, the actual noble Ray wouldn’t doubt him.
If Lizel had remained the way he was before and then met Ray, Ray would have certainly been convinced at a single glance that they were colleagues.
“Lord Ray, please get straight to the point.”
As Ray continued to laugh in amusement, Studd flatly announced.
Lizel had thought that Studd had been rather relentless towards a noble, but it appeared that Ray was somewhat close to the guild leader here.
His attitude must have loosened from his numerous visits. Though, it was also likely that he was like this from the beginning.
“That’s right. Let’s get down to business!”
“Seeing as you’ve taken time out of your day to personally come here, have we perhaps done something unnecessary?”
“Oh, no, no. Nothing of that sort! That wrapping! That labyrinth item! I haven’t felt like this in such a long time! I came here to thank you from the bottom of my heart!”
“We are undeserving of such praise.”
When Lizel returned the wholly harmless and innocent reply, Studd placed tea on the table, though it was unclear when he had prepared this.
Lizel watched as Ray took a whiff of the tea and rapidly complimented how fine leaves must have been used.
Ray did not return his cup of tea to the saucer but rather placed it directly on the table beside it. Then, he took out a gold coin from his breast pocket, placed it on top of the saucer, and handed it over to Studd.
Studd silently received it and quietly placed it before Lizel.
“I haven’t given you the compensation for the labyrinth item. Do accept it.”
The gold coin on top of the saucer announced its presence on the table. Lizel glanced down at it and gave a troubled smile.
“This is different from the appraisal result… It is rather excessive to cover the cost of wrapping.”
“This is payment for my excitement! Or, so is the formality.”
Ray nodded to himself and stared at Lizel with a sincere face.
“Since you had such wonderful wrapping done, you must have recognized the worth of those teddy bears.”
“The appraisal was not wrong.”
“But, it is not the entire truth.”
As expected of someone calling himself a collector. He certainly had an eye for things.
He had completely deciphered the cost that the shopkeeper said—five gold coins depending on the person.
The reason he didn’t offer five gold coins was simply that he was indicating that he couldn’t do anything from his position as a client.
It was exactly because he couldn’t violate the “maximum of one gold coin” as written on the request form that he could still be treated as a client of the guild.
“Then, I shall gratefully accept.”
“Mhm!”
Lizel picked up the gold coin, indicated that he will accept it, and placed it back on the saucer.
And since the tea was brought out just for them, he reached out for it.
He picked up the saucer on top of the low table, grabbed the cup handle, and slowly tilted it. He tasted the tea and smiled towards Studd, indicating that it was delicious before he returned it back to the table. When he did, Gil thought he saw a wreath of flowers bloom out from Studd.
Lizel wasn’t being especially careful, but he didn’t make any sounds during that sequence of movements.
Lizel’s movements were thoroughly natural, but Ray’s eyes twinkled at this scene before him and he dramatically shrugged his shoulders.
“Nobler than a nobleman. I truly did not believe such an adventurer could exist. The young ones should learn from you!”
“Oh, no. You overestimate me.”
“No need to humble yourself! Besides, if the rumored ‘One Slash’ is accompanying you, this must mean he sees you above me? There really is no reason for me to say anything that would overestimate you.”
Ray broadly grinned in contrast to Lizel’s troubled smile.
Ray had previously (only in secret) requested Gil in name for an escort request.
At that time, he was thinking of going to the mercantile country Marcade unannounced and incognito, but the runaway knight who always accompanied him was arrested.
That being the case, he attempted to have the guild provide him with a capable person, and he wanted to try hiring the rumored ‘One Slash’ on a curious whim. But, he recalled how he was immediately turned down.
This exchange occurred through the guild, so Gil didn’t know that it was Ray who requested him, but it was true that “escorting a certain viscount” offered no appeal to Gil.
Gil had quickly wasted the opportunity to connect to a viscount, yet he allowed Lizel to connect to him.
Ray felt absolutely no resentment and didn’t hide his delight, so Lizel replied that they had a chance encounter.
When Lizel glanced over at Gil, Gil silently shook his head. It appeared that Gil didn’t remember.
“Hm, it’s almost time.”
Ray watched the two in amusement, finished his tea, and stood up.
Lizel followed and stood up. He was about to bow his head to see the man off.
“Stay like that.”
But, Ray stopped him.
The hand pushing against his chest was large and warm. It gently pushed against Lizel as his knees bent, and he sat back down.
“You said your name is Lizel, right? I hope to be good friends with you.”
“It’ll be an honor. However, I am a simple E-rank. Earning the favor of an esteemed viscount is…”
“Wrong.”
With his palm still pressed against Lizel’s chest, Ray showed a bold smile and looked at Lizel.
His golden eyes pierced Lizel as if they could see everything. However, Lizel continued to smile, and his expression remained unchanged.
Gil’s eyes were filled with vigilance, and Studd demonstrated a faint sign of displeasure. Ray saw this from the side, but even after confirming this, he didn’t remove his hand.
He bent forward as if to peer into Lizel and whispered. His voice lowly echoed, suppressing the brightness of his usual voice.
“I personally would like to form a relationship with you. If I said that it was a nobleman’s intuition, would you believe me?”
“…If that is how you feel, then I have no means to deny you.”
Lizel’s refreshing smile remained on his face as he narrowed his eyes.
After some silence, Ray suddenly moved his hand away.
“Then, that’s fine! Do come by and stay next time. I shall show you the wonders of my labyrinth collection!”
Ray left with a cheerful smile on his face.
Since the direction he was heading wasn’t towards the guild entrance, he would probably use a backdoor or something to return.
When Lizel let out an unnatural sigh to relax, Studd drew close, his face still emotionless.
“I apologize. He’s always like that, so I truly want him to learn to control himself.”
“It’s not something you need to apologize for, Studd. I’m honored that a viscount wanted to speak to me.”
“I don’t mind if you rest here for some time.”
“Thank you. I’ll do just that.”
Studd looked at Lizel, trying to guess his mood, but when Lizel playfully patted Studd on the head, Studd blankly left the room.
As he listened to Studd’s footsteps fade away, Lizel retrieved the gold coin from on top of the table.
He put it away in his wallet and sat down on the sofa. Gil also made a sound as he sat down on the sofa on the other side.
“You turned down a request from the viscount? Such a waste.”
“Shaddup. Didn’t you just turn down bein’ his friend?”
The two looked at each other. One gave an amused laugh while the other snorted.
“So, it went the way you imagined?”
“Mostly. If he came to personally talk to me, then I thought he was someone related to the military police, but the one who came was exactly as you described.”
“Well, that’s the top of the military police. If it didn’t go through the guild, then it ain’t gonna get through a middleman.”
The two had discussed who would be coming as they waited for the client to come to this parlor.
How did Lizel know Ray would be related to the military police? That was merely because Lizel’s encounter with the military police came up in that conversation. No other reason.
The military police had said at that time that they had come to confirm, so this topic of confirming the noble must have reached the top. And, that person was Ray.
Since it was reported to the military police that Lizel was an adventurer, Ray must have come to the guild not only to thank Lizel for the labyrinth item but to also confirm.
From what Lizel could see from his response, Ray appeared to be aware that the supposed noble was the one who gave the gift but didn’t know that it was actually Lizel.
“So? Do ya think his suspicions are cleared?”
Ray had come to the guild to confirm. That was the truth.
Was the person presumed to be a noble actually a noble? He must have come to inquire about that possibility.
He appeared to have been saved the trouble of creating the opportunity to meet with Lizel.
“Well, it was certainly cleared.”
“Proof?”
“I mean, he confirmed, didn’t he?”
Lizel tapped his chest, so Gil comprehended and let out an “Aah.”
The palm of Ray’s hand pressing against him when he was leaving and refusing to separate even after Lizel no longer tried to get up appeared to have another meaning.
If Lizel was someone who came from another country in an attempt to find something, then he should have shown some discomposure when realizing that Ray’s questions were a form of interrogation.
Even if people were able to hide this discomposure on their faces, they shouldn’t be able to with their hearts.
Lizel was deeply impressed that there was someone who could distinguish the many emotions based on the vibrations.
“But, you look like if you were to tell a lie, you can trick your heart.”
“I wonder.”
“You’re supposed to deny that…”
Lizel began to seriously ponder if he could consciously do it, so Gil was slightly taken aback.
“Lord Ray, I see that the adventurer who gave you that wonderful present is a notably splendid individual.”
“Hm?”
“You look pleased.”
The elderly attendant who had been waiting inside the carriage looked at Ray in delight.
When Ray touched his own face, it appeared that he was grinning.
The attendant sitting in front of him had been with him since he was young. The elder pleasantly gazed at Ray like how he would to his own child.
“You’ll listen?! That adventurer was the one who was rumored to be the fake noble before.”
“My goodness. Then, your suspicions have been cleared.”
“Yeah. I thought he was a ruined noble who escaped here after no longer being able to remain in some foreign country, but that was completely wrong. Well, I never really had any suspicions!”
Ray laughed heartily.
If Lizel had professed himself a noble and acted however he liked, his suspicion would have greatly intensified, but that wasn’t the case.
Originally, he planned to thank him for the present, extinguish his faint suspicion on the side (Right, the inquiry was secondary to Ray), and ask about the adventurer in question in the guild, but as he was given the chance to directly speak with the person, there was no need for that.
Exactly. There was nothing more valuable than directly conversing with him.
“As if he would ever fall into ruin.”
This muttering didn’t reach the attendant’s ears.
A noble would leave their country all by themselves only when they lost their place there.
The only reasons being: having their corruption exposed, making enemies of the state, losing enough money that could be given to another nation, or dying.
As long as nothing like that had befallen them, no noble would come to another nation by themselves and start a life as an adventurer.
That was exactly why Lizel was different.
Ray looked down at his own hand and tightly clenched it. That undisturbed heartbeat conveyed to him that not only did Lizel beautifully clear any doubts but also showed that he feared nothing.
No commoner would have that heartbeat when dealing with nobles. If Ray had to say, that was the heartbeat of someone who stood above the rest.
“How terrifying.”
“Lord Ray?”
“…I’ll have to build a friendship with him if I don’t want to make an enemy of him! Alright, I definitely have to invite him to my collection room next time!”
A bold smile distorted Ray’s well-featured face, and the attendant smiled, “The master truly looks best in a smile.”
Author’s note:
Lizel had properly shown respect to Ray more or less.
But, that was misunderstood…
<Translator’s Comments> I’ve been debating splitting the chapters in half (usually where there’s that gap) and releasing them weekly, but I know some people have qualms with doing that. What do you think? You’ll still be receiving a whole chapter every two weeks, but it’ll give you the illusion of faster releases.
Towards the Sky 
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