“I have something to ask.”
“What is it?”
“Do you know this person?”
Leonard pulled out a parchment with a portrait of the assassin from his coat. The man who looked at the parchment widened his eyes in surprise, then quickly glanced around.
“Why, what’s wrong? Did this person do something bad?”
“Why would you think that? I only asked if you knew them.”
“Ah……. Well…… This person used to come to our tavern often. They’d always rack up a tab, which was a hassle. Even though they were usually drunk, they were somewhat known as a mercenary in these parts, so I had no choice but to let them have credit. I’m afraid I can’t say more than this.”
“Is it difficult, or are you refusing?”
“Well…….”
Leonard sharply eyed the man who cautiously trailed off, then took a few gold coins from his pocket and slid them toward him.
Seeing the gold coins, the man’s eyes widened in shock before he quickly looked around. Confirming no one was watching, he hurriedly pocketed the coins.
“His name is Henry. I don’t know if that’s his real name or a nickname, but he always called himself Henry. It’s been quite a while since he last came to the shop, but the last things he said still bother me.”
“What did he say?”
“He said he’d caught a big fish, and if he successfully completed this job, he’d be filthy rich. Hold on a moment.”
It was the same thing Larissa had said. Yellian seemed to ask for their understanding, then returned with a glass of milk that had a savory smell in one hand and a beer in the other. He offered the milk to Yellian and the beer to Leonard.
Yellian glanced around before taking a small sip of the milk. It was savory and sweet. It tasted so good that he kept sipping it. Meanwhile, Leonard spoke up.
“Is there anything else you can tell me?”
“Well…….”
As the man smacked his lips and dragged out his words, Leonard handed over more gold coins. At that, a glint of excitement flashed in the man’s eyes. He eagerly continued speaking.
“This is something I haven’t told anyone. A while ago, some woman came by and kept asking about Henry. I felt uneasy, so I didn’t tell her everything about him. Looks like I was meant to meet you today, sir.”
The woman he was likely referring to was Larissa. This proved there was no lie in what she had said. Yellian, who trusted Larissa, felt a sense of pride for no particular reason.
“Henry said this job was as easy as eating cold soup. Compared to the hunts he’d done before, it was nothing, he said.”
Yellian felt deflated by the man’s words. He had expected something significant, but hearing nothing more than Henry’s empty boasts left him dumbfounded.
Yellian thought Leonard would be angry, questioning if that was all he had to say, but instead, Leonard remained silent, lost in thought.
“After that, he disappeared. It’s been quite a while since Henry last showed up.”
“Was there no other man he used to hang around with?”
“Ah, you mean Nick? Nick was part of Henry’s crew. They often moved together. If Henry was a loud braggart, Nick was quiet. He wasn’t the type to blabber.”
“I see.”
“Is there anything else you’re curious about?”
The man smacked his lips as he asked, clearly hoping to use the question as an excuse to get more gold coins.
Knowing this, Leonard readily handed over a small pouch of gold coins. The man, who had been stunned by just a few coins earlier, swallowed hard with excitement upon seeing the pouch, barely containing his joy.
“If someone else comes asking about that man, just say you don’t know anything.”
“Understood, understood!”
“If word of this gets out, I’ll assume you’re the culprit. So consider the gold I’ve given you as payment for your life.”
“Understood!”
Blinded by the gold, the man answered with his eyes fixed on the coins, even in the face of Leonard’s chilling warning.
Leonard left the man as he was and exited the tavern. Yellian quickly followed behind him.
* * *
“Leonard…… Since we’re already out…….”
“No.”
“I haven’t even finished speaking yet!”
Yellian shouted in frustration. Leonard clicked his tongue with a ‘tsk’ and tilted his head as if to say, go ahead and speak.
“Fine, say it.”
“Can’t we look around a bit…… and visit the pie shop Larissa mentioned…… anyway, can’t we do that?”
Of course, he wasn’t fixated on the pie, but since they were already out, it seemed like a good idea to stop by. He remembered how delicious it was.
To add, the only place Yellian knew well in the capital, besides the pie shop run by a woman named Lena, was nowhere else.
“What a completely useless suggestion.”
“Why is this a useless suggestion? There’s no suggestion more valuable than this!”
Yellian raised his voice indignantly. However, Leonard didn’t even flinch and headed toward the main road to catch a carriage.
Yellian stared at Leonard’s back, then shouted loudly in a frantic state of mind.
“This is a date!”
As soon as Yellian finished speaking, Leonard whipped around. Then he approached Yellian at a terrifying speed.
Yellian tried to calm his pounding chest as he looked at Leonard, who was now right in front of him. Yellian was wearing a robe, and so was Leonard, so their faces weren’t clearly visible. Even so, Yellian could tell just how excited Leonard’s expression must be right now.
“What did you just say?”
“I said this is a date…….”
“Do you want to go on a date with me?”
“Well, when you ask like that, it’s a bit hard to answer…….”
“Answer me.”
At Leonard’s firm words, Yellian hesitated, glancing at him nervously before finally speaking up.
“Y-Yes, I want to go on a date with Leonard. Staying at the duke’s estate every day is boring, you know. Being cooped up in a room doesn’t feel like a date at all…….”
Since he’d already started speaking, Yellian decided to confess his true feelings honestly.
Truthfully, though he hadn’t officially started dating Leonard, they’d already done everything they could. Yet, ironically, they’d never been on an actual date, which Yellian found disappointing and upsetting.
“Alright, fine. Let’s go on a date. Where did you say you wanted to go? Ah, that pie shop?”
It was hard to believe that just moments ago, he’d called Yellian’s suggestion completely useless. Leonard seemed quite excited. He even looked thrilled, which Yellian found cute.
“Yes, the pie shop…… and just walking around the streets…… anyway, I want to have an ordinary date, the kind we can’t have at the duke’s estate.”
“Alright. Then let’s go to that pie shop first.”
“Yes, I asked Larissa for the name. She said it’s called ‘Lena’s Pie Shop.'”
“Since we don’t know the location, I think it’s better to take a carriage there to buy the pie, then walk around and sightsee afterward. What do you think?”
“Sounds good. Let’s do that.”
Yellian nodded with a bright smile. Though his face was mostly covered, he hoped his feelings would still reach Leonard.
The two walked side by side to catch a carriage. It didn’t take long to find a shabby one.
Yellian, who was used to riding the splendid carriages of the duke’s estate, found the musty smell of this carriage unfamiliar. Even the carriage they’d taken when leaving the duke’s estate earlier wasn’t this worn out.
With every jolt, Yellian felt like his waist was screaming in pain. He couldn’t help but worry that he might end up with a herniated disc at this rate.
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