Volume 5 Chapter 48 They Say a Man Only Needs to Be Apart for Three Days... But Women's Growth is Amazing Too
After shooing away the surveillance and enjoying the carbonated drink he'd been craving, Randy took a day off from the academy the next morning to focus on cleaning the house.
According to the plan, Liz and Ellie were supposed to come pick him up that evening.
There had been no word from the Marquis household about any trouble.
If their journey north went smoothly, they should reach the outskirts of Blankfurt, the capital of Marquis Waldner's territory, by that evening.
But the end of their long journey also marked the beginning of new business negotiations and a battle with a mysterious organization.
For now, though, Randy was putting all of that out of his mind and throwing himself into cleaning.
It wasn't anything deep.
It was just a feeling similar to when you're about to invite someone over to your place.
Though it was a house shared by 3 people──Harrison and Rita included──Randy was running around from morning, broom and rag in hand, to make sure Liz and Ellie would feel welcome when they returned after so long.
Of course, he couldn't clean Liz and Ellie's rooms, or Rita and Harrison's, but he could at least tidy up the shared spaces like the living room, kitchen, hall, and stairs.
"This is way more work than I thought..."
Realizing just how exhausting cleaning could be, Randy plopped down on the floor.
If he'd been keeping up with it regularly, it wouldn't have been this bad.
Still, he couldn't help but feel grateful to Rita and Harrison for always keeping the house so clean.
"Guess I'll push through a little more."
Just as Randy picked up the rag and broom again and started heading up the stairs, a familiar presence appeared in the middle of the hall.
It was a sudden, unmistakable presence that seemed to come out of nowhere...
"Liz?"
...There was no mistaking it──it was Liz.
And Liz, who hadn't expected Randy to be home at this hour, turned around in surprise and called out, "Randy?"
"O-oh. Oh."
With a confused exclamation, Randy descended into the hall, holding a rag and a broom in his hands.
After putting them back on the shelf for a moment, Randy washed his hands in the kitchen and returned with a welcoming smile for Liz.
"Welcome back. Huh? Or is it 'welcome home'?"
"Does it really matter?"
Liz smiled, her cheeks slightly red as she shyly said, "I'm home."
"Have you been doing well?"
"Yes."
Liz nodded firmly, then looked up at Randy and said, "What about you, Randy?"
"Me? Well, I've had my share of ups and downs, but I'm doing fine."
Randy grinned and leaned closer to Liz, saying, "Ellie seems to be doing well too."
Liz's face turned red, and she quickly swapped places with Ellie.
"Too close, you idiot."
Ellie pushed Randy away, but when he smiled and said, "You're as lively as ever," she blushed slightly and turned her face away.
"Still, you came back earlier than I expected."
"Yeah. My brother said the weather's been good these past few days, so we reached our destination ahead of schedule."
"Wow. That's great."
The Marquis Waldner territory, located in the northern part of the kingdom and at a slightly higher altitude, is usually covered in snow this time of year, often delaying travel plans.
The fact that the clear weather sped things up was a very good omen.
As for Randy, the past ten days had been rough──failed tests, getting kidnapped, and being harassed by some strange guy.
"And what about you? Cleaning the room like this──were you throwing some wild party or something?"
Ellie smirked, and Randy responded with a wry smile, "Well... in a way, it was chaotic."
Randy then guided Ellie to the living room and began recounting the series of events that had happened over the past few days.
It started with intruders, followed by the arrival of the former 4th prince of the empire and the [Second Sword Saint].
"Just ten days, and I've been through so much."
Randy then let out a deep sigh and apologized, "Sorry about this. I let them break in." He also mentioned that Liz and Ellie's favorite tea and other items had already been discarded.
"It couldn't be helped. We knew there was a risk of intrusion when we left the place unattended."
Ellie let out a sigh and leaned back against the chair, speaking to herself, "Good thing I took all my undergarments with me."
"That's a relief," Randy responded.
Though relieved for now, Randy advised that any remaining clothes should probably be discarded.
While he and Harrison had some resistance to toxins, Liz and Ellie's resistance levels were uncertain.
There was no telling what kind of traps their opponent might have set up.
"Speaking of traps, I remember when opening my room door triggered sleep gas once," Randy recalled.
It was a mysterious trap whose mechanism remained unknown.
"Hmm... I wonder, but it shouldn't still be active, right?"
Ellie showed brief interest but quickly stood up, announcing she would sort out the wardrobe and other belongings.
After some time, Ellie returned to the living room, looking rather satisfied.
"...Why the smile?"
Randy tilted his head in confusion.
Ellie handed him a piece of paper, saying, "This is it," before sitting back down on the sofa.
"What's this?"
Randy tilted his head even further, only seeing what looked like a magic circle drawn on the paper.
To Randy, it resembled the fleeting, stylish patterns visible when casting magic.
However, as far as he recalled, this world had no concept of "magic circles" or drawings of such things on paper.
The closest equivalent would be magical circuits.
"Is this different from magical circuits?"
"That's it, it's an ancient technique that served as the foundation for magical circuits and modern magic."
Ellie explained simply.
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