Volume 3 Chapter 15 I Never Intended to Return, but...
Five days later, Lene, Ai, and I were back at the logging camp for the first delivery.
"Aine would've loved to come, to see the coal deposits."
"Yeah, but she has to go to the academic guild."
Lene and I were counting the payment money on the table as we chatted.
Yep, everything seemed to be in order.
Like we'd discussed, Aine wasn't with us today.
Apparently, she had to go to the academic guild for exams for the next few days.
If she'd gone through the proper procedures in Goldmont to leave the country, she'd have had something to prove her identity, so she wouldn't have needed to take the exams.
Though, if she'd done the paperwork, they probably would've stopped her from leaving in the first place.
Also, according to Ai's testimony, the chances of the assassins returning were low, so Aine had moved out of our place.
"I can't stand being in such a sickeningly sweet newlywed home!" she'd said.
...Was it really that sickeningly sweet?
"Still, this is a great help. We had the workers use the <Magic Stone of Powerful Arms> right away, and it seems to have made the work a lot easier."
Mr. Heim, the site supervisor, was practically beaming.
The magic stones and medicine we delivered had already been distributed.
By the way, Lene had put an engraving magic on the magic stones to prevent them from being taken out of the logging camp.
They only work near the camp.
You never know when someone might try to sell them off for a quick buck.
"I'm glad to hear it. It makes me feel like my work is worth it. I'll make the rest of them and bring them over right away."
"Please do."
After shaking hands with Mr. Heim, we left the management hut.
Alright, morning chores done!
"Once we're back in town, how about lunch at the diner on the main street? Sound good to you two?"
"Yeah, I'm good. Ai-Ai, you okay with that?"
"...Yeah, it's fine."
Ai answered Lene's question properly now.
Even though she's still pretty cold to me.
Why is that?
Anyway, the 3 of us headed to the diner on the main street.
It was packed, probably because it was almost noon, but we were lucky enough to snag a table.
"Speaking of which, I never actually asked you, Ai... Are you okay with becoming a citizen of the Beistein Kingdom?"
I suddenly wondered, and just blurted it out.
Ai gave information about Goldmont to us, and even to Her Highness, so she wouldn't be able to go back to her unit.
"...What's with the sudden question? I can't exactly leave you, so I don't have a choice, do I?"
"...Well, if that's the case, I'll have to release the magic, though."
I got a sharp glare and a prickly response.
Right now, she can't leave me because she's a prisoner, but I'll have to release the magic constraint so she can move freely.
It's not good if she can't fight back when some danger comes up when I'm not around.
"If that happens, does that mean Ai-Ai is gonna be one of us?"
Lene, sitting next to Ai, poked the ninja girl's cheek, looking happy.
Ai looked troubled but didn't push her away.
They seem to have become good friends.
If it were me, she'd probably give me a cold stare and swat me away.
"Ugh... I, I can live on my own! I don't need to live with you guys..."
"Aww, that makes Mama sad..."
"Wha...!?"
Ai's face twisted at Lene's sudden declaration of "Mama," her eyes darting between Lene and me.
If Lene's the Mama, then that obviously makes me the Papa, right?
"...What are you laughing at?"
"I'm NOT laughing, are you kidding?"
Glared at by Ai, who's always sharp-tongued with me, I fought back a laugh, managing to stammer out a response.
Well, Ai came here as an assassin.
She says she can live on her own, but I doubt Her Highness will be satisfied unless we claim her as our dependent.
Guess we'll have to accept her becoming one of our own.
We were finishing our meal when a pair of merchants approached the table to my left.
They both looked like they'd just finished a long journey.
"Phew, finally a break. This town is the end of our cross-continental journey."
"Yeah. But... Sartzstadt's livelier than the last time we were here. I mean, it was already a pretty bustling town, but this is something else."
Their conversation piqued my interest, and I found myself unconsciously listening in.
Cross-continental, huh?
If so, they must've come from Sakura in the east.
"Seriously, what a difference between the eastern and western ends of the continent. Sakura's gone now, after all."
......Huh?
Sakura...fell?
"Hey, what do you mean!? Sakura fell!?"
Unable to ignore those words, I jumped to my feet without thinking, cutting into the merchants' conversation.
The two merchants' eyes widened at my sudden interruption, but I couldn't care less!
"U-um, yeah. After a long civil war, they were destroyed by a surprise attack from the guys who came from the eastern continent. Last summer, I think?"
"........."
The news of my homeland's destruction... it just knocked the wind right out of me.
I wasn't exactly planning on going back anytime soon, but still... to hear it was gone, completely wiped out... the shock was unreal.
"Oh... you didn't know..."
"...Ai?"
I turned at the sound of the soft voice, and sure enough, it was Ai.
Lene was rubbing my back, looking worried, while I was sweating buckets and staring at the ground.
Her face was as white as a sheet.
"...Yeah, it's gone. That's why I was sold to Goldmont."
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