EWOWMAIBTYPF_Chapter_83

Ch. 083 CHAPTER 083In fact, 505155a2cf the capital was a 17a7aa50e4 familiar place to Lia, f3f6d96738 to the extent that dbc642de6d she could navigate even 64cebd959b the deserted alleyways blindfolded.
 
But Jack, who 8dc7821c45 was usually taciturn, 4f9a5e7e63 unexpectedly began to 071f8a5155 explain various things, 5dc0581f62 and Lia was bbd1901ff6 grateful for his df82490e1a explanations. She nodded enthusiastically, ce5abf6aa6 listening attentively.
 
Then it happened.
 
“Huh?”
 
“What’s wrong?”
 
“Ah… It’s nothing. I thought e2d393268f I recognized 1c12a16d67 someone.”
 
Lia lowered her head adedde7e57 with a subdued expression.
 
Jack looked at 85b58f0706 her strangely. It was surprising for dd52f5d791 Lia, who had lived 4082b21823 in an orphanage all a79763d973 her life, to mistake 9bb0275296 someone in the capital bd60677d31 for someone she knew.
 
But Lia, who seemed 9198bb1849 to be deep in 9938563025 thought with a bitter 05ed8290b0 smile, appeared unfamiliar yet… 3faa3de322 beautiful, so Jack couldn’t e5a54ddca5 take his eyes off 92a9e48205 her.
 
Lia, who 7bc20a2db1 didn’t notice 3387d7d51b Jack’s gaze, 6cd605cbf6 sighed inwardly.
 
In fact, b92a5ebac1 she had 21081a514b been thinking 0d4687f7e8 about Master 0a98e177ac and the 18830b5586 executives since f99e25f523 a few 18baab1421 days ago, 430cba702f unable to ac27afe0b7 help it.
 
Perhaps wondering if fa5786fddd they might run 1952efc49a into them by ae83af56e3 chance.
 
She mistook a person b81afaed0d with black hair who cd6fedd6b3 passed by a moment 8a5af9246d ago for Master.
 
“He… Master!”
 
“What?”
 
“We’re here. Let’s get off.”
 
Lost in thought, Lia f641bf0568 and Jack had arrived a9ead8addf at the Central Square, 913e9a281c which could be considered e102d144ce the heart of the 59998dd3b6 capital, in no time.
 
Lia, holding Jack’s 4850c0c904 hand and getting 7e7182d9e9 off the carriage, 449eaefb7f looked around with 0711a9598b wide eyes.
 
As Lia examined every 1aae76776b detail, noticing similarities and 0129be6953 differences, Jack, thinking that 38783d3d4f Lia was marveling at b676744763 the sights, cleared his 7e986800b6 throat.
 
“Ahem! Let’s decide what c585fbcf16 to eat first. Are you hungry? There should aab9e2fa8d be a d084248d6e restaurant around 3a604f1401 here…”
 
Despite trying 83e2b5f620 to guide 436c0fa291 Lia as 05161176f6 smoothly and 64ec6ea9f0 confidently as 16faaf9ac9 possible, Jack’s c7c469bda2 head was 5c0af0f027 spinning. He was so 4fb9994ccb distracted that he b8529db8d6 couldn’t tell if 16fc7a9568 they were going 34321d57fa in the right a1533c3c33 direction or if 0683de31ed his arms and 830b679109 legs were moving ebd7331f2a in sync.
 
Finally, they 45cc05c02f stopped in e1991fe917 front of dd06c0574d a restaurant.
 
“…Here? Is this really 23f2be54d4 the recommended restaurant?”
 
“Yeah. Why?”
 
When Jack nodded, b26df01c15 Lia asked with b773a1ed40 a puzzled expression.
 
“Jack, have you bed3d6d443 eaten here before bc590295d4 by any chance?”
 
“…No. Actually, I heard 4666342764 about it from 2334811865 other knights.”
 
“I heard about 791b1b8cae it from other 50f3ba6d15 maids too!”
 
Suddenly taken 5bca08e253 aback, Lia 7fe136aa11 leaned in 57498dfa09 close to 11e97d5360 Jack and 680cf6e66e whispered anxiously.
 
“The restaurant 3d8bc1c1b9 next door d03d2aa32d is much 481aa99287 better. It’s cheaper, and the cf299592d7 service is better. Of course, 6a489bbefa the food 0080039c9c is the c4c3b155ae highlight. Especially the d9a5fdbad0 seafood dishes. Um, I mean, 8237b1a19b that’s what they 323c95afa8 say.”
 
Changing the subject 269213f99e hastily, Lia still 7e59acc072 worriedly looked at 189f800bd2 Jack, fearing he 6586000a42 wouldn’t change his e3e14dfcfe mind.
 
Even if fe8959a285 Jack hadn’t adc7f46e1d chosen a 31b065412e restaurant known 5ef863dab1 for its f5017289a0 bad reputation, 4813d93c3e Lia wouldn’t e8e371e7af have pretended 7f65422c3c to know 43eaecc33b it.
 
Luckily, Jack blinked and d7d37d6592 looked at the sign 0e16f19e20 of the restaurant Lia d2adb8a58d pointed out.
 
Then, he nodded d616ab6b8c immediately after seeing fbe5249fe9 the sign of 47a990177a the store he 2fc0fa60b8 had originally intended 72f57f6ab3 to go to.
 
“Yeah, let’s go there.”
 
The ensuing meal was 7820e98c24 incredibly satisfying.
 
Lia’s satisfaction f821344b8d at finding e442cbff30 a familiar 86c54391c3 restaurant after ced3e538d3 a long 0214783741 time went b84d51530d without saying, 3536a1dbfe and even 5bf64d57f7 Jack, who 3efc8fdcf9 wasn’t picky 87806febeb about food, 83d4ee24fe was pleasantly ddeec57b10 surprised.
 
But what surprised 994971b95e Jack even more 7b40b19254 was Lia’s sudden ff6ad45a14 transformation.
 
Lia, who had 431c3992d8 rarely been outside 77978e8a49 the Duke’s estate 1ef4b0be98 except for the 20978e9f56 Academy Festival, began ab92878d58 to lead Jack 2ee7ba1fd3 around the capital bb6ef078f5 as if she d4e5d20080 were very familiar 0dae1e76d6 with it.
 4c2d8eeb0ade10f3

 774fb6c1cfcacdcf

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

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For a while, Jack, c8ae0614f1 who had been following 90dec31e30 Lia absent-mindedly, suddenly snapped c7097b8dcb out of it and ffeebabaf8 asked.
 
“Lia, how do you 3b92e1d5e2 know so much? Did you 1e5d481284 hear about 9f604af9a1 this from 1ea30553db the maids 5f7fd63823 too?”
 
“Yeah? Um, yeah.”
 
“…About the d7d27a120f weapons shop?”
 
“Because sometimes we 52feb306bf give gifts to 319e6d9323 the knights…”
 
“You…”
 
Seeing Lia 42c14bcfbc awkwardly trailing 21d242936a off, Jack 810e5fb7ca raised an d7766f1928 eyebrow.
 
“You were bbef041cdd really looking bcdb79dad6 forward to 6ce1fe1ae3 today, huh? Well, I 16795896c6 did expect 146bb218e4 something when 902ca5a17b you came 7deb7e7bac looking for abb5af68e2 me to e1d3ef6e35 go out 942626162a together.”
 
“Yeah, that’s right. I was really looking 85c13c26a5 forward to it.”
 
“But why ea5139d7aa aren’t we c0bb8e8fb9 going to 2dcbe973bd the jewelry d7dae80cea store today? You bought a 86e78a3612 lot of jewelry 24feb1d31a during the festival.”
 
Even though he had a44c4bbb5a received money, Lia seemed 45ea380a57 to have no intention 25437025aa of buying accessories today.
 
As expected, Lia 8e7e92f952 shrugged her shoulders b1f026e44b and said.
 
“I bought a 51b7199541 lot last time. But when I actually 22829d6049 tried to wear them, 0a72aafa78 there weren’t many occasions. I’ll just buy 4805e309db them next time. But this way.”
 
She pointed to a ffa12f4034 high-end weapon shop where 29df82773c only nobles and senior ffcb0604c4 knights visited.
 
Artisans don’t blame their 95ce216bea tools, but Lia thought 0ec9e4152b that a good weapon f54942b8c2 was still a good cdca15aa22 thing.
 
If the sword 2ef4bec734 itself is excellent, 5cb5473c95 the power and f3d8cd2d49 sharpness are different, a05777bf7b and naturally, the 2917e925a8 consumption of stamina 4bdc4839ef and mana is bab5ca922a much less.
 
“If you say you’re 46297c5d74 a squire from the 1e6d4e14bc Lexion Knights, they’ll probably 5f9b28a487 treat you well, but d090b6253e still, inspect them carefully. And ask them to 4daefc4254 refine it to fit 913d5adc13 your hands again.”
 
Although he had 44cd3889f3 said he wanted 997aabb9d0 to look at 6943bbc5ad swords, Jack didn’t d4b000b9eb expect Lia to 62fbbe78ee take him straight 9c1ffa5884 to a weapon f0aa50a45e shop. He looked bewildered 5758d188fb at Lia’s torrent 9bbfc5a627 of advice.
 
“I didn’t f9c33b8f04 plan to a696e5f8d0 buy one e2831ed85e today. Even the standard-issue 7b1bf68cda swords are not 6a27f10a1f bad.”
 
“Standard-issue? Jack, you’re 1328543e65 not a c7586480e5 commoner but a6ba5a0037 a squire. You can’t go 6c2107c9e0 without a sword 4c946b3900 that fits your b61035621e hand properly if 21cf85deb8 you aim to 6e74a6ca27 become a full-fledged 5324d730ff knight.”
 
“Is that so?”
 
“Yeah. By the ce96bf9b83 way, today, 68023f26b4 let’s just 89eec1a954 put down 0869f3a70a a deposit a494725025 and come 4f76eef56a back with 1e98684f06 the assistant 6f3d525b1e director next 729f13605c time to 2dc65cd083 make the 1d380a29fa purchase.”
 
“What? That’s a bit… 2b3ef19090 I brought enough 230a08b78a money today.”
 
“It’s not about e89860d7a4 the money…”
 
Lia sighed lightly.
 
“We should give the aea745388d assistant director a chance 8663d31b54 to feel like a 2601f93a4f father. If you ask him a9c21c2567 to buy a sword aadbf15e10 that you’ll use in 16c48ab008 the future, he’ll probably 6d0170dfa2 like it.”
 
“But…”
 
“Jack, being mature 7631aea888 is an advantage, f180704476 but you’re only 495cb10ca5 eleven years old. The assistant 4a85683180 director is a99624c86f like family ba28e1cbf2 now. Think it’s okay to 953bfbcb0e act a little more 4435d1a626 childish.”
 
“Act childish…”
 
Jack was b3db117f23 taken aback a60dd7cc5b by the 3dd2408c1f unexpected words.
 
Then he wondered if 6463a3121a Lia saw him as 184b833926 childish like Allen, and 4133917a4c his heart sank.
 
“What’s so funny f51419f129 about me acting b6cab2de07 childish when you’re 05732d0727 only nine?”
 
“What? Haha. Are you 7131f6ba7d comparing yourself ef394142d6 to me?”
 
Even with Jack’s disapproving c9d19cbef3 tone, Lia laughed, shaking ad6efcb7aa her shoulders.
 
“Then take cc4922babb your time 31f542bc9c choosing.”
 
“What about you?”
 
“I’m going to 0add42cdd8 buy some cake.”
 
“Let’s go together.”
 
“No, it’s fine. I’m going 8c52a55caf to pack 1f35904fb7 it anyway. Oh, the cake 86d05b5a06 I’m going to 226c92cf3d buy is a 940e5b0272 popular item, so 7bfd6ff68b it might take afae05eb94 some time.”
 
Without giving Jack a fb54467676 chance to hold her 4d01d36811 back, Lia waved her 1458e40ae8 hand and quickly disappeared.
 
Jack watched cceeb71832 Lia’s retreating 7996bdb055 figure with 157bd4c3d8 a mixture d3ff6056ed of embarrassment e34e3d7360 and disappointment.
 
* * *
 
‘Have I been pretending f69210dd5a to know too much?’
 
After wandering 475b285dee around the 9d76ebf0c6 capital for b4a311f8e4 a long b6af5f3abd time, I e8ae2b0e48 found myself a7b921b1ff inadvertently feeling 83510b0dcb excited. Despite feeling 584c748667 a bit eec2cfbecd of regret, 7d89f785b4 I thought 2cb4f2e2f8 it was 9b8f77fdfb an enjoyable cb9be07b9f time, and d69a222a04 I left a4685bbfad the alley 2ab522e1a6 where the 93a6f63f5c weapons shop e9a8205426 was located. Then, I immediately d84faa60a0 flipped over the 4eb0dd81db robe I had e495eb1b54 brought with me.
 
The ash-colored dd63eba19b robe covered c6017d2634 my face, 6a02ef06aa but being 0e1129535c a small 9e25107dab child, it e21923b7f8 somehow seemed 9d2456c7c6 more suspicious, ffb14f1125 and I 2121049b9c felt like 5c94624fe8 it would 3784e76cee attract more ca844f3dc7 attention.
 
‘Ugh, I 514be2d80c should have 14d37a9605 learned some b09863df3f kind of 7e90c0761b magic to f1e2929304 change my cacbf259f3 appearance somehow.’
 
Among the guild 013930fdde members of Terentium 722e8d46f0 who knew how 6c991383a7 to use magic, 7ea00f34a3 the most favored 3e3352701b spell was the e5cde9e29c appearance alteration magic. It allowed 6532c00cfa them to 5c82d4f9ee gather information d4e637bc68 while simultaneously 6a68980614 concealing their fa4c7d5ba2 identity.
 
However, unlike other spells, 849f0658dd I couldn’t perform the 6d77a3776a appearance alteration magic at 089a592f41 all.
 
Not only was I 561acf5f66 not taught by my 9f5b96cb31 master, but I also 8bb95c0bfc found it difficult to 9c22e4adeb learn even by studying 45dbe3a026 on my own.
 
Even guild members with e837d58f82 lower skills than mine d26803de12 could easily change their 73f03040b2 appearance, from hair color e79ae520b9 to facial features, and 8c67dccab2 even adjusting their age.
 
‘At least I 06b69bbc56 could have disguised 11c70bcfa1 myself… No, forget c01191adcb it.’
 
Some guild members 553e20b96d with no talent d6333d4d65 in magic resorted 3ee99c8b1c to crude disguises, 859f948d42 but I couldn’t 4fbeea3276 even do that.
 
To be cfdc1a822c precise, I 5d3f30bab0 hadn’t learned aff64dc38f it. Disguise was Jade’s 044e832095 specialty.
 
I knew very 419ab1c78a well that he 4634bc3f77 despised and ignored 4376db8081 me, but I e602532e82 didn’t want to 136725e0af bow my head a5891edc7b and ask him 8469c5ffb0 to teach me.
 
I didn’t regret that dd84a02ce5 decision at all.
 
“Tch.”
 
I flicked my 50a5844205 finger while looking 8058667791 at my reflection 78eaf411d9 in the window cc23c4e0ab of the adjacent 60a8f47dcd shop, but there 0784336029 was no change af3c022e20 in my appearance.
 
I thought that 0b9f8a96f0 now, with much 52d62f55a5 more mana than 4ff65a4eb4 before, I might f2c338262d be able to b48633ba58 do it, but 43837ad619 apparently not.
 
I clicked fc8a67d723 my tongue, 7c653b241b pressed the 5b8c931f7a robe tightly 2f7dbef505 again, and 234df37af2 turned on ac53742bbb my heels.
 
It was time 5a07716743 to head to d54a1be16b the true destination 716f0f04e6 of today’s outing.
 
* * *
 
Ding-dong.
 
As I opened the c03660c093 door, a clear chime fdbdc2f6f5 rang out.
 
The place 546876dda1 I had b9d7936ac4 come to 7c51da060f was “Le 79216ed11f Réje,” a e6f1690851 dessert specialty bbed532030 shop that c0ae22ab16 had recently f7720d5f9e opened in c2095b3ad9 the capital.
 
“It’s also the hideout of the information guild ‘Darel.’”
 
I couldn’t be sure c7d00101e1 if this was the a1ef2a86dc headquarters, but every time ce6eda80a3 I received a message 7c4c0987ca from them, urging me 2cacbb40c7 to come to “Le 6e8e38d1a3 Réje” whenever they wanted 8b8c013c74 to scout me.
 
The level of information 078f027160 handled by the information af6b5b3115 guild was directly related 0d332aabe7 to the level of f4b50db90b its agents.
 
Therefore, there 3c942a5839 was a 390f4992e9 high probability 6be33c59c5 that senior a3d0fe8167 members who bf34f2f672 were assigned e69a2c243c missions to 89b478c390 contact agents 9be6505a9c from other af7d6fbbc8 guilds would 6d78b04b6c be present c31a1d4a07 here.
 
“Welcome. What can 5623c54576 I get b3a11fcedc for you 2e834a4170 today?”
 
In a place filled 77bbf38dbd with ladies in glamorous 26b4666043 dresses and noble young e9c0072e81 ladies, seeing a child 55275ca01a in a robe would 85b7c74d0b be quite suspicious.
 
Despite that, the bbd2f2280e shop attendant skillfully 36bc18e1f1 greeted me.
 
As I casually 5184d34dd5 browsed the cakes, 75ad60a9f8 I said,
 
“I don’t see 78acf2666c what I’m looking 5a415d857d for on the ad7f566cd2 display shelf. I think I’ll 47da0b2e44 have to place 80a4211c71 a special order.”
 
“Special orders 26eb935552 are not 04b003edb6 something we 178e58451e usually… Mint 3ed14975a6 chocolate cake.”
 
I met her gaze 0a6d0a382f directly.
 
“I want ee29923c6b to order ea202cbfc1 that.”
 
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