R302 | Chapter 12

[✧ March 22, Earth Day]

Ain left. Before he went, he told me to stab anyone who tried to pick a fight. Stab them, he said. Such a violent thing to say. Ain said he’d take responsibility, but I don’t know where he gets that confidence.

Anyway, there aren’t many people who pick fights, so it’s fine. Even if they did, I wouldn’t stab them like Ain suggested. Other inns have all sorts of incidents, but ours is relatively quiet, so there’s no need to worry.

Since Ain left, I cleaned the room so he can rest in a clean place when he returns. I also tidied up Mr. Bjorn and Mr. Maser’s room, as well as Ms. Albina and Lady Ruschilka’s room.

Ain’s room was cleaner than I expected. Maybe it looked clean because there weren’t many things in it.

Mr. Bjorn and Mr. Maser’s room was split in half. Mr. Bjorn’s side had everything neatly arranged, while Mr. Maser’s side had things scattered everywhere.

Ms. Albina’s room was packed with stuff. It was amazing how she managed to bring so much.

Lady Ruschilka’s room was so clean it was almost empty, ready for another guest. There was nothing out except for her personal items.

While cleaning, I noticed that all five of them had surprisingly high-quality items. Of course, I didn’t look closely, but from what was unpacked, that’s what I saw.

Even their clothes looked ordinary but were made of good material, and even small items seemed to be bought from high-end shops or specially ordered. Not just Ain, but the other four as well.

It’s a good thing. Ten years ago, they all looked like beggars….

Rich adventurers used to drink potions and carelessly throw away the bottles, but Ain collected even the smallest bottles and potion caps to sell back to the general store. They were 1 Ruhin each.

Once, I found the sole of his boot flapping because it had come loose (Ain claimed it was because he had been to rough places), and we went to buy new ones together.

I also remember him working hard at Mr. Mac’s forge to get a new sword. Watching him struggle up the stairs was quite pitiful.

Was he too busy succeeding to come by? If that’s the case, I could understand. They say you have to be busy to succeed.

I was busy too. I don’t know if I’ll be as successful as Ain, but the inn has been doing really well lately. Just the money earned thanks to Ain was almost 1500 Rund. Including other earnings, it was over 2500 Rund. It was the highest sales since I inherited the inn.

The third floor, which originally had many shared rooms, was full, but only four people were actually staying, so the inn work was more relaxed. Even though we couldn’t take group guests, the work became much easier.

It’s nice just to meet him, but he also increased sales and made work easier.

Ain is really the best!

* * *

April 3rd. Just over ten days after leaving, Ain returned to the inn with his party. They all greeted Licht with tired faces and went up to their rooms.

“They all look tired.”

“Yeah. I wonder what happened.”

Rutte, who was chatting with Licht while tidying up the first-floor dining area, tilted his head.

‘His Majesty the King, the Duke, the Chief Mage of the Magic Tower, the High Priestess, and the bounty hunter. What could make these five return looking so tired?’

With those five, they could probably crush an average knight order, right? Especially the King of the Kingdom of Elio, Ivern Serhardt, who is known as the ruler of the battlefield and the sword saint, being overwhelmingly strong.

‘Well, His Majesty seemed the most fine among them.’

Ain also looked tired, but unlike the others who were sluggish, his movements were as usual.

‘Where on earth did they go?’

As an ordinary citizen of the kingdom, Rutte couldn’t imagine what His Majesty was doing with his confidants. He was very curious but also didn’t want to know. The current thought among Rutte and the villagers was that there was nothing good about getting deeply involved in the affairs of high-ranking people.

…Though there was one person who acted like a friend without knowing anything.

Licht, who could remain carefree because he knew nothing, quickly put away the broom and greeted Rutte.

“Rutte, I’m going up now!”

“Why are you so excited?”

“I want to talk to Ain after a long time.”

“…Um, he looked a bit tired.”

“That’s why I’m going to meet him. I’m going to relieve his fatigue.”

…What on earth was he planning to do? Rutte wanted to ask, but Licht, in a hurry, shouted, “See you tomorrow!” and quickly went up. Rutte could only laugh and hope nothing would happen.

Meanwhile, Licht, who went up to the third floor, returned to his room to wash up instead of going to see Ain. He thought Ain, who had just returned from a journey, would be taking a bath, so it would be a disturbance to go right away. After washing up and changing into clean pajamas, he went straight to Ain’s room next to his and knocked on the door.

Soon, the door clicked open, and Ain appeared.

Ain, who opened the door with a blank expression, smiled as soon as he saw Licht. As Licht expected, Ain’s golden hair was still damp, as if he had just washed.

“What brings our Licht here at this late hour?”

“Can I come in for a bit?”

“Mm, of course, no reason you can’t.”

Ain opened the door wide. As Licht slipped into the room, Ain closed the door.

“Come here, Licht.”

“Huh?”

“Sit here.”

He sat Licht down on a chair in one corner of the room. Then he grabbed a towel and began to roughly dry his wet hair. It was a touch that left him dazed.

“You don’t have to do this for me.”

“I used to do it often when you were little.”

“That was when I was little, and I’m all grown up now.”

“If you’re grown up, you should dry it properly. You’ll catch a cold.”

“It’s already April….”

Licht protested, but Ain didn’t listen. Thanks to that, his hair dried fluffy, but Licht felt uneasy about making a tired person work.

“So, what brings our Licht here?”

“Well, I thought you might be tired. Should I give you a shoulder massage?”

“Shoulder? You?”

“Yeah, I’m good at it. Everyone says it feels nice when I do it.”

Ain frowned slightly as he watched Licht speak proudly.

“Hmm, who did our Licht give such massages to?”

“Mr. Heiker and Mrs. Nidia. Sometimes Nidia and Rutte too. I used to do it for Dad as well.”

“…You’re doing quite well.”

Licht nodded proudly. But Ain couldn’t feel relieved just from that.

From what he had observed for a few days, there were more than a few people who glanced at Licht with sticky gazes. When those guys made a move, Licht had no ability to discern whether it was a move or not. He didn’t even think to judge.

“Ain, hurry and sit here.”

Licht urged. Ain sat on the bed and began to receive Licht’s massage. He thought it would just tickle, but it was surprisingly refreshing. He felt sorry for Licht’s weakness when they arm-wrestled (not considering how monstrously strong he was), but his grip was quite good.

“It feels nice.”

“Right?!”

When Ain praised him, Licht got excited and pressed harder.

“Do you give massages to anyone else like me? Besides the people you mentioned earlier, among the guests.”

“There were people who asked… but I didn’t do it because I have to provide services fairly.”

“Ah… I see. So there were people who asked….”

How could there be more than one crazy person asking the inn owner for a shoulder massage? If he had seen it in person, he would have beaten them up, but not being able to do so was a lifelong regret.

He shouldn’t have suddenly cut off contact.

There was a reason, but thinking back, it was a trivial one, and Ain regretted the past few years. Whenever he thought of Licht, he should have come sooner.

This time, he vowed never to cut off contact and to watch Licht grow healthy, find a good match, marry, and even have kids. Ain promised himself over and over. To do that, he had to quickly eliminate any perverts who approached Licht.

“Who asked for it? Do you remember anyone?”

“I don’t remember. And don’t swear. Use nice words.”

“Mm, but I’m swearing because they’re asking you for unfair services. You shouldn’t just laugh it off. You should say, ‘Shut up with your bullshit.’”

“…I’d rather just do it than swear.”

“Licht.”

Ain lowered his voice. Licht pouted a little.

“I’m kidding. I won’t do it. Anyway, Dad told me not to. He said I shouldn’t do everything guests ask.”

“…Thank goodness. That Mr. Kaine said that.”

Kaine must have been worried too. His son was so innocent and clueless, yet charming enough to captivate anyone who saw him. But he couldn’t bear to shatter that innocence by telling him harsh truths.

Recalling how much of a doting father Kaine was, Ain could imagine how worried he must have been.