Absolutely Do Not Touch Eldmia Egga

Chapter 666

It was the lively knock of Ekaterina that woke Lelie, who was not leaving her bed to enjoy her long-awaited rest.

-Knock knock knock

Although she had fallen asleep, determined not to wake up even if lightning struck the inn, her nerves, hardened from her long adventure, responded to noises, ignoring her master’s wishes. Lelie, who habitually opened her eyes while shaking her head convulsively, sighed in relief when she realized belatedly that she was not camping outside but in her room.

And then he pulled the blanket up and covered his ears with a pillow, ignoring Catherine’s calls.

-It’s morning, Lely. Get up.

No, it must be lunchtime now.

The fact that Ekaterina opened her eyes on her own is proof. When she realized that fact, she suddenly felt hungry, but Lelie showed her usual patience and instead of suppressing her appetite, she brought on the desire for sleep.

It’s a long-awaited holiday. I want to wake up to see the sunset for a day, then finish eating and go back to sleep.

-Rellie? Over there?

However, Ekaterina, who did not know Lelie’s feelings, felt suspicious when she, who usually woke up early, did not even respond and knocked on the door even more. She was angry at her past self for not telling Ekaterina in advance that today’s schedule was ‘doing nothing’, but she did not want to answer Ekaterina’s call or get up from her seat.

-That’s strange. Where does it hurt?

It was because I instinctively knew that now was the moment when I could either sleep soundly or wake up. Since I showed that I was tired yesterday, I thought Catherine would probably step down soon.

-Crack!

···I thought it was a line, but I heard a strange sound. It was like something made of wood was crumbling.

“What, what is it?”

Realizing that there was only one reason for such a sound, the brain sent a signal and Lelie reflexively got up from her seat. What caught her eye was Yekaterina, who was looking at her with the doorknob ‘pulled off’ and smiling brightly.

“Oh, you were just sleeping? I thought something was wrong because you hadn’t woken up or answered until this hour.”

“Even so, I don’t usually get the key and break the door open···”

Lelie was doubly embarrassed because other guests who were passing by the hallway to avoid her large body were shocked to see the torn doorknob, but Ekaterina, the person in question, just calmly placed the doorknob she was holding onto on the table and forcibly stood Lelie up.

“If it’s okay, then let’s go down and eat. I’m planning on going to Eldmia’s house today.”

It was hard to believe that she was the one who had vandalized the property of a perfectly good store, but that was because Ekaterina had already informed the innkeeper before her long-term stay that the door could be broken in the event of an emergency and had paid the repair costs in advance. It wasn’t because she was an egoist with synesthesia for the omnipotence of force.

“I’m tired. I’ll just sleep today.”

“Hey, don’t do that. Just sleeping a lot won’t relieve fatigue. At times like that, you need to live a regular life to take care of your health!”

···I may have a little lack of empathy· When people are tired, they should sleep, but that logic is always hard to understand· However, Ekaterina did not give Lelie a chance to understand, closed the door she had broken, secured her with a chair, and forcibly lifted her up·

“Hurry up. The stew looks delicious.”

“Haaaaaah···”

Since it was obvious that if she didn’t move on her own, she would be forced to change her clothes, Lelie got out of bed with tears in her eyes.

After she started following along obediently, everything was normal. The innkeeper nodded indifferently at the news that the door had been smashed and headed to the storeroom for repairs. The meal prepared by her husband, the cook, was delicious, just as Catherine had said.

After finishing her preparations and leaving the accommodation, Lelie headed to Eldmia’s house. She looked at the back of Ekaterina, who was walking with a light step and a smile, and asked a question.

“Do you like looking at dragons that much?”

“Hmm? I’ve seen dragons often. Ice dragons live in the mountains. I’m more excited to see dragons that have become spoils of war as byproducts. It’s been a while since I’ve seen Eldmia, too. It must be a lot different than when we moved together, right?”

“Is that so···?”

Even the most adventurous of adventurers rarely get to see dragon byproducts. A single piece of scale or leather is enough, but stacking up an entire dragon would certainly be a spectacular sight.

However, it was hard to imagine that Eldmia would have changed. Of course, she might have changed a lot in terms of her skills… but she was strangely consistent despite her young age.

“Now that I hear it, it seems like it’s true. I also want to see how the byproducts are processed.”

“yes?”

Many thoughts crossed Lelie’s mind, but she didn’t want to spoil the excitement of Catherine, who was very excited, so she just nodded and walked away.

◈

Eldmia’s house was originally a distance that was too far to be considered far, but today, I arrived even faster because I walked faster.

“Huh? There’s nothing.”

However, what greeted them, who were excited as if they were going on a picnic, was a sight completely different from what was rumored.

It was said that the knights were guarding the piled up by-products in the yard, but not even a single pile of luggage was visible, let alone the knights.

“Isn’t this a little too late?”

“Did Eldmia come back while we were out? There weren’t any rumors about that.”

It was understandable to think that they were going to gossip about just one person coming and going, but this time, Leli could sympathize with Ekaterina’s words. He was a person whose presence and actions were so stormy that it was impossible to imagine him moving quietly.

But it is also true that the byproduct that had to stay until he returned was gone. The two of them passed through the yard and knocked on the door of the house, feeling more curious than regretful.

And then he started looking at the house with a bereft expression, showing no reaction.

Catherine’s expectations were shattered, and she couldn’t accept the reality that Lelie had given up on getting a good night’s sleep and had come out only to find herself in vain.

“This seems to be seriously messed up···”

“Aren’t you Ekaterina and Lely?”

“Mom?!”

Lelie, who was frowning and trying to accept reality, suddenly jumped at the sound of a voice coming from close by and clung to Yekaterina. Yekaterina, who had been looking at the house with an expression that said this couldn’t be happening until just a moment ago, also turned around like lightning and looked at the source of the sound.

Anyone would do that if someone suddenly appeared behind them without any sign of life, and even more so if it was a stranger whose face they didn’t know.

But even amidst the dramatic reactions of the two, the man who actually caused such a reaction just calmly lowered his head and showed respect.

“Excuse me. I remembered the story I heard from Tea-nim, so I stopped without realizing it…”

“···Are you an acquaintance of Tie?”

“To be exact, I am a servant of the mansion.”

The two people did not know that the man who answered without changing his expression was cleverly distorting the truth.

In fact, it was also problematic to suspect that the other person was fabricating information while looking at the proud face of a servant of a noble family, even though I didn’t know where he was working.

“The mansion…? Oh, is it by any chance the Ogatorp family that Eldmia worked for before?”

“No, I work at Ega-nim’s mansion. If there are visitors coming to the house, I explain the situation and take them in.”

It was a statement that raised many questions. If that was the case, why did he come out of the house instead of inside? And it wasn’t like he was guarding the yard, but as if he had suddenly fallen from the sky?

And then suddenly a mansion? I had no idea where to start, so the man smiled faintly and continued the story without explaining anything.

“Normally, I would have informed you of Ega’s absence and requested a next visit, but it seems you two are lucky. Ega just happened to come back yesterday. Should I guide you to the mansion?”

“Uh… Then we should be grateful.”

And his words were enough to stop Yekaterina, who was about to ask a question from the back of her throat. The man could have been an impostor with no connection to Eldmia, and was trying to deceive and lure the two of them, but she was able to overcome that level of threat even without a weapon, so she had no hesitation in making a decision.

At that time, I just had to swing my fist in frustration at having been deceived. I thought so and tried to follow the man, but suddenly a carriage appeared, so my determination felt futile.

“It is a bit far from the mansion that once belonged to the traitor Envelde, so I will take you by carriage.”

It’s not that it’s not strange. The coachman, the carriage, and the man who was explaining everything in front of her were moving naturally like flowing water, but Ekaterina didn’t notice their existence until the moment she stood in front of the house.

Was she that excited? She actually felt very good, so it’s not impossible, but it’s unlikely since even a thief or assassin can completely fool her senses. That’s why Catherine got into the carriage, her nerves tense and ready to respond to a sudden attack at any time.

Fortunately, it didn’t take long for me to realize that it was all just a fluke.

It was a separate issue that it made her question the man and other servants of the mansion.