1460화
“Ugh! Huh! This is really going to take a toll on us!”
Dick Hayward was vigorously scrubbing the wall under the castle with a wet rag in his hand.
It wasn’t until three rags turned red in the bucket that the white surface of the wall was finally revealed. Dick wiped the sweat off his forehead, grumbling.
“We came to Nobaren with a determined heart to stop the First Army, but who would have thought we’d end up cleaning here too!”
Next to him, Simon was wiping the red floor with a wet rag while Lorraine took out a carving knife and was scraping the red paint off a park bench.
The three of them were roaming the city, removing the blood and red paint that could be used for the magical circle. They had to clean the walls and floors, as well as go around clearing red-painted barricades and items as well. Even—
“……This is too much.”
Lorraine, who was drinking from her water flask, frowned when she saw a resident’s robe smeared with red paint.
“How could someone even think of using a person as an element for the magic circle?”
“Right? I’ll go.”
Dick confidently walked over to a person with red paint on their back and boldly said.
“Excuse me, but could you take off your clothes!”
The woman turned around and gave Dick a look as if she had seen a bug. As she stepped back to run toward the guards.
Drip. Drip.
Lorraine quickly poured the beverage from her water flask onto her own clothes. Approaching with a sorry smile, she said,
“I’m so sorry. I splashed when I was being clumsy, but… if it’s alright, could I borrow the robe you’re wearing? I’ll certainly pay for the clothing.”
It was a remarkable display of Lorraine’s quick thinking. The resident, realizing she wouldn’t have misunderstood if she had said it from the start, gladly took off her old robe and handed it over. Lorraine bowed her head in thanks.
At that moment, Simon subtly interjected, pointing at the robe the resident had just given up.
“Did you know there was red paint on this robe?”
The resident showed a surprised reaction. She sighed, unsure where it had gotten that way, adding that she wouldn’t take any money for the clothes since she was going to throw them away anyway.
“……Dick, don’t do something that causes misunderstandings.”
Simon finally cast a sideways glance at him. Dick pouted with an innocent expression.
“I thought it was a guy from behind! And I was really asking nicely! Do I look that strange?”
“……I don’t think that’s the issue.”
Following the resident, Lorraine handed over a silver coin and returned.
“Let’s keep moving.”
She put the newly received robe into her spatial pocket and continued.
“There’s too much red paint. I can’t tell which ones might be used for the magic circle, so it’s better to reduce any potential elements even a little.”
“……Yeah.”
But both Simon and Dick were subtly avoiding eye contact, looking awkward. Lorraine blinked in confusion before she finally glanced down at her own wet outfit.
“Sorry.”
She let out an awkward smile and took out her new robe to cover herself.
With that, the city cleaning resumed.
Dick noticed a distant building painted red and quickly donned a work apron, grabbing a paint can and dashed over.
Lorraine also found something. There was some red paint on a pile of junk next to a street vendor.
She approached the vendor to buy a pin, then asked if she could take the junk pile on the side, and received permission.
“Oops.”
“Ugh.”
Lorraine and Simon lifted the junk pile and transferred it into an alley, then opened a spatial pocket to store it all inside.
Simon wiped the sweat streaming from his forehead.
“Let’s take a short break. We haven’t been able to sit properly since we got here.”
“Yeah. That sounds good.”
The two leaned against the wall in a deserted alleyway, slightly taking off their robe hoods to cool down.
As Simon watched Lorraine fanning herself, he quietly said,
“Lorraine.”
“?”
“I feel like the atmosphere has changed after going to the demon world and Thousand Years Scents.”
She paused her hand and smiled softly.
“Really?”
“Just my feeling.”
After doing a light stretch with both hands raised above her head, she turned to Simon and said.
“I’ve decided to appreciate everything a little more. Being alive, the people around me, the opportunities given to me. And….”
She took out the pin she had just purchased from the vendor.
It was a ridiculously bright pink that even current Kizen students would wave their hands at.
“I’m going to try to have a little more courage to do the things I want to do from now on.”
“I see.”
She combed her hair back and handed the pin to Simon.
“Sorry, but could you pin this in my hair? Over here.”
“Me?”
“Yeah, my hair keeps falling down while I’m cleaning.”
Simon, who had never properly handled a girl’s hairpin in his life, carefully lifted it.
“……Like this?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
Even though she was sweating, she still smelled nice. As Simon gently pushed her hair aside and pinned it, Lorraine smiled softly.
“Thank you.”
Lorraine stood up, tidying her robe.
“Shall we head back? I see more red paint over there.”
As she said that, her smile looked noticeably freer.
* * *
Meanwhile, in the underground banquet hall of Nobaren, people were moving secretly.
[My children, the important time has come. Under the Emperor’s name, the Baldwin Kingdom will be reborn.]
Brimantia, dressed as a black widow, was at the center of it all. She elegantly gestured, directing the people around her.
[Make sure there are no mistakes.]
“Mother.”
At that moment, a masked man approached and knelt on one knee to report.
“The prepared magic circle is being erased. It seems there are intruders roaming in the city.”
[Intruders?]