“What are you doing with that Candle?”
Red didn’t quite understand why Letia was buying a Candle, but she answered casually.
“In houses like these, which can’t be sold and can only be rented out, the Magic Lamps are usually broken. It’ll probably take a while to get them fixed.”
“How do you know that so well?”
Red eyed the girl before him suspiciously.
“You make it sound like you’ve bought a house before.”
Letia’s face froze at his words, but she quickly laughed it off.
“Just hearsay, that’s all. Anyway, Candles aren’t expensive. Better to be prepared than not.”
“Well, that does make some sense.”
Red rubbed his chin.
Then, as if something occurred to him, he looked at Letia.
“But I don’t remember you ever caring about these kinds of things before?”
“……”
Letia’s mouth twitched.
Was Red’s intuition getting a bit too sharp?
Could he have found her out?
With that thought, Letia stared intently at Red’s face, trying to find any sign or clue.
But there was nothing—Red really seemed to just be guessing her intentions by instinct.
This man… terrifying as ever.
“Just think of it as me having nothing better to do.”
Letia shrugged, not wanting to get tangled up in this subject any longer.
After all, if Red really grew suspicious, the more she explained, the guiltier she’d seem.
Better to just change the topic altogether.
Meanwhile, Bethany and Jessica, hiding in the shadows, finally snapped out of their shock.
Since the two behind bought mostly normal household goods after the Candle and rope, Bethany’s suspicions eased quite a bit.
Maybe she really was just overthinking things…
After all, aside from the odd Candle and rope at the beginning, everything else they’d bought was perfectly normal.
“By the way, what do you think they’re doing with all that stuff they bought?”
“No idea. Let’s just follow and see.”
Jessica and Bethany quietly trailed behind the two.
Bethany was doing fine—being an elven archer, her stealth was decent.
Jessica, the mage, wasn’t so lucky.
After only a few steps, Letia had already sensed the two little tails following behind her.
“What are those two up to?”
She muttered under her breath, but Red piped up at that moment.
“What did you just say?”
Apparently, he’d caught Letia mumbling to herself.
“Nothing.”
Letia smoothed her expression and said to Red,
“Come on, let’s check out your shop. While there’s still time, I can help you tidy up a bit. Of course…”
Letia stretched out her hand toward Red.
“Pay up.”
“……”
Red’s mouth twitched.
He’d thought Letia was offering to help him out of the kindness of her heart, but now it was clear she just wanted to get into his wallet.
“Fine,” Red sighed, accepting his fate.
“As long as you actually do some honest work…”
As for lending money?
There was no way he’d lend Letia money.
If he did, there was at least an eighty percent chance he’d never get it back.
Even if she paid him back, it’d probably be a year from now.
In other words, it’d be like throwing meat buns to a dog—gone forever.
But if she wanted to work for money, he had no objections.
It’s just… why is she always so strapped for cash?
Like a bottomless pit…
“One hundred Rune coins. Is that acceptable?”
“Owner!”
Letia’s eyes lit up, and she put on an expression of near-sacred loyalty.
“By the grace of the Lord, Owner, I am honored to serve you! I’ll go through fire and water if you command it! If you say east, I will never go west; if you tell me to catch a dog, I won’t chase a chicken!”
“……”
Seeing Letia suddenly so solemn and deferential, like a completely different person, Red felt utterly unsettled.
“Could you act a bit more normal? You’re scaring me.”
“Ehehe~”
Seeing Letia switch personalities yet again, Red helplessly handed her a hundred-Rune bill.
“Let’s head inside. It’s probably a mess in there. It really does need some cleaning up.”
At the same time, in the shadows, Bethany was practically poking her head out of the alley, trying to catch what the two were saying.
All she saw was Red, with his back to her, pulling a hundred-Rune note out of his pocket, and Letia instantly putting on a flattering, servant-like demeanor.
Then the two of them went into a rather run-down house…
The whole scene just looked wrong.
Like some kind of dirty P.Y. transaction.
At this, Jessica couldn’t hold back any longer.
“Bethany, we need to make a move.”
“I get it,” Bethany nodded.
“I should report this, right?”
“Report my ass, Letia’s already an adult—they won’t arrest Red.”
“So what should we do then?”
Bethany put down her communication crystal.
“I mean, I hate to admit it, but those two are obviously up to something fishy. That ‘Underground Room Hypnosis Theory’ you mentioned might really be true.”
Jessica refuted her with a blank face:
“…I never said anything about that weird theory.”
“But anyway, those two are definitely up to something! It could really be that kind of game.”
“So who do you think is on top and who is on the bottom?”
“Probably Letia on top and Red on bottom. After all, she’s a Judgement Priestess—perfect for the S role.”
“But I think it’s the other way around. The seemingly lofty Judgement Priestess being tied up and humiliated in a chair…”
“Stop, stop, stop!”
Bethany quickly interrupted the little loli mage’s imagination.
“You’re dragging me into the gutter with you… What matters right now is telling Liz about this.”
But just then, Jessica found a stool, stood on it, and placed a hand on Bethany’s shoulder, adopting an attitude that was almost comically grave and mature for her age and size.
“Bethany,” Jessica began, her words carrying the weight of the ages, “do you know? Sometimes, ignorance is the last wall protecting happiness.”
She paused, her gaze seeming to pierce time itself, and sighed.
“If you tell Liz about this… all you’ll do is drive another knife into her heart and make her even more miserable… What good would it do? Promise me, keep this from Liz.”
“Uh… I don’t think I can.”
“Did you forget why we’re even here?”
Jessica went on.
“Weren’t we hoping Red would come back? So we should respect, support, and give our blessings. Then, after Letia ropes Red in, we put the hat on Liz’s head…”
Unlike Bethany and Liz’s awkwardness, Jessica was very much hoping Red would return to the party.
After Red left, her whole schedule fell apart—nobody woke her up in the mornings anymore, and there was no more delicious food.
She couldn’t get used to it at all.
“Yo~”
A cheery, yet chilling voice suddenly rang out behind the two of them, freezing them on the spot.
Bethany and Jessica spun around, every hair standing on end.
Letia had somehow appeared behind them without a sound, her head tilted slightly and a kind, amiable smile on her face.
“I just heard someone talking about who’s on top and who’s on the bottom. Care to explain?”