Chapter 53
Chapter 53
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: Con Artist
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[How shameless.]
Krash, with his innocent face.
Seeing that, Crimson Garden gave a curt evaluation.
Sorry, but she was still getting used to this too.
Having to pretend they were total strangers when they used to trade jokes the moment they met long ago—it was suffocating.
But there was no helping it.
He didn't know her at all.
Krash was well aware that the memories in his head no longer existed in reality.
So even as he felt an inexplicable unease, there were times he felt a strange relief.
At the very least, considering his relationship with Lilina right in front of him, Krash preferred this version.
'Her face is the same, whether back then or now.'
It had been fine seeing her at the shop.
But now that she was right in front of him, he felt an odd mix of emotions stirring.
There was no helping it.
He had been entangled with her in all sorts of ways before.
Lilina's eyes closed and opened once at the question.
Then, belatedly realizing she had appeared out of nowhere, her half-lidded eyes, as usual, showed a faint hint of embarrassment.
"Ah, sorry about that. I'm Lilina, a maid serving the Igrit family. I've been feeding Kami here lately."
At the mention of Kami, Krash glanced at Crimson Garden.
His eyes seemed to say, 'Kami, huh? Suits you.' It nearly made Crimson Garden squint.
"I see. So that's where Cream's been wandering off to. I didn't know he was scrounging meals. I thought I was feeding him plenty."
"I gave them on my own, so please don't scold him."
"He's a smart one, so even if he overate, he'd hold back on his own. I'm grateful you looked after him, actually."
Krorrrk—
At that moment, a rumble echoed from Krash's stomach.
Lilina, hearing it head-on, lightly covered her mouth.
To hide the laugh that had slipped out unwittingly.
As Krash looked flustered, Lilina held up the basket casually.
"He hasn't touched the desserts at all. How about it? If you're okay with it, want some?"
Food that would be thrown out anyway.
Aslan hadn't touched the desserts today, so they were still pristine in the basket.
Seeing her like that, Krash gave a wry smile.
"After Cream, now me freeloading—doesn't that seem rude?"
"Wasting food is the real offense against nature. This is like charity. It's good for Kami—er, Cream—and his owner too."
Her words flowed as smoothly as ever, past or present.
Even so, Krash smiled apologetically.
"In that case, may I?"
Anyone who knew Krash would have been stunned seeing him now.
And sure enough, Crimson Garden's mockery stabbed into his mind.
She knew the whole situation, so why was she so eager to nag him?
Pondering it, Krash realized.
It must be because he'd only used her as a crow errand-runner for the past few days.
But what could he do?
For him to grow stronger, she had no choice but to help—that was reality.
"Mind if I sit beside you?"
But shamelessness was Lilina's trademark even more than Krash's.
At their first meeting, she hadn't hesitated to sit beside him.
Over the past few days, her encounters with Crimson Garden had lifted her spirits.
So naturally, she felt a human fondness for Crimson Garden's owner, Krash.
They say no one who animals take to is truly bad.
Lilina opened the basket and took out the leftover cheesecake and black tea for dessert.
"Food from Alina's shop."
Krash recognized it immediately upon seeing it.
"You know the place?"
"Yeah, I stop by often."
He added that it was a shabby place but the food was good, and Lilina nodded.
"That's why magic academy students frequent it. And they stay open late, which is even better."
A hint of bitterness colored Lilina's face as she spoke.
As if reminiscing about someone, she snapped out of it and handed him the plate with the cake.
"Good to know the taste. Hope you enjoy it. Here."
"Thanks. I won't hold back."
Krash cut into the cheesecake with the fork Lilina gave him and ate.
Watching him intently, Lilina fell into thought.
A boy who looked mid-teens, youthful.
Knowing Alina's shop, which only regulars knew, meant he was probably a magic academy student too.
The way he ate the cheesecake had elegance.
From that alone, Lilina sensed he came from a decent family.
She worked as a maid in a noble house—she wouldn't miss such signs.
"Come to think of it, I forgot to introduce myself."
After taking a bite of cheesecake, Krash finally spoke up.
She had introduced herself, but he hadn't.
"I'm Krash Valheim of the Azure Sea Knights."
But at those words, her body froze stiff.
Valheim—that was a name even she, living in the magic city of Halgram far from Staron Kingdom, knew well.
And so began their peculiar first meeting.
After that, meeting Krash in the park became part of Lilina's routine.
Truth be told, she didn't have to go.
But for some reason, her feet kept taking her there.
'Why do I always end up heading to the park?'
Today, too, Lilina pondered seriously on her way there.
First, feeding the crow she'd even nicknamed was becoming routine.
The crow called Cream was clever and charming enough for her to grow fond of him.
So her steps turned there unconsciously to see Cream again.
Second, what was the point of just leaving the leftovers?
Even though he was a Valheim, Krash ate well whenever she brought food.
She wondered if Valheim wasn't as well-off as thought, but Krash said the Azure Sea Knights' training left him starving often.
Still, he seemed oddly reluctant to talk about Valheim.
So Lilina casually asked the maids who always gossiped about everything regarding Krash.
Valheim stories were famous even in Halgram.
In the end, she learned one fact.
Valheim's youngest was a halfwit.
Utterly talentless in magic, he was ostracized by Valheim.
Hearing that, Lilina pieced together Krash's behaviors.
A Valheim exiled to the Azure Sea Knights in Halgram? It fit.
His constant hunger must be because Valheim cut off support.
That explained his aversion to talking about them.
Halgram was quite a distance from Staron, an independent city outside its borders.
Recent changes in Krash's situation weren't yet known to mere maids.
Thus, Lilina fell into a misunderstanding from lack of info.
She pitied him.
A boy not yet of age.
Being discarded by his family must have wounded him deeply.
Was it because of Aslan? She had a soft spot for injured boys.
Honestly, her actions now might be escapist.
Unable to heal Aslan, she comforted herself by helping Krash in a similar plight.
'Pathetic, me.'
But seeing Krash eat heartily did make her proud.
Aslan barely took a bite of the food she fetched from afar each evening.
She was grateful Krash ate what Aslan hadn't touched.
"That was delicious."
"Seeing you eat so well is nice. You'll shoot up in height soon, Sir Krash."
Lately, Lilina only brought food Aslan hadn't touched, flashing her usual smile.
Watching her, Krash rubbed the back of his head.
She tilted her head at his seeming hesitation.
"Something you want to say?"
"Well, it's awkward as the freeloader, but... the food you bring seems to have some story behind it."
Anyone would find this setup suspicious quickly.
The food Krash ate was always from the same shop.
And leftovers, at that.
Lilina served the Igrit family.
Bringing the same shop's leftovers every time was blatantly odd.
Noticing that, Lilina rolled her eyes briefly.
Honestly, not something to tell outsiders.
But she felt stifled inside too.
Her master attempted suicide daily—it wasn't easy even for those nearby.
So she chewed her lip.
'Talking about this makes me no better than those maids I scolded.'
As she recalled them and hesitated, Krash spoke first.
"Sorry, prying too much when I'm the one eating for free. I just noticed your troubled face each time, so if you're okay leaving it unsaid, that's fine."
Hearing that, Lilina covered her face.
"...My expressions aren't that obvious, are they?"
"I've got people around me with even stonier faces. I'm good at reading them."
Truth be told, it was because he knew her well enough already.
Krash smiled and glossed over it.
"You're always lost in thought. Bound to show."
Lilina dropped her hands from her face.
"I thought you read Cream's mind, but you read mine too?"
She'd seen him act like he was truly talking to his crow, so she chuckled softly.
And wondered how harshly his family must have raised him to make him so perceptive.
"...Yeah. A worry. You're an outsider, Sir Krash—maybe the head maid won't scold if I vent a little."
She gazed at the sky, lost in thought.
"Lilina."
Krash called her.
"Hard to share details of my situation, but I've got no one to blab to anyway."
The Valheim halfwit.
Lilina agreed sympathetically.
"They say bottling up stories weighs you down until you can't move. Gotta vent sometimes, right?"
"...More eloquent than I expected."
Lilina fiddled with her side hair—a habit when she was worried.
Soon after, she turned to Krash.
"True. You might've heard recently too."
"...That the Igrit direct lineage is attempting suicide?"
Lilina nodded.
Impossible not to know in Halgram.
"I'm Aslan's maid. The food I brought you was what he didn't touch. But he does eat this shop's—has memories there."
Lilina stroked the basket slowly.
She missed the Aslan who used to enjoy this food happily with someone.
"I see."
"Sorry for the gloomy talk."
"No. But I heard Aslan wasn't always like this."
Almost calling him 'Aslan-ssi' made thorns sprout in his mouth, but Krash managed.
"Yes, right. He used to be bright. Endured hardships well."
Once started, Lilina's words flowed uncontrollably.
Her bottled feelings had grown too heavy, as Krash said.
"...But after one friend stopped visiting, Aslan broke."
His maybe-only friend had gone missing.
"Stopped visiting means..."
"...She vanished. I searched around, told the vice head, but he told me to stop. So..."
Words poured out, and she belatedly clamped up, lifting her head.
The dam had burst—said too much.
"Pretend you didn't hear that."
Not for outsiders.
Krash shrugged at her plea.
"Nowhere to tell anyway."
His calm response drew a wry smile from Lilina.
"Weirdly, I talk more around you. I'm usually quiet."
"Really? Never thought you were the quiet type."
In Krash's memories, Lilina had always been chatty.
'Well, this time I steered it that way.'
He'd honed conversation skills, but she was someone he knew.
So each meeting, he chatted to help her warm up fast.
Naturally, she relaxed around him unwittingly.
Now it was all out.
Krash stood lightly from the bench.
"Then let's solve your worry."
"Huh?"
As Lilina looked puzzled, Krash smiled.
"Finding Aslan's friend solves your problem, right?"
"...But I've asked around plenty."
"I'm Valheim."
Lilina flinched at his declaration.
Halfwit or not, he was Valheim.
He might access more info than a mere Igrit maid.
"...A guy starving daily and freeloading food claiming Valheim? Hard to trust."
"That's bad. How do I earn trust?"
"Kidding. I believe you."
She'd spilled everything anyway—nothing to lose.
Feeling oddly relieved, Lilina smiled.
"Then, I'll ask your help, Sir Krash."
She clasped her hands politely.
"Pay for the meal."
True to form, with a little joke.