Chapter 49: Rumors and Changes
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 49: Rumors and Changes
To tell the truth, I had been hoping for the last two days that the Young Lady would come looking for me.
At the very least, if she came of her own accord, it would mean she hadn’t completely given up on me.
That was why I hadn’t budged an inch from my house.
They say that if you wish for something fervently enough, it comes true.
That wish did indeed become a reality.
In the worst possible way.
CRASH!
“Come here right now!”
She must have been incredibly furious; another swing of her fist completely demolished the wall.
With the door already gone and now the wall shattered, the boundary between the private room and the rest of the salon vanished.
In the midst of this chaos, everyone’s eyes were fixed on us.
“My Lady.”
As I rushed toward her, she glared at me with bloodshot eyes before striking my chest with her gauntlet.
Thud!
But it didn’t hurt at all.
It didn’t feel like she was hitting me to cause pain; rather, it felt like she was pushing me away with her fists, unable to overcome her own sorrow.
She struck my chest with alternating hands, and then, as if unable to contain her rage, she grabbed my shoulders and began to pummel me with her right hand.
I stood there silently, taking every blow.
No one else dared to move. Only the Young Lady remained, vomiting out her resentment toward me through her fists.
After a long while, her movements slowed more and more until her raised hand did nothing but tremble.
“My Lady…?”
When I grabbed her arm out of concern, her eyes grew even redder and more swollen.
“Ugh…!”
The tears that had been welling up finally succumbed to their own weight and spilled down her cheeks.
“Uuu… uuuu…!”
“My Lady!”
“Alto… why… why did you come to a place like this…? This is… a place where men play around filthily with women… that kind of place…!”
“It’s a misunderstanding. I truly didn’t know it was this kind of place when I came.”
But it seemed my words didn’t reach her ears at all.
Closing her eyes to try and stop the streaming tears, she couldn’t suppress her sobbing and began to wail, gasping for breath.
Is this what it feels like for one’s heart to break?
When I witnessed Claude, Mirei, and Resin together in Lukart, it felt like a cold blade was being thrust into my solar plexus, but the pain dominating my chest now was incomparable to that.
“Alto… is it because of what I said back then…?”
“My Lady.”
“I’m sorry… I’m sorry… I wanted to let you know that you’re a wonderful enough man as you are… but I… I… don’t know how to… speak kindly… I’m sorry…”
In that moment, without even realizing it, I pulled her into an embrace.
* * *
Everyone held their breath, maintaining a heavy silence.
It was common to see a woman cry.
No matter how beautiful that woman might be.
Since the Final War had wiped out most of the men, the few who remained acted with utter arrogance.
Because of that insolent attitude, it was a common sight to see the women by their sides spending their days in tears.
It was a scene familiar and mundane to everyone.
However, no one had ever seen a man embrace and comfort a crying woman.
They all believed the era where women could influence men was long over.
That was why everyone was shocked by the simple sight of Alto holding Airune and wiping away her tears.
“It’s not like that. I really came here without knowing. I didn’t come here to hurt your feelings.”
“I hate you… I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!”
She continued to struggle feebly in his arms, but it was nothing more than a child’s tantrum.
As Alto repeatedly raised his hand to wipe her tears, she turned her head slightly but didn’t pull away entirely.
Even while sobbing and gasping for air, she buried half her face in Alto’s chest and leaned into him.
“Alto.”
“Yes, My Lady.”
“I hate you…”
“I’m sorry.”
“I hate you… but I missed you…”
“I missed you too.”
“I wanted you to come…”
“I felt the same way.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You have nothing to be sorry for.”
“I was too selfish… I wanted you to know how I felt without me saying it… I won’t do that again…”
“I’ll also try harder to understand your feelings better.”
“Alto…”
“Yes, My Lady.”
Sniffling, Airune whispered.
“I’m waiting… for you to ask me out… you said… you’d do it after the quest was over.”
Airune remembered the conversation they had on the boat in Massa Village perfectly.
The same was true for Alto.
He gently knelt on one knee, took Airune’s hand, and spoke.
“My Lady, would you like to go on a date with me?”
“When? Not right now… I’m not pretty because I’ve been crying.”
“Then, since you’ll need time to prepare, how about the day after tomorrow?”
“Okay… the day after tomorrow is good… I’ll get ready and look pretty too.”
“I’ll look forward to it.”
“Yes, please do.”
The tears stopped.
Pressing her trembling lips together, Airune smiled.
Only after seeing that smile did the pain in Alto’s chest finally subside.
Airune wiped away the last of her tears herself.
“Let’s go.”
“Where to?”
“Home. Take me there.”
Though they had let go of their joined hands, they were already connected by an invisible thread. Alto smiled softly.
“With pleasure.”
“Ah…”
Airune suddenly remembered what Narupa had said.
‘It’s fine to have a melancholy, decadent charm, but even if a woman is attracted to that, she eventually wants a genuine smile that is meant only for her, one that only she can see.’
She felt instinctively that the smile Alto was showing her right now was exactly that.
A surge of possessiveness welled up within her, and she pulled on his arm.
“Let’s go.”
“Are you finished crying?”
“I hate you!”
They looked good together.
That was the thought shared by everyone present.
While Airune was far superior in terms of physical beauty, Alto, who accepted her as she was, didn’t look out of place. They looked like a heartwarming couple.
The entire process, from the two of them reconciling to leaving the salon, was etched into the hearts of those who witnessed it—especially the women.
“Hah!”
After confirming the two had left, Benjamin finally managed to pick himself up and let out a scoff.
“That Alto fellow, how pathetic must he be to be comforting a crying woman!”
“Y-Yeah! To think we, the Four Heavenly Kings, held someone like that in high regard. What a mistake.”
Gus followed up with a sneer, but no one responded.
In the awkward silence, one woman approached the men.
Dressed in high-end, elegant clothing, she was the Madame of this salon.
“Gentlemen, I’m afraid we won’t be able to continue business today due to these unfortunate events. Please, another time…”
“How dare you try to kick us out! Me, Benjamin Lote!”
“B-But…”
The Madame felt like crying along with Airune.
This wasn’t the kind of salon she had intended to run.
This shop had been founded with investment to provide a way for women abandoned by men to make a living through the hospitality industry.
However, swept up in the social climate where one couldn’t afford to offend a man, it had somehow become the most elegant yet sordid establishment among all the “water trades.”
“You lot! Guide us to a new room immediately and serve—”
“Young Master Lote, unfortunately, that won’t be possible.”
Benjamin, who was about to throw a tantrum, froze instantly.
The owner of the cold voice that chilled him to the bone was none other than Narupa.
The other handsome men also froze completely upon seeing Narupa and Count Dakuus beside her.
Of all places, the two had ironically chosen this salon to discuss secret matters.
Their attempt to pick the most unlikely place had led to this absurd turn of events.
“L-Lady Narupa and the Count, what brings you to a place like this…?”
“I am the one who invested the most money when this salon was created, Young Master.”
“I… see.”
Facing the smoldering gaze of Count Dakuus, the Four Handsome Heavenly Kings instinctively adopted a polite posture.
“Idiots. Go crawl back to your respective homes. You are under house arrest until a formal punishment is decided.”
“What?! They were the ones who caused the commotion!”
At Benjamin’s protest, Narupa, who had been smiling gently, stepped forward.
“Young Master Lote.”
“Lady Narupa! I am a nobleman. I am simply trying to correct this wrong—”
“What kind of nerve do you have, bringing my lover to a salon?”
“Pardon?”
Another shockwave hit them.
“I mean that Alto, the adventurer from Lukart, is my lover. And I believe I told you never to appear before me again? Shall I terminate the subcontracting agreement for magitech parts that I entrusted to Viscount Lote right here and now?”
“There is no need for that, Lady Narupa. I will take responsibility and have them exiled from Dakuren.”
Benjamin, who had been dazed by the fierce words of Narupa and Count Dakuus, bit his lip.
“…Urgh! Let’s go!”
Ordering the other men around until the very end, Benjamin made his exit.
Narupa watched them leave with a cold gaze before turning her attention to the Madame.
“I invested willingly because you said you would employ abandoned women. And this is the result?”
“Lady Narupa…!”
“In the end, you were just fawning over and offering your bodies to men who can’t even fulfill their basic roles. I let it slide because I felt sorry for you, but you’ve crossed the line.”
The four women who had been entertaining Alto couldn’t even lift their heads at the criticism, which was thick with suppressed anger.
Narupa pointed a finger toward the door Alto had exited.
“If it were a manly man like him, it might be different. But because you judge based only on faces or what someone wears, you end up being abandoned.”
“Lady Narupa, that’s a bit harsh…”
“Uncle.”
When Count Dakuus tried to intervene, unable to watch any longer, Narupa shot him a sharp look as well.
“In the end, Rune is the one taking him.”
“Narupa…”
“Uncle, you really should feel sorry for me.”
Unable to control her surging emotions, Narupa ran out, and Count Dakuus chased after her.
The Madame and the salon girls were left behind.
‘If it were a manly man like him, it might be different. But because you judge based only on faces or what someone wears, you end up being abandoned.’
Narupa’s reproach and the image of Alto embracing and comforting the crying Airune wouldn’t leave their minds.
A manly man.
The Madame decided to hold that phrase in her heart, not just her head.
“I will go to Lady Narupa tomorrow and beg for forgiveness.”
“Madame…”
“However, when we reopen, this will be a different kind of salon than before.”
From that day on, rumors of the man who comforted a crying woman began to spread beyond Dakuren and throughout the Kingdom of Hus.
Men who heard the rumors scoffed, but women began to harbor fantasies and romantic notions about a man who would wipe away their tears.
And then…
THWACK!
CRASH!
“Gah! Cough…! Who the hell are you—!!”
The Adventurer Guild Branch Manager of Lukart was rolling on the floor of her office, having been pummeled by a very tall woman with sun-kissed skin.
“Who am I?”
The tall woman, wearing a strange set of clerical robes that looked like a mix between a priest’s and a nun’s habit, smirked and thrust a document forward.
The Branch Manager’s single eye widened to its limit when she saw the title written there.
“A-Auditor… Gah!”
Before she could even finish reading, the tall woman grabbed the Branch Manager by the throat and lifted her up.
“I am Yarismal, the Auditor dispatched jointly by the Church and the Adventurer Guild regarding the recent desertion of Lord Alto Bertrand.”
“A-Auditor, please, if you’ll just listen to me for a moment…”
“Mmm-mm~ No can do. Only answer what you’re asked.”
Yarismal’s smile deepened.
“Is my husband-candidate, Lord Alto Bertrand, here in Lukart?”
“Th-That is…”
“Ah! So he’s not here yet? Then what did you do about the culprits, Mirei’s party?”
“I am… in the process of slowly drying them out to death!”
“Slowly…?”
The smile vanished instantly.
“You piece of shit… The headquarters gave you so much time, and you still haven’t dealt with them? While you’re dawdling like this, what if other bitches swarm around my husband?!”
Yarismal gripped the Branch Manager’s neck and slammed her into the floor repeatedly.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
“You can’t bring my husband back to Lukart, and you can’t even finish off Mirei’s party properly. Why should the headquarters and the Church give you any more chances?”
“Hehe… hi… hiii…!”
“Bring me everyone who knows about Lord Alto’s true identity. The Adventurer Guild, the Carriage Station, and the highest-ranking members of the Church have all found out.”
Yarismal smiled brightly again at the Branch Manager, who was barely breathing.
“By the way, do you happen to like misery?”
Yarismal was excited at the thought of avenging the husband she hadn’t even met yet, but at the same time, her rage flared at the thought that she still hadn’t seen him.