Chapter 84
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 73
Chapter Title: 14. What If You Find a Secret Passage at Home?
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Everyone was exhausted, so we needed to rest.
And as the designated homeowner, it was my duty to assign rooms to the guests visiting my house.
First, Ethan and I decided to keep using the two rooms across from the banquet hall on the first floor.
The three rooms across the lobby from the salon were assigned to Knox, Harrison, and Vanilla.
We had to clear out a few rooms on the second floor that were being used for storage, but since there were nine rooms up there, we could give one each to Amy, Jose, Emma, and Victor.
“Usually, the nobles use the upper floors. Then again, the first floor is probably better in a situation like this.”
Jose muttered, looking intrigued.
Well, it wasn't as if I'd separated the floors based on nobility. By that logic, Harrison and I should have moved upstairs and Jose downstairs.
Anyway, that wasn't the important part. Harrison looked like he was bursting with questions for me.
To be honest, I had a lot of questions for him, too. Like how he got here, and how he met Jose and Vanilla.
But right now, I was too exhausted to have a conversation.
In the end, Harrison didn't ask me anything and returned to his room. He’d probably suggest we talk tomorrow.
And so, the night grew late.
It had been an incredibly tiring day. I felt like I would fall asleep the moment my head hit the pillow, but strangely, sleep wouldn't come.
So I quietly went out to the garden and sat on a bench—the same one where Ethan, Knox, and I used to drink milk every morning while looking out at the garden.
The chilly moonlight illuminated the garden. The crops planted in the vegetable patch showed no signs of sprouting yet.
*‘It hasn’t been long since I planted them…'*
I was staring blankly at the patch.
Just then, a small girl fell from the sky in an arc. It was Amy.
So, Amy fell from the sky… Huh?
“You! Get back here!”
A furious young man's voice came from the second floor. I turned to see Jose leaning out of a window, yelling at Amy.
Lights started flicking on in various rooms due to the commotion. Startled, I looked at Amy, who had landed on the garden ground and was now rolling on the floor.
“Amy! Are you okay?”
I immediately ran to her. A jump from the second floor wouldn't kill her, but if you didn't know how to land, it was easy to break a bone.
But Amy, tumbling across the ground, seemed perfectly fine. She brushed the dirt from her clothes and stood up. She shot up from her spot and greeted me cheerfully.
“Hey, sis!”
I quickly approached her to check for injuries. Thankfully, she was unscathed. I mean, I knew Amy was agile and flexible like a gymnast, but this was more impressive than I'd thought.
“Amy, what are you doing at this hour?”
In response to my question, Amy pointed a finger at Jose, who was still hanging out of the second-floor window.
“Well, that guy kept looking down on me, so I just showed him what I can do.”
“When did I ever look down on you?”
Jose shouted from the second floor.
“You said it was amazing that someone so young managed to survive on their own! That’s looking down on me!”
Amy yelled back, her face flushed with indignation.
*‘That sounds more like admiration than condescension…'*
But Amy, as if she had a complex about it, treated Jose rather fiercely.
Jose hesitated with a flustered look, glancing at me. If he’d had ears and a tail, they would have drooped for sure. Soon after, he disappeared back inside the window.
Amy huffed for a moment before looking at me.
“Sis, before lights out, I overheard the huntress and the pretty boy talking in secret. Apparently, that pretty boy is an illegal arms smuggler.”
“…Huh? What?”
“But it seems like he has other secrets he's not telling. It’s suspicious. Does it make sense for someone with unknown intentions to be wandering around Happy House, which boasts such ironclad security? So I, Amy Wharton, decided I had to step in. I have a knack for pickpocketing, you know. I snuck into his room to see if I could find any evidence, but well, I got caught.”
Ah. So... I didn't even know where to begin pointing out what was wrong. It seemed like the entire situation was a problem from start to finish.
Besides, I knew for a fact that Jose Cambron wasn't a threat to Happy House. He was a character from *Love in a Ruined World*, after all.
Jose was a weapons expert, with the ability to customize weapons to his liking. He was also incredibly resourceful, so he would be a help, not a hindrance.
But what was this secret he wasn't telling? Besides smuggling illegal weapons, what else could Jose be hiding?
*'Could it be... that Harrison hired Jose?'*
It seemed Harrison had hired Jose as an instructor to teach me how to use weapons.
*'Wait, does that mean Jose is here because of me, too?'*
Come to think of it, I was royally screwing up the original plot. At this rate, I might as well be the protagonist. Of course, a novel starring me would be completely devoid of romance...
Anyway, if I told Ethan that Harrison had hired Jose and illegally procured weapons at my request, I had no idea how he would react.
Did Amy even know? That the shadiest person here was a 'Sinclair'... Sorry, we were a corrupt corporation...
I deliberately changed the subject.
“Amy, more importantly, Vanilla is a noble, not a hunter.”
“But I heard she hunts, too. They say she can even shoot down birds in flight. Haven't you seen the game she's caught?”
“I have. She used to catch two at a time.”
“See? She's a hunter.”
“…Then am I a mercenary since I'm good at smashing monsters with an axe?”
“Of course. You're a special-grade mercenary, sis.”
“A side job like that would pay pretty well these days.”
“Should I draw up a business plan? This Amy Wharton knows a thing or two about back-alley dealings.”
Since when was being a mercenary a back-alley business? Still, I had a feeling Amy would be good at business. You have to be a good liar to succeed in business, after all.
Not that there were any back alleys left to do business in, but the silly chatter with Amy was more fun than I expected.
Just then, Ethan's voice came from behind me.
“What in the world are you two talking about?”
He gave us a bewildered look. Harrison had come out with him as well. I scratched the back of my head and answered.
“Ah. We were just talking about Jose Cambron.”
“No, you weren't. You were talking about back-alley business.”
Ethan scoffed in disbelief.
Just then, the front door burst open and Jose ran out. He glared at Amy, panting.
“Why are you doing this to me?”
Amy hid behind me, peeking out to speak to Jose.
“Well, it's suspicious that you won't say anything when I ask what you used to do.”
While they were bickering, Harrison approached and studied my face.
“Miss, are you alright? You're not too tired?”
he asked gently, placing a hand on my forehead.
Harrison rarely showed his emotions and usually wore a stern expression, yet he was always so considerate. This was why my younger self had misunderstood him. It was so easy to misunderstand. Yep.
Anyway, as Harrison placed his hand on my cheek, Ethan, who had been watching Jose and Amy, turned his head toward us.
“I'm fine. I just came out because I couldn't sleep.”
Despite my words, Harrison didn't take his eyes off me. Only after carefully checking with his own eyes that I was truly okay did he remove his hand from my face.
I felt Ethan's piercing gaze on the side of my face. Ignoring it, Harrison slowly straightened up and turned to look at Amy.
“I can vouch for Jose Cambron's past, so I would appreciate it if you'd stop treating him with such suspicion.”
Harrison adjusted his glasses and stared intently at Amy. She faltered and clutched at my clothes.
To be fair, Amy's past was even less verifiable than Jose's. And everyone knew it, yet no one deliberately questioned her about it. They were being considerate in their own way.
Amy lowered her head, looking dejected. I said nothing and just patted her head a couple of times.
“Everyone, head inside. If you keep making a scene in the middle of the night, I'll have to haul you all in.”
Ethan said with an annoyed expression. Jose grumbled that this was all Amy's fault.
At that, Amy, as if she'd never been dejected at all, asked Ethan.
“There are no police stations anymore, so where would you take us?”
Amy looked genuinely curious.
The expression slowly drained from Ethan's face. Even I found it a little scary. He tilted his head and asked Amy.
“Curious where? There's a place for those who don't listen. You'd be better off not knowing.”
His monotone voice carried weight, making it feel less like a joke.
Ethan was deliberately trying to scare Amy. It seemed he was trying to resolve the situation himself so that others wouldn't blame her any further.
Sensing his intention, Amy finally fell silent. I shook my head, took Amy's hand, and led her inside the mansion.
Before going into his room, Ethan glanced at Amy and let out a deep sigh. Then, he gave her head a few absentminded pats before returning to his room.
Amy was still crestfallen. She wasn't the type to get so down just from being scolded by Harrison and Ethan, so why was she acting like this all of a sudden?
It looked like I'd have to have a serious talk with Amy soon...
For now, everyone needed to rest. The first night with new housemates had been incredibly noisy.