Chapter 56: The Way Back

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“Hmm?”

Kera watched Zeldryn, who had suddenly gone quiet and turned his face away. The boy's expression was far too easy to read, and the embarrassment written across it immediately made Kera's smile widen.

“KUAHAHAHA!”

Zeldryn frowned as Kera continued laughing while they walked.

“No need to be that embarrassed, brat,” Kera said. “Besides, that's just how you are.”

He glanced sideways at Zeldryn before deliberately spelling out the next word one letter at a time.

“I-D-I-O-T.”

The muscles in Zeldryn's face immediately tightened.

“Shut up, damn it.”

He turned his face even farther away.

'Bastard. The more he laughs, the more embarrassing that stupid mistake feels.'

Despite the exchange, neither of them stopped walking. They continued making their way through the forest, with Zeldryn occasionally firing back at Kera's insults while Kera seemed determined to find new reasons to mock him.

From an outside perspective, it probably looked less like a normal conversation and more like a grown man continuously bullying a twelve-year-old child.

After they had walked for a while, Kera finally returned to the question Zeldryn had asked earlier.

“Hmm...” He walked with both hands relaxed at his sides. “You asked whether I'm going to your father's birthday party, right?”

Zeldryn turned toward him. “Yeah.”

Kera did not answer immediately.

'Of course I'm going, idiot.'

There was no chance he would let Zeldryn go there alone. Protecting this child was one of the reasons he had come here in the first place.

The image of someone surfaced in Kera's mind.

'If something happens to you, Lady Anna would definitely be sad.'

He let out a small sigh, but naturally, none of those thoughts reached Zeldryn.

Instead, Kera shrugged.

“Ah. Too lazy.”

Zeldryn frowned. “...Huh?”

“Why would I go there?” Kera asked casually as he continued walking.

Zeldryn stared at his back for a moment before quickening his pace until he was walking beside him.

“Why? Aren't you a Manholer from the main residence?”

Kera glanced at him. “So?”

Zeldryn had no immediate response.

“It's up to me, isn't it?”

Zeldryn stared at him for several seconds as irritation gradually returned.

'This guy... If he wasn't a Level 3 Manholer, I would've punched him already, damn it.'

Of course, that thought was destined to remain inside his head. If he actually tried punching Kera, Zeldryn knew perfectly well which one of them would end up lying on the ground again.

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He finally looked away and waved one hand dismissively.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Do whatever you want, bastard.”

Kera merely smiled.

The two continued walking, occasionally talking about small things and occasionally slipping back into insulting each other. Eventually, the trees around them began to thin, and the forest gradually gave way to the road they had used earlier.

It was not the village's main road, but the route connecting the forest to the Giorry family mansion.

Zeldryn looked ahead and could already make out the residence in the distance. Although it could not exactly be called an extraordinarily massive noble estate, it was still enormous compared with the ordinary homes Reka had been familiar with in the modern world.

'And this is only a mansion at the border.'

They continued along the road beneath a sky that had become increasingly orange. The sun was sinking behind the trees by the time they approached the mansion's main gate.

The two guards stationed there immediately noticed them. One straightened his posture as soon as Kera and Zeldryn came closer.

“H-hello. Good afternoon, Lord Zeldryn.”

His gaze shifted toward Kera.

“And Sir Kera.”

Zeldryn briefly observed the guard and noticed something that was difficult to miss.

He was nervous.

The second guard was behaving similarly, deliberately avoiding eye contact with Kera for more than a moment.

'Hmm? That's strange.'

Kera, however, showed no interest in their behavior and simply continued through the gate. Zeldryn did not return the greeting either and followed him inside.

The moment they passed through the entrance, another thought suddenly struck him.

'Oh, right. The servants.'

Training with Kera had filled Zeldryn's mind with mana so completely that he had almost forgotten what had happened in the kitchen earlier.

'I almost forgot about that stupid rumor.'

His expression tightened slightly.

The misunderstanding involving Hera was still unresolved. If anything, Zeldryn's attempt to address it in the kitchen might have made the entire situation even more suspicious.

'I need to deal with it as soon as possible.'

The problem was figuring out how.

Hera had already explained what happened, yet some servants clearly did not believe her. If Zeldryn tried explaining it himself, they might simply assume he was forcing Hera to support his story. Leaving the matter alone was not much better, since the rumor would only continue reinforcing the terrible reputation he had inherited.

'How the hell am I supposed to fix this?'

Without realizing it, Zeldryn became lost in thought as the two entered the mansion.

Not long afterward, they reached the main hall. Kera suddenly stopped.

“Alright.”

Zeldryn turned toward him. “Hmm?”

Kera casually raised one hand. “We split up here, kid. And don't come looking for me again tonight.”

Zeldryn raised an eyebrow.

Kera smiled slightly. “I'm busy.”

Zeldryn had no idea what the man intended to do, and knowing Kera, asking would probably earn him another irritating answer.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” He waved one hand. “Whatever.”

Kera began to turn away, but before he could actually leave, Zeldryn fell silent.

Despite how irritating the man was, despite his rough attitude, and despite the fact that almost every interaction they had shared since morning involved insults, mockery, punches, kicks, or having Zeldryn's ear twisted, there was one thing Zeldryn could not deny.

He had learned a great deal from Kera today, far more than he could have figured out by himself.

Zeldryn was not someone incapable of gratitude.

“Y-yeah.”

Kera stopped.

Zeldryn turned his face slightly away, clearly uncomfortable with what he was about to say.

“At least... thanks for today, bastard.”

Kera stared at him for a moment before his smile immediately widened.

“Hahahaha!”

Zeldryn regretted speaking almost instantly.

“So you've got a side like this too, huh, brat?” Kera said between laughs.

“Shut up.”

“Hahaha!”

Still laughing, Kera finally turned away and walked toward another section of the mansion. The direction he chose led toward the separate hall where Henry and Aeglo had previously been punished.

Zeldryn watched him leave.

'Who knows what he's going to do in there.'

He had no intention of following him. Kera had already made it clear that he wanted to be left alone tonight, and Zeldryn had a problem of his own to deal with.

He headed toward the stairs.

His destination was his room, but his thoughts remained fixed on the servants.

'How am I supposed to fix my image?'

Zeldryn did not expect years of terrible reputation to disappear within a single day. That would obviously be impossible. What bothered him more was the rumor involving Hera, because unlike everything else attached to the old Zeldryn, this particular problem was still new.

If he allowed it to spread for too long, it could easily grow into something much worse. His experience earlier had already shown him how quickly gossip traveled through the mansion.

'I need to stop this one before it gets any bigger. But how?'

Zeldryn continued toward the stairs while thinking through the problem. Along the way, he encountered several servants, and the moment they noticed him, they immediately lowered their heads.

“Good afternoon, Lord Zeldryn.”

“Good afternoon, Lord.”

Zeldryn glanced at them without responding.

They had greeted him politely, but the atmosphere still felt wrong. Their smiles looked forced, their bodies were stiff, and some seemed eager to leave as soon as the formal greeting was finished.

'See? Nothing's changed, damn it.'

He continued walking without saying anything, climbed to the second floor, and followed the corridor toward his room. Orange evening light entered through several windows along the hallway, stretching across the floor as he approached his door.

Just before reaching it, however, Zeldryn noticed something.

He looked down at the spot beside the entrance where he had left the tray and dirty dishes earlier.

It was empty.

Zeldryn stopped.

“...Hmm?”

He glanced along the corridor, but no one was there.

'The dishes I left here are gone. Did the servants already take them?'