Chapter 370: Calyra’s Little Detour

A few minutes later, Ruvian found himself in the kitchen beside his mother, helping her bring the finished lunch out to the table.

The food was already cooked, so all they needed to do was arrange the plates, bowls, and utensils before everyone ate.

Picking up a large bowl of vegetable soup, Ruvian quietly glanced toward his mother. Almost at the same time, Avina looked back at him with a smile that spelled trouble.

From that smile, Ruvian could almost swear he saw a pair of red devil horns growing from her head, along with a thin tail happily swaying behind her.

’That look can’t mean anything good.’

As if proving his suspicion correct, Avina suddenly leaned a little closer while arranging the spoons.

"So, Ruvian, what did I tell you about not picking up any girls while you were away?"

Ruvian’s hand stopped for half a second, internally groaning, before he continued carrying the bowl toward the table.

Behind him, his mother let out a soft laugh, clearly having fun with it.

"I knew one day you would bring a girl home, but I didn’t think it would happen this soon," Avina continued. "And a beautiful noble young lady too, my son really has grown up while he was away."

"Mother..."

Ruvian sighed, then reached for another tray before she could continue.

"It’s not what you think, she’s just a friend. Anyway, how long has she been here?"

"Hm?"

Avina tilted her head, her smile widening again as she followed him toward the dining table.

"Changing the subject, are we?"

Ruvian gave her an awkward smile while setting the tray down. Judging from her expression, he knew there was no getting out of this one.

Fortunately, she decided to spare him.

"Well, she only arrived around thirty minutes before you came back," Avina finally answered as she returned to the kitchen. "She said she was looking for you, so I invited her inside while she waited."

Ruvian followed her back and picked up the last few plates. His mother was still smiling to herself like something had put her in a very good mood.

"Oh, and she hasn’t eaten yet, so I told her she could just have lunch with us," Avina added. "Actually, I think she has been looking for you since yesterday, from what she said."

’Since yesterday? Could it be that she was still at the academy? Wait...’

Ruvian suddenly had a bad feeling about that.

’Did she at least inform her parents?’

If Calyra had left without telling them anything, then that would only make matters more troublesome.

Her parents would naturally be worried if their daughter suddenly disappeared without a proper explanation.

And if that were really the case, it would only make things harder for him later.

After all, Ruvian was already planning to find a reasonable excuse to bring Calyra along for their next dungeon expedition.

If her parents were already worried about where she had been, convincing them to let her leave again so soon would become much more difficult.

’Haa... damn it, Calyra.’

Once everything was finally prepared, Avina called everyone over and announced that lunch was ready.

Before taking her seat, she asked Ruvian to go and fetch his father, who was still resting inside his room.

*****

[Calyra’s POV]

A few days earlier, Calyra had received a letter from Ruvian, asking her to come to Silvena’s new guild.

According to the letter, there was going to be an important discussion regarding the upcoming dungeon expedition, and Ruvian had already decided on the date of the meeting.

Unfortunately, Calyra only found the letter somewhat late.

She had been busy cleaning her room and packing her belongings before leaving the academy, and because of that, she had barely paid attention to the letters that had arrived for her.

By the time she finally read Ruvian’s letter and went to his room to explain her situation regarding her parents, Ruvian was already gone.

When she went to Silvena’s room afterward, the same thing happened.

Silvena was no longer there either.

Normally, Calyra could have simply sent Ruvian a magic letter and explained everything that way. However, she had already run out of them after using most of her supply to regularly send letters to her parents, keeping them informed about her daily life at the academy and letting them know that she was doing well.

To make matters worse, the academy store had somehow already closed by the time she tried to purchase more.

That left Calyra in a rather troublesome situation.

This was not something she could simply ignore. Ruvian had specifically invited her to an important discussion regarding the dungeon expedition, and the date of the meeting had already been decided.

In other words, she needed to find some way to let Ruvian know about her situation as soon as possible.

Fortunately, while Calyra was still trying to figure out what she should do, she somehow happened to stumble across someone familiar in one of the academy corridors.

Instructor Airin.

The moment Calyra recognized her, she immediately slowed her steps.

If there was anyone in the academy who might know where Ruvian lived, then his own circle instructor was probably one of the safest people to ask.

"Instructor Airin."

Hearing her name, Airin stopped and turned toward her.

"Ah, Lady Calyra?" Her brows lifted slightly. "Is something wrong?"

"Not exactly."

Calyra hesitated for a brief moment before walking a little closer.

"I wanted to ask you something about Ruvian."

"Ruvian Castelor?"

"Yes." Calyra nodded. "Do you happen to know his home address?"

"His home address? May I ask why you need it?"

Calyra had already expected that question.

"He left something behind before leaving the academy," she explained. "I only noticed it afterward, and since he already returned home, I thought it would be better if I returned it to him personally."

Airin continued looking at her for another second.

"What did he leave behind?"

Calyra paused.

"Some personal belongings... I don’t have it with me now."

It was vague enough that she immediately regretted saying it that way. Thankfully, Instructor Airin did not seem particularly interested in interrogating her further.

Airin knew what kind of person Calyra was, and more importantly, she had never known the girl to cause unnecessary trouble.

After thinking about it briefly, Airin finally nodded.

"I see. Well, Ruvian’s family lives in Natoris Town."

Calyra immediately paid closer attention.

"Once you enter through the eastern gate, follow Carpenter’s Way until you reach the old stone fountain near the craftsmen’s district. From there, take the northern road toward Alcert Lane."

Airin paused for a moment, making sure Calyra was following. "The Castelor residence is near the end of that lane. It is a modest two-storey timber house."

Calyra quietly repeated the directions to herself before nodding.

"Thank you, Instructor."

*****

By the time Calyra finally made her way toward the academy gates, the carriage sent by her family was already waiting for her outside.

As usual, there were two people accompanying it.

One was the middle-aged coachman who had served her family for several years, while the other was a head servant assigned as Calyra’s personal escort whenever she traveled outside the estate.

The woman was standing beside the carriage with her arms loosely folded when she noticed Calyra approaching.

"Young Lady."

She bowed immediately.

"We have been waiting for you. Your belongings have already been loaded, so we can depart whenever you are ready."

Calyra stopped a few steps away from them.

"Actually, there has been a change of plans."

The woman blinked.

"A change of plans?"

"Yes."

Calyra glanced toward the carriage before continuing.

"I won’t be returning home today."

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[Chapter 370: Calyra’s Little Detour]

Plot Points = 295,000