Yuso Ase

ARC 1 Chapter 11

Shortly after Yuso opened his eyes, he saw that Ayu unexpectedly entered his room. It's worth noting that they had been given individual rooms, so Misu wasn't in the room with Yuso at the time.

- I wanted to talk.

She sat down on the bed next to the boy, who, to his relief, had already put on the pajamas gifted to him by Tanja.

- So, what do you want to talk about?

- I don't want you to feel like this is an interrogation. If you don't want to answer... well, you don't have to. I wanted to ask how strong you are or how strong Misu is. Tomorrow I'll likely have a meeting with Teren, and we'll see what comes of it, but being strong might be useful.

- I've had one fight in my life, and I lost miserably, so I don't know. If I had to guess, I'd say I'm fairly strong, but I have no real experience in combat, so maybe I'm just fooling myself, and in reality, all mages are very strong by my standards.

- Where do you even come from?

The boy's face froze. He wanted to say something, but his tongue couldn't form a coherent response.

- Sorry, but I don't think I have the strength to think about that. It probably sounds weird; it's not like I'm under some sort of seal or curse, but... I just can't, I'm not able to.

- No, I just said that because what you're saying is... strange. I don't mean that in a bad way. It's just that everything, the way you speak, what you say, your aura—everything about you is strange.

- Speaking of being strange—the boy had never thought of himself that way, so it was something new for him, especially hearing it so bluntly—why didn't you return to the palace? If it wasn't about that ring, you could have gone back to your room, and we could have organized this differently.

Ayu's face is calm most of the time. Someone might think she's always sad, but it's just her expression when she doesn't feel any particular emotions. It's her natural facial muscle arrangement. It's true, however, that she rarely shows emotions on her face, but hearing the boy's question, she smiled slightly, although she didn't feel joy.

- No, Uter still has to keep his word. I've done my part. The fact that I'm still helping is a sign of my grace. I have no intention of going back there. I took a nap here, and I feel good. I'll go to Misu's room and ask her how she sees it. After all, it's not really my business, yet I'm getting involved... strange, but for now, I don't have anything else to do, and if I don't do anything, then all my moving and changes and everything will seem pointless.

...............

Uter, Misu, Ayu, and Lenbor stood before the Nightaker family estate again in the late afternoon, this time at the main gate, where two guards were stationed.

- Is the old man home?—the guards were clearly surprised by Ayu's question

- Yes, but I don't know if...

- Thanks for the answer.

The four young people drew quite a bit of attention from the palace residents. Uter was rarely seen here, Ayu didn't often leave her room, and the other two were strangers to the locals. Under the gaze of those they passed, they reached the second floor of the palace where the head of the family's room was located.

- Do you have an appointment?—standing by the door was the father's secretary, whom most people called Old Wajus.

- Not exactly, but I have an important matter.—this time, Uter spoke

- Hmm. You don't often trouble yourself to come to the palace, let alone to him, and I see you have guests with you. You remember the rules, right?

- Yeah, yeah, I remember everything. Can we go in?