Chapter 103: Improvement of the Escape Route
“So? Is that escape route the condition?”
Dinoss asked, resetting the conversation.
“Yeah. The people living in the house behind us have their reasons too, and I thought we could use the escape route together in case of emergencies. But if it’s going to be discovered right away, I’d like to make some improvements.”
I want to buy us a little more time before we get found out.
“I think it’s well done, though.”
“And when you say ‘behind,’ you mean the house next door, right? Gene’s friend?”
Shiva chimed in while wiping Baku’s mouth, which was smeared with food.
“Is he home? Just a moment.”
Most likely, Ash and the others went out early this morning for a bear hunt.
The bear hunt itself is quick, but it takes a long time to get to where the bears are and search for them. The time Ash and the others return depends on whether they find a bear quickly or not. If luck is on their side, they might be back around this time.
I knocked on the back door of Ash’s house.
“Lord Gene.”
“Sorry, do you have a moment? The family we talked about has arrived, and they’re here now.”
“I’ll go call Ash.”
It seemed they had just returned, and when I asked them to come inside for introductions, both of them followed right away.
“Whoa! A Shadow Wolf!”
As soon as the butler entered the room, Dinoss recoiled and exclaimed.
“Oh, what a nostalgic name.”
The smiling butler looked rather suspicious.
“Note, do you know him?”
“Yes, I met him briefly before Ash was born…”
The butler gave a shallow bow to Ash, placing his right hand on his shoulder.
Uh, how old is Dinoss now? About thirty? And Note is around seventy, so when did they meet? Did he do some adventuring when he was young and then become a butler afterward?
“When relations with the neighboring country became temporarily unstable, I returned to being an adventurer on the orders of my predecessor. That’s when I met Dinoss during his early days.”
“I thought you were the house steward before you became Ash’s personal butler.”
Yeah, I had the same impression as Ash; he definitely feels like a butler.
After all, he has that impeccable butler look.
“I was quite old, but my father was still active. It seems my son has grown up to be quite the slacker during my absence…”
The butler’s tone suggested he was somewhat detached from his son, almost as if he didn’t care. Is Ash more feminine than he is?
“I have stronger memories of being worked to the bone by you after you settled into the Duke’s Household!”
Dinoss made a face of distaste.
“I appreciate your help during that time. It’s hard to keep track of things abroad.”
The butler smiled as he expressed his gratitude to Dinoss.
Something about that feels like it’s not enough to settle things. Did he hold some embarrassing weakness over Dinoss back in the day? Also, does the butler of the Duke’s Household handle matters abroad too?
Since Shiva is ignoring this, I guess that means they’re not nobles from Ash’s country? I feel like the butler knows the faces of all the nobles in the country. Just my biased impression, though.
How did Dinoss even meet a noble daughter? Oh, right—there was that duke’s daughter sitting by the well.
“Ash, this is King Wolf of Balmoa. He seems to have been missing for a while, but he’s a renowned adventurer with a rank of Gold.”
Gold rank aside, what does it mean to be King Wolf of Balmoa? Did he spend all his time hunting wolves?
Even when I tried hard to hunt wolves instead of bears, I was told that wolves were the domain of northern adventurers… so it was your fault that my nickname never changed from ‘Bear’!?
“Ah. If he’s with you, then it must be that girl. That duke really did it, huh?”
Hmm. Dinoss knows about Ash too. And he’s aware that Ash was made more masculine by his father, the Spirit. Stop it!
“…Gene seems to have something he wants to ask too. Go ahead.”
Dinoss sighed as he looked at me.
“Which is the surname and which is the given name, Dinoss or Balmoa?”
“That’s what you want to know?”
Well, the order of names differs by country, and some places have long names that include both parents’ names, while others use aliases instead of their real names. It’s all over the place, even though we’re on the same continent.
“Balmoa is a name I gave myself; I don’t remember the name my parents gave me. Dinoss is the name Shiva gave me, so this is my name now.”
“I see.”
I’m Gene now too.
I do have a name given to me by the Gods as a Free Knight, but I don’t use it or even remember it.
“So? What do you want to do? Live here?”
“It’s a bit of a hassle with the residents of the house behind us, but if I can see inside that house, I’d definitely want to live there.”
Dinoss glanced at Shiva before answering.
Thanks to the butler being here, it seems Dinoss and Shiva understood the kind of trouble that would require an escape route. It’s nice that the conversation is moving quickly.
“I’ll leave it to you.”
“Likewise.”
Ash and Dinoss shook hands, sealing the deal.
“Yay! Gene’s next door!”
“Neighbor!”
“Nice to meet you!”
The children, who had been quiet until now, began to cheer.
One by one, they introduced themselves and greeted Ash and the butler. Ash looked bewildered and had a scary expression, but the children didn’t seem to mind. They’re so strong.
Is it a good thing that more people are realizing Ash is a woman? It means there are more people I can relax around. But still, Ash’s demeanor doesn’t change much in front of me or Retze… Is it just her natural behavior, or is she genuinely acting manly?
“So, how did you figure out this was a hidden door?”
Leaving the children behind, I headed to the attic. First, I needed to investigate why it was discovered for the purpose of modifying the hidden door.
“I followed the flow of the wind and listened for sounds. A hollow space makes a different sound.”
“If it were any other house, I wouldn’t have noticed the gaps, but this house is airtight. So it makes you wonder why, right?”
“Ah, it’s because I added a window.”
I had installed windows on the roof of my house and this one. Opening the shutters is the best way to let in light, and there’s no glass fitted.
Even now, the wind was coming in through the open window meant for light, causing the backboard of the shelf to tremble slightly.
“If we seal the gaps in this house, we should be fine.”
The butler suggested.
Ash’s house has a bathroom, but other than that, it was just the workers who made adjustments, and the attic is probably still full of gaps from when it was bought. If there’s no other way out, the wind will surely flow next door.
“And the sound?”
I opened the hidden door and looked at the gaping hole. If I seal the hole, we won’t be able to get in or out, and thickening the wooden board won’t solve the problem either.
I sat down in front of the hole, scratching my head.
“Hmm. Please pretend to be an ordinary wall when not in use.”
With no solution coming to mind, I decided to rely on the Spirits residing in the stone and those lingering in the house.
Before my eyes, the hole began to seal up. Wait, not only the sound but the appearance turned into a stone wall. Did I ask for it wrong—no, was it actually right?
“Wait…! You can’t just do that in front of people!!! Note! What kind of education are you giving him!?”
Dinoss’s voice seemed to have startled Note, who had been frozen in shock, causing him to bow slightly.