Chapter 626: Aligning Plans
“The destination is the Port Town of the Land of Ruin.”
“……”
When I honestly revealed where we were headed, Haulon fell silent, his expression stiffening.
“Are you coming with me?”
“……”
Haulon remained completely still.
“……”
I tilted my head slightly, feeling troubled as I fell silent too.
“……At Kanum.”
“Eh?”
“We’ll continue this at Kanum when everyone is there!!!!”
Ah, looks like the break time is over.
“Are you sure it’s okay with you being busy, Haulon? If it’s just me, I can come back during break time.”
“I’ll make time no matter what! I need some healing! I also want the courage that comes from drinking!”
Is she that busy that she needs healing, or is it that the Land of Ruin is just too much for her? — Maybe she’s not good with ghost stories.
Even though Haulon is a Great Sage, she often consults with those around her. I should learn from that.
Since it’s better at night than during the day, I decided to check everyone’s availability and get in touch. For now, I’ll head to Kanum alone.
I stepped out through the back entrance of Kanum’s House and knocked on the door of the neighboring Dinoss Family.
“Hey!”
I heard Dinoss’s voice from inside, and the door opened immediately.
“Haulon wants to gather everyone for a drinking party soon. I’m about to call Ash, then head to the rental house to wait for someone to come back while having some tea. What do you think, Dinoss?”
It was still bright outside, so it seemed the children were out playing.
“Shiva?”
I turned and called out towards the kitchen.
“If you’re with Jean, then I won’t need to prepare dinner, right? You can come over after I clean up.”
“Sure, sure.”
I could see Shiva from Dinoss’s place, or maybe we were just exchanging voices.
“Just a moment.”
She said, retreating into the house.
Was she in the middle of something, with tools spread out? It seemed like she was helping Shiva.
Dinoss returned quickly, and together we passed through my house to knock on the back door of Ash’s house.
“Hello~”
“Lord Jean, welcome.”
I was greeted by the butler.
“Haulon wants to gather everyone for a drinking party soon. I’m planning to head to the rental house and wait for someone to come back while having some tea. What do you think?”
The butler understood that Ash would come if he was available.
After getting the okay, we headed together to the rental house.
“Hello~”
“Hey!”
It was a bit early for evening, so I wasn’t sure if anyone would be there, but Dean was present. He looked a bit lost in thought in front of the fireplace, but smiled when he saw us.
“What’s up?”
“When I got home, everyone was out, and it was too early for dinner, so I was wondering what to do! Dinoss, Ash, and Note often come by, right?”
Dean laughed brightly.
Thank goodness it wasn’t anything serious. He had been told to refrain from calling out to Balmoa or King Wolf, and now he was calm around Dinoss. He looked genuinely happy to see him.
We all gathered around the table and took our seats. The butler immediately started boiling hot water for tea.
“So, what’s up with you? Drinking?”
Dean asked with a grin.
“Haulon is feeling tired, so I wanted to check everyone’s schedules and see if we could gather soon. That’s why I came by for tea.”
I hadn’t asked yet, but the Dinoss Family had just returned from the labyrinth, so it seemed they wouldn’t be away from home for a while.
Ash doesn’t usually take on long-term requests—probably due to the bathing situation. The butler would follow Ash’s lead.
Dean often decides on jobs based on the client’s personality and whether the accompanying elements are troublesome or not, making it hard to predict if a job will be quick or drawn out.
Recently, he seems to have reduced his visits to brothels, and since he has money, he doesn’t seem to take on as much work as before. It might be because he has reached Gold Rank.
Chris often handles troublesome requests from the guild or those involving nobles, making it hard to predict when he’ll be out.
Retze usually has a set cycle for longer jobs unless he’s begged by the guild for something irregular. He should be on a day trip to the shallow areas of the Demon Forest lately.
Thinking this, I brought out some snacks.
Most of us don’t have a particular fondness for sweets, so I started with bonbon chocolates: whiskey, ganache, praline, marzipan, caramel, and raspberry with a sweet and sour twist.
What should I do for Ash’s cake?
“I have to stop by Anoma tomorrow to collect a reward, but after that, I can clear my schedule to match with everyone else. Retze should be free in the evening too. — I hope Chris can come back tomorrow or the day after.”
Dean spoke with a smile, but his expression turned serious when he mentioned Chris.
“Is it a troublesome request?”
“It’s not the content, but the client.”
Dean crossed his arms, wearing a complicated expression.
“It takes a long time to get to the main topic, and for some reason, they keep steering the conversation to other subjects. It’s not intentional, but they get distracted by whatever catches their interest at that moment, forgetting about the request. Sometimes, I have to wait until the next day to hear about the request again. If it were me, I’d get fed up and leave halfway through.”
“Sounds tough.”
For me, I wouldn’t even approach it in the first place.
Chris is amazing for facing it head-on.
“Chris handles difficult clients with ease. He rarely makes the other party uncomfortable or puts himself at a disadvantage—I’d like to learn from him, but it seems difficult for me.”
Ash said, looking troubled.
Please don’t stress over it; your expression was just starting to soften.
“I’ll check on everyone’s schedules. Are you making Haulon shout again?”
“When I went to ask about improvements on what I made, it turned out there were various issues.”
I still couldn’t get any feedback.
“Well, I can imagine him shouting.”
“……I have come to understand the true meaning of a drinking party.”
Dinoss and the butler chimed in.