CJRD CH 13

Chapter 13

“Raina, you.”

I thought I had whispered it softly, so only I could hear it.

But Claude must’ve heard me.

He turned his head toward me and called my name as he walked closer.

“Where are you going?”

“I-I’m heading to the fruit shop. I thought it’d be nice to get some snacks for the kids.”

“I see. I happen to have something to talk to you about, so I’ll walk with you.”

Walk with me? What does he want to talk about?

I widened my eyes in surprise. Then, I felt a burning sensation on my face and looked around.

“….”

All the people who had been looking at Claude were now staring at me.

And not kindly—those looks were full of anger and jealousy.

‘Gasp.’

I thought “burning stares” was just a saying, but now I really felt like I was going to get holes burned into me.

Scared of all those sharp glares, I opened my mouth to refuse Claude’s offer.

“Ah, I’m fine, really—”

“Let’s go.”

But Claude didn’t wait for me to finish. He gave a small gesture and started walking ahead.

I just stood there frozen, not knowing what to do.

“Why aren’t you coming?”

When I didn’t follow, Claude stopped and looked back at me.

His blue eyes seemed to silently command me to hurry up.

“Ah…”

I could still feel all those burning stares on the back of my head. It felt awful.

But Claude clearly believed I would follow him… and now it felt too late to say no.

So I hurriedly ran after him.

“There are too many people here to talk properly. Let’s move somewhere quieter.”

Once I reached his side, Claude muttered this and started leading me to a less crowded area.

***

Claude and I walked away from the busy streets to a quieter place.

‘Phew, finally.’

Just a while ago, I was so scared someone might stab me with their eyes.

Now that I was away from that, I finally felt relieved.

With that, I remembered Claude said he wanted to talk to me.

‘What was he going to say?’

Maybe it was about the academy?

That made sense. After all, he hadn’t seen me since giving me that recommendation letter for Estelle. He might be curious about how it went.

Smiling brightly, I started talking.

“Oh! I gave the letter to Estelle, and she was so happy! She’s really looking forward to going to the academy. She’s even going to the library every day and started a part-time job to build her strength for sword training. Isn’t she amazing?”

I looked up at Claude, excited to share the good news. I expected him to smile or say something nice.

But his response was very different.

“I already heard about that through a report.”

“Oh, you did?”

“Yes. As I expected, you’re taking good care of her.”

He didn’t compliment Estelle or show any surprise. His voice stayed cold and flat.

‘Wait… Was that not what he wanted to talk about?’

It felt like I had gotten excited for no reason. My face burned with embarrassment.

I covered my cheeks with both hands, hoping they wouldn’t turn red.

“By the way, didn’t you say you were going to the fruit shop?”

“Huh? Oh, yes.”

“Then I’ve made you take the long way. Sorry. You must be running out of time.”

“No, it’s okay. I still have some time.”

“Thank you for saying that. I had to take a quieter path because what I want to talk about… isn’t something others should overhear.”

That one line made me anxious.

‘What is it?’

Could it be something personal?

But the only thing that connects us is Estelle. And based on what he said earlier, it didn’t seem like this was about her.

‘So what could it be?’

I couldn’t hold back my curiosity anymore, so I asked him directly.

“What is it?”

“There’s a rumor going around. They say a suspicious person wearing a hood has been wandering around Ashcliff Village. Have you seen anyone like that?”

A suspicious person in a hood?

I tilted my head, confused.

“Suspicious? I don’t think so.”

“Really?”

“Yes. There are a lot of hooded travelers, but they all seem normal. I haven’t seen anyone strange.”

Most travelers in town just quietly buy what they need and leave without causing trouble.

So I hadn’t paid much attention to anyone.

“But… why are you asking me? Wouldn’t the inn or tavern have better information?”

“There was something unusual.”

“Unusual?”

“They said he was wearing accessories that didn’t match his outfit. Gold accessories.”

…Wait a minute.

“And apparently, he calls himself a ‘wanderer.’”

The more I listened, the more I thought of one person.

“And they said he’s been talking to children.”

Someone who wears gold accessories, calls himself a wanderer, and speaks to kids?

‘Could it be… Basago?’

It had to be him.

Claude was clearly talking about Basago.

‘Oh no…!’

My eyes widened, and I instinctively covered my mouth with both hands.

I couldn’t breathe properly.

I looked away from Claude and stared into the distance, blinking nervously as sweat dripped from my forehead.

“Did someone come to mind?”

“Uh, n-no?”

“That’s unfortunate. I thought you might know something since you take care of the children.”

Without thinking, I had said no.

Even though I had already met Basago, talked with him, and even saw his real face… for some reason, I felt like I had to lie.

Claude gave me a suspicious look, and I felt chills run down my spine.

I gulped and asked,

“S-so… why are you looking for him?”

“The Magic Tower is searching for him. Apparently, he’s very important. They’ve asked for our help.”

“The Magic Tower?”

“Yes.”

My eyes widened in shock.

As far as I knew, Basago didn’t have anything to do with the Magic Tower until much later in the story.

Only after Estelle started shining at the academy did that connection begin.

But she hadn’t even entered the academy yet.

So this shouldn’t be happening right now.

“It might just be paranoia, but I have a bad feeling. Just in case, I’ve sent guards to search the village. You should be careful too.”

“…Okay.”

I nodded at Claude’s warning, but honestly, I didn’t hear anything he said.

My head felt foggy from the confusion.

And maybe because I had lied, my heart was pounding so loudly it filled my ears.

There was only one thought in my mind now.

‘I have to get out of here.’

I had to get away from Claude.

If I stayed here any longer, I felt like I’d suffocate.

Even if it meant giving up the fruit snacks for the kids, I needed to escape.

“Um, suddenly I remembered something urgent! I have to go home. I’ll see you next time! Bye!”

I quickly bowed to Claude and turned to run away before he could stop me.

I shut my eyes and ran with all my strength.

One, two, three steps—

And then…

“Ah…!”

Something caught my right big toe.

Since I had my eyes closed, I hadn’t seen it.

I opened my eyes in shock—but it was already too late.

My body was falling forward fast.

I didn’t even have time to scream.

All I could do was tightly shut my eyes and brace for the pain.

But something was strange.

Thump.

There was no pain.

I should’ve hit the cold hard ground… but nothing hurt.

In fact, I felt warm. It was soft, but also firm—like landing on a bed.

Confused, I slowly opened my eyes and looked up.

And I was stunned.

“Are you okay?”

I was in Claude’s arms!