MBOMEN 09

Chapter 9. Conditions for Free Accommodation (3)
2023.12.09.

The restaurant was also crowded, but it wasn’t at its busiest, so fortunately, there were some seats available.

Eustar insisted on a small private room, which was almost like a storage closet, even paying extra for it. Only after the staff had closed the door and left did Laila realize he had done it for her sake.

“At least when we eat, you should be comfortable. Take off your hood.”

Eustar said this, and Laila stared at the closed door for a moment before finally removing her hood. The table was low and not very clean, but compared to the room they had just left, it felt almost cozy.

No spiders, Laila thought.

“Do you have any favorite foods?”

When Eustar asked, Laila shook her head as if to say she was ready to hear any strange question. He rang a bell to call the waiter again. The door opened slightly, and a waiter peeked his face through the crack.

“Bring two glasses of today’s soup and dinner menu. No alcohol, but if you have fruit juice or a drink made with clean water, bring those.”

Laila worried the waiter might suddenly fling the door wide open, exposing her to everyone in the hall, but thankfully that didn’t happen.

The waiter quickly scribbled Eustar’s order on a small note and, somewhat rudely, slammed the door shut and disappeared.

“People who rent places like this usually have suspicious deals, so the staff don’t want to get involved,” Eustar explained. Laila understood but hesitated about whether to say she wasn’t offended by the waiter’s attitude.

Once the small private room was cut off from outside noise, Laila finally had the chance to sort through some thoughts.

Mostly, she was curious about what would happen to her in the future. It was the first time she had ever been curious about the future, and it felt both fresh and vague.

Eustar seemed lost in thought too, but Laila had no way to look inside his mind.

The food arrived quickly. It seemed like it was mass-produced and reheated, the bread wasn’t very fresh, and the chunks in the soup were soggy.

Still, smelling the food made Laila’s hunger flare up fiercely.

“It’s been so long since I’ve seen food like this.”

At Laila’s words, Eustar, who was just taking a spoonful of soup, glanced up.

He had tied up his long hair into a neat bun at the back of his head so it wouldn’t fall into the bowl. Without his usual long hair falling down, he looked quite different.

After a pause, Eustar spoke.

“What exactly do you mean by ‘food like this’? Are you talking about meat dishes?”

“Yes, exactly. Meat dishes. When my mother was alive, she sometimes cooked rabbit or wild pigeon, but I was bad at hunting.”

She left out that it was actually the process of catching and preparing the meat that was hard for her.

She felt it was inappropriate to mention as a witch’s daughter, but Eustar seemed amused by what she said.

“So, you lived only on herb soups, pumpkins, carrots, and lettuce from the garden? And homemade bread?”

Laila felt like he was teasing her. But it wasn’t unpleasant enough to bother her… She wanted to respond cleverly but knew she wasn’t that witty, so she answered honestly.

“In autumn, I sometimes caught fish. Remember the forest where I met you? There’s a small valley beyond it.”

“That’s surprising. You can’t hunt, but you know how to fish?”

“Setting fish traps is easy.”

Eustar nodded.

“Fish traps, yes, I’ve heard of them, though I’ve never seen one. They say fish can get in but can’t get out. I know the principle, but it always sounds amazing.”

Laila looked at Eustar with some suspicion.

“Who exactly are you?”

Eustar tilted his head as he smeared bread in the meat sauce.

“Haven’t I told you?”

“You’re a knight from Tentinella, that I know. But…”

Laila’s words trailed off, and Eustar smiled with that expression that was free of malice.

“You think I’m hiding something, don’t you?”

Laila didn’t answer. In truth, she did, but accepting it straightforwardly gave her a strange feeling.

Was she unfairly interrogating him? Or was she choosing an uncomfortable path deliberately? A baseless guilt and awkwardness stabbed at her like canker sores inside her mouth.

She thought she shouldn’t ask any more questions. It felt less like her own thought and more like some presence inside her pressuring her. She was curious about him but sensed it wasn’t yet the time to know. So she decided to wait…

Wait? For how long? And why?

Laila suddenly spoke up.

“You seem a little strange. Is that rude to say?”

A sly smile appeared on Eustar’s lips.

“Depends on the person, I guess. But it’s okay with me. But strange? What exactly is strange?”

Laila pondered her answer and poked the meat dish with the tip of her fork. She couldn’t tell if it was pork or beef.

Now that she looked, the plate had a chip on the edge, and the fork was scratched with paint peeling off. Somehow, the worn look reminded her of her own awkward self, giving her an uneasy feeling.

“It’s hard to explain, but… how to say it… it distracts my thoughts. No, it really disturbs them. I can definitely feel it.”

Eustar’s expression became even more puzzling. He looked like a pantomime actor unsure whether to laugh out loud or seriously frown.

Wondering how to deceive the audience flawlessly with his next act…

“That sounds like something people in love often say.”

His low voice held a hint of teasing, but his tone was smooth enough that if Laila had been a more typical young woman, she might have blushed instantly.

Instead, she stared blankly at Eustar. He smiled sheepishly and took a sip of his drink. He only pretended to squeeze lemon into it, and it didn’t taste appealing.

“That was a joke. You don’t look like someone in love, by any measure.”

Laila immediately responded.

“Whether a joke or not, it doesn’t matter. I was told people like me can’t love.”

“Who said that?”

“My mother.”

She ended her sentence like cutting fabric sharply with scissors and took a sip of her drink, which she didn’t really want.

Eustar now looked at her with interest, resting his chin on his hand, as if he had forgotten to eat.

“What kind of person are you, Laila?”

“You’re not asking because you don’t know, right?”

“No, I really don’t know, that’s why I’m asking.”

Laila’s hand holding the fork moved slightly. The fork, which had been about to pick up some overcooked mashed potatoes, stopped with a tiny ‘tick’ sound at the edge of the plate.

“I’m a witch. Witches don’t need to fall in love, so they can’t.”

Suddenly, laughter came from Eustar.

“Is that so funny?”

“Well, if witches don’t need to fall in love and therefore can’t, then if your mother’s words are true, how were you born?”

Laila said seriously.

“She said reproductive activities don’t require love. I agree with that, more or less. Though I don’t really know.”

“That’s quite an interesting and blunt way to put it. I agree that love isn’t necessary for reproduction. I’ve heard witches have passed down their bloodlines that way. But that doesn’t mean they can’t fall in love. Those two can’t be synonyms.”

He winked slightly. Laila found one more question in Eustar’s words but decided not to ask it now.

After finishing their meal, the two walked briefly through the bustling evening streets before returning to the inn.

Laila realized that while her foot pain had eased, being full didn’t relieve her fatigue. In fact, she felt even more tired, perhaps because her body felt heavier. And she had another problem.

“Laila, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”

Eustar asked, supporting her as she gradually lowered her hooded head. Laila glanced at the black, opaque shadows glimpsed between the people, then lowered her eyes again.

Some passed by without noticing her, but some came very close.

A man with a single enormous swollen eye covering half his face was staring at her persistently, following her, so she dared not raise her head.

Laila forced back a wave of nausea and whispered softly,

“…There are too many. Don’t you feel them?”

“Oh, ghosts? I do. Since I’m by your side, I feel them clearer than usual… and I can see them too. But since I’m not wearing the monocle, they aren’t that clear. Are you feeling bad? Want me to carry you back to the inn?”

Laila shook her head. Her hood nearly fell off but she caught it quickly.

“I’m okay. I think I can walk like this. But next to me…”

At that moment, the man with the single huge eye who had been following Laila suddenly thrust his eyeball right under her face. Laila involuntarily swallowed and stopped walking.

The swollen eyeball rolled around and stared fixedly at Laila’s face. It seemed to open its mouth as if to speak, revealing a mouth full of half-rotten fish.

Just before a scream burst from Laila’s mouth, she heard Eustar’s voice.

“Excuse me.”

At that moment, Laila’s feet lifted off the ground.