Return of the Fallen Volume 2 Chapter 59
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Author: Blue_Rat
ch59
The two had just met a few minutes ago and had yet to even mention their names to one another, yet they got along like old friends. Traveling down the main road in the middle of the night the two laughed together and enjoyed each other’s company.
Almost 20 minutes of this went by until the frail old woman led Kazuki to a fairly large mansion in the middle of town.
Kazuki looked up and admired this huge building before asking in curiosity.
“This place is?”
“Halt, who goes there!?”
A few men near the front entrance ran forward with lamps. Stopping in front of the two they raised the light up to see. As soon as they spotted the old woman, all of them suddenly went stiff before switching into a full salute.
“Madam, forgive us, we did not know it was you.”
The old woman chuckled before turning to tease Kazuki.
“What do you think, boy, I bet you were nervous when all these guards ran up on us, huh?”
Kazuki played along and held his fingers up with a small space between them.
“Maybe this much.”
“Hahaha, good, young one, good.”
The old woman waved the guards out of the way and walked forward.
“Are you not coming inside? I thought we still had some business to complete.”
Kazuki shrugged his shoulders and followed after her.
Walking in, Kazuki was greeted by the sight of a dozen guards in full suits of leather armor. Attached at their hip was a sword and each one had an inscription on their exposed upper arm.
(Hmm, they all have Enhancing inscription tattoos. This old lady must have quite the fortune as well as connections in order to have 12 guards with enhanced abilities out in a small town such as this. Who exactly is this old bat.)
As they passed the guards, each one gave the old woman a salute while also eyeing Kazuki suspiciously.
Coming down a large corridor a butler appeared and welcomed her back.
“Madam, welcome home, is there anything that you or your guest require?”
The old woman huffed.
“Yea, tell these guards to take a break already, it’s weird that they’re not in bed yet.”
The butler shook his head.
“Madam you know that’s not possible. Master wouldn’t agree to it.”
“Hmpf, my son controls the guards but who carried that brat for 9 months and breastfed him for so long. Even the inscriptions on his guards, who was the one who gave it to them. Brat’s ungrateful.”
The butler simply bowed his head to the old woman’s words, not refuting them but not agreeing with them either. The woman could see she was making things difficult for the butler and changed the subject.
“Whatever, fetch me and my friend a few drinks, we’ll be in my office.”
The butler felt relieved. With another bow, he turned and hurriedly left before there was a problem.
The old lady continued on and led Kazuki into her so-called office but the room was anything but. Inside there was a short couch for sitting beside that, there were a few books scattered here or there. The rest of the room was covered in stuff or maybe junk to be more precise.
The room was fairly large, almost 50 by 50 but was covered in piles and piles of different and odd objects. Armor, swords, elemental crystals of nearly every variety. Plants, wooden carvings of horses and even a few paintings. Yet the paintings weren’t hung up but rather piled in a corner.
The room was just full of stuff.
(How does one navigate this hoarder’s paradise?)
The old woman pushed a pile of books off of her couch and onto the floor before patting the dust out of the couch cushion.
“Come, sit.”
Sitting down, the old woman was just about to say something when a knock came from the other side of the door annoying the old woman.
“What is it?”
“Madam, I’ve brought your drinks over.”
“Good, come in.”
The butler came in with a small pushcart and prepared two drinks before handing them out.
Not wanting to be rude, Kazuki took the drink.
“Sebastian, go and grab a few things for me out of my workshop down below. I want all the items on my crafting table brought up here at once.”
Sebastian nodded and with another bow, he left the room, once again as though he were in a hurry.
“How about a toast, young one.”
Kazuki chuckled.
“Haha, this isn’t the part where you seduce me, is it?”
The woman had just taken a swig and as soon as Kazuki said that she couldn’t help but spit her drink out right in Kazuki’s face and roar with laughter.
“Bwahahahaha. Kid, you are hilarious. Sorry about that, but that was a good one.”
The old lady pulled out a handkerchief and helped wipe Kazuki’s face.
“Sorry sorry, I didn’t mean to spit, but kid, I like grown men. You are 20 years too young for my taste, no offense.”
Kazuki didn’t mind at all. Even though she just spit in his face, he wasn’t too bothered by it either. This old lady was just too carefree and fun and continually swept him up in her pace.
“Well, at least you still know how to laugh. Usually, when people get to your age they become crabby and jaded.”
The old lady changed her voice and took on a serious tone and spoke with a deep voice as she tried to impersonate a crabby old man.
“You young fellas don’t know about how good you got it. Back in my day, we had to work them fields, young feller. Bwahahahaha.”
Once more the two lost it and laughed wildly.
A moment later and there was another knock at the door.
*Buh buh buh*
With a rolling of her eyes, the old lady shouted.
“Sebastian, you don’t have to knock every freaking time, just come in.”
The door opened but instead of a butler, a man who appeared to be in his late 30’s walked in. The man had dark blonde hair and there were a few strands of grey mixed in with it. With dark brown eyes and a squared chin, the man seemed a little rough.
As soon as the woman saw this man she again rolled her eyes.
“Boy, what is it, can’t you see I have a guest.”
The man furrowed his brows.
“Dammit, mom, can’t you tell what time it is. You know I have to be up early in the morning, why do you have to make so much noise at such a time.”
“Hmpf, I’ll make as much noise as I want in my own home and if you don’t like it, you know you can always move out.”
“You know I can’t do that. This house gives me a certain amount of prestige as well as it’s a symbol of respect. I can’t live in a house that’s inferior to this one, it would scar my image.”
“Scar your image, then just build another house. You’re a grown man still living at home with his mother, aren’t you embarrassed. How can you call yourself the lord of this town when you’re still paying rent to me?”
The man felt ashamed by his mother’s words but there was little he could say to that.
“Can’t you at least keep the noise down a bit? Why do you have to make me out to be the bad and ungrateful son?”
“I never said any of that, don’t try and put words in my mouth. However, I do still think you need your own place. I’ve offered to sell you this place on several occasions but you keep trying to haggle me down on the price. But even if you have this house under your own name it still won’t give you the respect you think you deserve. If you want that you gotta go out and earn that yourself. Not with an army of guards at your beck and call and not with the title of lord over anything but by yourself. What do you think your father would say if he were still alive?”
The so-called lord of Edngaul rubbed his head all over in frustration.
“Dammit, mom, you know I’m not a fighter. How do you expect me to raise my reputation without tools by my side? Impossible, absolutely impossible.”
The man couldn’t stand it any longer and left. Before he slammed the door behind him, he yelled at his mom.
“Yeah, I’ll go out and fight the same day you clean this disaster zone up.”
*Bam*
You could hear the man still grumbling something down the hall before he yelled at someone.
“Dammit, Sebastian, watch where you’re going.”
“Forgive me, Master.”
*Buh buh….*
Before the last knock rang out, the old lady was no longer in a good mood and snapped her fingers. A small inscription on the door lit up before causing the door to swing open.
The butler called Sebastian was in mid knock and paused his hand in midair.
Putting his hand down in a hurry, he carried in a small bag no bigger than a fist. Setting the bag on top of the pushcart, he said.
“Madam, this is everything you asked for, is there anything else you wish of me?”
The old woman simply gave the butler a look which he, in turn, understood and in a swiftness matching his earlier exits, the man made himself scarce and was gone in the blink of an eye.
“Hmpf, all these annoying characters ruining my mood. Kid, take a lesson from me, never have brats. They cost you too much time and energy and in return, all you get is a constant headache.”
The old lady grabbed the fist-sized bag from the pushcart and dumped the continents out on the couch in between her and Kazuki. As the items fell out one after another, Kazuki’s eyes began to shine.
Picking up one of the Nexar crystals, Kazuki laughed.
“Hmm, I don’t know, kids at least won’t cost me a small fortune like these items will.”
Hearing his comment, a bit of light returned to the old woman’s eyes.
“Hehehe, about that fortune, are you ready to complete this transaction?”
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