Having seen off the commanderinchief, they had been in their rooms until evening, when the devil would appear, and had come down when the time came.

While waiting for Lucia to come down, Léon, who had pulled his hood down even further to hide his face, was fiddling with a few items.

‘……This should be enough to buy. Why on earth would they want a souvenir of a business trip with Lady Lucia…….’

The administrative department of the Hundred Magician Squad, Marien and Jeina, had nearly burst into tears and created a party atmosphere when they heard that they were going on a business trip with Lucia.

And just as the excited women had said, this inn was selling regional specialties from Henken Village’s vibrant days, such as homemade soap, bath additives, souvenirs, etc.

Léon, who didn’t have many close friends, couldn’t refuse their request since they had even lent him their son, so he ended up picking up a few items.

It was a rosescented bath additive that the house’s son Ren boasted about, and cookies with a unique wood pattern on them.

‘Is there some meaning to it?’

He picked it up and examined it closely, finding the pattern quite intricate, and then the name on the cookie box caught his eye.

‘Lovers of the Lake?’

“……!”

Léon was startled when someone poked him in the side.

Since showing his face always led to trouble, he was more surprised than usual as he had deliberately been in the corner.

“You must like it, I see.”

It was the innkeeper, smiling with her eyes shaped like crescent moons.

“You came with a lady, right? That’s why things like this catch your eye!”

Her calloused hand pointed to a wall full of product advertisements.

The article on the wall read,

“……The legend of the lake?”

As he read a line from the article, suddenly the few women in the tavern approached and began to comment.

“It’s true! This inn didn’t used to have this atmosphere.”

“That’s right. Originally in the forest near here, there were lots of sparkling insect shells lumped together like stones, and the legend was that if you carved the name of your beloved on one and threw it into the lake, love would be fulfilled.”

“When we were young, couples would go into the forest to get it and end up having a child instead, ho ho ho!”

The flocking old ladies excitedly chatted to the young man they had met after a long time.

Seeing the conversation between the women and the innkeeper, it seemed more like they were old friends rather than customers.

“Sigh, we used to decorate like this because of the romantic tourists who came because of that, but now we can’t get it because of the black contamination, what a shame.”

“……Ah, I see.”

As Léon muttered, unable to take his eyes off the article, the innkeeper spoke with a pitiful face.

“Why don’t you confess? You don’t seem to be too proud even though you’re a bit brusque.”

Confession.

At the innkeeper’s meddling, the shock of that day flashed back, and he staggered.

“Oh my, men are timid! But he looks perfectly healthy.”

With that, the women surrounding him began to examine Léon.

Though he was covered with a robe, he couldn’t hide the manly lines, and his twinkling silver hair and elegant jawline were extraordinary.

Among them, a woman discovered something and casually rolled up Léon’s sleeve.

“Oh my goodness! Look at this arm. These muscles……!!”

“That’s right, that’s right! My goodness. What’s with this pale skin on a man, is it natural?”
“My, my, such a sturdy back~! It’s all hidden by clothing, but at this level……. Ah, sigh!”

The ladies’ hands moved frantically, pouring like a waterfall, as they looked at the muscles revealed by the rolledup sleeves.

They began to touch the sturdy arms, shoulders, and broad back without hesitation.

Lyon, who usually kept a certain distance from the people in the palace, was very flustered by the women who were suddenly getting close.

Of course, he knew that they had no ill intentions, and he could have easily moved away, but his body froze for a moment.

And then his vision darkened, and he began to feel dizzy.

It wasn’t a normal reaction.

As his limbs stiffened, around the time when the wide hood was about to be pulled off by their hands,

Someone grabbed the hood that was about to be pushed aside and forcefully pulled it down to his chin.

“Are you in your right mind?”

Lyon’s face was wrapped in the hood, so he couldn’t see, but he was certain of the owner of that stern voice.

The firm words of the girl who whispered in secret, pulling him down to her height, meant, ‘Do you want to be discovered here?’

With his already rare blackhaired companion, and even more famous silver hair with golden eyes.

Anyone would see that his extraordinary appearance should not be in a place like this; even if this place was remote, rumors would surely spread.