Side Stories: Chapter 12

The two were quite stunned that they were talking to the great Miftil Kingdoms marquess heir, and furthermore, Laras older brother.

Were you the daughter of a marquess, Lara? Chelsea asked.

Not anymore, Lara immediately retorted.

Good on you to deny it. If you were still going around claiming to be a lady of our house, I wouldve given you a piece of my mind, Feijadiru said.

Why would I ever have to borrow my familys name? That place only gave me bad memories.

You say that, but you are still using your familys name, Browning.

Thats because Im used to it. I have no intention of using it for personal gains, so dont worry.

They spoke coldly to each other though they were siblings, but Chelsea and Pina werent that surprised by this. It was common for blood ties to drench each other in blood within n.o.ble families in the struggle for power. This sort of argument was still on the more acceptable side.

Thats good, then. Anyway, I have a request. It was impressive how Feijadiru only stubbornly pushed forward with his agenda without a care for the other persons opinions. In the end, Lara backed down.

...Summarize it for me. I will ignore you if you take too long, Lara said.

This isnt the place to tell you. Lets change locations first, Feijadiru said.

I already told you to summarize it for me.

...Youve become shockingly arrogant. Its completely different from the time when you left your family.

I ran away from home because I didnt like acting like that. If you want to reminisce about the old times, why dont you do that by yourself?

... Feijadiru glared at Lara. Yet, no matter how he fiercely glared at her, there was no way Lara would cower back. Feijadiru had an intense urge to pull out his sword but repressed it. They were already attracting other peoples attention from their arguing, and a greater commotion would arise if they swung swords here. It would be a great embarra.s.sment if rumors spread that the people who came to help the Karuwimans for the festival were going around stirring trouble instead. It would taint his kingdoms image and Wesker would also not be happy about it.

Yes. Those were the only reasonsit was definitely not because he was afraid to clash swords with Lara that he didnt draw his weapon. It had been ages ago, in his youth, when he lost to her in duels. Feijadiru was sure that it would be different now. Thus, Feijadiru was about to speak again after consoling himself in this manner when another voice spoke up.

Whats going on? a man asked.

Feijadiru was displeased to see a stranger suddenly intervene and planned to order one of his guards to chase the man away.

Hans! Lara greeted the new figure.

Hans? Feijadiru thought. It had a familiar ring to it. He racked his head to find out where he had heard the name, and it didnt take long for him to remember. It was a name that had become very famous recently.

Isnt he the one I heard so much about?! Feijadiru stared at Hans. A strong emotion flickered past Feijadirus eyes: pure jealousy.

***

Hans was outside with Snoc. Snoc had accepted Hans suggestion to talk amongst just the guys, and the two walked around to find a suitable bar. Since they didnt have anything urgent to take care of, they moved slowly.

Look at this, Nowem. Wouldnt Sam like it if I get this for him? Snoc said.

Koo!

Snoc smirked while raising a strange-looking accessory on a stand.

Is Sam the person who was like a brother to you? Hans asked.

Yes, Snoc answered.

Sam was the miner who took care of Snoc after he lost his parents. Though they had met a long time ago, Hans remembered Sam because he was someone who was like family to Snoc.

Now that you mention it, did you go back to your hometown?

I went once before I went to the magical tower and once before coming here.

How was it?

It was nice. In the past, I wanted to leave that place no matter what, but when I went there after a long time, I missed it a lot.

Thats how hometowns are. Hans recalled the Steelwall Estate. Just thinking of that place eased his heart.

I should also visit that place again later, Hans thought. Snoc bought the souvenir and placed it inside his magic box. Then, the two began walking again.

How were the responses back home? Im sure stories of us also spread there.

Oh, they loved it. Sam bragged about it as if he had done the deeds himself.

Did you introduce Elena to them yet?

Yes. Sam was jealous that I had a girlfriend when he was still single.

Hans was relieved to hear that Snoc was still maintaining a good relations.h.i.+p with his past relations.h.i.+ps. Success sometimes divided people, and Snoc had clearly achieved great success. That was enough for painful things to happen in his hometown, but it appeared that everything was still fine.

Well, the man named Sam appeared like quite a good person. Hans met Sam when Zich had just recently dragged him out of the Steelwall Estate, but Hans easily saw that Sam was an upright person. Perhaps, Sam would be able to continue to maintain a good relations.h.i.+p with Snoc.

I should discuss it with Sir Zich just in case, Hans thought, and the two entered the bar. Although it was a pricey place, it wasnt too luxurious; when the two went further inside, they realized that the atmosphere inside the bar was strange. It was common for bars to be noisy, and as peoples self-control lessened with alcohol, peoples excitement and agitation increased. Thus, it was strange for a bar to be quiet just like this one.

It sounds like theres a fight. Snoc followed peoples heads and found two people arguing. Then, his eyes widened when he saw familiar faces among the group.

Senior! Isnt that...!

Lets go.

Without another word, Hans immediately headed to the spot where a quarrel was taking place.

* * *

Feijadiru a.s.sessed the situation. His detestable sister explained the situation thus far to Hans.

Nothings going properly. Although Lara was his hateful younger sister, he had intended to gently talk to her on his own terms. If she had just listened well to him, there wouldnt have even been a major disturbance like this. The cause of this commotion was completely on Laras shoulders.

Theres no way those two would take my side.

Hans and Snoc were Laras comrades and world-renowned heroes. If they took his side, he would have been suspicious instead and wondered what they were up to. I need to also pay attention to the people around me.

So far, the gazes around them had only been gazes of people just watching a normal disturbance in a bar. Laras ident.i.ty had yet to be uncovered.

However, considering that Hans and Snoc were also involved, there was now a high possibility that bystanders would recognize them. If that happened, the onlookers would surely side with the famous dragon slayers. Feijadiru didnt care in the least whether foolish humans antagonized him, but he couldnt harm the good name of the Miftil Kingdom. The guards expressions didnt look good either. They also knew that the situation was not looking good for them, and it would be a good idea for them to withdraw for now. However, Feijadiru couldnt bear to move his feet; there was only one thing holding him back: pride.

Out of all the people in the world, I dont want to show her my back! His pride was already enormous, and combined with his negative feelings for Lara, his frantic emotions mercilessly trampled on his sense of reasoning.

After hearing the situation, Hans asked Feijadiru, Sir, I heard that you have business with Lara. If I may ask, what is it about?

Hans was being polite for now, but his expression was stiff.

I cant say it in a crowded place like this.

Then please withdraw. Lara doesnt want to meet you separately and talk.

I cant do that.

Then what are you going to do? Are you planning to drag her out with force? Hans hand naturally moved toward Estellades hilt.

Feijadirus guards also placed their hands on their swords after seeing this. The tension rose in an instant.

...Sigh, all right. With a small sigh, Lara stood up. Now that Hans and Snoc were involved, the commotion grew even bigger. Since the situation had escalated so far, Lara thought it might be better to listen to her d.a.m.n older brother and get this over with.

We just have to go where there are no people, right?

Yeah, exactly.????we??????.co?

Feijadirus smug face after finally getting what he wanted was annoying. Lara thought about sitting back down, but in a good and bad way, Lara was much more mature than Feijadiru.

Follow m

Wait. Hans blocked Feijadiru who was about to arrogantly command Lara to follow him.

He continued, If you just need a quiet place, is there a need for you to go so far? Since this bar also serves as an inn, you can rent a room and talk here.

Here? Feijadirus expression turned into a scowl. It wasnt because his plan went awry. Although the quality of the bar and accommodation was quite high, it was not up to Feijadirus standards.

However, Hans was firm. One more thing. Ill also be accompanying you two.

This is none of your business.

Im Laras boyfriend. Im in a completely different position than you, who is no longer part of Laras family.

Boyfriend? Feijadiru thought they were just ordinary comrades and hadnt expected them to have such a deep relations.h.i.+p. He racked his head. He had already gotten what he wanted, so he thought he could make that much of a compromise.

...Fine, but Ill take one of the guards as well.

Do as you please. One guard posed no threat to Hans or Lara anyway. Like this, the disturbance in the store ended. However, the conflict was far from settled.

* * *

Hans, Lara, Feijadiru, and one guard rented a room. Considering that a festival was going on and the lodging was fairly high-quality, the price of the room was quite expensive, but no one cared about that at all.

So whats the matter? I keep saying this, but say it quickly. I want to return to my friends. Due to the prolonged disturbance, Lara had already lost all the buzz from drinking. She wanted to quickly get rid of her annoying older brother and start drinking again.

Feijadiru shared her sentiments, so unlike his previous actions, he easily accepted her request and said, Ill say it bluntly. Hand over the body of the dragon.

Lara tightly shut her mouth. If one asked what the rarest treasure in the world was right now, most people would immediately point at the dragons body. However, Feijadiru was asking for it as if he was asking for a stone on the side of the road.

However, Lara was not surprised. She didnt know his exact intentions, but she had been expecting an unreasonably pricey request from the moment her brother persistently badgered her. Thus, she calmly asked, Whats your price?

Lara asked to indicate that she would try listening to him first. However, she also predicted that his reply would be just as unreasonable, and her prediction was right on the mark.

Do you know how much damage youve caused us by running away from home?! If you think about that, you shouldnt even mention the word price to me!

Hans listened to their conversation and thought, Hes a real nutcase.