The Master of the Brave - Chapter 140
The Master of the Brave
Chapter 140. Reunion
Laura’s house, located on the farm she ran, was situated near a forest, off the main road and inside a lane. If you walked through the woods, you could get to the house without being seen. There was a fence around the house and cows were grazing quietly in the crops.
“How will Lina-chan be doing?” whispered Leticia happily to Wynn.
Laura’s adopted daughter, Ifelina, was a childhood friend of both Wynn and Leticia. They were on an important mission, but were also eager to be reunited with their friend. At the end of a road that stretched between the fences that enclosed the cattle was the main house and a shed for storing farm implements. A chicken coop had been built next to the house and the hens pecked freely on the ground around the house. They were familiar with the people and did not even try to avoid them when they approached.
“I thought that, being an acquaintance of Her Highness, Leticia-sama and Wynn-kun, this place would be under the surveillance of Prince Neumann’s faction, but there is no sign of it.” Kelvin meticulously examined the footprints left on the ground. The only visible tracks were those of the cattle, the woman and girl, and the ruts of a wagon. If knights or armed soldiers had been visiting, they would have left a clear trail with their weight. At least there was no trace of any armed visitors in recent days.
“There was no sign of anyone watching from afar either.” Said Wedge. Wedge’s eyesight was better than most, as he could easily make out the soldiers hiding behind the buildings at the city gate.
But as they neared the entrance, Leticia stopped.
“Wait, Onii-chan. Apart from Laura and Lina’s presences, there are more people in the house!”
Those words made everyone tense up.
Could it be an ambush? A shiver ran down Wynn’s back.
If they were waiting in the house in anticipation of Wynn’s arrival, they could have taken Laura and Ifelina hostage. No, hostages would still be fine. Ifelina was an Avian. If her true identity were known, it would be very likely that she would be taken. Avians had uncommon power, to the point that they were sometimes revered as gods. And with beauty beyond human comprehension, there were many who would wish to acquire a specimen. Each of the hands reached for their swords. At that moment, the sliding door at the entrance made a rattling noise. Someone was trying to get out. And who came out in front of them, looking at the door with bated breath, was…
“Letty-chan! Wynn-oniichan!”
The one who jumped out, waving her long, loose clothes, was Ifelina.
“Lina-chan!”
“Well, long time no see!”
Leticia bent down and hugged Ifelina, who leaped toward her.
“If Lina is safe, then it seems that whoever is inside is not an enemy.” Said a relieved Wynn, and smiled at his friends who were still shrouded in tension.
“I see.”
“Right. If the person inside were someone with intentions of harming them in some way, Lina-chan would be the first to be kidnapped…”
As Wynn said, Laura and three other people appeared from inside the house. Wynn and the others looked at the figures in amazement.
“Seri-san! And Abel! Even Liesbert-san…”
It was the figure of Seri and the others who were supposed to have left for the elven capital, Elnasa. Seri smiled and bowed his head.
“It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other? Welcome back? I’m not sure what it is… welcome back, I guess. Anyway, welcome back, everyone.”
And finally, Leticia, who was holding Ifelina in her arms, stood up when she saw another person leaving the house.
“I knew you would come if I waited for you here. Letty, long time no see.”
“Tiara. I never expected you to come here.”
“I heard about what happened in Lyon from Seri and the others. There’s something I wanted to tell you about it.” Tiara loosened her lips slightly to express her joy at the reunion, but her expression quickly tightened and she appealed to Leticia.
Tiara seemed to want to start talking right away, but Laura, the landlady, spoke up:
“You shouldn’t stand out here talking, so please come in. I’m sure you’d all prefer to stay out of sight, wouldn’t you?”
“Thank you for your concern.”
Laura’s words were met with a bow on Kelvin’s behalf. He bowed out of politeness, but also because he was sincerely impressed by her perceptiveness. Laura’s farm was located on the outskirts of the city, but was surrounded by hills and meadows. As far as Wedge could see, there didn’t seem to be a soul around, but it would be possible to see them from the top of a hill.
“I’m sorry, Laura-san. I’m sorry so many people came to the house. I’ll explain what happened.”
“I don’t mind, Wynn-kun. We love to have guests. We have a big house, and we don’t mind at all. And we can talk about the situation later. I’m sure it’s something important about you and Letty-chan, isn’t it? Anyway, please come in.”
“Thank you.”
With that, Laura welcomed Wynn and the others into the house.
They left their luggage by the living room wall and sat in a circle around the fireplace in the center of the room. Then they all sighed, looked at each other and smiled.
“It’s a little bitter, but it will take the edge off. It’s hot, so be careful.” Meanwhile, Laura brought them each a ceramic mug. It was an aromatic tea. When Wynn and the others were surprised by her quick response to their sudden visit, Laura explained what was going on. “Indeed, about half an hour before you arrived, Lina told us that her Wynn-oniichan and Letty-chan were coming. So we got ready and waited for you.”
“You know, the wind tells me. It told me that Wynn-oniichan and Letty-chan were coming.” Ifelina smiled and said. The pure white wings on her back flapped eagerly, as if to show her excitement.
“I have also prepared hot water, so please go and dust yourselves off from the trip before we talk. It’s especially hard for a young girl to be dressed like that, isn’t it?”
At Laura’s suggestion, Leticia, Cornelia and Lino nodded with sparkling eyes. When they raised their heads, Leticia and Cornelia blushed, probably remembering the time they used the hot water with Wynn. Wynn also remembered that time and couldn’t help but look at them both. Then, the gazes of the three of them met and they looked down at the floor. Wynn could also feel his ears burning.
“Letty-chan, what’s wrong? Is something wrong with your face? Oh, Cornelia-san too!” Ifelina, who was on Leticia’s lap, looked at her with a curious look.
“Eh, it’s nothing! Cornelia-san, you can use the hot water first.”
“I-I see. Then, I’ll go in first without hesitation.”
“Lina-chan, do you want to take a bath together later?”
“I will! I’ll take a bath with Letty-chan!”
Laura seemed to guess something when she saw Wynn, Leticia and Cornelia. After looking at them, smiling, she went back to the kitchen where the stove was. Kelvin was sipping his tea with a clear face, as if he didn’t care. And Locke, Lino and Wedge…
“Hey, hey! Is this really…?”
“This is unbelievable, unbelievable, so unbelievable, Wedge! If dad saw this, he’d cry for joy~.”
“…”
The three of them stared wide-eyed at a feather that Lino had kindly picked up with trembling hands. The feather was pure white, without even a hint of color, and seemed to be wrapped in a soft white light.
“Oh, that’s Lina’s feather. I’m sorry. They seem to fall out naturally sometimes. I had already cleaned, but that one must have slipped…”
“No, no, no… It’s fine! Really!”
When Laura turned and excused herself in front of the fireplace, Locke shook his head.
“It’s definitely the feather of an Avian. That’s why there was residue of powerful magic in the air.”
While sipping her tea expressionlessly, Tiara said that to the three who were excited about that single feather.
“Wow… so this is what an Avian feather looks like~.” Lino looked at the feather. “I saw one that my father bought from an adventurer a long time ago~. He said that he could make several kinds of powerful magic potions with just one of these…”
“For just one of them you can get a solid dozen gold coins. My family’s Trading Company would buy them at that price.”
“A dozen gold pieces?”
Wynn, hearing Locke’s murmur, asked, and his friend nodded.
“That’s right. As Tiara-sama and Lino said, Avian feathers have powerful magical residue in them, and are treated as ingredients for various magical potions. But they are rarely seen in public. The amount in circulation is very small, and the price is very high.”
“Wow.” Wynn looked at Ifelina, who was sitting on Leticia’s lap looking relieved. The great magical power of an Avian surpassed not only humans but even elves, and even a single feather was worth dozens of gold coins.
“So you have to make sure that no one knows about the girl, except those you can trust.”
“Yes, I know, and I trust all of you, which is why I brought you here.”
Wynn nodded and looked at Kelvin. The only concern he had was that Kelvin, who was a person he trusted, was not a friend, but his boss. In the Lemmrousell Empire there was Leticia the Brave, who had supreme and unparalleled military power, and Ifelina, who might be the second most magically powerful person after her. She could become a tremendous attraction even when she was just a child. However, Kelvin smiled and set the mug down.
“Don’t worry, I won’t inform the Order. Well, I’ll have to inform the Captain and Prince Alfred, but that’s okay. You can be sure the two of them won’t want to incur Leticia-sama’s wrath either.”
If you were to hurt Ifelina, you would definitely incur Leticia’s wrath. A desperate future could be observed, so no one would be foolish enough to try to do anything to her. Besides, Kelvin personally preferred to go out in front and pierce the enemy with his own power, rather than sweeping them away with the enormous magical power of his companions. He would not feel comfortable introducing Ifelina to the Knights, who might fundamentally alter their fighting style accordingly, because it was outside of his personal preferences.
However, her existence should be hidden from the other countries and any other conspirators. After this battle is over, it would be best to think of some way to keep hidden guards protecting her. Kelvin swallowed the last sip of his tea and let out a sigh, muttering in his mind. The tea had a strong bitter taste, but it cleared his head. Then he got up to get another mug of Laura’s tea. He smiled at Laura and said: “If you don’t mind, may I know what brand of tea it is?”
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