Chapter 92 – The Weeping Woman (Two)

─Oh my, a cute little traveler has arrived. I wonder how you got in.

Someone picked Nero up from behind.

Because the senses weren’t perfectly shared, the voice wasn’t clear.

A voice that echoed as if submerged in water.

Also, being held in that position, Nero couldn’t turn its head to see the person’s face.

─I’m sorry, but this is a place you shouldn’t enter. I should help you find the way out.

Tap-tap— Tap-tap—

With footsteps echoing through the corridor, the field of vision moved forward.

During this, Nero remained quiet and well-behaved without showing any particular resistance.

‘…At least they’re not a bad person.’

They say animals have a supernatural intuition to distinguish between good and evil people.

It’s not exactly clear if the sensation being transmitted through Nero right now is that, but there’s a strong feeling that the other person isn’t evil.

Creak—

The mansion’s front door opened, and the view changed to the garden.

In the distance, the main gate grew closer with each step.

As Ray released the sensory synchronization, he opened his eyes and spoke.

“The mansion owner… I think we can meet them.”

There was a figure that came to mind.

Reddish hue. A wizard. Female.

A voice with a familiar tone.

The probability of such a coincidence was slim, but all the clues pointed to one possibility.

“Oh my.”

The woman straightened her bent back with a gentle smile.

Looking at Nero, who had slipped through the bars and was rubbing against Ray’s feet, she said.

“I didn’t know the little gentleman I saw at the bookstore was a wizard.”

The same gentle smile.

She showed no other signs of surprise.

As expected, this woman had noticed that Nero was a familiar.

“What brings you here? It’s a remote place, not somewhere gentlemen and ladies would typically frequent.”

The woman’s smiling eyes swept over the group.

Philip seemed quite shocked that the mansion owner was the woman they had met at the bookstore.

Veronica also couldn’t completely hide her wariness, having been told the other was a wizard.

Ray stepped forward and asked.

“There’s something I wanted to ask.”

“What might you be curious about?”

“My friends have disappeared. I was wondering if you knew anything.”

A direct question.

The woman’s and the boy’s gazes met.

Ray was the one with an expressionless face, yet it was the woman’s smiling face that gave off a chilling feeling instead.

Time passed in a strange tension, and the woman, lifting the corners of her mouth slightly, said.

“Have you all eaten? I was just about to have lunch.”

The sound of four pairs of footsteps broke the silence of the corridor and spread like waves.

Tap-tap— Tap-tap—

One pair at the very front.

Thud-thud— Thud-thud—

One pair in the middle.

Tap— Tap— Tap— Tap—

And two pairs at the very back.

“All the lights are off.”

“Hmm… Still, maintaining a mansion this size means they can’t be without money.”

At the very back, Veronica and Philip whispered cautiously while observing their surroundings.

As they said, all the lights in the mansion were off.

Sunlight poured through the windows along the walls, so it didn’t seem to hinder movement much, but there was no apparent reason to keep the lights off.

Moreover, the further they walked into the mansion, the fewer windows there were.

Meaning the amount of light illuminating the interior was also decreasing.

The view gradually grew dim, giving a feeling as if they were being sucked into a dense forest.

“Wouldn’t be surprised if a ghost or something showed up.”

“I told you, there’s no such thing as ghosts!”

Just as Philip and Veronica were bickering in low voices.

Ahaha—! So… Haha—!

Heehee—! Yesterday… I… Heehee—!

Dozens of laughter sounds came from the other end of the corridor.

Those voices Ray heard when sharing senses with Nero.

Philip and Veronica, who hadn’t yet been informed of this fact, were startled and shut their mouths.

Then, looking somewhat intimidated, they hurriedly followed behind Ray.

The place they arrived at was in front of the dining room.

The woman opened the dining room door with a vigorous gesture.

“Welcome! Madam!”

“We’ve been waiting! Let’s start the meal together!”

Along with bright and cheerful welcoming voices, the view brightened.

Squinting their eyes, they saw a large table placed there.

A rectangular, banquet-style table.

Around the prepared feast, 18 children, including Petro who had disappeared yesterday, were seated.

Behind the empty seat at the far end, a large arched window poured in a massive amount of sunlight.

“Madam! Please sit down!”

“We’ve placed the forks and knives properly too! Just like the table manners you taught us last time!”

The children enthusiastically spoke to the woman.

They didn’t even glance at Ray’s group, not so much ignoring them intentionally but seemingly because all their attention was focused on the woman.

“Sorry to keep you waiting. You must all be very hungry.”

The woman, smiling, walked forward, making eye contact with each child as she spoke.

“We’ll start the meal right away. But first, there are some friends I’d like to introduce.”

The woman looked back at the group.

Along with that, 18 pairs of eyes simultaneously looked at the group.

“Such attention… especially from the boys, is burdensome.”

“…I’m a little scared.”

Under the piercing stares, Philip and Veronica gulped audibly.

“They are friends who will be joining us for today’s meal. There might be someone you know among them. Please welcome them warmly.”

Clapclapclapclapclapclap—!

“Nice to meet you! It’s the first time I’ve seen you, which street are you from?”

“Come on in! You’re really handsome!”

Amid the pouring hospitality, the group followed the woman inside.

“Joseph, and Hormel, could you move your seats aside for a moment? I’d like to talk with the new friends who came today.”

“Yes, Madam!”

“Understood, Madam!”

At the end by the window, the presumed empty seat for the woman.

The children sitting diagonally across from it abruptly stood up, picked up their utensils and trays, and moved elsewhere.

The group followed the woman and took their seats.

“You probably have many questions, shall we talk while having our meal?”

“……”

Ray looked at the emotions filling the woman’s vessel.

Anger, hatred, regret, sorrow.

The types and distribution of emotions filling the vessel were no different from when he had seen them at the bookstore.

The doubt Ray harbored also remained.

‘Why hasn’t it exploded yet?’

With that volume of emotion, it should have erupted and overflowed long ago.

Because emotions, when accumulated, inevitably explode eventually.

Of course, there were cases where emotions didn’t explode but filled the entire vessel.

‘Like when I infused artificial emotions into Skyle.’

But that was a special case where emotions were carefully and meticulously poured over time.

Also, some emotional release had occurred, like casually taking objects on the table.

‘Moreover, the accumulated greed gave a very static feeling.’

Like cheese that had densely congealed and hardened.

But the woman’s emotions were different.

Each type of emotion was violently churning inside the vessel like heated air.

A state where the emotions could explode at any moment without being strange.

‘But how on earth…’

Is she maintaining such a calm exterior?

Clink.

While Ray was lost in thought, the woman picked up her utensils first.

Clink. Clink.

Then the children also began their meal.

Not in the ravenous manner ingrained from street life, but in a neat way using forks and knives.

Conversation also flowed in a calm tone, as if observing table manners.

‘Come to think of it, their clothes are all neat too.’

‘Madam must have changed them all.’

Philip and Veronica, who had been exchanging glances, looked at Ray.

It seemed like they should follow since everyone had started eating, but they were asking if it was okay.

Ray nodded.

The woman’s vessel was full of negative emotions, but they weren’t directed at them.

It meant there was no reason to tamper with the food.

With Ray’s permission, Philip and Veronica also slowly began their meal.

Clink— Clink—

“We followed the reddish hue. We did.”

Ray fastened the first button of the conversation.

“You saw it, I see. I tried to be careful so people wouldn’t be surprised, but…”

She didn’t look like someone who had been caught doing so.

The woman parted her lips with a soft smile.

“I’ve been living here for ten years now. For recuperation.”

The following story didn’t contain much information.

Her name was Renia, she was a 2nd Circle wizard, and recently, feeling pity for street children, she had been rescuing them.

“I had an unfortunate accident before. Feeling like the world was collapsing, I didn’t leave the mansion for quite a long time. But recently, I overcame that sorrow. Now I’m spending happy days with these children.”

The woman looked at the children with a benevolent smile.

During this, one particular type of emotion in her vessel actually swelled greatly.

Mana tinged with a faint crimson like warm sunlight.

It was the emotion people call maternal love.

While listening to the story, Ray observed Philip and Veronica’s reactions.

“……”

Philip had a somewhat dazed expression, and Ray could easily guess the reason.

‘Probably because of the mention of ten years ago. Philip said he was separated from his mother ten years ago too.’

Philip already knew that Madam Renia wasn’t his mother.

But the mention of ten years ago seemed to have revived the possibility of ‘what if’ in his mind.

And Veronica.

“You said rescue. Did you ask for the children’s consen─”

She abruptly swallowed her question.

Because the children currently having the meal had such happy faces.

Faces so happy they would never have worn while living on the streets.

“……”

Veronica fell silent.

After that, calm questions about each other were exchanged over the table.

“That necklace, the shape is very pretty.”

Ray asked about the necklace to get a clue about Mercread.

“Might I ask… where you lived before?”

Philip asked a question tinged with lingering attachment.

“How exactly did you come to think you should rescue the children?”

Veronica asked about the children.

But none of the questions received satisfactory answers.

Because whenever a specific question came up, the woman skillfully evaded the answer.

“Then, by any chance, what kind of life do the children lead here…”

“Young lady, you’re so pretty. Like a doll. When you’re a little older, you’ll make many boys cry. Hehe.”

“Ah, no. Me… pretty… hehe.”

“But your hair seems quite damaged. Traveling a lot will do that, I suppose. There’s a good remedy, would you like to hear it?”

“Yes! Please! Just a moment… I need to write something down… Huh?!”

Veronica, who had been diligently twisting into a pretzel shape while taking out her notebook, suddenly snapped back to her senses.

It was like this.

While conversing, by the time you came to your senses, the previous question was already forgotten.

‘I, is this adult conversational skill?’

Veronica felt an insurmountable, huge wall in the woman.

She desperately looked at the Rainbow Expedition’s negotiator who should break through this difficulty.

“……”

Philip, with a dazed expression, was blankly staring at the woman.

Unfortunately, Philip, who should have been grilling the other party, was temporarily out of order.

“But that’s amazing. A wizard at such a young age. I also started magic around a similar time, but I didn’t know how to handle Familiar Magic.”

The woman showed great interest in the fact that Ray and Veronica were wizards.

Especially towards Ray, she asked more than twice the questions she asked Veronica.

During this.

“Oh my, look at me. I didn’t bring the tea to drink after the meal. Could you wait a moment?”

The woman left her seat briefly.

The door closed.

The moment the footsteps grew distant.

All the utensils that had been moving calmly stopped, and the faintly spreading laughter ceased.

18 pairs of eyes were staring straight at the three members of the group.