Unintended Witnesses

“And to think he said he never considered a future with Agniele…….”

He scammed us.

Luke, having reached that cold conclusion, carefully massaged his legs, which had begun to fall asleep.

“At this point, didn’t Ensi lie to us?”

Donovan whispered grumpily, coaxing and soothing the spirits that were working hard to conceal their presence.

“It seems so. I guess he said that just to make us reflect deeply on ourselves. No matter how much I think about it, those aren’t the actions of someone with no intention of getting deeply involved.”

Even if he had changed his mind, wasn’t he being too proactive?

He wondered if a person could truly change that much. And in an instant, no less.

It felt like it had only been about a week since he heard that nonsense from Ensi about not considering the future.

Being in the middle of such a thick, pink atmosphere, Luke and Donovan had instinctively hidden themselves in the bushes.

They watched the two with eyes colored by a sense of betrayal.

To be more precise, they watched Ensi, who was actively approaching Agniele.

“But when are we leaving?”

“……I have no idea.”

Would it be better to just leave?

But that was also problematic. They were in urgent need of Ensi’s opinion.

There were too many tasks assigned to the two of them to simply wait patiently for someone who didn’t know when they would return.

However, they also didn’t want to interrupt the two who were stuck together as if they were hugging.

Through the numerous romance-only events they experienced last year, Luke and Donovan had learned that you wouldn’t see anything good if you tactlessly interrupted at a time like that.

While they were stuck between a rock and a hard place, Ensi and Agniele were steadily carrying on their conversation.

Donovan, who had briefly looked away thanks to a spirit complaining about being tired, flapped his arms in surprise when he found the two even closer than before.

“Hup!”

Their hands, which had been toward the ground, were now interlaced.

He didn’t know who had laced their fingers first, but they were certainly bold.

Donovan felt his hands itch for some reason. His mouth felt empty too.

How should he put it? It felt like a bag of popcorn would be perfect right about now.

“I wonder if they’ll end up kissing at this rate.”

“No way. No matter what, they haven’t even established a relationship yet.”

“Was that so? Did neither of them say something like ‘let’s date’?”

“As far as I know, yes.”

“Uh…… come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve heard anything like that either.”

Is this what dating is like for people these days?

Moving forward naturally even without explicitly saying they are dating?

He pondered for a moment, but after witnessing Agniele’s hand touch Ensi’s waist, Donovan decided to let it be.

They would handle it themselves. It was Ensi, of all people.

More than that, the problem was his legs falling asleep.

He tried to endure it by circulating mana, but he was reaching his limit.

Luke seemed to be in the same boat, as veins were bulging on the hand he used to lean against a tree.

The good news was that the situation between the two seemed to be reaching a lull.

The two, who had unwillingly watched their friend’s romance from the front row, waited with bated breath for a more perfect moment.

“Don’t you think it’s about time we stepped out?”

“It does seem like the perfect timing.”

“Right, then shall I hear what business you had that made you hide and watch like rats?”

“Hieek—!”

Silence had just descended between Ensi and Agniele.

So, after exchanging signals with their eyes, Luke and Donovan had spoken up to exchange their exact intentions.

They flinched and trembled at the voice that naturally cut in.

“Wh-when did you find out?”

Even Luke, who never lost his cool regardless of the situation, was so surprised that he stuttered.

Ensi, who had distanced himself from Agniele at some point, was standing with his weight on one leg, staring at the spot where the two were.

Luke and Donovan were currently sitting on the ground because their legs had given out from the shock when Ensi suddenly joined the conversation.

It also meant the dense trees and bushes were still hiding them.

“Partway through. If you’re going to use spirits, you should be thorough. Donovan, your concealment wavered along with your emotions.”

Does that mean he knew they were there all along and yet stayed stuck to Agniele without a care?

Luke, clicking his tongue at the bold behavior of Ensi and Agniele, let out a dry cough.

Standing up awkwardly, he avoided Ensi’s sharp gaze.

The embarrassment was doubled once they emerged from the bushes that had hidden them.

Luke brushed the dirt off his pants and signaled Donovan to get up quickly.

“We came to confirm what we couldn’t ask yesterday because it was late. First, the range for the magic isn’t clear, and we didn’t get to ask what you wanted. Is the goal simply to deter intruders? Or is it interception? Neutralization is also possible.”

“Interception is too loud. Neutralization would also be a hassle if a commotion breaks out, so it’s better to say the primary goal is deterrence.”

Rummaging around, Donovan, who had no choice but to get up at Luke’s signal, gave a faint smile and a greeting to the spirit that had cleaned his soiled clothes.

“You mean you’ll set stages by dividing the zones, right? Looking at the scale, it’ll be hard to finish within a week, Luke.”

“……That won’t do. It’ll be a problem if I lose more than a week. I’ll have to try even if it means cutting back on sleep.”

“If you go to the research institute, you’ll be able to get some basic materials. It was under development.”

Would it have killed you to tell us that earlier……!

Luke, who hadn’t slept well lately, felt a surge of irritation, but thanks to Donovan quickly grabbing his shoulder and pressing down, he was able to suppress his emotions in time.

“I should have told you yesterday, but I only thought of it once I lay down in bed. It’s already been two years since I ordered the development…… and there haven’t been any notable results yet.”

It seemed to be because they were aiming for perfection.

Because his initial order was to make it so that perfect security could be maintained with only artifacts.

Now that Donovan was here, they could get help from the spirits.

Under the premise of receiving help from spirits, wouldn’t even an unfinished artifact show decent performance?

If it was truly terrible, Luke would just have to improve it.

“Right, I see…… Next, about designating the range—.”

Luke trailed off, gesturing toward Agniele.

It was an action asking if it was okay for that man to hear.

“Deterrence based on the walls, neutralization from the greenhouse, and interception for the mansion.”

But Ensi spoke the details without a care.

Engraving that in their minds, Luke and Donovan let out a sigh inwardly.

No matter how you looked at it, wasn’t he lacking far too much caution?

“Neutralization based on the greenhouse? That’s too broad. You need to reduce it.”

Worry piled up, but Luke decided to reduce his own work first.

In the first place, Agniele was right beside him; it would be strange to tell him to be on guard in front of him.

“How about limiting the range to just the greenhouse?”

“That wouldn’t be difficult. But is neutralization enough? Interception would be easier, wouldn’t it?”

“It would be problematic if they died.”

If they died easily, they wouldn’t be able to extract any information, which was problematic in its own way.

The words Ensi spoke with a smile on his lips were light, but the meaning behind them was not.

“Why the mansion—, ah. Emma and Noah were there.”

“I understand for now. Since I’ve confirmed what you want, I should start working. Sorry for the interruption. We’ll be going now, so keep doing what you were—.”

“Luke, stop. Then Ensi, we’ll head out first, so enjoy the rest of your walk.”

Donovan stopped Luke, who was about to add unnecessary words, and immediately left the spot.

Luke, who was being dragged away by Donovan in a daze, scratched his head awkwardly.

“Was it better not to say that last part?”

“In my opinion, yes.”

“This is hard.”

He had said it out of a desire to be considerate.

Donovan, who understood Luke’s psychology at least roughly, let out a small laugh.

“From what I can see, Luke, you seem more ignorant about romance than I am.”

“Mmm, that’s true.”

No matter how much he developed his intuition, there were clear limits.

If this hadn’t been something he experienced last year, he would have broken the atmosphere and interrupted instead of hiding.

If he had, well, he didn’t even want to imagine it. In the first place, he couldn’t even imagine what would have happened.

“So what. We aren’t in a romance genre anyway. More than that…… once the security reinforcement is finished, I think I’ll have to leave immediately.”

“Have you already found a clue? I didn’t hear any separate information.”

“Actually, this was information from the original work. My memory wasn’t clear, so it took a long time to piece the information together.”

“What about the Sun Herb management?”

“I checked the greenhouse the day I came to the capital, and everything was in good condition. Seeing that there are only high-quality products, it seems Noah and Emma managed them with great care.”

The greenhouse was a place where other servants were forbidden from entering, and even the gardener could not go in.

For just two people to manage the Sun Herbs filling that vast greenhouse and maintain such quality—it must have taken an unimaginable amount of labor.

“Actually, it’s only natural that the quality is good. Ensi used Sun Herb even before he met me, and that means he consistently obtained Sun Herb of a quality high enough to be used as a medicinal herb.”

Since Sun Herb was a rare herb, the amount available on the market was insufficient to meet Ensi’s consumption.

That also meant it was inevitable to cultivate it directly to obtain a sufficient amount of Sun Herb.

The person in question, Ensi, only showed great talent in killing Sun Herb, so there must have been personnel to manage it on his behalf.

“I guess you can go with a peaceful mind.”

“Yes. It was a needless worry. More than anything, Ensi has spirits by his side too.”

The image of the spirits avoiding Ensi when they first met was still vivid, yet now they didn’t leave his side even when he was in the same space.

If they had built that much of a friendship, they would surely lend a hand even when Ensi was in danger.

Above all, the new promise the two had shared was to provide help exactly once, when his life was in danger.

“There is one thing weighing on my mind, though……”

“What is it?”

“Mmm, there’s nothing certain right now.”

He could just leave a warning before he departed.

The fact that he still hadn’t completely figured out what kind of disposition had changed weighed on his mind, but he couldn’t stay in one place and dither forever.