Chapter 26: The Man in Black
On a springlike morning beneath a clear, pale-blue sky.
Lydia was busy cooking in the kitchen.
What she was making was a strawberry cheesecake.
She mixed cheese, sugar, and eggs in a bowl, added strawberry purée, and poured it into a mold lined with crushed cookies.
After placing it into the preheated oven and waiting a while, a pleasant strawberry aroma began to fill the house.
‘…It should be about ready.’
Opening the oven with excitement, she found the cheesecake baked to perfection, dotted with strawberry bits.
The scent of baked cheese made a sigh slip from her lips.
‘This is definitely the smell of happiness.’
Feeling delighted, Lydia took the cake out of the oven.
She glanced up at the clock and murmured, “It’s already this late.”
Then she stepped outside and called out to Leohart, who was checking the wall outside.
“It’s about time.”
After that, she began preparing to go out.
She cut the cheesecake in half, placed one portion on a shelf, carefully wrapped the other, and packed it into a basket along with the medicines she had prepared.
Smiling at Leohart as he waited by the door, she said, “Sorry to keep you waiting,” put on her hat, and stepped outside.
The forest was covered in fresh green leaves, and cheerful birdsong echoed from everywhere.
Lydia felt lighthearted.
Clinging to Leohart’s arm as they walked, she breathed in the clear spring air and said, “It’s a lovely day today too.”
Leohart, for his part, seemed cheerful, but there was also a hint of vigilance in his expression.
She felt worried, but decided to wait until he chose to speak.
The two of them arrived in town, carried along by the spring breeze.
They walked slowly beneath rows of young green street trees.
Then, just as they were about to reach the Adventurers’ Guild, Leohart, who had been silent since entering town, spoke up quietly.
“Lydia, would you mind going ahead today?”
“Huh?”
Lydia blinked in surprise.
Until now, he had never let her go to the Adventurers’ Guild alone, yet today he was saying it was fine.
‘What’s going on?’
When she looked up at his face, it was the same as ever, but she could see a pleading look deep in his eyes.
‘There must be a reason.’
Thinking that, Lydia nodded with a smile.
“Alright, I understand. I’ll go on ahead then. Is it okay if we head home together as usual?”
“Thank you. Of course.”
Lydia waved to Leohart and headed for the Adventurers’ Guild.
As she closed the door behind her, she glanced outside and saw that Leohart was already gone.
‘Did something happen?’
With that thought in mind, she went to the counter, where Miranda stood up with a worried look.
“What about Leohart? Did he perhaps fall ill…?”
“No, it seems he had something to take care of, so we split up just nearby.”
“I see, that does happen sometimes, doesn’t it.”
Miranda looked both relieved and slightly surprised.
After that, Lydia headed to the room in the back of the guild as usual.
Together with Emma and Hanna, she analyzed feedback from adventurers who had actually used the developed magic tools, discussing possible improvements and running experiments.
While listening to the two of them talk, Lydia glanced out the window.
Normally she would have been completely absorbed, losing track of time, but today she felt oddly unsettled.
‘Is Leohart alright, I wonder.’
Meanwhile, Leohart—
After seeing Lydia safely to the entrance of the Adventurers’ Guild, he turned on his heel and began striding quickly through town.
‘…I knew it. Someone is watching.’
The gaze he had felt ever since entering town.
To identify its source, he slipped into a narrow back alley.
Turning corner after corner, he emerged onto a deserted street.
Climbing up a rain gutter to the roof, he swiftly got behind a black-clad man who was glancing around nervously.
Before the man could fully turn around, Leohart swept his legs out from under him, pinned him to the roof, and twisted his arm up behind his back.
“…You’ve been watching us quite intently, haven’t you.”
“I—I wasn’t doing anything.”
The man tried to break free as he answered in a shaken voice, but Leohart pressed him down harder.
Sensing the man trying to activate magic, Leohart mercilessly twisted his arm further.
The man let out a groan, sweat beading on his forehead as he cried out in pain.
“S-Sorry! I—I wasn’t after you!”
“So it was the woman you were with.”
“Y-Yeah! I thought she might be the woman I’m looking for!”
“And who is this woman you’re searching for?”
“A silver-haired elf!”
‘As I thought.’
Looking down at the man with cold eyes, Leohart calmly gathered his thoughts.
From the man’s wording, it seemed he wasn’t fully certain Lydia was an elf.
‘If that’s the case, I’ll deceive him completely.’
Leohart suddenly released him and brushed off his hands.
The man scrambled to his feet, clutching his arm and jumping back, glaring at Leohart with blue eyes.
“W-Why did you let me go?”
“Because I realized you had the wrong person.”
“The wrong person?”
“Yes. You’re looking for an elf, aren’t you?”
The man studied Leohart with a probing gaze.
“…So that woman isn’t an elf?”
“That’s right.”
“Are you her lover?”
“No. I’m her guard.”
As he said that, Leohart fixed the man with an icy stare.
“So, what will you do? If you intend to harm her, I will eliminate you with everything I have.”
Leohart placed a hand on the hilt of his sword.
Faced with the overwhelming killing intent, the man took an involuntary step back.
With a resentful look, he spat out,
“Hmph. I have no time to deal with an unrelated human woman.”
With that parting remark, he leapt down from the roof.
From beneath the edge of the man’s hat, a glimpse of silver hair flashed.
‘An elf, then.
And not an ordinary one, judging by those movements.’
After watching the man head off in the opposite direction from the Adventurers’ Guild, Leohart jumped down from the roof.
Walking through town on guard, he sank into thought.
‘From what he said, it seems he’s checking women one by one who fit the description.’
Thinking that, he circled the area around the Adventurers’ Guild.
After confirming there were no suspicious presences, he headed toward the guild—just as Lydia was coming out.
She looked relieved when she saw him.
“Leohart, was everything alright earlier?”
“Yes, everything is fine. Sorry for worrying you.”
“I’m glad. Then let’s head home.”
A small, smooth hand slipped into his.
He gently closed his fingers around it.
He resolved in his heart that anything threatening her happiness, no matter what it was, must be eliminated.
After that, he finished their shopping with Lydia while staying on high alert.
Even as he smiled at her, he paid the utmost attention to their surroundings.
And so, maintaining that vigilance, he returned slowly to the forest with Lydia, contemplating what to do next.