novelraw Chapter 5
Chapter 5
Ch.5 Mr. Lee! Just Get Caught!
Leah and Ellis.
They sat facing each other at the third-floor dining table.
“So, our Leah. Have you eaten yet?”
Leah shook her head.
“Is that so? Then let’s eat together when my son comes home. How have you been?”
Leah gave a small nod.
“But… where did Master go?”
At Leah’s question, Ellis replied,
“I’m not sure. I haven’t seen Mr. Hans since he moved away.”
Hearing this, Leah’s spirits sank.
“Right. How have you been, Leah? Not long after you left saying you’d join the Hero party, I heard a mage named Leah had joined the Hero party—I was so surprised. Could that Leah possibly be you?”
What kind of party was the Hero party?
It was a party composed of the strongest individuals from each realm, assembled to defeat the Demon King. They had, in fact, succeeded in defeating the Demon King.
Who would ever imagine that the mage of the Hero party, who had triumphed over the Demon King, was this petite girl?
Thus, Ellis found it hard to believe Leah was the same Leah from the Hero party.
She even assumed it must be a case of identical names.
But not long after rumors of the Demon King’s defeat spread, Leah coincidentally returned to her master’s house, and a thought crossed Ellis’s mind:
Perhaps she really had defeated the Demon King…
“Yes. It’s me. I’m that Leah, Grandma.”
Ellis couldn’t hide her astonishment. This small, delicate girl was Leah, the main mage of the Hero party.
“Hoho… Leah, you really succeeded in defeating the Demon King?”
Ellis had first met Leah about four years ago.
Compared to then, Leah hadn’t grown much taller, but Ellis felt she had become a bit more mature.
Back then, she had been so mischievous, but now she had grown into a lady—look how demure she seemed.
Thinking this, Ellis looked Leah over.
When Leah was young, she had never hidden her affection for her master.
To an almost excessive degree.
[Master! Date me! Date meee!]
She had practically been a brat, but Ellis, mistakenly believing Leah had matured into a refined lady since then, was taken aback when—
“So, is someone else living on the second floor now?”
“No, not really. Strangely, after Mr. Hans left, no one has lived there. Though occasionally, a strange man is seen lingering nearby.”
Leah’s previously indifferent expression changed—as if she had caught a crucial clue.
“What? A strange man?”
“Yes. He rummages through the mailbox of that house. Well… it’s been vacant, and he claimed to know Mr. Hans, so I didn’t say anything. But sometimes, he gives me a creepy feeling.”
Leah, sensing she had found a lead regarding her master’s whereabouts, pressed further.
“When did you last see him?”
“Not long ago… was it around the time people gathered in the square after hearing rumors of the Demon King’s defeat? Why do you ask, Leah?”
“Actually, I’ve been sending letters here all this time… and I kept receiving replies from Master. Maybe that man really does know Master? Do you remember what he looked like?”
At that moment—
“Mom! I’m home.”
A man who appeared to be in his 30s opened the front door and entered.
“Huh? Who’s this? Isn’t this Leah?”
Peter’s eyes widened when he saw Leah.
“Uncle Peter, it’s been a while.”
“Wow! You’ve completely become a lady. So, is Mr. Hans doing well?”
At the mention of Hans, Leah shook her head, looking as if she might cry. Her eyes glistened with tears.
“No… I haven’t seen him yet.”
Peter tilted his head, puzzled.
“Huh? Then why did you come here? Didn’t you come to see Mr. Hans first, then visit us?”
Leah’s tears, which had been trembling on the verge of falling, finally streamed down her face.
“Hic… Master… Master sold the house and hicc…”
She had only asked a simple question, yet Leah began crying as if the world had wronged her. Ellis and Peter were flustered, unsure of what to do.
It was understandable—she was suddenly gripped by the fear that her beloved master might have moved away to avoid her, and the thought filled her with deep sorrow.
“Don’t cry, dear. There, there. You’re a grown-up now; you shouldn’t cry.”
“Master is mean… Hic… If he was moving… he should’ve told me… Waaah!”
As Ellis tried to comfort her, Leah burst into loud sobs. Watching her, Peter muttered,
“If it’s Mr. Hans… you might find him at the Pisa Trading Company.”
—Swish!
Leah’s head turned so fast it seemed frightening.
“What did you say?”
Though she still looked like a cute girl with tear-filled eyes, Peter inexplicably felt afraid.
‘What… what is this? It feels like the time I encountered an ogre while working as a mercenary…’
Fear… an emotion that stirred something primal within Peter.
He was deeply bewildered.
After all… he was feeling fear while looking at Leah, who appeared ordinary—or rather, adorable. Swallowing hard, his throat dry with fear, Peter heard—
—Gulp.
“What. did. you. just. say? Un.cle. Pe.ter?”
At Leah’s murderous tone, Peter couldn’t answer easily.
It felt as if he were facing an ogre in the forest.
“Well… I mean… the Pisa Trading Company… it’s the largest company in the empire…”
At Peter’s words, Leah replied in a sweet voice—though her expression was anything but sweet.
“And?”
‘Am I… trembling in front of little Leah right now?’
What he was feeling now was difficult to call mere ‘strength’.
It was an indescribable sensation.
‘Surely she can’t actually be the mage of the Hero party?’
Thinking this, Peter spoke.
“Mr. Hans is the chairman there… so I’ve seen him a few times.”
The moment she heard this, Leah jumped up from her seat, grabbed her luggage, and said,
“Grandma Ellis, Uncle Peter, I’ll see you later!”
—Thud-thud-thud!
Leah sprinted down the stairs.
As she reached the bottom, panting heavily, she climbed onto a nearby carriage. The driver, sounding tired, announced his intention to leave.
“Kid, sorry, but I’m clocking out now.”
At those words, Leah flicked a gold coin from her bosom.
“Take me to the Pisa Trading Company immediately.”
“Yes! Right away, miss!”
The driver, feeling like he’d struck gold, pulled the reins.
After all, one gold coin equaled a full day’s wages.
“I’ll get you to the Pisa Trading Company quickly, yah!”
The carriage began to move.
But Leah, dissatisfied with its speed, frowned.
“Can’t you go any faster?”
At Leah’s sharp tone, the driver shook the reins and pulled out a whip he had hidden under his seat.
‘I usually love my horses and avoid using the whip, but…’
—Swish! Crack!
Startled by the harsh lash on its back, the horse galloped even faster, and Leah wore a satisfied expression.
By the time the sun had fully set and the moon hung high in the vast sky,
Leah finally arrived at the Pisa Trading Company and tossed another gold coin to the driver.
“Thank you. This is a tip.”
As she headed toward the main gate of the Pisa Trading Company…
“Halt! This is the Pisa Trading Company. State your business!”
Seeing the guards blocking her way, Leah urgently said,
“Master! I’ve come to see my master!”
The guards exchanged glances, then spoke.
“Who is this ‘master’ you’re looking for here?”
At that, Leah replied,
“Master Hans.”
Hans?
In a massive company like the Pisa Trading Company, there must be more than one or two men named Hans.
Only then did the guards properly examine Leah’s appearance—the robe, the staff, the boots typical of mages. It was the standard mage attire.
“We’re a trading company; it’s unlikely your master, a mage, would be here. We’ve never heard of hiring any mages.”
“Hans, the chairman? You said he’s the chairman of the Pisa Trading Company, right?”
She remembered Peter saying the chairman of the Pisa Trading Company was her master. As Leah spoke urgently…
“Huh? Chairman Hans sold the company…”
“And I think he’s leaving for the New Continent either today or tomorrow?”
—Whoosh.
Suddenly, the surrounding air turned cold, and Leah’s expression twisted into something monstrous.
Thick killing intent.
Overwhelmed by Leah’s killing intent, which seemed to freeze everything, the guards stiffened.
“Where… is Master… going?”
—Gulp.
Having disturbed the temper of the archmage who had slain the Demon King, the guards, facing her killing intent, swallowed in fear.
“Sa-save me…!”
—Thud.
One trembling guard, his legs giving out, fell clumsily onto his backside. Seeing this, Leah quickly retracted her killing intent, smiled sweetly, and asked in a gentle voice,
“So, when and where exactly is Master leaving?”
Leah’s soft voice, so different from her previous killing intent, made the guards tremble. Fear was etched into them.
They realized the woman before them was no ordinary mage.
‘Just what has Baron Hans been doing to take on such a monster as his disciple?’
“H-Hans, the baron, is… I believe he’s leaving for the New Continent… tomorrow, miss mage.”
Though inwardly cursing her master for planning to leave for the New Continent without a word to her, Leah forced a smile and asked,
“The New Continent? Why is he going there?”
At that, the guard who had fallen onto his backside stood up and cautiously replied,
“I-I believe he’s leaving to find new business opportunities.”
In truth, it was an escape from the monstrous Hero party, but the guard blurted it out.
Had Hans seen this, he would have plunged into utter despair.
“Hah? I see. But you seem to know quite a bit about my master. Do you also know where he’s currently residing?”
“Uh… the mansion at 489 Wilshire Street.”
A senior guard, who had escorted Hans to the mansion a few times before, quickly answered. Leah nodded and bowed.
“Yes. Thank you for your hard work.”
Watching Leah sprint toward Wilshire Street, the senior guard thought to himself,
‘I thought Baron Hans couldn’t use magic? Why is he called ‘master’?’
—Whoosh!
She ran, her short legs working hard.
Though she appeared delicate, her speed—clearly that of a Hero party veteran—was impossible for an ordinary person to match. As she ran, she thought,
‘Hah? How dare he plan to go somewhere without telling me? Damn master.’
Why would her master scheme such an absurd thing, as if he expected her to arrive in the capital just a little too late?
She tried to think of a reason, but nothing came to mind.
‘Why on earth?’
Her master was fleeing to the New Continent to escape the Hero party, but Leah had no way of knowing that.
—Whoosh!
Arriving at Wilshire Boulevard, where the noble families resided, she checked the building numbers to find her master’s house.
“Mr. Lee! Just you wait until I catch you!”
With those words, she searched for her master’s mansion late into the night.
Review at
NovelUpdate
One for All200[Get access to 20 premium chapters each for over 30 series.
Check out List at Membership page]Unlock next 20 premium chaptersValid for 30 daysPurchase