novelraw Chapter 119: Provocation
Chapter 119: Provocation
After staring for quite a while, Leon ended up with nothing but a head full of sweat. He couldn’t see anything particularly special about the smelting process. Remembering he had promised Emily to help repair her roof, he gave up on watching and decided to leave.
Before heading off, he tossed the remaining fifteen pieces of copper ore into the other furnaces. With any luck, they would be smelted into copper bars by the time he returned.
He washed his sweat-covered face, hopped onto his bicycle, and set off toward Pelican Town.
Emily had told him her house was at 2 Willow Lane, but Leon wasn’t too familiar with the town’s layout. He followed her description from yesterday and rode south after arriving at the town square.
He soon found the house Emily shared with Haley—thanks to the “2 Willow Lane” sign on the gate.
Most of the town’s buildings were cozy European-style cottages, but the house marked 2 Willow Lane was a full-on villa. A tall fence surrounded the property, hiding most of the interior from view, though Leon could see various flowers and plants hanging along the fence.
He went around to the front yard and spotted a sun-shaped ornament hanging over the front door.
Convinced he was in the right place, Leon parked his bike and went up to knock.
“Welcome, Leon. Come in and rest for a while.”
Emily opened the door and greeted him warmly.“No need. Just tell me where the leak is. By the way, you’ve got a ladder and some spare roof tiles, right?”
Glancing at the pristine wooden floors and pure wool carpet inside, Leon decided he’d rather not track mud in. He went straight to asking about the materials and tools needed for the repair.
“They’re in the storage room,” Emily replied. “Why the rush? I was making breakfast and even set aside a portion for you.”
“The sooner it’s done, the sooner I can rest,” Leon explained.
“All right, I’ll take you to the storage room—it’s in the backyard.” Emily changed into outdoor shoes and led Leon around to a small shed behind the villa. She unlocked the door and motioned for him to go inside.
Inside, neatly arranged tools filled the shelves. Most of them were unfamiliar to Leon, precise-looking instruments that piqued his curiosity.
“Are these your parents’ tools?”
“Yes. They’re jewelers, so most of these are for processing and polishing gems,” Emily explained.
“Didn’t expect you to be a rich young lady,” Leon teased.
“That’s my parents’ money. I’m already grateful they let me live here. My own expenses come from working at Gus’s saloon—I don’t like relying on their money,” Emily replied modestly.
Leon didn’t mock her for not knowing how good she had it; in fact, he admired her independence.
Of course, if it were him with such a comfortable background, he would’ve chosen to just laze around. Not everyone liked chasing after hard work.
Finding the folding ladder and a stack of replacement tiles, Leon carried them up to the roof.
“Where exactly is it?”
Looking over the wide expanse of tiles, Leon couldn’t immediately spot the damaged area.
“About three meters to your right front,” Emily called up from below.
Following her directions, Leon found several broken tiles.
After removing them, he noticed the waterproof layer underneath had also been torn.
“If I just lay new tiles, it’ll still leak. We’ll need some waterproof sheeting too,” he said after climbing down.
“There should be some in the storage room,” Emily said, quickly leading him back. After a good bit of rummaging, she pulled out a large roll of waterproof fabric.
“This’ll work for a quick fix, but to really keep the water out, I’d suggest asphalt waterproof rolls or a plastic waterproof coating,” Leon advised.
“Robin would probably know more about that.”
“Let’s just patch it for now. There might be rain tomorrow, and I don’t want Haley complaining if water leaks in,” Emily said with a sigh.
“Sure.”
It was just a matter of laying down the fabric, so Leon didn’t argue. He cut a large piece, climbed back up with the sheet and tiles, and soon finished a simple repair.
“As long as the rain’s light, it should hold. But in heavy rain, all bets are off,” he said after climbing down. “Better have Robin take a look.”
“I will. Thank you, Leon. Now that you’re done, come have some coffee. I also made sandwiches and fried eggs,” Emily invited.
“Better not. I’ll put the tools back and head home. Thanks for the offer,” Leon declined, mindful of the mud on his shoes.
“But didn’t you agree yesterday?” Emily asked, puzzled.
“Don’t you know a man’s words can’t be taken too seriously?” Leon joked, refusing again. Emily gave up.
After convincing her, Leon carried the ladder back to the storage room.
Just as he stepped out, his peripheral vision caught sight of Haley through a corner window of the villa. She was blow-drying her hair.
Unfortunately, she seemed to think no one was in the backyard—she was wearing nothing but a loosely wrapped bath towel. A wide expanse of pale skin was exposed, giving Leon an unfiltered view.
Haley must have felt his gaze, because she turned her head and spotted him standing outside the storage room, looking straight at her window. She froze for a moment.
Then she seemed to realize her situation. But instead of running away or pulling the curtains, she straightened her back, raised her hand, and gave him the middle finger.
After all, even though the towel didn’t cover much, it was still more than a bikini, so she wasn’t worried about him seeing anything too revealing.
Leon was caught completely off guard by her bold provocation. He stared at her for a moment before responding.
His response was simple—he pointed at her chest, then at his own, and let out a mocking chuckle.