Chapter 467: Seeking Asylum (1/2)

Stearleana was brooding over Saki’s suggestion.

“Move into Saki’s house, huh…?”

“There are plenty of rooms, and it’s very quiet. My dad lives there too, but he’s rarely home anyway…”

Jin also thought it wasn’t such a bad idea.

Moving to Kaina Village meant that they would need to build a new house for Stearleana. And it would have to be built in a single day.

Moreover, the biggest issue was that she wasn’t familiar with the people of Kaina Village. And Kartze Village was even worse in that regard.

Since Saki’s house was located in an isolated area, there weren’t any other houses around it, making it unnecessary for Stearleana to have to interact with any neighbors.

Besides, it was better than one could hope for in terms of keeping her safe from a country. That also made the Shouro Empire the better option as a destination for her.

At any rate, the earlier Stearleana could leave the Celuroa Kingdom, the better. The discussion was settled with her moving into Saki’s house, at least for the time being.

They began with the preparations without delay.

They split into groups and began to gather Stearleana’s belongings. Only a small portion of her furniture would be left behind.

Her clothes, tableware, books, and so on, were packed by Edgar, Ehr, and Selene.

Since her magical tools were heavy, Reiko was put in charge of them. They were 3 boxes weighing about 50 kilograms each.

All of her materials would be left behind as well, except for the rarest ones.

“…Am I forgetting about anything?”

“Well, we may be able to come back to get some more stuff later. But more importantly, are you sure about this? This is the house you’ve grown used to living in, after all…”

Jin asked Stearleana that question after seeing a hint of loneliness in her face. Upon hearing it, she smiled.

“…It’s okay. I have lots of fond memories about this house. But I think it’s better for me to leave these uncomfortable living circumstances for good.”

“I see…”

Jin nodded, but seemed to still be worried about Stearleana’s somewhat lonely expression.

“Well, let’s go, shall we?”

Each of them took their appointed portion of luggage and went through the Warp Gate installed in Jin’s carriage.

Since the Warp Gate was small, it was impossible to carry a large amount of luggage all at once. For this reason, they left the luggage in “Shinkai”, and would go back for it later.

The luggage had been completely moved after two round trips. It had taken them two hours to finish.

The plan was for Steward to take the carriage and use the Warp Gate located in Condor 3, which had been dispatched in a suitable location, to make the return trip.

The time difference between Goa, in the Celuroa Kingdom, and Vanne, in the Shouro Empire, was about 2 hours.

It was about 1 PM when they arrived at Saki’s house.

“Thank you for letting me stay here, Saki.”

With that said, Stearleana went through the front door of the Eschenbach residence, carrying a large bag with her.

“Huh? And you are?”

The voice of a man. Stearleana involuntarily dropped the bag she was carrying.

“Father!”

Saki shouted.

The man standing there was none other than the one who was rarely home: Toa Eschenbach himself.

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“Hmm, so you’re seeking asylum, correct?”

“A-Ah, yes, that’s why I’ve accepted your daughter’s kind offer.”

Thirty minutes later, Stearleana, Jin, and Elsa, who had all just finished carrying the luggage to Stearleana’s new room, were in the drawing room with Saki.

Incidentally, Hanna hadn’t come along with them from “Shinkai” but went to Kaina Village instead. It was about time for her to have dinner with Martha and the others at home.

“I hope I’m not a nuisance to you. Could you let me stay here for a while…?”

Stearleana bowed down, then looked straight into Toa’s face.

Toa was 44 years old. He had reddish-brown hair, and purple-grey eyes that looked a lot like Saki’s. He was a little thinner and a little taller than Stearleana.

“Oh, I’m not really home that often. If my daughter says it’s okay, that’s good enough for me.”

Toa, who wasn’t very concerned about things, easily accepted Stearlana into his home. She was glad that he didn’t ask him anything about how she got there from the Celuroa Kingdom or anything like that.

“…So, what about the rest of you?”

He then turned to Jin and the others.

“Ah, my name is Jin. I’m Saki’s friend.”

“…I’m Elsa. It truly has been a while…”