Chapter 30 (2/2)
Xuan Tian, in outerwear resembling a silk gown, a liquor bottle in one hand, a cigarette in another, emerged from the room with languid steps.
‘…His indolence is at its zenith. Is this what they mean when they speak of rakes?’
The clerk showed him to the Magnolia Room where Kynemeia was seated. She stood up and greeted him.
“I’m here, Orabeoni.”
“Hello, Little Doll. Welcome.”
Although she wanted to advise him he’d meet an untimely end if he continued his current lifestyle, Xuan Tian Xinghai was freakishly healthy. No matter how indolent his lifestyle, it wouldn’t pose a risk to his health whatsoever.
‘I’m jealous…! That healthy body… That idleness!’
Xuan Tian hurried to place his bottle on the table and sat on the chair across from her.
“How is life at Hyeminwon? Any discomfort?”
Judging by how this rake was idling in paradise—no, a hermit—she simply asked how he was faring.
“Not much. It’s much better here than Yu Ga. That aside, there’s something I want to tell you—”
“Yes? What is it…?”
“So here’s the thing—”
A large hand swiped the liquor bottle from the table.
“Were you drinking again, Master?”
“Y-You brat, how did you find out?!”
It was Law.
“NyangPapa!”
“Miss Fairy, you’re looking adorable today as well.”
“Thank you, you are just as dashing today, too!”
“Meow—”
“Ah, Meow!”
As soon as Law handed Meow over, Kynemeia cuddled her close.
“How can I not find out? The alchemists are whispering around that Sir Xuan Tian has been knocking a few back in broad daylight in his room.”
‘Those guys…’ Xuan Tian gritted his teeth. ‘Darn it! I reminded them over and over again to not inform him of my whereabouts.’
“You, get back to work!”
He hollered and aimed a kick at Law’s butt who didn’t appear to have even felt it. When a clerk came by to request his help, he marched off with huge strides, Xuan Tian’s liquor bottle in one hand.
“S-Shouldn’t you leave that behind?!”
Only Xuan Tian’s voice, loaded with despair, echoed after Law’s hulking back.
Meanwhile, Kynemeia sat staring at NyangPapa’s body, carefully observing. ‘Even his movements put one in mind of a panther.’
Although NyangPapa was a huge man, his movements weren’t sluggish. Rather, they gave the impression of a sleek beast.
‘His beastly charm…’
Kynemeia was about to smile in contentment at the thought when Xuan Tian opened his mouth.
“About what I was saying earlier.”
“Yeah?”
“Can’t you take that brat away, Little Doll? He’s uselessly strong, so he’ll definitely be an asset regardless of whatever work you set him to.”
“Weren’t you keeping him busy around Hyeminwon?”
She tilted her head. NyangPapa referred to Xuan Tian as ‘Master’ so she assumed he was his disciple.
“But what exactly is your relationship with NyangPapa, Orabeoni?”
“Adoptive, of course.”
‘Ah… So Orabeoni adopted NyangPapa and became his master. That’s what usually goes down in a master-disciple relationship.’
Kynemeia nodded, but then Xuan Tian wasn’t finished.
“He did it, to me.”
‘He was the one who adopted you?!’
“He picked me up when I arrived at the Western Continent, clueless and facing persecution at the hands of the cruel Western citizens.”
‘You sure it’s not because you were an illegal immigrant?’
“I’d been lying on the filthy ground at the time, trembling piteously from homesickness.”
‘And not because you couldn’t get your dose of alcohol?’
“I made him a medicinal decoction as a token of my thanks for providing me food and shelter— but then he started jabbering on about electing me as his master and that he’s washed his hands off. It will all be fine as long as he eventually goes back to the path that sustains his aptitude.”
“Aptitude?”
“Yeah. That fellow is a Kshan after all.”
“…?”
Eh? Kynemeia blinked.
“What? Kshan?”
“Yeah, he said he once managed a guild called Black Night or something… I’ve no idea why he’s stubbornly clinging to the hopes of becoming an alchemist when it’s a pipe dream.”
Black Night…?
“Don’t tell me… The Black Night’s Kshan Law?”
“You know of him too, Little Doll?”
EEEEHH?!
‘NyangPapa was Kshan Law?!’ Kynemeia’s hands flew to her cheeks.