Chapter 46: The Sirens' Hideout, III

Yawn.

Louis woke up and rubbed his eyes as he sat up on the bed. A few strands of hair stood out messily from his head like little antennae.

“I’m hungry…”

Feeling famished, Louis retrieved some elixir from the other dimension and popped one into his mouth. The scent of the elixir roused the twins, who climbed onto Louis’s legs and opened their mouths wide.

“Ro…me too…”

“Me toooo!”

Accustomed to this sight, Louis placed an elixir in each twin’s open mouth without missing a beat. After this brief meal, the energized twins sprang up and shouted:

“Snack! Let’s go for snacks!”

“Boring…”

“Come on, Louis!”

“Boring…”

“Let’s ggggoooo!”

Louis was dragged along by the twins until they met Lucia at the door.

“You’re awake now?”

Lucia knelt down in front of Louis and gently patted his messy hair with a warm smile.

“You must be hungry after sleeping without dinner. Come here.”

She managed to regain her composure amidst Louis’s cuteness and led the children towards the inn’s dining area.

The evening sun had already set outside the window, indicating that they had slept for quite some time. Consequently, there seemed to be more people in the inn compared to when they first arrived.

Among the crowd, they spotted Pablo enjoying a beer by himself.

Lucia pointed towards him and said, “Why don’t you sit with him? I’ll bring your food over.” She smiled gently as she patted Louis’s head before heading off.

Louis and the twins joined Pablo at his table.

“There you are,” greeted Pablo, giving Louis a small nod.

In turn, Louis whispered to him quietly, “Any luck?”

“I was told there’s a ship departing for the Autumn Continent in two weeks.”

“Oh, really? Did you get tickets?”

“Of course, I did.”

“Great job! How about the rest of it?”

“Well…the thing is…” Pablo scratched his cheek, looking troubled.

“We managed to raise some funds by selling items you provided, but what we’re looking for is quite rare and hard to come by.”

“Hmm… I see.”

Traveling from Luft Hagenn to Autumn Continent by ship alone took two months. They still had enough time on their hands, but since they didn’t know when their elixirs would run out, it was crucial to stockpile them whenever possible. This directly impacted Louis’s and the twins’ survival, making it a top priority.

“Don’t worry. It will surely turn up at auctions or elsewhere eventually. Even if acquiring high-grade elixirs proves difficult, shouldn’t we be able to find lower-grade ones? After all, Luft Hagenn serves as a hub for goods from across Winter Continent.”

It was likely that the quality of elixirs available here wouldn’t be exceptional, but beggars couldn’t be choosers. They needed to gather whatever they could get diligently.

However, they were desperate and couldn’t afford to be picky. They needed to gather as many low-grade potions as possible.

Louis nodded in agreement. “Yes, let’s do that tomorrow together.”

“Understood.”

While Pablo and Louis whispered quietly, Moana and Lucia approached with food.

“Here you go! Dinner is served!” Moana confidently placed dishes on the table, followed by Lucia carrying more plates. The two girls then sat down at one end of the table.

Pablo frowned at them. “…Aren’t you busy? You should get back to work.”

“It’s okay; this won’t take long.”

“You’re right. But more importantly… Please try this; it’s delicious.” Lucia gestured to Louis and the twins with her eyes, urging them to dig in.

Louis tasted the white soup placed before him, and his eyes widened immediately.

Wow!

The flavor was rich and intense. It was an excellent broth, full of umami taste. All the dishes were outstanding. The twins eagerly gulped down their soup.

The sisters watched contentedly as the children enjoyed their meal.

After tasting the soup himself, Pablo raised his thumb in approval. “Mm-hmm! This is spot-on, just like Julia used to make!”

“Of course! Who do you think I learned from?”

“Who made these?”

“Oh, that was Lucia!”

Lucia grinned bashfully at Moana’s praise.

Pablo chimed in after observing them. “Oh right, Lucia has an incredible singing voice.”

“Singing?” Louis politely responded to Pablo’s compliment.

“Indeed! She was the best singer in all of Luft Hagenn! So good that Harmon changed the inn’s name to The Siren’s Rest!”

“Aha!” Louis had thought it was just another restaurant but now looked at Lucia with newfound admiration.

Despite Pablo’s compliments, both Lucia and Moana didn’t seem too pleased; rather, they appeared quite melancholic. Unaware of their feelings, Pablo continued enthusiastically.

“The Siren’s Rest was always packed when Lucia sang! Oh yes…indeed it was! Those memories are still vivid to this day.” As Pablo continued reminiscing about the past, the sisters’ expressions grew darker.

Poke, poke.

Noticing their discomfort, Louis discreetly nudged Pablo’s side, jolting him out of his nostalgia.

“What? What is it…?”

Louis pointed with his chin at the sisters, their faces clouded over. Seeing their reaction, Pablo flinched.

Moana gave a wistful smile and explained, “Lucia doesn’t sing anymore… Or rather, she can’t.”

“No way! Why not?! How could you let such talent go to waste?”

The sadness on both sisters’ faces deepened further.

“That’s…” Moana was about to explain to Pablo when…

Bang!

The inn door burst open, and ten burly men with menacing expressions entered one after another, seemingly ready to wreak havoc at any moment.

Moana and Lucia sighed heavily at their arrival. On the other hand, Louis, who had been observing the situation, smacked his right fist into his left palm.

‘Oh, this plot twist? I know exactly what’s happening here!’

Louis’s eyes sparkled, sensing something significant unfolding.

‘They’re going to destroy the place because they were slighted! It’s straight out of a trashy drama!’

It fit perfectly with the clichéd scenario.

There was an older sister running a small inn with her younger sibling after their parents passed away too soon.

A poor but kind-hearted little sister who trusts and follows her elder sister closely!

However, due to their poverty, they had no choice but to take out loans, leading to constant harassment by thugs over their debts.

Contrary to Louis’s expectations, the patrons of the inn reacted indifferently.

“Again?”

“Oh boy, here comes another spectacle from Siren’s Rest.”

Murmurs of annoyance spread throughout the room.

Slam.

Moments later, the door closed, and burly men parted to make way for someone. Louis’s eyes sparkled once more.

It’s time for the loan shark boss or his henchmen to appear!

He anticipated that these menacing figures would threaten the impoverished sisters with lines like, “If you don’t have the money, sell your shop or find other work—you must repay us somehow.” This scenario seemed straight out of a drama Louis knew well.

This was how it always played out in dramas Louis had seen before, but…

Stomp, stomp.

As the crowd parted to let someone through, Louis’s eyes widened at the sight.

Huh?

He blinked incredulously.

What…? Who’s this kid?

Amidst burly men well over six feet tall emerged a boy who appeared to be around five foot seven with neatly combed blond hair and a clean-cut face. He looked seventeen or so, and even from a distance, one could tell he wore an expensive white fur coat. After pushing his way past the other men, he headed straight for Louis’s table.

Moana and Lucia seemed familiar with him, as their expressions turned awkward.

The boy approached their table and addressed Moana.

“Lady Moana.” He bowed slightly at the waist and kissed her hand.

Louis’s jaw dropped as he watched this unfold.

What?! Who is this cheesy brat?

Moana sighed even deeper feeling his soft lips on the back of her hand. Regardless of her reaction, the boy then turned to Lucia with a serious expression.

“My lady Lucia, you look stunning as always.” His tone was more courteous and earnest than when addressing Moana.

Lucia rolled her eyes but couldn’t help responding. “Carrie, you…”

Before she could finish, Carrie snapped his fingers.

Snap!

At this cue, one of the burly men presented Carrie with a huge bouquet, which he then handed to Lucia as Carrie knelt before her.

“My lady, please accept these flowers. Though insignificant compared to your beauty, they will only serve to accentuate it further.”

“Oh…” Lucia sighed and reluctantly took the bouquet, knowing full well that Carrie would remain on his knees all day if she refused.

As soon as she accepted them, Carrie sprang up, exclaiming emotionally:

“Ahh! My eyes have not deceived me! You are truly the most beautiful flower blooming amidst these blooms! Absolutely breathtaking!”

Louis rubbed his arms vigorously at the cheesy lines spewing from Carrie’s mouth.

Sh-shivers… Ugh! My ears… Ack!

Louis shook his head as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing, and everyone else in the inn reacted similarly.

Regardless of what was happening around him, Carrie continued unabated.

“Seeing your radiant face brings peace to my heart today. I am grateful for that, dear lady. Now then…may the rest of your day be pleasant…”

As Carrie attempted to turn away with as much flair as possible, their eyes met.

“…”

“…”

They stared at each other intently, with Carrie silently scanning Louis from top to bottom while smirking. The sight registered clearly in Louis’s vision.

Blip.

A vein popped on Louis’s forehead.

Is she laughing…?

Louis knew exactly what that smirk meant, and more importantly, he caught her sizing him up before breaking into laughter. This unwelcome appraisal irritated Louis to no end.

This bitch… She’s mocking my height, isn’t she?

It was clear from how she scanned his body that she was comparing their heights. Being treated with such disdain, Louis couldn’t let it slide.

Fine then, bring it on.

With a sly grin, Louis hopped off his chair and approached Lucia. He tugged at her sleeve and whined quietly:

“Sissssss… Gimme that, pleeease…” Louis pointed at the dish in front of Lucia.

She leaned down slightly and responded kindly:

“What? You want this?”

“Mmm-hmm!” Louis pouted and gave her puppy-dog eyes with a childlike tone.

The problem was that it was Louis doing all of this. Normally, he would rather die than act like this, or worse, kill anyone who dared to ask him to behave so. Pablo and Fin were rendered speechless as they stared at Louis in disbelief.

However, Lucia, unaware of his true nature, fell for Louis’s charms immediately.

“Oh, okay, sure.” She put down the bouquet of flowers from Carrie, lifted Louis onto her lap, and personally fed him some food. “Is it good?”

“Mm-hmm!”

“Eat lots!”

Lucia smiled contentedly while gently stroking Louis’s soft hair.

At that moment, Louis noticed Carrie trembling uncontrollably. Their eyes soon met.

Heh.

The corners of Louis’s mouth curved slightly upward, visible only to Carrie, clearly mocking him.