The NPC's way (part 1)

*knock* *knock* *knock*

"Hello... umm...? Ava?"

The next day someone had been banging on the door to Gerard's house in the morning, and when Medea opened up, he got shocked by the sight of the pixie-cut girl with dark bags under her eyes.

She must not have slept well the past few days – if at all.

The girl was there without any escort, so Medea was even more careful than he would usually be, already putting his hand up to the replaced yellow marble by his earring just in case.

"He isn't wounded."

"..."

Ava breathed out, biting her lips and clenching her fists without even looking at Medea, who straightened his back at the news.

"I know... I know that the people from the Crownhorn farm said that the Rotteloss's servant was shouting about having his finger cut off, but from what I learned is that the earl isn't looking to hire another servant... and the one who was escorting Zorivia isn't even wounded now... How... How are we going to learn what happened with Theo...?!"

The girl trembled and asked, looking as if she was seconds away from fainting from exhaustion.

"I see. Well, you shouldn't walk around when you are sick, but you can't help it, can you? Since your uncle was called to the capital, there is no one at the mansion who could brew you a healing potion, and you're obviously not in a state where you can do it yourself. Thank you for the trust; I will wake up Master right away."

"..."

Medea said a bit louder than necessary and let the girl in reassuringly, patting her shoulder.

He led her to the kitchen and sat her beside the small table.

The water in the kettle was still boiling hot, so the black-haired boy grabbed another cup, added a few herbs, and poured it up, serving the hot beverage to the troubled girl.

"..."

The girl stared at the cup for a moment in hesitation, but in the end, she grabbed it and took a small sip.

"GUH...! Wh-what is this?!"

She almost immediately spat it out after the bitterness almost flipped her heart inside out.

"A secret energizing blend. A single cup will get you wired up for the next thirty-six hours."

Medea shrugged his shoulders and pointed out while taking a sip from his own cup that he had prepared just before Ava showed up at the doorstep.

"...some kind of enhanced coffee...? It doesn't smell nice at all, though..."

The girl smacked her lips and asked, looking at her cup and taking a whiff of the smell before cringing.

"Hmm~"

|...what the hell is coffee, some sort of potion...?|

Medea hummed in amusement on the outside, but he was a bit thrown off on the inside.

"Were the people at the farm bribed by the Rotteloss family to stay quiet? But... why would they do that? It's not like Theo is anyone important – not now, at least..."

Ava blew on her beverage and decided to take another sip while talking. This time she was prepared for the taste, so she managed to swallow a gulp, and her eyes widened because of the wave of refreshment washing over her instantaneously.

"If it was really just a finger, there is a chance that it was reattached and healed up with the aid of a timely used healing pellet... It makes sense that a trusted servant escorting a noble lady had at least one or two on hand..."

|Kenny is more resilient than I gave him credit for... I was sure that even if he got healed, he would want to step away from guarding Zorivia and ask the earl to hire someone for that purpose...|

Medea wasn't surprised about the injury he inflicted on the brown-haired servant of the Rotteloss family – but he felt dissatisfied that his prediction ended up off the mark.

Still, it was well within his expectations, only slightly more challenging to deal with.

"...then..."

"Ava. I want you to know that Boss dealt with mister Oliver already and said that Tee's disappearance wasn't something preordained. That means that it must be something that the Rotteloss family is behind. I volunteered to take part in whatever plan he came up with. Don't worry. We will learn what happened."

The hazel-haired girl let out a short, pitiful gasp, but the black-haired boy shook his head and declared with a serious expression, sounding confident and reassuring.

"Really?"

"Yes. And knowing him, he will either find a way to put me into the mansion or will outright get the information about Tee's location~!"

Ava let out a hopeful yelp, and Medea nodded with certainty.

"Speaking of which – I must bother you with a favor. Our little group isn't powerful enough to arrange Kenneth's accident when he is in the Rotteloss mansion, so just like with the evidence of Oliver not being backed by someone powerful... is there a chance that you will be able to get us the information when that man is traveling on his own?"

The black-haired boy straightened his back and asked.

"If he is going to travel alone, that is. Preferably without Zorivia or Earl Alexander."

He added with a bit of disheartened expression that was utterly fake but looked absolutely real.

"..."

Ava lowered her gaze and stared at the cup with the energizing blend as if she was contemplating her options.

"I can't think of an instance like that... but it's not like I was really paying attention to the servant of the villainess's family."

The pixie-cut girl breathed out and took another sip sounding disappointed in herself.

"In that case..."

"But I can make it happen. I still have the other charm pellet, after all."

Medea sighed, about to propose another plan, yet he didn't get the chance as Ava spoke up, clenching the cup with the steaming beverage with both hands.

"Are you planning to use it on Kenneth?"

The black-haired boy asked, interested in the capabilities of the third charm pellet that he kept for himself.

"No, those types of spells are not powerful enough to completely overpower a character's will. Although it will sound a bit outrageous, I am thinking about using it against Noah."

|... she's talking about the royal prince, isn't she...|

Ava shook her head and pointed out, taking a large gulp of the refreshingly hot drink – if Medea was unaware of her connections with the royal castle, he would undoubtedly comment out loud instead of merely thinking it to himself.