Chapter 8: Lick him!
"Lyle."
After leaving the Oak Tavern, Emilia bitterly grabbed Lyle's sleeve and wouldn't let go.
Lilith had previously thought he had been kicked out.
But now... things didn't seem right?
Emilia said with a hint of bitterness: "Lyle, are you really not coming back? Even if, even if you're not on good terms with Xiya, you still have us, right?"
Lyle shook his head.
"I'm really scared... I'm afraid Moonlit Bloom will break apart like this... We used to be so good..."
The priestess wiped her tears as she spoke pitifully.
Lyle looked down at her pitiful appearance.
It was kind of mutual enslavement.
After he left,
they probably wouldn't even know how to live, would they?
Who could stand these three young ladies who had almost no self-reliance?
Honestly, seeing her like this, Lyle actually felt a bit satisfied.
"Lyle, will you come home? Please come back with me..."
Emilia's emotional state was intense.
She tightly tugged at Lyle's shirt, her face full of tears, almost unable to stand.
She truly looked like a cat that had lost its way.
Pretending.
Actually, Emilia was really angry deep down.
She knew how great her figure was, it was like the fruit in the summer.
In the past, Lyle would often sneak glances at her with admiration.
But now what was he doing?!
Why was he so absent-minded?
She tried every angle to take the initiative.
But the hand resting on her soft waist didn't make any further movements, only a faint, burning sensation.
Lyle sighed lightly: "Emilia, don't do this. In two years, I think I've already done everything I could."
Effort, emotions, running around, for two years, he had given all his tenderness to these three young ladies.
They enjoyed everything without a care, and accepted it without a second thought.
What he got in return was even lighter than a sigh.
Now that he was leaving, only then did they chase after him, saying they wanted to change, hoping for him to return.
It seemed like they were giving him the choice, but in reality, they were still draining his freedom.
Emilia might be pure and sincere?
Or maybe... she just wanted him to throw his whole life into Moonlit Bloom?
Lyle didn't really want to delve into the thoughts of a believer in the Holy Light.
But it certainly felt...
Uncomfortable.
He actually felt more like a clown.
"Then... can you promise me not to join another adventurer group? If you do, we'll all be sad..."
She had witnessed Belis trying to recruit Lyle.
No matter the reason.
Kill it in the crib.
But to her surprise, Lyle even refused this "small request."
"Emilia, I can't promise that."
Lyle said softly: "Maybe when I've rested enough, I'll join a civilian adventurer group. Everyone will be from the same social class, cleaning the battlefield, selling materials, arguing over a few gold coins... Just like we started back then. At that time, you weren't the young lady, and I wasn't the servant."
Emilia froze.
Her heart skipped a beat.
It must be said that she had always regarded Lyle as her private property.
She was smarter than Xiya, knowing how to package her desires into a kind of coquettish behavior, knowing when to give some sweetness.
Plus, Lyle seemed to have a natural misunderstanding of the Holy Light.
Even when she made excessive requests, he never questioned her.
The old Lyle had always been under Emilia's control.
But now, the foundation seemed to be getting shaky.
He... had started to struggle, to chase after that illusory freedom...
"Lyle, what about your dreams? Are you going to give them up?"
Lyle remained silent for a moment: "It's precisely because I still carry my dreams that I have to leave."
Speaking of it.
Lyle's brewed wine had a strong taste and aroma.
But, as someone who had communicated with Lyle more than others,
Emilia knew Lyle's dream, aside from exploring deeper dungeons, there was another...
In Iofer, having a house truly his own, not one under the moonlight's bloom, was something that Lyall longed for.
This kind of thought, typical of someone working in a big city and drifting about, Emilia obviously couldn't understand, but she knew Lyall's obsession was deep.
It seemed as though without a place of his own, he couldn't settle down.
But Iofer was a paradise for adventurers and a hell for the poor.
Making a living from brewing wasn't a problem, but buying a house?
Fifty gold coins, after paying the rent and subtracting daily expenses, would leave you with practically nothing.
If that's all, if brewing was the only thing you did, you'd still end up back at Moonlight Bloom, poor as ever.
Although most of the earnings from the dungeon expedition had been squandered by their group, the money left behind was definitely more than just a pitiful fifty gold coins.
"No, you're lying to me, right?" Emilia raised her voice unconsciously. "You just want to show Shia that you can survive without her, right? You're getting back at her, aren't you? You're throwing a tantrum, right? And you even found Belis."
"Even if you want to make money, how much can you make just by brewing? It's nothing compared to being a scholar, right? Shia will just look down on you even more. She'll think you're wallowing in self-pity."
Lyall smiled bitterly. "No."
"Lyall, you're just pretending, right?"
Emilia's long eyelashes fluttered. "I know. That woman who invited you to join Crystal Tears was just to irritate Shia, right? That's why you turned her down, right?"
"Lyall, I don't know when you learned such high-level brewing, but there's really no future in it... It's just a life skill... You won't earn the amount of gold you need... In Iofer, adventure is the way to go."
Lyall fell silent for a moment. "So, are you concerned about me now?"
"Of course."
"Hmm..."
Lilith, who had been eavesdropping, secretly gasped.
She seemed to understand the situation a bit more.
It seemed like Moonlight Bloom had truly kept Lyall for too long.
And also, Lyall was way too submissive.
She couldn't really think that a level-six life skill was that simple, could she?
Was there really such a foolish person?
Lilith was emotionally stable about it.
But there was another possibility.
Perhaps Lyall had maxed out those skills with minimal effort.
So much so that he, along with everyone else in Moonlight Bloom, thought it was no big deal.
Logically speaking, the second possibility seemed more likely...
Lilith felt something was off.
The elven girl touched her pointed ears.
They were burning hot.
I'm not lying, am I?
Forget it.
As long as I make him my teacher!
As long as he gets lost in the sound of "teacher"!
Then!
I can quickly get a house with a hot spring and a garden!