Chapter 124: ‘Where are Anne-Marie and Hestia?’ [1]
‘Where are Anne-Marie and Hestia?’ [1]
She had attached threads to them before just in case, but she had removed those threads some time ago. Hence why it didn’t seem like it would be easy to find Anne-Marie and Hestia among these many people.
Yuri walked on while checking the people around her and the building in front of her. She was checked to see if there were any suspicious persons or anything that seemed like an explosive. However, she didn’t sense anything she could call abnormal outside.
“Get your souvenirs here! It’s only free for those visiting today!”
The people standing in front of the exhibition hall were handing gifts to the visitors of the exhibition.
Yuri entered the building after getting the small wrapped item, but she didn’t even look at it. The entrances to the exhibition hall were divided into an east door and a west door. The east door was for nobles while the west door was for the general public.
Naturally, Yuri used the west door.
“Now this statue is a famous work of Maggot Camembert, it is a masterpiece in the East…of course, this is not a genuine piece but an imitation…”
From the entrance of the exhibition hall, you could see people who were introducing the items on display all over the place. As the exhibition was promoted in such a grand manner, the scale was certainly unlike others.
Yuri looked around her then she entered the exhibition hall. As she did outside, she was checking if there was anyone or anything suspicious inside the exhibition ground.
Yuri’s behavior didn’t especially stand out because everyone around her was also looking around while looking at the items on display.
Yuri had never come to this event while living in the East so today was her first time entering the exhibition venue. If she had been commissioned to steal something from the exhibition then she might have but she usually wasn’t interested in things like this.
However, it seemed that it wasn’t only the doors that were divided into east and west, the internal structure of the building also seemed to be split-off. After entering the exhibition hall, she hadn’t seen any of the nobles she had seen outside.
Yuri meticulously examined the inside of the exhibition hall with her eyes then she headed deeper inside.
* * *
“Kuh!”
Meanwhile, Odin woke up, shocked even though there was no one by his side to wake him up. He hurriedly wiped the saliva trailing down the corner of his mouth and looked around.
“A, Arachne?”
He was flustered to think Arachne might have seen his shameful behavior, but the house was very quiet.
Odin quickly realized he couldn’t sense Arachne’s presence nearby. Soon, his shoulders completely relaxed.
‘Oh, right. It’s daytime now so Arachne should be at the coffeehouse.’
Arachne had always been the diligent type so even after getting a place in the East, she went to clock in at the coffeehouse faithfully without skipping once.
Hence, it was obvious she left Odin and went to work today like always. He already knew Arachne’s personality was like this so he didn’t really feel upset or sad.
‘Dammit, but how come I fainted twice?’
Odin held his pounding head and tried to remember what happened earlier. But as soon as he tried to recall what happened last night and this morning, an intense sense of repulsion flooded his mind.
Swish.
Right then, the blanket covering Odin’s body slid to the floor. Odin subconsciously picked it up and roughly placed it to the side then he paused.
He looked around for no reason, like someone trying to steal something, then he stealthily stretched out his hand and hugged the blanket preciously in his arms.
‘Arachne covered me with this blanket…’
“So this is Arachne’s smell?”**
Odin buried his flushed face in the blanket and sniffed. Perhaps because it was a blanket Arachne used, it gave off a sweet smell as expected.
‘Not only that, I’m in Arachne’s house right now, aren’t I?’
The fact that he spent the night in Arachne’s house of all people, could pretty much classify today as a historical day. While thinking that he had to act sick in front of Arachne more often in the future, he called the crow which he had attached to the coffeehouse.
“Huh?”
However, he immediately realized that he had no crows watching the coffeehouse right now.
“What the? When did I remove the bird?”
Odin’s face crumpled.
He usually had at least one crow attached to the coffeehouse Arachne worked in, so he didn’t understand how this happened. Did someone touch the crow at the coffeehouse, just like the punk who removed his mark at the cathedral?
However, he definitely didn’t get that kind of feeling…
‘Hm? Now that I think about it, the punk who got rid of my mark back then, did I find him and beat him up?’
The moment the crow disappeared, he had a momentary glimpse of his crow caught in a firm but large grip but for some reason, that punk’s eyes look so clear and chillingly blue…
That very moment, Odin’s eyes lost focus again. Instantly, his sight was covered in blue light. And as he lingered in that state, the one thing that came to mind was a desirable black shoe that begged to be kissed…
“Hk!”
Smack!
Odin’s consciousness was slipping away like it did today at dawn but he abruptly regained his senses with fright. Before his consciousness was completely gone, he hurriedly slapped himself hard and his mind woke up with a start.
“F—, F*ck, what is this?!”
Odin certainly realized his abnormality. But when he tried to remember what he was thinking earlier, his mind grew hazy, and eventually, he had slapped himself a few times.
In the end, Odin’s swollen face was distorted, and he decided to stop thinking about it anymore.
After several attempts, the only thing Odin found out was a mad craving and obsession for a pair of black shoes that appeared before him.
Naturally, his mood was worse than shit.
For now, Odin sent a crow to the coffeehouse where Arachne worked. However, Arachne was not there. Instead, the crow noticed a man with disheveled, brown hair who often drooled over Yuri when he came to the coffeehouse.
“Hello, Mr. Gilbert.”
“Oh, you’re back again, Mr. Snow. You must have some free time lately. Good, everyone needs some breathing space in their life sometimes.”
The crow hovered over the heads of the two and eavesdropped on their conversation.
“By the way, did Ms. Yuri not come to work today?”
“No, she came but I think she had something urgent because she suddenly took the afternoon off…”
Hearing that, Odin tilted his head.
‘The afternoon off? To go to where? Did she go see those dregs in that hideout?’
“Really? Then I won’t bother you today…Ack!”
Odin ordered the bird to release bird droppings on the bushy, brown-haired bastard then he stopped looking at the coffeehouse. He released a few more crows to look for Arachne. Then he got up from the sofa and changed into a black crow.
Flap!
Odin flapped his wings energetically and left Arachne’s house.
‘Siren, that gum-like b****. Now that I think about it, she was trying me last time, wasn’t she?’
When he recalled the dregs at the hideout, he remembered fighting there with Siren the other day. He should have crushed her properly back then, why did he just let her go?
Odin flew towards the monastery, feeling both annoyed and suspicious.
Then suddenly, the memory of that day which he had forgotten so far struck his mind like lightning.
~
‘What the-! Isn’t that Arachne’s? Hey, you thieving bastard!’[2]
~
Odin who was flying in the sky jolted for an instant. He was very taken aback. Even in his crow form, the trembling of his eyes was very obvious.
‘Wh, W-What the hell is this memory? I, I stole Arachne’s thing?’
But as soon as he tried to think a little deeper, his mind began to grow blank again.
Smack!
A black wing struck Odin’s cheek hard once again. He managed to regain his senses but his wings were weaker than before. Somehow, he felt like his joints were covered in a cold sweat and he strongly disliked the idea of going to the monastery.
Even the thought of dealing with Siren began to slowly fade away.
Flap!
Caw! Caw!
So when the crows he sent to find Arachne came back, he thought it was great timing.
“What? The exhibition ground? Arachne went there?”
Caw!
The crow gave a loud cry as if to say that was correct.
At that moment, an uncomfortable feeling incomparable to before pricked Odin’s instincts.
‘What is this? Why do I feel so gross and uncomfortable?’
For now, Odin changed directions and began to fly towards the exhibition ground where Arachne was. Unfortunately, while all sorts of thoughts were going through his complicated mind, a pair of charming black shoes appeared before his eyes once again and Odin had to hit his cheek with his wings a few times.
* * *
“Ah, I haven’t been hit with bird poop in a while.”
As soon as Genos got some distance away from the coffeehouse, he took off the dirty brown wig. He roughly scattered his hair which had been pressed down and there was a slight frown on his face.
Some time ago, he used to get hit by bird poop whenever he went to the coffeehouse, but it had been okay for a while…
He wondered if it was going to be starting again and felt a little gloomy.
Only
‘Come to think of it, I haven’t seen those crows at the coffeehouse in a while…I feel like crows strangely hate me more than other birds.’
Genos tilted his head and carelessly threw the wig he was holding into a nearby trash can. Afterward, he headed to the exhibition ground on Snow Street.
“Welcome, Lord Sheldon.”
Genos entered through the east door which was used by nobles. His clothing was humble, but they had already been informed in advance so the guards at the entrance let Genos through.
Translator Corner:
[1] It took a while for me to decide between [where are] or [where is]. [Where is Anne-Marie and Hestia] sounds right too, doesn’t it?
[2] Chapter 82, if you’re curious.