I Don't Want To Work! - Chapter 155

CHAPTER 155

The room was filled only with the innkeeper, who seemed at a loss with the guests. 

All the guests were meticulously covered in long robes, hiding their faces. 

There was only one sitting guest among them. 

Without even looking at me, he spoke.

“How long has it been?”

“Lady.”

Before I could respond, the innkeeper approached me discreetly. 

In a barely audible voice, he whispered to me and the knight standing closely behind me, 

“Are these really the lady’s guests? We let them in suddenly due to the rain pouring for hours…”. 

He glanced at the knight behind me, worried that he might have let in the wrong person and caused trouble. 

I tried to act like an appropriate noble not to cause a scene. 

Still, in the eyes of the innkeeper, I must have seemed like a very high-ranking noble or aristocrat, making me extremely nervous. 

“Please, if not, let me know. I will somehow drive them away…” 

“What did you say?”

“……!!”

The innkeeper jumped up and down in anger.

“Uh, how did you hear……??”

“I can hear everything, pretending not to hear is useless.” 

He raised his hand, and a white hand emerged from the folds of his robe. 

“Could you ask everyone except the noble lady to leave?” 

The knight standing behind intervened, infuriated, and stepped forward.

“Do you know who this lady is?” 

“I do.” 

The curve of a smile was visible through the folds of his robe. 

“My friend.” 

“…” 

“Step aside, Sir.” 

I brushed my hair back and stepped forward. 

“He is my friend, it seems.” 

“My lady?” 

“Oh, and…” 

Ignoring the flustered knight, I turned to the frozen innkeeper. 

“Make sure to give him a generous reward. He welcomed my friend in my absence, so we should express our gratitude.” 

“But…” 

The knight hesitated, indicating that he couldn’t leave me in the room. 

“Don’t worry, Duke Marcus will stay behind.” 

“Yes, my lady.” 

Relieved that Lionel would stay behind, the knight, whose eyes suddenly sparkled, took the innkeeper, who had been frozen just moments ago and left the room. 

“And the person behind?”

The guest, whose face was hidden by a robe, nodded towards Lionel, who remained. 

“The one I’m introducing. Don’t worry, he knows about the wanderer.” 

“Hm?” 

Showing interest but considering it not a priority, he brushed it off. 

“Are the ones behind you alright?” 

“They’ve taken the vow of silence.” 

Ah, that’s believable. 

I can talk a little more comfortably now. 

I chuckled and crossed my arms. 

“Long time no see?” 

“Indeed, a few hundred years, right? It feels like more than 400 years have passed.” 

“I wouldn’t know.” 

I shrugged. 

Meanwhile, he began to remove the robe hood covering his face. 

“Do you remember how many times I’ve died and lived since then? It’s something you should remember, living only one life.” 

Golden cascading hair flowed out, followed by pointed ears. 

“Ethaniel.” 

It was my friend Ethaniel, who had been an elf when I reincarnated. 

My friend looked no different from when I died, except for the length of his hair, and smiled. 

“Asiel, didn’t expect to meet you like this.” 

“Neither did I. The world is indeed small. But how did you know I was here?” “Coincidentally, I was staying in this village too. But why is the village so noisy? What noble is staying here that everyone’s talking about?” 

Ethaniel smiled slyly at me. 

“You were here?” 

“Hm.” 

I casually replied. He pouted slightly. 

“How rude. Aren’t you going to be surprised to see me?” 

That, that. 

Even if I didn’t like it a little, that pouty expression remained the same. 

“I thought you would be more surprised. It’s been quite a while since I died, hasn’t it?” 

“You weren’t surprised either.” 

The pot called the kettle black. 

“And I figured you’d be alive.” 

“Huh? How?” 

Instead of answering, I extended the hem of the robe I wore to show him something. 

It was the cloth. 

Five years ago, the elf’s cloth I had scolded Milia for and managed to obtain from the clothing store. 

“With you being the only one who could sneakily steal important elf cloth like this? Even boldly left your signature?” 

It was such a natural thing. 

The cloth was precious even among the elves, one of the items carefully managed to prevent it from leaving the elf world. 

The reason such cloth confidently sat in a human shop was one. 

“The culprit sneaked out when they appeared in the human world, stole what they made, and sold it.” 

“Hehe.” 

“And did they spend that money on pleasure? They might like alcohol, but our culprit, who gets drunk after a few sips, would’ve passed out before finishing a bottle. They would’ve woken up to find the money gone?” 

“Shut up.” 

Is that the correct answer? 

I looked at Ethaniel with pitiful eyes. 

“Got fooled again?” 

“It’s a story from 200 years ago.” 

“200 years ago is just recently.” 

“…Anyway.”

Ethaniel, who had been murmuring with tightly pursed lips, seemed to suddenly become aware of Lionel and the other elves behind us. 

“You haven’t changed, have you?” 

He said, pretending to shake off some dust while tying his hair. 

Well, it’s too late for that now. 

I chuckled and threw in a belated question. 

“So, what’s happening in the human realm? Judging by the attire and all that….” 

I scanned Ethaniel and, as an afterthought, the guys standing behind him. 

Robes, swords at the waist, and the ones protruding from behind were likely bows. 

They were mostly composed of warriors. 

Moreover, these were warriors who had taken the ‘vow of silence’ to prevent revealing important secrets, even among elf warriors. 

Hmm, I squinted. 

“Is there some kind of war going on?” 

“How did you know that?” 

I looked at my friend. 

“You’re the successor to the village chief.” 

The reason Ethaniel could travel to the human realm and steal elf cloth without repercussions was simple. 

He was the successor to the chief. 

In other words, it was in his blood. 

“Oh dear. I’m not the successor.” 

He waved his hand dismissively. 

“I’m the chief now.” 

Ethaniel said proudly. 

“It’s been quite a while since I took the chief’s seat, hasn’t it? When do you think I died, Asiel?” 

… Isn’t that a bigger problem? 

Even if it’s the successor to the chief, if the chief is drinking and getting into trouble, it’s even worse. 

“What’s wrong? Even though things are like this, there are no accidents?”

“You had an accident 200 years ago?”

“… That was the last time. After that, I didn’t come out to the human world.”

It’s hard to believe. 

I squinted my eyes faintly and shook my head. 

“Anyway.” 

Whatever the case, he wasn’t incompetent. 

Even if he caused accidents, he would get things done. 

And I, no longer an elf or belonging to the village, had no reason to care. 

“So why did you bring the warriors along?” 

“Oh, it’s nothing.” 

Ethaniel’s expression darkened. 

“We were planning to head to Vesenel. We need to have some discussions with the elves there.” 

Elves didn’t typically form one nation. 

They just lived in villages in deep forests or gathered in small city-sized groups. 

They usually lived among themselves but interacted when something happened. 

However, they were fundamentally closed off. 

They wouldn’t typically go for exchanges as the chief of one village. 

As if reading my mind, he grinned. 

“The Titans’ movements have been concerning lately.” 

“Titans?” 

I frowned. 

Why are those who have combined with demons coming out here? 

“Yeah, don’t you know?” 

Even the voice that had been delighted to meet me just a moment ago now sank. 

“About 20 years ago? No, it’s been longer than that now.” 

He grimaced. 

“The Titans suddenly attacked us.”

He said, his voice dripping with bitterness. 

“There were no signs, and we still haven’t figured out the reason for the attack. The damage was minimal, but we lost many allies in that attack.” 

Ethaniel’s eyes, usually devoid of anger, were now filled with rage. 

“Since then, we’ve been closely monitoring the movements of the Titans. But now they’re moving again.” 

He gritted his teeth. 

“This time, we’ll move first.” 

“…” 

Twenty years ago, no, it’s been longer than that. 

Titans, demons, sudden attacks. 

Something seemed to click, but with the words I had, I couldn’t complete the puzzle. 

“You said you don’t know the reason for the attack?” 

“That’s right. They didn’t take anything, nor did they seize our land. They just came in and disappeared in an instant.” 

“Hmm.” 

“And it’s not just our village that was attacked. The elves of Vesenel were also attacked.” 

“…Vesenel too?” 

Ethaniel nodded. 

“Almost every elven village was attacked. That’s why all the village chiefs gathered once.” 

Ethaniel glanced away. 

“It was all the same. There were no signs of the attack, no reason we could discern, nothing taken or missing. And…” 

Ethaniel fell silent for a moment before speaking again. 

“It’s as if they were looking for something.” 

Hearing his last words, my eyes widened. 

Could it be?