Despite the incident of Ciel Uranus' proposal, everything that needed to be taken care of in the Corragio Village was finished. And I've encountered several sub-events that Leon had missed, happening in the vicinity of this village. There is nothing left to do here. We only need to return to the capital city.
"That's all right, but... what's going on?"
As I stepped into Leon's house, which my friends and I were using as temporary lodging, I found three people in the living room. The first person was the owner of this house, Leon's mother, Anemone Brave. For some reason, she had her arms crossed and emitted an icy aura, standing there like a guardian deity. The second person was her daughter, Monica Brave, who shrank and trembled in a corner, sensing her mother's anger. And the third person... I couldn't see his face, but he appeared to be a middle-aged man, located in the center of the room. The reason his face couldn't be seen was that his upper body was stuck in the floor, with only his lower body protruding towards the ceiling.
"Is this some vanguard art... or something else entirely? What happened?"
"Ah, Zenon-oniisan... You've returned!"
Monica looked at me with pleading eyes. I walked quietly next to her and asked about the situation.
"Who is stuck in the floor? Did he fall from the sky or grow out of the ground?"
"Um... that's my uncle. There were a few complications, and my mom threw him to the ground..."
"Uncle...?"
Come to think of it... I suddenly remembered. When we met in the Alteriore, Monica was talking about it. She said Leon had gone missing, and his whereabouts and condition were unknown. Unable to stand it any longer, she had come here. Her uncle, a traveling merchant, had brought her all the way here... That's what she had said.
"Oh... I see."
I finally realized. For the past few days, I had felt like something was stuck in my throat... and now I understood why. I had forgotten something. I had intended to inform Monica about her uncle before entering the dungeon... but because of Leon's situation, I had completely forgotten.
"Well... It seems that uncle also forgot about me and got caught up in his business negotiations. He later remembered and searched for me, but I had already come back with Zenon-oniisan..."
"...I guess I'm in trouble, huh?"
Even though I took Monica with me as her guardian, I forgot about his existence, and she went into the dungeon on her own. Moreover, she came back home with a stranger... I can't complain even if he's branded as an unfit guardian. Probably as a result of that, he ended up getting hit by a 'hero dropper' and stuck in the floor.
"I feel responsible for that as well."
It was me who took Monica into the dungeon. It was me who brought her back from Alteriore without permission. If anything, I feel like I should be the one with my head stuck in the floor. However, Anemone, who noticed my presence, suddenly put on a different smile and turned towards us.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I made such a mess of the room even though we have guests."
"Well, that's fine."
"Dinner is already ready, so please take a seat at the table. Come on, Ciel-chan, too."
"Uh, yes..."
Ciel, who was frozen at the entrance of the room, witnessing the shocking scene, forced a smile in response to Anemone's words. Monica and I sat at the table, and Ciel and Aeris joined us, taking their seats later.
"Well then, everyone, dig in. We got some delicious wild boar meat today, so enjoy it without hesitation!"
"""""..."""""
Everyone, except Anemone, exchanged awkward glances and started eating the dishes placed on the table, as if by mutual agreement. The reason everyone's faces were awkward was because Monica's uncle was still stuck in the floor in the center of the room. The homemade dishes prepared by Anemone were undoubtedly delicious, but honestly, in this situation, I couldn't really taste anything.
"..."
I silently ate the food, trying my best not to show any confusion on my face.
