Then, Anne-Marie gave a light chuckle and added .
“To be honest, I’m thinking about quitting the clinic . ”
“What?”
I was a little surprised .
Anne-Marie quitting the clinic? That didn’t happen in the novel at all . There were times where I got a similar feeling, but this was the first time I really felt that the original story was trying to leave main track in Anne-Marie’s hands . Of course, the story already went off track when I helped Lakis, but I thought the rest of the story would flow in a similar manner…
I guess I took it too lightly .
“I actually fainted from overexertion not long ago . ”
And Anne-Marie’s next words startled me .
“That happened?”
“Ah, it wasn’t that serious, don’t worry . It was just one time in front of my house…”
Anne-Marie explained to me, looking a little sheepish as she did so . As if she made a big deal out of something that wasn’t much . However, there was no way collapsing from overexertion was a minor issue .
“I think it’s because you have a lot of work at the clinic and you kept pushing myself . Did you get checked up?”
“Yes, they said I was fine . ”
Anne-Marie gave a bright smile as if thanking me for worrying about her . Then she seemed to think about something, and her smile faded .
“But you know, I’m worried about Hestia, so I want to start taking care of my body, at least now…that’s why I’m leaning towards quitting the clinic if possible . ”
I was beginning to understand what Anne-Marie was thinking . If something bad happened to her, Hestia would end up without a single relative and that sudden fainting spell made her blood run cold . Even before, she had casually told me about how she was spending less and less time with Hestia .
“I see…well, chose what makes you comfortable and I hope it works out best for you, Ms . Anne-Marie . ”
And when I said that, Anne-Marie once again smiled beautifully like a freshly blossomed flower .
“Thank you, Ms . Yuri . If it’s okay with you, would you like to go home together?”
“Sure . ”
Like that, we made a promise for later and went our separate ways .
Caw!
A crow cried out by the window .
Lakis went to where the sound came from and opened the window . Then he found a black feather sitting on the window frame . On it was a message Odin sent to Lakis, using a crow . Just like when he sent messages to Yuri, the feather was engraved with tiny, faint letters that were difficult to see with the human eye .
However, Lakis was naturally beyond the classification of human so it was easy for him to see it .
‘Looks like he’s doing his job well . ’
After confirming the contents, Lakis’ lips curved in a crooked smile . Of course, he still didn’t like the crow Odin, but apart from that, he had to admit the guy was quite useful .
Click .
Right then, he heard the sound of the door opening from behind him . Lakis squeezed the feather tight and it turned into black smoke, disappearing without a trace . Then he went to greet Yuri .
“Mr . Lakis, let’s have a talk . ”
Yuri said as soon as she saw Lakis . Before coming home, Yuri felt she needed to address what happened yesterday . Of course, it was true she was taken in by Lakis’ beauty but she thought it was unfair of Lakis to take the chance to solve his curiosity like that .
After she called him, she could feel Lakis promptly studying her face . After a brief pause, he began walking to Yuri again . But as he drew closer than necessary for some reason, Yuri opened her mouth to tell him to stop there .
However, Lakis acted faster that she could speak . Before she knew it, he was right before her, and his blonde hair shook before eyes . At the same time, he took her hand without any hesitation and wove their fingers together .
“Are you…”
A low voice reverberated deeply past her ears .
“…still angry?”
Yuri’s lips unconsciously parted when she saw the light blue eyes looking down at her .
“Rather than anger…”
As she looked into Lakis’ eyes up-close, the words in her head seemed to fade away . She suddenly felt the distance between them was too small and took a step back to create some space . But Lakis moved just as much, rendering it useless .
“Mr . Lakis, what happened yesterday…”
“I’m sorry . ”
And before Yuri finished what she was going to say, Lakis apologized first . He looked down at Yuri and whispered in a voice filled with sincerity .
“I was wrong . Please don’t be angry . ”
He spoke as if trying to appease her and as she looking into the eyes facing her, she somehow felt speechless .
‘Oh, this is weird…’
Yuri felt suspicious when she saw Lakis like this . As she looked at his face, she didn’t feel like saying anything more . Of course, she wasn’t angry in the first place, but she felt like she should at least say something .
Was it because he looked like drenched puppy?
Eventually, the words Yuri said were very different from what she initially planned .
“Don’t do it again . ”
Anyways, it looked like Lakis was seriously reflecting…so she figured she could leave it alone at this point .
At Yuri’s words, Lakis’ eyes curved in a soft smile to show he understood . Then he lifted her hand and pressed his lips to the back of her hand . The series of actions were so natural that Yuri didn’t even think of shaking him off .
Soon, a sweet whisper coiled around her ears .
“I missed you, Ms . Yuri . ”
Yuri unconsciously held her breath .
‘Wow, how can someone talk like this?’
It was so sweet, as if his voice was made in sugar or honey . For some reason today, she felt like she had grown speechless in front of Lakis quite a few times . This feeling felt somehow dangerous for her heart, so Yuri unconsciously shook off his hand .
Once she separated from the body touching hers, her mind calmed down again . But it only lasted a moment because right after, Lakis touched her face and her heart softened again .
“Mr . Lakis…you’re too close . ”
At Yuri’s words, Lakis tilted his head . Then a corner of his lips curved, and he whispered in a lazy, almost ticklish voice .
“I want to be even closer though . ”
At this point, Yuri had no choice but to admit it . Lakis had a very great talent for captivating people . And his beauty trap was more effective on her than she thought . If Lakis knew what she was thinking, he would be very satisfied .
“Are you usually like this with anyone?”
Then Yuri asked unconsciously . At that, Lakis looked at her like he’d just heard something unexpected, then he soon said the same words she’d said not too long ago .
“No . I’m only like this with you . ”
Yuri was once again speechless . The sweet voice felt a little ticklish as it dug into her ears .
“I’m hungry . ”
So she changed the subject, spun around and walked away . Lakis chuckled under his breath and followed after Yuri .
On her day off from the coffeehouse, Yuri told Lakis she had an appointment so she would be getting back late then she went out in the afternoon . After which, she stopped by Leo’s hideout to change her clothing .
“I-I’m sorry! I’m trying really hard! It’s definitely not because I can’t but Odin has hidden himself so well . ”
Once she saw Yuri, Siren urgently made an excuse . Ever since Yuri made a request, she had been manipulating her bird to look for Odin . However, she was yet to get any outstanding results .
“Please look a little harder . I’ll also look for him myself . ”
Yuri said, after nodding to show she understood .
However, Siren was crestfallen because she felt she had disappointed Yuri .
“Yuri! Me too! Me too!”
Right then, Leo butt in and arrogantly asked to be involved in looking for Odin .
“Me, direction, good! Siren, bad!”[1]
“What the? A mere watchdog is looking down on me?”
Naturally, Siren blew her top .
“I know you’re good at directions too, Leo . But you don’t have to help this time . It might be dangerous . ”
However, Yuri stroked Leo’s head and refused . There was the fact that he was caught by slave traders looking for mutants last time, and above all, Leo stood out when he moved around so it was dangerous .
With Yuri’s refusal, it was Leo’s turn to be crestfallen and his ears drooped down .
“Hmph, I’m enough help for Arachne, OK?”
Siren turned up her nose and laughed .
“Grrrrr . ”
“What, keep glaring at me . What’re you gonna do?”
Yuri ignored the two of them snarling at each other and began to change her clothes .
“Gasp!”
Siren was shocked and covered Leo’s eyes with her wings .
“Arachne, you-! It’s not just two of us here, this watchdog’s here too . Why’re you just tossing your clothes?”
“Even in the lab, I changed in front of others, who cares . ”
“Is this the lab? You…! Don’t tell me you do this at home t-too…”
Upon hearing Yuri speak calmly, Siren spoke with disbelief .
Translator’s Corner:
[1] He says he’s good at navigating/searching while Siren can’t .