CH 191

Chapter 191 : Confusion

「Ho, Hold on, Leona-san! …Mark, you want to stay here for my sake? No, no, no! It’s all on me. You don’t need to feel responsible about it! Anyway, I’m going to take you home tomorrow no matter what!」(Celine)

Celine suddenly stood up as she said that.

「You don’t want Mark to help you?」(Mom)

「A, Actually, it’s not exactly because of that but… Leona-san, if Mark keeps staying here, I will… I will…」(Celine)

While saying that, Celine glanced at me and blushed for some reason.

Suspicious…

It reminds me of when she suddenly went to the bathroom last night when she tried to hug me from behind and ended up waking me up.

「M-Mark, you don’t need to mind me. Spending three years in my own hometown is nothing at all, really. I want you to return to Leona-san as soon as possible!」(Celine)

With her face turned all red, Celine alternately glanced at me and the Resonance Stone while saying that.

I’ve rarely seen Celine panic like this…

『Oi, Onii-chan, you realize the real reason why she doesn’t want you to stay, right? Or are you so insensitive that you don’t even realize it?』(Nicola)

『I think I know the reason… We talked about it last night.』(Mark)

『Then tell her that you’re building your own house now or she won’t stop telling you to go home.』(Nicola)

She’s right.

It’s not the time to be fascinated by Celine’s rare behavior. I have to tell her that I’m building my own house so that she no longer has to sleep with me.

「Celine, it’s true that I want to study more in this village. I’m not staying just because I want to help you with your Portal Stone. Besides, I planned to build my own house in this village. Well, it’s already in progress though.」(Mark)

「Eh…? You’re going to build your own house?」(Celine)

「Yeah. I can’t keep staying in your house and keep relying on you forever after all.」(Mark)

「I, I see… Hee… So you’re going to live in your own house… I see, I see…」(Celine)

After knowing that I will be living separately, Celine sighed in relief.

「Are you relieved now?」(Mark)

「H, Huh? What do you mean?」(Celine)

「You looked kinda panicked, so…」(Mark)

「Panicked? N, No…? I wasn’t panicking. I was just… Umm…」(Celine)

She became silent for a moment as if she was trying to think of an excuse.

「That’s right! I was just a bit upset that you didn’t listen to me. But now that I think about it carefully, you can indeed learn a lot of things in this village, and… to be honest, I’ll be grateful if you can help me with my Portal Stone, so…」(Celine)

Oh? She finally changed her mind.

「So can I stay in this village for a while?」(Mark)

「Well… If you’re not staying because you feel obliged or something, then there’s no reason for me to stop you. But…」(Celine)

Celine sat back on her chair and turned to the Resonance Stone.

「Leona-san, are you sure you’re okay with this? You won’t be able to bath in potion bath for a while, you know?」(Celine)

「Fufu. Don’t worry about me. I still have some potions Mark left, so I can make potion bath by myself. I won’t be able to do it every day though.」(Mom)

「I see. If you say so, then I won’t stop Mark. I will take care of Mark and Nicola while they’re in this village, so you don’t have to worry about them.」(Celine)

「Un. I leave them to you~」(Mom)

「Yes, Ma’am!」(Celine)

Saying that, Celine made a salute pose toward the Resonance Stone.

「Mark, you can stay there for a while but can you promise me one thing?」(Mom)

「What is it, Mom?」(Mark)

「Be sure to call me every day with this, umm… Resonance Stone, was it? Delica said that it requires a lot of mana, but Mark, you can do it no problem, right?」(Mom)

「Of course. I almost fainted when I called Delica for the first time but now I’m already used to it.」(Mark)

「That’s my son~! It’s a promise then. It’s not just Mom and Dad who want to hear your voice after all~」(Mom)

I can’t see her face but for some reason, I can tell that Mom glanced at Delica when she said that.

「Nicola, are you still there?」(Mom)

「Mama! I’m here!」(Nicola)

「I won’t be worried about your brother since he is a hard worker but I have a feeling that you will do nothing but eat and sleep all day.」(Mom)

『Geh! How did she know?』(Nicola)

『Isn’t it obvious?』(Mark)

She always tries to slack off when our inn is busy after all.

Sweat started running down Nicola’s face. She looked so worried that she wouldn’t be able to laze around while staying here.

「Celine-san, would you let Nicola help you cook every day? She always practices cooking with her dad at home and I don’t want her to stop practicing.」(Mom)

「Umm… Leona-san, both my mother and I are very bad at cooking. We usually buy ready-made food or make simple dishes, so… I don’t think we’ll be able to teach her anything…」(Celine)

「Is that so? That’s too bad…」(Mom)

『Hell yeah! I’m glad Celine and Eclain-mama suck at cooking!』(Nicola)

『Oi, that’s rude.』(Mark)

I could see Nicola clenching her fist under the table.

As her big brother, I can’t let her laze around and cause trouble to Celine and Eclain.

I need to find something that she can do while we’re staying in this village.