Chapter 158

"Oh... yes, welcome."

I pointed Avinox to the sofa first.

But I couldn't take my eyes off the halo that flashed.

As if conscious of my gaze, Avinox asked with a slight blush.

"Today, do I look weird?"

"Yes? No, you're cool."

"Well... that's a relief."

Avinox smiled shyly.

"Do you have any other plans besides meeting me today, Sir Avinox?"

"Well, it's not like that. It's just... I like the weather."

He dressed up like that because the weather was nice?

It's obvious did you woke up in the morning, take a bath, and trimmed your hair neatly?

"Oh, because the weather is nice?"

"Yes... It's a nice day, haha."

Knowing that it was a clumsy answer, Avinox smiled, scratching his cheek.

But he looked so pretty when he was shy.

I stared blankly at Avinox for a few seconds.

"...Lady Florentia?"

Until Avinox smiled awkwardly at me.

Perez and Avinox are all so pretty that I'm in trouble.

"Hmm."

I managed to come to my senses and put the tea and refreshments I had prepared down in front of Avinox.

The tea leaves were flower tea made by Larane herself a while ago.

I don't know the exact name, but it was the tea I enjoy drinking these days because it smells good.

Avinox grinned at the fragrant aroma of warm tea water rising from the glass.

“Ah, it’s Ephilia flower tea. It smells really good.”

"Is it possible to distinguish only by scent?"

I asked in surprise.

"Yes, the Eastern part of the country has developed a tea culture more than the central part of the Empire, and recently we've been studying a variety of tea leaves."

"For tea... study?

"The person I mentioned the other day likes tea very much."

Avinox replied, touching the circumference of the round teacup with his fingertips.

She like tea, also she likes books.

When I called to Lombardy's mansion, Avinox came dressed most extravagantly.

I clapped my hands as if I had just remembered.

"Come to think of it, may I ask how it's been since then? I'm curious because I gave you advice."

"Oh, that's..."

Avinox answered with a dry cough as if to suppress the smile that kept leaking.1

“I confessed my heart according to Lady Florentia's advice.”

"Did she accept it?"

Avinox nodded instead of answering.

"Since then, we have been exchanging letters through acquaintances, though not often. It's all thanks to you, Lady Florentia."1

"Did I do anything? That's what Sir Avinox, who took courage, did it."

Hmm.

That's what it means.

I looked at Avinox with thin eyes for a moment and then brought out the subject.

"The reason I asked you to meet me today is that I have a few questions, Sir Avinox."

"Yes, feel free to ask me anything, Lady Florentia."

Avinox, who has become very familiar to me since work in the North, smiled with a distinctive cheerful smile.

"What's the East like?"

"Well, that's a tough question."

Avinox touched his smooth chin, thinking for a moment and opening his mouth.

"Eastern is... a warm place."

Avinox's face, who said so, loosened.

"The wind from the far sea, the white sand heated by the sun, and the people are warm and friendly."

Even Avinox's shaped lips were warm.

"You know what? Most of the big cities on the East Coast paint their buildings white. Because it's cool on that side. And eastern people enjoy wearing dark and colorful clothes, and if you look down at the narrow alleys entangled like spider webs from high places, it's like you're looking at a picture."

"Wow, that sounds beautiful."

"Yeah, a lot of course. Oh, there's another one."

Avinox said in an excited voice.

"There is a tradition of people playing music on the coast when it's time for people who went out to sea early in the morning to return. It was so that the ship that had left far could hear the sound and come to the house."

"Ah..."

"So at sunset, there's music everywhere. That's why people from the East can play one or two instruments."

As I listened to Avinox's story, I became more and more convinced that the business plan set by me and Clerivan was right.

"It sounds like a beautiful place. But why hasn't such a good place been well known so far? I think it's a perfect destination."

Avinox replied with a wry smile.

“Maybe it’s because it’s too far away. It's a three-week trip by carriage. If we go back and forth that way, even healthy people will get sick.”

"What if it's a one-way, not a round trip? Will it be okay to travel around?"

"Sure, it cuts the trip in half.”

Avinox added, nodding his head a lot.

"It would be great if there was a way to replace a tough carriage trip."

"As expected, right?"

I responded to Avinox and handed him an envelope containing a package of documents I had prepared.

"What is this...?"

Avinox looked at me with his eyes wide open.

"It's a brief description of the new business that Pellet Corporation is currently working on. I prepared it in advance because I thought it could help Luman. I wanted to meet you for a while to give you this."

Avinox looked at me for a moment and pulled out the papers and started reading them.

"This is..."