Chapter 74 Hotel
The largest hotel in Ironthorn Territory is right next to the Church of Light. The proprietress is sitting at the door of the kitchen, washing debris from the wool, while her snotty-nosed little son is running around holding a lamb.
There were few guests staying at the hotel during the day, and she had no time to solicit business. All her attention was focused on scolding her naughty son and the work in her hands - until her deliberately heavy heels made the floor creak, and the proprietress looked up in confusion, and almost got her finger pricked by a small branch.
God of Light, she thought in a daze, am I seeing the real god walking out of the church mural?
"Good morning, ma'am." The other party smiled and said, "Please help me get two rooms."
Under the gaze of those blue eyes, the proprietress hurriedly wiped her hands on her apron and completed a series of tasks almost in a daze. She only came to her senses after the other party left.
"Mom, is that the legendary princess?" Her son, who had run up to her at some point, secretly tugged at the hem of her clothes, stammering excitedly, "Beautiful golden hair, bright blue eyes, and a beautiful voice..."
"Don't talk nonsense." The proprietress quickly lowered her voice and scolded him, fearing that the distinguished guest would hear: "He is a gentleman. Besides, how could Her Royal Highness the Princess come to a place like ours?"
——That person was carrying the suitcase by himself, and just by looking at the other person walking upstairs on his own, you could tell that he was not a servant.
"But he is very handsome, even prettier than the new noble lady who came recently..." The little boy muttered unconvincedly. Seeing his mother glaring at him and raising her hand as if to hit him, he immediately ran away with the lamb in his arms.
The one favored by God didn't know that the nickname that had been teased by his companions many times was once again confirmed by a four or five-year-old child. He put down his luggage, and another person was already standing in front of the window of the hotel, looking at something unknown.
The sky beneath him was gray-blue, flecks of light from the leaves shone onto the coats of passing textile workers, and the dust beneath the leaves was trampled into a fresh muddy swamp by the sheep. Ironthorn collars, carrying the stinking heat of livestock, grew wildly among the wool as soft as clouds, while the guardian of this land had turned away.
——Under the cover of his fine black hair, the savior stared at the slightly raised spine at the back of the man's neck, extending deep into his collar. It was cold, hard, bony and pale, making people want to strangle him with their hands.
"……professor."
"Speak." The black-haired young man responded coldly.
But the other person fell silent. Nova frowned and turned around - he was startled. Silently, the person was so close that he was about to hit his forehead in the next second, so that the blue eyes that were even more dazzling at close range showed a kind of terrifying beauty that was enough to drown people.
“…What are you doing?”
He instinctively tried to step back, but the window sill jarred his brow. Before he could react, a strange hand covered his face. Its cool fingertips applied pressure, gently and deeply stroking the slightly reddened and swollen area, as if confirming something. Before he could wince at the sudden surge of pain, the heat and discomfort on his face suddenly vanished, as if by magic.
"Healing spell."
The other person let go of his hand as if nothing had happened and took a step back, his expression as gentle and harmless as ever.
The professor gave him a suspicious look. Although the curve of his lips was always perfect, he still felt that he was not in a good mood. "...Thank you."
"I wrote to arrange a meeting here with someone from the Golden Spinning Wheel Company. They'll be here in about half an hour." He added coldly, "Because it involves commercial secrets, this is a private meeting. You can go take a walk around the area later."
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Nova raised his eyebrows when he saw someone staring at him with an unclear expression. "I'm not some teenage brat who ran away from home after a big fight with my family and then hid under a bridge crying."
"I'm not so naive and stupid as to expect unconditional understanding and endless support just because of blood ties." He added coldly, but it seemed more like some kind of clumsy comfort, but I didn't know who it was directed at.
The God's Chosen One looked at him deeply, as if he was not going to delve into this topic any further - thank God, Nova felt that he would never be able to adapt to those gentle and dangerous touches that made him confused and uneasy.
"Because of the issue of succession to the title?" The other party changed the subject.
"More than that, but don't worry," the professor said calmly, even making a joke that no one understood: "Besides being the eldest son of the Brody family, I'm also their AAA gold medal technical consultant."
After the "AAA Gold Medal Technical Consultant" Mr. Brody and the representative of the Golden Spinning Wheel Company finished their "private meeting", it was already dark. The other party stood up and said goodbye to him, and shook hands with him very solemnly before leaving.
"I'm sorry to hear that, Mr. Brody," the shrewd businessman said with a half-hearted sigh, "but we respect your wishes. If you need anything later, the door of the Golden Spinning Wheel is always open to you. It's just that I'm curious, purely for personal reasons."
He paused, then cautiously probed, "You know, what the Golden Spinning Wheel values most is you as a person..."
Rather than a shaky, impoverished and ruined family.
The eldest son of the Brody family clearly disdained his family's existence, tying his interests and wealth solely to the Ironthorn Territory. Yet, he acted carelessly, squandering opportunities and talents—if the other party had been willing, he could easily have secured a well-paying job. As for noble status? These days, the rich reigned supreme. Even the king had to show some respect to those with money.
An eccentric and extravagant genius.
"I don't think this has much to do with the cooperation between your companies." The other person raised his cold and sharp gray eyes, which immediately made people feel at a loss, and subconsciously suspected that they had said something wrong.
...To add, a bad-tempered and difficult-to-get-along-with genius.
After the other party left in a huff, Nova simply went downstairs and asked the proprietress for a cup of coffee. The local coffee beans didn't taste very good, but it was better than nothing, enough to stimulate his brain, which was beginning to tire after a day of high-speed work.
Fortunately, the guy was not there. Suddenly, a magical and unprecedented idea popped up in his mind - if someone was found drinking coffee secretly late at night, he would have to face someone's "disapproving look" again.
Of course it's impossible to be afraid - but it's also quite creepy, and there's an inexplicable slight sense of guilt.
Gradually, more and more guests came to the hotel. This time, someone quickly recognized him, but because of his cold face, no one dared to approach him and talk to him. Instead, a few people gathered together and whispered, occasionally glancing at the corner where the black-haired young man was.
The eldest son of the Brody family was seen by profit-seeking outsiders as a thorny figure, unyielding and overly rational and apathetic. As a result, this young man, considered by many to be overly arrogant and naive, was suddenly on the verge of losing everything he had, and there were always those who were happy to watch the joke, and even tried to step on him.
But the "poor fellow" who was about to lose his title seemed to be in some isolated space, ignoring the pity or malice of others - until the surroundings suddenly became quiet, with the occasional obvious light breathing sound. Novaton felt something was wrong. The next second, someone knocked on the table next to his coffee cup with their finger bones, and the voice of the God-favored One, with a faint smile, sounded faintly in his ears.
"—Sir, what did I say?"
Soft, cool blond hair brushed against Nova's ears, and he instinctively shrank his neck. The man had one hand on the back of the chair and the other on the table. If he wanted to escape, he could only slip through the gap in his arm.
Nova roughly estimated the size of the gap, then blinked expressionlessly: "Good evening."
"……Good evening."
The God-Favored One was silent for a moment, then suddenly chuckled with an ambiguous tone. He stood up and casually moved the cup of "evidence" further away. The lights in the hotel were ordinary kerosene lamps, dim and hazy, but they made the other person look like the source of all light in the world.
"Are you done? How was it?" the professor calmly changed the subject, glancing at the inn entrance. The crowd, originally just a few, had multiplied several times, and many of those who were secretly peeked into the inn while "passing by" were practically glued to someone. While he intended to announce to those interested that the two "chosen ones" were currently in Ironthorn Territory, the professor now suspected that everyone would know tomorrow that a "beauty" had arrived in Ironthorn Territory, and that she was very familiar with the eldest son of the Brody family.
Nova once again felt the charm of the "male protagonist" so intuitively - some people are born to be the protagonists of the world and can easily take away the breath of others.
"Full of vitality." Azuka summarized it gently and briefly, and smiled at the kid who was hiding at the table and peeking at him. The kid immediately opened his mouth stupidly, forgetting to even sniff.
"...Let me ask you this: Based on your experience, can I sleep tonight?" the black-haired young man asked cautiously and solemnly, and at this moment, he felt the same doubts that Orel and others had experienced: "Isn't someone going to sing love songs under the window all night long?"
Thanks to the existence of the bard profession, most residents of the continent of Ambrose can hum a few famous arias. Lyre and love songs are a must-have skill for pursuing beautiful girls - or handsome boys. The disadvantage is that it is extremely disturbing to others, especially if you are unlucky enough to run into a guy who is tone-deaf.
Someone who was secretly teased smiled and said, "I think you will have a good sleep - of course, if there is no cup of coffee."
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