Adventurer's Guild Café: I Was Wrongfully Exiled by the Saint, So I Will Enjoy My Second Life with My Fluffy Friends - V 2.2 Chapter 4.11

“I’m done with the bath—…”

Lea was apparently the type to take long baths, and there was no sign she’d be coming out anytime soon. With no other choice, I headed to the living room first.

In the spacious living room, Ingrid was staring intently at a sheet of paper she held in her hands.

Her expression was so serious that I couldn’t help but wonder what she was looking at.

It seemed to be a portrait of a woman. She looked like she might be from the same White Wolf Tribe, but from here I couldn’t make out her face clearly. Ingrid looked… sad somehow, gloomy even, and it felt really hard to approach her.

As I stood there hesitating, she suddenly looked up as if startled.

“Oh, Kuuna-san.”

“Ah… s-sorry! Thank you for letting me use the bath.”

“It’s fine. Now, your tail… eh!? It’s ridiculously fluffy!”

Putting the paper away, Ingrid looked at me, visibly startled.

“Um… it just sort of became fluffy…”

“It must have been a good match for you.”

If my tail could get this fluffy and silky in just one use, what would happen if I kept using it…?

“There’s plenty, so take some home with you.”

“Eh!? N-no, it’s fine! I can buy it myself!”

“Don’t say that, let me do something for you, please?”

Ingrid smiled at me gently.

“Living alone at your age must be tough, Kuuna-san. As a fellow White Wolf Tribe member, I want to support you.”

She said this as she handed me a paper bag. When I peeked inside, it was filled with various care products and items… they all looked incredibly high-end.

As she prepared tea, Ingrid spoke.

“You might have someone you like, Kuuna, and in that case, you’d care about these things, wouldn’t you? The White Wolf Tribe… we fall in love a little differently than others do… Oh?”

I was listening to Ingrid’s words with a blank look.

──Someone I like?

“Kuuna-san, did I hit the mark?”

Ingrid looked at me with a teasing grin.

“Eh, um… someone I like…?”

I’d never even thought about it before.

“Do you ever find yourself worried about your tail and things like that?”

“…Ah, yes, sometimes.”

“Is there a man nearby that you’re interested in?”

“…”

For some reason, Gier’s face popped into my mind.

“—!”

My cheeks grew warm.

Wait… do I like Gier?

No, no way. Gier’s just someone who’s helped me a lot—he’s a good person.

I like him, sure, but not that kind of like. I’m sure of it… probably.

As I flustered and panicked, Ingrid finally burst out laughing, unable to hold it in.

“Sorry, sorry. That’s a private matter, isn’t it?”

“～!”

I frantically fanned at my face, which was burning red.

“The love of a wolf is… intense,” Ingrid continued. “Once we fall for someone, we’ll love them forever. If we marry, we only ever love each other. It’s especially true for the White Wolf Tribe.”

Come to think of it, beastkin in general were known for being like that.

“That’s why… if a White Wolf Tribe member is forced to marry someone they don’t love, most of them grow weaker… and some even die. That’s how important love is to us.”

“…”

Is Ingrid… talking about someone?

She looked so sad… and for a moment, her expression overlapped with my mother’s face from my dreams.

That dream I’d seen inside the Abyssal Fish. Yes, Ingrid and my mother… they really did look alike.

“I’m sorry, Kuuna-san. Maybe I’ve been talking too much about unnecessary things?”

“N-no, not at all…”

I shook my head vigorously, and Ingrid gave a sad little smile.

“You remind me so much of my elder sister, Kuuna-san. That’s why I just… get carried away.”

“…Your elder sister, Ingrid-san?”

My heart gave a sudden thump. Me… resembling Ingrid’s elder sister?

If anything, I’d thought she resembled my mother…

“Yes. She had gentle eyes, just like you. She was only a year older than me, and we were very close. We were truly always together.”

Why did she speak in the past tense? From the way she said it… could it be that her sister was already…

Perhaps noticing my unspoken question, Ingrid gave a weary smile.

“…It’s a well-known story. About the eldest daughter of the Ducal House of Lycia who suddenly vanished.”

“She… vanished?”

“Yes. It must have been fifteen or sixteen years ago now.”

It must have been a story she’d told countless times. Even though it was clearly a painful memory, Ingrid recounted it to me with a practiced tone.

Her elder sister had been a bit of a tomboy, often sneaking out of the estate to go play in town. That day had been no different—she had told Ingrid she was going to town and slipped out of the estate without telling their parents. Ingrid hadn’t gone with her because she had plans to meet her fiancé.

And that day… her sister never returned to the estate.

“Not to this very day. That’s why I’m still searching for her. I truly believe I’ll see her again someday.”

I see. That must be why Ingrid had asked my mother’s name the very first time we met.

Because it might somehow be connected to her sister.

My chest ached sharply. It was such a heartbreaking story.

Where could Ingrid’s elder sister have gone? Could she have been caught up in some kind of incident and become unable to return?

For some reason, my heart was pounding like a drum.

I suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to know more about her sister.

“…Um, may I ask? What… what was your sister’s name?”

I didn’t even know why I asked.

But before I realized it, the question had slipped out naturally.

“…It was a flower’s name. My sister’s name. It was so very beautiful.”

“A flower’s name…”

Ingrid stared at me intently, then, as if mustering her courage, she opened her mouth.

“My sister’s name was—”

Thump. My heart skipped a beat.

Ingrid’s figure overlapped with the image of my mother from that dream inside the Abyssal Fish.

My mother’s real name was—

“Ah! Cake! You two are eating without me? That’s so unfair!”

The taut thread of tension snapped all at once with Leah’s voice as she emerged from the bath.

She’d spotted the tea and sweets set out on the table, her eyes sparkling with delight.

“Hey, the cake shop just around the corner is amazing! Have you ever tried it?”

Before Ingrid could answer, Leah started chattering away nonstop.

Ingrid fell silent. And somehow, I felt as though hearing the answer to that question would change something irrevocably, so I kept my mouth shut too.

They’d told me that my mother’s body had grown weak, that she’d succumbed to an epidemic that had worsened her condition.

But the White Wolf Tribe was supposed to be born with strong, sturdy bodies……Why had it been that way, I wondered?

Albert, the man who had tried to kidnap me, came to mind. He’d said there were plenty of organizations out there that kidnapped demi-humans. That beastkin women could be sold for a high price.

I felt a strange sensation, as though scattered dots were beginning to connect.

In the end, I ended up receiving all the care products for free.

Leah, ever the schemer, whispered, “In exchange, make sure to spread the word around, okay?”

But they really were such good products, I thought I’d give some to Kurona next time.

If it was Kurona, she’d probably end up even fluffier…

“Come visit again, all right?”

Ingrid waved at me in front of the inn, smiling gently. The sun was already beginning to set.

Seeing Ingrid’s kind face bathed in the glow of the setting sun made my chest tighten.

──Ingrid really did resemble my mother.

Her slightly drooping golden eyes. Her gentle features. Her height and even her build.

“You’re spacing out. What’s wrong with you?”

“Ah, it’s nothing…”

I shook my head vigorously and gave a quick bow.

After being treated to tea and sweets on top of everything else, I couldn’t help but feel a little guilty.

Come to think of it, I was supposed to have dinner with Ruri and the others. I hoped that would still be all right.

“Well then, I’ll be going now.”

After exchanging farewells, I set off on my way home in the evening glow.

But Ingrid’s wistful expression was etched so deeply in my mind that I couldn’t shake it…