mtl008 Chapter 602 - 602
Chapter 602 - 602
As night had fallen, Eiji simply stayed over at Kuonji Manor.Given their deep cooperative relationship, Alice readily agreed and found him a guest room on the second floor of the East Wing.
He paid double the rent.
The next morning.
After breakfast, Eiji left Kuonji Manor without delay.
Aoko Aozaki, dressed in loungewear, watched Eiji's departing figure with a suspicious look.
"That guy trains several times harder than I do. Weekends are supposed to be rare breaks, yet he always disappears without a trace. What exactly is he doing?"
And he wasted the aquarium tickets she had prepared!
Just thinking about it made her angry!
"Are you concerned?"
Alice held a teacup and glanced over upon seeing this.
Though her eyes showed almost no fluctuation, Aoko could sense interest in them.
"Just curious, not really concerned."
Aoko flipped her long hair, acting nonchalant.
"I see."
Alice took a sip of black tea and suddenly spoke.
"I know where he went."
"Really?"
Aoko exclaimed instinctively.
Noticing Alice's teasing gaze, Aoko scratched her cheek awkwardly.
"You've really changed quite a bit."
Alice recalled their first meeting and sighed softly.
When Aoko first inherited her magic, her mood was terrible—the magic had been thrust upon her abruptly, completely disrupting her future plans.
During their initial encounter, they immediately fought, nearly ending in a life-or-death struggle.
But now, she had calmly accepted her magic and even wanted to try mastering it.
"It's all because of him, isn't it?"
Alice glanced at her calmly.
Because he had barged into her life with an unstoppable force, her mindset had changed. Whether it was growth or meddling, the two were now connected by fate.
Aoko scratched her cheek, a faint blush appearing on her face as she continued to laugh awkwardly.
"If you put it that way, you've changed a lot too, Alice! You never used to allow anyone into this mansion before!"
"That was just for funding."
Alice remained composed.
Aoko had nothing to say in response.
Compared to Alice, who had merely loosened restrictions, Aoko felt she had changed so much she hardly recognized herself.
Alice took another sip of black tea and glanced at her sideways.
"If you're really concerned, why not just ask him yourself?"
"No, absolutely not!"
Aoko waved her hands in panic.
"That would be like telling him I care about him! I refuse!"
"..."
Alice fell silent.
She couldn't understand how someone could be so foolish.
Usually, Aoko was spirited and decisive in everything she did, but the moment romance came up, she became hesitant and timid.
Was it true that love made people less intelligent?
Frankly, Alice felt that even if Aoko didn't say anything, Eiji already knew how she felt about him. He just hadn't addressed it directly, perhaps due to some reservations.
"Let's not talk about this. You said you know where he went?"
Aoko waved her hands, still embarrassed, then asked curiously.
"Did you use a familiar to track him, or did you tamper with his magical tools?"
"I didn't do anything. That guy wasn't hiding it to begin with."
Alice set down her teacup.
"He became a teacher."
"A teacher? That's unexpected. He has that side to him too?"
Aoko expressed her surprise with wide eyes.
"Well, that household only has female members, and each one is exceptionally beautiful."
Alice calmly poured herself another cup of black tea.
"...Alice, what did you just say?"
Aoko's eyes widened further, her expression gradually twisting.
...
After descending the mountain path, passing through the upscale residential area and shopping district, they entered the more prosperous western sector of the city.
Eiji navigated familiar streets until he reached a tall building. The security guard at the entrance merely glanced at him before allowing entry.
Inside the building, he took the elevator directly to the top floor - the 20th level, which comprised the entire Pendragon family residence.
"Ding dong!"
"Coming!"
After ringing the doorbell, someone quickly opened the door.
"Oh, Eiji's here! Come in, come in!"
The woman warmly greeting Eiji was a noble lady with graceful manners.
Her golden long hair was elegantly tied up at the back, emerald green eyes like clear water, sharing similar features with her younger sister Souji yet radiating mature charm. The white corset dress accentuated her graceful figure.
"I brought some fruits, Aunt White Saber."
Eiji entered while holding up the bag of fruits.
"You're too polite, child! Why bring gifts when visiting your aunt?"
Mrs. Pendragon gave him a mildly scolding look as she accepted the fruits.
"Please have a seat first. Lia and the others haven't gotten up yet."
The lady cast him an apologetic look, somewhat embarrassed.
"It's really not right that we always make you wait for her every time you come."
"It's fine. Actually, I'm the one who came too early."
Eiji smiled reassuringly at Mrs. Pendragon.
The antique clock on the wall showed the hour hand pointing only to seven.
Seeing he showed no impatience whatsoever, Mrs. Pendragon relaxed and carried the fruits into the kitchen.
"Mom, I'm home!"
Just then, an utterly exhausted voice came from the entrance.
Following this, a young woman bearing some resemblance to Mrs. Pendragon entered through the door.
She wore a police uniform, with a single strand of hair inexplicably piercing through her police cap.
She appeared to be around twenty years old - more mature than the younger tuft-haired girls, yet younger than the lady herself. Her entire aura hovered between youthful innocence and maturity, right at that most popular age.
"Oh, Eiji, it's you. Here to teach my sister sword practice again today?"
As soon as she entered, she took off her police uniform, unbuttoning her collar to reveal cleavage that the younger tuft-haired girls couldn't possibly compare to.
Even after seeing Eiji, she maintained a completely nonchalant expression, utterly unconcerned about showing off her figure in front of him.
"XX, just getting back?"
Eiji's tone was quite familiar.
"Yeah, there was another murder case in the west district last night. Our team had to work overtime, busy until dawn. Damn it, and it's the weekend too!"
XX covered her face, speechless with tears of frustration.
Her words reeked of corporate slave exhaustion.
"A murder case, huh..."
Eiji nodded silently.
"That's right, in the upscale residential area, an entire family went missing. Only some bloodstains and flesh fragments remained at the scene. I don't know what's going on lately, but these kinds of incidents have suddenly been increasing."
XX said with a heavy sigh.
Something was happening in this city, and as a police officer, she had that intuition.
"Don't come home spouting such nonsense! Is this appropriate to talk about in front of Ali? He's just an ordinary student!"
Mrs. Pendragon came out carrying a fruit platter, shooting her eldest daughter an annoyed glare.