With the feeling of finally achieving the goal underscoring it, the night of reunion passed quickly.
Compared to when they parted more than half a year ago, Heloise hadn't changed much, almost giving Ronald the illusion that the two hadn't been separated for too long.
Until the next day at dawn.
After waking up in the room on the third floor of Heloise's shop, Ronald noticed that soone was missing by his side.
"Heloise..."
Bang, bang, bang—
Just having woken up, Ronald instinctively uttered Heloise's na.
But before he could search for her, soone gently knocked on the door, and Heloise, carrying three breakfasts in her hands, returned to the room at just the right mont.
"Ronald, would you like to have sothing to eat?"
"Ah, so you went to prepare breakfast."
Only then did Ronald co to realize.
He looked at the food in Heloise's hands and found that it was all his favorite things to eat.
This feeling of being taken care of...
Although he was used to the life of being looked after by Costate, at this mont of reuniting with Heloise, that nostalgic feeling rushing in was indeed a rather nice feeling.
Next, Ronald, Heloise, and Patricia enjoyed breakfast in the room.
During this ti, the three of them exchanged stories of their experiences and changes since parting.
It wasn't until breakfast was almost over that Heloise took the initiative to speak:
"So—Ronald, are you planning to take back to the [Greed] fleet soon?"
Ronald naturally nodded and replied:
"There are still things on the fleet that I need to take care of, it's best if we can set out soon."
"..."
Hearing this response, Heloise was silent for a few seconds.
Then she suddenly realized she didn't need to hide anything from Ronald, so she spoke frankly:
"Ronald, I still have things to do temporarily at [Journo]."
"I'm afraid leaving here imdiately is not possible."
"Still have things to do?" Ronald asked, "What is it, can I help?"
Heloise, of course, imdiately began to explain:
"This matter is actually related to why I was last seen at the slave market."
"A few months ago, I traveled with others who left [Greed], encountering quite a few things along the way..."
Heloise narrated her experiences clearly and thodically.
The long journey that almost crossed the continent naturally involved a lot of dangers and special scenes. Because of this, Heloise received help from many people, allowing her to reach the [Rooney Kingdom] smoothly.
However, just a few days ago, those who chose to reside in the [Rooney Kingdom] encountered problems.
A few families disappeared suddenly, and
even a few with good looks appeared in the [Journo] slave market — as slaves!
Thus, as one of the core mbers of the entire team,
even now that everyone has dispersed, Heloise didn't want to ignore the situation. She intends to participate in the investigation and rescue her comrades who have beco slaves.
This was also her way of repaying the help she had received.
After hearing Heloise's thoughts, Ronald naturally supported her decision, as this exchange of gratitude is perhaps one of the simplest human emotions.
"If that's the case, then indeed, help should be offered."
Ronald nodded in agreent and imdiately asked:
"Heloise, did you find any special clues in those missing households?"
Heloise regrettably shook her head:
"The perpetrator is an expert, leaving almost no clues behind."
"The only discovery worth ntioning is that the perpetrator surely belongs to the mysterious side of powerful figures, and they are not cult magicians."
Ronald frowned.
In just a few words, he noticed a flaw:
"Could this be a trap?"
"Since they could clean up traces so thoroughly, there's no reason for them to make the mistake of selling people as slaves — so, this is likely a deliberate choice."
Seeing Ronald put the biggest issue out in the open, Heloise couldn't help but sigh:
"Who says it isn't?"
"But even if it's an obvious trap, as long as we intend to save people, it's sothing we can't avoid. Perhaps the only thing to hope for is to gain a certain level of information once the people are saved."
At this mont, Patricia joined the conversation:
"I rember the third slave at last night's auction was from [Greed]..."
Back in [Springs], Heloise and Patricia had a good exchange, and after everything that happened last night, their relationship naturally continued.
Then, Heloise nodded to Patricia and said:
"That was also the reason why I appeared at the slave market last night."
"It's just a pity that he was bought by a big rchant from [Journo] at the end. I really didn't have the ability to bid against such people."
Ronald asked a follow-up question:
"Do you know the rchant who bought him? Do you know where he lives?"
Heloise imdiately nodded and replied:
"Of course, I even went to him beforehand to get his nod to open this shop!"
"..."
"Then let's go visit him first." Ronald thought for a few seconds before making the final decision, "No matter what problems there are, in such matters, it's best to take action first."
"I'll listen to you, Ronald."
Heloise nodded in agreent, then she stood up and walked alone to other rooms in the residential area:
"But since this is it, please wait a mont. I need to pack so things. After all, since I'm leaving, I don't want to leave anything behind that would trouble others."
...
After finishing breakfast today.
The three of them went downstairs, naturally seen by the waiter who had woken up early to clean.
This little guy, seeing Heloise's current deanor, had a very noticeable feeling of discomfort, just like last night:
"You… uh, boss, are you heading out early in the morning?"
Heloise smiled at the youngster, then replied directly:
"That's right, I'm going out now."
"But, well, with this departure today, I'm afraid I may not co back again."
The young waiter didn't react right away.
When he realized what Heloise ant, the broom in his hands fell directly to the ground, and he had a look of complete incomprehension:
"You're… you're kidding!"
"What do you an, not coming back after leaving?"
"..."
Compared to the waiter's tension and confusion, Heloise showed no signs of reluctance.
She only gave the final instruction to the young waiter seriously before leaving the shop:
"From now on—the shop is for you all."
"In my absence, rember to manage it well."
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