Chapter 66

Then, Anne-Marie gave a light chuckle and added .

“To be honest, I’m thinking about quitting the clinic . ”

“What?”

I was a little surprised .

Anne-Marie quitting the clinic? That didn’t happen in the novel at all . There were times where I got a similar feeling, but this was the first time I really felt that the original story was trying to leave main track in Anne-Marie’s hands . Of course, the story already went off track when I helped Lakis, but I thought the rest of the story would flow in a similar manner…

I guess I took it too lightly .

“I actually fainted from overexertion not long ago . ”

And Anne-Marie’s next words startled me .

“That happened?”

“Ah, it wasn’t that serious, don’t worry . It was just one time in front of my house…”

Anne-Marie explained to me, looking a little sheepish as she did so . As if she made a big deal out of something that wasn’t much . However, there was no way collapsing from overexertion was a minor issue .

“I think it’s because you have a lot of work at the clinic and you kept pushing myself . Did you get checked up?”

“Yes, they said I was fine . ”

Anne-Marie gave a bright smile as if thanking me for worrying about her . Then she seemed to think about something, and her smile faded .

“But you know, I’m worried about Hestia, so I want to start taking care of my body, at least now…that’s why I’m leaning towards quitting the clinic if possible . ”

I was beginning to understand what Anne-Marie was thinking . If something bad happened to her, Hestia would end up without a single relative and that sudden fainting spell made her blood run cold . Even before, she had casually told me about how she was spending less and less time with Hestia .

“I see…well, chose what makes you comfortable and I hope it works out best for you, Ms . Anne-Marie . ”

And when I said that, Anne-Marie once again smiled beautifully like a freshly blossomed flower .

“Thank you, Ms . Yuri . If it’s okay with you, would you like to go home together?”

“Sure . ”

Like that, we made a promise for later and went our separate ways .

* * *

Caw!

A crow cried out by the window .

Lakis went to where the sound came from and opened the window . Then he found a black feather sitting on the window frame . On it was a message Odin sent to Lakis, using a crow . Just like when he sent messages to Yuri, the feather was engraved with tiny, faint letters that were difficult to see with the human eye .

However, Lakis was naturally beyond the classification of human so it was easy for him to see it .

‘Looks like he’s doing his job well . ’

After confirming the contents, Lakis’ lips curved in a crooked smile . Of course, he still didn’t like the crow Odin, but apart from that, he had to admit the guy was quite useful .

Click .

Right then, he heard the sound of the door opening from behind him . Lakis squeezed the feather tight and it turned into black smoke, disappearing without a trace . Then he went to greet Yuri .

“Mr . Lakis, let’s have a talk . ”

Yuri said as soon as she saw Lakis . Before coming home, Yuri felt she needed to address what happened yesterday . Of course, it was true she was taken in by Lakis’ beauty but she thought it was unfair of Lakis to take the chance to solve his curiosity like that .

After she called him, she could feel Lakis promptly studying her face . After a brief pause, he began walking to Yuri again . But as he drew closer than necessary for some reason, Yuri opened her mouth to tell him to stop there .

However, Lakis acted faster that she could speak . Before she knew it, he was right before her, and his blonde hair shook before eyes . At the same time, he took her hand without any hesitation and wove their fingers together .

“Are you…”

A low voice reverberated deeply past her ears .

“…still angry?”

Yuri’s lips unconsciously parted when she saw the light blue eyes looking down at her .

“Rather than anger…”

As she looked into Lakis’ eyes up-close, the words in her head seemed to fade away . She suddenly felt the distance between them was too small and took a step back to create some space . But Lakis moved just as much, rendering it useless .

“Mr . Lakis, what happened yesterday…”

“I’m sorry . ”

And before Yuri finished what she was going to say, Lakis apologized first . He looked down at Yuri and whispered in a voice filled with sincerity .

“I was wrong . Please don’t be angry . ”

He spoke as if trying to appease her and as she looking into the eyes facing her, she somehow felt speechless .

‘Oh, this is weird…’

Yuri felt suspicious when she saw Lakis like this . As she looked at his face, she didn’t feel like saying anything more . Of course, she wasn’t angry in the first place, but she felt like she should at least say something .

Was it because he looked like drenched puppy?

Eventually, the words Yuri said were very different from what she initially planned .

“Don’t do it again . ”

Anyways, it looked like Lakis was seriously reflecting…so she figured she could leave it alone at this point .

At Yuri’s words, Lakis’ eyes curved in a soft smile to show he understood . Then he lifted her hand and pressed his lips to the back of her hand . The series of actions were so natural that Yuri didn’t even think of shaking him off .

Soon, a sweet whisper coiled around her ears .

“I missed you, Ms . Yuri . ”

Yuri unconsciously held her breath .

‘Wow, how can someone talk like this?’

It was so sweet, as if his voice was made in sugar or honey . For some reason today, she felt like she had grown speechless in front of Lakis quite a few times . This feeling felt somehow dangerous for her heart, so Yuri unconsciously shook off his hand .

Once she separated from the body touching hers, her mind calmed down again . But it only lasted a moment because right after, Lakis touched her face and her heart softened again .

“Mr . Lakis…you’re too close . ”

At Yuri’s words, Lakis tilted his head . Then a corner of his lips curved, and he whispered in a lazy, almost ticklish voice .

“I want to be even closer though . ”

At this point, Yuri had no choice but to admit it . Lakis had a very great talent for captivating people . And his beauty trap was more effective on her than she thought . If Lakis knew what she was thinking, he would be very satisfied .

“Are you usually like this with anyone?”

Then Yuri asked unconsciously . At that, Lakis looked at her like he’d just heard something unexpected, then he soon said the same words she’d said not too long ago .

“No . I’m only like this with you . ”

Yuri was once again speechless . The sweet voice felt a little ticklish as it dug into her ears .

“I’m hungry . ”

So she changed the subject, spun around and walked away . Lakis chuckled under his breath and followed after Yuri .

* * *

On her day off from the coffeehouse, Yuri told Lakis she had an appointment so she would be getting back late then she went out in the afternoon . After which, she stopped by Leo’s hideout to change her clothing .

“I-I’m sorry! I’m trying really hard! It’s definitely not because I can’t but Odin has hidden himself so well . ”

Once she saw Yuri, Siren urgently made an excuse . Ever since Yuri made a request, she had been manipulating her bird to look for Odin . However, she was yet to get any outstanding results .

“Please look a little harder . I’ll also look for him myself . ”

Yuri said, after nodding to show she understood .

However, Siren was crestfallen because she felt she had disappointed Yuri .

“Yuri! Me too! Me too!”

Right then, Leo butt in and arrogantly asked to be involved in looking for Odin .

“Me, direction, good! Siren, bad!”[1]

“What the? A mere watchdog is looking down on me?”

Naturally, Siren blew her top .

“I know you’re good at directions too, Leo . But you don’t have to help this time . It might be dangerous . ”

However, Yuri stroked Leo’s head and refused . There was the fact that he was caught by slave traders looking for mutants last time, and above all, Leo stood out when he moved around so it was dangerous .

With Yuri’s refusal, it was Leo’s turn to be crestfallen and his ears drooped down .

“Hmph, I’m enough help for Arachne, OK?”

Siren turned up her nose and laughed .

“Grrrrr . ”

“What, keep glaring at me . What’re you gonna do?”

Yuri ignored the two of them snarling at each other and began to change her clothes .

“Gasp!”

Siren was shocked and covered Leo’s eyes with her wings .

“Arachne, you-! It’s not just two of us here, this watchdog’s here too . Why’re you just tossing your clothes?”

“Even in the lab, I changed in front of others, who cares . ”

“Is this the lab? You…! Don’t tell me you do this at home t-too…”

Upon hearing Yuri speak calmly, Siren spoke with disbelief .

Translator’s Corner:

[1] He says he’s good at navigating/searching while Siren can’t .