With Lancer shout of 'Completed', Kaguya Houraisan was startled awake from her strange state, and then she saw the man hand the strange ice block to her.
"Try it?"
Looking at the other party's somewhat expectant eyes, Kaguya Houraisan subconsciously looked away. After all, the pure expectation in the other party's eyes made her feel a little overwhelmed.
Why would the other party show such an expression?
She didn't know, but she knew that the look could not be faked.
After she took the somewhat cold, circular object from the other party, she suddenly felt a slightly cold aura invading her body.
"What... is this?"
"Side Quest · Kaguya-hime Trouble ① ———— Completed"
"Task Reward: 5 Favorability points"
"Current Favorability: 35"
Seeing the system's mission settlement pop up, Lancer couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. It seemed that his guess was correct this time.
But after sighing in relief, he realized something very important ——————
Huh, why didn't Mission ② pop up?
Lancer, who was experiencing this type of series quest for the first time, was a little confused, while Kaguya Houraisan on the other side was a little dazed looking at the circular 'symbol' in her hand.
She hadn't reacted before, but when she realized that the strange aura was similar to the symbol on the tatami mat before, she finally knew the purpose of this thing, but ——————
"Am I supposed to hold this thing in my hand all the time..."
"That's easy to handle."
After Kaguya Houraisan finished speaking, she felt the 'ice block' in her hand being taken away. Then, on the back, something was added with Lancer movements, and when it was fully formed, Kaguya Houraisan finally understood Lancer meaning.
"Is this a hairpin?"
She was undoubtedly asking Lancer, but unfortunately, Lancer did not respond to her. Instead, his eyes were lost in thought as he looked at the hairpin. Undoubtedly, Lancer was looking at the hairpin in his hand at this moment, but in reality, his eyes were focused on something else...
When Leone 'disappeared' before, only one thing was left behind, which was the simple hairpin Lancer had given her at the time. Lancer had kept that hairpin with him all along. Undoubtedly, looking at the ice hairpin he made now, he thought of Leone again.
'It was only a year ago that we last met, but for some reason, it feels like a long time has passed. I really want to... see her again...'
——————
Looking at Lancer holding the hairpin, which was clearly meant for her, and staring blankly, she felt a strange feeling for some reason. According to her intuition, the reason why the other party became like this should be related to the strange 'threads' on the other party during their 'consciousness' exchange before.
She didn't know what the emotion surging in her heart was, but it made her very unhappy. Feeling this way for the first time, she directly snatched the 'hairpin' from Lancer hand.
Undoubtedly, this kind of rude behavior should not appear on her, but she still did it, although she didn't know why she acted this way.
And when she realized it, the hairpin was already in her hand. Looking at Lancer somewhat stunned expression, she decisively twisted her hair into a bun and directly inserted the slightly cold hairpin into her hair.
"I have to say, your craftsmanship is quite good."
Kaguya Houraisan, who said these words, was a little flushed, but this was undoubtedly the limit of what she could do now. However, what she didn't expect was that Lancer did not get angry. Instead, he looked at her with a faint smile, only ——————
'It's happening again. Why is he looking at me, but his eyes don't show my presence at all...'
And just at this moment.
"Thank you, but I should take my leave. I've been here for quite some time, and I should go back."
While saying this, Lancer held onto the window frame and leaped out.
And by the time Kaguya Houraisan reacted and walked to the window, Lancer had already disappeared without a trace.
Why did the other party thank her?
The man did not mention compensation until the end. What was he thinking?
She found that the more she interacted with that man, the stranger she found him...
——————
The journey back to Fujiwara-kyō from 'Bamboo Mountain' was very peaceful. There were no robbers, not even a Youkai. Most of the guards breathed a sigh of relief at this. After all, the person they were guarding was Fujiwara no Fuhito. Once something happened to him, they, the guards, would be held responsible. They were very happy to have an uneventful journey.
But for Lancer, it was a bit too boring.
Overall, he spent two days and seemed to have no other gain besides the 5 favorability points from 'Kaguya-hime'.
'Sigh, I don't know how to trigger Mission ②...'
Just as Lancer was complaining internally, the motorcade slowly stopped. Undoubtedly, they had arrived outside the city of Fujiwara-kyō.
Lancer work was undoubtedly complete, so he was ready to bid farewell to Fujiwara no Fuhito, but Fujiwara no Fuhito enthusiastically invited Lancer to eat at his home.
As for why?
It was very simple. It was because among everyone who had seen Kaguya-hime on the Bamboo Mountain this time, Lancer reaction was the most indifferent.
This behavior, in his opinion, was undoubtedly a bonus.
And Lancer originally planned to refuse, but for some reason, the image of a girl in a pink kimono looking at him with curiosity and admiration popped up in his mind...
"Then I will gladly accept."
The dinner was nothing special for Lancer. In his opinion, it was nothing more than a group of minor nobles flattering Fujiwara no Fuhito under the guise of a wine banquet, and he, who was sitting aside drinking silently, seemed a little strange.
In the eyes of most people, Lancer was undoubtedly an outcast unlucky fellow, but in Lancer view, drinking by himself was much happier.
After three rounds of drinks and five courses of food, Fujiwara no Fuhito simply asked the house dancers to perform for everyone. Lancer, who was completely uninterested in this, excused himself, claiming his alcohol tolerance was poor, and left.
Fujiwara no Fuhito did not stop him, and even had someone take Lancer to a guest room to rest. Looking at Lancer receding figure, his eyes flickered slightly twice.
After being taken to the guest room, Lancer directly asked the servant to leave, and after confirming that there was no one around, he very 'skillfully' found the location of Fujiwara no Mokou small house.
Compared to the bustling main hall, only Fujiwara no Mokou room in her small house had a flickering candlelight. Fujiwara no Mokou, kneeling by the candle holder, looked a little strange. Although she was holding her favorite 'biography' in her hand, she was just staring blankly.
And just at this moment ——————
"Cough cough~"
A light cough came from outside the door, and Fujiwara no Mokou, who was originally staring blankly by the lamp, froze for a moment, and then stood up with a look of surprise.
Her originally vacant eyes regained focus, and she quickly stood up and walked towards the door. As expected, a large dark figure stood outside the door.
"Sir Lancer? Is that you?"