Endless Silver Machine

After dinner, the girls who had relaxed in the bathroom made an appointment to gather in Lilith-senpai's room, but Aika was the only one who didn't get permission to join. It is reasonable and shows understanding.

After taking a bath in another empty bathroom, Aika put on the guest bathrobe prepared by Miss Serit. The cyan bathrobe was just the right size for her.

Although he was allowed to visit freely, it was rude to wander alone in the mansion without Senior Lilith's company, so Aika walked through the main hall door to the night garden.

The garden is not silent at night. The evening breeze in summer is strong. From time to time, the rustling of leaves can be heard from the surrounding woods. The chirping of insects, one of the signs of summer, is also constantly heard.

Aika strolled slowly along the path in the garden that she had walked on when she came here.

Returning to the East End full of memories, with the bright starry sky above her head, Aika naturally thought of the girl she hadn't seen for a long time. I learned from Wei Xi that Liuyin is still staying in the Holy See, and you should be able to see her there.

As he continued walking forward, Aika vaguely heard bursts of sound breaking through the air. This mansion does not seem to be equipped with special security personnel, and it is conceivable that someone with evil intentions will break into it.

Aika became more vigilant, walked lightly and moved towards the source of the sound based on his feeling. But after confirming the source of the sound, his worries disappeared.

"Mr. Aika!"

Mr. Claus was obviously very surprised that Aika appeared in this place at this time. The bamboo knife held in both hands was hovering in mid-air.

Now he is not wearing the formal butler uniform that he wore in the morning, but the same men's bathrobe as Aika. Judging from the sweaty look on his face, he should have been practicing air swings here a long time ago. No wonder Aika didn't meet him in the bathroom.

"Good evening, Mr. Claus."

Aika raised her hand in greeting and walked towards Mr. Claus. He also put down the bamboo knife in his hand and responded to Aika's greeting.

"Isn't Mr. Aika with Miss Lilith and the others?"

"To put it simply, they were kicked out, haha!"

"I see."

After a simple sentence, Mr. Claus nodded in understanding.

"Well... Mr. Claus doesn't need to use honorifics to me. I'm just a student and I'm not used to this kind of etiquette."

"That's it, then can I just call you by your name?"

"Well, that's enough."

"I understand. It seems like you don't have anything special to do now. Since we meet here by chance, would you like to take a walk in this garden together?"

…………

After waiting for Mr. Claus to put the bamboo knife back in the utility room not far away, the two men slowly walked along the huge garden under the guidance of the faint moonlight.

"Mr. Claus, do you often practice swordsmanship?"

After seeing his skillful and powerful air swings, Aika naturally thought of this.

"It would be better to say that this is my main job." Mr. Claus smiled and corrected Aika's misunderstanding. "As a housekeeper, I am also the only guard here, so I cannot waste this only advantage."

"The only advantage..."

"Did you hear Serit complaining about me today?" Mr. Claus's smile turned into a bitter smile, "As she said, I can't do anything about housework. Even if I really go to help , but it will get in the way."

There was a subtle emotion in his helpless tone.

"I heard from Senior Sister Lilith, are you and Miss Serit in the same class?"

"Did Miss Lilith even tell you such a thing?" Mr. Claus shrugged incredulously, "It is indeed the case. We both graduated from the Imperial Knight Academy at the same time, and Serite has always been my classmate. table."

Aika has heard about the Imperial Knight Academy. It is one of the many academies affiliated with the empire and is mainly open to ordinary citizens. The courses there are very comprehensive, covering science, technology, magic theory, etc. It is a very well-known closed managed academy in the empire.

"No wonder Mr. Claus swung his sword so skillfully just now, that's why."

"Although he is a guard, in fact, he has never been put to use so far. For Mrs. Elise and Miss Lilith, it should be something to be happy about." Mr. Claus waved his hand, "And you have never You saved Miss Lilith from the hands of a monster, so the title of guard is more suitable for you than for me."

"It was just good luck that time." After being praised by Mr. Claus, who was much more mature than herself, Aika responded modestly, "I have only been attending Shimotsuki Academy for a month, and I can't even control magic power. Well, they don’t know anything about fighting, and each of them is much stronger than me.”

"Do they refer to the three girls next to you?" Mr. Claus showed an interested tone. "What I know about you is only the incident that Mrs. Elise said. If you are willing, , I want to know more about Miss Lilith’s benefactor.”

There was still a lot of time tonight, so Aika briefly introduced the three girls to Mr. Claus, and talked about some trivial things experienced during the trip. Mr. Claus has been listening. Except for expressing his opinions when he is interested, the rest of the time he listens silently.

After passing through the arcade surrounded by green plants, Aika's words came to an end.

"It was indeed a very rewarding journey. Your parents made the right decision."

"I never felt this way at first, but now I slowly begin to understand their thinking."

"Parents always think about their children. Although I don't have children, I can't understand this state of mind."

Mr. Claus burst out laughing after laughing at himself, and Aika couldn't help laughing.

"By the way, Mr. Claus, what is the current relationship between Senior Lilith and Mrs. Elise? Although I have some understanding from Senior Lilith before, there are still some things I don't understand."

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Aika wanted to get something from the man who had watched Senior Lilith grow up that she had not yet said.

"Now that Miss Lilith has told you about this matter, you should know the main reason, right?"

"Well, is it because Madam Elise objects to Senior Lilith becoming a national magician?"

"That's right."

Mr. Claus nodded in agreement.

"I heard that Senior Lilith's father died as a national magician."

"Miss Lilith, have you even told you such a thing..."

"If it is to keep Senior Lilith away from danger, Mrs. Elise's objection is indeed reasonable. But there is no need to go to this step, right?"

Cutting off the supply of funds to Lilith-senpai, this extreme move was difficult for Aika to understand for the two people who depended on each other. Not just Aika, everyone would have had the same idea.

Unless there is a deeper reason forcing Lady Elise to do this.

"I am just a hired person, so what I know is just hearsay. Miss Lilith has never taken the initiative to tell us the details of this matter, and I only know so much about you. Therefore, I am very envious of just one person. Yue has gained Ms. Lilith’s full trust in you.”

Aika himself didn’t know the reason for his trust in Senior Lilith. Senior Lilith is not the kind of girl who is rash, her actions are always the result of careful consideration.

So, what exactly does this trust in yourself rest on?

"Sorry, I can't help you."

Mr. Claus stopped, his tone full of bitterness. Aika waved her hands hurriedly.

"There's no need to care so much. In fact, it's just me meddling..."

"No!" Mr. Claus suddenly loudly denied Aika, "Miss Lilith has already reached out to you, and is this just your attitude?"

His raised voice was full of anger, and the gentle impression he had always given was gone.

"I'm sorry, but I can really feel relieved when I hear you say that." Aika was not frightened by Mr. Claus's momentum, as if he had expected this reaction, "I never knew that I Is the decision the right one? If it were Mr. Claus, who has lived in this home for five years, his words would put my mind at ease more than anyone else's words could."

"Klaus is right. If Mr. Aika can't persist, I will punish you on behalf of Miss Lilith!"

A female voice came from behind, and Aika turned around in a hurry, only to bump into the other person. Not caring about feeling the soft feeling, Aika quickly backed away and left her body.

"Miss Serit!"

"Obviously there's no need to leave in such a hurry."

"What are you talking about!"

"Celite, how did you find this place?"

Mr. Claus frowned at the uninvited guest.

"Let me tell you, on such a beautiful night, is this the first thing you say to the lady you meet?"

Miss Serit waved her arms angrily, but Mr. Claus still looked as impatient as ever.

"First of all, you are not a lady, and the word 'encounter' is not the right word here. Have you finished your work?"

"Hmph, a guy who doesn't do anything has no right to ask me this kind of question."

"Um...Miss Serit," Aika awkwardly intervened in the crosstalk between the two, "How on earth did you notice us..."

Since Miss Serit said that before, she had completely heard the conversation between herself and Mr. Claus.

"Well..." Miss Serit looked away with a guilty conscience, "I had already found you when I heard Klaus's giggle. But then you seemed to have talked about a very serious topic. It's not good to interrupt you, so I have to follow you all the time..."

"Is that really the case..."

Mr. Claus pressed his forehead helplessly. He probably felt at a loss because his true words were heard by Miss Serit.

"However, Miss Serit is also thinking about us." Aika quickly smoothed things over for Miss Serit, "Mr. Claus, thank you so much for tonight. Thanks to your words, I have really thought about it clearly."

"Just do what you want," Mr. Claus patted Aika on the shoulder, "I'll leave it to you to take care of Miss Lilith."

"Um!"

Aika said goodbye to Mr. Claus and Miss Serit who stayed in the arcade, and the sound of their conversation gradually faded away behind them.

…………