But even when Allen greeted her like that, Mylène didn’t return the greeting. In fact, the look she gave him was one of pure hostility, as if she were staring down an enemy. Well, considering the circumstances, that was natural.
“Why?” That question likely held two meanings. Why are you here? And why can you see me?
Given the situation, it was obvious that this mansion had become Mylène and the others’ temporary residence. But none of them had informed Allen of that fact. And yet, not long after they’d parted ways, Allen had somehow shown up at their undisclosed location, so of course she’d be wary. On top of that, Mylène had never told Allen about her ability to turn invisible, nor had she ever demonstrated it. Yet he’d seen through it immediately. Naturally, she had every right to be cautious. Of course, there was no need for concern, but telling her that outright wouldn’t convince her to let down her guard.
After a bit of thought, Allen decided to address the easier half of her question—how he had known. “Well, I guess half of it was instinct, and the other half was experience?”
Mylène’s invisibility was pretty impressive, but he’d seen it more than a few times before and even experienced it directly. Maybe that was why. Allen had started to pick up on a subtle discomfort whenever she was invisible, and that was how he’d spotted her right away.
However, Mylène, who didn’t know the full story, clearly didn’t take that explanation at face value.
“I see. So you don’t intend to answer seriously.”
“Hmm. I mean, that’s the truth, though.” He gave a helpless shrug, but her piercing gaze showed no signs of softening. Still, how else was he supposed to explain it? “Oh, and coming here really was just a coincidence, okay? I was thinking about where to stay while I’m in town, and I just happened to end up here.”
“You were looking for a place to stay?”
Even though he was being completely honest, Mylène’s stare only grew more intense. Well, in this case, it might have been understandable. There weren’t any inns around here. As a place to look for lodging, this part of town was completely unsuitable, if anything, it was more believable to say he was scoping out a place to rob.
“Well, you don’t have to be that suspicious. I already figured out there’s nowhere to stay around here, so I’ll be on my way.”
He didn’t exactly feel nothing about the fact that this place had become their base, but if someone was already using it, there was nothing he could do. It looked like he’d have to give up on it. If it were just the two of them staying here, there would probably be plenty of spare rooms, but asking to crash with them was unlikely to go over well. It was obvious from Mylène’s current level of suspicion that he hadn’t earned that kind of trust from them. Maybe he could use the fact that he had helped them as a reason, and they might accept, but...
Yeah, no.
That would just risk losing the little trust he had managed to build. He didn’t want to go that far just to stay here. It was a shame, sure, but not so much that he couldn’t let it go.
“Well, in that case—”
Just as he was about to turn and leave, Allen froze in place, sensing another presence enter the area. It was coming from a different direction than himself, and for a brief moment he was on alert, but that tension quickly faded. He realized immediately that this person was far more appropriate for the current setting than he was.
“Oh? What are you doing here?”
“Hey. Guess it hasn’t been that long.”
The wary gaze belonged to Noel. Allen gave her the same casual greeting he had given Mylène earlier. But Noel didn’t respond. Instead, she turned her gaze toward Mylène as if silently asking, What’s going on here?
Mylène seemed to pick up on Noel’s meaning, tilting her head slightly as she spoke. “He said he was looking for a place to stay and ended up here?”
“Yeah, pretty much. Turns out it was a wasted trip, though.” Allen continued as casually as possible to avoid provoking suspicion, but Noel’s response was wholly unexpected.
“Hm. I don’t see a problem with it.”
“Huh?”
What exactly did she mean by “don’t see a problem”? Mylène looked just as surprised, so it was clear Noel had spoken entirely on her own judgment.
“We’re leaving in three days. You can use the place after that if you want.”
Ah, so that was what she meant. Allen nodded in understanding. But another question soon followed. “Three days? That’s kind of soon, isn’t it?”
“Agreed. I thought we were staying longer, Noel?”
“It’s fine. We’ve already done what we came here to do.”
If they’d finished what they’d come to town for, it probably meant Noel had already met the “savior” she had mentioned. Still, she didn’t look particularly happy. Maybe something unexpected had happened. But whatever it was, it wasn’t Allen’s place to ask.
“Well, we’re not heading out just yet; we’ll still look around the city for a bit. But like I said, we’ll be gone in three days. After that, I think you can do what you want with the place.”
“Three days, huh?”
Honestly, he did have some thoughts. He’d just started hoping he might finally be able to reconnect with them. Three days wouldn’t be nearly enough time for that. But that was his problem, not theirs.
“Hmm. Well, I guess I can just stay at an inn until then. Still, even if you two leave, are you sure it’s okay for me to rent the place afterward?”
“It should be fine. The owner was having trouble finding anyone to use it. That’s why we got it so cheap.”
“I arranged it through one of Mylène’s contacts. If I let them know when we leave, I’m sure it’ll be no issue. You are our savior, after all. It’s the least we can do.”
“Well, thanks. I really appreciate that,” Allen said, adding silently, Three days is still enough time to do something...
It wasn’t too late—not yet—and letting the opportunity slip away would be a waste.
He didn’t have any concrete ideas just yet, but he had managed to reconnect with them like this. And that made him want to treasure that bond, however fleeting.
With that feeling in mind, Allen began to think about what might come next.