Because Leonardo-san and his guards were coming along, I decided not to use the Bear House this time around. Cliff was okay with it, but Noa seemed very disappointed. In order to cheer her up, I promised her that she would get to spend some extra time with the Bears and even snuggle to sleep with them.
Before long, we returned to Crimonia safely. I had felt a bit homesick by this point, so it seemed like I hadn’t been home in ages.
When we entered town, I took a look up at the sky; it would be getting dark in a couple of hours. I wanted to head straight home to take a bath and cuddle up in a bed, but I had to take Fina home first. Oh, and I also had a lot to report to Terumi-san.
We parted ways with Noa and Cliff then headed to Fina’s home together with Leonardo-san.
He had planned to apologize to Fina’s family the following morning, but I told him that they would most likely be busy then, so we decided to just take him there now.
I didn’t really lie about them being busy, but it was mostly because having to go there first thing in the morning would be a pain for me, so it ended up being a good excuse.
I had to go with them as it would be best if I explained what had happened; I was responsible for Fina on this trip, after all.
Besides, regardless of when we would pay them a visit, I was sure they would be a bit freaked out having a noble show up at their door unannounced. I kind of felt bad for them, but I really wanted to get this over with, so that I could go home and relax.
「Is it really necessary to speak with my parents?」
Fina tried asking again, looking really dispirited.
She still hadn’t given up even though Leonardo-san had already came all this way.
She really didn’t like the idea of having a noble like Leonardo-san visit her home, huh.
Well, I kind of understood how she felt.
Back in my old world, I would have felt uncomfortable if the mayor had come all the way to my house to apologize for something. Heck, anybody would feel troubled if someone of a higher social status came to their house.
Not to mention that, there was a large, visible gap between the commoners and the nobles in this world.
Still, since Leonardo-san was already here, Fina might as well give up.
「I allowed Misa’s beloved friend to be put in such a dangerous situation. If I don’t properly apologize, Father will scold me.」
「But, nothing really happened to me.」
「You were put in a dangerous situation; not getting hurt doesn’t change that.」
Fina finally gave up when we reached her home.
「I’ll go call Mother.」
Fina said and entered the house. We could hear her call out「Mother! Mother!」to Terumi-san. Since Fina left the door open, we heard Terumi-san’s reply. 「Fina, you’re home?」「Fina, you’re back!」Gentz-san pitched in as well. 「Mother, can you come out? There’s somebody who wants to see you.」
Eventually, Fina dragged both Terumi-san and Gentz-san outside. Gentz-san must already be done with his job for the day since he was home, huh.
「Oh my, Yuna-chan. Welcome back. You’re back a little later than you’ve originally planned, though. Is that why you wanted to see me?」
「I’m glad you’re both back. We’ve been worried.」
They didn’t look concerned in the slightest, though.
「It’s not me who wanted to see you, it’s this person.」
Leonardo-san took a step forward.
「Yuna-chan, who is this?」
「He’s the son of the Sheelin’s feudal lord. He is Misa’s father.」
「Good evening. My name is Leonardo Faren Gramm.」
Leonardo-san greeted them with a bow.
「Feudal lord’s son?! As in, a noble?! Why is he here?!」
Terumi-san and Gentz-san panicked a bit, which was a normal reaction since it was unusual for nobles to visit commoners’ homes.
「Could it be that our daughter did something rude?」
Terumi-san asked with dread in her voice. Yeah, it made sense for most people to think of that first if they had a noble come to their home.
「No, on the contrary, I have come today to apologize for the trouble we brought upon your daughter.」
Terumi-san looked at me like she was begging me to explain what was going on.
Just as I was about to do so, Leonardo-san explained everything himself with me simply chipping in some details from time to time.
「When my daughter was being kidnapped, your daughter tried to save her.」
Terumi-san looked at Fina.
「I see, that’s why you came all the way from Sheelin. We apologize for the trouble.」
Terumi-san and Gentz-san were quite troubled, as they didn’t know how to deal with this situation.
They seemed conflicted on whether to invite us into the house and try to do something for the sake of hospitality, or simply stand here.
They even looked at me a couple of times, but I didn’t know what they should do either. We only had two choices: head inside or stay outside. Well, Leonardo-san had mentioned that he would head home right after apologizing…
It was a strange sight to see Terumi-san worry, however. She always had this image of doing her work with steadfast confidence.
Gentz-san looked even more concerned than her. He looked pitiful though he was the head of the household.
Once Leonardo-san was done with his apology, he handed over some goods.
「Even though such a thing occurred during their trip this time, I hope that you will treat my daughter kindly the next time you meet her.」
Leonardo-san said and bowed once again. Terumi-san and Gentz-san followed suit and bowed back.