Chapter 70 – Ais is looking for you.
Chapter 70 – Ais is looking for you.
I decided to go to the dungeon while Lili continued reading in the room. She was so engrossed that she didn't respond when I told her I was heading there. I asked Hestia to look after her and left.
Hestia said she'd stay at the mansion all day, so there shouldn't be any problems.
With my dagger in hand, I headed towards the tower. However, as I approached, I was surprised by many adventurers. For some reason, there are many adventurers here today.
And many of them are women.
This became a problem because of my "Charming Aura" skill. It hasn't even reached level five yet, but it's enough to cause a commotion in an area full of women.
"Excuse me, are you alone?"
"Would you like to form a party with us?"
"Why don't we go out for drinks later?"
"Kyaa, he's so handsome!"
Many women began to approach me, so I had to leave to avoid causing too much confusion. While escaping from the women, my skill leveled up again.
Charming Aura reached level five!
'The effects will get even stronger. I need to be careful. God, please allow me to disable and use the skill only when I want.'
I managed to escape and hid in an alley—or at least I thought I had escaped from all the women. To my surprise, one of the women managed to follow me.
And it was someone I knew.
"There you are, Luan. Hey, come with me, Ais wants to see you." It was Tiona. She approached and grabbed my hand. I didn't even have a chance to respond before she started dragging me away.
What does she mean by "Ais wants to see you"? Is Ais interested in me? Well, she did come to talk to me last time. I wonder what's going on.
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Along with Tiona, I went to a bar I had never seen before. It was a beautiful bar with an elegant facade and eye-catching sign. I would have gone in if I had passed by this place before.
Despite the flashy exterior, there were few people inside. Tione and Ais were among the people sitting at the tables inside the bar. Bete wasn't here, which is good. I can't help but feel relieved.
Bete is annoying.
I followed Tiona to the table and sat down in front of Ais. Tiona sat next to me.
No one said anything for a moment. Ais took a sip of water and stared at me for a few seconds.
"Were you looking for me?" I asked her.
"Yes, I wanted to talk to you, Luan."
"So you do remember me."
"Of course, I remember." Ais placed the glass of water on the table. "I wanted to ask you something, so I asked Tiona to find you."
"Ask me something? Does it have to do with the dungeon?"
"No, it's not about the dungeon or anything like that. I wanted to ask if you're the author of this book." Ais had the first volume of Re: Zero hidden under the table. She placed it on the table and looked at me seriously.
"I finished reading this today. The author has the same name as you, Luan." Ais pointed to the author's name right below the book's title. Whenever I see this cover, I feel sad. I wish I were an artist.
"Yes, I wrote this book," I answered her honestly. I have no reason to hide it.
Ais's eyebrows rose. Even though she expected I was the author, she still seemed slightly surprised. "So you are the author. I can't believe I know the author of this book."
"…"
"You must be wondering if I liked it, right?" Ais smiled at me. "I loved it. It's been a long time since I read such a good book. I was fascinated by the new things you created. I wonder how you imagined all of it."
"Are you talking about the beginning of the book? That completely new world, unlike anything you've ever seen? That world has been in my mind for many years, even though I've never been there."
"I see. Your mind works differently from mine. I don't think I can create something like that. Congratulations on writing something so unique."
"Thank you for the compliments. I didn't expect you to read it."
"What do you mean? Everyone I know has either read or is reading your book. It's extremely popular. You can't imagine how many people want to meet you. Many of them want to ask about the second volume."
"Are you one of those people?" I smiled at Ais, and before she could answer, I called the bartender and ordered some drinks for myself, Tione, and Tiona.
"Thank you, but you didn't have to." Tione thanked me with a smile. She looked at me differently, not like Tiona and Ais. She seemed curious about me.
"Thanks. Oh, and I also read your book. It's really good, but Ais is on another level. She got completely hooked on it!"
"Hey, Tiona!"
"But it's true. You were so eager to meet the author. I'm sure you're very happy now that you've found out the author is Luan, whom you already knew."
"Ahem… Ahem…" Ais coughed, and her cheeks turned a little red. This was the most emotion Ais had shown so far.
"I'm flattered. But about what I asked earlier, you're also curious about the second volume, aren't you? I've already finished writing it. I finished it this morning."
"WHAT!? YOU'VE ALREADY FINISHED WRITING THE SECOND VOLUME!?" Ais shouted, breaking her usual composure.
"It's the first time I've seen Ais so excited," Tione said.
"Right?!" Tiona exclaimed, surprised.
Ais didn't seem embarrassed that everyone was paying attention to her. She started asking me about the second volume, and I answered her questions without giving any spoilers.