The Girl Who Hacked The Magic System-Chapter 85 - Breakfast

"We’re being watched."

"I know, Dior."

Lovelace is using my fake name, as we are in the dining room of the inn, having our breakfast.

I can sense an anxious stare directed at us. It feels weird, because we didn’t sense anything like that during our travels.

"Do you think that it’s the people whom you heard at night?"

"It’s possible, but I would only be certain if I heard her voice."

"Of course, it makes sense."

Lovelace and Lillian are sitting in front of me, on the other side of the table, with their backs to the window. The feeling is coming from outside.

There.

A robed girl with a hood, under which only a blonde braid is visible.

"We should assume that she can also listen to us right now."

"You’re right, Lovelace. Shalia would be able to extend her sense like we do, right?"

There’s no reaction from the figure.

"No, I’m keeping the sound-dampening spell active all the time. It’s been burning through my mana, but I can still sustain it for some time."

"Good, Mother. But I think that it would be a good idea to drop it right now."

"Huh? Why?"

"Trust me in this; I have a plan. We already know that Shalia is friendly, after all."

Lovelace just nods to Lillian, who drops the spell.

"Shalia, can you hear us?"

I say it almost whispering, but I know that I would be able to hear it clearly from this distance if I were focusing my attention.

The girl seems startled by the question. She must have been focusing all her attention in an attempt to hear us through the barrier my mother put up. So the sudden question without the dampening effect caught her by surprise.

Bingo! It’s her.

"You don’t need to watch us from so far away." fгeewёbnoѵel_cσm

The figure tenses, but then she sighs and gets up from the chair she has been sitting on in a cafe far from us and starts walking towards us.

"She’s coming."

I bring my focus back to my surroundings.

"And you should eat your omelet before it gets cold, you know?"

"Ugh, I know, Mom. But what we’re doing is important as well."

"An empty sack can’t stand up. Now eat."

Mothers are the same no matter the world, it seems.

I dig in obediently, and by the time Shalia arrives, I’m halfway through my omelet.

:::

"Welcome, Shalia, have a seat."

Shalia sits at the free spot at the table, which is by my side.

"Good morning, miss Rose, Lovelace, and Dior. Welcome to the capital. You’ve been missed dearly, Rose."

"I know. And I’ve missed everyone here, too. How is the capital these days? Are the streets still safe?"

"The burglars seem to be in hiding, plotting something. But the way to the upper districts has tight security. You’ll be able to do business safely."

Hehe. I love this little play of words, but I would prefer to speak more freely.

"Mom, can you..."

"I’m already on it... and... done. We can speak freely now, Shalia."

Shalia let out a sigh of relief, then smiled.

"It’s great to have you back, Your Highness."

"I’m so happy to be back as well. For how long have you been following us? We only noticed you overnight."

"I’m personally watching over you since you entered the province. The fact that you noticed me at all is already commendable; not many are able to."

"Not me, but those two. Let me introduce you formally; this is my daughter Aurea, and our friend Lovelace."

"So your name is Aurea. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you. It was the sight of you walking in Amapytu that allowed me to learn that Princess Lillian was still alive."

"The pleasure is mine. So you caught sight of us back then?"

"Your resemblance to Princess Lillian is striking, and you were using illusion on your clothes, which made it more conspicuous to me."

"Ohh... then you saw me before Yaci and I even bought clothes. And I was thinking that I was laying low with success back then."

"Don’t worry, Aurea. The fact that you succeeded in rescuing us is proof that you were laying low well enough. Shalia here is a master of detecting illusions."

"Indeed. And I was only able to notice that it was an illusion. I wasn’t able to see past it at all, which is a sign of how strong your spell was. It’s been a long time since anyone was able to do that."

Oh, okay then. I’ll focus back on my omelet before I’m scolded again. And. Try. Not. To. Smile. Triumphantly.

"In any case, if you had shown yourself to the city guards back then, we would’ve been able to guarantee your safety and escort you back to the capital."

"I didn’t know whom I could trust and whom not. Nor am I so sure right now. I thought that the city guard would be in the Duke’s pocket."

"Well, they are. But your brother was there."

"Yeah, we heard about it later. It was him who called off the pursuit against us. I’ll make sure to express my gratitude to him later."

Mom and Shalia are talking like old friends, while I finish my omelet and Lovelace simply stares at her ale.

This place is very much like medieval Europe in that regard. Ale for breakfast. Some say that what allowed the industrial revolution to even begin was the switching from alcoholic beverages to coffee and tea for breakfast and lunch.

I would kill for a mug of coffee, not gonna lie. Now I understand that anime trope of isekai’d people looking far and wide for random stuff like rice or shoyu. Coffee is life.

"And your daughter... how did that happen?"

Ugh, they’re going to the delicate stuff now. I don’t want to hear it, so I finish my omelet and just stay there while Mom explains the situation.

"I’m glad that she took after you, both in personality and in looks. That man has nothing worthy of inheriting."

Thanks. Mom’s genes are awesome, so they just took over.

Obviously I can’t say that loud.

The two of them continued chatting like old friends meeting after a decade. Which is fair enough. Lovelace and I exchanged knowing smiles and kept our silence.

I’m so happy for my mother. It’s so great to see her truly smiling like this.

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