Chapter 147: [146] God is playing dice
"Enjoying, huh..." Kiriya repeated softly, the corner of his lips lifting slightly. But across the table, Wendy had started trembling. Her hands gripped the hem of her short skirt tightly, as if realizing she was sitting between two ticking time bombs that could go off if either of them said the wrong thing.
But before the atmosphere could become too heavy, Kiriya exhaled—then shifted his tone into something lighter, almost joking.
"Well, relax... I don’t mean any harm. In fact, I think I’m the one in danger here," he said, leaning back on the sofa as if the living room were his own.
Elanor chuckled softly. "Hohoho~ You do have a way with words, Mister Asano."
"Yeah, I tend to make a bad first impression," Kiriya shrugged, "but I figured you’re not the kind of person who gets offended by a few careless lines... especially not a Sage who’s reached the highest tier of magical understanding, right?"
For a moment, Elanor’s smile stiffened. But she quickly masked it with a graceful nod and raised her teacup. "I’ve been wondering... How did Mister Asano manage to learn who I am, just from court rumors? Could it be... someone leaked it to you?"
Kiriya simply stared back, his eyes calm like the surface of a lake. "No. I just guessed."
"...Guessed?" Wendy blinked. Her mouth fell open slightly, almost in disbelief. Even Elanor couldn’t fully hide her surprise.
"Just... a fairly logical guess. With a bit of intuition," Kiriya added, a faint smile slipping in.
"Indeed," Elanor said quietly, her voice lowering but deepening. "You’re different from other young men... It’s not just your boldness, but your sharp insight. I wasn’t wrong to suspect you aren’t from this world."
Wendy stiffened beside Kiriya. Her eyes widened, as if just realizing she was in far deeper than she thought.
"A hero summoning, huh?" Kiriya confirmed with a calm tone.