Miguel remained rooted to the spot for several moments, the tray still balanced in his hands.
His eyes slowly shifted from Leslie's slightly tearful expression to me. Wearing a look of complete disbelief, he subtly pointed toward Leslie before silently mouthing,
Why is she crying?
A moment later, his finger slowly turned toward me.
What did you do?
I simply looked back at him with a blank expression before giving a slight shake of my head.
"Just leave the food here."
Miguel didn't move.
Instead, he stared at me with an unusually serious expression, as though silently warning me not to make the young lady cry any further. After several seconds, he finally let out a quiet sigh.
"...As you wish, sir."
Carefully placing the dishes onto the table, he gave me one last meaningful glance before reluctantly turning around and heading back toward the kitchen, though I had a feeling he was still convinced I had somehow made Leslie cry.
Watching Miguel disappear into the kitchen, I quietly let out a breath before turning my attention back to the meal in front of me.
Without saying anything further, I picked up my chopsticks and began eating. Sitting across from me, Leslie did the same. For the next few minutes, neither of us spoke. The lively chatter of the customers, the clatter of plates, and the voices drifting in from the kitchen gradually blended into the background as we ate in silence. Although I occasionally noticed a few curious glances being directed toward our table, the earlier commotion had mostly subsided, and the majority of the customers had already returned to their own conversations.
After a while, Leslie gently broke the silence.
"Arthur..."
I looked up from my meal.
"Hm?"
She remained quiet for a moment, gently tracing the rim of her bowl with her gaze before finally speaking.
"Can I ask you for a favor?"
I was still chewing the food in my mouth, so I simply gave a small nod.
"Uh-huh."
Seeing me respond with my mouth still full, a faint smile unconsciously appeared on her face.
She hesitated for another brief moment before finally asking,
"Would you... be willing to come to my place sometime?"
"Pfft!"
The food I had just taken into my mouth was immediately sprayed back onto my plate.
"Ahem...!"
I quickly covered my mouth with one hand and reached for a nearby cloth with the other.
"Sorry..."
After wiping my mouth, I looked at her in complete bewilderment.
"...What did you just say?"
The moment she saw my reaction, Leslie immediately realized how her words had sounded. Her eyes widened, and she hurriedly waved both hands in front of her.
"N-No!" she said flusteredly. "I didn't mean it like that!"
Taking a quick breath to compose herself, she continued,
"My father wants to meet you."
"My father wants to meet you," she explained. "After I returned home, I told him everything that happened. When he heard that you were the one who saved my life, he said he wanted to thank you personally."
She smiled apologetically before adding, "That's actually one of the main reasons I came here today."
I looked at her quietly before shaking my head.
"I already told you. I don't need any reward for saving you."
"I know," Leslie replied with an immediate nod. "And I'm not trying to force one on you. Even if my father offers you something, you're free to decline it."
She paused briefly before speaking again, her voice softening.
"He simply wishes to meet the person who saved his daughter."
I remained silent for several moments, carefully considering her request before finally speaking.
"Leslie."
She looked at me expectantly.
"You do realize that I'm living under a different identity, don't you?"
My voice instinctively lowered.
"For all you know, I could be a criminal... or someone far more dangerous than you imagine."
Keeping my gaze on hers, I continued, "How can you be so certain that you aren't inviting a dangerous person into your home?"
Instead of showing even the slightest hint of fear, Leslie simply smiled and gently shook her head.
"If you were really that kind of person," she said softly, "you wouldn't have risked your own life to save mine."
She paused for a brief moment before adding in a quiet voice,
"And..."
"My intuition tells me you're a good person."
I quietly looked at her. After remaining silent for several moments, I let out a faint sigh before shaking my head.
"I'm sorry, Leslie, but I can't accept your invitation. I still have something important that I need to take care of."
The disappointment on her face was immediate, but she didn't give up.
"You only have to visit once," she said earnestly. "It won't take much of your time."
I slowly shook my head again, preparing to refuse her once more.
However, before I could speak, she suddenly leaned forward slightly.
"If you want..." she said with quiet determination, "...I'll help you with whatever it is you're trying to do."
Her unexpected offer caused me to pause. I looked at her in silence, surprised that she was willing to go that far just to persuade me to accept her invitation.
For the first time since Leslie had invited me, I seriously considered her offer.
If she truly belonged to a noble family, then she might have access to people, information, or connections that an ordinary citizen could never hope to reach. Even if her family wasn't particularly influential, their status alone could prove useful.
After a brief moment of thought, I looked at her.
"Are you from a noble family?"
Seeing that I hadn't refused her outright this time, Leslie's expression visibly brightened.
"Yes."
"Which family?"
"The Hartwell family."
Hartwell...
I silently repeated the name to myself, searching through my memories. However, no matter how much I thought about it, I couldn't recall ever hearing of the Hartwell family before.
"How influential is your family?"
A faint, awkward smile appeared on Leslie's face.
"To be honest," she admitted, "the Hartwell family is one of the least influential among the noble families."
There wasn't any resentment in her voice, only quiet honesty.
"We're nowhere near the level of families like the Caelthornes or the Valenors."
She paused briefly before adding, her expression becoming slightly more confident.
"Even so, we're still considerably stronger than ordinary wealthy families, and our family has maintained a good relationship with the Valenor family for many years."
I quietly nodded.
Although the Hartwell family clearly wasn't on the same level as the Caelthornes or the Valenors, a noble family was still a noble family. Their status alone granted them access to people, information, and connections that ordinary citizens simply couldn't reach. If I intended to investigate the Caelthorne family further, having someone like Leslie willing to help could prove useful.
After weighing the advantages for a few moments, I finally reached a decision.
"...Fine."
The moment those words left my mouth, Leslie's eyes lit up with unconcealed delight.
"But," I continued before she could celebrate, "I have one condition."
Without the slightest hesitation, she nodded.
"Anything."
"If I'm going to visit your family," I said, meeting her gaze, "then you'll have to help me with one of my tasks."
A bright smile immediately spread across her face.
"I will."
She leaned forward slightly, unable to hide her excitement.
"What do you need me to do?"
"I'll tell you about it later."
Although she was clearly curious, Leslie didn't press the matter any further. Instead, she simply nodded with a cheerful smile.
"Alright."
Watching her become so happy simply because I had agreed to visit her family, I couldn't help shaking my head in quiet amusement.