I Asked About The Old Man Who Rescued Liza

---

“Excuse me…”
“Grandmother!”
“What’s all that racket… Oh, Mr. Takumi? And Liza? That’s an odd pairing. …And Lady Claire!?”
“It’s been a while, Isabelle. I think the last time we were here was when you checked Mr. Takumi’s magic energy?”
“That’s right. I’m glad to see that you are doing well. So, what can I do for you today?”

As I had come once with Sebastian, this was my third time here…
Liza was happy to see Ms. Isabelle, and she immediately called out to her.
Ms. Isabelle heard us entering, and came out from behind a curtain in the back.

She then moved to the counter before noticing me and Liza. And she looked quite surprised to see us.
I suppose it was because we hadn’t told her in advance that we were coming.

“I’m very sorry… But we were wondering if Liza could wash her face here?”
“Liza? Oh, my. She is quite dirty, isn’t she…”

Ms. Isabelle looked at Liza over the counter. I then explained to her what had happened.

“I see… I have heard about your Silver Fenrir. And being licked by such a huge animal… Well, it is no surprise. Of course, you may. There is a washing area in the back that you can use freely.”
“Thank you. Liza?”
“Thank you, grandmother!”
“Then I will go and help her.”
“Yes, thank you.”

After hearing my explanation, Ms. Isabelle nodded understandingly and agreed to let Liza wash up.
As Leo could not enter her store, Ms. Isabelle had not seen Leo yet… But she heard the rumors and talked with Sebastian.
I then thanked her, and sent Liza to the washing area.
Ms. Lyra would accompany her as well.

It was nice to have her around during times like these.
While they were gone, I continued to talk with Ms. Isabelle.

“Still, Liza is now with you two. What happened?”
“Before we talk about that, it seems like you know Liza quite well? And Liza said that she visited this place a few times before.”
“Yes. The old man who helped her… Reyndorf was an old friend of mine. And so he would often visit me with Liza.”

So the old man’s name was Reyndorf…
Now that I thought about it, I had never asked Liza what his name was.
After that, Ms. Isabelle talked to me about him as we waited.

Apparently, this Mr. Reyndorf was a traveler without a home. And he would visit this town of Ractos quite often.
He would stop by this store to buy magic tools and things that would be useful on his travels. And that was how he had met Ms. Isabelle.
As it was decades ago, it was probably before Ms. Claire was born.
They would talk about magic and traveling… And before she knew it, he was a regular at her store.

When talking about him, Ms. Isabelle had a far away look on her face.
But as he traveled a lot, he could only visit her once every few months… Sometimes she would not see him for years at a time. But whenever he happened to be in Ractos, he would always pay her a visit.
However… He stopped traveling altogether a few years ago, when he found Liza.
That must have been around seven years ago… It would be too difficult to travel while caring for a beastkin baby, and it would not be good for the child. And so he decided to stay in Ractos.

That being said, as he had been traveling for years, Mr. Reyndorf had no savings. And so he had no choice but to settle down in the slums.
While Ms. Isabelle had been against him living in such a dangerous place, he had learned how to deal with such people on his travels, and so no problems had occurred.
And now that he was no longer traveling, he would slowly try and save up money so that he could eventually buy a house for Liza to live in.

“Reyndorf was very fond of Liza. He no longer had that sharp expression that he did when he was a traveler. I think she brought peace to his heart. But why is Liza now with you and Lady Claire?”
“About that…”

And so I told her about the situation when I had found Liza. And how Liza had talked of her grandfather’s death.

“I see… So he is gone… Well, at this age, it is not unusual for your friends to pass away.”

Ms. Isabelle said as she looked up at the ceiling.
I could not tell what she was thinking, but it looked like she was offering a prayer to her old friend.

“…Haah. So he died before achieving his dream… I suppose in a way, it was good that she was taken in by you and Lady Claire. Perhaps it was through his guidance. His last wish…”
“Perhaps…”

Leo had been acting like she was searching for something as she moved through the slums. And then she found Liza.
Both Mr. Ekenhart and I knew nothing…
I had thought that it was because of some connection between beastkin and beast type monsters, but perhaps there was more to it.

But there were so many people in Ractos, and it wasn’t like her senses were sharpened with herbs. Finding Liza should have been even harder than finding Sherry.
When I thought about it like that, it did seem like Mr. Reyndorf had entrusted Liza into my care. Which was quite sobering.

Next Chapter

My Beloved Dog is the Strongest in Another World