Isis glanced at the still-fuming Francesca, then at the helpless-looking Serl. A gleam entered her eyes.
She scooped up Pawdrick, who was busy licking and grooming his fur, hurried off to one side, and whispered conspiratorially, "Could those two be...?!"
Pawdrick pushed her face away from his ear with one paw. "I know what you're thinking, meow. Unfortunately, there's nothing romantic between them, meow. They're just close comrades who've faced life and death together, meow. At least, that's how things stand for now, meow."
"'For now'? What about later?" Isis showed no sign of letting the matter drop.
Pawdrick glanced sideways at her. "Later? Who can say what the future holds, meow? Serl's mother might summon him home tomorrow to meet a prospective bride and get married, meow. He's not exactly young anymore, meow. As for Francesca, after a few more years of wandering around, she'll inherit the Merchant Guild and probably won't have time to think about any of this, meow. I wouldn't be surprised if she got used to being alone without realizing it and stayed single for the rest of her life, meow."
Isis froze. A certain figure she had feared since childhood rose unbidden in her mind, making her shudder. All her amusement and playful curiosity vanished, replaced by genuine nervousness and anxiety.
"Francesca can't end up like that!" Isis cried.
A short distance away, Francesca, who was trading barbs with Buck, looked over in confusion. "Can't end up like what?"
"Nothing! I'm hungry, so I'm going to the dining hall to see if there's anything to eat!" Isis put on a serious expression and blurted out the first excuse that came to mind, then grabbed Altaïr and Morgan and fled.
—--
Only once she had dragged them into the ship's cabin, far from Francesca's suspicious gaze, did Altaïr ask, "What got into you all of a sudden? What did Pawdrick tell you?"
Isis stopped and glanced back to make sure Francesca had not followed them. Only then did she lower her voice. "Pawdrick said Francesca and Serl are just good friends!"
"What else would they be?"
"He also said Serl isn't that young anymore and that his family might drag him home any day now to get married!"
"So... what?" Altaïr asked, baffled. "Serl is five or six years older than we are and is already in his late twenties. Isn't it natural for him to think about these things?"
"No, I mean... what about Francesca?!" Isis was so agitated that she could barely express herself coherently.
Altaïr quickly grasped her point. "You think the two of them are a good match, and you want to set them up?"
"Mm-hmm!" Isis nodded vigorously.
For a moment, Altaïr was at a loss for words. "Whether they're a good match is their business. Why are you worrying about it?"
"No, you don't understand." Isis sounded so anxious that Altaïr could not understand where it was coming from. "Do you know Francesca's aunt?"
"You mean the woman who inspired the heroine of 'Mountain God'?"
"No, her other aunt. Her biological aunt, Francesca's father's elder sister and the current head of the Sterling Merchant Guild!"
"I vaguely remember that. Francesca once mentioned showing a proposal to her aunt." Altaïr rested his chin on his hand as he thought back.
"Yes, that's her. That woman is terrifying! She always has a smile on her lips, but there isn't a trace of emotion in her eyes. Even if you stand there without saying a word, she can see straight through you at a glance! Even Gael is afraid of her!"
Altaïr shrugged. "She's the head of a vast mercantile empire. It makes sense that she'd be imposing and good at reading people."
"That's not the point!" Isis's expression was deadly serious. "That woman has never married and naturally has no children, so she has always groomed Francesca as her heir. I once asked Amos why she had never married, and he said it was because she was too busy and her life revolved around her career. To her, starting a family was a waste of time!"
"Uh, I think Master Amos's assessment makes perfect sense."
"I didn't think much of it at first, but then it hit me! Francesca might end up exactly the same way!" Isis seized Altaïr by the shoulders and shook him vigorously. "She's the sole heir to the family's Merchant Guild. Sooner or later, she'll have to inherit it. Francesca isn't especially ambitious, but she has a profound sense of responsibility. Once the Merchant Guild's burden falls on her, even if it isn't what she wants deep down, she'll eventually be forced to become just like her aunt!"
Altaïr finally understood why Isis was so worked up.
After considering it carefully, he had to admit that her fears could indeed become reality.
Just as Isis had said, Francesca might not be particularly ambitious, but she was extraordinarily conscientious. If burdened with a heavy responsibility, she would give everything she had to fulfill it.
She would rush from one duty to the next, only to look back one day and discover she was all alone.
If she genuinely loved her career, that would be one thing. Choosing professional success or the warmth of a family was a matter of personal preference; not everyone wanted to start a family.
The problem was that Francesca did not seem like the sort of career-driven woman who made work her life's purpose. If she spent her entire life alone solely because of a responsibility entrusted to her, that would indeed be rather pitiable.
"All right, I understand why you're worried now, but matters of the heart can't be forced."
Altaïr thought for a moment. "If those two had feelings for each other, or if at least one of them showed some romantic interest, then of course we could try to play matchmaker. But they're simply good friends, aren't they? Trying to force them together would be wrong."
"Relationships are complicated," Isis said solemnly. "The exact same words can feel entirely different depending on who says them–"
"Stop." Altaïr raised a hand in a time-out gesture. "I heard what Pawdrick just said to you, so you don't need to repeat it. You're saying Francesca treats Serl differently, and that's why the joke made her so angry?"
"Exactly! That's what I mean. I never even considered trying to match Francesca with Buck, did I?"
"Now that you mention it, you may have a point, meow. How did I overlook that, meow?" Pawdrick twisted around and squeezed between them.
Neither of them had noticed when he followed them.
"Using Buck as the comparison isn't quite right, meow. Brandley is a much better example, meow. Back at the training camp, he was Francesca's underling, and they've always been on good terms, meow.
"If Brandley had been the one to say she'd been 'optimized out,' Francesca probably wouldn't have gotten so angry, meow. At most, she'd have snapped, 'How dare you!' 'You've got some nerve!' or 'Do you have a death wish?!' and left it at that, meow.
"Seen from that angle, Francesca really does seem to care quite a bit about Serl, meow. Caring is the first step toward affection, meow.
"Come to think of it, Serl inherited his mother's looks. He's uncommonly handsome for a Hunter, meow. He's upbeat, gentle, kind, and responsible; his strength is top-notch among his peers, and the two of them have even survived life-and-death situations side by side...
"After all that, it would be strange if she didn't care about him at all, meow! Wait, meow. Could those two actually have a chance?" Pawdrick seemed to grow more excited the longer he spoke.
"In that case, why don't we first... sound them out without making it obvious?" Altaïr suggested. "If they really do have romantic feelings for each other, wouldn't it be better to find a way to bring them together afterward?"
"But how do we test the waters?" Isis asked urgently.
"I don't know." Altaïr shook his head. "The only relationship I've ever had is with you, and I doubt the way our own relationship developed will be much help here. We'd better find someone else to consult."
"True."
"Well, at least you two are self-aware, meow." Pawdrick puffed out his chest and planted his hands on his hips. "As for someone who knows Francesca well enough and also has a storied romantic history, that would naturally be–"
"I know! Gael! I heard that she and Francesca's father couldn't stand each other back then. She was even the one who pursued him, and she actually won him over in the end! Let's go ask her!"
* * *
This chapter was translated with YourTL.app. The site can also translate novels for readers when no English version is available.