Ellie sheathed her longsword, the blush on her face not yet entirely faded.
She instinctively smoothed the hair at her temples, glanced around, and asked in puzzlement, "Huh... where's Wendy?"
Only then did Greg notice that the figure who had been standing behind them had quietly vanished at some point.
An enemy attack could be ruled out immediately. With both him and Ellie here, no enemy could have abducted Wendy right in front of them without a sound.
That left only one possibility: Wendy was giving the two of them some space.
Greg mentally gave the considerate Grand Steward another mark of merit, then said, "It's fine. She probably just had something to take care of and left first, so don't worry."
He paused, then stepped forward to stand in front of Ellie, bent down slightly, and said earnestly:
"So, since we finally happened to run into each other here, why don't I take this chance to make up for that dinner I owe you? Just the two of us. The Golden Crucible should still have a table at this hour. You can order whatever you want."
Ellie looked up at him, a hint of scrutiny in her eyes.
"Are you really paying? If I remember correctly, Young Master Greg, didn't you lose your source of income after leaving your family? You're not going to borrow my money to settle the bill again, are you?"
"Ahem... I've been doing so well lately that I got a scholarship too, so you don't need to worry."
Greg felt as though ever since he had borrowed money from her that one time, she had been looking down on his finances.
A man could always sell himself when he was broke, after all!
Ellie stared at him for several seconds. "Is all of that