“Ruchi. Are you okay?”
“These little girls are really making it tough for this old man, huh?”
Ruchi sighed as he stared at the stone wall in front of him.
“How long has it been…”
Ruchi brushed the stone wall with his hand and said, “Heinzel. You see this stone? I chiseled it. How does it look? Isn’t it the best one here?”
“The finish is terrible. Shouldn’t it at least be as smooth as my head?”
Ruchi answered with a rather serious expression.
“That’s true.”
“Hmm. You being serious is making me feel quite bad.”
After a brief silence, the two started laughing loudly.
“Khahhaha! Ruchi! You look pretty good!”
“Kuhuhuh! Really… do I look good? I’m falling apart inside!”
“Isn’t that still because you’re just a loser?”
“Ha ha… Then, Heinzel, why don’t you visit your hometown once? And lower that damn voice. What if the girls hear you?”
“Cough, cough. That’s right… I’d forgotten about that.”
“Looks like the wrinkles disappeared from your brain just like your scalp.”
“Doesn’t it seem like that?”
Once again, the two men burst into loud laughter.
“Whew… Oh, my sides. Okay, let’s go in now. Ruchi, you can prepare your mind before entering.”
“What for? There’s nothing to prepare. Just go.”
“Don’t act all tough.”
“Anyway, since I only have one eye, even if I cry, you won’t see it, so I can maintain my bravado.”
“Oh… that’s a benefit too, huh?”
“Right.”
Tap tap
“By the way, Ruchi. What should we do about the guys trailing behind us?”
“Well, it’ll be a pain if the girls catch us…”
“Shouldn’t we come up with some aliases?”
“Hmm. Then I’ll go with Reach.”
“I’ll go with Ahinkel.”
“Ha, Heinzel. You really have terrible sense.”
“Well, yours sounds like it could be the name of a skull bowl.”
Tap tap
The two adventurers walked in silence for a while until they arrived in the center of the ruins.
Heinzel, who had been silent, drew his halberd and said, “Feels like we’re here to catch a runaway daughter, doesn’t it?”
Ruchi drew his sword and replied, “That doesn’t seem right; they’re too well-armed for that. It seems like they want to kill the escort.”
“Haha… these bastards.”
Heinzel’s teeth gritted.
“Heinzel. Remember the request? We can’t kill them.”
“Oh, of course not. But I’m sure Hermila will forgive a mistake or two, right?”
“True. It really should be hot today.”
The two adventurers stopped where they were and waited for the knights to arrive.
“Hey, Ruchi. Is three mistakes acceptable?”
“Three each… that might be too much for Hermila.”
“Hm. That’s true.”
“Exactly.”
*
“So, Noah. Now please answer. Where is the survivor of Hablon… the person named Ruchi?”
Hearing that there was a survivor of Hablon, I pressed Noah for details.
But Noah kept dodging the question and avoiding the topic.
He said it was dangerous to talk here and suggested we continue the conversation in a safe place.
So, we hurriedly went to an old house where we could rest.
“Uh, I don’t know where he is… just that he exists…”
Noah avoided my gaze as he answered.
“Are you sure there’s a survivor?”
“Yes… that’s for sure.”
This was nonsense.
I had searched for survivors not only from Hablon but also from other destroyed villages.
But I couldn’t find a single one.
There were no survivors.
The reason I wanted to find a survivor was simple.
I was curious about what had happened to someone who had met a similar end as mine.
Did they collapse like me?
Or did they rise again?
If there was a survivor… if someone had risen, in contrast to my collapse…
I wanted to hold on to hope.
To take courage from them as a role model.
It was a very fragile feeling, but…
I still needed it.
I needed a place to lean on, a warm human presence, a heart that could empathize.
So I searched.
I employed every method I could think of.
But no one, nothing, no traces could be found.
Then, Noah claims to know of a survivor?
It was hard to believe.
“How could you possibly know something I don’t… Noah?”
“Um, my teacher… told me.”
Teacher?
Noah has a teacher…?
“Your teacher?”
“Yes… hehehe…”
“Is he the one who taught you how to fight?”
Nodding—
“Well… he must be quite an impressive person.”
Noah was utterly worthless in other aspects…
But awesome in combat.
There was no way someone who had only been an adventurer for two months could be this capable.
But if that’s the teacher who instructed Noah, they must be someone remarkable.
Yeah. So naturally, I expected some praise for the teacher.
“Was he impressive…? Hmm… just someone I leaned on heavily. Someone I couldn’t do without…”
Noah answered with a strange look, as if recalling something distant…
While information about the survivor was important, for now, I had to address this.
“Leaning on him? Can’t live without him…?”
“Yes… even now, [Black Sun]… cough! Thinking of my teacher makes me a bit angry and resentful… but still, I want to see him again. Anyway, yes… that’s who my teacher is… hehehe.”
Oh?
“You mentioned being angry and resentful but wanting to see your teacher?”
“Yes… I can’t forget… If I see him again, I could do it all right from the start without any mistakes…”
Hearing Noah’s answer left me with a complex blend of emotions.
Not complex, really.
It just made me irritated.
Could it be because I reflected on my younger sibling?
“Noah. Is your teacher a man?”
“Yes, yes…? Why do you ask that all of a sudden?”
“Just curious.”
“Um… it’s a secret.”
“Oh, then… were you close with him? You and your teacher?”
“Well… I think we’ve done just about everything together… There were tough times… and painful times… but it was good.”
Noah seemed a bit embarrassed as he lowered his head.
Grind
Teeth grinding.
Closing my eyes, I quietly delved into my thoughts.
What is this filthy emotion?
Tap—Tap—Tap
I tapped on the desk to organize my thoughts.
After a moment, I reached a conclusion.
Right.
I thought of Noah as a younger sibling.
And now, I was jealous that my younger sibling Noah had experienced romance before me.
Of course, I had no intention of dating… but still.
Noah, who was younger than me.
Much shorter than me.
And with, with a smaller chest…
Although, her face is incredibly… cute.
Her personality was innocent…
I was simply being petty.
And angry as well.
At that person.
Feeling such emotions even after seeing a little Noah.
That damned son of a bitch.
No matter how much of Noah’s teacher he was.
This… this crosses the line, you beast.
“Uh, Aalyn…?”
Noah, perhaps feeling the silence was suffocating, spoke up first.
“What?”
Unintentionally, a cold response escaped me.
I wasn’t angry at Noah.
But still… a tiny little bit of it was there.
Yet, I felt that I was being petty.
Thus I got even angrier.
Really… annoying.
“Are… you not hungry…? Should we eat something…”
“Let’s just snack on jerky. I’m tired.”
I sharply turned my head.
I couldn’t bear to see Noah’s pure face.
I was treating her with this petty emotion.
If she were to confront me with her pure feelings…
I’d feel like a really small person.
So I had to turn away.
“Um… I’ll cook for you. It’ll be… tastier than jerky…”
Noah hesitantly took my hand.
Her small hand clutched my hand.
A small but rough hand.
A hand that had traversed countless battles.
“A-Ailyn… are you angry…? I-I’m sorry… about the survivor… I’ll look into it later… so please calm down… okay…?”
I turned to look at Noah.
She was gazing up at me, filled with worry.
It wasn’t the survivor that made me upset.
No, Noah, it’s anger towards that beast of a teacher who touched you…
And a bit of jealousy.
Seeing Noah worrying about me, so childish, brought me back to reality.
Rubi-ah, you idiot.
If you’re a big sister, act like one.
What are you doing to a child…?
Get a grip.
I let out a deep internal sigh and reached out to ruffle Noah’s hair.
“Just kidding. I was just teasing because you’re so cute, Noah.”
Noah’s expression, upon hearing my words, turned incredibly cute.
A mix of betrayal and relief.
And an expression wondering if it was okay to laugh or if she should remain serious.
With all those emotions showing on her face, I couldn’t help but align with her feelings.
“It’s really a joke, so you can laugh, Noah.”
“Eek…? O-oh, how did…!”
Every time I align with her feelings, the same response comes out.
“There’s no mind-reading. Don’t think strange things. Hehe…”
“Guh…!”
Now she completely covers her mouth.
So incredibly cute.
Innocent.
If my younger sibling had been alive, would she have grown up like this?
With a fleeting memory from the past.
Unable to withstand a moment of impulse, I opened my arms and pulled Noah into a hug.
“Uwbub-!”
She seemed suffocated against my chest.
But hey, let’s just think of this as a punishment for having started a romance before me.
Oh, and.
I need to address something.
“So, Noah. Is that teacher of yours a man or a woman?”
“Uwbub-?!”
And.
“Where does he live?”
I need to go visit him.
Ask about the survivor’s whereabouts.
And while I’m at it, make sure Noah never develops any feelings for him.
No matter if the world ends, I want to ensure that bastard…
“Uwbuwb-! Phuh! Huh… what are you doing?!”
Noah broke free from my embrace.
Her strength is ridiculous. Tch.
“I was just hugging you because you’re cute. Did you dislike it?”
Acting brazenly at times like this usually gets Noah to relent.
It’s a sorry act, but her reaction is just so adorable that I couldn’t stop teasing.
“Eek… ah, no… that’s not it…”
See?
“Really? Then…”
I spread my arms wide.
“Do you want to hug me again?”
I smiled at Noah.
Although she might not see my smile… I spoke, pouring my smile into my words.
“E-eh? Ah…”
Words failed her as sounds slipped from Noah’s lips, and her face turned bright red.
Her reactions are too cute for me to stop teasing.
Just as I was about to approach Noah to hug her again, her voice dipped low, stopping me.
“Wait a second. There are two men within a 20-meter radius… and.”
From outside, sounds of metal clashing echoed.
Screams of people and the sounds of flesh being torn echoed.
“After that, there are twelve fully armed people.”
I quickly stood up from my seat and looked out the window.
“Over there!”
Noah pointed.
I could see the knights from the Erden Temple, the ones I had escaped from.
