“Alright. But let’s make a promise first.”
Rubia tightly grabbed my hand.
“It’s a promise Noah must keep.”
I nodded quietly.
“Just in case… even if I get seriously hurt like last time in Loholan, you have to do what you need to do. Understood?”
Rubia’s warm expression was itching at my nerves.
“You saw it last time. I’m really fine… let’s finish the important task first.”
“And what if you die?”
“I won’t die. Absolutely not.”
That warm expression turned into a fiery smile, melting my emotions a bit.
“You’ll definitely come to save me, right? If I wait and just hold on… Noah will surely save me. I won’t die.”
She’s sounding so serious right now.
If she keeps saying such ticklish things, I’ll end up looking like the strange one.
“… Do as you please.”
I turned my head and let go of her hand.
Sweat broke out from my heated body, making my fingers sticky like I had eaten jelly.
Until now, things I hadn’t worried about started to bother me.
Her faith in me was incredibly heavy, yet I felt so grateful for it that I couldn’t hold on to it.
I… didn’t want to hold on.
“Um? Why’d you let go of my hand? Do you dislike me?”
“I-I don’t dislike you, Rubia… Ugh… never mind.”
Feeling a bit embarrassed, I cut off the conversation as Hephaestus seemed ready to join us.
This is so awkward.
“Everyone! Come on, let’s eat!”
Hephaestus cheerfully appeared with milk, coffee, and even added bread.
Rubia snapped back to her usual stiff expression.
“Is that bread?”
After making things all weird for me, she returned to normal just like that. How annoying…
“Yes! I baked it myself! You should try it!”
Rubia’s face crinkled slightly.
“Did you really? Did you bake it here?”
“Yes!”
Hephaestus answered with a bright smile.
“Did you bake it on the fireplace…?”
“Yes! The heat is strong, so it’s delicious!”
“What about hygiene…”
Rubia’s crinkled expression quivered.
“If it’s hot, doesn’t that disinfect it? I eat it all the time and have had no issues!”
Hephaestus looked genuinely convinced of this.
Um… is that true?
When I think about it… it does sound reasonable… right?
Even in films, they heat needles to sew, right?
And the bread looks delicious…
Does it have to taste good…?
I cautiously reached out and grabbed a long piece of bread.
“Noah…!”
And after a moment of determination…
Chew chew—
I popped the bread into my mouth.
“Hmm? It’s good.”
Surprisingly tasty!
So chewy!
“Right! This bread turned out especially well, so I wanted to share it!”
Hephaestus beamed as she handed a piece to Rubia too.
“Uh, um… yes. Thank you. I’ll… enjoy it.”
Rubia, forced to accept the bread, took a bite.
“Oh…? Yes, it’s delicious… beyond my imagination.”
And then she gulped it down with a shocked expression.
See?
Hephaestus might actually have a knack for cooking.
If she can make bread like this in a blacksmith shop…
She’d probably do wonders in a proper kitchen.
“Exactly! From now on, I’ll take care of preparing meals for you two sisters! I love cooking! Hehehe…”
“Um… okay. I’ll be counting on you then. So… shall we start getting ready?”
“Oh, right. I’ve packed all my stuff already, so I’m good to go anytime!”
Hephaestus said as she tapped her backpack.
I quietly kept munching on bread and nodded along.
After that, Hephaestus and Rubia began to tweak our plans little by little.
Since there probably weren’t many monsters left in Halbion, they discussed getting a carriage. Also, as long as they were getting a carriage, they should pack more supplies.
Various conversations went back and forth.
But is it okay to travel by carriage?
We’ll be passing through more dangerous areas… hmm…
Is it fine to return it anywhere…?
Also, Rubia mentioned she didn’t want to draw attention to herself.
She also said we were pressed for time.
Now that I think about it, she’s also changed a bit.
She used to be really grumpy and rude.
Has something shifted in her?
Or has she just made up her mind?
Whatever it is doesn’t really matter…
“So, what does Noah think?”
“Um… I-I agree…”
“Agree with what?”
“Uh… the carriage?”
“Do you agree with the next point too?”
The next…?
What were we talking about…?
I totally zoned out!
“Of course.”
“Uh-huh… is that so?”
Rubia made a subtle smile and sniffed.
What… is going on…?
“Yes…”
“I got it. Then let’s refrain from eating jelly for a while.”
Huh?
What?!
Why?!
“Why, why not?!”
“See? You weren’t listening after all…”
Rubia’s finger poked my nose.
“Oof…”
“Look, we’re saving money to give Hephaestus for the forging costs. We received a great sword from Carpen during that battle. Plus… while everyone in the village turned their backs on us, at least Hephaestus looked out for us.”
I firmly gripped the hilt of the great sword hanging at my waist.
Without it, things would have turned out worse.
And also, it was crafted very similarly to the one I had been using.
The quality is… definitely better than the previous one.
Anyone can tell it was made with care. Therefore…
Rubia is definitely right.
“If that’s the case… I understand.”
“Of course, I was joking a bit too. You can eat some jelly. It’s not like we’re broke. We’ve got the subjugation rewards, right?”
Oh right.
The subjugation rewards.
We were offered an enormous reward for subjugating Carpen and taking down at least thousands of monsters.
However, as Rubia said, there’s no adventurer guild in Loholan, so we decided to collect it in Ursphere.
Even though we fled, a portion still went to the adventurers who defeated the monsters, and a bit went to Luchi and Heinzel.
Heinzel said he didn’t need this petty money and decided to use it for the rebuilding of Loholan, while Luchi… well, her reward was given to us.
We had no idea how to use this…
“Phew… so you can eat jelly. As much as you want.”
As Rubia detached her finger from my nose, she smiled softly.
That expression from earlier popped back into my mind… causing me to lower my head and nod slightly.
“Okay, since Noah agreed too, Hephaestus will accept it for now. Got it?”
“Ugh… understood.”
“However… I think the payment will have to be given when we stop by Ursphere. Since there’s no adventurer guild in Loholan, we can’t get the subjugation rewards here.”
“That’s alright with me! I wasn’t planning on receiving it to begin with! You can give it to me bit by bit!”
Hephaestus shyly scratched her head with a smile.
“Well… since all the money matters and other stuff are settled, shall we head out? If we don’t, we might end up leaving tomorrow.”
“Right! Yes! Let’s go!”
“Yes…”
Rubia and Hephaestus simultaneously pulled their chairs back and got up.
Then I… jumped down from my chair.
Everyone’s a bit tall, huh…
Afterward, Hephaestus packed her bag and Rubia… for some reason, tried to drag me along with her like a bag.
“Come on, give me your hand.”
“Y-yes… uh… um…”
My hand, that was reaching toward Rubia, froze in mid-air.
Then it returned… to my seat as I fumbled my hilt.
Normally, I would’ve stretched my arm to grab Rubia’s hand right away.
But…
I couldn’t do it this time.
It just felt wrong.
“Noah?”
Rubia’s hand was swaying in front of me.
“Um…”
I rubbed my clothes nervously.
And then I cautiously took her hand.
“Are you worried it’ll stick because you ate jelly?”
That’s not it, but…
“… Yes.”
“Ehehe… you’re sweet. Thinking of me.”
“I do that all the time, you know…”
“Uh-huh— is that so?”
I nodded.
Rubia’s expression seemed mocking.
It’s nice to see her expression, but…
At times like this… it’s a bit annoying.
I moved ahead and opened the door to the blacksmith.
“L-let’s go.”
I had to hide my heated face.
“I’ll go rent the carriage now!”
Hephaestus followed us out, raising one hand and shouting.
“Yes. Then, we’ll go buy the necessary supplies. Shall we meet at the western gate after we’re done?”
“Sounds good! See you later, sis!”
With a bright smile, Hephaestus dashed toward the stable where the carriages were lined up.
Even with such a big bag, she moves around so easily.
“Shall we go too?”
“Yes…”
Somehow, Rubia looked a little brighter as she waved her hand and started walking south.
Then, near the crumbled southern gate, I spotted familiar figures, along with several adventurers.
“Huh…? T-That person…”
It’s the lady from the central guild… what was her name again?
Anyway, that high-ranking lady who handed me the Fragment of End.
“Ah, it’s Jur!”
Oh right!
Jur!
But why is she here?
Didn’t she say she was going back last time…?
Is she still not gone?
“Are you curious, Noah?”
“J-just a little…?”
“Then shall we go see?”
Rubia’s face broke into a subtle smile.
“Aren’t we pressed for time…?”
“We can just take a quick look before we continue.”
Saying that, Rubia tightly grabbed my hand and walked towards the group.
As we got closer, I started to overhear bits of their conversation.
Something about… gathering necessary materials from elsewhere, I think.
“Hm? Ah, Noah! What’s going on?”
The high-ranking lady who had handed me the stone greeted me with a friendly sales smile.
It felt strangely burdensome again…
I cautiously hid behind Rubia.
“Ah, Shaman! You’re here too. Good day!”
“Hello, Jur. I happened to pass by and wanted to greet you. But… things seem to be progressing faster than I thought?”
Rubia flashed an incredibly polite sales smile.
But… what’s progressing fast?
“Ah, yes. Somehow, things took a turn for the better… well, you’ll see soon, so let me explain the results.”
“Yes. I’d appreciate it.”
Jur’s smile shifted.
It turned from a sales smile to one that was genuine and full of warmth.
“The restoration of ‘Hablon’ that the Shaman requested is proceeding smoothly. However, it might be difficult to recreate the walls with the same materials as before.”
“… Huh…? What’s this restoration…?”
I looked up at Rubia.
She stared down at me quietly.
Once again…
Her captivating smile made me feel all warm inside, forcing my hand to drop.
“It’s a gift. A small present for Luchi who has protected this world…”
