Month 13 (3)

My outing with Misha was different from the one I had with Amelia. She had planned the itinerary in advance, and it was quite packed.

“Wake up!!”

It began with waking up at seven in the morning.

I was given only 20 minutes to wash up, change, and get ready to head out. When I barely managed to make it out on time, she stared at me blankly for a moment.

“…Aren’t we going?”

“Wait—just a second! Come here! Wow… now that you’re shorter, I can actually see your face!”

“…What?”

“Normally from this angle, I can only see your chin. Hehe.”

Smiling in satisfaction, Misha dragged me towards the city walls.

“Hurry up! The carriage is waiting!”

Misha must have arranged it in advance, because a carriage was already waiting for us atop the wall. Once we climbed in, it carried us swiftly along its length.

Normally, wall carriages were reserved for military use, but currently, they could be used with a permit. Since Districts 7 and 8 had turned into a complete mess, carriages couldn’t pass through the city center. Even with the detour, traveling along the walls was much faster.

It felt a bit like getting on a highway.

Even if the actual distance was longer, there were no pedestrians blocking the way up there, so the carriage could travel faster and there was no congestion.

“…Can I sleep for a bit?”

“Yeah, I’ll wake you up when we arrive.”

Fortunately, she let me sleep during the journey. By the time hunger woke me, we had already arrived in District 5.

“Hehe, I knew you’d wake up right about now because you’re hungry.”

“…………Are you a shaman?”

“What are you talking about? Get down! We will have a meal first!”

Although we were still in District 5, Misha had brought me to the eastern side, which had been far less affected by the war than the western region bordering District 4. The roads here were relatively clean, and the buildings remained intact.

If we headed east from there, we would reach the Gnome Tree..

I mulled it over as I followed Misha, but it didn’t take long for her confident strides to slow to a crawl.

“Uh… it should be around here…”

“Don’t tell me you’re lost.”

“No, it’s just—there are too many people…”

“What’s the address?”

After hearing the address from her, I took over as the guide.

“If it’s the 300-block of Raymond Street… it should be that way.”

We reached our destination less than five minutes after I took the lead, which made Misha exclaim in surprise, “Bjorn, you’re pretty good at navigating the city, huh?”

“…I’m not bad at it. I even took some scouting lessons from Rotmiller, you know—ah…”

When I trailed off mid-sentence, Misha looked flustered, as if she had made a huge mistake. She probably thought she’d said something wrong.

‘Well, this just got awkward. She probably brought me out here to cheer me up in her own way.’

“Forget it. Let’s just go in, I’m starving. Since you spent so much time wandering around—”

“Ah… right! Let’s go in! I’ll pay for everything!”

As we entered the restaurant, I was surprised to spot a familiar face right at the entrance.

“…Mrs. Bear?”

“Huh? Who… Oh?!”

Mrs. Bear looked up from behind the counter at the entrance, looking confused for a moment before her eyes widened. “J-Jan—”

“sh sh”

“Is that you, Jandel?”

“How did this happen? You’ve gotten so small I almost didn’t recognize you.”

“There’s a magic tool for it. But why are you here…?”

“Ah! This place belongs to an acquaintance, and they said they needed help, so I’m just helping out during the festival period.”

“What about Abman?”

“Of course, he’s working here too. They needed someone on the floor. He stepped out for ingredients just now, but if you sit inside, you’ll see him soon.”

“I see…”

Well, raising three kids couldn’t have been cheap.

From what I heard, their shop had been completely destroyed in the war, and with the labyrinth closed now…

Still, a Rank 3 explorer doing odd jobs and serving tables…

Well, at least no drunkards will be causing trouble here.

“Take a seat in the back corner. It’s the quietest spot.”

“Thanks for the consideration.”

After guiding us to our seats, she left without even taking our order.

“What about the order…?”

“It’s fine. I’ll take care of it myself. Don’t worry about the cost.”

“Huh? But…”

“We’re deeply indebted to you after everything that’s happened. If you want to thank someone, thank Mr. Parab.”

“…Alright…”

Misha looked a bit down since she had wanted to treat me, but it couldn’t be helped. Turning down Mrs. Bear’s generosity would have only made things more awkward.

“…S-Still, don’t worry! I’ll definitely pay for the next place!”

“Sure, sure.”

While we waited for the food, I casually struck up a conversation with Misha.

“So this was one of the places you wanted to go?”

“Yeah, it’s nice, isn’t it?”

Her calm answer made me chuckle.

“Why here of all places? It’s where Abman works.”

“Huh? I mean, since we’re out having fun, why not see our friends while we’re at it?”

It sounded like something that Aynar, that ultra-extroverted barbarian, would say. But then again, Misha is similar in that she’s a beast person herself.

“Oh, you really came?”

While we were talking, Mr. Bear returned with the food and set it down at our table. The couple seemed to understand my tastes perfectly—the meal was nearly eighty percent meat. It was an enormous amount for just two people…

Would it be shameless to ask for another round of this?

Tsk, if I were the one paying, I would have ordered more without hesitation.

“Abman, if you’re not too busy, sit with us.”

“Hmm… I can step away from work for a bit, so it’s fine with me… but is it really okay?”

When I invited him to join us, Mr. Bear shot a cautious look at Misha, and she readily agreed.

And so, the meal and drinks began. Naturally, the conversation turned to the war, or more specifically, ‘Sven Parav.’

“I don’t know what you think of him,” he continued, “but Parab is a true hero.. I heard that he stayed behind in the temple alone to buy time for everyone else to escape. How many ordinary people could make a decision like that?”

Mr Bear’s description of Sven Parab made him sound like a completely different person. I’d heard the story several times by now, even once from the man himself, but…

‘That doesn’t sound like him at all… Did he eat something weird that day?’

Still, it wasn’t entirely unbelievable.

People change, after all.

I had changed a lot myself.

“It kind of feels like we’re back then, the three of us like this. If you were coming anyway, you could’ve brought Aynar too.”

“Aynar? She’s busy these days.”

“Busy? With what?”

“She said she’s writing something like an autobiography.” Misha replied

“…Aynar?”

My expression of disbelief matched Mr. Bear’s.

“Misha, what on earth does that mean?”

Since this was news to me as well, I asked again. Misha replied that she didn’t know the details either, only what she had heard.

“I don’t really know… but it seems like she realized something on her own during the war. She kept saying that memories eventually fade, so you have to record them while you still remember…”

“I-I see…?”

Mr. Bear and I exchanged the same look again. It didn’t make any sense, but in a way, that made it make sense. Within our understanding, Aynar doing something incomprehensible was practically normal.

“Ahem, well, I suppose her writing skills have improved enough to write an autobiography now?”

Not once had this guy ever said he wanted to read what she wrote. Then again, I wasn’t any different.

“Still, even if Aynar can’t make it, I’ve invited one last person.”

“Last Person?”

“Who else would it be but me?”

Whoa, she scared me.

“Raven? Why are you here?”

My eyes widened as I looked at the tiny mage who had appeared beside the table.

I hadn’t heard from her at all since the war ended.

“Miss Karlstein called me. I thought I’d come for a change of pace. It’s the festival, after all. Mind if I sit?”

“Of course. It’s been a while…”

After getting permission, Raven took a seat beside Mr. Bear and shot him a smirk. “Why are you acting so awkward?”

“Ahem… I’m not being awkward…”

Well, it had been a long time for those two.

Since the party split, Raven had mostly only met me. It seemed they hadn’t stayed in touch, yet still had a general sense of how the other was doing.

“How’s life in the Magic Corps? I heard you even got the title ‘Golden Mage.’”

“It’s awful. Why did everything have to go crazy right after I joined? I swear, I want to quit every day—I’m only staying out of responsibility.”

“I see…”

“How about you, Mr. Urikfrit? Isn’t Golden Tree a pretty famous and decent clan?”

At Raven’s words, Mr. Bear flinched slightly and continued with an awkward smile.

“Ah… the clan…? Right… it’s a decent clan…”

The nuance of his mutter made everyone at the table, including myself, tilt our heads. We all felt something strange in his tone.

What is it? Is there a problem with the clan?

I didn’t know, but I didn’t ask.

If it was something he didn’t want to talk about, I figured it was best not to ask until Mr. Bear brought it up himself. It seemed Misha and Raven felt the same.

Thankfully, Aynar wasn’t here—
If it were her, she would have asked directly without any hesitation. Actually, she probably wouldn’t have even noticed the strange vibe, so I guess it wouldn’t have mattered.
“Anyway, Raven, what have you been doing? You were hard to get in touch with.”

I quickly changed the subject. It was a split-second decision to save the atmosphere. However…

“Oh, me? My master passed away, so I was busy taking care of things.”

…Son of a…

What is it this time?

It felt like I’d walked straight into trouble, but I brushed it off after a moment.

‘We’re not strangers’

Mr. Bear, Raven. This awkwardness didn’t suit us, and it stung to realize how far apart we’d grown while everyone went off on their own paths.

“…First, my condolences.”

Following my lead, Misha and Mr. Bear each expressed their condolences. With that, the formalities were over.

“But if something like that happened, you should have called us.”

“Eh, it wasn’t exactly a happy occasion. Besides, Mr. Jandel, you didn’t really like my master much, did you?”

“…I didn’t dislike him.”

Though I certainly didn’t like him either.

He was an old man with a strange obsession with evil spirits.

Anyway, Raven began to explain, perhaps feeling she should go into more detail now that it had come up.

“The war was just so massive, right? The royal family drafted mages from the Magic Tower as combat forces… well, it’s not an unusual thing. That’s where he met his end.”

She kept it brief, clearly not wanting to dwell on it.

“I see…”

Whether it was a good or bad connection, he was still someone I’d known. Hearing sudden news of his death felt… strange.

Whatever he was to me, he had been important to Raven.

“Anyway, after Master passed away, the position was left vacant, so things got really busy. Sorry I couldn’t come see you.”

“No need to apologize. It’s always the ones left behind who end up the busiest.”

“Haha… yeah, that’s true…”

Raven gave a faint, lonely smile, then changed her expression and downed a drink in one gulp.

Then she leaned forward over the table, bringing her face closer to mine, and asked—

“But speaking of that, Mr. Jandel…”

“Yeah?”

“Do you happen to need a mage?”

…How did the conversation suddenly turn into this?

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