Man and Woman (2)

The room I arrived in after leaving the temple hall was shared by two sisters.

Pen, the dragon tribe priestess who had granted me the dragon’s blessing.

And my former expedition teammate, Ravien.

“…You’re here?”

The little dragon Pen glanced at me as I entered after knocking, then averted her gaze with a pout.

‘What is this? She’s acting like a moody teenager.’

Still, she was cute enough to be forgiven.

From what I heard from the Dragon Lord and Ravien, she had been deeply depressed after hearing that I had died.

She even said something like, ‘You promised to come back with a new story next time…’

“…Huh? What did you just say?”

“You… heard that…?”

“No, what did you just say?”

When I lowered my voice and repeated my question, Pen’s eyes widened slightly, but she raised her voice.

“Why, why…! I just said that I couldn’t have mistaken your face, that’s all!”

It was clearly a lie.

I distinctly heard her say, “That ugly face,” not just “your face.”

“Penitasaurus.”

“…It’s Penitasauraus, you know?”

“It’s been a few years, so I’ll remind you once again. I’m not ugly; I’m manly. Got it?”

After that, I just stared at her until she finally responded.

“…Got it.”

See? She ended up admitting it anyway.

Now that I had established the hierarchy, I turned to Ravien to greet her as well.

“Anyway, it’s been a while, Ravien.”

“You two… seem closer than I expected.”

“Not really. I only met her once when I received the blessing.”

“But for Pen, that was probably the last time. No one from outside visits this place, after all.”

Well, that made sense.

How many outsiders could come to this Dragon Temple anyway?

I took the empty seat at the table where the two sisters were sitting and asked something that had been on my mind.

“By the way, judging by your reaction earlier, it seemed like you knew I was coming, right?” I asked Pen

“Yes. Father told me.”

“When exactly?”

“While he was talking to you. I can hear his voice from anywhere.”

So, besides spatial movement, he also has a voice messaging ability? It seems Mr. Dragon’s skills are more versatile than I thought…

“So, how much did you hear?”

“How much did I hear? He just said you were coming and to wait. Oh! He also said there was good news and to hear it from you.”

Haha, this old man.

“So, what’s the good news?”

Pen looked at me with curious eyes.

When I averted my gaze, Ravien, who had made eye contact, shrugged.

The emotions of the Dragon Tribe were hard to understand.

Why would they entrust such an important event to an outsider like me?

‘Well, it’s not that difficult anyway.’

Since delaying it would be pointless, I just told her the truth.

“I killed the Dragonslayer and brought back his heart.”

There were many events that led up to this, but in the end, it all boiled down to this one sentence.

“…What?”

However, it seemed the little dragon girl couldn’t comprehend this one sentence, so I repeated it.

“Exactly as I said. I gave the heart to your father, so you should be able to recover soon.”

“…Sister?”

“It’s true, Pen. You can believe him.”

“……”

Even with her sister’s confirmation, Pen still looked confused. It must have been too sudden of a gift to simply be happy about.

“……”

After staring blankly for a while, Pen finally snapped out of it and spoke.

“…Thank you.”

I guess I should take back what I said about her not being raised properly.

Both Mr. Dragon and her.

They really know how to give a proper thank you.

It’s almost embarrassing.

“Of course, even if you recover, things won’t change drastically right away. There are some circumstances.”

“…Circumstances? What do you mean?”

I went ahead and explained what Mr. Dragon and I had discussed.

That my killing of the Dragonslayer had to remain a secret for now.

“I’m sorry. I know how much you hate it here, and yet to ask this of you—”

“It’s okay.”

Pen said, cutting off my apology.

“I don’t mind staying here.”

It wasn’t an empty reassurance, but a voice filled with sincerity.

Of course, I could understand.

“Really? You get meals on time and can just play around without worries, so life here isn’t so bad—”

“What are you talking about, you idiot.”

“…Huh? That’s not the reason?”

Pen sighed deeply as she looked at me.

“How could that be? I’m sick of this place too. I want to smell the wildflowers, run freely in the wind. But…”

Pen trailed off, then clenched her small fist and spoke.

“Now, Father doesn’t have to stay here because of me. He can go wherever he wants and see whatever he wants.”

That was an answer I hadn’t expected at all.

“So that’s enough for me.”

Family, huh…

I couldn’t help but feel a little curious.

“Jandel, thank you for saving Father.”

What would it feel like to have a family like that?

****

After that, Pen said she needed some time alone to think and left the room, leaving just Ravien and me.

It wasn’t bad.

Which was fine.

I had something to talk about with her anyway.

“Ravien.”

“I’m listening. Go ahead.”

“Why has it been so hard to see you lately?”

“…What do you mean?”

Hmm, was I being too indirect?

It was a sensitive topic, but I decided to just ask outright, like a true barbarian.

“I mean, why didn’t you come to the after-party? You don’t seem all that busy.”

“I heard that Titana Akuraba didn’t attend either.”

“Well, that’s true.”

I nodded and continued.

“But that woman is actually busy.”

After a brief pause, she finally responded.

“…I was busy too.”

“Yeah? Alright then. No helping it.”

“So, is that all you wanted to ask?”

She seemed more at ease as I nodded and sipped my tea.

Did she really think I’d drop it so easily?

“Ravien, just be honest with me. Did you change your mind?”

There was no need to spell it out. She knew what I meant.

“…No. My opinion hasn’t changed.”

“Really? Because ever since we returned to the city, it felt like you were trying to distance yourself from us.”

“That’s because I never truly shared the same thoughts to begin with.”

Hah. Look at this girl.

“The same thoughts, huh?”

I stared at her, silently urging her to explain.

She sighed and spoke reluctantly.

“I mourn the comrades we lost in that freezing land. I feel anger toward the marquis who caused it all, and toward the royal family that enabled it.”

“And?”

“That’s all. Not everyone is like you, Jandel.”

As expected, she had indeed been distancing herself.

And her reasons weren’t surprising.

“No matter how much camaraderie we built, at the end of the day, we were just people who went on a single expedition together.”

If it had been family, maybe things would be different.

But family hadn’t died.

So…

“If you ask me if revenge is worth throwing away everything I have, my answer is no.”

Ravien had set aside emotions and made a pragmatic decision.

And honestly, this was the rational response.

Even if family had died, would most people dare seek revenge against royalty?

“…Thanks for being honest. It must not have been easy to say.”

“…I’m sorry. But I’m sure at least one of the remaining survivors feels the same way as I do. They just don’t say it because of the atmosphere.”

Yeah, that made sense.

People’s emotions shift between hot and cold all the time.

“I’ll take your advice to heart.”

‘‘That’s …… unexpected. I thought you were going to scream at me for being a traitor.’’

“That won’t change your mind, will it? If it were something that could be changed, I would have yelled a hundred times.”

“Is that so…?”

Ravien stared at the floor as if something was weighing on her.

She had spoken her mind freely, and the conversation had ended without much argument.

Yet—

“…….”

She couldn’t keep her gaze steady, as if there was still something she wanted to say.

I could more or less understand what she was feeling.

I had once been like her, too.

“Ravien, since you gave me advice, let me give you some in return.”

“…Go ahead.”

“If everyone had been as rational as you that day, not a single one of us would have made it back alive.”

There are no absolute answers in this world.

There are only choices.

***

“If you ever change your mind, come find me. You’re always welcome.”

As I was about to leave the room after saying that, Ravien muttered something.

“…Father is probably still in the meeting.”

“Ah, right.”

After awkwardly sipping tea and killing time, I used Mr. Dragon’s teleportation spell to return home.

Having left early in the morning, it was just past noon when I returned…

“Mister! You’re back!”

“…You’re early. I thought you might be late.”

Amelia and Erwin happened to be home and came out to greet me.

“Ah, things wrapped up earlier than expected. But what happened here?”

I pointed at the ground with my finger as I asked.

The empty lot, which had been overgrown with weeds when I left, had been completely transformed.

Half of it was a lush garden, neatly divided, while the other half was set up like a training ground.

“This…? Well, this just happened. It’s a bit of an eyesore, but… there wasn’t really another way.”

“Since neither of us could claim the whole space, we split it in half.”

They had been arguing for days about whether to turn it into a garden or a training ground, and in the end,  they finally came to this compromise.

“Jandel, did you eat?”

“Just grabbed a few snacks. What about you?”

“Not yet!”

“Then let’s eat together.”

I was considering going out to eat, but apparently Auyen was already preparing the meal.

“That guy cooks…?”

“You didn’t know? He made the dinner you ate yesterday.”

“…I thought it was takeout. Wait, but isn’t there no kitchen here?”

Amelia gave me a pitying look at my sharp question.

“We turned one of the first-floor rooms into a kitchen ages ago. You seriously didn’t notice until now?”

“…….”

“Jandel, I know you’re busy, but you should at least pay some attention to your own house.”

I had no rebuttal.

I haven’t had a proper break at home, after all.

Anyway, I followed Amelia to the first floor, where an empty office had indeed been converted into a kitchen.

“Ah, you’re here, Commander!”

Auyen, dressed in a white chef’s uniform, greeted me. Glancing to the side, I saw that the completed dishes were neatly plated.

“Mister, come here. Just sit, and this man will take care of everything.”

“Uh… will he?”

Auyen, what exactly is your job?

Sailor, coachman, chef…

‘…Good at everything except fighting?’

Once again, I realized the supreme truth that strength is everything.

If I hadn’t been strong, this guy wouldn’t be here cooking with a smile.

“How is it? Does it taste good?”

“Just right. The seasoning is perfect. Plenty of side dishes with meat.”

“We always prepare extra, since we never know when you’ll return. That was the mistresses’ instruction.”

“…Mistresses?”

“Ah….”

At my question, Auwen flinched as if he had made a mistake.

Realizing he had indeed slipped up, he didn’t say anything else, and I let it slide, focusing on my meal instead.

After some time had passed—

“Please, leave it. I’ll clean up.”

Auyen collected the dishes as soon as we finished.

It felt strange.

Being treated like this in my own home—it really made me feel like a noble.

“Mister, you don’t have anything planned for the rest of the day, right?”

“Nope. I left the whole day open, just in case.”

“Then… would you like to have some tea in my garden?”

“Oh, that sounds nice.”

“Tercia, I’ll have black dragon tea.”

“Hah… seriously, do you even have any shame?”

Erwin commented prickly, but prepared the tea leaves anyway. And so the three of us sat together, enjoying tea and snacks and chatting.

The enclosing walls of the garden gave a cozy sense of seclusion, and the warm afternoon sunlight was soothing.

It had been a while since I had a moment of peace like this.

‘This is nice….’

Erwin chartered away about various things, and Amelia occasionally chimed in to argue with her, but even their bickering felt comforting.

Maybe it was because I had grown too relaxed, but—

“…Family, huh….”

The thought escaped my lips before I even realized it.

It was such a soft murmur that you wouldn’t have heard it unless you were paying very close attention.

And yet –

“……?”

“……?”

The two, who had been in the middle of their argument, fell silent at the same time.

“Jandel, what did you just say?”

“Yes. Mister, what was that?”

They both turned to me with the same curious expression.

“Nothing.”

Embarrassed, I tried to brush them off.

But they were persistent.

“Nothing, huh? I clearly heard you say, ‘Family, huh….’”

“I heard it too. What exactly did you mean by that?”

Damn it. Why did I have to blurt that out?

It must have slipped out because I had been thinking about that little dragon girl earlier….

“It’s just…”

I sighed.

“I wondered if having a family felt like this.”

A simple, honest answer.

After I said it, both of them fell completely silent.

“…….”

“…….”

Damn, this is getting awkward.

Just as I was about to change the subject, Erwin suddenly narrowed her eyes and broke the silence.

“…Left wall.”

Left wall?

What’s she talking about?

As I wondered, Amelia added an explanation.

“Someone’s watching us.”

What?

“Tersia, count to three. Then we go.”

“Understood.”

Before I could even process what was happening, the two of them silently counted and then shot off like arrows, heading toward the garden wall.

And then—

“…Eh? Ehh?!”

In an instant, they subdued the intruder and dragged them over like a trophy.

“…Should I call this a pleasant surprise or not?”

Amelia’s reaction was ambiguous.

And—

“…….”

Erwin’s expression was colder than ever.

“Aha… ahaha….”

The captured intruder, lying face down on the ground, looked up at me with an awkward smile.

“H-Hey there… l-long time no see. Bjor… ugh!”

She bit their tongue trying to say my name.

“…….”

“…….”

“…….”

It was Misha.