By Zephyria 
Should I call this fortunate? Anyway, even though there was no blood, a dislocated shoulder is still an injury.
So far, whenever Aska has been injured and acted strangely, it was always because of a scratch. Whether the wound was small or large, there was always blood, but this was a bit ambiguous.
I grabbed Aska’s arm and shoulder and quickly popped the dislocated shoulder back into place.
“Does it hurt?”
“It hurts.”
“Then why are you telling me now? If I had known, I wouldn’t have run while carrying you.”
“It hurt, but it was bearable. And now it doesn’t hurt at all, really.”
I couldn’t tell if he was pretending it didn’t hurt because he thought I would turn back immediately if he said it did, or if he was really okay.
“What about anywhere else?”
“I’m fine.”
“Tell me honestly.”
“I’m really okay, I tell you. If I was going to lie, I would have hidden the dislocated shoulder too.”
He seemed okay from the way he was grumbling… I narrowed my eyes and stared at Aska.
How hard did he have to swing his arm to dislocate it? Well, considering the stall was split in half and the cards were embedded in the ground, it was fortunate that only his shoulder was dislocated.
I had no idea if the Sealing Magic was gradually being released, or if he was getting stronger from drinking blood. But Sealing Magic wasn’t something the subject could undo on their own. So, is drinking blood the problem?
“Haa…”
As I sighed, Aska, who was tidying his clothes and tying the strings of his robe, looked at me with uneasy eyes.
“You’re not going home, are you?”
“You’re giving me a terrible headache these days.”
“Then take some medicine.”
“Yeah, thanks for your concern.”
I resisted the urge to punch him and smiled brightly, and Aska cleared his throat and put on his hood.
“Let’s go quickly. And let’s eat some chicken skewers too. I saw a lot of delicious-looking ones when you were running earlier.”
Aska grabbed my hand as if to hurry me along.
“Quickly.”
“…”
I was planning to go back, but he seemed to be in good spirits, so I hesitated. If I just took him back to the castle like this, he would just read books and protest again, right?
I didn’t want to see that again, so I sighed and moved my legs.
“Tell me right away if you start feeling unwell.”
“Okay. I promise.”
“Even if things don’t go as well as you think, don’t use your strength.”
“What’s that?”
As soon as we got out of the alley, Aska started dragging me somewhere again. As I was dragged along, I closed my eyes tightly.
¸.•¨•¸.•¨•¸.•¨•¸
Aska bought and ate chicken skewers as he wanted, ate bread baked in a brick oven, and played various games. There were more than a few times when his hood almost came off because he was running around so much. When I kept nagging him, Aska just held onto his hood with one hand.
“Try this.”
“…”
“Quickly, my arm hurts.”
“…”
No matter what he ate, he always gave me a bite, and after eating so many things, I felt sick. I shook my head because I didn’t want to eat anymore, and Aska pulled on my robe.
“Just try it, I said?”
“No.”
“Why? It’s really delicious. Have I ever given you anything that wasn’t delicious?”
“It’s not that I think it won’t be delicious, it’s just that I don’t want to eat it…”
What Aska held out to me was another, another, another, another! Chicken skewer. How many of those has he eaten? If I eat any more, I feel like feathers will grow on my body.
“You ate one earlier.”
As I said with a sigh, Aska retorted.
“That was from a different store.”
“Anyway, I can’t eat any more chicken.”
“The sauce is different, I tell you? And the cut is different, so the texture is different.”
Listening to him critique it like a gourmet, I was so dumbfounded that I laughed.
“This one has vegetables on it too.”
“You eat it. I’m too full to eat it.”
“Then just take one bite. Don’t eat it all.”
“I told you to eat it? Why do you keep telling me to eat it when I said I don’t want to?”
Eventually, I sighed and said it annoyedly, and Aska pulled me in again. The force was so strong that my body staggered, and I bent over involuntarily.
The chicken skewer came straight into my mouth, inside the hood. If I had been a little slower to open my mouth, I might have been stabbed in the lips.
“Delicious, right?”
Aska asked as I reluctantly bit into a piece of chicken that had entered my mouth. His voice was excited, as if it was a dish he had made himself.
“Yeah, it’s delicious.”
“Without chewing?”
“I’m chewing.”
“The skin is super crispy, right? You like that kind of thing.”
Come to think of it, the texture was a bit different from the meat I had eaten earlier. Most of it was chewy and soft, but this one had a crispy exterior that made a sound when you chewed it.
“Do you want to eat all of this?”
Aska asked as he handed me the skewer. I had no choice but to accept it because if I said no, he would force me to eat it again. About half of the chicken skewer, which Aska had taken one bite of and I had taken one bite of, was left.
I stared at the brown-colored meat covered in oily sauce and the slightly burnt vegetables at the end, and stretched out my empty hand to the side.
I moved my feet without taking my eyes off the skewer, but even after waiting a while, Aska didn’t take my hand. I tilted my head with a puzzled expression, but there was no one next to me.
“……?”
For a moment, I tilted my head in confusion and quickly turned my gaze around, then stopped.
“Aska.”
I realized the situation a beat late and called out his name, but no one answered.
“Aska!”
I called out again even louder, but it was the same. The fact that there were so many people around was also a problem.
“Wow!”
At that moment, the front became noisy. It seemed like they were doing some kind of performance, and a huge crowd of people gathered in one place. I was pushed and shoved by the people and arrived at the plaza where the performance had started, but I still couldn’t find Aska.
“Wow!”
As a fire-breathing stunt show began, exclamations erupted. No matter how loudly I called out his name, my voice was drowned out by the noise.
I desperately searched for Aska, avoiding and pushing through the people crowded together like chickens in a coop, and then stopped abruptly in my tracks.
“……”
Why did he suddenly disappear?
Did he run away? Was it a kidnapping? How long did I take my eyes off him? Is there a chance that he came out with me from the beginning with the intention of escaping? What are the chances that there are any Calderians left in Talim? Can I find him if I release people right away? How long have I been walking around? Did Aska have enough time to memorize the geography in the meantime?
Aska was hot, so he took off his hood for a while in the alley. If I move to a place where there are few people, it will not be easy to find him even if I put out a wanted notice, and it is also a problem if it is a kidnapping. Can Aska survive on his own if he is left alone? Was it a problem that I kept him locked up too much?
“……”
Various cases and possibilities arose sporadically without being organized.
Why did he run away?
Then, as if bleached, only one question came to mind in my head, which had turned completely white in an instant.
The noisy sounds around me gradually faded away. No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t understand it. I was pretty good to him, wasn’t I? Even if he made a mistake, I didn’t blame him, and I sometimes scolded him, but I always forgave him in the end.
I didn’t hit him, and I didn’t get genuinely angry and curse at him. I gave him food, a place to sleep, washed him, and spent time with him…
“……?”
It was then that I was confused. Suddenly, my insides became hot as if a fire was rising, and my throat became hot. Something lumpy rose up my esophagus and filled my mouth.
“……”
When I wiped the blood flowing from my mouth with the back of my hand, red blood was smeared on it. I spat out the blood that was still in my mouth onto the floor. It was quite a lot.
“Oh my, are you okay?”
One of the people watching the performance must have seen me, because they asked in a flustered voice. I didn’t answer and moved my feet.
“Haa…”
I was still dumbfounded and absurd, so I could only sigh. When I got out of the crowded place and into the alley, it finally became a little quieter.
I looked at the half-eaten chicken skewer that was still in my hand.
“……”
Is this a poisoning incident? My stomach and esophagus hurt, and my body was getting hot. Considering that I suddenly vomited blood, it seemed like it was poison.
Is the street vendor who sold the chicken skewers also an accomplice? Or did he just put poison on it while I wasn’t looking? He ate it himself, so is he immune to the poison? How did he get it…
Just as I was about to wonder how he got it, my head throbbed.
Do I really not know? There have been so many opportunities. Not just once or twice, but several times I felt a sense of unease. There were many times when Aska, who was sleeping next to me, got up and slipped out without my knowledge, but I knew it and overlooked it. I didn’t even try to find out more.
Why? Why?
“Cough…”
When I covered my mouth and coughed lightly, red blood spread on my palm. Judging by the fact that blood was still coming out, it seemed to be a type of blood vessel poison, and I was gradually getting dizzy and having trouble breathing. Is it a mixture that also includes the nervous system?
No, more than that, my stomach and esophagus hurt so much…
My legs were shaking, so I leaned against the wall for a moment to catch my breath. My condition was getting worse, but it was fortunate that it wasn’t enough to kill me instantly.
Did he hate me so much that he used poison? Did he think it would be good if I died? There was no sign of it, so I didn’t notice. I had thought that he might run away, but I never thought that he would kill me.
So, I felt more empty than angry.
“……”
Is Aska running away well?
Now that he’s made up his mind, I sincerely wished that he would escape far, far away without being caught.
Because if he gets caught, his arms and legs will be cut off and he will have to live hanging from the ceiling.