By Zephyria “Stay here and don’t move.”
Hiding Herman behind my back, I regained my focus and flicked my fingers toward the target staring back at me. In an instant, the target was engulfed in violent flames, flailing and letting out a bizarre, agonized shriek. However, it seemed to possess a tough hide; it didn’t die immediately and continued to approach. After a moment of deliberation, I changed the type of magic.
Crack…!
In a flash, the ice swallowed the flames and froze the creature’s body solid. For Fiends with hardened bodies or resistance to fire, this was more effective. While it was difficult to kill them instantly, ice-attribute magic was optimal for sealing their movements.
Indeed, the frozen target could no longer move and rolled across the ground. Thanks to being trapped in ice, its outline became clear. Herman peeked his head out and asked.
“Did you take care of it?”
“Probably.”
There was no movement to break free, but I couldn’t be certain as it might simply be in a state of suspended animation.
To ensure it was dealt with, I told Herman to wait a moment, approached the target, and clenched my hand in the air. A flame materialized from there, lengthening and hardening into the shape of a sword. Since I didn’t know exactly where the weak point was, I sliced through the ice and the creature together. Only after confirming there was no further movement did I withdraw the magic.
“Can I take a sample?”
Herman asked softly as he approached from a distance, and I nodded. After that, we spent a bit more time investigating the management area before returning to the village around sunset.
Although we had dealt with the target, it might not have been a lone individual but part of a group, so we decided to stay in the village for the night and return tomorrow morning.
That night, the villagers, eager to host us, held a modest festival. There weren’t many types of food and few people, so it wasn’t exactly a boisterous atmosphere, but it wasn’t bad.
“Ray.”
At that moment, Herman, who was tearing into some bread beside me, called out to me tentatively. When I looked back, he was glancing at me from the corner of his eye. The light from the large bonfire flickered in his pupils.
“About that… thing we talked about during the day…”
“…?”
Since he was hesitating, I tilted my head as if telling him to go on, wondering what he wanted to say. If it was during the day, he was likely referring to when he suddenly brought up Ardian.
However, Herman kept his mouth shut with a serious expression and eventually just said it was nothing.
I was curious about what he was hesitating over, but since he wouldn’t say it, I figured it wasn’t a big deal and didn’t press further.
Fortunately, no Fiends descended upon the village that night. We finished our preparations to leave early the next morning, leaving the villagers with a formal remark: ‘Please contact us if any further damage occurs.’ It was a sort of lip service Cloud had taught me.
“Ray. I’ll contact you soon.”
Before leaving for the guild, Herman held onto me with a lingering look. I nodded to acknowledge him, but Herman remained in place, unable to leave.
Did he have more to say?
As I stood there staring at him, Herman hesitated. Then, he only left me with the bland remark to get home safely. I wanted to open up that small head of his just once to see what on earth was going on inside.
While I gave him a long stare, Herman left first via Space Transition, so I also headed back to the guild. However, the lobby was noisy. Wondering what was happening, I approached and saw a familiar face. Cloud, and Ardian standing in front of him.
“Ardian.”
When I called his name, Ardian, who had been facing off with Cloud, turned around with a bright smile. It was rare for him to visit here, so I wondered what brought him today.
“Outsiders are forbidden from entering our guild, Vice Guild Master,” Cloud said, shrugging while spouting utter nonsense.
“I assume he came because he has a request. I’ll take the ‘client’ with me.”
Responding bluntly, I pulled Ardian along toward my office. Perhaps because he didn’t want to be a nuisance to me, he was wearing the mask of a well-behaved human, but the look in his eyes toward Cloud was not kind at all. I had no idea what conversation they’d had to cause this.
“Why are you here? Do you actually want to join the guild?” I asked, pushing him into the office.
Ardian shook his head.
“Not that. I came because I missed you.”
“Then you should have contacted me first.”
“…I probably should have. I didn’t know you were out on a mission.”
I wanted to see you as soon as I had time. As Ardian added this, he looked exactly like a large, sulky white dog, so I silently stroked his head. Ardian, as if he had been waiting for this, stepped forward and hugged me, rubbing his cheek against mine.
While hugging him back and indulging the large man’s whining, I asked.
“What did you talk about with Cloud?”
At that, I felt a sense of discomfort from Ardian. Did he not want to talk about it? I didn’t think there was a need to force him, so I didn’t ask further and just patted his back.
After a while, he spoke first.
“He said that human love… has an expiration date. That even if people whisper that they’ll love each other for a lifetime now, in reality, they can’t love for that long. I couldn’t confidently say that I’m different.”
Because he isn’t human.
Unlike me, who was reincarnated as a human even after regaining memories of a past life, Ardian… Adam is not. He acts like a human, but in truth, he is a being that cannot be called human.
“It’s annoying.”
He seemed to have felt anxiety from that, and it had made him unpleasant because it felt strangely plausible. There was no need for that, nor any reason to be anxious. I smiled silently, looking at Ardian as he honestly expressed his emotions.
It was then.
Suddenly, the portable Video Orb I carried sent a signal. When I took it out and turned it on, it was Herman. It was surprising to get a call so soon after parting. Herman, on the other side of the Video Orb, flinched upon seeing Ardian and me together, then spoke.
-Listen, Ray.
“Hmm?”
-There’s something I want to tell you. Please make some time for me tomorrow.
It seemed he had finally decided to say what he had been hesitating to say. Well… contrary to my expectations, he might be trying to say something else.
“Sure. Where should we meet?”
-I’ll go to the front of the guild tomorrow afternoon.
I nodded in agreement.
Herman disconnected the call quickly, as if he only intended to say that. Around then, Ardian, who had been watching quietly from the side, spoke with a somewhat grumpy expression.
“I want to be there tomorrow too.”
“You want to come see Herman too?”
At my question, he nodded.
“Hmm… do whatever you want.”
Since he didn’t say we should meet alone, it shouldn’t matter.
I had to sort and organize the completed request forms and the new ones that had come in, so I told Ardian to head back early. He lingered, reluctant to leave, but after I gave him a kiss, he left satisfied.
We were meeting tomorrow anyway.
And so, a busy day passed, and the next morning dawned.
☠
-You, why do you keep shaking me!
Herman couldn’t understand why Raymond was being so kind and gentle to him. It had been this way ever since the attack by the Niflheim Fiends.
The memory of the past, where they were strangely soft and got along well, came back… and that made his heart flutter even more. But the answer to his confession had been a rejection. So, he was trying his best to force his feelings away and was halfway to giving up, but Raymond kept making it impossible for him to do so.
That’s why he asked why he kept shaking him.
He asked if it was okay to act like this while dating Ardian. He meant that someone might misunderstand and think he was the one dating Raymond, so he asked him to be a bit more careful.
-What about it?
Raymond answered as if it didn’t matter. To Herman’s ears, it sounded vaguely like ‘two people are fine.’ It was a shocking statement, but on the other hand, it felt so typical of Ray that Herman felt confused and began to seriously contemplate.
‘Is it… possible to date someone who is already dating someone else?’
Normally, one would think that’s wrong, and Herman also thought it was impossible.
However, he didn’t want to easily give up on the man he had loved since childhood, only to have him snatched away by some random newcomer.
If Raymond said it was okay, then it was okay for him too.
He thought that perhaps this was an opportunity.
Or, perhaps he had misunderstood the meaning.
In that flow of thought, Herman finally realized.
While he was shifting the responsibility by saying, ‘If Raymond says it’s okay, then I’m okay,’ the truth was that he wanted to hold onto Raymond more than anyone else, which is why he was speaking of hope.
Even though Raymond had no feelings for him and wouldn’t look his way, he wanted to be by his side, using the occasional kindness Raymond showed him as an excuse.
Even if there was already someone else in that spot.
He thought he was being truly shameless and wretched.
Still, he made up his mind.
“I’ll go to the front of the guild tomorrow afternoon.”
He decided to try saying it one last time.