A Good Farewell (1)
“Where’s Ren?”
Ruman, who had just washed up at a nearby stream, shook the water from his hair.
If he were an ordinary person, the water in his hair would have frozen solid, but whether it was a Hero’s ability or privilege, water droplets fell from his hair as Ruman shook his head. Seeing the faint golden light, he must have been using his ability.
Ruman’s eyes naturally turned toward where Ren had been lying.
“He’s still sleeping!”
“Ah, I see.”
“Yes! Good morning, Hero-nim.”
It was Gepetto who answered abruptly. Gepetto smiled obsequiously. He rubbed his face with a damp towel, shivering all the while.
“Hueoo.”
Unlike at first when he had been extremely tense, he seemed to have adapted to this group and appeared more relaxed.
“Sleeping with the blanket pulled all the way over like that.”
Ruman chuckled softly and crouched down in front of Ren. When he lowered the blanket that had been pulled up to the crown of his head, he could see his sleeping face, breathing softly. His cheeks flushed red from the cold and his disheveled hair caught his eye for a moment. What caught his eye even more was…
“Did he cry?”
There were already dried tear stains. Ruman’s finger brushed against Ren’s eyes.
“Mmmngh.”
Ren whined in his sleep and turned his body to the side.
It would be better to pretend not to notice.
Otherwise, he might throw a fit and lose his voice.
He was curious why he’d cried, but he couldn’t ask.
Ruman pondered to himself.
Was there something to cry about? But Temarr was fine, and Ren himself had been healed of all his serious injuries. So it couldn’t be that. Then what could be the problem?
Did he cry because he was sad to part with Princess Coco?
Ruman quietly gazed at Ren’s profile.
Well.
They were around the same age and got along well. A boy at this age could certainly feel that way.
Still, was there really a need to cry in secret?
Ruman felt uncomfortable.
But it wasn’t as if he could do anything about it. All he could do was pull the edge of the blanket and cover him properly again.
It was still early dawn, so they could let Ren sleep for another hour or two. Ruman looked at the sky to gauge the time.
For Ruman, Ren’s morning sleep was more of a concern than a mission that was already quite delayed.
“Hey, anything unusual?”
“What are you doing?”
Temarr glared at Ruman with dark eyes.
“Just checking if he’s sleeping well. Anything unusual?”
My goodness. He’s really glaring just because I looked at his younger brother’s face. Wouldn’t it have been nice if you’d been like that from the start? Show some interest in your younger brother.
Ruman’s eyes naturally became impure as well.
“Nothing. The remnants we dealt with seem to have been all of them.”
“Hieek.”
Hiccup! Hiccup!
“……”
“……”
Was he startled by the mention of dealing with them?
Gepetto, who had been standing awkwardly behind Ruman, couldn’t help but overhear and started hiccuping. Even as he held his breath, his whole body jerked pitifully. When Ruman and Temarr’s gazes converged on him, he pressed his mouth shut forcefully with both hands, but it was useless.
“Hik! Hik!”
“Ren must really be a Hero’s younger brother. Seeing how bold he is.”
“He’s… my younger brother.”
Temarr’s pronunciation of “younger brother” was clumsy.
Was his mouth frozen from the cold? Ruman had an idle thought and chuckled to himself again.
Come to think of it, Ren really was fearless. Telling people to kill, or saying to let the bad guy go because the Hero’s honor was more important. Or saying he’d rather kill them himself.
Not even knowing fear and throwing himself onto a sword to save others.
Crack.
“I’m, I’m sorry… Hik! Hik! Hi……”
“Ah. I’m stretching. Don’t mind me.”
Gepetto’s face turned pale.
Who makes such a brutal sound with their hands while stretching?
If Ruman had been holding anything in his hand, it would have shattered into pieces with nothing left but powder.
No, he was angry.
Just thinking about that moment made rage surge to the top of his head.
Why would he do such a reckless thing with such a fragile body?
‘I should have a proper talk with him soon.’
Everyone had been injured, and they’d left in such a rush as soon as they recovered that they hadn’t even thought to mention it. He needed to earnestly warn him never to engage in such dangerous behavior again. That way, he could feel at ease even after leaving.
‘After leaving.’
Still, they could meet again, couldn’t they?
Ruman was a former Hero and Temarr would continue to be a Hero.
It wouldn’t be difficult to meet Ren, the younger brother of a fellow Hero. Hadn’t he even given him a Crystal Orb?
Ruman laughed self-deprecatingly.
Imagining what would happen after leaving even before they’d left—he seemed to have become utterly useless.
“Temarr. Let’s go over there.”
“Alright. Please wait here for a moment. We’ll be nearby.”
Temarr, who had been lost in thought looking at the ground, raised his head at Ruman’s words. He looked at Gepetto. His dark brown eyes seemed clouded, as if shrouded in fog. Gepetto’s back became drenched in sweat from Temarr’s gaze.
He wanted to beg him not to look at him with those eyes.
What kind of eyes?
Those very eyes… from the cavity in the collapsed cliff!
If Ren’s death had been a nightmare for them, that look in the Hero’s eyes was Gepetto’s nightmare.
Gepetto pressed his mouth shut even harder, afraid a terror-stricken voice might leak out.
Ruman left first, and Temarr watched Gepetto intently without receiving an answer. Instead of removing his hands covering his mouth, Gepetto nodded his head frantically. Go! Have a good trip! Hurry and go! His desperate movements made his hair fly everywhere. Unfortunately for him, Ruman and Temarr had no interest in Gepetto whatsoever. In fact, Temarr’s gaze wasn’t on Gepetto but on Ren, who was still sleeping behind him.
Only after the Heroes left and were out of sight did Gepetto slump down.
“Hik… Hik!”
Only pitiful hiccuping sounds echoed.
Gepetto’s heart became as heavy as the pouch full of gold coins.
Would he be able to escape safely from this Hero party?
They hadn’t done anything and there was no safer group than this, yet somehow he felt like his life was hanging by a thread.
***
“Temarr.”
When Ruman called out heavily, Temarr raised his eyebrows.
“There’s something you need to know.”
“What?”
“About this mission.”
“Your mission?”
“No. Your mission. The reason you’re being summoned to the capital.”
“…Investigation of items discovered at the border and summoning to demonstrate the kingdom’s strength against neighboring countries’ border pressure.”
Temarr recited the King’s message written in the <Hero Summons Order> that Ruman had delivered all the way to the remote village, and pulled his lips into an expressionless smile.
“So that’s not all.”
“Did you expect that?”
Ruman examined Temarr’s face as if surprised. But as always, the Hero’s face was as solid as rock, seeming to have no room for even a single expression. Ruman thought that face had somehow become even bleaker than it had been in the cabin.
“No.”
He said that, but his true feelings were unknown.
Well. When had Heroes ever known each other’s hearts? They were just glad if they were both still breathing. That was all, and that alone was enough of a life. In any case, that face was more familiar to Ruman, so there was nothing to be concerned about.
“I don’t know the details either.”
Ruman, who began with that, frowned.
Temarr would think ‘there’s no way Ruman would take on a mission he doesn’t know about,’ but this time was different.
It was all just Ruman’s speculation.
“His Majesty seems to be searching for ‘something.’ Faster than the neighboring countries.”
“Like a treasure?”
“Oh, I don’t know what it is, but it must be valuable.”
For example, ‘anti-Hero war weapons’ or ‘materials’ for them. Ruman added playfully.
“Shall we just call it a ‘treasure’ between us?”
Temarr frowned.
Ruman seemed to think for a moment, then continued.
“What’s written in the summons order isn’t false. It hasn’t been long since we ended that terrible war, and the borderlands are apparently stirring. There’s a lot of talk that they seem to be testing the waters now that the Heroes have scattered. It’s probably true.”
Ruman smiled gently. When a smile appeared on his handsome face, it created a sweet expression that would melt many girls’ hearts. But his eyes were far too cold.
“So they’re probably calling us to kill two birds with one stone. Until I came here, I hadn’t thought deeply about it.”
Temarr’s gaze followed Ruman intently. As Ruman shook his head, his blonde hair, bleached white by the sun, fell over his forehead. He brushed back the fallen bangs and raised his thoughtful eyes.
“It might not end at just a simple investigation or reconnaissance level.”
“The reason the neighboring countries are stirring is…”
The two exchanged glances.
“Because of the treasure.”
“It’s because of that treasure.”
Temarr and Ruman spoke simultaneously.
“It’s just speculation.”
Ruman shrugged as if he hadn’t just spoken seriously.
At his light tone, Temarr also smiled lightly. A rare brief smile crossed his face.
“Perhaps the reason Del Belkerman attacked us was also for ‘intelligence gathering’ for that.”
“……”
“Temarr, be careful. If that’s really the case, the road to the capital won’t be easy.”
Ruman’s gaze briefly rested on the campfire before returning to Temarr.
“If they’re targeting Ren, it’ll be hard for him to remain completely safe.”
“……”
Boom.
Without warning, the ground beneath them gave way.
The ground where the two stood, centered on Temarr’s feet, sank lower than the surroundings. Earth instantly shot up into the air and settled, raising dust. Neither of them blinked an eye. As they blinked, the dust that had settled on their eyelashes fell. Watching the dust floating in the air, Ruman whispered.
“Be careful.”
Ruman gripped Temarr’s shoulder firmly and let go.
“I’ll never let that happen.”
For a moment, a blue aura appeared and disappeared in Temarr’s eyes.
“Temarr.”
“Never.”
It was Temarr who left first. Each time his massive frame walked with force, the ground beneath his feet sank deeply as if it were mud. Ruman sighed watching his retreating figure. Worry appeared in his deliberately created light smile.
“Anti-Hero war weapons ended up coming out after all. Temarr.”
Ruman muttered bitterly.
He’d tried to talk a bit about the weapons.
Shouldn’t they share what each of them felt?
However, understanding Temarr’s heart going straight to Ren, Ruman didn’t stop him. There was still time before they parted, so he thought they could do it then.
Perhaps it was still too frightening to bring up.
As if the aftereffects from that time remained, there was a tremor in Ruman’s hand.
Feeling his faintly trembling hand and the turbulent energy, he clenched his fist. The faintly present golden aura dispersed.
“Maybe I’m not the one who’s retiring.”
A Hero feeling fear.
He might have outlived his usefulness.
His life as a Hero might have ended that day.
Even so, it had been glorious. After all, hadn’t he saved the precious Princess with his last strength and saved the even more ‘precious’ Ren?
Ruman tried to shake off his thoughts. He walked toward where the campfire was burning with lighter steps than ever. Toward that warm place where Ren was still sleeping.
