# Chapter 80
#9. Each One’s Role (4)
“J-Johaim-ssi?”
Seeing Melty’s eyes widen in surprise, Johaim smiled gently.
“I called out to you earlier… but it seems you didn’t hear me. Did you have something urgent to attend to?”
“Ah, no. I wasn’t in a hurry…”
Along with his polite inquiry, Johaim’s gaze fell upon the items Melty was holding. Following his line of sight, Melty lowered his head and discovered a pink book asserting its presence vigorously among the notebooks in his arms.
“Eep!”
Why is this here?!
His body reacted faster than his mind. Instinctively, Melty pulled the book closer to his chest, hiding its title. His eyes, trembling with anxiety, met Johaim’s.
“Um, well, this is…”
Melty dragged out his words while nervously checking Johaim’s reaction. It felt exactly like having a secret that should absolutely never be shown to others suddenly discovered. With a reddened face, Melty struggled to stammer out an excuse while Johaim smiled awkwardly.
“I didn’t know you were interested in that sort of thing.”
“N-no! That’s not it! I mean, it’s not that I’m not interested! I did read it, but I didn’t read it with that kind of thought… It’s… I mean… Anyway, it’s not like that!”
As Melty shook his head vigorously and spilled out incoherent words, Johaim raised both his palms toward Melty in a placating gesture.
“There’s no need to be so flustered. I didn’t mean to embarrass you.”
“……”
At Johaim’s calm words, Melty realized he had gotten unnecessarily excited and hung his head low. Silently blaming himself for bringing this book out in the first place, he scuffed the floor with his foot before looking up at Johaim.
“S-so! What brings Johaim-ssi here? All the way to this place?”
Johaim smiled faintly and graciously went along with Melty’s desperate attempt to change the subject.
“I came to receive some items. I need to examine them before moving them, and that’s when I saw you passing by.”
“Aah…”
Melty nodded obediently at Johaim’s explanation. Among the herbs Calix was providing to Johaim, some were already in circulation, but there were also varieties specially managed by the Padrian family. Even for this special circumstance, they had firmly refused to supply them directly, so it seemed they were being handed over in a different form.
“Have you found any solution yet?”
At Melty’s question, Johaim looked around. Fortunately, none of the employees showed any interest in them. Returning his gaze to Melty, Johaim politely extended one hand.
“Since we can’t continue our conversation standing here, how about we talk in the garden?”
“Ah… Yes. That sounds good.”
Belatedly remembering that he needed to be careful about disclosing specific details related to this situation, Melty tapped his innocent mouth and nodded.
“But I’m carrying quite a lot here.”
Melty’s gaze fell on the hand Johaim had extended. At this indirect refusal, Johaim looked at the notebooks and book now almost completely hidden in Melty’s arms.
“Aren’t they heavy? Shall I carry them for you?”
“No! I’ll! I’ll carry them myself.”
His wariness apparently heightened, Melty pushed the books deeper into his arms until not even the pink edge of the cover was visible. Johaim chuckled softly at Melty’s brown eyes shining with resolute determination, and without pressing further, began walking. Perhaps mindful of Melty’s stride, Johaim walked slowly and continued in a low voice the explanations he couldn’t give earlier.
“Well, I think we’ll need to proceed with treatment first. Since we haven’t been able to try it yet, I can’t give you a definite answer.”
At Johaim’s words, Melty’s head naturally drooped. Though he didn’t think they had walked particularly fast, they had already reached the garden. Sweeping his windblown, tousled hair behind his ear, Melty asked:
“It’s not an epidemic, is it…?”
“…So far, I haven’t heard news of it spreading to other regions. Perhaps it’s just a new illness, not something serious.”
Melty breathed a sigh of relief at Johaim’s explanation. It was merely the suggestion of a slight possibility that there might not be any significant problem, but that was enough to ease his anxiety.
“Johaim-ssi is working so hard on this. So everything will be fine!”
After examining Johaim’s calmly composed face, Melty spoke with vigor while tightening his grip on the pile of books in his arms. A faint smile appeared on Johaim’s face at Melty’s exclamation.
“I hope so. My younger brother also died from an illness.”
“Oh…”
Melty quietly held his breath at the sight of Johaim gazing off into the distance with a bitter smile. He had heard about this from Calix before.
– And about four years ago. An epidemic broke out, and while we were cooperating to cure it, the Sarvie family’s youngest son and I got infected.
– I survived thanks to my blessing of ‘Immunity,’ but their youngest son died.
As Melty fidgeted, uncertain how to comfort the melancholy Johaim, Johaim himself spoke again with a smile returning to his face.
“It was very difficult when my brother passed away, but I’m alright now.”
“…I’m sure Johaim-ssi was a wonderful older brother.”
Although Johaim maintained his usual smiling face, Melty could easily tell that the wound he suffered after losing his family member wouldn’t have healed so easily. After all, the void left by a departed family member doesn’t simply disappear with time. At Melty’s words of comfort, Johaim smiled while lightly pushing up his glasses.
“By the way, we didn’t get to talk much back then, but I didn’t expect to see Melty-ssi here.”
“Ah! Originally someone else was supposed to come, but they were busy. So I came instead.”
Melty spoke in a deliberately brighter tone, his face blooming with smiles. As Melty’s cheerful chatter continued, the dark shadow that had fallen across Johaim’s face slowly disappeared.
“Have you finished your work for today?”
“Yes! I was on my way back to my room… I didn’t expect to run into Johaim-ssi.”
In response to Melty’s bright, smiling comments, Johaim carefully broached a subject.
“Do you happen to have time tomorrow?”
“Time? Why?”
Blinking his eyes, Melty looked at him with a puzzled expression. Johaim laughed softly at his question, which contained pure curiosity.
“I failed to keep my promise to Melty-ssi last time. Since meeting you here is also fate, if your schedule permits, I’d like to make it up to you tomorrow.”
“Promise…? Oh!”
As the memory didn’t come to mind easily, Melty tapped his cheek with his index finger, trying to recall. He finally let out a short exclamation when the scene belatedly came to him.
– If you’re going to the temple again, how about I join you? It would also be a chance to make up for breaking my promise this time.
Without a doubt, this is what Johaim had said when they met at the banquet hall during the exchange meeting. Since he had hardly encountered Johaim afterwards, it was a promise he had completely forgotten.
“The temple?”
Johaim nodded with a smile at Melty’s questioning response. From Melty’s answer, he could easily tell that Melty remembered the promise from back then.
“Yes. There’s also a temple here. It’s a bit smaller in scale… but the scenery is quite unique, so I think Melty-ssi will like it.”
“Wow. It seems Johaim-ssi has been here before.”
“I’ve been staying in the village for a few days now. I can’t stay in that place indefinitely, you see.”
Melty quietly assented to Johaim’s answer as he ran his hand down the back of his hair. The place where Melty had reunited with Johaim was isolated by mountains.
Although there were a few buildings along with the lodging where he stayed, there was no sign of human presence at all, and according to Calix’s explanation, it was impossible for unauthorized people to move to other places through the mountains.
“So that’s how you were able to come here today… The mountains are really treacherous, aren’t they?”
Johaim nodded, laughing aloud at Melty’s whispered question as he recalled how difficult it had been to climb the mountain.
“Yes, that’s right. I’m currently staying in the village, but I won’t be here for long. I plan to leave once the herbs are gathered. As you know, given the situation…”
“That’s right. I suppose Johaim-ssi is the busiest of us all.”
Melty nodded emphatically. While the roles of Calix and Melty ended with delivering the herbs, Johaim was the one who had to actively work for the treatment.
“Currently, people from our family are making efforts… but once my business here is concluded, I need to join them. We don’t know what might happen if the situation drags on. So, if it’s alright with Melty-ssi, I’d like you to spare some time for me this time.”
Johaim looked at Melty with a bitter smile after exhaling a long sigh. Just as Melty was about to nod cheerfully and confirm the promise—
“Why are you looking for time here?”
