The boy tried to keep his face calm when he saw the absurdity that flashed through Ren’s eyes.

He had blurted out whatever came to mind because he wanted to tease him, but he had not expected that look.

“Cedric. That was a joke just now.”

It would have been better if Ren had simply said it was not funny, but being stared at blankly made it even more embarrassing.

“What did you ask me earlier?”

“Do you know where my luggage is?”

Expression returned to Ren’s face.

“They didn’t throw it away, did they?”

The farther he went, the gloomier Ren’s voice became. Even so, his eyes were sharp. If Cedric said they had thrown it away, Ren looked ready to cause a scene then and there. Not that Cedric would just sit back and watch.

“They probably gathered it all in one place.”

“Really?”

“They can’t just throw it away.”

“Why?”

“Because someone might track you by that luggage.”

“Ah.”

‘Thank goodness.’

Ren swallowed the rest of the words by himself.

He was relieved that his luggage was safe, but... what relieved him more was that, since they probably could not track him that easily, there was no worry of anyone seeing him in this pathetic state.

Of course, he could not make any promises about his own safety.

I’ll run away after we arrive somewhere far, far away. And I’ll send letters without writing an address. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

“Why were you taken?”

“...I was stupidly tricked and got taken.”

At the shorter answer than expected, Cedric looked dumbfounded.

“Do I have to explain every little detail?”

“No need for that, I guess.”

“What about you?”

“.......”

“What?”

Ren narrowed his eyes. Why was he digging into other people’s business and then not talking about his own?

“Forget it. I’m not that curious anyway.”

“I’ll tell you.”

“I said forget it.”

It was true he had gotten annoyed for a moment, but if it was something hard to talk about, he did not particularly want to hear it. The only person Ren wanted to know about was Temar. Even that had grown faint now.

Ren’s eyes blinked slowly, as if he were falling asleep again.

Ah, Cedric’s lap is comfortable too, but still... I think my brother’s lap is the best. As sleep came over him, his thoughts flowed wherever they wanted.

“A job.”

“...A job?”

Ren asked back sluggishly.

“Yeah. They said they’d give me work. That’s how I got tricked.”

Listening to the embarrassed voice, Ren muttered,

“That’s better than me.”

“Why? What did they trick you with?”

“......The sea.”

“The sea?”

“They said they’d show me... the sea.”

Even breathing followed.

Instead of asking if he was asleep, Cedric closed his own eyes too.

If he could at least sleep deeply in a place like this, that was fortunate enough.

Cedric hoped Ren would dream of the sea instead of nightmares.

But the one who dreamed was Cedric.

It was a dream where he pulled a holy sword from a great rock by the shore.

***

Unlike the rusty iron door, the inside of the house was impressive, and the middle-aged man openly admired it as he looked around every corner. When his eyes moved busily here and there, the old apothecary clicked his tongue.

“You’re making me dizzy. Stay still.”

“Ahem. I’m sorry. I didn’t know the inside was this impressive. It’s like a cave.”

“You must find it strange that an old man lives in a nice house.”

“Pardon? Ah, no.”

“It’s done.”

“Thank you, elder.”

Bandages were wrapped tightly around the man’s thigh. The middle-aged man, who had been admiring the meticulous knot of the bandage, thanked him over and over. He had cut himself badly while chopping wood and thought this was the end, but somehow, the old apothecary had appeared at the perfect moment and saved him.

“To be honest, I thought I’d die there on the spot, or lose the use of one leg....”

The middle-aged man spoke weakly and scratched his head.

He had deeply cut his leg two weeks ago. Now his thigh had healed a great deal, so as long as he did not do heavy work, walking was no problem. He could hardly believe it, but since a clever man knew that sometimes it was better not to know, he did not ask the old apothecary. He had even hidden the injury from his family, brushing it off by saying his wound was just a skin condition that would heal if he applied medicine.

The old apothecary had appeared before him as he was about to faint, poured a potion generously over the wound on his thigh, and put something into his mouth too. When he came to his senses, he was in the old apothecary’s house, and his thigh had been neatly stitched. He had no memory at all of what happened after he passed out, but there was no doubt the old apothecary had saved his life.

The middle-aged man watched the old apothecary’s expression. The man had always gone around with a good-natured smile, but lately that smile had completely disappeared. Since he was, after all, a white-haired old man, it worried him a little.

“I have some good tonic at home. Should I bring you some?”

“You eat it.”

The old apothecary jerked his chin toward the space behind the middle-aged man. When the middle-aged man looked where those wrinkled eyes pointed, he made an embarrassed face. There, in the place he had indicated, were rows of tremendous medicinal ingredients the middle-aged man did not even recognize.

“Did something happen? Lately, you look...”

“Nothing happened, so don’t worry about that and go home. Now that I’m old, I’m tired just from seeing one patient.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

The middle-aged man hurriedly rose from the chair.

Considering the old apothecary had saved him and cared for him so sincerely, he did not seem very interested in him. If anything, there was even a hint that he found him bothersome.

As the man headed for the door, he saw the luggage set near the entrance and looked puzzled.

“Are you going somewhere?”

Before the old apothecary could answer, the middle-aged man nodded as if he understood.

“You’re going to gather medicinal herbs! Where are you going?”

“The capital, where else? Change your bandages properly while I’m gone. Tsk. A young man like you, really.”

“Haha. Yes. I will. If you need anything, please tell me. Ah, should I tell the village chief?”

Since it was a small rural village, whenever someone had to leave their house empty, they usually told the village chief. Then the village chief would look after the empty house and receive a little pay. Since having someone come and go and manage it was better than leaving the house vacant the whole time, everyone entrusted their homes to the village chief with gratitude.

“I’d be grateful if you did.”

“Yes. Then, elder, I’ll be going. Ah! When are you leaving?”

“Tomorrow.”

“Yes?! Understood. Then I should hurry and tell him. The village chief goes to sleep early. Rest well!”

The middle-aged man limped away. The old apothecary closed the door and looked at the bird sitting like a doll on top of the bookshelf. It was fine now, but two weeks ago, that bird had nearly had its leg severed.

Because of a trap some human had set without thinking.

The one who saved it had been the middle-aged man.

“Tsk...”

Clicking his tongue, the old apothecary resumed the work he had been doing before the middle-aged man arrived.

He was making new pills.

Inside the old apothecary’s house, a dark blue light that could not leak outside through the tightly drawn curtains glittered in pulses.

The man who came out of the shack tilted his head as he headed toward the village chief’s house.

Didn’t he used to speak in a friendlier, more rustic way?

“Come to think of it, he’s gotten blunt after Hen left!”

He stopped in place and shouted, as if he had realized something.

“Well, I suppose old people need children around.”

Ahem, ahem. Anyway, that potion must have been quite expensive... Since he didn’t say anything, I suppose he just gave it to me?

The middle-aged man nodded, then continued walking while thinking that the old man’s way of speaking had still seemed warmer than that.

***

The area around Mount Geroa had been devastated.

From the ground, blue and deep brown energy rose in a savage tangle.

The dry trees curled their branches away from the hot energy, as if it would melt everything in the air.

Their breathing was not disordered in the slightest, but Temar’s and Geloman’s faces were covered in cold sweat.

Behind Temar lingered the fading afterimage of a blue wolf, and behind Geloman stretched the long shadow of a turtle regarded as sacred in the northern continent.

Drawing swords without warning and clashing was their way.

Temar, too, had no room right now to grab him and try to persuade him. His insides were still rampaging, not calmed in the least.

He had definitely heard Ren’s voice. That voice had become a huge nail driven hard into Temar’s chest. It had been hammered in so forcefully that it still shook and rang inside him, like a hammer striking thick rubber. Constantly, even in the middle of battle.

As they caught their breath and glared at each other, Geloman was the first to lower his sword.

“I’m sorry.”

It was a plain apology, considering he had drawn his greatsword and struck at his neck without a single word of explanation.

When swords clashed, one could know. Whether the other person was lying or telling the truth. What their true intention was.

Temar had not betrayed them.

“Geloman. What is all this? Why did you follow me?”

White smoke rose from beneath Geloman’s feet. The earth that had been pulled into him began to writhe and return to its original form. His muscles, which had swollen like balloons and hardened like rock, also twitched back into place.

Looking into Temar’s dark brown eyes, Geloman opened his mouth.

“I’m sorry I misunderstood. There is a traitor among us.”

“A traitor?”

Temar did not believe him.

The seven Heroes chosen by oracle had spent years together through war alone. They had fought while trusting one another with their backs. They could not exactly be called friends, nor could they be called family. Even if there was no affection or fondness, there was one thing the Heroes had too.

Trust.

They had trust.

Betrayal was impossible.

Temar’s eyes hardened. Reading anger in his firmly pressed lips, Geloman apologized again.

“Why did you not leave the mountain? I misunderstood and thought you were meeting a spy here.”

“.......”

For a moment, he could not answer.

Temar was no traitor who deserved to be torn to shreds.

But for the first time, ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) he had refused a mission and was on his way back.