At the entrance to Tempesto Village, young men were standing.

The deep blue light of dawn swallowed the village and the young men whole.

They held something out to the one standing on the frozen ground in the cold air.

“Hey, do you really have to go?”

“Exactly. You even won the swordsmanship tournament. You could enjoy yourself a little longer before leaving.”

“Hey. You think he’d do that? We barely caught him trying to sneak off at night. Seriously. And you were going to leave without saying goodbye? Are we not even your friends?”

The young man dressed like a traveler, wearing a black hood, took it off under his friends’ nagging. Long red hair spilled down. The young man lowered his head, embarrassed, then looked apologetic. He had been staying at the Black Fire Inn for a short while and had been caught trying to leave without his friends knowing. So his friend had grabbed him, he had spent the night, and now he was leaving again at dawn.

“I’m sorry. But I still have to go. You don’t have to give me... things like this. I’m sorry I couldn’t keep my promise.”

At his soft-spoken words, the shaggy-haired young man furrowed his brow.

“Every time I talk to this guy, I feel like I’ve turned into some woman. Why do you talk so gently?”

“Idiot. Don’t complain, learn from him. That’s how you get a girlfriend, right?”

Left alone, the young men’s conversation wandered off to the side. It went from which women in the village were pretty to whether one of them secretly liked one of them after all.

“Right! Seka, you tell us. How did it feel to go on a date with the prettiest woman in the village?”

“She was pretty. We had a cup of tea.”

“...That’s it?”

“What do you mean?”

“Forget it! What are you expecting from this block of wood? Ha!”

“Hey, hey. Stop it and let him go already. At this rate, the sun will come up.”

The short young man wearing glasses, who had been quietly watching their argument that was not quite an argument, sorted out the situation. He briefly explained the gift they had brought. Then, with a disappointed look, he tapped Seka’s arm.

“Friends can travel together anytime, but we don’t know how long we’ll stay in this village either. So I hope you don’t take too long.”

“Ahem. Why are you suddenly saying something serious?”

“What does that make us, after all that fighting?”

The young man in glasses clicked his tongue as he looked at the shaggy-haired young man and the scrawny young man.

“Are you two ever going to grow up? Huh? Our friend went out and even won the swordsmanship tournament, and you two, every chance you get...”

“All right, all right! How are you worse than my mother when it comes to nagging?”

“Where are you going?”

“Delfona first.”

“What was your younger brother lacking that he went all the way there alone?”

“Are you really worried?”

“A little. He’s always been good at handling himself, but he’s still a kid.”

“Tch. You really have to hand it to him for looking after his brother. Wonder if your brother knows that or not.”

When the scrawny young man grumbled, the shaggy-haired one smacked him on the back.

“Don’t talk carelessly about someone else’s brother.”

“Argh! I only said it because I’m Seka’s friend!”

The young man jumped in place, rubbing the back where he had been hit, and shouted.

“You guys, seriously, stop.”

The young man in glasses shook his head.

He lightly tapped Seka’s arm and smiled.

“Are you going to scold him?”

“...Scold him? As if. I couldn’t even go look for him right away because of some swordsmanship tournament.”

“Hey, we were the ones who stopped you from going. Tch.”

“Right! Seka! Blame us!”

“Thank you.”

“If you meet Cedric, tell him we said hello too.”

“And give that kid a proper scolding about running around alone with no fear. He has no idea how scary the world is, tsk.”

“Still, he said his aunt is there.”

“No reply yet?”

“It’s only been four days. What could have happened? Anyway, go and come back safe.”

The young men, who had been chattering noisily, gradually stopped their idle talk as the red dawn began to break, thinking they should not keep holding him back.

Looking at Seka’s smiling face, the young men wondered if he really was the same tournament winner who had cut down his opponents without mercy three days ago. As long as he did not draw his sword, Seka looked like a meek scholar.

“Be careful not to get into trouble.”

“I’m going. Everyone go back inside.”

Seka smiled and thanked them for seeing him off and for the gift. Embarrassed by the smile of a grown man, the young men pushed at his back and told him to hurry up and go.

“If you’re going somewhere else, write us a letter! If we feel ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) like it, we’ll come too!”

“Seka, you know our trip comes first, right?”

“We’ll be waiting! Go and come back!”

They waved for a while, seeing off their friend as he left.

The slowly rising red sun stained the face of the departing man. Beneath the black hood, the edge of his cloak fluttered.

***

Jepeto was sleeping like he knew nothing of the world.

It seemed the exhaustion of watching the festival for the past three days had piled directly onto his body. The tension built up from sleeping outdoors and the mental fatigue of watching Ren and Temar fight last evening must have played a part too.

Jepeto had deliberately relaxed and fallen deeply asleep.

He had thought that way, Ren could read the note Luman had left behind as much as he wanted and gather himself. Since Ren hated showing weakness so much, Jepeto thought he would give him a day to cry alone, then comfort him the next day.

In truth, with all those calculations, Jepeto was enjoying an incomparably sweet sleep.

Even when the blue light of dawn brightened, when daybreak stroked his hair, and when early morning sunlight shone against the window, Jepeto showed no sign of waking.

“Captain? Lord Temar?! Why do you look like that...?! Was there a battle?!”

Voices came faintly from below the inn.

“Weren’t you going to the capital?! Has the mission changed?”

“Where is Ren?”

“Pardon? He’s probably sleeping in his room. Argh!”

“Charles. You didn’t check?”

“Pardon? He didn’t come down to the dining hall, so of course he must be sleeping, right? It’s still early morning, isn’t it? Why are you in such a hurry? Huh? After the way you fought yesterday... ahem. Since that happened, maybe he’s sulking and shut himself in his room? It’s too early for breakfast anyway...”

Heavy footsteps thudded up the stairs.

It sounded unusual.

“Mmm... what’s all this noise...”

Bang, bang, bang!

“Ueeeng...?” 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

At the sound of knocking hard enough to break the door, Jepeto stirred, then opened his eyes wide.

His faint-hearted heart began pounding as loudly as the knocks. Startled stiff, Jepeto clutched his blanket and slowly sat up. The voices that had been faintly ringing in his ears scattered like fog once he woke completely. Being forced awake left him feeling unpleasantly uneasy. Jepeto cleared his throat and opened his mouth.

Bang, bang, bang, bang! Baaang!

“Wh-who is it!”

Unable to wait even that long, the person behind the door hammered on it again.

Jepeto slipped on his shoes and approached the door, then was horrified.

No, how hard had they knocked... There was a fist mark in the door. In other words, the door was... bulging out in the shape of a huge fist, as if deliberately carved from clay.

“Doctor.”

Jepeto, tense to the limit, gripped the doorknob tightly.

No, with Lord Temar and Lord Luman both gone, what was he supposed to do if some ruffian barged in here! What about Ren, and what about him! Jepeto was only a weak, skinny doctor who knew nothing about violence! Jepeto thought of several poisons he could mix from the herbs he had on hand.

“Doctor Jepeto. It’s me. Temar.”

“Pardon? Wh-who did you say you were?”

“He said Lord Temar! Te-mar, the He-ro... mmph.”

At the bright voice that did not match the atmosphere at all, Jepeto loosened his grip on the doorknob slightly.

“Charles. Be quiet.”

“L-Lord Temar? But Lord Temar definitely left last evening.”

Because Jepeto was nervous, he failed to properly recognize Temar’s voice, which had sunk lower and colder than usual.

“I came back. Would you open the door? Is Ren all right?”

“Ah...! Lord Temar! It really is you, Lord Temar?! Ren! Wake up, Lord Temar is... here... Ren?”

Jepeto looked around the room, bewildered.

The person who should have been there was nowhere to be seen.

The moment his voice cut off, a heavy sound of destruction rang out, and the door came off.

Grayish dust and pieces of the door poured into the hallway and the room.

Jepeto, who was completely covered in the falling dust and broken door fragments, turned back in fright.

“Cough! Cough! If you break the door like this...”

Jepeto could not finish speaking.

Temar looked terrible. At his eyes burst with blood vessels, swollen muscles, and skin split as if cracked, Jepeto sucked in a breath. What on earth had happened? The aura rising from him was alarming, as if he had just been in battle.

What happened for him to suddenly come back? And where did Ren go?

Jepeto stood frozen, unable to say a word.

“Hello, Doctor?”

“Ye-es... hello. Um, Lord Temar. I’ll search the village. Ren seemed troubled yesterday, you see. Perhaps he went out for a walk...!”

Jepeto forced himself to answer Charles’s friendly greeting brightly, only to hunch over from the shock.

“Temar. What are you doing?”

“Haaah...!”

“Hiiik.”

The sharp blue energy, like a keen edge clinging to a sword, seemed to slice at their skin. Jepeto froze solid, unable to move even one finger. If Geloman had not stepped forward and blocked Temar’s energy, Jepeto would probably have fainted then and there.

Charles jumped in place and hid behind Geloman’s back. He watched Jepeto, who was gasping and choking.

“Doctor! Are you all right? Lord Temar, what in the world is going on!”

Charles did not seem to understand the seriousness of the situation.

Temar slowly turned his head in place. Blue light was whirling like lightning inside his dark brown eyes. Charles, his face tense, straightened as if to protect Jepeto.

That piercing gaze swept through the entire room and stopped on the floor.

Temar bent down and picked something up.

It was a small note.