“Where’s Ren?”

Luman, back from washing up at a nearby stream, shook the water from his hair.

If an ordinary person had done that, the water on his head probably would’ve frozen solid, but whether it was a Hero’s ability or just one more privilege, droplets simply flew from Luman’s hair as he tilted his head. Faint traces of gold flickered there, so he must’ve used his power.

His eyes naturally went to the spot where Ren had been lying.

“He’s still asleep!”

“Ah, is that so.”

“Yes, sir! Good morning, Hero.”

The one who abruptly answered was Jepeto. He flashed a bright, eager smile. Shivering, he scrubbed at his face with a damp towel.

“Brrr.”

Unlike at first, when he’d been wound tight as a bowstring, he looked more relaxed now, like he’d finally gotten used to traveling with this group.

“So he sleeps with the blanket pulled over him like this.”

With a quiet snort, Luman crouched down in front of Ren. He tugged the blanket down a little from where it had been pulled all the way over the boy’s head, and Ren’s sleeping face came into view, breathing softly. His cheeks were flushed red from the cold, his hair mussed every which way, and for a moment that alone caught Luman’s eye.

What caught it even more was—

“He cried?”

The tear tracks had already dried. Luman’s finger brushed the corner of Ren’s eye.

“Mmm.”

Ren fussed in his sleep and rolled onto his side.

Better to pretend not to notice.

Otherwise he’d probably start shrieking his head off, and maybe wreck his throat in the process.

Luman wanted to know why he’d cried, but he couldn’t ask.

So he thought it over by himself.

Had something happened worth crying over? But Temar was fine, and all of Ren’s injuries that could’ve hurt had already been treated. So it wasn’t that. Then what the hell was the problem?

Did he cry because he was sorry to part with Lady Coco?

Luman quietly studied Ren’s profile.

Well.

They were about the same age, and they’d gotten along well. A boy that age could easily be upset over something like that.

Still, was that really something to secretly cry over?

Luman felt sour about it.

But what could he do? All he could manage was to pull the blanket back up and tuck it around him again.

It was still dawn. Letting Ren sleep another hour or two should be fine. Luman glanced up at the sky and judged the time.

The mission was already long overdue, but Luman found himself worrying more about Ren getting enough sleep.

“Hey. Anything unusual?”

“What are you doing?”

Temar shot Luman a dark look.

“Checking whether he was sleeping well. Anything unusual?”

Unbelievable. Just because I looked at your brother’s face, you glare at me like that. Why couldn’t you have been like this from the start? Pay a little more attention to your brother.

Luman’s eyes darkened on their own.

“Nothing. Looks like the ones we dealt with were all of them.”

“Hik.”

Hic! Hic!

“......”

“......”

Was he startled by the word dealt with?

Behind Luman, Jepeto—who’d been standing there half-crouched and awkward—failed to let that one slide past. He started hiccuping on the spot. Even when he held his breath, his whole body still jerked pitifully. When both Luman’s and Temar’s gazes landed on him, he clapped both hands over his mouth as hard as he could, but it did nothing.

“Hic! Hic!”

“Ren really is a Hero’s little brother, I guess. He’s got nerve.”

“He’s my little brother...”

Temar’s pronunciation of “little brother” came out oddly clumsy.

Did his mouth freeze from the cold or something? Luman had the pointless thought and snorted to himself again.

Come to think of it, Ren really was fearless. Telling people to kill someone, then saying a Hero’s honor mattered more and they should let the bastard live, then saying maybe he’d kill him himself.

Throwing his body in front of a sword because he wanted to save someone, without even knowing fear.

Crack.

“S-sorry... hic! Hic! Hi—”

“Ah. Just stretching. Don’t mind me.”

Jepeto’s face went white.

Who the hell makes a sound like that with their hand just from stretching?

If Luman had been holding anything, it probably would’ve shattered to powder.

No, because he was angry.

Every time he remembered that moment, rage shot straight to the top of his head.

Why the hell would somebody with a body that fragile do something that reckless?

‘I need to sit him down and really talk to him soon.’

Everyone had been hurt, and the second they started recovering, they’d had to leave in a frenzy, so there hadn’t even been time to bring it up. Luman decided he needed to warn Ren—seriously, firmly—never to pull something that dangerous again.

That way, even after he left, he’d be able to feel a little easier.

‘After I leave.’

Still, it’s not like we’ll never meet again.

Luman was a former Hero, and Temar would go on being a Hero.

Meeting Ren, the younger brother of a Hero he’d once fought beside, wouldn’t be difficult. He’d even handed him a crystal orb.

Luman gave a self-mocking smile.

Imagining what came after leaving before he’d even left. Pathetic. He’d really gone soft.

“Temar. Come over here.”

“Yeah. Please stay here a moment. We’ll be nearby.”

Temar had been staring at the ground, lost in thought, but he lifted his head at Luman’s words. He looked at Jepeto. Those dark brown eyes seemed clouded over, as though fog had settled inside them. Under that gaze, sweat instantly soaked Jepeto’s back.

He wanted to beg him not to look at him like that.

What kind of look?

That one—

The look from that shattered cliffside hollow.

If Ren’s death had been a nightmare to these men, then for Jepeto, the Hero’s eyes at that moment were the nightmare.

Afraid his terror might slip into his voice, Jepeto pressed harder over his own mouth.

Luman moved first. Temar lingered a moment, staring steadily at the still-silent Jepeto. Instead of taking his hand from his mouth, Jepeto nodded frantically. Go! Please go! Hurry up and go! His hair whipped wildly with the desperate motion.

Pitifully enough, though, neither Luman nor Temar had any interest in Jepeto.

In truth, Temar’s gaze wasn’t on Jepeto at all. It had gone past him, to Ren, who was still asleep behind him.

Only after the Heroes had left and disappeared from sight did Jepeto collapse to the ground.

“Hic... hic!”

Only the miserable sound of his hiccups echoed.

Jepeto’s heart felt as heavy as the pouch full of gold coins weighing at his side.

Could he really escape this Hero party alive?

They hadn’t done anything, and there probably wasn’t a safer group in the world to travel with, but somehow he still felt like his life was hanging by a thread.

***

“Temar.”

At Luman’s low, lingering call, Temar raised his brows.

“There’s something you need to know.”

“What is it?”

“This mission.”

“Your mission?”

“No. Yours. Why you’re being called to the capital.”

“...To investigate an object discovered on the frontier and to show the surrounding nations that the kingdom remains strong in the face of pressure along the borders.”

Temar recited the king’s message written in the Hero Summons Order Luman had carried all the way to that deep rural village, then tugged one corner of his mouth without expression.

“So that’s not all.”

“You expected that?”

Luman looked over Temar’s face as though surprised. But as always, a Hero’s face was hard as stone, with no space for expression to carve itself in. Still, Luman thought the face looked even bleaker now than it had inside the shack.

“No.”

That was what he said, but who knew what was really in his head.

Then again, when had Heroes ever truly known each other’s hearts? As long as the other one was still breathing, that was enough. That was all. And that alone was enough of a life.

In any case, this face was more familiar to Luman than any other, so there was no reason for him to hesitate.

“I don’t know the details either.”

Starting that way, Luman frowned.

Temar probably thought Luman would never take on a mission he didn’t understand. But this time was different.

Everything here was just Luman’s guess.

“It seems the king is looking for... something. Before the neighboring countries find it.”

“A treasure or something?”

“Oh, whatever it is, it must be valuable.”

Something like an anti-Hero weapon, for example. Or maybe materials for one. Luman added that with a playful edge.

“So between ourselves, should we {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} call it ‘treasure’?”

Temar frowned.

Luman seemed to think for a moment before he went on.

“What was written in the summons order wasn’t false. It hasn’t even been that long since we ended that damned war, and now the frontier’s stirring again. People are saying the Heroes have scattered and the neighboring countries are starting to sniff around and test the waters. It’s probably true.”

Luman smiled softly. With that handsome face and that smile, he looked sweet enough to melt the hearts of more than a few girls.

But his eyes were cold.

“So while they were at it, they decided to call you in too. At least, that’s what I thought before I came here. I didn’t look that deeply into it.”

Temar’s gaze followed Luman heavily. When Luman shook his head, sun-bleached blond hair fell messily over his forehead. Sweeping the loose bangs back, he lifted eyes that had gone distant with thought.

“This may not end at the level of a simple investigation or reconnaissance.”

“The reason the neighboring countries are stirring is...”

The two men exchanged a look.

“Because of the treasure.”

“Because of that treasure.”

Temar and Luman spoke at the same time.

“It’s only a guess.”

As if he hadn’t just been serious a second ago, Luman shrugged.

At his easy tone, Temar gave a light laugh too. A rare, brief smile flickered across his face.

“It’s even possible Dell Belkerman attacked us because he was gathering information for it.”

“......”

“Temar, be careful. If that’s really true, the road to the capital won’t be an easy one.”

Luman’s gaze paused briefly on the campfire, then turned back to Temar.

“If they target Ren, there’s no way you come through this untouched.”

“......”

Boom.

Without warning, the ground beneath their feet dropped.

Centered around Temar’s boots, the earth where the two men stood sank lower than the surrounding ground. Dirt burst up into the air for an instant, then settled, throwing dust everywhere. Neither man even blinked. When they finally did, the dust clinging to their lashes fell away.

Watching the dust drift in the air, Luman whispered,

“Be careful.”

He gripped Temar’s shoulder hard, then let go.

“I will never let that happen.”

For a split second, a blue light flashed in Temar’s eyes and vanished.

“Temar.”

“Never.”

Temar was the first to turn away. Every time his heavy body took another step, the ground sank under his feet as if it had turned to mud. Watching his back, Luman let out a sigh. Worry lingered beneath the deliberately easy smile on his face.

“So the anti-Hero weapon’s already shown up, Temar.”

Luman muttered bitterly.

I was going to talk to you about the weapon.

Shouldn’t we compare what each of us felt?

But he could already tell Temar’s heart had gone straight back to Ren, so Luman didn’t stop him. There was still time before they parted. He figured he could bring it up then.

Maybe it was also something he was still afraid to say out loud.

As if the aftermath of that day still remained, a faint tremor lingered in Luman’s hand.

Feeling that tiny shake and the violently unsteady energy inside himself, he curled his fingers into a fist. The faint golden aura around him scattered.

“Maybe I’m not the one who gets to quit.”

A Hero, afraid.

Maybe he really had outlived his usefulness.

Maybe the life he’d lived as a Hero had ended that day.

Even so, it had been an honor. With the very last of his strength, he had saved a precious young lady—and someone even more precious than that, Ren.

Luman forced the thought away. He headed back toward the burning campfire with lighter steps than ever.

Toward the warm place where Ren was still asleep.