“Why is Ren sick?”

Having dropped his stubborn attitude, Temar asked Luman for the reason.

“Mental aftereffects.”

“......”

“They say when something bad happens to you, it keeps coming back instead of fading away.”

Right. There was a word people used for this.

After searching his memory, Luman spoke.

“Trauma. I think that’s what they call it.”

Luman got to his feet first.

He steadied his legs when they nearly gave out, then flashed Temar a smooth, easy smile and held out a hand.

“Come on.”

“Trauma....”

“Ah. Right. I crushed this arm, didn’t I?”

Maybe Luman’s joke pissed him off for a second, because Temar grabbed Luman’s offered hand with the injured arm. With absurd strength, like every muscle in his arm was hauling at once, he yanked Luman hard. Still laughing at the sudden contest of strength, Luman drove a fist into his chest. He’d “just punched him,” sure, but it was still a Hero’s fist. If it had been an ordinary person, that heavy blow would have knocked them out cold on the spot. But Temar was a Hero too. He gave a crooked little smile and let go.

The two of them looked at each other and laughed briefly.

“Luman.”

Luman was walking ahead when he stopped at Temar’s voice.

Temar brushed past him, moving ahead, and said quietly,

“Thank you.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake.”

Luman snorted and followed after him.

But the smile vanished quickly.

Because Temar’s hand, the one he’d grabbed when he helped him up, was still cold.

Heroes really were an exhausting bunch.

They had no idea how to say they were hurting.

Not that they were allowed to be the kind of people who got tired in the first place.

***

“Is he still asleep?”

Jepeto had been wearing an anxious expression, but when he saw the two of them returning together, he relaxed.

“He seems stable for now. Um... should I take a look at the wound?”

He looked half scared out of his mind, but couldn’t take his eyes off Temar’s arm.

Temar noticed Jepeto’s disheveled state, the small scratches all over him, the bruises faintly visible under his collar, and lowered his head. The carriage itself was intact, but that had obviously been Luman’s doing.

“M-Mr. Hero, what are you doing?!”

“I’m sorry.”

“What? Sorry for what...?”

“Just let him apologize, Jepeto. You got hurt because of Temar.”

“But....”

“I’ll compensate you.”

“You haven’t even accepted the apology and you’re already talking compensation? You’ve got no sense of order.”

Luman clicked his tongue.

Jepeto, who had been overwhelmed, finally started to relax as he looked between Luman and Temar.

Only then did he realize Temar was sincerely sorry, and that Luman was deliberately trying to keep things from getting too grim.

Of course, his shoulder was throbbing, and tomorrow he might end up screaming from the muscle pain, biting down on his fist and secretly crying.

But who was Jepeto? A physician, that’s who.

He’d seen people in worse shape than this standing right at death’s door.

Compared to that, Temar was downright decent—monster strength aside—and he was even apologizing properly like this.

“Ahem. I understand.”

And he genuinely meant it.

“I’m sorry.”

“But you mustn’t do that again.”

Squeezing out every bit of courage he had, Jepeto forced himself to finish sternly, then stole a glance at Temar’s face.

Unlike before, Temar looked completely composed again as he answered firmly.

“Never again.”

“Huh?”

“That won’t happen again.”

His voice sounded like a sentence being handed down, so naturally it felt believable.

Then why did Jepeto still feel uneasy?

He couldn’t shake the sense that something about this felt wrong.

He cleared his throat for no reason and changed the subject, saying it had gotten dark.

***

Ugh... what is this...?

My body barely moved.

“Ugh....”

“Are you awake?!”

Hiiiiing!

The horse let out a long cry, and the carriage came to a sudden stop.

“Ren. Are you okay?”

That was Luman’s voice, pretending to sound calm.

“Ren.”

And another voice, low and deep with strain.

“Ugh....”

It felt like I’d just woken up after being flattened by a fever.

God. Opening my eyes is hard.

Why is my body so heavy? Ugh. It’s cold.

I shrank from the cold air creeping up from my feet, and something thick dropped over me.

“What’s wrong with him?”

“Ren. Are you all right? Are you awake?”

I wanted to answer, but all that came out was a sick groan.

Since I wasn’t saying anything and just squirming around, my brother, Luman, and Jepeto started whispering among themselves.

“Ren. Can you hear my voice? If you can, move a finger.”

I can hear you! I can hear you perfectly fine!

I barely managed to twitch my finger.

“It’s not moving. What do we do? We’re still not back to the village—”

No, I did move it! Just now!

“The nearest place with a priest is far from here. Luman, how far can you move?”

“In this condition... Is Ren in danger? Please, just tell me plainly.”

Luman’s voice was very gentle, but somehow it still sounded like he was pressing him.

“No, it’s all right. He’s conscious. Right, Ren? Try a little harder and move your finger again. There, there! See? He moved it!” 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

“...I see.”

“It was slight, but still. Does that mean Ren’s awake?”

Hell yes!! I did it!

...Wait a second.

What is this, praising me like I’m some baby who just learned how to walk?

That was embarrassing as hell.

Ahem. But why am I like this? Why is my body so heavy? Did I catch some awful cold or something? The thought made panic spike through me.

“All right, Ren. I’m going to pour some medicine in. Just swallow slowly, only as much as you can.”

“If that’s too difficult, I’ll feed it to him.”

I felt someone carefully sit down beside me.

Ugh...

It tastes awful.

A stale, bitter taste crept in, scraping down my throat.

Jesus. If I’d been holding the bowl and drinking it myself, I might’ve spit the whole thing right back out.

I swallowed as much as I could, forcing it down, but I could still feel it running out under my chin.

“Just a little of a Hero’s power—”

“No! He’ll build up a resistance. It’s not an emergency right now.”

An emergency...?

Nothing happened, right...?

“Ren? What’s wrong? Ren!”

No, no way.

Someone carefully took hold of my hand.

It was lukewarm. Warm, too.

The hand was rough and thick, but it didn’t feel like my brother’s.

Because my brother’s hands were hot as a furnace. In the dead of winter, I could survive without a fire as long as I was holding his hand.

Too bad it wasn’t his, but still, having someone hold my hand did make me feel a little better....

“Ugh... what... are you all doing...?”

Ahem. Ahem!

What the hell is wrong with my voice? Why does it sound all cracked? Did I eat something weird?

Seeing all those handsome faces clustered together right in front of the narrow carriage seat was honestly a lot to deal with.

Thunk!

Ow!

I tried to dodge those overwhelming faces, and nearly smacked a lump onto the back of my head.

“Ren! Be careful.”

“Ugh... my head.... Why are you all crowded together like that? It’s a little much.”

I asked carefully, trying to read the room, and all of them went silent.

What? Why isn’t anyone saying anything right away?

Starting to get nervous, I cautiously looked around the inside of the carriage.

Nothing seemed... wrong.

Completely unaware of the stares drilling into me, I inspected the floor of the carriage thoroughly.

It was a little dirty with all the soil tracked in, but other than that... there wasn’t anything “wrong” in the way I’d been afraid of.

Hoooo.

Because there weren’t any bloodstains.

And my body too... yeah. This is the body I know. If I’d had a seizure, I should feel a little clearer afterward, but I don’t. I feel awful, awful. My condition’s the same as ever, so I don’t need to worry... right?

“Why are you staring at me like that? It’s making me uncomfortable.”

“Ren. You....”

Luman frowned.

He was about to say something, but my brother grabbed his arm.

What...?

“What is it? What?”

“...Nothing.”

“What do you mean, nothing??”

“Um.... Can you move?”

Jepeto asked cautiously.

His eyes were clean, blank of any particular emotion. Seeing Jepeto’s face made me feel a lot better. My brother and Luman had been acting weird, so I’d started getting freaked out for no reason. Turns out I didn’t need to!

“Hmph.”

“I think I’m okay. I ache a little, but....”

The second I relaxed, my body started moving again like a lie.

As I slowly pushed myself up from where I’d been lying down, Luman and my brother both grabbed me from either side to help.

What is with this suffocating level of attention?

The two of them are out here exchanging looks with each other and not telling me a damn thing.

Way to make a person feel left out!!

“I’m fine.”

I muttered irritably, then, out of habit, stole a glance at my brother’s face. He had his mouth shut tight and didn’t say a word.

I stared at him uneasily, and then Jepeto called for me again.

“Now then. Let’s take this medicine!”

“...What is it? Why am I taking medicine?”

I eyed it suspiciously, and he explained it was just something to help strengthen my body.

“Does it taste as bad as the other one?”

I asked warily, and Jepeto burst out laughing.

“No. This one should be much better.”

I took the medicine and shoved it into my mouth without much care, and he pulled out a candy from his pocket and handed it to me.

Seriously. Does he think I’m some little kid who’ll be happy over something like this?

Hm.

It is sweet, though.

I rolled the candy around in my mouth.

“Ah.”

“What’s wrong?”

“N-No, it’s just my cheek stings a little—ah! Ow! Why does that hurt??”

Luman shoved his face in close to mine.

And then my brother abruptly turned his head away.

What the hell? Why’s he doing that again?

“Hmm....”

Luman let out a low, serious sound.

“Did I fall down somewhere or something? Come to think of it... what was I doing again?”

Wasn’t I traveling in the carriage?

The second I tried to search my memory, a headache hit me. I pressed hard at my head, and Jepeto quietly caught my sleeve and pulled my hand down.