The inn door opened, and Temar came in.

Ren knew he’d come inside, but he didn’t look at him. He just kept stabbing at his innocent piece of chicken with his fork.

Jepeto was barely eating at all, sneaking glances at Ren the whole time.

Temar didn’t acknowledge either of them either and headed straight for the ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) stairs. At the heavy footsteps moving farther and farther away, Ren’s face twisted before he could stop it.

'Don’t tell me he’s really going to leave like this without even saying goodbye?'

The hand gripping his fork trembled.

Should he go up?

Shouldn’t he?

Should he go up anyway...?

No. He didn’t need to!

He’d already decided to let him go with just that one punch.

Don’t be pathetic.

Ren steadied his wavering heart. He wasn’t a child anymore.

“W-whoa. If you eat that fast, you’re going to make yourself sick, Ren!”

Ren started stuffing food into his mouth until both cheeks were bulging full. Jepeto clung to him trying to stop him, but it was useless. Without even tasting it, Ren forced the food down. Who cared if it got stuck in his throat! Who cared if he got sick!

Temar came back down quickly. There was a small piece of luggage in his hand.

Still, he’d eat dinner with them, right? That man had told him to eat dinner before leaving.

Ren hurriedly lowered his gaze in case their eyes met, then quietly waited for Temar to sit beside him.

“Uh... Ren.”

I’m only going to say one thing. Have a safe trip. Cleanly...

Because I’m not a child.

Ren’s jaw moved more and more slowly as he chewed.

But if you’re not a child, does that mean you’re not allowed to ask for affection? Does that mean you’re not allowed to look for your brother? Do you just have to live all on your own, properly and quietly?

Ren suddenly wanted, more than anything, to stay a child forever.

Why was he thinking like this again after landing such a nice, satisfying punch...?

“Ren!”

“What?”

Lost in thought, Ren asked sharply. Damn it, stop thinking. Shaking his head, Ren looked up at Jepeto. He was half-risen from his chair.

“What is it?”

Jepeto was pointing at the inn door.

“L-Lord Temar is... just leaving...”

Jepeto looked even more flustered than Ren did.

Ren’s expression froze over coldly. It was the same expression he’d had earlier when Temar had talked about wasting time. Watching that bloodless face go rigid, Jepeto sprang to his feet and shouted. His chair scraped loudly backward.

“I’ll stop him, so come after me, Ren! You have to say goodbye at least... no, you have to say goodbye!”

So flustered that he’d blurted out a word he absolutely hadn’t needed to mention, Jepeto barely managed to stop himself from biting his own tongue.

“It’s fine.” 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

“Ren?”

Jepeto, already half-running, turned back to look at him.

His face was so calm it was hard to believe he’d been screaming and fighting with Temar just a little while ago.

“No! I should go too! You need to say goodbye! Come on, Ren!”

With a stern face, Jepeto shouted almost like he was scolding him, then ran out in a rush. The inn door, left half-closed, banged against the wall with a rattle. Cold wind swept into the inn. Someone sitting nearby got up with an annoyed look and slammed it shut.

Ren didn’t move. He seemed to have no intention of getting up.

Inside him, everything was quietly swirling.

'Did he really leave?'

Only that one question drifted painfully inside him.

Ren sat still, trying not to think about anything else, and waited.

Outside, it sounded like a horse was neighing.

Who was riding off through the evening like that?

'No way. No, right?'

He didn’t need to be that cold.

“...”

A long while later, Jepeto came back wearing a troubled expression. Geloman and Charles followed in behind him. It seemed the knights they’d brought had gone elsewhere, because only those two entered.

Jepeto walked over to Ren with very slow steps. His shoulders drooped. One look at the concern and awkwardness filling his eyes was enough for Ren to know what he was about to say, whether he wanted to know or not.

'He left.'

So apparently, for Temar, this had been a time when he needed to be cold.

“Ren, Lord Temar...”

“It’s okay.”

“...has left.”

Their voices overlapped.

'So he really left.'

That was all. Nothing special about it.

'Right. He said he was leaving, and then he left. That’s all. That’s how it’s always been.'

“...Ren.”

Jepeto looked at him helplessly, his face full of pity. If only Ren would cry, then he could at least comfort him. But the expression that had settled over his pale face was resignation. Ren went back to eating. He had already eaten far more than usual, but he kept moving his mouth without stopping.

“Ren, you’re going to make yourself sick.”

“You’re here, aren’t you, Jepeto?”

That was all Ren said.

Meanwhile, Geloman and Charles ordered food and stood leaning silently against the bar, watching Ren.

When it looked like the conversation between Jepeto and Ren had run its course, Geloman walked over to Ren’s table.

“Good to meet you. I’m the King’s Second Star, Geloman.”

His voice landed with weight. Ren blinked at the hand the size of his face that had suddenly been held out to him while he was stuffing food into his mouth.

Without any hesitation, Geloman folded down to one knee beside the table and met Ren’s eyes. He was so tall that even kneeling like that, his gaze was still slightly above Ren’s. Charles stared at Geloman, so dumbfounded he forgot to introduce himself.

“...Yes.”

Barely swallowing the mouthful of food he’d crammed in there, Ren answered while enduring the heaviness in his stomach. Up close, the man was oppressively huge. It was like a massive boulder had come and planted itself right in front of him. Geloman filled his whole field of vision.

Ren didn’t take his hand. Geloman withdrew it and spoke again.

“What’s your name?”

He’d clearly heard it earlier, so Ren thought it was strange that he was asking directly. But even when Ren didn’t answer for a long time, Geloman simply waited.

Ren didn’t feel like talking to anyone right now, but with him waiting like that, he couldn’t quite ignore him. Suppressing the emotions that kept trying to rise up, Ren managed to force out a calm voice.

“My name’s Ren.”

“Good. Ren. I’ll be counting on you. I’ll get you safely to the capital. All right?”

It was kind reassurance, completely unlike his face and voice.

Those clear blue eyes looked at Ren solidly, as if to say there was nothing to worry about. Under that steady gaze, Ren’s lips moved faintly before he nodded.

“Good boy.”

“...”

For a moment, Ren wanted to ask if he hadn’t seen him bury his fist in his brother’s solar plexus earlier.

Geloman tipped his eyes toward Charles, who was standing beside him.

Charles, who had been staring at Geloman like he’d just seen something fascinating, caught the meaning and snapped into a crisp salute. There was no need to greet an ordinary person like this. Charles was showing courtesy out of respect for Temar.

“My name is Charles. I am Captain Geloman’s closest subordinate. I’ll take responsibility for any minor inconveniences until we arrive in the capital, so please don’t worry.”

Charles’s speech gradually slowed. Under the bright light, he’d been momentarily startled by Ren’s appearance. Ren sharply turned his eyes away, clearly uncomfortable under that gaze.

“Yes.”

The answer was tiny, barely audible.

Charles awkwardly lowered the hand he had saluted with.

“Captain, should we have dinner too now?”

Changing the subject, Charles made it obvious he wanted to leave the table already. Ren turning his gaze away had embarrassed him more than a little. And yet he still couldn’t stop himself from sneaking glances.

Geloman lifted his indifferent eyes and looked at Charles. Charles flinched immediately and retreated to his seat on his own.

“The capital isn’t far from here. Charles will give you the detailed schedule tomorrow. Are you planning to look around the festival more tonight?”

“...It’s...”

“I didn’t hear you.”

Ren had mumbled it so softly that Geloman couldn’t make it out. Startled by the blunt reply, Ren twitched, then looked at him properly and opened his mouth.

“This. Is. Physician. Je. Pe. To.”

The words came out clipped and staccato, spoken in a young voice edged with irritation.

Wearing a dazed expression, Jepeto looked at Ren and gave him a warm smile.

“Ah.”

Geloman nodded, as if he had only just now noticed Jepeto existed at all. His gaze shifted to Jepeto.

“Good to meet you.”

“Yes. Please take care of us. I’m Physician Jepeto.”

Geloman left after saying that if Ren wanted to go back out and see the festival, he would personally escort him. Before standing up, he also looked at Ren’s left hand and told him to get it treated. Jepeto immediately jumped on that and firmly insisted that they tend to it as soon as the meal was over.

Ren finally let go of his utensils, apparently no longer having the will to force himself to eat. Jepeto ordered a fizzy drink and pushed it toward him.

“Ren. What do you want to do about the festival?”

“Not really... I don’t want to see it.”

“Mm. Tell me anytime if you change your mind.”

Ren had expected him to start persuading him again the way he had before, passionately insisting that he absolutely had to see the village festival. But Jepeto backed off easily.

Jepeto hadn’t planned to eat, so when Ren stopped eating too, he got up from the table. He went over to Geloman and told him that they didn’t plan on going out sightseeing for now, then went up to the room with Ren. After Jepeto stubbornly insisted on treating the back of his hand, Ren lay straight down on the bed and pulled the blanket over himself.

Temar’s empty bed looked hollow.

Jepeto brought all of his things over from his own room and moved them into Ren’s.

Since they had to leave tomorrow, Jepeto was tidying up little things in advance when a piece of paper on the table caught his eye.

“What’s this? Huh? This is my handwriting.”

[The finest thing about the Tempesto Festival is the roasted sparrow. But what I enjoyed most was walking through the festival streets with the Heroes and Ren, eating tanghulu together!]

Only after reading it did Jepeto remember his drunken antics from the night before.

Ahh, right, I asked everyone to write one down, and not a single one of them did! Shaking his head gloomily, he set the paper down. Then he noticed a line of writing that had been hidden under his fingers.

[The days we spent together were moving.]

It was graceful, meticulous handwriting. The note was very short, written in a hand that looked like it belonged in some expensive volume, and yet there was something about it that made his chest tighten.

Jepeto hadn’t actually spent that much time with Luman, but for some reason he still felt depressed.

'The days we spent together were moving.'

Of course, maybe those words had only been meant for Ren. During the short time he’d spent with the Heroes, Jepeto had come to realize something: there was always a blade pointed at their throats, and they could never have the ordinary lives everyone else took for granted.

The memories they made in this village would remain special to them.

Lord Temar too... He could have at least written one line before he left. If he had, Ren wouldn’t be hurting this badly.

Ren hadn’t said what was in his heart, but Jepeto could dimly understand it.

Some grief arrives late.

Setting the paper back down, Jepeto called out to Ren.