I’m Off

That day, after returning to Aria’s house, Kikori tried talking to her.

Unexpectedly, Aria simply let out a small sigh and ended it with, “It cannot be helped.”

“If it is a request from His Excellency the Defense Count, then you cannot refuse… and I understand what he is saying too.”

“Yes. Somehow… I’m sorry. I only keep making you worry, and I haven’t repaid you at all.”

“Kikori?”

Aria poked Kikori’s forehead with a light tap.

“I take care of you because I want to. Things like debts and such troublesome matters are…”

Halfway through saying that, Aria tilted her head slightly.

“…It would be unpleasant if you truly became a child who never thinks about that, though.”

“Ahaha… I won’t become that kind of person.”

“Yes, I trust you in that regard, Kikori.”

Smiling, Aria gently embraced Kikori.

“Kikori. The Beast Kingdom of Savain is a country that lives by values different from here. It should be suitable for you to stay in temporarily, but… please be careful.”

“Yes, of course.”

Kikori also tightly embraced Aria… or tried to. Then he received a solid impact on his head.

“Hey, Kikori. Aren’t you going to ask me anything? I think I’ve done quite a bit for you, you know?”

“Huh? Ah, yeah. I’m grateful to you too, Orphe. And I trust you.”

“Mm. And?”

“Um… Ah.”

At that point, Kikori raised his voice as if the thought had only just occurred to him.

“Come to think of it, Orphe… will you come with me over there?”

Just because she had been accepted in the Fortress City of Nilgen did not mean she would be accepted in the Fortress City of Ilhail.

Of course, he intended to borrow Defense Count Seims’s authority, but… even so, there was no doubt that it would be a troublesome and stressful situation for Orphe.

“Hmph! Without me, you’d probably die by the roadside somewhere. I have no choice, so I’ll keep you company a little longer!”

“I see. Thanks, Orphe.”

“You’d better feel plenty indebted!”

Apparently, Orphe would come with him.

Relieved by that, Kikori prepared dinner together with Aria and Orphe, and they talked about many things.

The next day, he gathered his travel luggage and finished preparing to depart for Ilhail.

All the Fortress Cities were connected by wall forts.

That was why, as long as one knew the direction, one would not get lost.

“Aria-san, I’m off.”

“Take care, Kikori.”

What they exchanged was such a simple greeting.

Surely, nothing more than that was needed.

Waving his hand again and again, he continued along the road to Ilhail.

“…I should have become stronger, though.”

“That’s right.”

“And yet, I feel like there’s so little left in my hands.”

“You haven’t exactly lost anything, have you?”

“Well, no. But I would have been fine spending the rest of my life in Nilgen.”

At those words from Kikori, Orphe laughed with a “Hah.”

“Don’t settle down so small, or I’ll abandon you.”

“Please don’t.”

“Then look forward. Say things like that only when you’ve pushed ahead, collapsed, and are finally about to die.”

“I don’t want to die with that kind of regret.”

“If you don’t die, I’ll heal you.”

“That’s reassuring.”

“It is. Be grateful.”

The loneliness he had felt was no longer there.

Kikori and Orphe continued down the road in high spirits.