The reunion with Ainar was exactly as I expected. A reunion through tears Yes, this was better.
«¡Bjorrrrrn!»
«Yes, Ainar. Not in a while...»
«Behel-aaaaaah!» As soon as I opened the door, Ainar pushed me into the patio. «You lied to me!»
A fist fight immediately began. It seemed like I was very angry that he had faked my death for over two years and then passed me off as Riehen Schuitz when we met again at the library. Considering everything he had put her through, she was honestly willing to take a few hits, but she knew that probably wasn't what Ainar wanted.
«Behel-aaah!» So I cried out to our ancestral gods and defended myself.
Hit!
I punched him in the face.
«¡Rahhh!»
A dogfight ensued, the two rolling across the grass like wrestlers. I didn't know how long the fight lasted, but when Ainar finally perked up enough to pick up the greatsword he had left on the ground, I yelled at Erwen to bring me my hammer.
«Both... stop!».
Erwen's intervention ended our reunion fight. She was pissed because her well-kept garden had turned into a mess, but I ignored her as best I could. Right now, Ainar came first.
Spit!
Ainar spit out the blood in his mouth and smiled. «You really are Bjorn...»
Was this what it meant to be a natural barbarian? I couldn't believe I was over it by now. Missha would have cursed me for years and put cold damage down my throat.
«Ainar, you haven't changed anything».
«Really? I think I have changed a lot». Ainar shrugged and nudged me friendly in the chest. «Even if you explain to me what happened to you, I probably won't understand it. It was always like this. But still...»
«¿An Asian?»
«I'm glad you're alive, Bjorn».
«Ah...» I was momentarily speechless at the sincerity contained in that calm and simple statement.
But she must have also found such a loving attitude uncomfortable. He looked at me and changed the subject. «But... what's wrong with your body? Why are you so thin?
I felt strangely embarrassed by the question. Maybe my barbaric pride was hurt. The words flew out of my mouth. «An essence!» i released. «It's like the Bone Knight essence you took! Don't worry. Now that I've got my name back, I'll delete it right away!».
«Really? Do it as quickly as possible, then. Bjorn being shorter than me is too weird to bear». Every word landed like a knife in the chest. «And.... I guess I'll have to stop myself from dragging you to holy ground today. If our people see you like this... they will definitely be disappointed». My heart wrinkled. Honestly I would feel less hurt if he told me I was a bad player.
Ugh, I really should erase the Gachabone essence soon.
«So... is your meeting over yet?» Raven interrupted the conversation and that's when Ainar noticed her presence.
«Oh! Aruru! How long without seeing you!»
«It's the first time we've seen each other in half a year, right?».
«Hahaha! You worry about weird little details! If you keep doing that, you won't grow any more.»
«I'm not going to grow any more anyway!»
«Don't lose hope. Look at me!»
«That's because of your essences!» raven screamed, annoyed, and Ainar laughed and poked her ear. That only made Raven angrier. The scene was strangely moving.
It's been a while since...
I missed this. And it wasn't just me, because I saw Raven smile as she yelled at Ainar and walked into the house after her.
«...I'm glad», he said quietly as he passed me.
«¿Eh?»
«Now you seem happier».
«...I don't know what you mean. Let's enter.»
«Okay.»
After meeting in the garden, we entered the house and continued our conversation. Ainar greeted Erwen as awkwardly as Raven, and then Amelia arrived.
«Barbarian, how long without...»
Why do you pretend to be such a sidekick?
I quickly covered Amelia's mouth and interrupted her. «You already know each other, right?».
«We....?» Ainar tilted his head. Honestly, I was speechless. She still remembered how depressed she had become because Amelia trampled on her honor as a warrior or whatever. On the other hand, he had not recognized her on Farune Island either. «A-Ahhh! I remember. You were the Noark woman who stayed behind with Bjorn». It seemed that Ainar at least still had memories of Farune Island because he nodded. «Your name was...»
«Emily Raines.»
«Ah, it was definitely something like that!»
What do you mean «something like that»? You two never showed up back then.
At that moment everyone called Amelia a looter and a bitch, no one cared about her real name.
About his honor trampled on the second floor... I should pretend I don't remember, right?
While thinking this, Ainar addressed Amelia in a surprisingly friendly tone. «Did you say Emily Raines?»
«¿Sí?»
What followed was unexpected. «First, let me thank you».
«…¿Eh?»
«I don't know much about you, but I'm sure Bjorn kept you by his side because you're trustworthy», Ainar said, unusually serious. «Thank you. For standing by Bjorn's side during his biggest challenge yet».
«... That's not something worth thanking me for.»
«Haha! For me yes! It saddens me that I wasn't the one he trusted, but I'm sure it's because of who I am! I am not as smart as Aruru nor so blindly determined to turn my back on my tribe like that elf».
Erwen thought about it for a moment and then frowned. «...Did you just insult me?».
Ainar slipped away from the problem like a snake. «Haha, is that what it sounded like?».
Wow, he doesn't even deny it.
He didn't know what had happened, but Ainar's conversational skills had greatly improved.
«Anyway, enough talking about that. I came as soon as I heard your news in the tavern. What the hell happened to you?».
After that, I took my time explaining to him. Of course, it wasn't one hundred percent the truth: some things were leaking. Ainar went through four particular reactions while listening to my story:
«¡Oh!»
«¡Ah!»
"Oh!" "I see."
Unlike Erwen and Raven, it didn't take me long to finish. A pro of the barbarians was that the conversations between them did not drag on.
«...That's what's happened so far.»
«¡Oh!»
At the same time, that was also the problem of talking to barbarians. He had no way of knowing if he had understood anything he was saying unless he asked him directly. «Have you understood?»
«Something!»
«...That's enough for me». The story ended there, and I moved on to the next topic as if nothing had happened. «But Ainar, you must have been very surprised».
«¿Eh?»
«The palace announced that I am an evil spirit. I'm sure it must have been a shock. Not only for you, but also for our compatriots».
«Oh that? It wasn't really that big of a deal».
«...Wasn't it?»
«Only for idiots. How could you be an evil spirit? Nobody in our tribe believed it. We just thought the palace made another mistake».
That was a different response than I expected, but I couldn't let it go without pushing a little harder. «By the way. I only ask this out of curiosity and no other reason but...» I kept my tone carefully light as I asked: «What would you do if I were an evil spirit?».
It was very important information to decide how he would treat Ainar in the future. Depending on his response, I might retract everything I had said before and tell him the truth. I wondered what she would say, and it seemed like I wasn't the only one. Erwen, Amelia and Raven silently swallowed along with me.
«Hahaha! Bjorn, you, an evil spirit? How funny».
«Don't take this as a joke, think about it. I want to know your answer».
Ainar must have caught the strange vibration because it seemed like he couldn't ignore my insistence. «Hmm, Bjorn an evil spirit... Well, there's only one answer.»
«Which one is it...?» erwen asked.
«Will you accept it despite everything?» Raven punctured. «Since he is your teammate with whom you have shared time and affection?».
Ainar tilted his head. «What are you talking about? Of course I would beat him to death».
«Kill... with blows...?»
«The boss himself said it! Evil spirits must be beaten to death».
Ugh, yeah... She's not going to be an easy sell.
***
Raven and Ainar's visit lasted into the night. We drank tea and talked for a while, and then had a couple of drinks over dinner. This naturally turned into an after-dinner party.
«It's getting late... I should go». Raven picked up her coat and left late at night.
Ainar, who had been drinking like there was no tomorrow from the beginning, had already fainted. He left in the morning after a hangover meal.
«You said you had things to do starting today, right? Let me know when you're done. Also pass through holy land. I know what I said yesterday, but everyone will be happy if you come».
«Sure...»
After saying goodbye to Ainar, Erwen also prepared to leave. Taking into account what happened in the labyrinth, apparently, today he also had to be seen in his sacred land.
«Then take good care of the house». After Erwen came out, I did too, leaving the house to Amelia. As I told Ainar yesterday, I had a lot of work to do starting today.
As Erwen warned me before climbing the fence to leave, a large crowd was waiting in front of the house. I was sure my story had already spread throughout the city. Some of the people were journalists, and others were curious passersby who had only come to check me out.
« ¡Baronet Yandel ...! »
«Ah... Baronet! Please say something!»
«Whoa!»
«Please hold my hand!»
Wow, has Ainar managed to get through this crowd? Well, I guess it's not that difficult.
«Behel-aaah!» I shouted the name of our ancestral god and pushed through the wall of people.
Agh! It's getting away!
«Follow him!»
Hey, running away? I'm just charging forward.
Sprint.
After making my way through the crowd with my overwhelming strength, I ran through the empty streets first thing in the morning. Some people followed me stubbornly, but I was able to shake them off very soon.
Come on then.
Putting on a large cloak in a dark alley, I followed the map to my destination.
So the closest place is... Here.
It was a small house with a memorable red door. Checking the name written on the door plate, I took a deep breath before knocking carefully.
Toc, toc.
After a while of waiting, an emaciated-looking woman opened the door. «You are...!» He couldn't hide his surprise when he saw me. It was understandable.
«Can I come in, Mrs. Ashed?»
He bit his lip at my question, but still moved to make way for me. «Um... I don't have anything prepared except tea...»
«Alright. I'm not here for you to entertain me with a meal. I'm here to give you something back».
«¿Return something?»
I took a box out of my subspace instead of answering. The woman carefully unwrapped the cloth and burst into tears when she saw the remains in the box.
«A-Ah, ahh...»
«I'm sorry. This was the best we could do at that time. I wish I could have brought it to you intact».
«A-Ah...»
«These are the objects Ashed carried with her. I've saved them in subspace, so check them out when you can. If there is anything you think is missing, let me know at any time. Or if you need anything, I have written my address here so you can come visit me whenever you want.»
Sob.
«If my presence bothers you, I will leave now». There was no response, but I accepted his silence as confirmation and slowly stood up.
«Wait... please... wait a minute...» Mrs. Ashed got up, went to the kitchen and came back with an aromatic cup of tea. «This... is the tea that was always served to guests».
«I see... I don't know much about tea but it smells good. He's calm, like him».
«Tell me. How... was...»
«I guess we'll need more tea.»
I quenched my thirst with tea and told him about our search. Most of the stories were anecdotal, as I couldn't tell him the whole truth. Instead, I told him about the small incidents that occurred during the expedition, the passing conversations we had, the care and consideration behind his actions, and what more boring people might have overlooked.
«That's why the whole crew liked him. You would know. It may not stand out, but being by your side is comfortable and reassuring».
«Yes... really».
«He always listened to others, but strangely he never talked about himself. That's why he surprised us so much when he mentioned that he had a wife».
«Did he talk... about me...?»
«Yes.»
«What... did he say?»
«He said you are a strong woman, but you will definitely cry when he is gone».
Sollozo.
The woman who had been stubbornly holding back tears since receiving his remains lowered her head. I didn't say anything and looked away while waiting for him to calm down.
A while later, he whispered: «Thank you... for... coming here».
«You don't need to thank me. Thanks to you, I have been able to try a good tea».
«...Are you going to visit the others?»
I nodded slightly. «We survivors can't do much».
After leaving Ashed's house, I visited each squad member's house one by one. I returned the ashes of the people I was able to bring with me. If there were none, he gave the families some of his belongings. If I didn't even have them, I would bow my head and apologize. Their reactions were all different.
«Hey, aren't you the great baronet? What brings you to this humble place?».
Some were sarcastic. Some simply accepted the objects and kicked me out. Some questioned the marquis' version of events, and others were honored that a famous hero had not forgotten them. But one thing was clear.
«Now, Meirin... say hello to your mom...»
«Is this... my mom? Because?»
I was always the bad guy for them. Until the day I could confidently tell them the truth, I would probably have to live with this weight on my chest.
Time passed. One day, two days, three... A few days were not enough to send all of our dead squad members home. Four, five, six days...
[Your soul has resonated and is being drawn to a different world.]
That day had arrived.