* * *
The market-goers’ gazes also followed Gaspar as he soared into the distance.
“Oh no, Mr. Gaspar…!”
“What kind of student does that to their master?”
“He… he should be fine, right? He’s an adventurer, after all…”
Even the people in the market, who had been intimidated by Batista’s overwhelming presence, started murmuring in shock.
Judging by their reactions, it seemed Gaspar had helped them out in small ways before.
Their concern for him was understandable.
Some of them, upon making eye contact with Batista, even abandoned their stalls and ran.
That’s how scared they were.
Well, it’s already this much of a mess. Nothing to be done now.
Or so I thought.
“Batista?”
Batista stood frozen in place, unmoving.
Even though he had done something I didn’t want, he had at least gotten what he wanted—so he should be feeling satisfied.
But he didn’t look happy at all.
I stared at him in confusion, then gasped.
His gloved hand was trembling ever so slightly.
Why?
Because of guilt for attacking his master?
Regret for not hearing him out first?
Or maybe… was it the way people were looking at him, as if he were a monster?
I had no way of knowing.
I still couldn’t fully understand Batista’s heart.
But whatever the reason—
“I mean, that kind of thing happens when adventurers fight!”
—I wanted to be the one to comfort him.
“That bastard started it anyway!”
I didn’t know how much Gaspar had helped the merchants, but I’d gotten pretty close to the market people myself.
“I-Is that so?”
“If Raul says so, then maybe…”
“Still, that big adventurer is kind of scary… Hic.”
Damn it.
Batista was probably used to whispers like these, but they still bothered me.
I grabbed his hand and pulled him away from the marketplace.
Now that I was holding his hand, I could feel the trembling clearly.
There must have been some kind of misunderstanding… but still, throwing someone over a misunderstanding wasn’t exactly the best decision.
What mattered more to me, though, was the fact that Batista was shaking.
Gaspar was an adventurer, so he would have landed just fine.
And once everything was cleared up, Batista would probably apologize.
Batista might seem indifferent on the surface, but he’s actually kind and gentle.
And besides, when I was trembling, he held my hand too.
“Let’s go somewhere we can be alone.”
Batista hated people.
A quiet, deserted place would be best.
Somewhere we could just be—
“Huh?”
Batista let go of my hand.
I turned around in surprise.
“…Raul.”
He pulled me into an embrace.
Wait… did I just faint or something?
I was standing on my own two feet, yet my mind was blank.
This didn’t make sense.
It was easier to believe I had passed out from his overwhelming presence than to believe that Batista had suddenly hugged me.
‘No, maybe it’s not that strange?’
After all, we hugged every night.
Not because we were in a relationship or anything like that.
It was just that kind-hearted Batista had been going out of his way to help keep my nightmares at bay.
So being in his arms like this wasn’t unfamiliar.
What surprised me was that he had done this not in the middle of the night, on a bed, but out here, in public.
Instead of leaving me behind to be alone, he was leaning on me.
He wasn’t running off to isolate himself—he was depending on me.
The fact that Batista had been shaken to the point of losing his usual composure worried me… but at the same time, I couldn’t help but feel a small, quiet joy.
Just as he had comforted me before, I wanted to soothe him now.
Even though we were standing in the middle of the street, and people might get the wrong idea.
‘…Who cares?’
Let them misunderstand.
I wasn’t going to forcefully play matchmaker for Batista anymore.
If his potential lovers got discouraged by this, then that was their problem.
“It’s okay.”
I wrapped my arms around him in return.
As our bodies pressed together, I could feel his trembling—not just in his hands, but his entire frame.
If I could, I wanted to fully embrace him and reassure him, but our size difference made that difficult.
Instead, I ended up feeling more like I was the one being held.
I gave up on trying to contain him in my arms and simply stroked his back.
“I’m on your side. Who cares about misunderstandings? The one at fault is the guy who made it look like that. He deserved to be sent flying.”
Batista stayed silent, his face buried against my shoulder.
His nose and cheek were warm against my skin.
The ticklish sensation sent a small shiver down my spine.
I wasn’t sure why.
“Should I go buy you something tasty? They don’t have cream buns around here, but there’s a bakery selling butter cookies that smell amazing. Maybe that’ll cheer you—”
“No.”
He tightened his arms around me.
As if he didn’t want me to go anywhere.
We were already hugging tightly, but now his grip grew even stronger, completely locking me in place.
It was a little suffocating, but I stayed still. If offering my warmth and body as something to cling to helped him feel even a little bit better, then there was no reason to resist.
I wanted to say something more, but Batista seemed to want me to stay quiet.
So I decided to wait until he felt better.
‘But seriously, what are we even to each other…?’
I kept my mouth shut, but my thoughts wouldn’t stop.
What exactly had happened between Batista and his master?
Why had Gaspar been so openly affectionate toward Batista, only to be met with hostility and curses?
The key to all of this was probably the ‘misunderstanding’ Gaspar had mentioned.
Confirming that what I had suspected was true was already progress in itself.
But figuring out the exact nature of the misunderstanding would take a long and painful journey.
Batista wasn’t going to tell me.
And after what just happened, finding Gaspar again would be nearly impossible.
I could tell Batista the truth—that I had time-traveled—like he had once demanded, and maybe then he would explain things to me in detail… but I wasn’t sure.
Would telling him now really be the right thing to do?
Before, I hesitated because I was afraid he wouldn’t believe me.
But now, I was just worried about him.
He had been shaken by whatever terrible past he shared with his master, so much so that he was relying on someone as weak and insignificant as me to recover.
Could I really dump another burden on him right now?
Could I tell him he was chosen as a hero, forced to fight desperately, body and soul, only to fail in the end?
It would be like cursing him outright.
He had done his absolute best.
He had fought as hard as he could.
And yet, in the end, he had still failed.
And he had never even managed to awaken the Holy Sword.
Who would ever want to hear this when they’re struggling?
It’s not even a good story!
Let’s at least wait until Batista feels better before bringing this up again.
“If there’s anything else I can do to help, just let me know.”
I was planning to stay quiet, but I couldn’t help myself.
When someone who’s usually so indifferent acts like this, it just makes me worry even more.
Batista slowly lifted his head.
“Never meet that man again.”
“……”
Again with this?
* * *
🤣🤣🤣