Farewell to the hero! chapter 16

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“Smile again.”

Kaindel’s sudden, commanding request was surprisingly serious.

His murky green eyes held a stubborn glint.

I tried to read his intentions but gave up. Knowing him, it was probably another strange fixation.

That’s the conclusion I’d reached after observing him over the past month.

Though generally kind, Kaindel often did things that were hard to understand.

He would draw closer, only to remind me of the distance between us.

I had learned to dull my reactions to his behavior, as paying too much attention only made things more confusing.

Kaindel approached me without hesitation.

If I closed my eyes, I wouldn’t be able to tell if his actions were affectionate or not.

But at the same time, he never crossed a certain line.

Just when I felt like I was about to be overwhelmed by the sensations he stirred within me, he would step back, as if sensing it instinctively.

It was like a tide rushing in, collapsing the sandcastle I had painstakingly built, only to recede again.

Right now, the tide was coming in.

“Was my smile really that strange?”

I grabbed his wrist, trying to stop the strange feeling his touch was creating.

I was afraid that the pounding of my heart would reach him through our skin.

The faint smile that had lingered on my lips was gone before I even realized it.

Noticing my grip on his wrist, Kaindel smiled faintly.

“Hmm.”

His soft hum was tinged with amusement, as if he found my reaction intriguing rather than rejecting.

“It’s not that strange.”

If anything, he might have found it charming.

Chuckling, he withdrew his hand before I could push it away.

For something that had felt so intense, the ending was surprisingly clean.

“I just thought it was the first time I’ve seen you smile.”

“Oh.”

A soft sigh escaped through my parted lips.

I hadn’t expected that reason.

The idea that Kaindel had been observing me so closely left me flustered.

Before I could think of a response, he spoke again.

“Do you like flowers?”

He drew a line beneath the sentence I had written.

Feeling relieved by the change in topic, I relaxed my tense shoulders and nodded awkwardly.

“I do.”

“You like a lot of things, don’t you?”

Kaindel’s playful tone and mischievous expression made him seem like a carefree boy.

Leaning back in his chair, he suddenly reached for the cup of water I had set aside to drink.

Without a second thought, he brought it to his lips, not caring that I had already taken a sip from it.

“You like flowers, money, and people.”

After finishing the water, he wiped his mouth and set the cup down.

“Well, customers give me the money, so I take it.”

I broke my silence to protest.

A week ago, Kaindel had seen me carefully stashing away a tip a customer had given me, and apparently, it had left quite an impression.

He hadn’t taken his eyes off me the entire time as I repeatedly checked my apron pocket.

At the time, I had only wanted to make sure I didn’t lose the tip.

Not that I disliked money, but I didn’t want him to think I was obsessed with it.

As I silently grumbled to myself, Kaindel looked around the restaurant before leaning in closer.

His sweet scent filled the air.

His low, slightly hoarse voice echoed in my ear.

“So, do you like living in a place like this?”

“…I guess. I’ve lived here my whole life, after all.”

Tracing back to the earliest memory I can recall, this was the place I found, and before I knew it, I had stayed here out of familiarity.

To be clear, it’s not because of some grand reason like loving this place.

Kaindel pressed his tongue against the inside of his cheek, as if mulling over my answer, before asking his next question.

“Have you ever thought about leaving here?”

“I have.”

I was always thinking of leaving Luther village.

In fact, just last night, I fell asleep while planning a trip to the capital.

When I readily admitted this, Kaindel’s gaze softened, the skin around his eyes betraying something unusual.

“If you wanted to, you could leave anytime.”

“Huh?”

His words were so sudden that I looked at him, silently asking for an explanation.

Kaindel tapped his fingers lightly on the table, a subtle gesture that gathered all of my scattered attention.

“I’m leaving soon anyway.”

“……”

“All that matters is whether you want to, Isa.”

It finally dawned on me what Kaindel was implying.

He was asking me to leave.

Together.

A warmth surged from deep within me at the realization that Kaindel wanted to continue our relationship.

My ears grew hot.

But why?

That sudden question doused the warmth, sending a chill down my spine.

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t figure out why he would want me to come with him.

For one, he didn’t have any particular fondness for me. In any sense.

It was obvious, really. Kaindel was popular with women.

Every time I went to take out the trash in the afternoon, I would often catch him with a different woman in the alley beside the restaurant.

It wasn’t like he was someone who valued friendship either.

Sometimes, when talking to Kaindel, I’d get a strange feeling.

Although I wasn’t certain, he seemed to be aware that my feelings toward him were different from those of a typical acquaintance.

Therefore, it was unlikely he would want to strengthen our friendship, especially if he wasn’t interested in me romantically.

Even sitting here, teaching me to write, felt more like repaying me for the information I had provided him.

So, was it just out of pure goodwill?

I tried to picture Kaindel helping others out of kindness, but gave up quickly.

Based on what I’d seen of his character over the past month, that was impossible.

The idea of a newborn baby running on all fours seemed more realistic.

“Hah…”

I let out a quiet sigh.

No matter how much I racked my brain, I couldn’t figure out his intentions.

It made me hesitant to give an answer, especially since leaving wasn’t something I could decide based solely on Kaindel.

Like a stone skipping across the surface of a calm lake, my thoughts began to ripple.

The growing uncertainty sealed my lips.

The silence stretched long enough that the weight of it became uncomfortable.

Finally, I forced my dry lips to part slowly.

“I’ll think about it.”

It was a miserable response, especially after all my inner turmoil.

---

‘Kaindel has to leave.’

‘Kaindel is heading toward the great Catastrophe with his companions.’

‘Kaindel asked me to leave with him.’

To organize my thoughts, and also as part of my writing practice, I wrote down everything that had been crowding my mind.

Seeing it in writing didn’t make it any less frustrating, but at least I could clearly understand my situation.

“Hmm…”

I groaned, letting my head fall onto the table.

My brain, which had been overworked recently, throbbed with pain.

It felt like my head might explode at any moment from the strain.

“I don’t know.”

I felt like an idiot who knew nothing.

Had all these days of contemplation drained my energy completely?

My shoulders kept slumping under the weight of it all.

At least I hadn’t seen Kaindel since that day, which was a relief.

If I saw his face now, my already tangled feelings would only get mIsar.

Kaindel mentioned he was busy with his companions.

Honestly, I hoped whatever he was doing took a long time, so he wouldn’t come looking for me or leave the village just yet.

Lost in a languid mood, I gently stroked the ink-stained paper.

I wiped the leaking ink from the pen’s tip with my sleeve.

‘Kaindel asked me to leave with him.’

“Kaindel asked me to leave with him…”

“Isaac. What are you doing over there?”

“Huh?”

Just as I was staring intently at the final sentence, someone called out to me.

I hadn’t expected anyone to seek me out during my break, so I was slumped over lazily.

As soon as I heard my name, I straightened up.

“Oh, Sehir.”

I turned toward the voice, surprised to see Sehir standing there.

He was shaking off a damp robe, still wet from the rain, as he walked toward the seat next to mine.

He brought with him the unmistakable scent of a recent downpour.

Once he hung up his robe and umbrella, Sehir flashed his usual warm smile.

“Taking a break?”

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