Farewell to the hero! chapter 15

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“No, I don’t. I just heard it’s a red fruit, and that it looks similar to a raspberry.”

“I’ve never heard that eating a raspberry-like red fruit results in instant death.”

“Well, it apparently bursts through a person’s skin and blooms into a flower, so maybe it doesn’t kill them immediately. People are pretty big after all. It might take a few minutes for the fruit to fully bloom.”

“Hmm, in that case, smaller creatures would probably die even faster.”

“Probably.”

I nodded in agreement with Kaindel, who was mumbling as he scribbled unreadable notes on the map. It was a plausible enough theory.

Once the parasitic fruit is ingested by a living creature, it would quickly take root in the arteries, causing it to grow almost immediately.

It would tear through the blood vessels and use the blood as nutrients to bloom.

Based on what I knew, it takes about 10 minutes for the parasite to fully mature in an adult human.

For smaller creatures, it would surely be much faster.

Satisfied with the conclusion, I reached for my half-empty cup.

While Kaindel was focused on the map, I took the opportunity to quench my dry throat.

The cool water soothed my thirst, and after gulping twice more, I finally set the cup down.

The coolness of the water calmed the restlessness in my chest.

Taking a deep breath, I exhaled slowly, letting the residual chill settle into the empty space.

Being around Kaindel often made my throat dry.

If it got too bad, I would start stammering, so keeping water nearby when discussing the catastrophe with him was my way of preventing myself from looking foolish.

When I opened my eyes again, now refreshed, I saw Kaindel’s green eyes locked onto mine.

He was resting his chin on his hand, watching me intently, tapping the table lightly with the end of his quill.

The tapping was so faint that if I didn’t focus on it, I would’ve missed it altogether.

There was something strangely persistent in that small gesture, a curiosity that seeped through.

“Now that I think about it, you mentioned having your coming-of-age ceremony last year.”

It was a sudden statement.

I stayed silent for a moment, trying to gauge the underlying meaning of Kaindel’s words.

Lost in deep thought, I rolled my eyes over to meet his.

“Yes, I turned twenty this year.”

I answered while carefully observing Kaindel’s reaction. His eyes softened in response.

“We’re the same age.”

“…What?”

Unable to hide my surprise at his unexpected confession, I waved my hands awkwardly.

The glass near my fingertips slid to the edge of the table.

In hindsight, I think I had once overheard guests talking about the hero’s age.

Someone had mentioned that he also had his coming-of-age ceremony last year.

At the time, I thought the mischievous guests were just teasing me, so I didn’t take it seriously.

But it turned out to be true.

Kaindel glanced at my frozen hand and chuckled softly.

Then, after tilting the quill at an angle, he gently pricked his index finger, tracing the inside of his wrist.

The quill lightly skimming across my palm tickled me.

The sensation brought me back to reality, and I flinched, feeling the soft hairs on my arm stand on end.

I quickly withdrew my hand to escape the odd sensation, as if my whole focus was drawn toward it.

Kaindel’s smile deepened as he watched me curl my hand protectively.

“We’re the same age, so what do you think about dropping the formalities?”

I want to, he added quietly, setting the quill down.

Perhaps because we were now at eye level, I found myself staring into his eyes in a way that felt different.

I’d never noticed before, always looking up at him, but his eyes had flecks of dark brown mixed in.

The delicate strands of brown looked like tree branches.

A gentle breeze blew through the open window to our right, and beneath his shimmering blonde hair, the flickering tree branches appeared and disappeared again.

I chewed over Kaindel’s suggestion about dropping the formal speech, nodding my head slowly in agreement.

“Yes, Isa.”

Even with my awkward nod, Kaindel understood my intent perfectly.

He immediately shortened his speech.

“By the way, there’s something I’ve been curious about. It doesn’t seem like you have any reason to help me.”

“…….”

“Can I ask why you’re helping?”

The question ended with a lilt, but his expression didn’t look like that of someone who was curious.

Kaindel’s face remained fixed in a smile, as still as a statue.

The hand that had been supporting his chin had already moved down and was gently prying open my fingers, one by one, from the fist I hadn’t realized I had clenched so tightly.

“I thought there would be some give-and-take, but it doesn’t seem like there is.”

The tightly clenched fist quickly relaxed at Kaindel’s touch.

“Why aren’t you being more greedy?”

“…….”

“……I thought you would.”

His voice trailed off, and for a brief moment, his gaze darkened.

The change lasted only a split second, and by the time I blinked, everything was back to normal.

“So that’s why I’m asking. I thought maybe you wanted something in return for the information.”

Kaindel ended his sentence in a light tone, as if to assure me there were no ulterior motives behind his question.

His elegant fingers slowly moved from my palm to the tendons near my wrist, lingering there for a moment before pulling away.

I looked down at the spot where his warmth remained, then back at him.

I hadn’t given him the information because I wanted something.

Honestly, I just wanted to talk to him a little longer.

If I had to admit it, I wanted to be helpful in some way.

Though what I offered wasn’t particularly useful, it was all I had.

But I couldn’t tell him that.

If I did, he would surely realize that I had feelings for him.

And wasn’t it strange for a man to like another man?

Still, it felt awkward to say that I didn’t expect anything in return.

He seemed determined to get something out of me, though.

If I gave a vague answer, he’d probably suspect me anyway.

Kaindel was sharp enough to see through any instability in my emotions with ease.

As I hesitated, my eyes landed on the tightly packed writing on the corner of Kaindel’s map.

Gathering my thoughts, I spoke.

“Writing.”

“Writing?”

“I want to learn how to write, Kaindel.”

In the Hadelber Kingdom, commoners didn’t learn to write.

They had neither the time nor the luxury for such things.

Most commoners were either farmers or took over their family’s trade, so as soon as they were old enough to speak well, they were put to work.

Surviving day by day was already a challenge, and there was no room for the refinement of learning to write.

I had been the same.

I had never felt inconvenienced by my illiteracy before, but now, I had regrets.

I was curious about what Kaindel had scribbled on the map.

It was probably related to the great disaster, but still, I wanted to know.

My request seemed to catch him off guard. He fell silent, and a tense stillness filled the air.

“Well, being a commoner, it’s true I don’t need to write often. But, working at the restaurant, sometimes it’s intimidating when I meet customers who can. And if I ever move to the capital, I think it would be good to know.”

Flustered by his silence, I hastily added an explanation, my face growing red.

When he didn’t immediately respond, I was sure it was a rejection.

Of course, asking someone who would soon leave to teach me writing had been too much.

“If it’s uncomfortable for you—”

“Uncomfortable?”

Just as I was about to say it was fine if he didn’t want to teach me, Kaindel’s lips curved into a slight smile.

“I’ll start teaching you tomorrow. How does that sound?”

He asked the question so casually, as if he hadn’t just been surprised a moment ago.

Relieved, I exhaled, feeling much lighter.

“Okay.”

Thankfully, things had worked out.

---

Despite appearing ready to leave at any moment, Kaindel stayed for over a month.

During that time, he fulfilled his promise without fail.

During our short breaks, we talked about the great disaster, and after my workday ended, he taught me how to write.

Thanks to Kaindel’s daily lessons, I could now write short sentences.

“Write this: ‘I saw a flower.’”

“Okay.”

I began to write as he dictated.

Though I still wasn’t used to holding the quill, making my handwriting uneven and messy, I focused on getting the sentence right.

‘I saw a flower.’

Repeating the sentence in my head made me unconsciously smile.

The corners of my lips lifted, and my eyes rounded with joy.

Imagining a flower, its sweet scent seemed to tickle my nose.

“Done… hmm?”

Just as I finished the sentence and raised my head for Kaindel to check, he lightly traced the corner of my lips with his finger before pressing gently on my earlobe.

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