Farewell to the hero! chapter 24

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Ruen alternated between looking at the flower and the bird.

When his gaze shifted from the flower to the bird, his face darkened.

Unable to hide his confusion, his trembling eyes eventually landed on me.

“You… what exactly…?”

He muttered a few syllables, then wiped his face dry.

After taking a moment to collect his thoughts, Ruen gestured with his head.

“Alright, I get it. Step back for now. It might be dangerous.”

“Yes.”

I didn’t want to stay next to the ominous flower any longer either, so I quickly moved toward Ruen.

Ruen, who was now close, looked me up and down before running his hands roughly through his hair.

He clicked his tongue, rubbed the back of his neck, and admitted quietly.

“You were right.”

“Seems so.”

“I’ve been too skeptical.”

“I could’ve just been lucky this time.”

“Still… damn it.”

With a frustrated expression, Ruen muttered under his breath.

“Still, I’m sorry for all the careless things I’ve said to you.”

“It’s fine now that you’ve apologized.”

I suppressed a laugh as I noticed how red Ruen’s neck had become during his sheepish apology.

The situation had resolved much more easily than I expected.

It felt anticlimactic, but at the same time, relieving.

Why had I been so stressed about this?

In the end, it was nothing at all.

Just as I was savoring the satisfaction of crossing this hurdle, I heard Ruen mutter to himself.

“So that’s why he’s bringing you along.”

“He?”

I picked up on the bothersome pronoun and asked.

There were so many people Ruen referred to dismissively, I wasn’t sure who he was talking about.

“Kaindel, of course. That damn warrior, always doing things I can’t understand.”

Ruen answered as he handed me a bundle of sticks, ones I must have dropped earlier.

He even brushed off the dirt stuck to them.

I blinked at the bundle of sticks in my arms, then let out a sigh.

“Seems like Kaindel really needed the information I had.”

“Maybe.”

Ruen shrugged as he picked up the remaining sticks.

“But I don’t think that’s the only reason.”

“…”

I stared at the bundle of sticks in my arms.

It took me a moment to process the meaning behind Ruen’s words.

First Owen, now Ruen.

Their hopeful messages filled my heart with warmth. I felt a strange strength in my feet.

Don’t get sidetracked.

I kept telling myself not to get lost in endless thoughts.

But it was hard to control my speeding heartbeat.

At the same time, the spot on my hand where Kaindel’s lips had touched earlier itched, and I scratched it secretly.

Thankfully, Ruen was too busy calming his flushed face to notice.

“Whatever. I don’t care about that gloomy guy’s thoughts.”

Ruen eventually muttered, his face now much calmer.

“Anyway, I’m sorry. Really. Not just because of the bet, but genuinely. It’s become a habit to be suspicious because of the work I’ve done. I know you probably don’t want to hear excuses from someone who’s wronged you.”

“No, thank you for explaining.”

I shook my head at his straightforward apology, offering him a faint, relaxed smile.

I was genuinely grateful for Ruen’s brief explanation.

After all, it had always been me who wanted to get closer to him.

So how could I not be curious about his reasons?

Besides, Ruen and I would have to see each other for at least a few more months, if not years.

While my challenge earlier had been impulsive, it wasn’t out of ill intent.

Quite the opposite, actually.

Ruen studied my smiling face carefully, then blinked slowly.

“Are you pretending to be kind, or are you really just that naive?”

“Does being kind make someone naive?”

“If you’re kind, you’re easy to scam, which makes you naive.”

“At least, that’s what I’ve seen so far,” Ruen added, scrunching his nose.

As if trying to shake off an unpleasant memory, his bright red hair slid down along his tilted jawline.

I had always suspected that he had a rough past, given his aggressive nature. But to think he had experience with being conned. What exactly had he done before following Kaindel?

Unable to piece it together, I eventually gave up and moved closer to him.

I wasn’t going to miss this rare opportunity—doing so would be exactly what Ruen called “naive.”

“Then stay by my side and help me so I don’t get scammed.”

“…”

“I want to get closer to you, Ruen. We’re teammates now, after all.”

Ruen, who seemed lost in thought for a moment, suddenly burst into hearty laughter and pushed my forehead with his index finger.

“Don’t say things like that so carelessly, you little pushover.”

“My name is…”

“It’s Isa. I know that much.”

He lightly replied with a bold smile tugging at both corners of his lips.

His quick understanding and response to my attempt to correct his title were completely different from how he was just a few hours ago.

“Isa, I look forward to working with you.”

“I look forward to it too.”

That was it.

I grinned as I clasped the large hand extended towards me.

Ruen’s bright smile, which he showed for the first time, amplified the sense of closeness I felt.

The ticklish feeling in my gut was immensely satisfying.

It was hard to manage my expression, which was slowly relaxing as I felt a sense of relief that the problem, which seemed distant before, had been resolved.

The lingering excitement that came from knowing my information wasn’t wrong sparked a new flame inside me.

Suddenly, I felt an urge to see Kaindel.

I wanted to tell him about what had happened with Ruen and how I proved my worth.

Also, I wanted to share how, although it stung a little when he said I was just necessary, I now felt like I could accept it more calmly.

Even if I wouldn’t be able to fully express it.

I hugged the bundle of twigs closer to suppress the excitement bubbling inside me.

I just hoped that Ruen wouldn’t hear the loud pounding of my heart.

---

“Oh? How did you two meet?”

“We ran into each other by chance. he seemed to be hunting.”

When we returned to the place where I was supposed to meet Sehir, he greeted us, barely able to hide his surprise at seeing me and Ruen together.

I briefly explained and then looked at Ruen as if seeking his agreement.

Following my gaze, Sehir glanced at Ruen with eyes filled with curiosity.

“Hunting? But there’s nothing here.”

At his low question, I suddenly remembered that Ruen had fed a bird with fruit earlier.

As far as I recalled, the only prey Ruen had was that one bird.

There was no way he had caught anything else.

Hunting wasn’t easy, but I admired Ruen for offering up his prey without a word.

“Well, you see…”

Just as I was about to honestly confess that I had used our precious food to check the fruit’s identity—

“I lost it.”

Ruen, who had been quietly observing for a while, scratched his ear and spoke up.

Though there was no need to hide the truth, he expressed it as if he had done something wrong.

Was he being considerate of me?

It felt like, now that we had grown a bit closer, he was being thoughtful so that I wouldn’t feel embarrassed.

Hearing Ruen’s response, Sehir cast a sidelong glance at me with a faint nasal chuckle.

It seemed like he had roughly grasped the situation.

“Ruen failing at hunting? That’s rare.”

“I’m going back to catch it, so don’t give me that look.”

“I’ll go with you.”

Ruen’s face twisted sharply at Sehir’s suggestion.

“No thanks. Why would we need two people hunting, just to get in each other’s way?”

“We still need to eat dinner. If we hunt together, we’ll catch something faster.”

At Sehir’s insistence, which emphasized the importance of dinner, Ruen’s expression darkened.

Even he probably realized that having no food for dinner was a serious problem.

In the end, he hesitated briefly before giving a slight nod in agreement.

As the atmosphere started to settle, I carefully asked, “Should I go with you?”

“No, you take these and head back first. Ruen and I will handle the hunting.”

Sehir shook his head and handed me the twigs he was carrying.

His glance at the bundle already in my arms seemed to say he expected this.

“Alright, I’ll go light the fire.”

“Yeah, ask Owen to help with that.”

“Got it.”

Ask Owen to help with the fire.

I barely managed to regain my balance and mentally noted what Sehir had told me.

I watched Sehir and Ruen as they moved away before I started walking myself.

It was when I had almost reached the spot where we had tied the horses, following the path Sehir and I had taken earlier.

“Ouch.”

I tripped over a rock sticking out of the ground and stumbled.

As I fell forward, the twigs in my arms scattered all over the place.

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