Chapter 6
The two of us shared bread and set out in earnest to search for the medicinal herb. Walking around every corner of Mount Burden and staring only at the ground made it feel like my back would break, but the medicinal herb I was desperately searching for was nowhere to be seen.
“Ah, my back.”
Where the hell is this medicinal herb?
I straightened my stiff back and patted it gently.
Around that time, Cedric, who had stopped searching with me and looked around the area, unfolded the drawing of the medicinal herb he had prepared and brought along.
“Eddie.”
“Yeah?”
“This is ‘Bulkenon’, right?”
“Right.”
‘Bulkenon’ was the name of the medicinal herb Father had asked me to find.
It was a peculiar herb that grew using demon excrement as fertilizer and thrived only in barren environments, and I heard it was often found on Mount Burden.
After thinking deeply for a moment, Cedric said:
“Then I think we need to climb higher than we are now. I heard that all the places where Bulkenon has been found are at high altitudes.”
“Oh, really? Then let’s go higher.”
I began climbing Mount Burden following Cedric, who took the lead.
The mountain path was quite rough.
Since it was a mountain people didn’t frequent often, the ground wasn’t well-maintained and was bumpy…
“Whoa.”
That was close. I almost fell and rolled down.
“Are you okay?”
“Mmhm. Thanks.”
If Cedric hadn’t caught me as I stumbled, I would have made a fool of myself.
Since we were on an uphill slope, I could have been seriously injured. Ugh… my heart is pounding.
Huff, huff. I hung onto Cedric’s arm for a moment to calm down.
Cedric, who had been quietly letting me be, suddenly slipped his hand under my arm and wrapped it around my waist.
“Wh-what?”
“I’ll hold onto you. It’s better than falling and rolling around on the dirt.”
…That’s true. But it’s somewhat embarrassing.
Of course, since the path is difficult, friends can support and rely on each other as pillars, so if you ask why I’m being so embarrassed, I’d have nothing to say.
Cedric supported my waist and held my hand firmly, keeping me steady as we climbed the mountain path again.
At first it was a bit uncomfortable since I wasn’t used to the position, but as time passed, it felt comfortable having what seemed like a sturdy, unwavering support beside me.
Not just anyone can take care of others like this.
‘He really is a good guy.’
I smiled bitterly.
It seemed like I could see more things now that I had put down my childish jealousy and envy.
I’m really glad I remembered before crossing an irreversible river like the me in the novel.
It was newly striking that the current me was ready to accept Cedric as a friend and could look at him differently than before.
“Come to think of it, there haven’t been many times when just you and I were alone like this. We always went around as a group of three with Riette.”
That’s when I was reminiscing about the past with this new mindset. Suddenly I felt a cold silence from beside me.
Cedric’s reaction was… somehow chilly.
Did I say something wrong again?
I instinctively sensed danger and rolled my eyes around when I made direct eye contact with Cedric as he looked back.
When I awkwardly raised the corners of my mouth, Cedric withdrew his sidelong glance and opened his mouth.
“Right, it was always like that. Why do you think that was?”
“Ah, um.”
“Because you always only took care of Riette and didn’t pay any attention to me. Even when I wanted to do something with just the two of us, you’d always suggest calling Riette too first. How could we ever be alone when you wanted it that way?”
“……”
“I was always like a clingy tag-along following you two around. I’m newly hurt that you had so little interest in me that you weren’t even conscious of that.”
“Cedy…”
“Do you even know anything about me?”
“……”
“I know everything about what you like and dislike, what you’re good at and what you’re bad at.”
…He must have been keeping a lot bottled up inside.
“I’m sorry. Really.”
I even felt sorry for Cedric as he poured out everything he’d accumulated, dumping it in my ears.
He looked fine on the outside, but he was actually quite hurt, which made my heart soften.
“From now on, I’ll take a lot more interest in you too.”
“…Really?”
“Yeah, I told you. I’m reflecting on myself.”
I squeezed our joined hands tightly.
I felt Cedric also grip my hand firmly in response.
Even so, Cedric, who had been keeping his mouth tightly shut with a sullen face, soon looked at me sideways as if puzzled.
“What kind of change of heart is this?”
“Hmm. We’re twenty now, you know. Since we’ve become adults, I thought I’d try to change a bit.”
Unable to tell him about past life memories and such, I laughed vaguely to smooth over the situation. Just as Cedric’s suspicious gaze was deepening…
We heard rustling sounds nearby and stopped moving, startled. Cedric immediately placed his hand on his sword hilt.
A giant demon with a bear-like appearance and red fur was walking on all fours when it spotted us, then suddenly stood up on its hind legs.
It was a demon called a Red Bear.
“Eddie, get behind me.”
Immediately after, the Red Bear roared and charged, striking down with its claws.
The moment it clashed with the sword Cedric drew, creating a sharp metallic sound, I was startled and stepped back, then quickly ran to hide behind a nearby tree.
‘Wait, Red Bears are creatures that live in groups.’
Sure enough, other Red Bears that appeared one by one upon hearing the roar began attacking Cedric while expressing their anger.
I was worried he might get hurt, but…
‘I’ll just be in the way, so I should stay back.’
Rather, getting out of the way was the way to help.
Fortunately, Cedric was calmly cutting down the demons one by one without wavering. As I was slowly backing away to avoid getting caught up in it…
‘Huh?’
Something caught my eye and I turned my gaze there.
A cliff that would be visible if I climbed just a little higher from my current position. There, a large plant with a familiar shape was blooming alone.
After confirming there were no other demons around, I quietly held my breath and climbed toward it while the Red Bears were distracted by Cedric.
Looking closely, it was indeed the Bulkenon medicinal herb.
‘Ah, I finally found it!’
Since Cedric was struggling, let me pick the medicinal herb as quickly as possible. I hurriedly took out tools from my backpack.
‘Careful, careful…’
Unlike ordinary grass, medicinal herbs wither on the spot if picked incorrectly, so the harvesting method is quite tricky.
Scrape away the soil so the roots aren’t damaged as much as possible, then spray the magical solution mainly used for medicinal herb preservation on the roots, and put it directly into a bottle containing preservation solution…
“Done.”
They say if you preserve it like this for a week, even if you take it out again, the medicinal energy won’t dissipate and will remain.
I put the hard-won medicinal herb in the bottle and sealed it carefully. With this, all the work I needed to do was finished.
How was the situation below?
“Eddie! Where are you!”
As I was getting up from my spot, I heard Cedric’s voice looking for me.
I went down below with large strides, holding the bottle containing the medicinal herb. When I answered by shouting “Here, here!” Cedric, who had been looking for me, quickly turned his head.
Around him, the Red Bears lay dead in quite a gruesome state. Ugh. Not exactly a pleasant sight to behold.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
At my question, Cedric came rushing over.
I was about to show him the bottle I was holding.
“I found the medicinal herb, so let’s hurry down…”
But before I could finish speaking, I was buried in Cedric’s embrace. He had suddenly approached and pulled me into a hug.
I struggled in surprise, but Cedric, who was holding me tightly, seemed to lose strength and slumped down to crouch. He sat holding both my wrists and let out a deep sigh.
“Don’t disappear without saying anything…”
His voice trembled weakly.
Looking at him now, his face was pale blue and I could feel slight trembling in the hands holding me.
As if he had just seen someone who had gone missing.
And I…
“You were worried, I see. Sorry.”
I was honestly flustered by his reaction.
Because I thought it was somewhat excessive.
While it was a situation to worry about, wouldn’t it normally be enough to grumble once about being worried and move on?
I hadn’t been away for long, and if I had really faced a crisis of serious injury, I would have screamed immediately.
Of course, I wasn’t saying I disliked him worrying about me.
That part was actually something to be grateful for.
It’s just that Cedric was treating me… like dandelion seeds that would blow away in the wind and never be seen again. That appearance and reaction felt precarious and concerning.
I quietly crouched down to meet his eye level. Though I couldn’t face him directly since Cedric was hanging his head toward the ground.
“I moved after confirming everything was safe.”
“……”
“I’m not that much of an idiot…”
“Still.”
“……”
“Still, I worry.”
“……”
“I’m scared… that I might not be able to see you again.”
The last words were almost like talking to himself.
Hearing him mutter in a suppressed voice as if squeezing out the words, I didn’t know what reaction to give and just rolled my eyes.
‘Scared he might not see me again.’
This guy… why is he saying such things?
Saying he’s scared he might not see me again assumes there might be circumstances where he can’t see me, doesn’t it?
I couldn’t even begin to guess what was making this guy so afraid.
In the end, after hesitating, I placed my hand on Cedric’s shoulder and patted it gently.
Cedric, who had been breathing out small trembling breaths, looked at me sideways.
“Your answer.”
“Huh?”
“Your answer to not disappearing without saying anything.”
“Ah, yeah. I got it. I won’t worry you anymore.”
“……”
“I have to listen well so I don’t get scolded by the young master.”
“I’m not joking, Eddie.”
“I said I got it. Let’s go down now, before more demons appear.”
I helped support Cedric, who had lost strength in his legs and was sitting slumped.
Cedric, who had been thoroughly sulking, soon silently relied on me as he stood up.
Then, as if he really wanted to express that he had many grievances, he kept grumbling and complaining beside me…
I had to exhaust myself appeasing the sulking young master all the way down the mountain.
* * *
〈Cedy… no, Lord Cedric.〉
A dull, cold gaze looking at me.
〈Let’s end this now.〉
A dry voice flowing from the tip of his lips.
〈This tiresome connection we’ve dragged on until now under the name of childhood friends—let’s end it here.〉
That was…
〈From now on, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t pretend to be close with me. Don’t casually call me Eddie in a friendly way either.〉
This was something that happened before Cedric ‘regressed.’
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
