As the window closed, the inside of the carriage fell silent once more. Instead of looking at the scenery as before, Cain was now watching Satin. Too much time had passed to pretend not to notice this burdensome gaze.
Satin chuckled softly and asked, “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“About what we were talking about earlier.”
“Earlier?”
What are you talking about?
As Satin tilted his head in confusion, Cain offered a faint smile. Without realizing it, Satin clenched his fist. A strange tension filled the carriage.
“Was your personality always like that?”
They had briefly touched on this subject before leaving Daisyland. However, Satin still hadn’t grasped why Cain was bringing it up now.
‘What was wrong with my personality?’
Satin blinked, and Cain’s smile deepened slightly. The tension grew heavier.
“Personality is partly innate, but it’s also learned, isn’t it? Or is this more of a habit than a personality trait?”
Cain’s tone was not harsh at all. Nevertheless, Satin flinched, nearly jumping. Fortunately, he disguised it by stretching, though he wasn’t sure if it looked natural to Cain. As he pretended to massage his neck and avoided eye contact, Cain continued.
“I wished for you to regain your memories, but thinking about it, the you I liked was already after you had lost your memories once.”
“……That’s right.”
“I wondered if the you who regained all your previous memories would still be the person I liked. I was also worried.”
“That’s… understandable.”
“But you’re not much different, are you?”
Having nothing to say in response, Satin remained silent. It was difficult to pretend to stretch any longer, so he quietly lowered his arms. His shoulders slumped involuntarily, like a child being punished.
“You still don’t have your previous memories?”
Cain asked the question but didn’t give him time to answer before posing another doubt.
“If you said you didn’t, that would actually be strange. It wasn’t a person who restored your memories, but a god. Why wouldn’t it have restored those as well?”
It was difficult to say whether he had regained all his memories or not. Since there had been no particular mention of it on their journey from the capital, he had thought that Cain hadn’t considered it. Since when had Cain harbored this suspicion?
I’m sweating, seriously.
It wasn’t just an expression; beads of sweat were actually trickling down his spine. It was clear that the reason for this sweat wasn’t solely the weather.
Four years ago, when Satin first met Cain, he hadn’t actually had amnesia. Yet, the excuse of amnesia had worked because the Satin from before wouldn’t have known things that he obviously should have. Now that he had regained all his memories, that excuse wouldn’t fly.
So, what should I say? As Satin racked his brain, something Cain had said suddenly struck him. A certain expression had been used twice.
‘The best defense is a good offense,’ or so they say.
Satin steeled his resolve and opened his mouth.
“Just now, you said you liked me. Could I ask what you mean by that?”
Unfortunately, the attack wasn’t very effective. It seemed Cain was already fully prepared to defend himself. Without any sign of fluster, Cain looked at Satin and replied.
“We’re not friends, and we’re not family either. If I say I like you despite that, isn’t there only one possibility left?”
It was an attack disguised as defense. Unlike Cain, Satin hadn’t properly prepared his defenses yet. So, he ended up stammering.
“Th-that is, what exactly is that?”
“Something like this.”
Despite his brazen expression, perhaps he didn’t want to say the embarrassing words himself. Cain reached out and grabbed Satin’s collar.
No, not the collar, this is…
He gathered the fabric of his shirt and pulled him closer, then brought his own face near. He stopped just before their lips touched. Satin’s eyes widened in surprise. Cain’s expression wasn’t discernible up close, but Satin could certainly see his slightly flushed cheeks.
In that state, Cain continued speaking.
“A relationship where we can do that.”
As he spoke, their lips lightly brushed against each other. The contact was so fleeting that Satin didn’t immediately register it until Cain abruptly pushed him away.
They touched.
Even if he pretended to be a fatal charmer, he was only twenty years old. He had spent his days preoccupied with revenge and summoning the Demon King, his mind filled with dark thoughts, so he couldn’t possibly have any innocent dating experience. Of course, he would have never even imagined his first kiss.
His face completely flushed, Cain stared out the window. Satin looked out the opposite window, inwardly relieved.
Phew, a sigh of relief.
Then, it suddenly dawned on him.
It was my first kiss too.
***
Cloverland, which he hadn’t seen in a long time, hadn’t changed much. If he had to point out one thing, it was the banner hanging in front of the Adventurers’ Union that read: <Hero Who Subjugated the Demon King Emerged>.
When did they put that up?
He certainly hadn’t seen it when he left Cloverland, so it must have been hung up afterward. It was a relief that it didn’t say <Hero Who Defeated the Demon God Emerged>. Satin wanted to live peacefully in Cloverland if possible.
The Temple Knights offered to escort Satin all the way home. Satin wanted to decline, worried about causing misunderstandings as he had in Daisyland, but he couldn’t. There was a lot of luggage in the carriage. If he tried to carry it with Cain, his back might get crushed.
Maybe going by carriage will be less conspicuous.
In any case, the carriage quickly passed through the Cloverland city streets and arrived in the neighborhood where Satin and Cain lived. The large carriage, not usually seen, drew the attention of the people, but thankfully, no one looked too closely.
“Wow, the vegetable garden looks great.”
As soon as he got out of the carriage, Satin exclaimed in admiration. The vegetable garden he had asked a neighbor to look after was unexpectedly intact. It seemed they had come to check on it quite diligently.
I should get them something as a gift.
Thinking about what he could share from the things they had brought, Satin first offered his thanks.
“Thank you so much for everything. Thanks to you, we arrived here comfortably.”
It was just a standard greeting, but the Temple Knights’ eyes welled up. They were large in stature, but their expressions made them look like innocent children. They were probably all older than Cain. Maybe even older than Satin.
“Please come to the temple whenever you need help.”
“Everyone will become Satin-nim’s servant.”
“We are always ready to repay Satin-nim’s kindness.”
“Even if it costs us our lives.”
Perhaps out of consideration for Satin, who was conscious of the surrounding eyes, the Temple Knights spoke in low voices. Even so, their words were so fanatical that Satin felt more awkward than pleased. Still, he was grateful.
The Temple Knights, who said they would stay at the temple tonight and depart tomorrow, unloaded all the luggage and then left. While Satin stood at the gate to see them off, Cain sorted the luggage inside.
When Satin closed the gate and came inside, Cain glanced back and asked, “Did those guys leave?”
“Those guys? They were the ones who brought us all the way here.”
“Ah, right. They left?”
Having arrived home, Cain’s attitude seemed a little more lenient. To someone who didn’t know him well, it might seem sarcastic, but Satin didn’t misunderstand.
“They said they’re sleeping at the temple tonight and going back tomorrow.”
“Well, at least we won’t have to see them anymore.”
“I guess so. But are you going to start organizing now?”
Cain seemed quite serious about organizing. There was nothing wrong with being diligent, but shouldn’t they rest on their first day back? As Satin watched him with a somewhat displeased expression, Cain chuckled.
“I have something to do tomorrow.”
“What is it?”
He had just returned home, and there was already something scheduled for tomorrow? Satin had no idea what it could be. Cain didn’t answer, just shrugged.
“Rest if you’re tired.”
“How can I rest alone when you’re organizing…?”
Satin didn’t bother to hide his suspicious feelings and joined Cain to help.
What is he planning to do tomorrow?
A public proposal?
Nah, it can’t be that.
After roughly finishing the organizing, Satin decided to go out for a bit. Even so, it wasn’t a big outing. He planned to thank the neighbor who had looked after the vegetable garden and give them a gift.
But perhaps Cain felt that this outing was some kind of dangerous operation.
“……You’re coming with me? It’s right next door?”
“Can’t I go?”
“No, it’s not that you can’t.”
Satin felt quite uneasy, but he couldn’t stop Cain. He left the house with a small gift dangling from his hand. Cain followed behind him with the attitude of a guardian rather than a protector.
The neighbor Satin was acquainted with was a middle-aged woman with salt-and-pepper hair. Satin didn’t know the woman’s name, and the woman didn’t know Satin’s either. Not knowing each other’s names posed no problem for their casual interactions.
As soon as he knocked, the woman opened the door, her face lighting up with a welcoming smile.
“Oh my, you’re back now?”
“Yes, it ended up being later than I thought.”
She had small pieces of paper stuck to her apron, as if she had been doing her hobby, paper crafts. Many elderly couples lived in this neighborhood, and most were engrossed in their hobbies.
‘Aren’t we the most out of place in this neighborhood?’
As he was thinking this, the woman’s gaze shifted past Satin’s shoulder. Satin quickly introduced Cain.
“This is my roommate.”
Satin nudged Cain’s back. Cain nodded in greeting. It was an action that would have been considered rude in Korea, but thankfully, this wasn’t a Confucian country.
“What a handsome friend you have.”
The woman simply admired Cain’s face and didn’t seem displeased at all. But then Cain added an unnecessary remark.
“Not a friend, though.”
“Hey.”
Lol.
Satin thinking there’s no way Cain would do a public proposal. Or being suspicious about it.
Cain doing exactly almost that 😂