Satin tilted his head slightly, staring at Cain—wondering if he might know something.
Cain, catching onto Satin’s unspoken question, shrugged and replied.
“They were whispering the whole time.”
“That’s it? You’d think they were dating or something…”
When Satin still looked unconvinced, Cain added indifferently.
“They were talking about a dream.”
“…What kind of dream?”
“The one they had after we took down the golem yesterday. They were excited, cross-checking each other’s stories.”
“I see…”
Unsure of what to say, Satin just nodded, trying to appear unaffected. Fortunately, Cain didn’t seem particularly interested in the topic. Instead, he turned his attention to Satin’s condition.
“No muscle pain? Why were you all curled up while you slept?”
“Oh, I was?”
“If you’re feeling stiff somewhere, just say so. I can give you a massage.”
“No, it’s fine. Really, I’m okay.”
Satin waved his hands with an awkward smile. Clearly, Cain hadn’t even considered that the dream he’d had might actually be a fragment of Satin’s memories.
‘Well, yeah. He thinks I have amnesia, after all.’
As long as Satin didn’t bring up the dream about the burning school, Cain wouldn’t suspect a thing. But how would he react if he learned that the person he’d been protecting all this time was actually a complete stranger from another world—and not even a particularly good person at that?
Satin wanted to steer the conversation in another direction, lighten the mood somehow, but no words came to mind. Just then, murmurs spread through the crowd. A carriage must’ve arrived. Satin turned his head that way, pretending to look, hiding his expression.
Rita stretched out her neck with a loud yawn, her face lighting up like the carriage was a long-lost friend.
“Ugh, I need to sleep on that thing. What a waste of effort all this was.”
“You’re the one who insisted we come here,” Edward replied.
“I told you we should hurry.”
“Hurrying a bit wouldn’t have made a difference. We still wouldn’t have made it on time.”
While Rita and Edward bickered, the carriage line moved quickly. Less than thirty minutes later, it was their turn. Even though the seats were packed due to the large number of people waiting, no one voiced any complaints.
As soon as the carriage started moving, Rita passed out like she’d been knocked unconscious. Seeing this, Cain urged Satin to get some sleep too. Satin said he would, but he never actually managed to fall asleep. He stayed wide awake all the way to Cloverland.
‘The fog really is completely gone.’
By the time the carriage passed through Cloverland’s south gate, the sun was fully up. The crowd of merchants who’d once filled the square had vanished, replaced by a new wave of people. Barkers from nearby inns were wandering around, shouting their pitches.
“Hot bathwater available!”
“Breakfast served here!”
“Affordable rooms for rent!”
Yawning, the newly arrived passengers followed the barkers into the city. Most of the Demon God subjugation participants were outsiders, after all.
Satin’s group, also outsiders, latched onto one of the barkers—a man shouting, “This is the most luxurious inn in all of Cloverland!” Because most would-be heroes were just ragtag opportunists chasing prize money, no one else paid him any attention.
When they reached the inn, Rita, for some reason, hesitated more than usual before asking,
“Should we all get single rooms?”
Though her gaze was on Edward, it was Cain who answered.
“A double for us.”
“…Wow. Clingy much.”
Still, Rita rented three rooms: two singles, and one double. Before they scattered to their respective rooms, she checked the time. Just before eight.
“Okay, let’s get some rest in our rooms and regroup at two? Noon feels a bit too early. Sound good?”
She looked at Edward and Satin as she spoke. Perhaps she figured there was no need to check with Cain, who would follow Satin’s lead anyway. Cain voiced no objection.
Satin nodded, and Edward followed suit.
“Then see you later.”
Rita said all that but didn’t move from the foot of the stairs. For some reason, Edward stayed where he was too. Feeling a tangle of emotions, Satin ascended the stairs first. Cain followed right beside him, mumbling,
“Looks like they’ve got a thing going on.”
“Can’t believe you’re the one saying that.”
“What? What did I say?”
Cain’s expression was the picture of innocence. Whether Rita and Edward were dating or fighting, he clearly believed it had nothing to do with him. Somehow, Satin felt deflated.
“No, it’s nothing…”
***
After washing up with hot water, Satin collapsed onto the bed like a lump of dough. A couple hours of dozing while waiting for the carriage had done nothing to ease the fatigue.
“I’m gonna sleep first…”
Before Cain could even respond, Satin was already out cold.
Cain stared at the sleeping Satin for a moment, then started getting ready for bed himself. He didn’t feel particularly tired, but after being awake for over a day straight, his head was foggy.
He returned from washing, drew the curtains, and lay down on the bed.
‘Wish I could use magic even while asleep.’
That way, he wouldn’t have to worry about Satin wandering off somewhere on his own during the night.
Every bit of magic Cain knew had been passed down from a crazy old man. He’d stolen what he thought were simple research notes, only to find out they were actually the legacy of a Black Magician—accidentally becoming the heir.
Mind-control spells. Magic that let you see mana. A spell that made the dead rise for three seconds. A summoning ritual that called the Demon King by offering a sacrifice.
Except for one fire spell, the rest were utterly useless.
‘Looking back, I’m not even sure if most of them counted as proper magic.’
Earlier, when they were fighting the golem, Cain had hastily used the mind-control spell. The golem froze for a moment—and that was it. No control, nothing.
‘That old man was a useless, senile bastard. Should’ve focused on magic that was actually helpful in daily life.’
Something like…
‘Magic that creates a sealed space would be great.’
If he could cut this room off from the world—keep everyone else out, keep Satin in—then he could finally sleep without worry.
Cain glanced toward the bed where Satin lay, then closed his eyes. But he couldn’t fall into a deep sleep.
Instead, Cain drifted in and out, dreaming fragments of the past. He watched over Satin sleeping in a school that had long since gone up in flames. He chased a vile magician, muttering promises of revenge. He stood in a dim clearing, whispering hollow incantations.
Cain woke and slept over and over again until it was nearly two o’clock. Then he rose, checking immediately to see if Satin was still there.
Satin hadn’t moved a muscle—still in the same position as when he lay down.
Cain didn’t wake him. He hadn’t forgotten Rita’s instruction to meet at two, but so what? He hadn’t even answered her back when she said it.
There was no reason to see Rita or Edward again anyway. The Demon King was gone, the fog had cleared, and the lockdown would probably be lifted soon. Everyone would be going their separate ways. Of course, Cain planned to go wherever Satin went.
Sitting on the bed, watching Satin’s sleeping face, Cain suddenly wondered—
‘Will those memories ever come back?’
The mind is a mysterious thing. No one could say for certain whether Satin’s lost memories would return—or if they were lost forever.
‘Do I even want Satin to remember me?’
If the memories came back, what would Satin think when he looked at Cain? Cain couldn’t say for sure. Maybe, to Satin, Cain was just someone he used to know—nothing more.
If saving Cain had meant nothing to him, would Satin now be confused by Cain’s attachment?
‘Maybe I’m the only one who thinks this togetherness is natural.’
If that was true, then maybe it was better for Cain that Satin remained just like this. Until now, Satin hadn’t known whether he should push Cain away. And as long as those memories didn’t return, Cain could stay by his side.
It was the kind of thought Satin would probably call underhanded if he ever knew—but that wasn’t going to happen anyway.
While Cain was lost in thought, two o’clock arrived. He didn’t wake Satin, but a sudden noise startled Satin awake.
“Mmm…”
Blinking slowly, Satin looked around in a daze. Cain clicked his tongue softly and walked over to the window. The noise was coming from outside.
“What’s going on…?”
Satin asked in a sleepy voice. Cain opened the window and checked for the source of the commotion. The main road was packed with people.
“Looks like there’s something going on out there.”
“Something… like what?”
“Some kind of celebratory parade—oh.”
Several officers in Bureau of Order uniforms were following a marching band, carrying giant placards. Judging by the slogans—Peace for Cloverland! and We Defeated the Demon King!—Cain figured out what it was.
“Looks like a victory parade for the Demon King subjugation.”
“They do that kind of thing?”
Curious, Satin crawled out of bed slowly. Rubbing his eyes, he shuffled over to the window, craning his neck to look outside.
“Wow, that’s… pretty grand.”
Cain glanced at the back of Satin’s head, where his hair was flattened from sleep, then turned his gaze back outside.
From the looks of it, the parade was heading all the way to the temple. Officers were stationed along the road, keeping people from running out into the street.
‘So they’re blowing up something that wasn’t even a big deal—must be trying to use it for propaganda.’
The Bureau of Order hadn’t done much aside from posting a reward and delivering a bunch of hot-blooded adventurers to the Demon King’s castle. But by tomorrow morning, the newspapers would probably be claiming the Bureau had predicted the Demon King’s appearance ahead of time and had been secretly grooming heroes to face him.
And the so-called “heroes” who knew the truth? A decent pile of money would keep them quiet. After all, they only went to the Demon King’s castle for the prize money in the first place. If they were offered more, why would they refuse?
“Looks like those people are the ones who took down the Demon King.”
Satin squinted, trying to make out the figures in the middle of the parade. Unlike the officers, five men and women were dressed in showy outfits, waving to the cheering crowd.
Cain, whose eyesight was sharper than Satin’s, recognized one of the faces.
“That clown from yesterday.”
“Clown?”
Satin tilted his head and looked up at Cain.
“The guy who bumped into Rita.”
“Oh, that guy…”
Satin nodded as the memory clicked into place. But for some reason, his expression turned strangely unreadable.
“What is it?”
“No, it’s nothing. Just… had a weird thought.”
