The building two doors down from the Adventurers’ Guild happened to be a restaurant. Since it was still early in the morning, there wasn’t a single customer, making it the perfect place to talk.
To justify their presence, they ordered two light dishes, and Satin herded Rita and Cain into a seat in the corner.
‘Wow, I feel like a shepherd. Yippee…’
Too bad the “sheep” weren’t nearly as docile as they looked.
But Satin wasn’t allowed to escape into idle thoughts. Rita, wearing an uncharacteristically sharp and perceptive expression, spoke calmly.
“You don’t have to think of it as something dangerous. I’m a magician, and so are you. What’s there to be afraid of when there are two magicians?”
Had she already forgotten how useless magic had been against the monster snake and the golem? Or maybe her pride as a magician was just too overwhelming.
Before Satin could point that out, Cain cut in.
“You think I’m going to follow you?”
“You’ll come if Satin goes.”
“No. I won’t go because I know Satin won’t go either.”
“Either way, it’s Satin’s decision.”
Rita turned to look at Satin. Cain also turned to him, his expression clearly annoyed. Under their pressuring stares, Satin reluctantly opened his mouth.
“Uh, yeah. I get where you’re coming from. Rita, you’re trying to do a good thing, right?”
“Exactly!”
“But to be honest, I didn’t really do much last time. I don’t think I’d be of much help.”
Rita’s eyes widened.
“What are you talking about?! You were a huge help. If it weren’t for you, Edward and I would’ve melted down there and become polishing wax for the Demon King’s basement floor!”
The imagery was disgusting even to imagine. When Satin grimaced, she went on.
“And even if you weren’t helpful, what does that matter? What’s important is that we’re comrades!”
That was kind of touching. A mindset focused more on the journey than the outcome—very sportsmanlike. But moving sentiment aside, Satin had to consider the practicalities.
“Still, wouldn’t it be better for someone more capable than me to go instead?”
Glancing at their faces, Satin gently placed a hand on Cain’s shoulder. Cain looked puzzled for a moment, then furrowed his brow and asked in disbelief,
“You want me to go?”
“No, I’m not saying you have to. I’m just saying, if you were interested, you could go. Since, well, if you stay in Cloverland, then…”
“Then?”
“Nothing will happen.”
Did Cain truly have zero interest in subjugating a demon? As the story’s protagonist, didn’t he feel some instinctual excitement about it? Was there really not even a flicker of curiosity?
Satin didn’t mind if Cain stayed behind in Cloverland living an un-protagonist-like life. It was his life to live. And if Cain did decide to live like a protagonist and take off on a grand adventure, that was fine too.
Sure, Cain had said earlier he wasn’t interested. But maybe he’d had a change of heart in the meantime. Changing your mind wasn’t a bad thing.
With a hopeful flicker, Satin asked,
“Are you really truly honestly not interested?”
“Nope.”
Cain answered without hesitation, and Rita immediately jumped back into persuading Satin.
“Satin, it’s harder to find someone you can trust than someone who’s just useful.”
She had a point. Useful people weren’t hard to come by—just look at the Adventurers’ Guild, where you could trade money for labor. But trust couldn’t be bought.
“I think you’re someone I can trust.”
They hadn’t even known each other all that long, and yet Rita had total faith in him. It was touching, but still not enough reason to risk his life.
When Satin stayed silent, Rita’s words came faster.
“Are you worried about getting hurt? You don’t have to be. If we bring Edward, he can heal any injuries right away.”
Satin thought that mindset—getting hurt was fine as long as you could be healed—was incredibly dangerous, but he chose to ask something else first.
“You’ve contacted Edward, too?”
“Not yet, but we will soon. I’ve sent out a bunch of people.”
“People?”
“The Adventurers’ Guild helps with finding people, too. I was actually planning to ask them to find you today.”
Rita smiled as if marveling at how convenient the world had become. Satin didn’t quite agree, but he nodded anyway.
From the moment they reunited, Rita had been brimming with confidence. Did she think that even if Satin turned her down now, he’d come around eventually?
Satin suddenly found himself wondering.
‘Is this… some kind of narrative compulsion?’
What if this wasn’t just Rita’s personal desire but the will of the world forcing itself upon them? It might look like free will, but what if the world’s will had already embedded itself deep in their subconscious?
It was a common pattern in possession-style stories. Even if a protagonist tried to step away and live a quiet, peaceful life, they’d inevitably be pulled back into the center of events—destined to play an even greater role than the original hero.
‘If this really is a kind of narrative force trying to keep me from straying from the story… can I keep saying no? Am I even allowed to? Or does it not matter since I’m not the protagonist? But then again, if I don’t go, Cain won’t go either, right?’
As Satin continued to stay silent, Rita turned her attention to Cain.
“Hey, leech.”
Cain didn’t respond, simply stared at her. With an even sharper expression than before, Rita spoke.
“This is a good opportunity for you too, isn’t it?”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“If Satin says he’s going, you’ll go too.”
“Satin just said he’s not going. So what does that matter?”
“Come on, think about it. Spending the whole day—no, several days—together. Isn’t that a win for you?”
“Who are you calling a leech, seriously.”
Cain scowled and replied, but Satin saw it—his eyes were trembling. Rita wasn’t just shaking Cain’s logic; she was shaking his heart.
“If something happens, you’ll be the one to save the day. Great chance to show off, right?”
“Who said anything about showing off?”
“And if we end up camping out, maybe you’ll get to share a blanket or something. Ew, okay, even I think that’s gross.”
Rita visibly shuddered, horrified by her own suggestion.
Cain didn’t reply. He looked… genuinely conflicted. Satin gawked, mouth agape.
‘Wait. He’s seriously being persuaded by this crap?’
At this rate, anyone would think Satin was Cain’s long-time crush, not the friend who once saved his life. That passing thought made Satin flustered.
‘…No way. Right? It’s not like that… right?’
There was a time he’d joked Cain was a little possessive… but no way it was actual possessiveness.
‘That would be wrong, wouldn’t it?’
Not that he had a solid reason for why it should be wrong.
Things were already spiraling away from the original storyline. Rita was flirting with Edward, the Demon King had been defeated by someone completely unexpected, and Cain had become a magician instead of a knight.
So if Cain started liking men now… would that really be all that shocking?
‘Old-school fantasy novels were more lenient with bromance anyway. If that’s just “friendship,” then love doesn’t even exist…’
With his mind drifting aimlessly, Satin quickly snapped himself back to reality.
‘No, but if Cain actually does like me… that’s a bit much. I mean, I’m not even the real Satin.’
He sneaked a glance at Cain’s face—only to flinch. Cain was staring straight at him.
“W-What?”
“What do you think I should do?”
“…Why are you asking me?”
“You heard it. If you go, I go.”
Flustered, Satin struggled to respond. Cain’s gaze softened, his lashes lowering in a way that made his eyes look inexplicably gentle. Surely he wasn’t doing that on purpose, right? Satin’s throat went dry. He cleared it awkwardly, and Cain pushed a glass of water toward him.
As Satin gulped it down desperately, Cain asked again,
“Should we go?”
Stalling, Satin kept drinking.
“If you’re really that against it, I won’t insist on sharing a blanket.”
“Kffgh!”
The water he was forcing down shot up into his nose. He bent over, rubbing at his mouth and nose, and Rita silently offered him a handkerchief. Just like the last time they parted ways, she was carrying way too much in her bag again.
Satin wiped his face and looked up. Cain was still gazing at him steadily. Avoiding his eyes, Satin looked around, then cautiously asked,
“…The reason you don’t want to be apart from me—it’s because I saved your life, right?”
“I mean, yeah, basically.”
Cain didn’t seem to understand the weight of the question. He looked… innocent, in a way that didn’t suit him.
But would that always be the case?
The missing Satin had left behind Cain’s fury. And now, the new Satin had turned that fury into fear.
Fear was a blurry emotion. Satin understood that well. In the dark of night, it’s hard to tell what exactly you’re afraid of. The darkness? The silence? The ghosts your mind conjures? Or the person who might be lurking there? The living, or the dead? One could never really tell.
Satin didn’t want Cain to go on living with that kind of fear. Whatever it was that Cain feared losing—it was already gone.
What Satin wanted was for Cain to be rewarded. But the one who vanished—the original Satin—would never return. So maybe Cain should at least be given what he was supposed to have. Adventure, glory, camaraderie, the cheers of the people, and a legacy remembered in history.
…Was this train of thought also part of the world’s compulsion? In another world, he might’ve found it all deeply uncomfortable.
But this world… this world was created by his sister. If her wish was to make the protagonist live like a true hero, then that outcome could never be wrong.
‘Well, then… I guess there’s no helping it.’
Changing one’s mind wasn’t inherently a bad thing. Satin had made up his mind.
He put on a brave face and said cheerfully,
“Alright, let’s go. I’m sure this adventure will only make our friendship stronger.”
“Ugh, that’s so cheesy,” Cain muttered.
“Anyway.”
Satin quickly turned his head toward Rita before Cain could say anything more. Rita’s mouth spread wide into a grin, practically glowing with excitement.
“Good call! An adventure for the sake of friendship—how wonderful!”
She even clapped her hands, completely oblivious to Satin’s true thoughts. All he really wanted was to keep Cain from getting the wrong idea, but to Rita, it came off as deeply romantic and poetic.
After her little celebration, Rita took charge like a true leader and laid out the first item on the agenda.
“Alright, first, let’s stop by the temple.”
“The temple? Are we going to pick up Edward?”
Satin tilted his head in confusion. Wasn’t Edward currently out of Cloverland?
Rita chuckled and shook her head.
“No, I’m planning to buy a sacred relic from the temple.”
