The small alumni gathering concluded around nine o’clock. Rogers mentioned that he had to watch over the bookstore all day tomorrow, so he shouldn’t return too late. Since they could meet anytime now, they could always continue their unfinished conversations another time.
“Then, I’ll be going.”
While Satin escorted Rogers to the main road, Cain decided to tidy up the kitchen. Cain had offered to see him off instead, but Rogers flatly refused, saying he’d rather go alone. Cain accepted the task with a sullen expression.
As soon as the door closed, Rogers chuckled softly.
“What?”
When Satin tilted his head in question, Rogers rubbed his nose. That somewhat awkward gesture reminded Satin of the old Rogers.
“Those sides of him are so unexpected. I actually thought Cain wouldn’t be living properly.”
“Did you?”
“Because he was so angry, you know? I mean, at the world.”
“Ah, he did have that side to him.”
Satin also chuckled quietly. Cain had a history of summoning a Demon Lord. Back then, Cain had wished all the people in the world would die. Satin had been horrified when he heard that, but thinking about it now, it was amusing.
Who did he think he was going to kill? In the end, he didn’t kill anyone.
Even the Black Magician whom Cain had considered his enemy eventually met his end at Satin’s hands. Though it hadn’t been Satin’s intention.
“So, I was worried Cain might do something reckless. When I heard about the threatening letter sent to the Bureau of Order, I even suspected Cain might have done it.”
“You did?”
He absolutely had to keep the fact that Cain was the culprit a secret.
Fortunately, Rogers didn’t notice anything suspicious about Satin. Perhaps it was thanks to the dim light that obscured his expression.
“I’m relieved he seems better than I thought. No, he actually looks good.”
Rogers’ words made Satin feel inexplicably proud.
Cain, who had been curt at first, gradually softened his attitude as the meal progressed. He didn’t find fault with anything in particular and participated in the conversation docilely. For Cain, it was remarkable kindness.
Did he have a change of heart or something?
Satin seemed to know the reason, yet also didn’t.
Anxiety and anticipation are similar. Fearing failure stems from wanting to succeed, and while hoping for success, the inability to be certain comes from not being able to forget the possibility of failure.
How one expresses their feelings is important. Rogers had mistaken Cain’s obsessive anxiety for clumsy romantic gestures.
Cain, who used to linger by the door at night, worried that Satin might have disappeared, now became a Cain who would peek around even in his sleep, wanting to see Satin. He felt much more endearing.
“Actually, it’s surprising that you two ended up in that kind of relationship.”
Rogers gave an awkward smile.
“Come to think of it, it’s not as surprising as you being alive.”
“Well, of course not.”
“I’m really glad.”
“I was just thinking how glad I am that you’re doing well.”
When they parted, Rogers was only fourteen. He was too young. In fact, he was still young. Eighteen was still an age before one had even finished growing taller.
Standing on his own at a young age couldn’t have been easy. Seeing him living healthily, working without falling into bad ways or suffering misfortune, eased Satin’s worries.
Perhaps some of the other children might be in difficult situations, but just knowing that Rogers was doing well brought Satin a sense of relief.
As they approached the main road, Rogers said, “Life has its good moments like this, doesn’t it?”
It wasn’t a typical thing for an eighteen-year-old boy to say. However, Satin didn’t find it amusing. He simply nodded silently.
“It really does.”
The stagecoach heading towards the North Gate arrived not long after. They were lucky. Before boarding the coach, Rogers waved his hand lightly. Satin waved back and then blurted out.
“See you next time.”
He watched the departing stagecoach for a moment before turning around.
The feeling of meeting and parting with a friend was somewhat strange. He felt a sense of lingering regret, but also a relief that the day’s task was over.
His steps quickened as he headed home. He would greet Cain, who would be waiting, and say he had missed him.
Just imagining it made Satin’s face feel awkward, and he rubbed it unnecessarily. Still, the smile on his lips didn’t fade.
He passed through the gate, the vegetable garden, and reached the front door. Opening the blue door, he stepped inside, and Cain immediately emerged from the dining room.
“I’m home. Is everything cleaned up?”
“Yeah.”
Cain, who had roughly wiped his still-damp hands on his clothes, suddenly lifted Satin into his arms. He didn’t give Satin a chance to say what he had been thinking.
Startled, Satin exclaimed, “What is it, all of a sudden?”
“I missed you.”
“I was only out for a little while, what’s with this…”
Cain saying what he was about to say made him sound like he was nagging for no reason. He didn’t need to look in a mirror to guess the color of his face. His cheeks and forehead were burning.
Cain carried Satin up the stairs. Satin clung to Cain’s neck to avoid falling, and then suddenly realized, “Did you get taller?”
“I don’t know.”
“You seem a bit taller.”
At twenty, he was still before the end of his growth spurt. Didn’t they say men continued to grow until their early twenties? Of course, those who weren’t going to grow wouldn’t, no matter what.
“You’re kind of cute.”
As Satin said with a smile, Cain paused.
“…What is?”
“It’s cute that you’re still growing.”
For some reason, Cain didn’t reply. Satin tilted his head slightly to look at Cain’s face.
In the meantime, they arrived on the second floor. Entering his room, Cain said, “Keep thinking I’m cute.”
“Huh? Uh…”
“Keep thinking I’m cute.”
Did he like being called cute?
Satin’s guess was wrong. The corner of Cain’s lips quirked up in a lopsided smile as he met Satin’s eyes. It was a smile that sent a shiver down his spine. Satin involuntarily trembled.
Cain continued softly, “If you can.”
Satin predicted he would probably oversleep tomorrow.
He’s not cute anymore…
The door closed.
***
After meeting Rogers, a small change occurred in Satin’s daily life. He would occasionally make time to visit the bookstore where Rogers worked. Sometimes he would buy a book, and other times he would just browse and leave. If there were no other customers, they would eat something together.
―Hero, I sincerely congratulate you on making a new friend.
On his way back after meeting Rogers, when he reached a somewhat secluded area, the demon chattered. He had been silent while Satin was with Rogers, so his belated congratulations now only seemed absurd.
“What kind of scheme are you plotting now?”
―Scheme? I am supporting the Hero’s social life. Staying cooped up in the house gloomily is not good for your health.
“Gloomily? I never do that. I go out every day.”
―Yes, but only about 500 steps from your house.
“This is far away. I even took a stagecoach.”
―That is why I congratulated you. I am very proud that the Hero is finally breaking out of his shell and becoming a true adult.
“Seriously, what did you even do…”
A person appeared, and Satin lowered his voice. The demon also quickly shut his (nonexistent) mouth, only to open it again after the person had passed.
―I hear your new friend is someone you knew from before.
“That’s right.”
―It seems he also knew your spouse.
“That’s right.”
For a moment, the demon was silent. He usually only spoke when he felt like it, so Satin didn’t pay it any mind and quickened his pace. It was almost time for Cain to return home from work.
These days, Cain had been following the government officials around. He hadn’t become a government employee, but the government had placed another request with the Adventurers’ Union. They were investigating underdeveloped areas for city development, and they thought having knights accompany them would draw less attention.
That’s kind of true.
The knights who had followed Rita, supposedly to escort her, had been conspicuous despite their disguises. They hadn’t been able to hide their stiff postures and formal way of speaking at all.
Although Satin had never seen Cain at work, he was certain he wouldn’t be friendly. No one would ever guess he was a knight.
What would it have been like if he had become a knight?
The Cain of the Dark Age had been a knight, but the Cain that Satin knew was nothing like one. It was a funny thought.
But surely this is better.
What the story was no longer mattered. Satin liked Cain as he was now: not a knight, unsociable, seemingly blunt but ultimately kind.
Even if there are some odd things about him, it’s all for me.
Embarrassed by his own thoughts, Satin cleared his throat unnecessarily.
―Why the fake cough? Did you have a thought that would make your spouse jump up and down if he knew?
“What are you suddenly talking about?”
Based on what he had observed so far, the demon couldn’t read minds. Nevertheless, Satin feigned ignorance, worried that his recent thought might have been overheard.
―There was something like that in the book your spouse was reading.
“A book?”
―The king’s one hundred and twenty-eighth wife went to meet a friend and committed adultery. To punish his wife, the king summoned both of them. Upon the king’s orders, the wife and her friend repeated lewd acts, and the king watched them…
“Wh-what the hell are you talking about?”
Satin hastily looked around. No one was there, but the heat on his face didn’t subside immediately.
“Was Cain still looking at that book? No, did you see it too?”
―Looking at open pages is nothing to me. In this state, I cannot exert physical force, but I can see very far, and if I were to manifest…
“That’s enough, be quiet.”
That damn book, he should just burn it.
―That’s a relief. I thought the Hero had become interested in more stimulating and unhealthy relationships.
“There’s no way. And Rogers is only eighteen years old, doing something impure with an eighteen-year-old…”
Just the thought of it gave Satin goosebumps, and he scowled. The demon seemed unable to understand Satin’s reaction.
―Your spouse is twenty years old. I don’t see what difference there is between eighteen and twenty. My age is so ancient that all humans look like newborns to me. the Hero is the same.
“I’ll tell you what the difference is.”
Satin took out the Sacred Relics from his pocket. He gripped it tightly and swung his arm around. One, two, three…, eighteen.
“This is eighteen.”
―Ugh…
He swung his arm around again. One, two, three…, twenty.
“This is twenty. Got it?”
―Yessir…
The demon didn’t say anything unnecessary after that.
