Cain started a new job at the Adventurers’ Union yesterday. It was to patrol the southern forest and mark the trails.
‘What a joke.’
For a while, Cloverland hadn’t seen any travelers. For merchants who made their living off travelers, the Demon King’s castle incident was a terrible blow. Some wealthy individuals even hired guards out of fear that the Demon King might reappear.
However, as time passed, the situation changed. Adventurers lined up, wanting to see the site where the Demon King’s castle had appeared. Perhaps rumors about the Demon King had spread since the appearance of the Demon God, as people came from far away.
The merchants were relieved, their faces bright. But the Bureau of Order was troubled. Adventurers were recklessly wandering through the vast forest and getting lost one after another.
The Bureau of Order sent officers into the forest. The officers installed signposts for the adventurers in various places.
Nevertheless, adventurers continued to get lost. The forest was exceedingly large. The manpower of the officers alone was insufficient. The newly appointed Commissioner of Order was known for his diligent nature and did not tolerate the previous atmosphere of dereliction of duty.
Thus, the matter was passed on to the Adventurers’ Union.
Cain found this situation utterly absurd.
‘Deploying adventurers for lost adventurers.’
Wasn’t it too foolish? Even adventurers who came to work often got lost if they strayed from the path. Cain was at least considered good at finding his way.
‘It would be really funny if I got lost while trying to put up signs and couldn’t return.’
The method of marking was simple. Officers had already left yellow ribbons as markers in slightly off-path locations. Adventurers who received the request just needed to leave red ribbons in more remote locations.
Even someone with no sense of direction could distinguish colors. And even if they couldn’t, seeing a ribbon would suggest that there was a path nearby.
‘They should have done this before.’
Cain recalled his school days. The school in the middle of a deep forest was like a small island. There was nowhere to run without being noticed by the old man.
If such a safety measure had existed back then, Cain might have run away on the very first night he set foot in the school. If he had.
‘What do I care about the past?’
Upon further thought, there was no reason to regret it. If he had run away then, Cain would never have met Satin. Although he wouldn’t have experienced those painful times either, that was also in the past.
Cain checked the time. He didn’t like missions that took him outside the city. Time always seemed to slip away.
Of course, he knew that nothing much would happen even if he was late. But knowing didn’t erase his anxiety.
‘This won’t get any better.’
Satin thought of Cain’s anxiety as if it were an illness. He said it would get better with time.
Cain didn’t think so. This wasn’t an illness. Rather, it was closer to a habit. An instinct, an unavoidable way of life. That’s how it had become.
Cain hurried with his work. Once he became aware of his anxiety, it became uncontrollable. He needed to return home quickly and see Satin’s face. He was sure nothing had happened, but he wouldn’t know until he saw it with his own eyes.
If it weren’t for those stupid adventurers, he wouldn’t have to do this kind of work.
Working within the city and receiving regular reports about Satin brought a certain peace. He didn’t feel impatient about the time to return home and even felt a sense of anticipation. It was quite romantic.
‘I need to finish this quickly.’
***
‘Where is this?’
It had only been a couple of hours since he cursed the lost, stupid adventurers. But now, Cain was in the exact same predicament.
It was shameful, but this was no time to dwell on such thoughts. At this rate, he would be late returning home.
‘I won’t be lost forever, will I?’
Cain nervously retraced his steps.
Because summer had passed and the days had shortened, dusk was falling early these days. Moreover, the forest darkened much more quickly than the city. The sky already looked black due to the dense trees.
He had definitely tied red ribbons to the trees he encountered every thirty steps, but they weren’t visible. Even when he created a small flame to illuminate the surroundings, everything was still dark.
It was unlikely that someone had followed him and removed the ribbons. There were other adventurers who had come to mark the trails besides Cain, but they had all gone in different directions from him.
As Cain walked, his mood sank. The irritation that had surged up vanished without a trace, and he gradually became calm. Excessively so.
‘Many people have died while lost.’
This was a forest that no one had dared to approach before the Demon King’s castle incident. No one would have deliberately strayed from the path. When the officers received reports of people who had gone into the forest and not returned, they would curtly tell the reporters to go to the government office and file a death report.
Having frequented the forest several times to find the site where the school had been, Cain had become complacent. He mistakenly believed he was familiar with the forest. He thought he was different from the adventurers who came from other regions.
‘Didn’t they say there are still people who haven’t returned?’
Finding them was not included in his commission. Although now, the commission and everything else seemed unimportant.
‘That won’t happen to me.’
If he really couldn’t find his way, he could just set a fire. If the entire forest burned down, the way he needed to go would naturally become clear.
Cain moved forward through the darkness, thinking of how Satin would faint if he knew his idea.
***
At the same time Cain was wandering in the forest, Satin was on his way home with Rogers. He had waited until Rogers’ work was finished, and it was already close to dinner time.
“Cain will be back soon, so let’s have dinner together.”
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen Cain too.”
“Haven’t you seen him at all this time?”
Satin had ended up living in an unexpected village, but Cain had been in Cloverland the whole time. They should have run into each other by chance, but hadn’t they?
Before answering, Rogers gave an ambiguous smile.
“I have seen him, but I thought I would never see him again.”
“Why?”
“Back then, Cain was a bit…”
Rogers paused for a moment and then shrugged.
“He didn’t look good. We met at the school.”
“You mean the school we used to go to?”
“Yeah, I thought you were dead, so I went to mourn you. I’m alive thanks to you.”
“What do you mean, thanks to me?”
“If you hadn’t saved me first, I would have died in the basement. Who else would have gotten me out of there?”
Embarrassed by Rogers’ words, Satin rubbed his cheek against his shoulder, feigning disinterest.
“I met Cain there. It must have been about half a year since I’d seen him. The school became like that, and everyone scattered.”
“Everyone must have gone through a lot.”
“I thought Cain had come to mourn you too.”
“Wasn’t he?”
“It looked like he came to find you. I’m only saying this now, but I found Cain a bit difficult. Cain’s personality is a bit, you know.”
Stealing a glance, Rogers said what he wanted to say. His round face was the same as before, but his personality seemed to have changed somewhat. Well, at eighteen, he was practically an adult in this world.
“That was the first time I thought Cain was pitiful. I really thought you were dead. It seemed like Cain was doing something futile.”
“It’s natural to think that way.”
“If I had known you were alive and well like this, maybe I should have looked for you more.”
Rogers looked slightly apologetic. Perhaps he had been living with a sense of indebtedness towards Satin all along.
“It’s in the past. Don’t worry about it. It’s enough that we’ve met again like this.”
Satin deliberately replied in a more cheerful tone.
Just then, the two arrived in front of the house. As Satin opened the gate, Rogers looked around in admiration.
“You live in a nice house.”
Feeling somewhat awkward, Satin scratched his head.
“Strictly speaking, it’s not my house, it’s Cain’s. I’m just living here.”
“Still…”
He had heard on the way that Rogers was living in a rented room above a bookstore. The landlord was also Rogers’ employer and was said to be quite a curt old man.
But Satin vaguely guessed that he wasn’t just curt. If he had hired Rogers, who had nowhere to go, and even provided him with a place to stay, he must actually be a rather nosy person. He also seemed to be actively involved in the Merchants’ Union. Max hadn’t said anything particularly bad about him when he introduced the bookstore.
“Let’s go in for now.”
“Okay.”
Rogers looked around the vegetable garden and then followed Satin into the house.
“Wait here for a moment. Dinner will be ready soon.”
When Satin offered him a chair in the living room, Rogers nodded and sat down. But he quickly got up.
“Is there anything I can help with?”
“You’re a guest.”
“No, even just someone to talk to…”
Perhaps feeling uncomfortable sitting alone, Rogers followed Satin.
“Then, shall I stay in the dining room?”
The kitchen and dining room were right next to each other, so even if they couldn’t see each other’s faces, it wasn’t difficult to talk. Only after sitting at the dining table did Rogers look at ease.
Satin went into the kitchen, looked at the ingredients, and asked.
“How are the other kids doing? Do you meet them often?”
“Other kids?”
“Heather and Karen…”
Who else was there?
Satin counted the faint names of the children in his head. Rogers’ reply came from the dining room.
“I haven’t seen the others, but I’ve seen Jack a few times. He works at a brewery.”
“It’s a relief he found a job.”
In the past, the children had been afraid, not knowing how they would live after leaving the school. Having a job would have eased their worries.
As they talked about the other children, it became completely dark outside the window.
“Is Cain always this late?”
Only after hearing Rogers’ question did Satin realize that Cain was late in returning.
“He’s a bit late today. I wonder what’s wrong.”
Satin came out of the kitchen. Looking at the clock in the living room, it was indeed late. Rogers, who had followed him out, asked worriedly.
“Didn’t he say he would be late?”
“He didn’t say anything in particular.”
No sooner had Satin finished speaking than a sound was heard from the front door. Satin and Rogers looked towards it at the same time. There was a knock on the door.
Satin said with a smile.
“Looks like he’s here.”
