Chapter 198
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It’s the second day of the Conquest Festival.
Including the celebration from when I woke up, it’s actually been three days already. Yet far from dying down, the excitement has only grown more intense. When I left the Guild earlier, even though it wasn’t even noon yet, I was met with crowds upon crowds of people—just looking at them was enough to make me feel exhausted.
I’m sitting absentmindedly in the Guild hall, thinking they should be arriving soon and wondering what to do about lunch.
「Low!」
I must have been really zoned out, because I didn’t notice them until they were right next to me.
「Hey, thanks for everything back then.」
Standing there are the Tesoro brothers—Chloa, the cute, petite boy with a young face, and Chloe, his supermodel-handsome older brother.
「I should be thanking you. If you two—no, if Vienetta hadn’t gotten involved this time, things would have turned out terribly.
You really saved us, thank you.」
Getting through that disaster without any casualties was nothing short of miraculous, and it wouldn’t have been possible without their participation. In fact, without them, we wouldn’t have had enough forces to contain the rapidly multiplying Fog, and the collapse of our battle lines could have resulted in numerous casualties.
「Since you came all the way to Boldaf, let me treat you to lunch. It’s about that time anyway. Let me know if you have any requests.」
I invite them to lunch as a way to show my gratitude for their help.
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Their base in Vienetta, while considered close to Boldaf, is still nearly a full day’s journey away without an Eagle Dragon mount.
Despite their own city having a festival, these two made the trip to Boldaf specifically to see me.
And yet—
「Are you sure this is okay?」
I ask as I pass the meat skewers I just got from the vendor to the two of them with a casual 「Here you go.」
「Yeah, this is perfect. Right, Chloa?」
「Yes! I’ve never been to a festival before, so I’ve always wanted to experience one…」
「Come on, stop it! I’m weak to stuff like that! You’re killing me!」
The three of us wander through the food stalls, chatting as we go.
Chloa especially scampers about, his eyes sparkling at everything he sees.
We both watch him with fond smiles.
Though Chloa is seventeen or eighteen, perhaps due to his long period of illness, he’s extremely thin. His delicate frame makes him look no older than twelve or thirteen.
「Hey, hey, Low, what’s that?」
「That’s our version of takoyaki.」
It’s a variation of takoyaki spread by someone from my homeland, made with different ingredients instead of octopus.
「Then what’s this?」
「Those are frozen berries. Oh, they’ve got figs! Those are seriously delicious—let’s buy a bunch and eat them together later.」
We buy pretty much every food that catches our eye.
While eating while walking is pretty fun, Chloa eats slowly like a small animal, munching away with his tiny mouth, making it impossible for him to finish everything we buy. So I store most of our purchases in my magic bag.
We can always sit down somewhere later and eat at our leisure.
「Brother, Low, this is so fun!」
Chloa says with a bright grin.
I can’t help but remember how close to death he was that day.
Chloe cautions his brother, 「Hey, don’t wander off too far.」
—Why is it always just us?
I recall how he had wept, lamenting his and his brother’s misfortunes.
I can completely relate to those feelings. After all, I too had countless times wondered why I always end up in such situations, grieving over my circumstances again and again.
But now, I can’t see any trace of that darkness in either of them.
Seeing these brothers now, freed from their misfortunes, makes me think that maybe my own difficult days had meaning too.
Though that might just be conceited of me—something I could never say out loud.
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