CH 5

“Huh!? Who are you?”

When I shouted right next to her while she was sleeping, she woke up. She rubbed her sleepy eyes and looked at me, her eyes gradually widening.

“H-hey. Long time no see?”

“…………………… Lies. What? Am I still asleep?”

“No, I think you’re awake?. I mean, it’s been――”

“Ed!”

Tia jumped up and hugged my neck. But unfortunately, that soft (delusional) feeling couldn’t be felt due to the effect of the [Invisible] banishment skill that kept deploying.

Ah, what a disappointment! I quickly disabled my skill  …, but that’s not the point.

“Ed! Ed! Why? How!? How did you end up … I mean, are you even alive?”

“Calm down! Calm down! First of all, get off me …. What do you mean I’m alive?”

Tia asked me with tears in her eyes as I hurriedly pulled myself away from her.

“Because after you left the party, I didn’t hear about you returning anywhere. … I thought you were dead. …”

“Oh, I see. No, it’s okay. I didn’t go back to the town right away, you know? It won’t look good to be banished from a hero’s party, so I changed my name and other things to live secretly. ….”

Subtly averting my gaze, I proceeded to tell the false story that I had just made up. In reality, I had just been sent back to the <White World> but I couldn’t explain that. An unbelievable truth always defeats a trustworthy lie.

“Oh, I see. … Good, I’m really glad …”

Ah, I didn’t do anything wrong, but why do I feel so guilty? Is that what this is? Should I spit out a curse word to God for not telling me whether I can tell about the [Banishment Skills] or not beforehand?

“Ah, yeah. Here’s a souvenir for you.”

In an attempt to distract Tia from her crying, I held out the woven basket in my hand. Then Tia looked up, picked up the contents and tilted her head.

“Are these Oren berries? I’m flattered, but we don’t have a bath to wash them in this house.”

“A bath? No, these are peeled and ready to eat. …”

“You’re eating Oren’s berries!? It’s so sour. It’s so sour that it’ll make your mouth puckered like this!”

Then, Tia’s mouth twitched and her face tensed up. Even though she was much older than me, the expression on her face was just so cute. …?　I wonder if we would be about the same age now? Well, I didn’t feel that way at all.

“That’s why we usually wash them in the bath, okay? It makes it smell so good and it makes the skin glow! Are you sure you want to eat …?”

“No, no, no, this is the one that’s not sour. Try it and see if you like it.”

“Ehhhh~, … well, if you insist, I’ll just have a bite. …”

She grabbed a handful of Oren berries from the woven basket on the side table, peeled them and put the contents in her mouth. She then chewed on it fearfully. …

“What!?

“Eh, What!?”

When her face squeezed tightly, I hurriedly removed the peel off a bunch of Oren fruit and ate it. Sure, if it got too ripe to the point where seeds formed, it would turn sour but…This should be sweet. …… Hmm?

“What? It’s just plain sweet.”

“Fufu~! Yay, you got fooled!”

“What!?”

Tia chuckled at my puzzled expression. The look of satisfaction on her face was indescribably hateful …., but after 100 years as an adult, I would never get angry over something like this.

“Hahaha, Tia. That’s a bit immature, don’t you think?”

Even if my temples were quivering, I would not be angry. Even if someone poked me on the cheek, I was not angry….

“What’s the matter with you!” (T/N: MC saying both lines)

“Fufu, I don’t mind this much. I used to play with you like this all the time, didn’t I?””

“一I think I one-sidedly got being played.”

“Really? I thought I was being cute.”

“What the hell!? You’re making fun of a naive teenager. How much did I …”

“How much what?”

“……………………. No, it’s nothing.”

Tia was, for lack of a better word, a very close ・・・・・ woman. I had never had any experience with women at the time, so the repeated and casual contact with them made me inwardly perturbed.

But Tia treated me like a little kid, or at best a little brother, and I tried my best to control myself so that I wouldn’t “misunderstand” her. It was a good thing that Alexis, who was very good looking, was with me, because I was certain that she would never fall in love with me.

“You haven’t changed at all. You’re the same woman who got me kicked out of the hero party.”

“That’s…”

I said sarcastically, and Tia’s expression instantly clouded over. Oops, I think I’d gone back to being a kid at heart. This wasn’t a mature response.

“No, I’m sorry. It’s not that I have a grudge against Tia. It is true that at the time I was a burden for the hero’s party, and the cause of the problem was … partly my fault.”

“…………………… I’m sorry.”

“No, no, no, no, no, no,! I mean, I’m sorry. It was ten years ago, and I can’t believe I’m bringing it up now. ….”

I hurriedly apologized to Tia, who had just changed her face from crying to smiling and then back to crying again. But Tia stared at me with a sad look in her eyes.

“Then…Then why did you come? I thought you were here to blame me.”

“Blame you?Why?”

“Because … I’m the only one who’s still alive.”

“…………”

I felt a tightening in my chest. The past that had come back too vividly seemed to overshadow the reality even more intensely.

“…. … I don’t blame you, If you say that, then I’m just as guilty as you for irresponsibly straying away from the hero’s party.”

“That’s――”

“No, it’s okay. Anyway, I don’t blame Tia, and I don’t think I deserve to. I just … want to hear the  story. What the hell happened to you after I left? How did Yuusha-sama …… Alexis died?”

When I asked her quietly, Tia twisted her face in pain and turned over. No one would want to remember what it was like when their friends died …., much less when they were the only ones who survived.

But I want to know about it. I’d been a member of the hero’s party, even if only for a short time, and I had the right and duty to know about it. But …

“Is it still hard for you? You don’t have to talk right now…”

“No, no, no. I’ll tell you now. …. If I don’t tell you now, I’m sure I’ll regret it. But it’s a bit of a mess here, so can we go to the other room? I can make some tea and …… I’d like to change my clothes.”

“A-ah. That’s right. That’s right.”

Since she had woken up earlier, Tia was wearing shiny pink pajamas. The fabric was a little too high quality for this room, but considering Tia’s ability as a spirit wielder, it was only natural for her to have this level of taste.

“I’ll be waiting for you in the other room.”

“Un. I’ll be there as soon as I change my clothes.”

When I left the bedroom, I sat down at one of the four square tables. After a few moments of waiting, Tia appeared, dressed in her familiar youthful grass-colored traveling outfit.

The long hair, which resembled Oren’s berries that we just ate, was not as dazzling as gold and gave a sense of warmth, while the slender body, at 160 centimeters tall, was …. thinner than before.? I think she had gotten thinner than before, but I wasn’t stupid enough to ask a woman about her figure.

“Hello. I’m going to make some tea. Can you wait a little longer?”

“Of Course!.”

“What are you saying? Fufu~”

Tia laughed a little happily at my exaggerated use of the word “Of Course” and chest thumping. Again, in a few moments, a white porcelain tea set was on the table, and the cup was filled with steaming red tea.

“Are? Is this tea from ….?”

“Oh, you remember? Great, great.”

“Mmm.”

It was the same tea I had first been served by Tia. I shot a frustrated glance at Tia, who leaned over and patted my head. Tia sat back down, sipped from her cup,…, and let out a small breath.

“Well, I’ll tell you. I’ll tell you what happened to us after you disappeared. ….”

An old story with a definite bad ending that benefited no one. Tia’s words echoed quietly in the cool air of the room, which was so different from the warmth of her palm.