Chapter 88 Bittersweet

As the man returned to his feet, neither he nor Reno could do anything but stand still, knowing well that the unknown visitor to the tower knew they were there.

Slowly, the figure turned to face them, though he was surprised to find the one dressed in the white-and-black uniform was a young man, likely in his early twenties, at most.

What stood out were his eyes–the irises the man possessed weren’t just one shade, but many–it was as if staring into a rainbow kaleidoscope.

“Oh? A pair of children have wandered in?” The man said.

“–” Reno gulped.

As Reno didn’t respond, he did, “–We’re sorry, we accidentally–”

“Don’t worry,” the man smiled assuredly.

“Huh?”

“I’m not looking to punish children for being curious–that’s your nature after all,” the youthful, snow-haired man said, “though, I’ll have to ask you to leave. It wouldn’t look good for me if you two were caught while I was here.”

He slowly nodded, “…Alright, we’ll go.”

“Safe travels,” the man raised his white glove to wave them off, “If you want to visit this place again, perhaps you should earn the proper qualifications so you can experience its beauty fully.”

“–“

He took that to heart; it was something naturally aligned with his current goals anyway, so he nodded, “Yeah. I will.”

“Good to hear. This world can always use more heroes,” the man smiled.

Though he wanted to ask the man’s name, he decided against it as he gestured for Reno to leave with him, just making sure to get out of there before actual trouble found its way to them.

“That was close…!” Reno breathed out.

“Yeah, lucky for us that the guy there was nice,” he sighed.

They both traveled over the fence once again, taking a breather in the alleyway as they sat against the wall.

In his chest, his heart thumped; it was a feeling he’d focused on a lot at moments like this–the epitome of feeling “alive.”

This can’t be replicated. I’m living a real life right now–one realer than my previous one ever was, he thought.

“I bet that isn’t being forgotten,” Reno said.

“Nope,” he replied, “but I’d also have a problem if I lost track of all the times I broke the law.

His response caused the girl to laugh as she playfully elbowed him in the side, but it didn’t feel too playful to him.

“You’re a real goody two shoes, ya know that?” Reno laughed.

“…That’s pretty normal, I’d like to think so, anyway,” he wryly chuckled, rubbing his side.

Though he couldn’t make any excuses–he did enjoy a bit of mischief alongside the girl; there was a certain adrenaline rush it brought when snooping around a place you’re not supposed to be. But, he wasn’t the type to chase that rush–he liked to think he had a good head on his shoulders for not getting into trouble.

…If only Vandread knew how I was spending my free time here. I think he’d put me on an actual leash. Scary, he thought.

“Thanks, Reno.”

The sudden, heartfelt gratitude he bestowed to the girl surely flustered her, as she flicked her gaze to him quickly as her cheeks turned red, then quickly looked away, standing up.

“…Whatcha mean? This was our deal,” Reno mumbled.

He smiled warmly, “Yeah, but you gave me a memory I won’t forget–better than any souvenir.”

“Don’t get all mushy with me now,” Reno sighed, smiling in return.

“Sorry,” he laughed.

With noon approaching, they both headed back into the heart of the city, which Reno finished showing him around the local restaurants by grabbing a bite to eat together.

This time, they grabbed sandwiches from a streetside shop, sitting under a large tree that sat in the center of one of the sectors.

“So, whatcha think?” Reno asked, taking another bite from her sandwich.

“Hm?”

“About Elsia, I mean!” She smiled.

He nodded, “Oh…well–it’s pretty amazing. I didn’t expect to see a city like this. There are so many kinds of people–there weren’t any demi-humans where I was from.”

“That so? I’ve always lived with ’em so it’s normal to me,” she explained.

“I can see that,” he smiled.

After finishing her lunch, Reno hopped to her feet with a small tint to her cheeks. Though she stood with that natural confidence to her–keeping her hands on her side and her scarf fluttering in the calm breeze, the girl averted her gaze shyly.

“What’s up?” He asked.

Reno didn’t respond for a moment before reaching into her pocket, retrieving something that was wrapped in a beige cloth. She seemed hesitant to present it to him, as if a light breeze in the other direction would deter her completely, but she held it out to him.

“What’s this?”

“…Well, you’re going away after today, aintcha? Ya said something about traveling across this whole, wide kingdom and even into another, so…it’ll probably be a long time until we see each other again…” Reno explained quietly.

He could tell what the girl was trying to tell him, though it brought a soft smile across his lips as he accepted what it was that she was gifting him.

“Thanks,” he nodded before opening the cloth.

As he unveiled the wrapping around the object, he found a ring within it; the ring wasn’t made of metal or possessed any lavish jewels, but was instead made out of fabric. It wasn’t something he’d seen before, so he assumed it might’ve been a normal thing in this world, but he realized the likely case was that this was simply something Reno did her best to make.

“It isn’t much, but I stitched it up, ya know? Gramps Urming gave me some leftover supplies he had, so…” Reno explained.

“I’ll wear it–always!” He assured her with a smile.

“Huh?” Reno blushed, “Ya don’t hafta do all that–”

“I will,” he assured her further.

He slid the brown-and-gold fabric ring over his index finger on his glove-free hand; it was surprisingly comfortable.

“…Well, if ya insist,” she mumbled, looking away.

“Thanks,” he told her, “I’ll definitely return though–that’s a promise.”

“Really? I mean…not that I’m gonna be countin’ the days, or anythin…” She muttered.

He smiled, “Yeah. Once I become a certified adventurer, I’m going to make sure to show off my insignia to you–so be ready.”

“Heh,” Reno laughed, “I’ll be waitin’.”

It was a seldomly wanted goodbye, but he knew it was coming due to the nature of his journey. The two parted ways with a handshake, though he wanted to share a hug with her, he was pretty sure he’d be elbowed hard for that–at the very least.

Though the reason Reno gave for having to go early was “Helping Gramps Urming out with his bakery” he could tell by the unnatural stuttering to Reno’s voice and the way she fidgeted that the girl simply felt she needed to cut their time short before she got any ideas.

Yeah, same here. If I spent more time with you…It’d get harder to go separate ways. It’s only temporary though; we’re both young–there’s so much time left in this life, he thought.