Chapter 31

Chapter 31

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After that, it was neither Van's nor Cadel's point of view, but the observer's point of view. Cadel was able to move freely and take pictures of them as if he were a camera that reflected them.

“We saved each other's lives!”

They were on their way down the mountain toward a private house visible below the mountain. Both of them were in terrible condition, to the point of being miserable, but Cadel was at least vocal even while being supported by Van.

“I don’t remember it.”

“But I do? Twice.”

“......Noisy.”

Perhaps the evasive appearance of Van was funny, Cadel moved his arm on his shoulder and pinched Van's cheek. He didn't care about Van's nervous reaction.

“You promised to speak beautifully when you survive! Be nice to me, Van.”

“.......”

“Oh, you're not going to talk at all?”

“Don't waste your energy.”

Van’s face was a mess from scars, but he could quickly tell that he was blushing. The louder Cadel's laughter grew, the more his expression became grim. Cadel, who had been laughing for a long time without noticing, suddenly said while holding his throbbing stomach.

“Do you want to travel with me?”

“......Travel?”

“Let's travel! Okay?”

A suggestion that was announced without warning. Cadel’s eyes sparkled like a child, looking at Van's bewildered face.

“If you travel with me, something good will happen.”

“It will be tiring.”

“No! I'm a genius magician who will one day put the world under my sword! It's no joke, it's definitely going to be like that. Therefore...... You're a precious companion who will share that glorious first step.”

Certainly, that was not a joke. Cadel Lytos of the distant future would truly become a famous hero respected by the world.

‘Still, I think it's a bit excessive to be a companion or something.’

That was why Van's favorability was 70 from the beginning.

Cadel, who clicked his tongue while looking at the blabber-mouthed protagonist, paid close attention to Van's reaction. Van looked at Cadel with a mysterious expression that was hard to understand.

A short silence passed between him and Cadel, who stood tall and even stopped walking. Van, who had opened his slightly parted lips, spoke in a calm tone.

“You said you would put the world under your sword, so where is it? I'd rather call it a wand.”

“A wand is not cool! And you don't talk beautifully? If we travel together, I'm the leader, so use honorifics regularly.”

“You said I was a companion at one point.”

“Even among companions, there is a hierarchy.”

The two of them bicker while arguing with each other. Cadel realized that his vision was not moving with them. He was nailing to his seat, capturing the image of the two of them moving away. It was not voluntary.

Following the shrinking background, the faint sound of conversation lingered in his ears.

“You're coming with me, aren't you? Yeah?”

When Cadel mumbled without saying anything, Van opened the door wide. He meant to come in. At that, Cadel hesitated and entered the room.

Van glanced at Cadel as he wiped the water from his hair with a towel that had been draped over the bathtub. Even to him, today's Cadel seemed odd. Even so, he didn't open his mouth first, and as he waited patiently, he heard a small, quiet voice as always.

“Do you remember that day?”

“That day?”

“The first time we met.......”

The day he first met Cadel? There was no way he couldn't remember. That day was the starting point that changed his whole life, and it was a precious moment that would not cool down until the moment he died.

A benign smile appeared on Van's face as he recalled his old memories.

“Why mention that day all of a sudden?”

“It’s just...... I had a dream about it today. It's been a while since I've seen you in the past, so it's both strange and awkward.”

“Ah, forget the me back then, Commander. To be honest, I was a jerk.”

When Van said it jokingly, Cadel also burst into a light laugh. His thin eyes curved in a neat curve.

“Yeah, you were such a jerk. I can't even compare with the you right now. You've become a total human being.”

“Aren't I okay because I’m behaving beautifully now?”

“Well, that's true. Sometimes, when I see you get angry, I think you still have that image.”

“Because I decided to be nice only to Commander.”

How many trials and errors did he go through to kill his naturally rough personality and become a gentle subordinate of Cadel? When he recalled those days, he smiled bitterly.

After roughly drying his hair, Van put the towel back over the bathtub, and the floor creaked. Into the field of vision that followed the sound, Cadel's face suddenly came closer.

Van saw his white cheeks. He could see his lively pink lips with the tip slightly raised, and the bridge of his nose that stretched out in a soft curve. The half-moon-shaped eyes that were especially pretty when smiling, and the long eyelashes that cast dense and neat shadows on top of them.

It was a face that he couldn't figure out where the hell such power came from. A person who didn't mind doing dirty work even though he looked like he'd never had a drop of water on his hands, let alone blood.

The moment he faced his own image captured by Cadel’s dark auburn eyes, in an instant, Van felt a dull pain as his heart plummeted to the floor. His queasy feelings surged irregularly to the point where his stomach churned and washed away over and over again. Cadel's strangely different atmosphere also confused him.

However, Cadel, who had no way of knowing Van's condition, quietly held out his fist.

“......?”

A white fist nestled in front of his chest. Van, who had been staring down at the tight fist, hesitantly grabbed his hand, and Cadel snorted at him incredulously.

“Why are you holding it?”

“Th, then.......”

“You have to do this!”

He folded Van’s fingers one by one and made them into a fist, then put his fist on top of it again. Then, with a very satisfied expression, he spoke very boldly.

“I'll make sure you never regret it.”

“Pardon......?”

“Being with me on my journey, joining my mercenary squad, fighting for me. I promise to make sure you won't regret it until the day you die.”

The smile on his face as he said that was surprisingly similar to Cadel's when they first met, so Van swallowed dry saliva without realizing it.

To him, Cadel was an irresistible existence, both before and now. If he said he wouldn't let him regret it, whether it was true or not, Van would believe it unconditionally.

It was such an unfair feeling, Van thought as he met Cadel's straight gaze.