Chapter 20

Chapter 20

The First and Last Chance

Rain was pouring down outside.

It fell as though the sky itself had cracked open, leaving large puddles across the ground everywhere.

Anyone standing outside for even a moment in this would end up looking like a drowned rat.

Ah, I should've brought an umbrella.

Or at least a raincoat.

I hesitated beneath the eaves for a moment, then stepped into the rain.

Going back inside to get a cloak or umbrella was annoying, and I was planning to shower before bed anyway.

Besides, unlike Earth's rain, the rain in this world didn't contain harmful pollutants, so getting soaked wasn't bad for you.

It just felt unpleasant.

I'd barely taken a few steps before my soaked clothes clung to my body and my wet hair stuck irritatingly to my neck and face.

“...Where the hell is that bastard? Should've asked the Captain or one of the knights before coming out.”

I twisted my hair up so it wouldn't get in the way and scanned the training ground, but there was no sign of Cassian.

Naturally, curses started slipping out.

I'd told him to kneel somewhere out of sight where he wouldn't interfere with the Holy Knights' training.

Apparently he'd actually gone somewhere so remote that no one could find him.

Even though I was the one who ordered it, that somehow pissed me off.

...Maybe he went inside once it started raining?

Right.

Even he couldn't be stupid enough to keep kneeling in a downpour like this.

If he really was, there had to be something wrong with his intelligence.

“Damn it. I got soaked for nothing.”

I grumbled and started to turn around, then stopped when a thought crossed my mind.

“Huu...”

I exhaled deeply, and pale breath scattered through the rain.

It was still February.

Even if winter was nearly over, the rain made the temperature feel as cold as midwinter.

If I didn't have a sturdy body and divine power overflowing within me, weather like this would've been enough to give me a vicious cold.

Besides...

Earlier I'd joked that unless he had something wrong with his brain, he'd have gone inside.

But it was entirely possible there really was something wrong with his brain.

After waking up from having his face beaten until it caved in, the bastard had been acting strange and saying weird things with the dumbest expression imaginable.

“...This is pissing me off.”

He'd been kneeling for days, so he probably hadn't eaten properly either.

If he spent the whole night in the rain on top of that, even a Hero candidate was bound to get seriously sick.

Worst case, he might die.

Sure, a Hero probably wouldn't drop dead from an ordinary cold, but humans were strange things.

They looked surprisingly tenacious right up until they suddenly died from something stupid.

...And if anything happened to him, I'd probably end up responsible.

The Order was already busy enough with everything else.

I had absolutely no interest in adding that sort of headache.

I'll check the surroundings one last time, then go inside.

With that thought, I headed toward the one place I hadn't searched yet.

The rear gate of the training ground.

It was normally locked, and there was no real reason to use it.

I'd often wondered why they'd even built the thing.

It was a secluded corner nobody visited except during cleaning.

I'd told him to find somewhere out of sight, so there was a good chance he'd gone there.

As I crossed the muddy ground and approached the rear gate, a faint silhouette gradually came into view through the rain.

Sure enough, it was Cassian.

Even in the torrential downpour, the bastard remained kneeling without moving an inch.

I'd clearly made enough noise approaching for him to notice, but he didn't react at all.

Either he hadn't sensed me, or he was completely ignoring me.

...He isn't dead, is he?

“Hey.”

I lightly nudged Cassian with my foot and spoke in a low voice.

He slowly raised his head.

His lips, visible beneath wet hair plastered all over his face, were blue with cold.

After kneeling here for several days without eating properly, his once-glossy face had become visibly gaunt.

...At this point, shouldn't you have crawled inside on your own?

If I'd told you to die, would you seriously have stayed here until you did?

“Are you actually an idiot?”

My words came out sharper than intended.

“...Yes.”

Wow.

Unbelievable.

This bastard's talent for leaving people speechless really was unmatched.

The moment he agreed without hesitation, the insults that had risen all the way to my throat got stuck there.

...Now I look like the bad guy.

You're supposed to be the bad bastard.

You're the bastard who led our Order...

and me...

to ruin.

So why the hell are you sitting here doing something this stupid?

“You planning to fucking die out here in the rain?”

I deliberately raised my voice to hide my complicated feelings.

“...If you order me to, I will.”

“Are you serious? You said it yourself last time. A Hero candidate has to protect civilians. If you drop dead here for nothing, what happens to those people you said you'd protect?”

“...I'm happy you remembered what I said.”

Cassian's pale lips trembled slightly into a smile.

His bizarrely obedient attitude made my chest feel tight.

“God fucking damn it. Was that even an answer to my question?”

“I don't know what answer you want.”

...Fine.

You win.

Faced with Cassian's absurdly stubborn, idiotic earnestness, I finally had no choice but to admit defeat.

“Get up.”

“...What?”

“I said get up. Can't you hear me? Got water in your ears? Want me to drain it for you?”

“Then... are you accepting me?”

Like hell.

Don't try to take a mile here.

There will never be a day when I acknowledge or accept you.

Until the moment your breathing stops, I'll doubt you, doubt you again, and monitor you completely.

“Don't misunderstand. I have no intention of forgiving you or acknowledging you. The Harmonia Order is here, and if they see you acting like this, who knows what they'll say about our Order. That's the only reason I'm telling you to get up. Got it?”

“...I see.”

“So if you have even the slightest awareness that you're the Eris Order's Hero candidate, stop causing trouble and get up already.”

“Understood. I cannot cause trouble for the Order.”

Seeing the bastard look visibly dejected made me dumbfounded.

Still, I was partly responsible for him ending up like this.

I should at least give him a chance.

“This is your first and last chance.”

“A chance...?”

“From now on, it's going to be hard enough to kill you. I'm going to ride your ass constantly and work you to the ends of hell. You're a Hero, so you'll be dragged along on expeditions into the Demon Realm too. I don't know if you've heard, but when I'm bored I sometimes lead expeditions near the deepest regions. If you're too weak and die somewhere along the way, no one's going to be surprised. You still want to do it?”

Honestly, I hoped he'd say he'd rather leave.

Or admit he was too scared.

“Understood. Whether I live beside the Saintess or die at her feet, I will do as you command.”

But that wasn't his answer.

“...Haa. I think you're misunderstanding something. Your job isn't to protect me. Your job is to kill as many stupid demonic beasts beyond the borders as possible and cut off the heads of those fucking demons.”

At his current level, where he couldn't even perform a proper downward slash, the idea of Cassian protecting me was ridiculous.

It was far more believable to say I'd protect him.

Not that I had any intention of doing that.

“Haaa... How did someone like this end up rolling in as the Hero candidate?”

My deep sigh vanished into the freezing rain.

I was learning firsthand that someone becoming too obedient could be its own source of stress.

“You stink. Go wash yourself properly and sleep. If the Hero candidate catches a cold and ends up bedridden, it'll damage the Order's dignity.”

“...Do I smell?”

“You haven't washed for days and you've been getting rained on. Of course you smell! Is your nose broken too? Go wash right now!”

Even through the rain, his stench was strong enough to piss me off.

I finally snapped and shouted.

Cassian scratched the back of his head awkwardly and slowly stood.

After kneeling so long, his legs nearly gave out and he almost collapsed, but apparently he could still walk somehow.

I had no intention of waiting for him.

I turned around and headed toward my room.

I wanted to take a hot bath and go straight to sleep.

Tomorrow at the earliest, or within three days at the latest, we'd be leaving for Septimoa.

After that we'd have to sleep in ordinary inns or camp outside.

I needed to enjoy my warm, soft bed while I still could.

“Hm?”

Maybe it was because of the difference in our stride lengths.

Cassian, who had been behind me, was suddenly walking beside me.

“Hey.”

“Yes?”

“Don't follow me.”

The fact irritated me enough that I stopped and glared sharply at him.

“...But this is the only path.”

He looked troubled.

“Then don't walk beside me. Stay at least three steps behind. You stink.”

That wasn't nitpicking.

I meant it.

He literally smelled like a wet dog.

No, comparing him to a dog was unfair to dogs, so let's revise that metaphor.

He smelled like a mop left damp until it started rotting.

“...Yes.”

I frowned hard and pinched my nose while watching his dejected expression, then started walking again.

A moment later, splashing footsteps began following from a steady distance behind me.

I'll go back, wash, and sleep.

...Wait.

Where does Cassian even stay?

“Hey, where do you sleep?”

After leaving the training ground, I stopped briefly and turned toward him.

“Hmm... I was told to stay in the Holy Knights' dormitory for the time being.”

“...Really? But at this hour there won't be any water.”

In a medieval environment, clean water was a fairly precious resource.

Especially during winter, when rain was scarce.

The only places allowed unrestricted access to water at any hour were the higher-ranking residences and the kitchens.

Could I really let him enter the knights' dormitory like this?

That place already smelled incredible with all those men packed together.

If this bastard walked in like that, the dormitory might turn into something resembling a biological weapons laboratory.

“Tell Captain Vargas you need to wash and ask him to turn the water back on. Get a change of clothes too, then use the small shower room near the training ground before going inside. If you enter looking like that, the Holy Knights might throw you out. Or mistake you for a demonic beast and exterminate you.”

“...Understood. Thank you for your consideration.”

“Consideration my ass. You stink, so get lost.”

With that, I quickly returned to my room.

I threw off my soaked clothes and filled the bathtub with hot water.

The die had been cast.

Whether that bastard really became a reformed Hero, or was still hiding a bomb inside that would eventually destroy me, only time would tell.

Still, I felt slightly reassured.

With his terrible skill and pathetic stamina, he couldn't do anything to me right now.

And we'd spent quite a while talking alone without him trying to harm me.

That suggested he didn't have some secret method capable of dealing me a fatal blow immediately.

For now, I'll just keep watching him.

With that thought, I sank deeply into the bath.

The cold skin chilled by rain melted pleasantly beneath the warmth.

I idly tapped the little rubber duck floating in the water for a while, enjoying the bath, then crawled into bed and closed my eyes.