MTM 15

“Really?”

Zed smiled brightly at Harto. He had never smiled like that before, and his smile was so clear and vivid that it made Harto’s heart flutter.

“No taking it back, alright?”

“Yes, I won’t… I won’t take it back….”

Harto, hiccuping as he spoke, buried himself into Zed’s chest. Zed, knowing how much Harto liked warmth, patted his back and held him tightly.

“Hey, Zed… I’m okay now….”

When his crying had completely stopped, Harto raised his head again. He seemed embarrassed all of a sudden, and his cheeks were pink.

“Yes. You do look fine now.”

“Y-yes…. Then I’ll go pack my things quickly!”

Harto turned his head in a hurry and tried to slip away from Zed’s arms, feeling awkward. But Zed caught him before he could move.

“You don’t need to.”

“Huh?”

“I already packed your things.”

“Uh…?”

Harto blinked because he didn’t quite understand what that meant.

“Look.”

Zed kindly opened the leather bag and showed him the elm bark, the cup Harto always used, the salted venison, and even Harto’s cloak.

“I didn’t pack the kettle, the plates, or the other utensils. When we reach the city, I’ll buy new ones. Silver ones.”

“Ah….”

Harto looked between the things in the bag and Zed, then opened his mouth.

“You… knew I’d go with you…?”

“It was half and half.”

Zed put the items back into the bag, adjusted the strap, and spoke with a shameless face.

“If you didn’t come, I planned to wait until night and slip you into the bag while you were asleep.”

‘In the bag?’

Harto opened his eyes wide and looked at the leather bag.

Was he planning to kidnap him in the middle of the night? Of course, gentle Zed would never actually do that, but just hearing him say it made Harto happy.

“Alright, then there’s no need to go back for anything. Let’s go.”

When Zed smiled and started walking, Harto grabbed his collar.

“But… I want to say goodbye to the house….”

It had been a short time or maybe a long one, but it was still the place that gave him shelter. He didn’t want to leave without saying farewell.

“Hm….”

When Zed saw Harto’s serious face calling the wanderers’ cabin a “house,” he could only nod in the end.

“Alright.”

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

“…Thank you for everything. I’ll be going now!”

Harto grabbed the door handle and shouted in a bright voice. To others it might have been only an old, shabby cabin, but to Harto, it was a warm home. It leaked when it rained, and he suffered from bug bites, but it was the only space where he could rest.

In his original world, there had been no such place. He had a house and a room, but he hadn’t slept there much. If he had to name one, he could have called the hospital room “my room.” But no matter how long he stayed in that same room, it had never felt like home.

Creak, thud.

When Harto closed the heavy wooden door and turned around, Zed was standing there. He had always been much bigger than Harto, but today he looked stronger than ever.

‘As long as he doesn’t find out I’m Hartiros. If he starts to suspect it… I’ll just run away….’

He thought that simply, but he didn’t want to ruin something precious either. Harto reminded himself again and again that he must never let his identity be discovered.

Maybe the time he had with Zed wouldn’t last long. Maybe he would regret his choice. Maybe he would be hurt, or maybe he would hurt Zed.

Even so….

“Let’s go.”

“Yes!”

Zed started walking first, and Harto quickly followed behind him. A warm breeze blew pleasantly across his cheeks, blowing away every trace of worry and fear.

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

“Caw– caw–”

A large crow rose high into the dark blue sky. The crow with bright red eyes had only one destination. The pure white imperial palace of the Regnovar Empire. It flew up to the top of the tower, where the small windows were covered completely by black vines that blocked every trace of light.

Flap.

The crow, flying without pause, landed on one of the vine stalks and pushed through a gap as wide as its own body. The dry vines crumbled down.

Tap.

The crow landed on the cold marble floor that gleamed as if holding the moonlight. Its figure wavered for a moment like a shadow.

Ssshhh….

The shadow soon changed into a human shape. A person wearing a black robe that covered his head and a silver mask with a long beak immediately dropped to his knees.

“…I failed.”

He spoke in a fearful voice.

“Failed?”

Then a cold voice rang out. Beyond the red curtain that crossed the pillar of the tower stood a figure whose face could not be seen. Even in the darkness, his eyes glowed gold, and in one hand he held a glass of red wine.

“Explain.”

The crow man exhaled a short breath and spoke.

“Yes. As ordered, I tracked the traces of the mercenary group and located the target, but during the battle, more than half of the crow corps was destroyed, and the target escaped into the northwestern forest, so…”

Crash!

At that instant, the man’s wine glass shattered. It seemed he had thrown it toward the crow man. Sharp fragments flew and left a small cut on his cheek.

He had no time to react. The man approached with heavy steps and roughly gripped the back of his neck. With one hand, he lifted the crow man so that his feet no longer touched the ground.

“Ugh!”

As the crow man groaned in pain, the silver mask fell to the floor. The face behind it was horrific. Half of it was disfigured by burns, and one eye was completely white. His whole body trembled in fear.

“Bernak.”

The man called his name.

“Y-yes…”

“When you say failure, you mean the prince is still alive?”

“B-but… I, I placed a curse… guh!”

As the grip on his neck tightened, Bernak’s eyes rolled back. The invisible power crushed his throat as if it were about to crush his bones.

It was magic. As a member of royal family, he should have possessed holy power, not magic, but he was using powerful magic.

“Haa.”

The man, who had been watching Bernak’s appearance change so drastically that he felt like he was out of breath, suddenly sighed and relaxed his grip.

“Cough…!”

Bernak fell to the floor, he started coughing violently.

“For someone that large, he’s quite good at hiding like a rat…”

The man muttered, remembering someone. A blood-red smile was etched on his beautiful face.

Shhh.

Soon, with the sound of liquid being poured, new cups were filled with wine. The wine was as red as blood.

“The curse will be of no use.”

The man spoke with a confident voice, quenching his thirst with wine. His red lips, soak ed in the wine, turned blood red.

“I placed a watcher.”

The man snorted as Bernak, who had come to his senses late, spoke hoarsely.

“One? Stupid Bernac… That kid will know right away. He’s always noticed the poison I prepared for him since he was little.”

He remembered the relentless child who had survived hundreds of assassination attempts and those golden eyes that had never once turned away from him. To the man, that existence was a nightmare. As long as he still lived, he wouldn’t be able to escape.

Then he stopped. Something came to his mind.

“…Yes, I can use that instead.”

As if struck by a good idea, the man turned his head toward Bernak. The flash of gold in his eyes made Bernak flinch and lower his head to the floor.

“If chasing him is hard… then I’ll make him come on his own.”

Bang! The man crushed the glass shards beneath his boot and laughed. “Ahahaha!” Bernak, faced with that madness, lay face down on the floor and trembled.