MTM 25

“Huh…?”

When Zed couldn’t suppress the heat boiling inside him, Harto floundered in confusion, his mouth opening and closing soundlessly.

“Was it a human you lived with?”

“Huh? N-no… it’s not like that….”

Harto only knew Ares Carseon in print. He had never met him, of course. Even the novel’s cover hadn’t had an illustration. All he knew of the protagonist’s appearance was that he was handsome, tall, and had golden hair and eyes.

‘Wait… did I ever say I lived with someone else?’

Harto wondered if he had said something that could make Zed misunderstand, so he tried to recall their days together. But he hadn’t said anything like that.

“You can tell me honestly.”

“Honestly…?”

“You lived with a human.”

Zed spoke with certainty.

“You speak human language, you have no fear of them, and you are comfortable with me. You even sleep comfortably in a bed, ha!”

Zed laughed, it almost sounded self-deprecating.

‘Huh? But why is he bringing up the bed…?’

Harto blinked in confusion at the strange remark.

“For a monster to want to live among humans, that’s impossible unless it’s already been close to them. Even spirits keep their distance from humans. You’re a monster, so you must know that.”

The intensity in Zed’s eyes pierced him, leaving Harto startled.

He was honestly surprised. He hadn’t realized Zed had thought so carefully about him. If what Zed said was true, and he had no experience living with humans, his behavior would definitely seem suspicious.

Then should he just admit it? He had lived among humans, since he was one, but it didn’t feel exactly right. It was probably because he had spent so much of his past life in a hospital. But he had lived surrounded by humans. That wasn’t a lie.

“…Yes. You’re right, Zed.”

In the end, Harto gave an honest answer mixed with lies.

“When I was little, I was really sick. Back then… humans helped me a lot….”

Harto smiled as he thought of the doctors and nurses who had been kind to him, the volunteers, and the religious workers he had met before.

“……”

He thought Zed would laugh and pat his head kindly, now that the misunderstanding was cleared up. But Zed’s face looked strange. He seemed like he was smiling, and yet about to cry, and there was something sad in it too. It was an expression Harto had never seen before.

“Were you very sick?”

“Huh?”

“What kind of sickness was it? Where did it hurt?”

Zed’s voice softened, and his eyes glimmered with their usual calm light again. His hand still gripped Harto’s waist, firm but not painful.

“Uh… well….”

Harto hesitated, wondering how to explain leukemia.

“Did you starve back then too?”

Zed asked with concern, and Harto quickly shook his head.

“N-no…. It’s just, I wasn’t allowed to eat anything I wanted back then. But now, now I’m fine! I can eat anything now! I even eat fish eyes! I eat what you won’t eat!”

Harto smiled brightly, trying to show how well he ate.

“…Come with me.”

Zed took Harto’s hand and started walking. His long strides made Harto hurry to keep up. As they came out of the narrow alley, the Norbel Market opened before them like a hidden world revealed.

The place was overflowing with people, and a flood of noises poured into their ears like the sound of a TV turned on at full volume. The snipping of leather, the clanging of hammers, the clinking of coins, the shouting of merchants bargaining over prices mixed together.

Without even giving Harto time to look around the lively marketplace, Zed pushed through the dense crowd.

“Ah!”

Maybe because they moved too quickly, someone stepped on Harto’s foot.

“Come here.”

Zed pulled him closer and wrapped an arm around him. As his feet left the ground, Harto’s face turned red.

“Z-Zed. I can walk on my own….”

“This is easier.”

“Is it…?”

Maybe he meant it felt easier because he was used to carrying him when he was in monster form or holding him on his back. Harto wished he could transform so Zed could hold him comfortably, but he couldn’t here, and he felt sorry for that.

“Alright. Tell me what you want to eat. I’ll buy you anything.”

Before Harto realized it, Zed had moved them out of the crowd and set him down. It seemed he wanted to treat him after hearing about his past. Harto was happy, but part of him wondered if it was rude to keep relying on Zed like this.

“No, I don’t want anything. We already ate a ton of fish yesterday.”

“What? You must’ve digested that by now. Aren’t you hungry?”

“N-no?”

Harto turned his head away as he denied it. He was obviously hungry, but saying so felt embarrassing.

“Hm… really? Then stick out your belly.”

“B-belly? Why the belly…?”

“To know if you’re hungry or not. If I put my ear there, I can tell right away.”

“……!”

Harto was startled. He never thought Zed would actually check something like that.

His stomach was sure to rumble, so he had no choice but to confess.

“Ugh… yes. I’m hungry….”

When Harto said that with drooping eyes, Zed grinned like he had just won a game.

“Honestly, I don’t even need to put my ear on your stomach. When I carried you on my back last time, I could hear it rumbling so much I thought I was carrying a cat.”

Purr, purr. Zed imitated a cat’s sound and tapped his back. He looked so amused that Harto could only stare at him.

“Zed, is it fun to tease me like that…?”

“Yes. You’re fun to tease.”

“Tch…”

“From now on, if you’re hungry, say you’re hungry. If you’re hurt, say you’re hurt. You can be honest when you’re with me.”

“Okay….”

Harto thought there was nothing more Zed could do to move him, but hearing that made his chest warm again.

But then….

“Zed, do you have money?”

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

<The Old Gentleman’s Curious Remedies>

A red brick house with a large green wooden sign. Underneath it, pinecones and branches hung from a tent awning. Around them, all sorts of strange trinkets dangled in clusters. Zed stood with a solemn face in front of that peculiar shop.

Harto, on the other hand, looked worried.

“Zed, you know you shouldn’t buy anything if they try to force it on you, right? I know you’d be fine without me saying it, but… just in case….”

“Oh, really?”

Zed raised one eyebrow and didn’t reply further. Instead, he pointed to the small window beside the shop.

“Harto, stand where I can see you through that window. I’m worried someone might try to take you. Well, I know you’ll be fine without me saying it, but just in case.”

“What…? Zed, no one would ever kidnap me. Don’t worry. I’ll stay right here without moving until you come out.”

Harto spoke with complete certainty, as if such a thing could never happen, and went to stand where he would be visible through the window.

“See you soon, Zed.”

Harto smiled brightly and waved, and Zed nodded before pushing the door open.

A soft chime rang as a strange herbal scent brushed his nose. The inside was smaller than the outside looked, and under the dim light, bundles of herbs and long glass bottles filled with various potions were stacked from floor to ceiling.

At the center, crystal orbs of different sizes were placed on a spiral wooden table. Behind the counter sat a chair covered in white fox fur, and behind that, colorful jewel boxes lay covered with dust.

“Welcome….”

The clerk, who had been on a ladder dusting the shelves, turned his head and greeted him. The old, thin man wearing glasses looked completely drained of strength or life.

Tap, tap.

The clerk slowly walked past Zed to the counter and wiped his foggy glasses with a handkerchief before addressing him.

“Are you looking for something…?”

“I’m not here to buy. I came to sell something.”

“Oh… to sell. Then may I see the item first…?”

With little interest in his face, the clerk pointed toward a table beside the counter. Zed took off the ruby necklace around his neck without hesitation.

“If it’s a ruby necklace, there’s another…”

“It’s not the necklace. It’s this.”

Click.

He opened the ruby pendant and revealed a white pill inside. The clerk stared at it, but then his eyes slowly filled with light.

“Ah! Th-this is…! An e-elixir?! Th-this rare..”

“Shh. You don’t have to shout.”

Zed raised his hand to quiet him, then poured the elixir from the ruby into his palm and held it out.

“Pay me well for it. Just for today, I plan to feed that kid outside until he’s about to explode.”

When the clerk turned his head in the direction Zed pointed, he saw Harto standing primly outside the small window.