Chapter 238: Petunia Titi (2)

The training atmosphere had completely collapsed.

In the end, I came back to my room alone, sniffling, and heard Evan and Elena talking through the wall.

“Evan! Did you make Petunia-ssi cry?”

“Uh… It kind of happened that way.”

Evan didn’t seem like the type to gossip behind people’s backs.

“What’s that supposed to mean? Evan. If you keep making girls cry like that, you’re gonna be in big trouble later?”

“It was a mistake. A total mistake. We had a bit of an argument. I’ll talk to her tomorrow.”

“Got it.”

And just like clockwork, daily life went on. Whether Evan grabbed Elena’s butt or something, Elena let out a lewd shriek. Evan wrapped his arm around her shoulder, and they started climbing the stairs together, while I was still alone in my room.

Why was I getting so angry?

It was true that Evan was a strategic and political ally, but there was absolutely no benefit in falling out with him. After all, we were on the same team until we took down Wolf.

Even knowing that, I strangely felt angry whenever I saw Evan’s actions. It wasn’t anger mixed with disgust, but rather some twisted emotion that kept surging up from my chest, screaming at me to unleash a torrent of insults on Evan.

“Haaah…”

And this was the result. It was patched up somehow, but it was still an internal conflict that could explode at any moment. The aftermath of that one weird bomb that went off wasn’t good either.

Evan was still Evan. He was climbing the stairs with a woman again today, while I was in this room, feeling isolated and sighing.

I heard footsteps echoing from upstairs. Elves, in particular, have sensitive hearing and could pick up on these trivial noises of daily life. They kissed each other passionately, making loud noises, and then Elena said,

“I love you. Evan.”

Hearing someone else say the words I often used myself made me feel strange. As if responding to Elena’s affectionate words, Evan covered Elena with a rougher, fiercer intensity. The bed creaked as if about to collapse from the loud noises, and in the passionate atmosphere, clothes began to fall.

Everything was just like usual.

Getting angry at Evan seemed to have only affected me, in the end.

“Evan…! I love you…! Ahh…!”

The words ‘I love you’ were heard again.

I looked in the mirror and tried to smile. And I tried to open my mouth and say ‘I love you.’

“I love you too. Elena.”

And the moment my words hung in the air, I froze with my mouth open, unable to do anything but recall the past.

The sound of a pendant jingling could be heard. Jjangjjang.

“This is my granddaughter. Her name was Merilda, and she died in an accident.” Mobius said this, staring at Alexander with a stiff, frozen face, while Alexander awkwardly avoided Mobius’s gaze. The atmosphere was as somber as a funeral home. This happened because Alexander had said something tactless to Mobius. Even thinking back now, Alexander’s slip of the tongue was terrifying. He had seen Mobius looking at pictures of women every day and asked, ‘Do you have lovers stockpiled in the capital?’

In the icy atmosphere, Fabian said,

“I’m going on a reconnaissance mission.”

Everyone knew he wasn’t really going on reconnaissance, but was running away to escape the heavy atmosphere. Wolf glanced back and forth between the two men before immersing himself in polishing his sword again. At that moment, when no one responded, Alexander started sweating profusely and stammered. This was the first time for him, who always seemed so cheerful.

“Uh, well… Old man. I’m sorry. I’ve just been… horny lately…! No, no! I didn’t mean your granddaughter looked attractive…! I mean! That she wasn’t attractive, but that’s not right either!”

“Enough.”

Mobius said firmly then. The icy atmosphere had now transformed into a blizzard. In the silence, like a giant snow giant dumping snowballs, Wolf also quietly put down his sword and started preparing his bedding. Alexander swallowed hard, and Mobius said,

“Since you know it was a slip of the tongue, let’s drop it. Don’t make such mistakes in the future.”

Mobius said that and turned over. Alexander was flustered, unsure of what to do, when a hand poked its head out from the bushes. A hand holding a rabbit. Fabian, having caught a few rabbits, tidied up the leaves stuck to his hair and said,

“I caught some rabbits. Let’s have a simple meal.”

Wolf, who was laying out his bedding, nodded and said,

“I was just craving rabbit meat, so well done, Fabian.”

Was it just my imagination? Wolf’s voice sounded a little gentler than usual.

“That’s Fabian for you! You’re so skilled, uhuhuhuhu!”

Then Alexander chimed in with a laugh. Wolf continued to lead the conversation in a soft tone, Alexander chimed in, and the atmosphere melted away like a spring breeze. We spent the night chatting about trivial things again.

The next day.

Before we left on our journey, I called Alexander aside. Mobius was still packing his belongings without a word, and Wolf showed no particular reaction. Fabian announced he was going on patrol again and headed outside, while Alexander hastily packed his bag and followed me into the woods.

I said,

“You really should apologize to Mobius properly.”

Alexander had the face of an ordinary man. He looked like someone constantly worrying about his own mistakes, fidgeting even in front of me.

“That’s true… but… how should I apologize? What am I supposed to do? Petunia. Help me. This is a crucial challenge for Wolf and for me. We can’t let the party fall apart like this.”

Alexander said that, seeking my help. He too was desperate for this journey into the Demon Realm, and didn’t want it to collapse because of a mistake like this.

I felt the same way. This journey was extremely important to me as well, and I didn’t want our trip to the Demon Realm to be thwarted like this.

So, I started picking flowers from the surroundings. Alexander watched me kneel on the ground, gathering flowers, and asked,

“What are you doing? Why are you picking flowers all of a sudden? Are you going to give them to that old man?”

“Older people are sensitive. Besides, you’re a priest. If you offer flowers as a token of apology, he probably won’t refuse.”

“Th-that’s right. Uhuhuhuhu! Petunia! You’re a genius!”

Alexander seemed to think my suggestion was plausible. Even though I hadn’t asked for his help, he waddled over to my side and started picking flowers with me.

“Hey, old man!”

Everyone was waiting for us. Mobius looked at us with an annoyed expression. Just from that expression, we could tell Mobius was still holding onto yesterday’s incident. Wolf focused his gaze on the bouquet in Alexander’s hand, while Fabian gave me a look that seemed to demand an explanation. I just offered him a smile.

“What is it, Alexander. Why are you late?”

Alexander presented the bouquet to Mobius. Mobius, Wolf, and Fabian all stared at Alexander with wide eyes. Mobius seemed genuinely surprised, even stepping back and stammering,

“Wh-what…!”

“I’m here to apologize for my slip of the tongue yesterday. Even though I might not look like it, I’m a priest. So… I’d like to offer these flowers to your granddaughter, if we could perform a small, informal ritual here. Is that okay?”

Was it because of Alexander’s sudden action? Or was it because of the thoughtful idea that seemed out of character for him? Mobius started laughing heartily. Wolf and Fabian exchanged glances and blinked, while Alexander, not understanding why Mobius was laughing, also started sweating nervously.

“Hahahahahaha! Hahaha! Right, flowers, you say? Hahahahaha!”

After laughing for a while, he patted Alexander on the shoulder. Then he nodded and gave him a firm hug. Alexander awkwardly hugged Mobius back and said,

“Uh… I was sorry, old man.”

“No, no. It’s my fault for being petty about things like this as I get older. Yes.”

And so, we waited for Alexander’s ritual and departed a little later than planned. As we were leaving, Wolf quietly told me,

“Thank you, Petunia.”

Fabian also told me,

“Well done.”

“I love you.”

Yes, that was the atmosphere back then. Even when precarious situations unfolded, we could somehow move forward by trusting and relying on each other. I saw myself, unable to smile. My face, which looked awkward no matter how I tried to smile, acted as if being alone was inherently awkward.

“I love you.”

Even without attaching the name Wolf to it, the word ‘love’ held power. Only after removing the name Wolf, which had been clouding my vision. I could understand why I had been angry. I simply couldn’t accept it. That my friends, who could reconcile with a single word and always found their way back even when things got rocky, had died like that. And that during all that time, I had done nothing. That in the end, I had to participate in plans to kill someone with my own hands, and then kill someone else.

“Wolf, you know. I think I missed other people just as much as I missed you.”

That calling Wolf’s name and saying ‘I love you’ all this time had merely been an excuse. That I had been constantly craving your love as a way to justify my clumsy paranoia, wondering if everyone had fallen apart because I left the party.

“I didn’t want to kill…”

I buried my face in the desk and cried.

“I just wanted us all to live well together…”

And above me, there were two people whispering their love.