42. Rest

In the tavern, all members of the new resistance were drinking ale, healing the fatigue of battle.

In a corner of the counter, a man with disheveled clothes approached a woman.

“Hey there, miss, are you free right now?”

The one speaking was Rainer.

He was strong against alcohol, perhaps due to his constitution, but his face was slightly flushed from the considerable amount he had consumed.

In contrast, Gildia was sipping her drink moderately in the corner.

“What’s up? If you’re trying to pick me up, do it somewhere else; you’re not my type.”

She maintained a stern demeanor to keep him at bay, but Rainer, undeterred, placed the bottle he was holding on the seat next to her and began to speak.

“So, what are you planning to do?”

Amidst the clamor of the tavern, there was a brief pause.

“What to do? If I don’t understand why the Great Sage has no memory, then I must meet the last ones present: Elg and the Saint.”

“But if you meet those two and still don’t understand anything, won’t that leave you at a dead end?”

After a moment of thought, Gildia began to speak.

—

“I was once saved by the Great Sage, without any ulterior motives or thoughts of utility—purely out of kindness.”

Gildia continues, gazing into the distance.

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“It was my first experience of such warmth; I had never felt anything like it in my distant memories, but I have never forgotten that kindness. And that person defeated the Demon King, bringing peace to the world, earning the honorable title of Great Sage, and making tremendous contributions to the Magic Empire.”

“Oh, really… and then?”

“And then I made a grave mistake, and it was the Great Sage who saved me from it. That is why I will follow the future that the Great Sage desires.”

Rainer looks at Gildia’s face.

“Is that so? I might understand your thoughts now.”

Gildia chuckles softly.

“Really? You, the hedonist, the self-centered one?”

“That’s a harsh way to put it, really… but it’s true.

I thought I could manage just fine on my own, but when it came to actual strength, I couldn’t hold my own. I tried to provoke my opponent to make them careless, but I went too far and nearly got killed.”

Gildia speaks with a face that looks like he’s bitten into a bitter bug.

“Are you talking about the Great Sage, who was brainwashed?”

“Well, they weren’t in their right mind, and when I thought I was going to die, I realized I didn’t want to.”

“That’s only natural.”

A brief silence follows.

“Yeah, but it was my first time experiencing that.”

“That’s why, at the brink of death, I became enamored with that overwhelming power.”

Gildia laughs dryly.

“I hate to say it, but you seem to be caught in a malicious scam. Once you meet the real person, you’ll wake up from it.”

Rainer downs the remaining liquor in the bottle in one gulp.

“Glug, haah—That might be true.

But if that’s the case, then it’s fine; I can just regain myself. But I want to know if this infatuation is real.”

“I see. What if it’s a fake?”

“Well, of course…”

〈I’ll kill them〉

“Haah, that’s why you’re so shortsighted and a foolish hedonist.”

“Well, the liquor’s run out, so I’ll go find something new. See you later.”

Gildia shakes his cup and gazes at the ice inside.

“I suppose I must make a decision as well…”

Those words I let slip fade into the clamor of the tavern.