Chapter 38: CH 38

First of all, there were two things I must do in Miriel. The first was to check the condition of the house I formerly rented. And regarding the result, since the contract had already been terminated…

The second one was to meet Al once more.

The next day, when I peeked into the adventurers’ guild, Carla was there. When she saw me entering the guild with Jill, she rushed to me, grabbed my arm, and dragged me to a corner. I let myself be dragged away obediently.

“Hey! I was worried because you suddenly disappeared and didn’t show up for a while!”

“Aaa… Well, many things happened… and so it’s been a while.”

“… No, it’s really been a long while… You’re fine, right? It’s fine if you’re alright. Hey, what happened? I heard you went to the capital with Al, but you didn’t return. Rumour has it that he returned alone and dispirited with a gloomy look on his face…. He also didn’t tell me about anything that happened between the two of you… Did you reject him harshly?”

“No… But if I had to tell you, it’s more like I was the one who got rejected…”

“Huh?! I don’t understand this at all… And why did you return with Jill-sama? Have the two of you always been this close before?… It can’t be, don’t tell me you’re going to say that you’re going out with him?”

Ah, I thought and completely averted my eyes.

“Are you for real? I can’t believe it….”

Carla was dumbstruck.

“… Just… many things happened…” Akira mumbled.

“… And what do you mean by that?…”

Carla stared at me.

“…Kira, you look so ordinary, but you aren’t bad at all. Not only did you manage to charm Al, but Jill-sama also fell for you… Well, he’s a great man, but he’s so great that not everyone can get used to being close with him. How should I say this, he’s like an object of admiration for us, and we felt that it would be too discourteous of us to say that we want to be his lover…”

“Ahaha… Well, has Al been to the guild lately? Can I meet with him if I wait here?”

“No… He hasn’t been coming here recently, but if you’d like, I think it’ll be better if you went to his house.” Carla said.

“Do you know where he lives?” Akira asked her.

“I know it because I recently went to his place to hand him a package. I’m not supposed to tell you, but… It’ll be fine because it’s Kira… I don’t want to see Al being heartbroken the whole time.”

The place Carla told me was in an area with relatively cheaper rent. It didn’t look dangerous, but it was still a messy place.

Jill would be waiting for me in a nearby shop. This would be the first time I would see Al ever since the time I was forcibly brought to the castle. I told Jill that I wanted to go to his place alone, but he wanted to accompany me as near to the place as possible.

I was sure it was around here… While I was wandering around and heavily consulting the map drawn by Carla to find Al’s place, I heard a familiar voice.

“No way… Kira…?”

There stood Al, and he was holding a paper bag.

“Ah, Al!… It’s been a long time! Have you been well?”

When I called out to him as cheerfully as possible, Al looked like he was about to cry.

Then, he put down the paper bag, and slowly approached me. Just like that, he hugged me and rested his chin on my shoulder.

“Kira, I’m… I’m really sorry… You saved me, but all I did was betray you… And I can’t even apologise to you properly… I thought that I would never see you again….”

His voice quavered as he spoke, so he was probably crying. I said, “It’s fine,” and waited for him to calm down.

He invited me to his house, said sorry for the small space, and we talked about each other’s recent situation.

It looked like Al had been going to his brother and was helping him on a regular basis.

He once thought of returning to his territory, but his brother told him that they had enough hands and he had his own life to live, so he had been living in Miriel. Such a good brother.

I told him a rough story of the purification, and asked him to keep these details to himself. After that, I also told him I was in Jill’s care and living at his place.

Jill had been waiting for me as I wasn’t planning to stay here for long. Then, I cut the conversation short at the right moment and said it was about time for me to return home.

“Kira… no, Akira, will you continue to stay here in Miriel?”

“I want to stay here if possible. Even if I have to go elsewhere, I still want to live in Miriel as my base.”

“I see.”

“Yes. That’s why, I’m sure we’ll meet from time to time. For me, you’ll always be an important friend. I came here because I wanted to tell you today. I didn’t want to grow apart from you anymore.”

“… Is it—is it fine for me to continue being your friend?… Thank you very much…”

“There are people worrying about you, so just show your face at the guild again. Then, see you later.”

“Ok, later.”

I parted with Al, who looked a little better, and lightly waved my hand in farewell. Then, I headed back to the shop where Jill had been waiting for me.

“How was it? It took quite some time…”

“I was able to have a proper conversation with him. It looks like I was able to handle this matter without losing a friend.”

“I see. I’m glad for you.”

Jill’s reaction was somehow strange.

“Did you feel uneasy?”

“No… that’s because I’m curious—and I knew everything about what happened.”

“Haha, don’t worry. At this point in time, even Al won’t think about wanting to go out with me.” Akira chuckled.

“You can’t be entirely certain.”

I couldn’t help but laugh as I saw Jill’s somewhat sulky face. Ah—, it was kind of cute.

Despite being confessed to by him, I had always been the one who felt nervous, so it was quite refreshing to get this kind of reaction out of him.

I felt sorry for Jill, but I was a little happy.

*****