19 – Old Friend
‘…Occured in…still being investigated…the culprit has not been…’
“…How long do you mean to sleep, Tor?”
The boy with deep green hair—though, he was a boy only in appearance—sighed with exasperation and turned off the radio.
Arnes village, defense team garrison.
…Though, the building was not as impressive as it might have sounded. It was more like a small civilian house that was repurposed into an office.
In the room, there were sandbags and training equipment. There were also rows of weapons such as swords and spears.
And in a corner of the room, a man was lying on a sofa that looked like it had been picked up off the sidewalk. He was a muscular man with blonde hair and wore a white tank top.
The boy with green hair walked up to him and pinched his nose hard.
“Ahhh!?”
“I told you not to sleep with the radio left on. It’s almost time to patrol. Get up.”
The blonde man slid off of the soda and hit his head on the floor.
“Gahh… Hey. I told you to wake me up more gently… This is why people mistake you for a boy….”
Just then, there was a hiss, and the man looked down towards his feet.
There was a mark there, like something had burned.
“Huh?”
The boy—or girl, with green hair smiled with a ‘You were saying?’
“Nothing. Nothing at all. You look very pretty today.”
“Good. Now let’s go on patrol. Get ready.”
The man scratched his head and stomach tiredly and walked to the back of the building.
The girl, Enya, looked at the photograph that stood on the table.
“…Hey, Tor.”
“Eh? What?”
His voice rang along with the sounds of running water. He had always had good hearing. She thought as she picked up the photo frame.
It was of three people.
Enya, Tor, and…a pretty girl with silver hair.
“Did you hear? About the wedding.”
“Ah… Lady Mimi.”
“And they say that Aize has returned.”
The moment she said it, there was a clash and a bang. What the hell? She turned to see a thoroughly wet Tor burst through the door.
“What!? Are you sure!”
“You…”
Enya nearly dropped the photo after seeing much more than she would have wanted. And then she shuddered with rage.
“Why don’t you put on some clothes, you damned idiot!!”
“Ga-gaahhh!”
There was a flash of light as Tor and the door were blown away, causing a loud sound to echo through the small countryside town.
And while it was so loud that you would expect people to come and see what had happened…such things were a daily occurrence for the Arnes defense team.
The neighbors just shook their heads with a ‘they’re at it again.’
As for the man who was blown away… He just muttered while holding his head in the sand. And then he got back up.
While he had been hit directly, he was very tough.
“Ugh. You destroyed the house again… Do you know how hard it is to fix.,..”
“Nevermind that! Put on some clothes!”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Tor sighed and wrapped a towel around his waist.
While Enya was reliable, and often depended on by the young women of the village, she was also easily embarrassed. Though, few people were aware of this.
Only Tor and one other childhood friend were aware.
“So? Is it true that Aize has returned?”
“Yeah. About three days ago.”
“Are you serious!? Why didn’t you tell me sooner!”
“I only found out yesterday. …First of all, if she wanted to meet us, she would come herself, wouldn’t she?”
Tor scowled at this.
“Eh? You’re rather cold, aren’t you? We’re supposed to be friends.”
“…That’s not what I meant.”
Enya said as she averted her eyes.
It wasn’t a matter of liking or disliking each other. It was complicated. But she did not expect this meathead to understand.
“Fine! Let’s go and meet her then!”
“Huh?”
Enya looked at him with disbelief.
“We used to do it before, remember? Sneak into the mansion and take her out.”
…That was true. They did do that.
But that was when they were children. When they didn’t know anything.
“Look here. It’s one thing if you are a child. But do you know what would happen if we broke into a noble’s house now?”
“Huh? Really?”
“How do you not realize it?”
Now that she thought about it—that had been their happiest days.
Enya smiled at the memories.
Ignorance was bliss. But it was also a sin.
“But…this is a chance for all four of us to be together…”
“As I said…”
“Don’t worry.”
Suddenly, a woman’s voice rang like a bell.
A very nostalgic voice.
And then she appeared in their vision.
“…Aize?”
The silver hair and brown skin.
There was no doubt about it…it was their childhood friend.
Thnks for the chapter.