"Alright, how are we doing this?"
"I feel like a guy and a girl should stay up. We'll swap out in 4 hours."
"Why a guy and a girl?"
"Sorry, Kenji-san. It's not as if I don't trust you, but we still don't know each other very well."
"Ah… I understand…"
"Come on! Hurry up so I can sleep! Kenji, let's do rock paper scissors to decide who stays up first! Loser takes first watch!"
"Heh… Alright, but don't cry when you lose!"
Tael probably doesn't realize that since my luck stat is at 10 now I have a higher chance to win at rock paper scissors.
"Fufufu… Are you ready, Tael?"
"Let's do this, Kenji!"
"Rock-Paper-Scissors!" x2
I had thrown paper while Tael had thrown scissors.
Hm? Wait a moment, this isn't right…
"Haha! I win! That means I get to sleep first!"
"W-Wait a second! How did you win? My luck stat is 10 now, I shouldn't have lost!"
"Hm? My luck stat is 19 now. Remember I leveled up twice?"
Ah… I made a fatal mistake.
"Oh my oh my oh my could it be… You're mad that you lost, Kenji-kun?"
"S-Shut up! Don't call me 'Kenji-kun!'"
Kany and Erana were both watching us as we were arguing.
"U-Um… That means that Kenji-san and I will take the first watch…"
"Fine… Whatever. At least I won't have to RESCUE YOU FROM GOBLINS AGAIN!"
Instead of replying to my banter, Tael merely did a small dance while smugly smiling at me before getting into his new sleeping bag.
I found a soft mound of dirt and took a seat. Erana sat near me on a mossy stone. Her posture was aloof which contrasted with her elegant demeanor.
"Well, Kenji-san, I hope that nothing happens while we're keeping watch!"
"D-Don't set flags like that! What is wrong with you people?"
"Flag? What does that mean?"
"Oi, Onii-san, Erana, you're too loud. I need to sleep."
"Ah, sorry Kany!"
Kany merely grumbled in response as she settled back into her sleeping bag. Erana and I sat quietly for a little while before the snores of both Tael and Kany a.s.sured us that they were asleep.
The sounds of owls, the chirping of crickets, and the darkness of the sky told us that it was late at night. The soft crackle of the fire and the sound of snoring echoed from our camp.
"I think we can talk now without waking them up, Kenji-san. Let's just keep it quiet, just to be sure."
"Alright… What do you want to talk about?"
Why am I nervous? Is it the ambience? Is it because a girl is talking to me alone while others are asleep? Did I level up the affection meter enough to get this scene?
"Hm… Tell me more about you, Kenji-san. I don't know much about you after all."
What do I say? This is just like Reese and Biar! Do I tell her where I'm from? She already knows my name so that's not what she means. Maybe I should just say my age?
"...I'm 18…"
"Ah, the same age as me! When is your birthday?"
"May 4th…"
"Haha. I'm 2 months older than you!"
"Why does that matter? We're the same age!"
"Because I'll be 19 while you're still only 18!"
"You know for someone older than me you sure are acting childish…"
Erana only giggled in response.
"Well, tell me more about you! What did you do before you became an adventurer?"
Ah, the one question I never want to be asked.
"I… studied… Yeah! That's what I did!"
"Why did you just rea.s.sure yourself of that?"
"Don't worry about it."
"O-Okay… What did you study?"
"A lot of things. Sometimes I studied math, other times I studied the power of certain monsters."
"Wow! So you know a lot about monsters? You didn't know what a hobgoblin was though…"
"I-I only read books with text! No pictures!"
"Oh, I see… That makes sense."
"What about you? What did you do before you became an adventurer?"
"I lived with my father. He's the one that taught me how to camp and forage. He's the reason why I chose to become a druid."
"Hm… He sounds like an interesting man. I'd like to meet him some time."
"Ah… I'm sorry Kenji-san, that's not possible anymore…" Erana moved her gaze downwards. I could no longer see her eyes. I messed up.
"Oh I see…" was the only thing I was capable of saying in response.
Why did I not expect that to be the case? I really am an idiot.
Erana raised her head and looked at me once more. "It's alright, Kenji-san. You didn't know. It's not your fault."
"What about your mother then?" I blurted out.
Instead of saying anything, Erana simply looked away from me again. That must mean I just got to strike two.
"Sorry. Let's just change topics then, shall we?"
"Yeah..."
We sat awkwardly for a moment. Small talk has never been my forte. Being unsure of what to say, I decided to go with a topic that I had asked Tael before.
"Hm… Why did you become an adventurer?"
"Before I lost my father, he gave me a certain task… To put it simply, I found a reason to be strong. That is all." Erana looked straight towards me with determined eyes that were as sharp as a knife.
The mood is so tense. I didn't know that Erana's past would be such a landmine.
"Why did you become an adventurer, Kenji-san?"
"Me? I told this to Tael before, and promise you won't laugh, but I plan to defeat the demon king."
"Defeat the demon king? Really?"
"So you think it's impossible too…"
"No, I don't think it's impossible… I don't want to get into too many details, but let's just say our goals are similar…"
"Oh really? Well… That's a load off of my mind I guess…"
Similar goals, huh? That's interesting. I wonder why she wants to take on the demon king…
We sat quietly for a little while. It didn't seem like either of us were going to talk, but I couldn't stand the silence so I decided to say the first thing that came to my mind.
"I-If you had one wish, what would you wish for?"
"Eh? A wish? What kind of wish?"
"That's exactly what I wanted to ask!"
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
I realized that I had just blurted out something unnecessary.
"I-I-I mean… That's a smart thing to ask!"
"Oh, alright. So what kind of wish do I get?"
"A… A wish you can use to do whatever you want…"
"Whatever I want…" Erana placed a finger on her chin as she began to think.
"I would want to have the forests that have been destroyed by the demon king to be healed. If not that, just my own home… What about you, Kenji-san?"
What would I wish for? Now that I think about it, G.o.d said he would give me a wish if I defeated the demon king. I haven't really thought about it though…
"Kenji-san?"
"Oh, sorry. I was just… thinking about some stuff."
"I shouldn't have expected anything else!"
I took a deep breath and composed myself. I don't want to come off as some wistful person. I've never been one for sappy scenes in manga or anime either.
"I-If I got a wish, I would use it to tell my family that I'm doing okay."
"Your family? You would use a wish just to do that?"
"Yeah. I don't know how they reacted when I was… separated from them, though knowing my parents… My dad acts stoic and tough. He said that a man needs to work hard for his family and needs to be strong, but I know that he's really a softy on the inside. I remember once when it was raining he brought a cat home and said 'He was so cold! I couldn't just leave him there!' My mom and I grew apart when she started working at a job. She would always come home exhausted from work. I wasn't able to spend much time with her and now that I can't see her anymore, knowing her, I would bet that she feels guilty for not spending much time with me when she could. My younger sister and I stopped spending time together when I turned 14. It's my fault that we drifted apart, so I hope she doesn't resent me or anything… I don't think that their lives are going to stop just because I'm not around anymore. I just don't want them to worry about me."
Erana was simply staring at me and giving me a gentle smile. Her soft youthful face was dyed amber by the light of the fire. I don't know if it's the ambience or if it's the mood that Erana is giving off specifically, but her stare is embarra.s.sing me. I think I've said too much.
"S-Sorry… I went off on a tangent there…"
"No, I understand. I hope you can reunite with your family some time soon, Kenji-san."
"Ah… Thank you, but I don't think that's going to happen."
"Heh… I thought you were this tough guy, but it's nice to see a different side of you. You even have a sister! That's a surprise!"
I began to blush. Don't look down on me, Erana!
"I-I have emotions too!"
Erana covered her face and began to giggle. I couldn't help myself and began to laugh a bit too. Our laughter melded into the sounds of the night as the atmosphere had lost its tension and become as warm as the fire we were gathered around.
We sat together for a few more hours before it was time to swap out with Kany and Tael.
