Chapter 7.1
Chapter 7: Reunion (2)
Her voice had quite a defeated tone. It certainly wasn’t the kind of voice you’d expect from the hero who had defeated the Demon King.
Watching her stare fixedly at the tips of her boots, her shoulders slumped, I turned around.
Tap, tap. The sound of Claire’s boots echoed through the corridor. Ignoring it, I kept walking, and after some time…
She had followed me in silence all the way to my room, unable to say a word.
Opening the door, I looked at her as she hesitated at the threshold and asked, “If you have something to say, go ahead.”
There was no answer. She just moved her lips, seemingly searching for words. Spending more time on her seemed like a waste.
Leaving her behind, I stepped into my room.
How much time had passed?
Knock, knock.
I ignored it. Right now, I needed to focus on the plans ahead, not on her.
Knock, knock, knock, knock.
Plans to establish myself as both the princess’s mentor and an S-Rank adventurer.
And the other things I needed to do… Oh, right. I hadn’t hit the jackpot at the casino three times yet. I still had to accomplish that and earn the “Girl’s Hymn” achievement.
Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock. Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock. Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock. Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock.
“Hy-Hyun Woo! Hyun Woo… Just… just for a moment. Even for a moment, please. Just a moment! Can we… Can we talk? Please… please, I beg you. Please. Please, please, please, please, please, please, please.”
Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud.
“I… I have something to say. There’s something I have to tell you. Please. Please, just for a moment. Okay? Okay? Hyun Woo… Hyun Woo… Just once. Just let me see your face, even once. Just once… please. Please… please…”
Her voice, filled with a hint of madness, didn’t send a chill down my spine. For now, focusing on my own work took priority over paying her any mind.
I tuned out the desperate, despairing pleas coming from outside my door, continuing to organize my thoughts, and, once I had sorted things out, I opened the door.
“Claire…”
Still trapped in her pit of despair, Claire stood there, head hung low, staring into empty space, unaware that I had opened the door.
How long had she been knocking?
Her pale hands were flushed red, and the door had a faint crack.
They say you can’t beat the strength of a hero, no matter the condition.
She truly was a hero, after all.
“Hy-Hyun Woo…”
When I opened the door, Claire’s face lit up with a joyful smile as if she had just been saved. It was a smile I hadn’t seen in a long time.
“Hyun Woo… Hic… Hey… I… I…”
“Instead of sitting there in the hallway, come inside. Everyone’s watching.”
I gestured toward the corridor. A few courtiers and handmaidens were watching us with expressions of shock.
But Claire didn’t seem to care about them. No, to be precise, she seemed to lack the mental space to even notice.
It was the same for me.
“What are you all staring at?”
It must have been a captivating sight for them. After all, how often do you get to see the hero who defeated the Demon King and saved the world reduced to this state?
But those who understood the meaning behind my words quickly scurried off.
“What are you doing? I told you to come in.”
Even then, Claire remained slumped on the floor, looking up at me blankly, her legs tucked awkwardly beneath her.
“M-my legs… gave out…”
Really, she was trying every possible way. I helped her up, and Claire, with tears streaming down her face, glanced at me before dropping her head again, sobbing quietly.
“T-thank you… Thank you…”
“For something like this? Don’t mention it.”
I helped her into a chair as she wobbled unsteadily, and while she sat there, shoulders slumped, mumbling under her breath, a handmaiden who had been waiting in the room prepared tea with a shocked expression.
When two cups were set on the table, Claire alternated glances between her teacup and me.
What was she staring at?
Was she just happy to be able to drink tea with me again?
There was a faint but clear glimmer in her eyes.
Hope.
Hope that I might return to them.
A completely futile hope.
“…Thank… you…”
Once the handmaiden had left, Claire gently held the teacup with both hands. The white steam rising from its warmth touched her tear-streaked face.
Claire always drank tea like that. She’d enjoy the fragrance, savor the warmth, and only then take in the taste.
Even back during our journey, whenever I made tea, she always drank it the same way.
“…Haah…”
A heavy sigh escaped her dry lips. I took a sip of my tea as well.
“…It’s delicious…”
“It should be.”
“…It tastes just like what I love. The same as when you used to make it…”
Even though the handmaiden had brewed this tea, it was as if, for her, the tea brought back the taste of the past because we were sharing it together.
The past.
Yes, that’s probably what it was.
“I still remember all your preferences. I really put a lot of effort into it.”
“You did. You… you always did…”
“Of course, that effort was never really rewarded. But it’s fine. I didn’t expect anything anyway.”
My words made her flinch and tremble.
The past between me and the hero’s party wasn’t all sunshine and sweetness, as the lingering bitterness in the tea was enough to sting my tongue. Savoring that bitterness, I took another sip and set the teacup down.
“H-Hey… Hyun Woo.”
Hyun Woo.
Yoon Hyun Woo.
