Translator: Alpha0210
Morning broke.
The cold that had been felt in the dead of night vanished without a trace, and the streets were once again blanketed in scorching heat.
Schweiser sat at a first-floor table, taking in the streets of Sarman as heat haze shimmered up from them. Just looking at the sweltering scenery brought a satisfied smile to his lips.
"I really am a genius."
"Where did that conclusion come from all of a sudden?"
A gruff voice cut in.
Kasajin was walking toward him, soaked to the bone. He was leaving a long, snail-like trail across the shop floor, and naturally, the innkeeper's expression was less than pleased.
'Good thing we paid generously on the first day.'
"What did you do this time to end up looking like a drowned rat?"
"Cold-water rubdown."
Kasajin pointed at the well in the inn's yard, and Schweiser let out a sigh.
"Do I really have to explain how precious water is in a desert? If you were hot, you should've called me or Lukas."
"Faster to go draw water than to go hunting for you two. Besides, we already paid more than enough."
"Even so, if you save wherever you can..."
Kasajin let Schweiser's nagging go in one ear and out the other as he dropped heavily into a seat at the table. Soon a small-framed server approached.
"What can I get you?"
"Everything."
"Sorry?"
"I said bring me everything on the menu."
"Ah, yes sir."
The boy retreated with a flustered face, and Kasajin shook the water from his head. Schweiser grimaced at the flying droplets.
"You could've dried off properly before coming in."
"It'll all dry soon enough anyway. That's how hot this place is."
"...Forget it. I give up."
"So, what makes you a genius?"
Kasajin brought his first question back around.
Schweiser wiped away his weary expression and put his confident smile back on.
"Looking at the Magic Tool I made just fills me with pride."
"Magic Tool?"
"This Robe. It comes with a temperature-preservation function, so with the hood up I don't feel the heat at all. Though originally I made it with expeditions into snowfield regions in mind."
"Really? Where's mine?"
"Is your head all right? You said you didn't need one. I asked you twice, I'm sure of it."
Of course, Kasajin had no memory of that, but Schweiser wasn't the type to lie, so it had to be true. He'd probably given some half-hearted answer and forgotten all about it.
"Hnngh."
Kasajin leaned back slightly against his chair.
Schweiser watched him with anxious eyes. Given that build of his, the chair creaked as if it might break at any moment. In fact, that had happened a few times already.
As the chair let out its quiet scream, Schweiser's gaze happened to drift toward the stairs.
Lucid was coming down.
He was the polar opposite of Kasajin. Hardly a hair out of place, with a calm, composed bearing. Though he had that same air of detachment, he was somewhat different from Lukas.
If Lukas felt like a man quietly watching the sunrise from some mountain peak, Lucid was more like someone performing a sword dance against the backdrop of a king's castle or a temple...... Schweiser shook his head. What kind of idle nonsense was this?
Lucid came down to the first floor and took a seat at the table.
No particular conversation passed between them.
Not because they disliked each other, but because these were faces that had known one another long enough that skipping morning greetings wasn't awkward. To borrow Iris's words, an ill-fated bond too stubborn to die.
Eventually, around the time the food came out, Lucid spoke.
"Where's Lukas?"
"Who knows. It's nothing unusual for him to skip breakfast... There's still time, so let's wait for now."
There was still leeway until noon, so Lucid nodded as well.
When the food on the table was about half gone, Iris came down. She looked at the table crammed with dishes and sighed, then settled into a separate seat and ordered something light.
'That's everyone now, I suppose.'
Schweiser sipped his water while gauging the right moment, then set the cup down with a clack and said,
"That guy's awake."
"That guy?"
"The man we picked up at the ruins. The one who looks exactly like Lukas."
"I see. What did he say?"
"No idea. I haven't even gotten a proper word with him. Ah... I did run into him briefly last night, and he seemed like an oddball in all sorts of ways. Rude, no manners; honestly, a bit like Kasajin."
Kasajin didn't seem particularly interested even at that. He was the type to judge everything with his own two eyes.
"Anyway, we'll be traveling with him for the time being, so keep that in mind."
He said it offhandedly, hoping to slip it past them naturally, but as expected, that little trick didn't work.
Lucid, who had been quiet all this while, changed expression.
"Did you just say we are traveling with him?"
"Yeah."
"Have we, by any chance, confirmed his identity with certainty?"
"No."
"Then did something happen yesterday while I was deep in meditation, some incident through which mutual trust came to blossom?"
"Hardly."
"So we are to accompany a man whose identity is unclear, whose purpose is unknown, and with whom not even a minimum of trust has been established."
"That's about the size of it."
Lucid's expression hardened.
"Schweiser, this is not a matter to be brushed aside so lightly. The road we walk from here is a path of thorns, a place rife with unforeseen dangers, hardships, and trials. To bring an untrustworthy man into such a place is more dangerous than any enemy of unknown strength."
"I agree, up to a point. But you're barking up the wrong tree. If you've got a complaint..."
"Bring it to me, Lucid."
A voice came from above.
Lukas was descending the stairs.
"Lukas, was this your decision?"
"It was."
"Have you come to believe his claim of being your brother? Or has something occurred to you?"
"Neither. But if he's suspicious, I judged it better to keep him close."
Lucid was silent for a moment, then murmured,
"...I see. If it is a decision you made yourself, I have no objections."
Lucid seemed slightly deflated, but those words themselves would be the truth. He was, after all, a man too upright to manage even a hint of sarcasm.
Still, there was no helping the strange heaviness that had settled over the table, so Schweiser cleared his throat and said,
"You didn't stay up all night again, did you?"
"I got some sleep. More importantly, where's Residue?"
"Haven't seen him. Isn't he sleeping?"
"He wasn't in his room either."
"...Don't tell me he ran off?"
Lukas's gaze turned to Iris.
Surveillance of the man had been entrusted to Iris for as long as he traveled with them. She set down her utensils and pointed a straight finger at the first-floor entrance.
At that very moment, the door was flung open hard enough to break it.
"Damn it all. Would it kill you to open that door gently?"
The innkeeper scowled and scolded him, and Residue, once again, answered as if it were nothing.
"I'll keep it in mind."
"......"
At the sight, Kasajin's and Lucid's expressions turned odd at the same time.
There was something deeply unsettling about seeing that attitude on a face identical to Lukas's. Like witnessing something that simply should not be possible.
Meanwhile, sensing the eyes gathered on him, Residue swept his gaze over them and said,
"What. What are you looking at?"
"Where have you been?"
"Morning walk."
With that curt reply, Residue went over to the counter and addressed the innkeeper as if they were old friends.
"Get me something to drink."
"Will liquor do?"
"Sounds good. But make it a different one from last night."
Then he popped the cork on the wine the innkeeper handed over and poured it straight down his throat from the bottle.
"That fellow over there will settle the bill."
Residue said so, pointing at Lukas.
Kasajin, who had been staring fixedly at the scene, rose from his seat.
"Schweiser, seems you're still half-asleep."
"What are you on about?"
"Lumping me in with a bastard like that."
Kasajin clenched his fists and started walking toward Residue. Seeing that, Schweiser said,
"Stop. We're in an inn."
"I know. I'll pay for the damages, won't I?"
"It's not even your money."
"I'll earn it back. So keep out of it."
The atmosphere in the establishment went stiff.
It was blatant enough that even the customers having breakfast in the corner began stealing nervous glances, yet Residue, the very target of it all, just kept swaying loosely with the wine bottle in hand.
Schweiser sighed and looked toward someone. There was only one person who could stop Kasajin once the blood rushed to his head.
"Kasajin."
At Lukas's call, Kasajin stopped walking.
"If you're going to do it, do it later. We agreed to visit the Temple today. We should conserve our strength as much as possible."
"You think this guy's strong enough to affect my condition? He's never learned magic, and that body's never been tempered by martial arts."
"Magic and martial arts aren't the only two powers that exist in this world."
"......"
"I'll arrange a time later, so settle it then. Not today."
Kasajin looked at Residue and snorted.
"Lucky you."
"Isn't it. For a bottle picked at random, this is pretty tasty."
Kasajin glared at Residue with unfriendly eyes, then spun on his heel and said,
"...The Temple opens at noon, was it? I'll be there by then."
And with his signature rough stride, he left the inn.
Schweiser watched him go and sighed.
"That temper of his. And... Residue, was it?"
"That would be this great one's name."
"Come over here for a second."
"If you've got something to say, you come here."
"......"
'Ooh, I ought to just...'
Schweiser choked down his irritation and walked over to the counter where Residue stood.
As he drew near, Residue's gaze turned his way.
"Are you a woman?"
"Pfft!"
Iris, mid-sip, sprayed her water everywhere and coughed as if she'd choked on it.
Schweiser had never once in his life been on the receiving end of such an unfunny misunderstanding, so his face went utterly blank.
'What did I just hear?'
"Wh-what are you talking about? Do I look like a woman to you?"
"As if. Go find a mirror."
"......"
"You really are the most different one, that much is certain."
Spitting out those incomprehensible words, he tipped the bottle back again.
He was, without question, not an easy man to hold a conversation with.
But backing down here would only wrap this man's identity in deeper mystery. Feeling a certain sense of duty, Schweiser forced a smile onto his lips.
"R-right. You said you're Lukas's older brother? You've certainly got personality, I'll give you that. Maybe I should take the opportunity and start calling you Big Brother Residue?"
"Lunatic. Who's your brother?"
"......"
'Patience.'
"...Th-then I'll just call you Mister Residue."
Schweiser said, keeping the forced smile plastered on his face.
"You said you went for a morning walk? So what did you see? Big as this city is, there's nothing to see besides the Night Market that opens after dark and the Temple. And the Temple's off-limits right now."
"They were places I'd only heard of, so I wanted to see them with my own eyes. First, I wanted to get a true sense of this continent's size and character. I stopped by beyond the sky, and I beheld the depths of the sea. After climbing to the tip of the highest mountain range, I took in the snowfields, then came back. As I suspected, this great one likes the desert least of all."
"......"
'Damn it.'
'He really is a lunatic.'
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