MTM 199

“This should be enough proof. For now, let’s withdraw. We’ve already drawn far too much attention.”

Gerard turned on his heel without a second thought and walked out of the room. Leon was reluctant to part ways, but perhaps he knew the situation wouldn’t allow for it, so he clasped Harto’s soft hand with a wistful expression.

“It’s a shame, Harto, but let’s finish our conversation as soon as dawn breaks.”

“You’re leaving right now…? Zed, can’t we have dinner here with Leon?”

Harto had assumed that as soon as the barrier was lifted and the door opened, they would naturally all catch up together. He couldn’t help but regret this sudden parting.

“…….”

But Zed said nothing and simply looked at him in silence.

“Um… then shall we have breakfast together tomorrow morning, Harto? You must be exhausted from that grueling journey… and Zed, you should get some rest tonight too.”

Leon spoke tactfully and patted Zed’s shoulder. He was about to hurry out of the room when he suddenly stopped short.

“Ah! And Harto….”

Leon rummaged through his pocket and pulled out a flat, red gemstone and a small, transparent, teardrop-shaped glass crystal.

“What are these?”

“These are Spi and Mir.”

“……!”

“They’d been getting smaller and smaller over the past few days, and then all of a sudden, they turned into this gem and this piece of glass… So I was so worried. I couldn’t help but wonder if something had happened to you…”

Leon’s voice was tinged with sadness. Then he forced himself to look composed and handed Spi and Mir to Harto.

“Spi… Mir….”

Harto gazed silently at Spi and Mir, now transformed into a gem and a piece of glass. Just like Krom, who had turned into a stone, they were devoid of even a hint of warmth.

“Thank you, Leon….”

“Don’t mention it. Well then, sleep well, Harto. And you too, Zed.”

With that brief farewell, Leon closed the door and left.

“Krom….”

Harto went to the bed and retrieved Krom. Then, he placed the three elementals side by side on his palm and held them tightly to his chest. Although the elements of fire, water, and earth had finally all gathered in one place, he never would have dreamed they’d be reunited in such a sorrowful way.

“……If you keep receiving healing through holy power, the elementals will be able to return to their original state.”

Zed, who had been quietly watching the dejected Harto, spoke softly as he approached him.

“With holy power…?”

As Harto looked up at him, Zed began to recount to him the details he had heard from Gerard at the pier.

From Gerard’s past, when he nearly became a sacrifice to monsters, to the unbelievable fact that a certain holy knight had used holy power, drawn from forbidden ancient magic, to create a heart.

He also explained that the holy power generated within Gerard during that process could be manipulated with such precision that it could pierce through the flow of demonic energy.

“…So I decided that, at least for the duration of our voyage to Ruinbelt, ​visit our site​it would be best to accept that man’s help.”

As he listened to Zed’s voice, Harto felt a pang in the pit of his heart. He realized that Zed had accepted Gerard’s assistance driven solely by the single-minded determination to save his own life.

“W-well, I’m not entirely sure, but… does that mean the commander is going to teach you how to create a heart using holy power…?”

“No, that man will create your heart himself. …It’s something I can’t do.”

Harto was taken aback when Zed spoke so resolutely.

“But… Lady Cynthia said that it was something you could do…”

He might not know the full, complicated details, but Harto was certain that’s what he’d heard. So, in a way, he felt relieved. It it were Zed, if he were to create a heart for him with his own power, he felt he would truly be happy.

Harto was well aware of the burden and anguish Zed had had to bear alone all this time; he simply hadn’t let it show.

“The witch didn’t say that I could do it. She just said it was within my realm…”

Zed mulled over the enigmatic words Cynthia had left behind once more, blaming his own arrogance and foolishness. If he’d known this would happen, instead of leaving Silpirnoa and heading for the Eastern Kingdom, he should have returned to Carseon and, if necessary, knelt before Archpriest Edmund and begged for help. If he had done that, things might have worked out much more easily.

It wasn’t until he had witnessed with his own eyes how Gerard had healed Harto with a single touch of his fingertip just moments [Read on]ago that Zed began to blame himself.

However, he had to consider himself lucky. After all, at least Harto’s heart was safe…

“I-I don’t want this…!”

At that moment, Harto, who had been listening quietly, suddenly shouted. His eyes widened in surprise, startled by his own outburst. He quickly set the elementals he was holding down on the bed and said,

“I don’t want anyone else. I want Zed… I want you to do it himself.”

“Harto, it’s not about who does it….”

“You can definitely do it too! If that person managed it, then you can do it too!”

“Harto….”

As he watched Harto clench his fists and shout, a wistful gleam flashed across Zed’s eyes. But immediately, Zed erased all emotion from his face.

“You know very well that we can’t be stubborn about something this serious. Something that puts your life on the line.”

“I’m n-not being stubborn…I know you. And I’ve seen with my own [unauthorized copy]eyes, many times, how incredible your power is…”

“No, no. I can’t do it.”

Harto was just about to launch into another lengthy explanation of Zed’s abilities when Zed cut him off with a sigh. Then he murmured in a strained voice.

“On the way here… Harto, you were sick.”

“I… I was sick…?”

Harto was taken aback by this revelation, as he had no recollection of the matter.

He wondered if Zed was just making up a lie to convince him, but when he looked at Zed’s face, he couldn’t bring himself to deny it.

“…Yes. I tried every trick in the book to save you with my own power, but it wasn’t easy. Your fever kept rising until morning, and nothing – not my power, not the elixir – worked. All I could do was… hold you close and pray for your life. Feeling that helpless… was a first in my life. My power was useless in saving you…”

As Zed hung his head in defeat and poured out the emotions he’d been bottling up all this time, Harto was left dazed.

‘… why do I not remember…’

Harto was confused by events he didn’t understand, [stolen content]but more than that, he could feel every ounce of Zed’s agony, and didn’t know what to say or how to respond.

“This isn’t simply a matter of whether or not I can create a heart. It’s a matter of an entirely different dimension. It no longer matters to me who crafts your heart…. I just… want to save you. Harto, please….”

“Zed…!”

Seeing Zed writhing in agony, on the verge of tears, Harto jumped to his feet.

“I’m sorry! Zed… It’s my fault! I didn’t even realize that and I acted like such a fool…!”

Tears that had been held back poured out in a torrent from Harto’s round eyes. Zed wrapped his arms around Harto, who was clinging to his collar and sobbing pitifully. Though he didn’t shed a single tear himself, he comforted Harto.

“I’m fine… Harto.”

Fortunately, Harto’s tears gradually subsided after a short while. Zed looked into Harto’s eyes and whispered.

“…But you know what?”

“Hmm…?”

“You’re not a fool, you’re a crybaby.”

Harto’s eyes widened, then he immediately looked downcast.

“Yes… you’re right…. I’m a crybaby and a fool….”

“Are you going to keep calling me a fool?”

Zed pinched Harto’s soft lips with his hand.

“Mmph! Mmph!”

As Harto squirmed and wriggled, Zed finally smiled and hugged him tightly once more.

Seeing the warm glow radiating from Zed and that gentle smile he hadn’t seen in a long time, Harto felt his heart grow much calmer.

Mmmph… mm….”

“Huh? What did you say?”

With his mouth still pinched, Harto mumbled something, and Zed chuckled softly as he let go of him.

“Actually… ever since you walked in a little while ago, it’s been smelling so good…”

Harto confessed shyly, then glanced at the items Zed had bought at the market.

Zed was about to pull out the apple crumble cookies and chocolate he knew Harto would love, but Harto’s reaction was so cute that his playful side kicked in.

“Hmm… Since you keep being so stubborn, I don’t think I can just give them to you that easily.”

“What…?”

“I’ll give them to you if you guess what I bought.”

Harto wanted to ignore him and tear into the package, but he wanted to play along with Zed, who was in a much better mood.

“Okay, then….”

Harto sniffed like a puppy, then shouted confidently.

“Apple pie!”

“Wrong.”

“Huh? No? Hmm… but it does have apples, right?”

“That’s right.”

After that, Harto thought and suggested a cake with apples, muffins, soup, and cookies, but he was told they were all wrong.

“Ugh, Zed… I’m really hungry…”

Finally, when Harto couldn’t take it anymore and started whining, Zed picked up the paper bag sitting on the table and opened it.

“Oh…!”

It was right at that moment, just as Harto leaned in to peek inside. With a mischievous smile, Zed scooped Harto right into the paper bag.

“Eek!”

Suddenly trapped inside a bag filled with apple crumble cookies, the black slime floundered [visit our site]in panic. The sight of the paper bag puffing up and fluttering back and forth was so funny and cute that Zed couldn’t help but chuckle softly.

“What’s going on, Zed! Why all of a sudden… Hmm? Wait, this is really crunchy….”

Suddenly, the inside of the wrapper became quiet. Soon after, the sound of something being eagerly munched on filled the air.

“…Zed!”

Just then, the black slime, his mouth covered in crumbs, suddenly poked his head out of the wrapper.

“These cookies are so delicious! You should try one, Zed!”

Harto quickly stuffed a cookie into his mouth, chewed it, and held out one to Zed. As soon as he took a big bite, a pleasant sweetness spread throughout his mouth, just as Harto had said. The fragrant apple aroma and the crunchy texture were exquisite.

“Harto, I’ve bought some chocolate too.”

“Chocolate?!”

When Zed pulled a bag of chocolate from his pocket, Harto’s eyes lit up. Saying he needed to quickly make some tea to go with the chocolate, he slipped out of the cookie bag in a hurry.

“It’s fine to just eat the chocolate without tea, Harto.”

“But… you always…”

He looked up at Zed, afraid he might be upset, but Zed, determined to clear up the misunderstanding, revealed the truth about the chocolate incident in Belnok.

“Impossible…! There’s no way the kids would’ve given me something like that as a gift…!”

Harto couldn’t bring himself to believe in the children’s wicked nature and denied it at first, but soon his eyes welled up with tears of betrayal. In the end, Zed had to stop feeding him the chocolate and comfort him once again.

The two chatted for quite a while, basking in the peace that had returned. Only after devouring the sweet cookies and chocolate, followed by a hearty, piping-hot dinner brought up from the kitchen, did they finally lie down side by side in bed and drift off to sleep.

Even as they closed their eyes, the two of them did not say a single word about the heavy burdens that lay ahead. It wasn’t out of escapism or fear. On the contrary, a rather positive and optimistic conviction had taken root in both their hearts.

After all, once they reached Ruinbelt, they would be able to reunite with all their cherished comrades whom they had parted ways with.

Although that place had been the final destination where Hartiros’s life was taken in the original novel, Harto was no longer afraid in the slightest. He had Zed by his side, and he had his comrades with him.

So for now – and only for this moment – he simply wanted to fully cherish in his heart the cozy warmth radiating from Zed’s embrace and this precious moment.