Chapter 34
A pattering sound came from somewhere in the distance beyond the window.
As Tarmin walked to the window to look outside, the pattering grew closer, then soon changed into a steady rush.
A fine rain was falling beneath the bright moonlight.
The grass in the front yard grew wet, glimmering in the moonlight.
Enya's voice came from behind him.
“Do you think Sigona will be all right?”
Tarmin had also been worrying that Sigona, who'd gone home first, might get caught in the winter rain.
If she'd walked briskly, she should have made it home by now without getting wet.
When Sigona left, he'd offered to walk her home, but she'd refused.
She'd left him with the words, ‘Don't even think about running away.’ before setting out into the night.
He hoped the two of them would resolve their conflict and show up at the tavern tomorrow with smiles on their faces.
Tarmin turned around.
His friend, the person he'd admired, and now someone whose relationship with him he couldn't even define, was sitting there.
Enya.
Enya was setting the basket Sigona had brought on the table.
When she lifted the cloth covering it, he saw snacks like wine, cheese, and dried bread inside.
“Taal, are you leaving?”
Enya asked, looking at him standing there.
Unlike the way she'd spoken earlier, glaring and arguing with him, she was being cautious.
She clutched the cloth she'd removed in both hands and watched him out of the corner of her eye.
Like a child who'd done something wrong and was checking his mood.
He fought back a small smile at her pitiful appearance.
Thanks to Sigona mediating, his anger had subsided.
He felt a little embarrassed remembering he'd said he wouldn't get angry, but he still didn't feel like apologizing first.
Even so, Enya had gone too far.
‘Ran away.’
If she'd considered how he'd felt when he'd joined the pilgrimage, and how he'd endured a journey that had pushed him to his limits, she shouldn't have said that.
Tarmin took his coat from the hanger.
“I have to go. It's late, isn't it?”
He was still planning to pretend he was angry and tease her a little.
Enya's urgent voice came from behind him.
“Taal, wait!”
Without even turning around, he answered curtly on purpose.
“Why? Do you need something?”
“Well, Sigona won't get treated unless we make up.”
“Just tell her we made up. I'll back you up so she doesn't find out. You know, one of those little white lies.”
“...”
Even after waiting a little longer, she showed no sign of apologizing.
He couldn't just stand there forever, so he headed for the door.
“Well, take care.”
He took the handle and slowly opened the door. Cold, damp air struck his face.
The rain pattered steadily.
He hunched his shoulders against the chill and waited for a response behind him.
He hadn't expected her to say ‘I was wrong,’ but he thought she might at least say ‘I went a little too far.’ Yet no words came.
He was exasperated by her stubbornness.
Was she really going to let him go home like this?
Tarmin wasn't blameless for having shouted at her, but couldn't she apologize first anyway?
The door opened wide enough for him to walk straight out, and Tarmin stepped outside.
“I'm really leaving, okay? Just like this?”
He turned around one last time and sucked in a breath.
“Enya?”
Enya was shedding big, heavy tears.
They weren't from the smoke of the stove irritating her eyes.
They were tears she couldn't hold back, born of overwhelming sorrow.
Enya was crying, her gaze lowered to the table.
Startled, he rushed back inside.
“Enya! Are you okay!?”
Startled by his call, Enya looked up, then noticed the tears running down her cheeks and wiped her face with the cloth in her hand.
“Ah, no. What's wrong with me?”
But as soon as she took the cloth away from her face, tears welled up in her red eyes again.
“Damn it, sniff, this is so frustrating... sob.”
Maybe noticing the tears had only stirred her emotions further, because Enya had started sniffling now.
Without a moment to think, Tarmin threw himself down on his knees in front of the table.
Then he shouted.
“I was wrong! I'm sorry!”
**
After the commotion died down.
Enya tore off a piece of dried bread and put it in her mouth.
Then she lifted the wine bottle in both hands and drank straight from it.
She was already tipsy, one eye drooping shut.
After washing down the bread with wine, she murmured with bleary eyes.
“This is so frustrating.”
“Why don't you pour it into a glass, Enya? If you drink from the bottle, you might get drunk too quickly, and it doesn't look good, and a piece of bread could fall into the bottle...”
When Enya glared at him, he shut his mouth.
Having been made the culprit by her unintentional tears, Tarmin sat meekly in front of the table.
He hadn't even dared reach for the food basket Sigona had brought, trembling as he watched Enya's expression.
As she drank, Enya repeated the same thing several times.
“You said you wouldn't get angry, you bastard.”
“I'm sorry. I can't say anything about that.”
He liked her obedient attitude, but she wasn't angry with Tarmin at the moment.
Though he did bear some of the blame, Enya was angry with herself.
She could understand perfectly well if Tarmin was disappointed and angry.
But she hadn't expected to burst into tears when he said he was leaving.
Remembering Tarmin's blunt back as he walked away made her eyes feel itchy again.
“I'm not some kid crying because Mommy's leaving.”
“What was that, Enya?”
“Shut up!”
While Tarmin fell silent, Enya filled her mouth with wine.
She slammed the bottle down with a thud and thought.
Now that she thought about it, this was all Tarmin's fault.
Hadn't he made her expect things, then threatened to leave as if they'd never meet again?
So it was all his fault.
It was all his fault that she'd come to Quaalid and that she couldn't leave Quaalid.
“Taal, you bastard...”
“Whenever you drink, you start cursing me.”
The chair was uncomfortable.
Taal's chair at home at least had a backrest.
**
Enya was swaying precariously, leaning against the wine bottle.
Tarmin felt a glimmer of hope.
Hope that he could put her to bed and make a run for it.
He reached for the wine bottle and said,
“Enya, are you ready to sleep? It's all my fault, so let's go see Sigona together tomorrow.”
Enya shook her head, then picked up the bottle and staggered to her feet.
Then she came over beside Tarmin.
The sight brought something to mind.
“Are you going to lean on me?”
He turned to offer his back, but Enya grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back into his original position.
“Why, Enya?”
When Tarmin sat up straight again, Enya climbed onto his lap.
Then she leaned her back against his chest.
“Hey.”
Though he frowned, Tarmin moved his legs together so Enya could sit comfortably.
It wasn't the first time he'd had her sit on his lap.
He gripped the chair to keep it from tipping backward.
Enya leaned against him and let out a hot sigh.
The rich scent of wine reached his nose.
Doing his best to ignore the softness pressing against him, he took the bottle from Enya's hand.
Enya, whom he'd thought was unconscious, spoke with her eyes closed.
“Give it back.”
“No.”
“What gives you the right?”
He hesitated without answering for a moment, then said the answer that came to mind.
“Because we're friends.”
Just then, Enya opened her eyes in his arms and looked up at him.
Her bright red eyes fixed on him, and for an instant he couldn't breathe.
“Then why did you abandon your friend and run away?”
“...You really...”
Abandon her? What did she mean by that?
It was the same argument as before.
Why?
Surely Enya knew the limits he'd felt so keenly, too.
Enya abruptly turned her head away.
Frustration made anger well up inside him, but with her nestled in his arms, he couldn't bring himself to shout.
Tarmin's departure.
He'd left so the schedule could proceed smoothly, and the other companions had agreed.
They were short on time, and later, even reaching the place named in the prophetic text on schedule had been a struggle.
There had been no time for the hunter to recover his strength.
So he'd withdrawn, so he wouldn't be in the way.
In Enya's words, he'd run away.
...No, wait.
He stretched out his arm.
“Hey.”
“What? If you can't answer, you don't have to—eep!”
He wrapped his arms around her waist, and a shrill squeak burst from her.
Startled, Enya squirmed in his arms, and the body pressed against his was so stimulating he could've passed out.
The thought crossed his mind that teasing her like this would be fun, but this was the time for a serious conversation.
“Enya, don't change the subject. Answer me.”
“W-What?”
Tarmin took a moment to catch his breath, then said,
“Enya, don't tell me you didn't say anything because you thought I'd run away again? Because you thought my arrows wouldn't work?”
“Urk.”
She didn't give him a proper answer, but her hesitation said plenty.
They were too close for her to hide her feelings.
“Haa. You really...”
He sighed.
Enya, you idiot. Is that the only way you can say it?
The back of Enya's neck was bright red.
Her inability to be honest was so endearing that he hugged her tight enough to crush her.
He'd thought she despised him, but he was wrong.
He'd known her as a friend before they became companions of the Hero.
So she'd been considerate of him because she knew his inferiority complex so well.
Enya groaned under the pressure, then said,
“Taal, you don't have to push yourself. Like I said, this is just a mess of debts and grudges. It's not a trial, so getting through it won't earn us any rewards or blessings. So I'll handle it myself...”
“Enya, your life is on the line. Did you think I'd run away?”
“Ah, uh.”
“I'm really disappointed.”
“...”
“I'm so disappointed I might actually want to run away now.”
“...I'm sorry.”
It took a while, but at last he got an apology from Enya.
Smiling broadly, he lifted her chin with his fingertips.
He met Enya's wide-open eyes, smiled, and asked,
“Just words?”
He moved his face closer, and Enya's cheeks turned red.
Once he saw her eyes slowly close, he captured her lips and thought:
If Enya was right, then it was obvious there was an enemy his arrows couldn't affect.
There was a method he hadn't been able to try during the pilgrimage.
**
Around noon.
At a window seat in the tavern, Renzo was so startled he nearly toppled backward.
“Wasn't Quaalid your hometown? Where are you going?”
“It is my hometown, but why? I'm just going away for a little while.”
Renzo nodded, then opened and closed his mouth as if to speak, before pressing a hand to his forehead.
Then he spoke with difficulty.
“No, that's right. You can go. But you're going with th-that, that, that young lady? Out of town?”
Tarmin looked at him in surprise.
“Renzo, have you been drinking too much lately? You're stumbling over your words.”
“Do you even know why I drank too much? What reason would I have?”
“Why did you drink too much?”
“...Uhehehe!”
Renzo now started beating his chest as if he were losing his mind.
Tarmin felt worried, but he was short on time.
“Renzo, I'm sorry, but I don't have time if I'm going to find a caravan leaving today or tomorrow. See you next time!”
After Tarmin left, Renzo called the waitress with a trembling hand.
“Bring me some liquor...”
*****