Chapter 38 We Need To Talk

 We need to talk.

 After the ceremony at the mine, he returned to the monastery.

 He had moved out of the inn after the mining accident, and had been sleeping in the monastery.

 There were four beds in their room, and Tien lived there too. Nina was the only one who could cook the food that Tien could eat, so it was easier for her to live in the same place.

"Nina, Emily, Astrid."

 Tien said to the three of them as they prepared to leave the city.

"Um... we need to talk."

 Until today, I had not told Nina and the others that I wanted to follow them on their journey.

 If I was rejected, it would be awkward for me to work in the mine afterwards, and in the first place, I wondered what I would be able to do if I joined these three people who had extraordinary abilities. I was losing confidence in myself.

 Tien's goal is to find her parents, but she doesn't have a clue where they are at the moment. If that's the case, it wouldn't be strange for them to work together until they find a clue.

 Today, they're leaving.

 You can't talk to me now.

"Hmm?"

 Emily looked at her, and Nina, who had already finished her preparations, was fixing the sheets on the bed, and Astrid, who was more distracted than most, stopped her work.

"Um... well..."

 I'm at a loss for words.

 I can't find a single word that says, "I want to travel with you.

 I haven't even been able to pay for my own food so far, and now they're going to think I'm being presumptuous...?

 There's nothing I'm good at, and I'm afraid you'll think I'm arrogant.

 Won't they think I'm a shallow guy who wants to stick with the three best and brightest and take advantage of them?

 More and more bad thoughts come to me.

 This will make you even more speechless.

"...Hey, Tien. Is that a long story?"

 Emily said with a sigh.

"!"

 We have to hurry up and get ready for the carriage.

 Tien's intentions are unsettled by Emily's irritation.

 I didn't know.

 I never knew I was so weak.

(Yes...Chi is afraid. She wasn't afraid of dying in the mine, but she was afraid of being disappointed, let down, rejected by Nina, Emily, Astrid...)

 That's how big these three girls had become in my mind.

"Chi..."

 Then...

 Overcoming fear is what makes us Moon Wolves.

 The next thing I knew, my body was moving on its own.

 The voice came out on its own.

"You have to leave town with everyone!"

 He was in a state of extreme hunger, and he wanted Nina's food as much as - if not more than - he did when he saw it in front of him.

 I'm going with them.

"What...?"

 Emily's mouth dropped open.

 That reaction pierced Tien's heart.

(Oh...I knew it was a bad idea. ......)

 Tien's heart is blackened by this thought, even though she has summoned up all her courage.

"I know that, don't I?"

 Then..,

"Huh?"

"-chan and I bought tickets for the four of us."

 Emily showed him a piece of wood. It was a ticket for a coach to the next town, and indeed, there were four of them.

 Tien's eyes fluttered in confusion.

"You're coming with me, right? Here's one for you."

 Emily handed one of the pieces of wood to Tien as she pushed it to him.

"I mean, Astrid, are you going to clean this up? It's still a mess!"

"I'm not used to traveling."

"I don't think it's that kind of level... I mean, Nina, don't spoil Astrid."

"No, no, that's part of being a maid."

"-kun is the best maid you've ever had."

"Ha...I told my friends to stop with the maids. Astrid's getting less tidy by the day."

 I heard that the ticket wasn't Emily's decision.

 Astrid and Nina didn't say anything to prove it.

 Astrid and Nina, who has finished making the bed and is helping Astrid pack, also assume that Tien will come with them as a matter of course.

(Go... it's okay. It's okay if Ji goes with you.)

 You finally realize it.

 -They hadn't spoken to Chan before, but they had already come to realize that Tien was one of them.

 I can't stop feeling warm and fuzzy.

"...Look, there's no time to cry, Tien."

"I'm not crying."

 Tien rubbed the corner of his eye with the back of his hand.

 Tien realized.

 Emily knew that she hadn't been able to tell him that she was going with him on the trip yet, and she also knew that it was because of her "reluctance" - she wanted to ease her mind, To ease her mind, he gave her a ticket for the carriage in a blunt and light tone.

 How warm he is too, Tien thought.

"Go pack your things. We don't have time for this."

 Tien lifted a small bag - a pouch, if you will - that had been placed on the bed.

"That's all of it."

"Less luggage!"

 I headed to the orphanage behind the house to say goodbye.

 Since we stayed for a long time, the children of the orphanage have grown quite fond of Nina and her family, and when they heard that we would be leaving town today, they started to cry.

"Onee-chan and the others, please don't go!"

"Nina-sis-chan's food was so good!"

"Emily-chan..."

"Astrid, I wish my sister-chan had taught me more..."

 The teachers and nuns manage to soothe the children, but they do not stop crying so easily.

"Tien, please listen to Nina-San and the others, take it easy, and be careful out there."

"Yes... sir, goodbye."

 In front of the teacher, Tien's ears and tail twitched.

"No, it's not, Tien."

"What...?"

"In a situation like this, you can say. "I'm off."

"!"

 With a snap, his ears and tail rose up.

I'm off, sir. Everyone!"

 The teacher smiled at him.

"Have a good day, Tien."

"Have a good day!!!"

"Be careful!"

"Souvenirs! Go buy me a souvenir!"

"You idiot, you don't even know when I'm coming back."

"But you're coming back, right?"

 A child innocently asks.

 Yeah, he'll be back someday.

 He'll be back.

"Chi will be back. I'll get you some souvenirs."

 When we left the orphanage, everyone was smiling.


light_mode