CH 22

It had been pouring from the morning that day. By the end of the day, my customers had vanished entirely.

Looking out through the glass window made me gloomy.

It might be better to close the store early that day.

I thought so—but I was glued to the counter for some reason.

…Ryan usually came that day.

Perhaps that day, I was reluctant to close it earlier than usual.

It had been three weeks since Ryan disappeared.

…If the reason was simply because he had gotten tired of my store, even if I got lonely, it couldn’t be helped.

There were many great shops in that area.

Some of my regulars grew fonder of another store and would visit mine less often.

But I knew that wasn’t the reason.

There had been uproar recently. My days had become restless.

The last time he visited, Ryan said he was going to quell the trouble around the border.

He laughed, saying that it wasn’t a big deal.

However, given his lack of contact, I could only think that something had happened.

Even my friends, who worked in the royal castle, didn’t know the details.

Nevertheless, it seemed that the skirmish was taking longer than expected.

While a fierce battle hadn’t happened, the enemy was adamant on holding their grounds.

It was only last weekend that I finally got the information I needed.

Half of the soldiers had returned early—but Ryan wasn’t among them.

Two days ago, there was information that several injured people had been brought in. It was unknown whether or not Ryan was included among them.

What the hell was going on?

My friends were doing their best, but since their jobs had nothing to do with the knights, they could only listen to rumors.

Ryan hadn’t appeared. Regardless, considering from the fragmentary information I obtained, it shouldn’t be strange for him to have returned.

No matter how much I wanted to know, I was but a regular store clerk.

I wasn’t someone who’d receive direct information—it was both terrifying and miserable.

As usual, it was raining outside.

The weather mirrored that of my heart.

I wanted to meet Ryan.

I wanted him to smile, which would make the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes deepen.

I wanted him to laugh with me—

“—You’re worried for nothing, Flores.”

Beyond the glass window, I could see the empty main street.

As the sun went down, the traffic was reduced. There were only a few lights, probably because many stores had closed.

Within the dark, the rain endlessly fell.

Suddenly, a figure emerged in the distance.

The figure braved the rain without an umbrella…

…When I was pondering, the figure approached me—

“—Ryan!?”

Due to the similar silhouette, I stood up in a hurry.

When I rushed to open the door, a soaked Ryan stood a few meters before the store.

“Flores…”

“What are you doing!? Where’s your umbrella?! What happened to your magic!?”

“…Before I noticed it, my feet had brought me here.”

Amidst being drenched by the rain, Ryan laughed.

Despite his smile, he looked truly haggard. It was painful to look at him.

“Just enter my store! It’s alright! Hurry up!”

I hurriedly fetched the biggest towel from the counter and draped it over Ryan’s head. He reluctantly entered the store.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to come… still, I want to see you.”

“Don’t worry about that. Are you alright? You look pale. You will catch a cold like this.”

Ryan apologized with an expression that gave the impression he was unaware of how soaked he was.

Even as I wiped his head and body without permission, he was quiet. He did give any resistance.

“…I’ve drenched water all over the store. I shouldn’t have come, but I really wanted to see you. I’m sorry for the inconvenience.”

As I thought, he’s behaving strangely…

I peered into his face as I wiped his hair.

Although he sounded the same, his expression was dark and somber.