“......Temar?”

Ren’s eyes sparkled. A massive shadow, impossible to mistake for Luman or Peruan, had fallen over the carriage. It made it clear that the person standing outside was very large.

Ren had not told him to come in, but the door opened on its own.

A broad chest and armor came into view first. Ren’s heart stirred.

Temar! Temar came to me first! I wasn’t even expecting it!

Ren’s heart pounded, and he felt excited, as if he had gone right back to the days when they lived in the shack. His face grew hot, and anticipation nearly made him smile.

“Ren.”

But the person who bent his upper body and ducked inside was not Temar.

Ren’s expression hardened.

“......Geloman.”

Geloman looked at Ren. The disappointment was plain on Ren’s face.

“Excuse me for a moment.”

His blunt voice carried as much kindness as it possibly could.

Ren nodded without answering. The face that had been flushed with joy now burned with embarrassment. Pretending not to notice Ren biting down hard on his lip, Geloman opened his mouth.

“Show me your hand.”

“......?”

Ren looked puzzled. Show him what? His hand?

Geloman spoke again, his voice kind.

“Ren. Let me see your hand for a moment.”

“Why my hand.......”

Ren hid his hands behind his back. Geloman did not grab him. When Ren pressed himself tightly against the carriage wall and glared up at him, Geloman smiled faintly. Ren jumped.

Why is he suddenly smiling!

But the smile suited him very well. His bright blue eyes curved ever so slightly, and that alone made his face look different. Geloman’s smile was different from Temar’s, and different from Luman’s and Peruan’s too.

“Why?”

Ren asked again, calmer now. Seeing Geloman smile had weakened his guard.

“To treat it.”

Geloman showed him the ointment he had brought. His hand was so large that the ointment he held looked very small. It looked as if he were holding a toy, and for some reason, that was funny. When Ren’s stiff expression loosened, Geloman held out his hand.

Ren was reluctant, but he placed his hand on top of it.

They were better than before, but his nails were still ugly. Embarrassment washed over him.

“It’s all right.”

“.......”

What was all right?

After saying it was all right, Geloman applied medicine to his nails. They had already healed, so they did not hurt, but Ren flinched every time Geloman’s hand touched him.

“Does it hurt?”

“It doesn’t.”

He smiled again. Seeing that light smile brush across his face like a breeze, Ren thought that maybe Geloman was not as frightening as he looked.

“All done. Apply it from time to time.”

As if he meant that this was the only time he would do it for him, Geloman handed him the ointment.

“Oh...... thank you.”

When Ren thanked him awkwardly, Geloman nodded.

He turned as if to leave the carriage.

Did he only come to put medicine on me? He’s leaving already?!

For some reason, Ren felt disappointed. As he stared at Geloman’s broad ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) back with lingering eyes, Geloman turned his head before closing the door and leaving.

“Ren.”

“Yes?!”

Ren answered, half lifting his hips. He felt as if his thoughts had been caught.

Geloman did not mind Ren’s surprise and opened his mouth.

His bright blue eyes held no worry, no annoyance, no emotion at all, but what he said was unexpected.

“Did you fight with Temar?”

“Uh.......”

It looked extremely strange for a huge man in armor to ask a question like that. But Geloman was serious.

Ren, flustered, could not answer and only blinked. The gentle tone of the question also broke something in him.

“Brothers fight often. At times like this, sparring can help, though that would be difficult.”

Sparring?!

So in other words, he was saying they should settle it with fists, right?

If Temar took it seriously, Ren would not even be worth one punch.

But Ren had once driven his fist into his brother’s solar plexus. That day had been satisfying in its own way! It probably would have been fine if Temar had only said goodbye properly.

‘......Should I just ask my brother to let me hit him once?’

Would that clear up this complicated feeling? Thinking the same things over and over had made Ren terribly depressed. But thoughts were not something he could stop just because he wanted to.

“To be honest, if not for the difference in build, I think you would have a chance too.”

“A chance? A chance to win if I fought my brother?”

Ren thought he must have misheard.

But Geloman’s face was far too serious! Ren asked back with a dazed expression. Then he became dumbfounded. It made no sense!

“You do.”

What kind of ridiculous thing was that!

Ren barely swallowed the word lie before it came out of his mouth. Because lie was the word Ren hated hearing most, he tried not to use it carelessly.

“I mean it.”

The bright blue eyes were clear and transparent.

If Ren asked, Geloman seemed as if he really would train him.

And Ren thought,

‘This person isn’t normal either!’

Out of curiosity, Ren asked,

“Then can you teach me how to fight?”

“Of course.”

“.......”

Does this person hate my brother, maybe?

Ren looked at him suspiciously. But Geloman only looked back as if asking what Ren would do. No, maybe he needed a disciple?

“No, thanks.”

Ren shook his head. He did not want to fight Temar. Ren was only waiting for Temar to come to him first.

He had told Coco with his own mouth that his brother probably needed time to himself. After saying it so confidently, after spending several days worrying over it, suddenly approaching him first felt awkward and, somehow, embarrassing.

“You have a good fist.”

“.......”

Could this person, maybe, be just as impossible to communicate with as my brother?

Unlike his massive build, his personality seemed oddly strange.

But being with him made Ren’s thoughts seem to pause for a moment.

“Then teach me.”

“Good, Ren. Then from now on, I’ll teach you briefly before dinner.”

***

“Temar, you have Dell Belkerman’s sword, don’t you?”

“.......”

“Hey, Temar?”

Luman was looking for Dell Belkerman’s sword. At the time, Jepeto had examined it to see whether there was any poison on it, but nothing had turned up. But after thinking over what had happened in the bunker, Luman felt uneasy about the idea that someone like Dell Belkerman would not have put any device on his sword, so he had decided to investigate it again.

By tomorrow, they would enter a bustling territory, and from there, they would ride horses toward the capital. In other words, tonight was their last camp.

“Hey.”

Luman lightly tapped Temar’s shoulder.

“What are you staring at so hard?”

Luman deliberately treated him more warmly than usual. The uncomfortable matters had not been resolved, and a dangerous premonition lurked over them, but the more that was the case, the more lightly Luman acted. Temar, on the other hand, had hardened stiffly.

Luman followed Temar’s gaze and made a sound of understanding.

What he was looking at was Ren and Geloman. Who knew when the two of them had gotten close, but at some point they had started training Ren’s stamina before dinner just like that. And that was not all. After meals, Ren would trot over to Peruan’s carriage to get tea, and after that, he would spend time alone inside the carriage. No matter how often Luman visited, Ren would not entertain him.

But sparring with Geloman! The two seemed to have grown quite close already.

“Like this?”

“No. Thrust deeper.”

Geloman personally adjusted Ren’s stance. And in front of him stood Charles! His face was flushed red as he served as Ren’s practice partner. He dodged the small but sharp fists flying at him, and sometimes took a hit, and every time he did, Geloman’s expression hardened. The number of drills Charles had to do increased by exactly the number of times Ren’s fists hit him.

“His methods are better than mine.”

Luman let out a deep sigh. Still, Luman was at least relieved that Ren seemed to have recovered some energy, but looking at Temar’s complexion, Temar did not seem to feel the same.

“When are you going to make up with Ren?”

So Luman asked him directly.

“Make up? We never fought.......”

“Really?”

Luman looked surprised. Since Ren was not seeking Temar out, he had lightly assumed Temar must have said something to upset him again and left it at that.

Temar’s voice was heavy, but it had no strength. When they had decided he would “think about it” before, he had looked pressed down by anger, but as time passed, he seemed to have slowly sunk. It made sense. It had already been about ten days since the bunker incident, and since Ren had not sought Temar out since then, Temar had naturally calmed down a great deal on his own. Temar had never shown much emotion to begin with. This time had been unusual. The same had been true of Luman himself.

Ever since they had talked about Ren in the bunker, both of their moods had already rolled all the way down into the depths. They were only not showing it. That was probably why Temar felt even more complicated. The two of them still had not been able to tell Ren about the royal castle. Or what Giselle had said.

Luman understood, to some degree, the foolishness that had kept Temar from readily approaching Ren. After hearing a little about how Temar had crossed Mount Geroa and returned, he could imagine the tangle of emotions involved. Luman felt the same.

In any case, even so, Ren did not know those circumstances.

‘Then why isn’t Ren looking for Temar?’

Luman thought he would ask once Ren’s mood had improved.

“Do you think Ren will run over to you if you keep staring at him like that?”

His voice was teasing.

Temar seemed to have calmed his emotions, but his burning eyes were unchanged. It was the first time Luman had seen his eyes look so hot. A small suspicion bloomed and vanished inside Luman’s heart. Luman laughed and smacked his own head for thinking something unnecessary.

Temar could not answer. Because that was how it had been until now. Luman sighed as he looked at the frustrating man. He swept the platinum-blond hair pricking at his eyes upward.

“Temar. You know I’ve gone on many dates with ladies. As you know, I love gold coins.”

Luman’s eyes sparkled. Apparently, even just talking about it made him happy.

Temar gave him a pathetic look.

“The ladies always gave me gifts, along with gold coins, of course. They treated me to expensive meals too. But that doesn’t mean I only ever accepted things from them. I gave them gifts too, and I sometimes took them to dessert cafés.”

“So?”

“My point is that, at least once, you need to approach first. No matter how close you are as brothers, wouldn’t one-sided affection wear a person out?”

“.......”

“Ren has always been the one to come looking for you, so this time, you go to Ren. You said you didn’t fight, didn’t you? Then there’s nothing difficult about it. To begin with...... never mind.”

Luman patted Temar on the back, telling him to go. Considering how dangerous and important the current situation was, Luman found it funny that he was saying things like this, and enjoyable on one hand, and bitter on another.

Temar looked troubled for a moment, then said, “Thank you,” and slowly approached Ren. The sight of such a grandly built man walking slowly was funny.