I Am Tired Of Being A Hero-Chapter 52: The taste of his name

"Thank you for dinner, Ravi."

Ravi. Ravi. Ravi. Ravi. The name echoed in his ears.

***

"I hate it! I hate it!" Ravi said as he threw the stone across the pond creating a large splash. He was a little distance from the orphanage, sitting on a rock in front of the famous Binator Pond where the orphanage was named after.

"Are you still angry that Mark called you Ravioli? He was just playing around. He was jealous that the flower couple liked you more than they liked him. Ravi is a fine name." Ana, one of his age mates from the orphanage consoled him. She was thin, like they all were and had freckles all over her nose.

"Please everyone knows that Mother named me after the Ravi’s steak house down the street, that is where they found me." Ravi, Ratty, Ravioli, his names always had variations that he was teased about. He hated it.

***

"A new Sentinel. Welcome to Valhalla, the Sentinel Realm. What is your name, boy?"

Ravi looked around. Why did the Grim Reaper take him to this place instead of the Reincarnation Portal? He looked up at the huge red-bearded man who was almost two feet taller than him. Could a human be so tall?

"Ravi West, and I am not your boy."

"Ravi, like the Sun god. A strong name. One piece of advice, in this place, you have to be strong. The moment you become weak, you are useless."

***

He did not have any special love for the name, Ravi, perhaps this was the reason that he did not suffer from the identity crisis that other Sentinel suffered from when they transmigrated to various realms.

Even when he met Alya, when he was Ravi, the name did not give him any special feeling like it did now.

It was like he was tasting the name.

Like the name was something precious.

Ravi liked the way he said his name, he wanted to hear it again and again and again. Why?

"What are you thinking about?" Ravi focused his gaze on the enlarged face a few millimeters away from his. A Chiseled jaw, deep-set features, aquiline nose, sword-shaped eyebrows, and those eyes that looked like there was an ocean swaying in their depths.

"Mmh." What was he saying? He could hear his voice but he could not make out any sentences.

"Ravi. Just now, where did you go?"

"Where did I go?" Ravi was confused, he created a little distance between them and coughed, "I did not go anywhere. Where could I have gone?"

"You were distracted. I called you several times."

He called him. Ravi felt a little sad that he missed that. He wanted to hear him call him some more.

"Ah! Sorry."

"I am hurt...I am in front of you and...You have already apologized, so quickly? Why so quickly"

He looked genuinely hurt that he had not been allowed his dramatics.

"Haha." Ravi laughed, using his hand to cover his mouth.

"You are laughing. At me."

" How could I? Haha." Ravi could not control himself as the laughter escaped his lips, his shoulders trembled as he lowered his head to stifle it.

Seeing him, Arlen’s eyes widened and he watched him with interest. You should laugh more often, he wanted to say but he forced it back. This person was truly like a dug-out gem, each layer brought new surprises, pleasant surprises.

He waited for his laughter to die down before giving a gentleman bow, "I am glad to provide such entertainment for you, Your Highness."

"Zhen is truly entertained." Ravi said with a smile.

Arlen was taken aback. After a moment, he revealed a helpless smile, "Alright, your highness. I dried the dishes. Where would I place them?"

Ravi made his way to the left cupboard and opened it, "Here." He then sat down. Arlen did not put the dishes one after another, he raised his hand and the dishes all rose to the air like soldiers, carefully filling themselves in turn into the cupboard.

After Arlen was done, he came over and sat opposite Ravi. The table in the kitchen was a small one, with just two seats, sitting opposite like this, Ravi could take in that scent, that faint scent of vanilla. Even in his home that had an orchard with tens of fruits, that vanilla was distinct, it was not overpowering but was completely memorable.

"I am glad that you are feeling much better. Would you take a sick leave tomorrow or do you want to come to work?" He looked around, this quiet home with no neighbors, he would be much more comfortable with Ravi in the Bureau where he could keep an eye on him.

"I will come to work. 8 am-4 pm."

Arlen was not angry, "I know. And all overtime must be paid."

Ravi smiled, "Yes."

They were quiet for a while, a type of silence that made Ravi feel very sleepy. Both the man’s scent and his presence made him feel sleepy but he did not want to sleep. He did not want to waste this small time together.

"Thank you for coming, Captain."

"Of course. About that, how about we exchange contact, Ravi? I did not have your contact so I could not call you so I broke through the gate. I am sorry about that."

"You want to exchange contacts?"

Arlen was confused and exchanged, "I would not call you to work outside work hours if that is what you are afraid of. I would not call all the time, I do not want to encroach on your self-imposed solitude." He said the last words with a smile.

He did not mind if Arlen wanted to call him all the time. He laughed so much that night, he was not sure that he had laughed like this all year.

He touched a stone in his pocket to habitually change it into a pen and paper when he froze.

His registered power was Self-healing and it was a crime to lie.

He looked at the righteous Captain opposite him and sighed, "You can scan it." He opened his phone and handed it over to Arlen.

"Okay. I saved it, can you read out the contact that I saved it with."

Ravi looked at the letters in bold, Arlen and his lips twitched, "Captain."

He was doing it again, that expression like a kicked puppy and he laughed.

"Captain, what is your favorite color?" He asked to distract him.

Arlen thought for a moment, "Color. I liked blue for the longest time." It was the signature look of his family eyes, it was the color of their crest, their house, the Hero Association Logo but now, "Gray, especially when they are mixed with gold flecks."

Ravi blinked, his hazel eyes filled with confusion, "What kind of color is that?"

"My favorite color, What is yours?"

"Blue." There was no hesitation in his voice.

"Blue is not as beautiful as gray." Arlen argued.

"They are not competing, Captain. Blue is much more beautiful than gray. It is alive."

Arlen looked at those gray eyes with gold flecks, he had never seen eyes as beautiful as this, "They seem pretty much alive to me."

Ravi raised a brow.

Arlen deviated from the topic and they talked and laughed for a while.

"Why did you transfer to Davenport, Captain."

Arlen sipped the strawberry juice that Ravi had poured for him, "In summary, something happened in the capital." He lowered his head and there was a strange expression on his face, as if he was in pain just thinking about what happened.

Ravi wanted to touch his face and straighten out his brows or to pull him into a hug the way that Arlen had done for him but he sat on his chair as if he was glued to it.

At times, he really hated himself.

The painful expression on Arlen’s face quickly disappeared and his voice was as light as ever, "So I needed to transfer. I asked a fortune teller and she said that if I came to Davenport, I would save the world so I came."

Ravi was still waiting for the rest of the story, "That is it? A fortune teller."

"Yes, that is what happened." Arlen drained the last of the drink, "It is getting late. I need to go."

Ravi stood up, biting his lips, saying something. There was this sadness on Arlen’s brows ever since he mentioned the transfer. But what should he say? Has he forgotten, has he forgotten how to comfort someone? Say something, Ravi.

"Thank you for coming."

Fuck.

Arlen chuckled, "I need to come during the daytime so I would have a tour. I am definitely seeing that orchard. Then, Ravi, take care of yourself. My number is on the emergency contact, if anything happens, call me immediately and stop frowning, try and relax. You will feel much better soon."

Arlen made his way to the living, "Ash..." His face brightened when he saw the cat, but the cat leaped away, rushing into the kitchen.

"It really does not like me. Alright, good night, Ravi."

"I can take care of the person making you sad." The words left his mouth before he could control it.