Chapter 8

The bonfire crackled and popped.

The surroundings had already grown dark, and the curtain of night had fallen.

Across from me, Hinoka sat hugging her knees.

She was probably on guard, but she kept her head down, looking dejected.

We had taken up positions at the river mouth, and Hinoka and I were on watch duty.

Rondo should be resting in the shade of a nearby tree.

"I hope this ends without incident."

"…………"

The response was silence.

At this close distance, she must have heard me, but she was ignoring me.

Ever since we came to the Andra Great Forest, or rather, since that day, Hinoka has been like this. I've tried talking to her a few times, but she doesn't seem to be listening at all.

"Hey, Hinoka. This is our last time, right? Can't we at least have some fun for the last time?"

Hinoka slowly turned her hollow gaze towards me.

"…What… last…?"

I felt a little happy that I got a response and continued speaking.

"I told you. When this quest is over, I'm leaving the party. So this is the last quest with Hinoka."

"…………"

This time, there was no response. I tried to break the silence.

"Remember? When we went on our first quest together, it was just herb gathering, but we got lost in the forest, and we ended up sitting around a bonfire like this, right?"

It feels like a distant memory, but the days with Hinoka are precious to me.

I liked Hinoka. That's why we've come this far.

"It was a good thing it was a relatively safe place, but I was really worried about what might happen."

"It's your fault, Clay… You can't even read a map."

"That goes for you too, doesn't it?"

You confidently said, "Leave it to me!" and led the way, but we ended up far from our destination. You were just following your gut because you couldn't read the map. It was a huge blunder for an adventurer and a reckless story.

But we built up many such experiences and became known as an S-rank party.

After being rejected by Hinoka, I plan to quit being an adventurer after this quest, but I can be proud of that.

"I'll always support you. With Hinoka, you can go anywhere."

"Why…? Why can you say that… Is it okay for Clay?"

Of course it's not okay!

I wanted to shout, but I don't have the right to do so.

From that day, or rather, from the time when Hinoka started to respond coldly to me, this was our fate.

"I know you hate me. But even so—!"

"You don't understand, Clay! You don't understand anything! It was always just me… I was always the only one by Clay's side!"

Hinoka stood up, agitated.

This is bad; shouting in the forest is dangerous.

I stood up and hurriedly approached Hinoka.

"Hinoka, calm down. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought up the past. I'm sorry for making you remember those things."

Trying to calm her down only made things worse.

"Calmer! Do you understand what will happen if you shout here?"

"…I can't take it anymore, Clay. I can't bear this pain anymore!"

I took another step closer to Hinoka.

"---Don't come any closer!"

With a whoosh, a blade flashed at a speed too fast to see.

"---Tsk!"

By the time I realized it was a short sword that Hinoka had swung, my right arm was drenched in red. I clenched my fist. The wound seemed shallow, but it wasn't something to leave untreated. Fortunately, my tendons weren't cut, but I would need to use a healing potion.

"…No way! …Why… Why did I… Why did I… hurt Clay…"

Hinoka was in a daze, dropping her short sword.

She seemed to be in shock, unable to believe what she had done.

"How long have I been hated so much? I thought we were having fun. Shit… It was just my delusion. I'm leaving. You don't want me here, right?"

"No, Clay… I'm sorry… It's my fault!"

"It's okay, don't push yourself. I'll try not to talk to you anymore, so forgive me."

"---No! That's not it! It's not like that!"

If I'm hated this much, my words won't reach her.

I have to leave.

Somewhere along the way, our paths diverged.

"Clay, why did you betray me!? I… I always liked—"

A chill ran down my spine.

"---I sense monsters! There are quite a few, and they're heading this way!"

Hinoka was about to say something, but multiple monsters were approaching us.

"I'll go tell Rondo! Hinoka, run to a safe place!"

I started running without looking back at Hinoka.