# 62. Sick Mister! Let's Take Care of Mister! (8)
When I saw the ingredients the children had bought from the market, I couldn't help but be flustered. I had certainly asked them to buy ingredients, but... originally this was only for 5 people to eat, so why did they buy so much?
"Cough- Saten... are you sure you checked the note I wrote...? Please explain this massive amount of ingredients..."
"Hmm, the note didn't have quantities written, so I adjusted the amounts to 5 carrots, 5 green onions, 5 abalones. One per person. Is there a problem?"
"..."
Did I misjudge this? I thought if I didn't write quantities, they'd only buy one of each... I failed to recognize that each child had different upbringings and different common sense. But I couldn't tell them they'd done the errand wrong when the children looked so proud...
*...Next time I absolutely must write down the quantities.*
Seeing those expressions of having completed their mission, I couldn't tell them the truth. So I decided to pat the children's heads and praise them for their errand.
"Well done, Luna."
"Don't pat me! I'm not a little kid!"
Luna's mouth refused my hand, but her head didn't refuse my touch.
"Well done, Hare."
"Heh, hehe... I worked hard for Mister..."
Hare quietly closed her eyes and accepted the praise.
"Saten, you worked hard too."
"Not really. It wasn't difficult. It was too easy for me."
Even if there was an error, success is success... I decided not to tell the truth and deflate Saten's pride. And so Saten received my touch with an expressionless face. Next, Estia...
"Oppa-!! Take this off right now!!"
Grrr-!!
Perhaps because she was wearing a leash, she seemed to have become a dog. Estia growled and was on guard like a hunting dog. She probably hadn't been much help to the Hero Party, but I couldn't leave her out alone, so I patted her head anyway. When I stroked Estia's head, she strangely calmed down somewhat. Enough to make me suspect she'd actually become a dog.
*She does actually become a dog when she drinks holy water...*
Well, that aside. I should cook before my condition worsens. In the dining room, Irina was waiting to interrogate me. As I untied Estia's leash, I spoke quietly to the children.
"Wait outside while the food is being prepared... You can talk with Irina outside..."
"I'd just be in the way in the kitchen anyway, so I'll be in my room."
"F-finally, freedom! Hehe, I'm going to ask that lady for help! You bad oppa!"
Thud thud-
Saten and Estia went outside as I said, but Luna and Hare remained in the kitchen. Kitchen knives were held in their hands. It seemed they wanted to help me.
"I'll help too! I've cut vegetables at my parents' side before!"
"I-I don't know how, but... I-I'll try...!"
"...Thank you for helping."
If they handled the vegetables, it would save quite a bit of time. Luna and Hare's help was meaningful. And so, receiving help from the Hero Party that I was supposed to be helping, I taught Luna and Hare how to prepare ingredients and the recipe while making 6 servings of abalone porridge.
And then.
"In the world I lived in, when someone was sick, we would eat abalone porridge."
"Ooh! I'll remember! If Mister gets sick next time-"
"N-not Luna! I-I'll make it for you, Mister...! I-I can make it better...!"
"Don't steal my words! You thief!"
"...Just make it together, you two."
I felt like I vaguely realized that even the kitchen could be a place of learning.
Since today was an important day with a guest, the Hero Party and I gathered in the dining room where we could eat together and ate the freshly made hot abalone porridge. Aside from the strange ratio of ingredients, it could be considered a pretty decent meal. Irina, who quickly emptied her bowl, spoke to me in a satisfied tone.
"Jun, it's been a while since I've eaten your cooking. The taste wasn't bad. No, it was closer to delicious."
"Thanks for the compliment."
"And the most surprising thing is this. Back then, when I first caught that terrible illness. It's the same taste as what you fed me then."
Nothing has changed from that time. The taste I ate in the past comes back to me vividly. Irina said this while pointing at the bowl with her spoon.
"Except that there are too many ingredients compared to the rice."
"..."
That couldn't be helped. If we store them, the food's freshness drops and it spoils. To Irina, whose tension seemed to have eased, I teased her.
"...Eat a lot. You're a knight, after all."
"...Right, I'm a knight. I need to be sturdy."
Smirk-
Irina smiled pleasantly, perhaps soaked in the taste of the past. But her eyes looked somewhat sad. She was probably longing for the past too.
"That aside... let's get to the main point now. You are not Jun, my former comrade, but one of the Empire's citizens. A kidnapper who abducted a noble family's child and the Church's candidate saint. So you'll need to explain well so I don't arrest you."
Irina changed her gaze and looked directly into my eyes. The main point. That was the full account and conclusion about the kidnapping. If she was comrade Irina until just now, now she was Irina, the Knight Commander of the Sylvester Knights.
"Irina."
"...Why are you calling me?"
"Whether you believe me or not is up to you. But just remember one thing."
I won't tell a single lie from now on. Seeing Irina nod at those words, I explained to her the events that had happened so far, hiding what needed to be hidden as much as possible.
"...So that's what happened. The revival of the Hero Party. And a meeting with the Demon King... I can understand why you kidnapped the children. Rather, I want to praise you for doing well. To think the Black Crows and the Church were so rotten..."
Though there were a few gaps in the explanation, Irina seemed to understand everything after hearing it, knowing from the past that I had circumstances I couldn't speak about.
*...Should I consider this fortunate?*
Irina seemed convinced and withdrew the pressure she'd been putting on me. Now she had returned to being comrade Irina.
*That aside, how did the kids take it...*
I checked the Hero Party's reactions, who had listened to my story together.
"Ooh, so that's what happened!"
"I-I was a thief... I-I didn't know that...!"
"A mage, huh. That's more troublesome work."
"I'm... a saint...? A saint who saves the world with holy water...?"
...It seemed they each accepted different parts, but they seemed to recognize that they were the Hero Party and each had a role. Though they didn't yet recognize how heavy the responsibility of those roles was. Irina, who had been tapping the table with her finger while thinking, spoke to me as if she'd finished organizing her thoughts.
"I acknowledge it. Your kidnapping is justified. The greater cause of saving the world. That's for the Empire, so I won't punish you."
...She had no intention of doing so in the first place. As if that was an embarrassing thing to say, Irina whispered quietly enough for only me to hear.
"That aside, Jun. Quite a lot has happened. When we met at the banquet hall back then, why didn't you ask me for help?"
"It had been a long time, and back then..."
I didn't want to see people from the past. I was in a state submerged in the past. I didn't want to face those memories. But now, the memories of the past are the reason for my life. Only now could I properly face Irina. Irina, perhaps noticing my expression had darkened, gave a pitying smile.
"...That can happen. I don't want to face unpleasant things from the past either. For example, what happened back then-"
"The goblin cave?"
"Th-that's it...! That, absolutely don't mention that...!"
The goblin cave. Back in the 4-person party days when we had no porter. The newly formed party had entered a dungeon cave where goblins lived. There, a scene was spread out where small goblins had gathered and brutally killed people. I'd often seen Aina's experiments back then and had seen more cruel things, so I wasn't particularly moved, but...
*J-Jun... Urgh...! Blergh!! W-wait... let me catch my breath...*
*Kieek-? Kieeek-!?*
The smell of the liquid Irina spilled on the floor attracted goblins. Our party fought, but Irina had lost consciousness leaning against the wall. A noble young lady who had run away from the Sylvester family dreaming of being an adventurer. That was my first meeting with Irina.
"If you hadn't brought a lot of money from your family, you would've been kicked out of the party..."
"I had a lot of knight training at the family...! But that was the first time I saw such a brutal scene...! That's why...! I felt so sorry I taught you swordsmanship...!"
"...You certainly learned well. Luna is learning that swordsmanship now too. Cough-"
"She's learning the Sylvester Knights' swordsmanship...? That's good to hear..."
At those words, color returned to Irina's face. How serious is she about her knight order? At 20, she ran away saying she hated her family, but once she went back in, did she like the knight order? It was Irina's incomprehensible way of thinking. As I was talking about the past with Irina like this, I failed to pay attention to the children's reactions. Perhaps that's why.
"Talking about things only you know...! Boring! Boring!"
"We have lots of stories too... M-Mister...! You remember, right...!? The day Mister saved me...! I was so happy then...!!"
Did we only talk about ourselves too much? Saten and Estia had disappeared from the dining room, and only Luna and Hare remained, apparently listening to our story. Though they didn't really need to listen...
"Why aren't you two going in? You can go in."
"I-I don't want to! If I get far away, the Holy Sword talks to me and I hate it! I absolutely want to stay close!"
"In case Mister collapses...! C-caring...! I'm caring for you...!"
While puffing up their cheeks sulkily, their words are quite long. Perhaps because we talked without noticing time passing? When the flow broke for a moment, I felt my body's condition was bad. Irina looked back and forth between me and the children for a moment, then stood up from her seat.
"Well, this should be enough. I'll be going now. I have a lot of work piled up from investigating Luna, so I need to go now."
"...Alright."
"Thanks for the information about the Cecilia family and the Church. When you feel better later, come visit again and let's have a drink."
Alcohol. Come to think of it, I'd never drunk alone with Irina. The monk originally didn't drink, and if we drank, it was always with Aina and Irina until death, but if we meet later, drinking together wouldn't be bad.
"I said no! Mister quit drinking!"
"R-right...! Mister hates alcohol...!"
"I know him as quite a heavy drinker... am I wrong?"
"Wrong! Incorrect!"
...Luna and Hare dislike it, but I had no particular reason to refuse, so I showed Irina a sign of affirmation. And so I went out to the front gate to see Irina off. Seeing Irina say she was fine now, I gave a final greeting.
"...Don't say things like harem. Now go. Live diligently in the capital."
"Right, Jun. Don't get hurt, and cherish your body. And..."
"And?"
"...It's nothing. I'm going."
Irina turned her head with a bitter smile. She left as if fleeing far away and disappeared. What was she trying to say? I couldn't tell what Irina's silver eyes were trying to say. So...
"...I need to go to my room and rest."
"I'll hold your arm!"
"I-I'll hold it too...!"
To rest until my body recovered, I headed to my room receiving something like support from the children. After talking with Irina, my former comrade, after so long, it wasn't a bad feeling.
+Past.
Aina and Irina. And Lee Jun-woo drank alcohol using the campfire as light. Until someone died, continuously- It was something like a battle of pride between them.
"Jun~! You disciple bastard~!! How dare you try to surpass your master!! Impudent fellow!! You can't beat me-!! U-uaah...!!"
Thud-
After a fierce battle, Aina collapsed on the ground. But Aina was talking while looking at Lee Jun-woo, who had already become a corpse. She was so drunk she'd forgotten the fact that Jun-woo had died from alcohol.
"...So I'm the only one left in the end."
Phew... I drank quite a lot today too. At this rate, I'll start getting a bit of a belly...
"...I'm jealous of Aina. She doesn't gain weight no matter how much she drinks, and always maintains that figure..."
Aina would never understand my situation. And my feelings of always having to watch them. She would never understand. Irina smiled bitterly while watching Lee Jun-woo lying on the ground.
"A mysterious man. Why do I notice a man like you who has nothing, rather than those idiots who act up because they're nobles? I can't understand it at all."
Jun, whom she'd watched during the long time they spent together. She knew he was a decent man. But she didn't know the fact that he kept seeping into her heart. Irina felt both happy and sad about this situation where her heart was beating. A pitiful love alone with a predetermined partner.
"...Heaven must be telling me to dream of chivalry that doesn't need a lover."
Lee Jun-woo sleeping quietly, drunk. Irina slowly approached his cheek, and now when he couldn't hear, she spoke sincere words in her drunkenness.
"If... Aina hadn't existed... would you and I have come together... I'm curious about that..."
All useless words, but she just thought about it once. Irina said this while gently placing her palm on Jun-woo's cheek.
"As expected, it can't come true with just one person..."
People have predetermined partners. After this day, Irina kept folding her unfolding heart and resolved to walk only the path of a steadfast knight.