• Chapter 8 : The truth about you that I found.

The inn where Satis and Seto were staying was a relatively large building among all the lodging facilities in this city.

It was a two-story building with a dining room on the first floor.

[We’re lucky we got one of the last available rooms. And here, we have the dining room.] (Satis)

[Wow…! It looks so much prettier than the mess hall in the barracks where the adults ate…] (Seto)

Most of the seats in the dining room were occupied by drunken adventurers and those who were holding business meetings while eating.

The two found a discreet spot at the other end of the room.

The chairs and table were of a design that Seto has never seen before, which made his heart flutter even more.

This was truly the sort of “world display yet unseen” that he was hoping to see during his journey.

[Now, let’s sit down. I’m starving.] (Satis)

[Yeah. So what’s on the menu today?] (Seto)

[Just wait and see~.] (Satis)

The dish that arrived was a local dish with plenty of meat.

Seto’s eyes were drawn to this finely fragrant meat, served on a clean wooden plate, and seemingly ready to overflow with juice.

As well as the colorful vegetables, and the piping hot soup.

For Seto, it was a mountain of treats.

[Are you pleased with what you see?] (Satis)

[C-Can I… r-really… eat all this?] (Seto)

[Yes. Be sure to eat plenty, okay? This is my way of thanking you for today.] (Satis)

[Thanking me?] (Seto)

[You saved me, remember? It’s thanks to you that I’m still here right now.] (Satis)

[I see. Okay! In that case, I’m digging in!] (Seto)

With that, he picked up his fork, and in an awkward motion, he stabbed the meat with it, and put it in his mouth.

The juice and flavor spreading inside his mouth gave a jolt to his brain.

Unlike the meals he had had in the past, the more he chewed the meat, the more flavor he got, and the more he wanted to keep it inside his mouth.

[Satis, it’s amazing! This meat is so tender! I’ve never had anything like it before!] (Seto)

[Haha, you react exactly as I thought you would when it comes to food. Please take your time and eat slowly. The food isn’t going anywhere, after all.] (Satis)

With that, she picked up her knife and fork, cut a piece of meat, and put it in her mouth in an elegant motion.

Seto tried to imitate her, but for him, who had no experience with that sort of stuff, it was as complicated as learning a high-grade skill.

[…You’re free to eat in the manner that makes it easiest for you, you know? I eat this way because I like it. You don’t have to match what I do.] (Satis)

[The way you eat… Is that what they call “table manners”? The big shots use them a lot…] (Seto)

[Well, I guess. …So you know about manners. I’m a bit surprised.] (Satis)

Satis already thought so back when they were enemies, but even after they made peace and started spending time together, she always found him full of surprises.

His fighting ability was one thing, but even more remarkable were his words and attitude.

The reality boy soldiers faced was usually a rough one.

They were forced to fight in an unfulfilling environment.

They were brutal, unpredictable, uneducated, makeshift soldiers.

However, this boy was pretty far removed from that depiction.

Even though he had experienced the extreme tension of the battlefield for so long since he was a child.

On the battlefield, he was a devil who mercilessly killed his enemies, but outside of it, he behaved like a boy who conversed like an adult.

He spoke clearly, and always with an air of confidence.

And that’s Seto, the boy enjoying his meal in front of me. (Satis)

[You really are an unusual one.] (Satis)

[Hm? I think you said the same thing this morning.] (Seto)

[No, what I mean is, I find you different from other boy soldiers. I thought you seemed mature for your age, but now you behave like a child. It’s hard to believe that you were a boy soldier.] (Satis)

[Ahh, so that’s what you meant.] (Seto)

Seto wiped his mouth with a napkin.

He poked the meatballs on his plate with his fork and rolled them around as he followed up on the topic.

[I had more contact with adults than with the other boy soldiers. I was sometimes allowed to accompany them on special missions. And it’s during those times that I adapted myself by imitating the adults’ manner of speech and behavior.] (Seto)

[…For what purpose?] (Satis)

[I don’t know anymore. …I think at first, I was telling myself that maybe becoming an adult would ease my suffering a little. Now I’ve forgotten why. I guess all the time I’ve spent mimicking adults has resulted in me developing my current personality.] (Seto)

[I don’t think mimicry is enough to bring someone closer to adulthood mentally… But in your case, maybe it is. I wonder if this is also due to your magic sword aptitude.] (Satis)

[Who knows. …We were soldiers, not slaves. Our lives were tough, but earning war achievements could get you a social status, or even an education. …But most of the guys who aimed for those wound up dead.] (Seto)

He stuck his fork into a meatball, and brought it to his mouth.

He swallowed after a few bites, and gulped down a glass of water.

[Had you no desire for a social status? How can someone of your caliber be so undervalued?] (Satis)

[…I never knew what the grown-ups found beneficial. For us boy soldiers, their words were the law of this world. If they didn’t find any value in me, then I didn’t deserve to be valued. …I’ve always wondered why, though. Even though I had been working so hard. But I didn’t want them to get mad at me or even kill me for defying them…] (Seto)

A closed environment in which he lived as part of the closed circle of boy soldiers with the adults as their gods.

Did he get this far in such an environment just with his inborn sensitivity?

If so, then he was nonsensical since birth.

No matter how much he insisted that he was not a slave, he had a unique development in an environment where everyone was oppressed.

Mentally and physically.

It gave the impression of something close to mutation.

Growing up under special conditions that set him apart from others.

And he was trying to make up for his worn out mind by acting, behaving, and doing everything like an adult.

Thus, he acquired a spirit and a manner of speech that did not match his age.

However, being abandoned by the Hero’s party was apparently still as shocking to him as anyone would expect.

Losing his place in one breath seemed to have granted him a sense of resignation.

[But you know, I’m jealous of everyone here.] (Seto)

[Eh?] (Satis)

[I’ve spent so much time imitating the adults, so much time fighting with them, that I don’t even know who is the real me anymore. …That’s why… I envy people like you and the citizens of this town who can laugh and get angry from the bottom of their hearts.] (Seto)

His reply was calm.

He was smiling. It was a bright smile befitting of his age.

One thing became clear upon seeing this.

That sparkle in his eyes when he invited Satis to accompany him on his journey, and that childlike look on his face that he directed at his food, and then at Satis.

These were his bright and beautiful emotions, that is, “his own true self that remained in his crumbling heart”.

That much was enough to understand that he had a wonderful human side to him, and not just the emotions of a soldier.

It was simply hard for others to realize that…

[…Ahaha, sorry. I guess this is kind of a depressing topic.] (Seto)

[Not at all, it’s alright. I feel like I understand you a little better now.] (Satis)

[Really? But it wasn’t particularly interesting, right?] (Seto)

[It helped me understand that you’re a wonderful boy, I guess…?] (Satis)

[…P-Please don’t compliment me without warning.] (Seto)

Satis chuckled teasingly at Seto’s blushing face.

The two finished eating and we’re about to return to their room when Seto stopped her.

[Say, why don’t we go for a walk?] (Seto)

[Eh? What’s the matter? Don’t you want to rest?] (Satis)

[For some reason… I wanna go on a stroll with you.] (Seto)

[Oh my… Was this a gentleman’s pick-up line to accompany a lady? It didn’t look like you were trying to copy someone else there~!] (Satis)

[Wha—…!? I-I don’t know about that… I just said what came to mind…] (Seto)

Satis smiled mischievously at Seto’s every single reaction as she stood next to him and joined hands with him.

[…Okay. Walking around the city at night doesn’t sound like a bad idea. Especially if it’s with you, right?] (Satis)

[Y-Yeah!] (Seto)

Seto replied happily and squeezed her hand back.

They cheerfully walked through the city at night until they returned to their room.

What is this feeling…? I’ve never felt anything like that before. (Seto)

The path he walked hand in hand with her felt more enjoyable than any other before.

His heart was pounding, but strangely enough, it did not feel so bad for him.

It was the first time Seto had ever felt that way.