For Your Sake
As soon as Heste's name left my lips, Claire grabbed my hand and pulled me away. Her eyes weren't just trembling—they looked filled with pure terror. I'd read the novel, but the relationship between the two of them had never been described in detail. All that was known was that they had once been friends.
“...Reyan, do you... do you know Heste?”
I didn't know exactly what emotions or memories lay behind her question, but it was easy enough to guess they weren't positive. I looked at the anxious Claire and shook my head.
“I've only heard the name.”
I added the lie just in case she asked how I knew it—claiming I'd only heard the name in passing.
“Claire, wait. Just a moment. Let's talk, okay?”
When Heste reached out and stepped closer, Claire looked at her and instinctively squeezed her eyes shut. It was the first time I'd seen such an intense, fearful reaction from her.
“N-no. Nooo—!”
I gently pulled Claire into my arms so she wouldn't have to look at Heste, then glanced at the novel's protagonist.
“She said no.”
As far as I knew, Heste was “good,” but to Claire she could easily become “evil.” It was a shame to make an enemy of the main character, but keeping Claire from walking the path of a villain was undoubtedly better for her too.
“Doesn't a noble lady like you know any manners?”
I showed behavior a commoner should never display toward nobility, turning aggressive toward Heste. I naturally expected her to get angry or back off, but...
Heste looked at Claire and began to sob.
“That's not it... I'm not trying to hurt you...”
“Reyan, I want to go home. Please help me...”
“I can help you. I'm telling the truth. Why are you avoiding me, Claire? We were friends...!”
Heste stared at Claire, eventually wiping her tears while still standing in place.
“You know I'm the only one who can help you, Claire...”
I thought about saying something more, but since Claire clearly didn't want that, we gradually moved farther away from the academy. Whether it was guilt or desperation, whatever her intentions were, my priority right now was my relationship with Claire.
On the way out, I noticed Claire unconsciously touching her cheek.
...We had left the academy as if we were fleeing in the first place. With nowhere else to go, we had no choice but to head to Claire's dorm.
Claire seemed much calmer than when she'd first looked at Heste, but her gaze toward me had changed. She sat beside me and placed her hand over mine.
The dark dorm room. Thin streams of light leaked through the blackout curtains drawn to block the outside world. Dust particles floated and danced within those rays of light.
In that strange atmosphere, Claire asked me like a child craving affection.
“You won't abandon me... right, Reyan?”
Her black hair fell like silk, and her red eyes—wounded like a child's—couldn't even look at me with certainty. A single beam of light illuminated her lips, as red as her eyes. The flush on her face and the heat burning her earlobes seemed to reach my own body. She looked both fragile and afraid.
“Of course not...”
I lightly embraced her. I wondered if such a hug was allowed between “friends,” but deep down I already felt that our relationship had gone beyond ordinary friendship.
A precious friend, perhaps? No—seeing Claire smile even a little after being so sad made her an incredibly precious friend.
When I patted her back, her breath brushed against my chest. She flinched, as if trying to hold back the sob that threatened to escape, burying her face deeper.
“Huu...”
She deliberately exhaled slowly, trying to hide her ragged breathing. After inhaling just as slowly, she spoke in a voice that sounded perfectly normal.
“...Thank you, Reyan.”
A strange, almost sensual atmosphere spread through the room. The clock had run out of power, so there wasn't even the sound of ticking in the dark dorm. The only thing that filled the silence was the quiet rhythm of our intertwined breaths.
“...”
Claire's trembling hand touched my back. Her slender fingers moved as if she wanted to pull me even closer. That was the moment.
Gurgle—
A loud rumble echoed from Claire's stomach, announcing her hunger like an alarm bell.
“Hik—!”
Startled, Claire suddenly pushed me away and spun around.
“Ah, aaaaah! I-I suddenly feel s-sleepy!”
She stammered incoherently, unable to even look in my direction as she wobbled unsteadily. A mischievous urge rose inside me.
“Why are you acting so weird all of a sudden?”
“...Huh? D-didn't you hear something?”
“I didn't hear anything.”
“...R-really? Maybe I was just being sensitive. It felt like I suddenly heard s-something...”
“You mean that gurgling sound?”
Claire bit her lip and glared at me with a pouty expression.
“Y-you...!”
Her mouth moved, but she couldn't get a single word out. The fact that this easily teased villainess was so adorable made me smile inwardly.
“Let's go get something to eat. What do you say?”
The moment I asked, Claire's pouty face visibly melted into disappointment.
“...Um, I'm fine.”
“Why?”
“...Because no one would sell food to me. You should go enjoy a nice meal, Reyan.”
That answer sparked something stubborn in me. I was a 'Stone'-rank adventurer at the guild. Not a particularly high rank, but certainly not comparable to the dime-a-dozen 'Wood'-rank adventurers. I'd received a decent amount of leftover reward money from subjugating orcs when I ranked up from Wood. Even if I spent everything I had right now, I could just stop by the guild and collect the rest.
“No. Let's go.”
I took Claire's hand. Her body temperature still felt feverishly hot. In truth, I wanted to go out too. As if to prove it, Claire let herself be led, pretending she couldn't resist, and naturally walked out with me. The spark of life returning to her eyes clearly showed how happy she was just at the prospect of “eating out.”
...I'd stepped outside with confidence, but actually getting a meal as planned turned out to be incredibly difficult. The same people who had welcomed me with open arms whenever I visited the guild now refused to serve us. Instead, we only received curses.
All because one extra person had joined me.
What the fuck...
It was as if Claire's face had been plastered on wanted posters. Everywhere we went, people recognized her and turned us away at the door. Thanks to that, I was learning in real time just how shitty the empire—praised so highly in the novel—actually was.
And Claire...
'So this is what happens when I'm with Reyan.'
She was once again realizing that nothing good ever came from being associated with her.
“Let's try somewhere else.”
The moment Reyan tried to take her to yet another place, Claire grabbed the hem of his clothes.
'Reyan has already done more than enough for me.'
Now it's my turn to do something for him.
With that thought, she forced a smile so he wouldn't worry.
“I'm not hungry anymore. Let's just go home.”
We'd been walking around without eating anything—there was no way her hunger had actually disappeared. Before Reyan could say anything, Claire took his hand.
“I'm really okay. I mean it, Reyan.”
It went beyond pity. It was heartbreaking. He'd wanted to treat her to a proper meal since it seemed like her first time eating out, but at this rate it would only deepen her trauma instead of comforting her.
In desperation, Reyan pointed to a shabby, run-down shop that looked like it might have bugs crawling out of it. It happened to be right nearby.
“...One last try. How about that place?”
Claire nodded. The moment we stepped inside, we saw an old woman.
“...An Artifare, eh?”
She recognized Claire too. It was enough to send chills down my spine, but I didn't show it as I asked,
“Can we get something to eat?”
The old woman nodded instead of answering.
“R-really?”
“...Is it that surprising for a restaurant to sell food?”
“Ah, n-no. It's perfectly normal, but...”
“Everyone else just isn't hungry. The Artifares really are a bunch of bastards, I'll give you that. But without them, the empire wouldn't even exist in the first place. Sit down already.”
Surprisingly friendly toward the Artifare family, the old woman seated us right in the center of the shop. I was about to ask if we could change seats because of the stares, but since it was such a rundown place, we were the only customers.
The food that soon arrived was porridge in a bowl and a few pieces of meat on a plate. It wasn't an abundant meal, but the moment Claire saw it, her eyes widened into perfect circles.
“If it's not enough, I'll give you more. Eat up. If you want more water, just get it yourself.”
The old woman went back inside. The moment Claire took a bite of the porridge, she lowered her head. I worried it didn't suit her taste.
“...Does it not taste good?”
“...N-no. It's d-delicious—.”
“Then why are you acting like that all of a sudden, Claire...?”
“...Because I'm too happy.”
Claire couldn't eat any more after that.
“...Reyan. I'm the descendant of a family that killed countless citizens of the empire... Is it really okay for me to walk around like this and live an ordinary life?”
Her voice was so miserable it sounded like she might cry at any moment. My heart sank. Claire hadn't done anything wrong yet, but she was already feeling guilty over something as simple as a normal meal.
Reyan felt his throat burning and drank the water in one gulp.
“...Of course it is.”
Watching Claire tremble with fear yet still find happiness in a single meal out made Reyan feel sad too. It seemed we really had become friends.
Hiding his sorrow, Reyan looked at Claire and gave her a gentle smile.
“No. I'll make sure you can live that way.”
“...Huh?”
“That's what friends do—help each other.”
Claire nodded shyly and brushed her hair back.
“...Then I'll help you too, Reyan.”
“Let's do that. After all, we only have each other.”
“Yeah.”
Claire's voice when she answered was incredibly bright. Looking at her, Reyan placed his own piece of meat onto her plate. She said thank you and asked if he wasn't going to eat, but he kept doing it anyway.
...She's eating so well.
It was just porridge and a few pieces of meat. Yet seeing Claire enjoy it so much, looking so happy, made his chest ache. He'd thought becoming her friend was simply a way to survive. But now that he'd already achieved that, shouldn't he set a new goal?
...I want Claire to be even a little bit happy.
The Claire he'd originally wanted to get close to only because she was the villain who would kill everyone had, at some point, become a precious person in Reyan's heart as well.
That was why he began carefully recalling the various events from the original novel.
...Sorry, Heste.
The glory and opportunities that the protagonist of the novel was supposed to enjoy. It wouldn't hurt if Claire took a few of them for herself.
“Claire, tomorrow's a day off. Want to go out and have some fun together?” Reyan said.