Warmth in the Rain
“Huh?”
The completely unexpected question left me blurting out a dazed reply. Of course I knew where I’d bought it. The place where I’d gotten the brooch wasn’t anything special, but it was still… awkward. Bringing Reina and Rein there felt far too embarrassing.
Reina must have taken my flustered exclamation as confusion, because she asked again.
“You said you bought something there.”
“Ah… that? I don’t really remember where…”
I knew exactly which alley and which shop, but I deliberately feigned ignorance and looked away. Reina might be used to places like that, but I couldn’t bring Rein—who’d spent her whole life in a quiet village—there. It wouldn’t be good for her, not at all.
The younger one worrying about the older one’s sensibilities was a strange situation indeed. Setting aside how oddly charged the atmosphere had become… I was more concerned about the awkward looks we’d get if we went there at this hour.
When I mumbled that I wasn’t sure of the exact location, Reina simply shrugged and kept walking.
“Well, let’s figure out where to eat first.”
She changed the subject as if food were the more pressing matter and continued in her usual blunt tone.
This was my first time wandering Windren with Reina. Drawing from our time in Caldera, I figured her mercenary experience would come in handy here too, so I quickly asked,
“What’s good around here?”
“Hmm. It’s been a while since I came this far… Maybe the Horn Rabbit is the safest bet?”
“Ah, that rabbit…”
At the mention of “Horn Rabbit,” I stared straight ahead with a faintly disgusted expression, as if gazing at some distant mountain. Unlike how proactive she’d been about exploring Caldera, Reina seemed a little unsure of herself in Windren.
When she muttered “rabbit” under her breath, Rein—who had been walking beside us—suddenly went pale.
“Rabbit…? You’re going to eat rabbit?”
“Huh? Ah…”
I tilted my head at her question, then let out a long sigh once I understood. Mercenaries would eat anything—snake, deer, whatever—as long as it filled their stomachs, but our village’s staple foods had been fruit and vegetables. We’d eaten Hungry Bear meat once, after Lyla’s father had butchered it, but even that had been extremely rare. Rabbit meat, something we never saw in the village, was beyond unfamiliar to Rein. To her, it was downright alien.
Objectively speaking… a rabbit skinned and roasted until it looked like a plucked chicken would make even the most seasoned mercenary hesitate at first glance.
Looking at Rein’s face, which was clearly filled with dread, I glanced at Reina and asked,
“…What should we do?”
“I wonder if any regular restaurants are even open…”
Out of consideration for Rein’s weaker stomach, we changed course and searched for an ordinary restaurant instead of one that served monster meat. They were more expensive than places using locally sourced ingredients, but establishments catering to citizens and mercenaries with delicate constitutions did exist.
We eventually found one and ordered. Sandwiches, meat pies, and a clear stew—common fare in any city. Once a decent spread was laid out on the wide table, Rein finally spoke.
“I’m sorry. It’s because of me…”
“Nah. Honestly… I wasn’t really feeling the local food here either.”
Reina said she didn’t particularly want Windren’s cuisine. Whether she was just being considerate of Rein or genuinely disliked the food, I couldn’t tell. Either way, we began our meal.
The pie was packed with dry, minced meat. The stew had oil floating on top like bubbles. The sandwich tasted reliably the same no matter which city we were in. Thanks to Rein, we’d ended up here, but… all things considered, it was a satisfying dinner.
By the time we headed back to the inn, it was already late. The streets were dim, their faint embers dying out as the day’s activities wound down. Yet certain areas were growing brighter, as if claiming the night as their own—the entertainment district, coming alive only after dark.
‘It really stands out…’
“Shen, what’s over there?”
Rein tugged on my sleeve and pointed straight at the district I’d been trying to ignore. She seemed more comfortable asking me than Reina.
The problem was, even if she asked me, I couldn’t exactly give her a straightforward answer.
How was I supposed to explain this? Should I just say I didn’t know?
“Uh…”
“It’s a place where men and women in their prime meet to satisfy their desires.”
While I hesitated, Reina cut in with a blunt explanation. She’d used somewhat refined words—men, women, desires, satisfaction—but the meaning was crystal clear. Rein looked flustered.
“Ah…”
“Hmm… Now that I think about it, people who aren’t exactly in their prime probably go there too.”
Rein let out a short sigh, as if she regretted asking. She seemed to have understood the implication well enough, yet her gaze wandered, unable to settle anywhere. Reina added a few more teasing remarks, but only one person in our group could laugh at them.
“……”
An awkward silence settled between Rein and me while Reina remained unfazed. We walked the rest of the way without another word, deliberately ignoring the dazzling lights of the entertainment district, until we finally reached the inn and each climbed into our own beds.
The next morning arrived.
After filling our hungry stomachs from the night before, we headed to the outskirts of the city to find a carriage. The most common routes were to Caldera. There were also a few direct carriages to Selindale, the city right next to the capital. But the spot for carriages heading to Karsion was, as usual, completely empty.
‘This route really isn’t popular.’
While I was thinking that, Reina—who had been looking over the line of carriages—placed her hands on her hips and asked,
“What do you want to do? Should we stop by Caldera on the way?”
“Yeah… sleeping outdoors doesn’t sound great, does it?”
I glanced at the direct carriage to Selindale as I answered. For travelers and mercenaries alike, camping was a normal part of life when wandering without a fixed destination. I wasn’t completely numb to it, but I could manage. Still, the real issue was Rein.
I glanced at her. She was watching us with an unreadable expression.
‘I’m worried.’
The thought of Rein sleeping on a bumpy gravel road in the middle of the wilderness made something in my chest feel strangely uncomfortable. Reina must have considered the same thing, which was why she’d asked.
When both of us looked at her with concern, Rein put on a determined face and declared,
“I-I’m fine! We can do whatever’s easiest.”
Her spirit was admirable, but her luggage didn’t contain a sleeping bag or any camping gear. Even if she was mentally prepared, we overruled her and decided to stop in Caldera anyway.
Less than a day later, we arrived in Caldera.
“What’s with this sudden downpour…?”
We’d expected rain, but the sudden, heavy downpour still caught us off guard. Summer showers weren’t uncommon, but the dry dirt roads quickly turned to mud, and the swelling river swallowed the path entirely. The carriage had no choice but to stop.
We’d taken the shorter route to avoid camping, but fate clearly had other plans. With the sun hidden behind the clouds, the air felt far colder than a summer day should. We took shelter in a shallow cave along the route—common enough on carriage paths—and waited for the rain to stop. The driver and passengers all huddled inside.
Whether it was dark because the clouds blocked the sun or because night had fallen, the heavy rain showed no sign of letting up. Eventually, we began preparing for an overnight stay.
The sleeping bag smelled musty from long use. I felt bad offering it to someone else, but I laid it out closer to Rein. When she saw that I wasn’t getting in, she looked up at me from where she sat, confused.
I kept my mouth shut for a moment before saying quietly,
“…Use the sleeping bag. It’s cold.”
“…Oh. Okay.”
Rein carefully climbed into the sleeping bag, touched by my clumsy consideration. It might have been my imagination, but in the dim cave, I thought I saw a faint smile on her face.
The night deepened, and the sound of rain continued. When we’d gotten out of the carriage and run into the cave, we’d all been thoroughly soaked. The temperature had dropped because of the rain, and our wet clothes clung to us. Even sitting still, my body began to tremble uncontrollably.
Just as I was shivering, trying to ward off the cold, a gentle warmth wrapped around my wrist—like soft fabric.
I looked toward the sleeping bag. In the darkness, Rein’s reddish-brown eyes seemed to glow faintly. My eyes, now adjusted to the dark, found her silhouette. She sat up inside the sleeping bag, grabbed my wrist with one hand, and used the other to pull me closer by the back, drawing me toward her.
“Reminds you of old times, doesn’t it?”
We weren’t inside the same sleeping bag, but we were pressed close with only a layer of leather between us. Even in the darkness, Rein’s smile was clear. The warmth of her body slowly eased my trembling.
In its place, the sound of my heartbeat grew steadily louder.