Call Me Rin, Labin
Just before leaving Waltercroix, Labin pulled Rin aside.
"Are you okay?"
Their voices overlapped.
His concern for her echoed sweetly in the depths of Labin's heart.
"Here."
Rin pulled a potion out of his Luggage Carrier's Bag and handed it to her.
Labin pushed the potion away.
"Lee, use it for yourself."
"I'm giving it to you because I want to look out for myself. It's the only way I'll have peace of mind."
She accepted it hesitantly.
Feeling his lingering warmth on the glass bottle, Labin asked him,
"You're leaving right away, aren't you?"
"Yeah. The Hero's party is tracking us, so we have to move fast."
"And it looks like the Demon Hero party is after you too."
"I don't know why they're targeting me."
"Maybe you're just too popular?"
"Me? Haha."
His dry chuckle, uttered without a single change in his expression, sounded terribly sad.
The Rin she used to know was someone with a warm heart, someone who knew how to express his emotions freely.
"I have a favor to ask, Labin."
"Just say the word, Lee."
"Some members of the Hero's party will arrive in Waltercroix today. I don't know about the others, but the Saint will definitely be among them."
"That makes sense. She's always the type to charge in first."
"Tell them that we're heading to the Zramun Archipelago."
"...You want me to tell them where you're going?"
It was necessary.
There was no way Lucy could handle the Demon Hero in the Zramun Archipelago on her own.
To be precise, fighting them while burdened with the handicap of protecting Rin was close to impossible.
Normally, they could have acquired various items or upgrades at the Waltercroix black market, but Adora the Illusionist had shown up as their rival.
Adora had infiltrated Waltercroix and laid the groundwork for so long that the entire black market area was nothing but her illusion. Consequently, any chance of stat-boosting events had been completely wiped out.
"You have a plan, don't you?"
"Yes."
"And we don't have enough time for you to explain it all to me."
"Exactly."
"Alright. Is that all I need to tell them?"
"There's one more thing."
"What is it?"
"Find out which priests and believers in the Holy Kingdom and the Church are deeply devout and knowledgeable."
This was a request that could only be made of her, the leader of the Thief Guild.
And this was also related to Arciel's wish.
"Leave it to me."
"Thank you, Labin."
He had delivered all his messages and requests.
There was no time to delay.
Rin turned around to head back to where Lucy was waiting.
He was walking away.
The back of the man she had waited five long years for was growing more distant by the second.
I'm not a kid anymore. I can't throw a tantrum.
Labin tried to soothe herself.
But she couldn't quiet her heart, which sank with every step he took.
"Lee!"
In the end, she cried out and ran toward him.
She threw herself into his arms as he turned around.
Catching her reflexively, Rin looked flustered.
"Labin?"
"Don't go..."
She pleaded with him desperately.
"Can't you just stay by my side? If it's me... I would never hurt you. I've never hurt you before. I know I can cherish you and treat you better than anyone else. No, from the very first moment I met you, I...!"
"Labin."
The gentle Rin pulled out a soft piece of cloth and wiped the corner of Labin's mouth.
It came away stained with the blood she had coughed up as a side effect of the elixir.
"This is something I have to do."
"But why? Why do you have to go this far, Lee? What about the other members of the Hero's party?!"
"Everyone has their own role to play. Compared to theirs, my role is just that of a trivial luggage carrier."
"A burden isn't meant to be carried alone. We can share it. I don't mind becoming a luggage carrier and leaving with you."
"You have your own role too. Like ruling Waltercroix, for instance."
"I prepared this city for you! I chose this place so we could be together, Lee!"
"I have no choice if I want to save the world."
"To hell with the world! I only need you!"
"Labin."
Rin gave a bitter, apologetic smile.
"You are part of the world I want to save. It's the world you live in."
What woman could remain stubborn when faced with words like that?
She felt hurt, yet relieved.
He was still the Rin she knew.
Not some hollow doll, but Rin with his warm heart.
Rin, wanting to keep Labin from crying, decided to give her a small gift.
No matter how dense Rin was, it was impossible for him not to notice Labin's feelings.
"From now on, call me Rin."
"Ah..."
Labin's eyes widened.
"Is that really okay?"
"Yeah. Please call me that."
"...Rin."
"Yes, Labin."
"Rin, Rin...!"
Fortunately, she seemed to love his gift.
As she repeated the name like a precious treasure, a sudden curiosity struck her.
"Back in Gutter Alley, why did you go by Lee?"
"I didn't have a name back then. I was just 'Lee'."
"When did you get your name?"
"After Arciel left."
Is it okay to tell her this much?
Rin hesitated for a moment before making up his mind.
"I got my name shortly before our alley was destroyed."
"Did someone give it to you?"
"Yes."
"Who?"
Rin answered with silence.
But the clever Labin put the pieces together and quickly found the answer.
Rin. Lee Rin.
His last name was Lee, and his first name was Rin.
Rin. Why Rin, of all names?
Was it taken from someone else's name?
Was there a historical figure named Rin?
Rin, Rin, Rin, Rin.
Who on earth...
"Ah."
There was one.
A girl with a name very similar to his.
"Don't tell me... Rina?"
Rin gave another bitter smile.
It was a reason she hadn't wanted to know, and a confirmation she hadn't wanted to see.
"She shortened her own name to make 'Rin'?"
"...Yes."
"That's...!"
That foxy bitch was trying to bind you to her with a name!
She screamed the accusation in her heart, not aloud.
To think the name she had so desperately wanted permission to use was given to him by the woman she hated most.
"She's the bitch who tried to wipe us off the face of the earth."
"Rina may have given it to me, but she was also the one who called me by it the least."
She hadn't even called him that ten times.
"Since the alley disappeared, it has been my name alone, staying with me through everything."
"Do you have any intention of changing it?"
"I've used it for so long, it feels a bit strange to just change it on a whim."
If he were to change it, he wanted to do so only after standing before her as an equal, hearing it from her lips one last time.
He wanted to show her what he had become, to completely wash his hands of any lingering attachment.
"Do you still like Rina?"
"No, not at all."
Although she was the reason he had wandered aimlessly working for three years after leaving the alley, and the reason he had volunteered as the Hero's luggage carrier to make something of himself, his heart had died the moment he set out on the journey to subjugate the Demon King.
At that moment, his feelings for her had died too.
They were feelings that had already been wearing away for a long time.
He had no lingering attachment to her, but he did regret the words he had spoken to her.
"Then it's fine."
Labin didn't press any further.
She wasn't a narrow-minded woman like some people.
Labin was a thief; she had always taken what she wanted through plunder and theft.
This time, it was her turn to steal the heart of the one she loved.
No matter how long it took, she was confident she could wait.
Still, she couldn't just let Rin leave like this.
Stepping back slightly, Labin drew a dagger.
Snip.
"Labin!"
To his shock, the thief sliced off her ponytail in a single motion.
She placed the bundle of hair, still bound by a thin elastic band, into a small pouch and offered it to him politely with both hands.
"Will you keep this as a charm? So I can protect you, wherever you are."
And so I can be with you, wherever you go.
Women, by nature, always wanted to leave a trace of themselves with the one they loved.
It was a symbol that she was always with him, and a warning to other women that he was taken.
For instance, a certain red-ponytail Hero who kept eyeing Rin despite having no right to him.
Staring at the pouch, Rin accepted it with a genuine smile, not a bitter one.
"Thank you, Labin."
"Don't mention it."
She was suddenly overcome with embarrassment.
It was incredibly jarring to see the usually easygoing Labin cast her eyes down and fidget nervously.
"Once everything is over, bring that and come find me. You have to. If you don't, I might just come looking for you first."
"Still, it's a bit of a shame. I liked your ponytail."
Rin's sudden, casual flirtation caught her off guard.
Labin sincerely thought it was a relief Rin wasn't conventionally handsome.
The competition was fierce enough as it was; if he had a face to match, she probably would have had to slice up half a dozen women with her daggers by now.
"T-Then! When my hair grows long enough for a ponytail again... can I come see you then?"
"Of course. As long as neither of us is in a dangerous place."
"Yeah, okay!"
The conversation, charged with a strange tension, came to an end.
The two stood there awkwardly.
Rin, who had a long journey ahead, was the first to say goodbye.
"Goodbye then, Labin."
"Goodbye, Rin. Let's make sure we meet again in good health."
"And make sure you don't drink any more of that elixir. Got it?"
"I won't."
He walked away.
Yet, unlike before, she was able to let him go with a sense of relief.
Only when he had shrunk to a tiny speck in the distance did Labin finally collapse.
"Ugh... sob..."
She clamped a hand over her mouth, terrified he might hear her.
She had let him go.
The man she had waited five years for, allowed to walk away just like that.
"Rin...! Rin...!"
She missed him already; she wanted to see him so badly.
When would she ever see him again now that he was gone?
The joy and emotion of Rin taking the pouch containing her hair were crushed by the overwhelming sorrow of his departure.
"If only I had confessed to you first back in Gutter Alley... would I be the one by your side right now?"
She shook her head.
The past had its own meaning.
Even if it was painful and difficult, those bygone days had shaped the person she was today.
The Labin of the present had successfully secured a promise for the future with Rin.
Whether that future held a life together as partners, she didn't know, but Labin would never give up.
Inhale.
She took a deep breath.
Drawing in the air, she locked the warmth of their brief, sweet moment deep inside her chest.
Exhale.
By the time she breathed out, the light in her eyes had returned to that of the leader of the Thief Guild and the ruler of Waltercroix—Labin the Thief.