Chapter 74 – Later Story – Sera (1)

“Ha ha… Whoa…”
Hot sweat trickled down the reddened skin. Every time a thick drop of sweat ran down his spine, the young man let out a rough breath and climbed holding on to the thick branch. Once, twice, three times. He worked tirelessly on his own body to the extent that counting his number was meaningless.

“Whoa… Whoa…”

As if jealous of his continued efforts, he moved his body regardless of the dazzling sunlight piercing his skin. What is the reason why he, who is only an ordinary rural youth, trains so hard? Maybe it’s because of the sense of accomplishment. The more you practice, the more the results are revealed day by day on your hardened body.

However, that alone cannot explain why the weight of the rock on the bridge increases exponentially.

If it was simply to train the body, there would be no need to go through such an ascetic practice. If it’s just to test your limits, no one will blame you if you stop at the proper line. In the first place, he was just a simple country boy. He is neither a knight of the capital nor a veteran of the battle.

However, the stone on the young man’s leg became heavier and eventually changed to a suitable size only when explained in terms of a rock or a rock.

“Haha…”

Sooner or later, even that giant tree that has been there for more than 500 years may grow to a weight that cannot stand it. Whether he knew such a fate or not, he rushed here at dawn when the cold dew fell and continued training until the sun rose high in the middle of the sky. No, to be precise, until he heard the voice of a girl looking for him.

“Luca!”

“…!”

Luka came down from the tree, startled by the voice he heard a little earlier today. And he tidied up his hurried scene as if he had done his wrong, then whimpered and tucked his arms through his clothes. Of course, his sweaty arms couldn’t enter that easily. Even so, he hid his tenaciously trained body under unfashionable clothes.

In the meantime, the girl who had been calling his name came within a distance where he could be seen.

However, she did not run at once even after seeing the figure she was looking for so much. Rather, she hid behind a tree and waited for the young man to finish dressing. A slight shade was cast over the expression on his face, but it wasn’t that serious. Soon, after the young man was somewhat dressed, the girl walked out slowly, pretending to be relaxed.

“There’s a rumor lately that a lonely old man has been doing nasty things to trees. I guess that’s true?”

“Uh…Uh? What?”

Luka, who hadn’t buttoned his shirt yet, steadied his breath and awkwardly turned his head away. However, the rough breathing did not think of subsiding, and the whole body was soaked with sweat that flowed down. Ellie closed one eye and pursed her lips as she let go of her pretense, revealing evidence that she couldn’t hide even if she tried.

“But I thought it was someone I knew. Were you that lonely, Luca?”

“Haha…Huh…What are you talking about again.”

“Why are you so pretentious? You look even more suspicious. Your clothes are half-naked. You’re panting strangely under your breath. You’re even sweating profusely. Is there only one situation you can imagine?”

“Haha…”

Luka laughed at Ellie’s unique joke. She said, then brushing her wet hair once with her sweat.

“I don’t know. What kind of situation did you imagine?”

“To not know that. After all, you’re still a baby. How can I explain it to a child who hasn’t even dried blood?”

“No. What I’m curious about is how far did you imagine it? Up to the naked man approaching the tree? Or even taking off his pants and fooling around? Um… By any chance, every time you see me, do you imagine me naked?”

“Ooh. Retrieving… Has improved a lot.”

She tried hard to pretend to be calm, but Ellie’s cheeks started to blush a little bit. Perhaps, because of those words, the inside of the shirt showing through the sweat might have started to bother me a little bit. But she shook her head and let out a sigh.

“Okay, fasten the buttons properly.”

“It’s properly locked.”

“What are you talking about. I put the wrong button on the first one. Come here.”

“No, even if I…”

Before Luca could stop him, Ellie strode over to him and put her first button in her hand. Then she suddenly yanked the button off.

“Oh, mistake.”

“Uh, hey!”

Luka instinctively covered her breasts as her buttons popped open, revealing a little bit of what had been hidden by her clothes. Ellie laughed at him and said playfully.

“Oh, young man. You have a very strong inner body. Are you doing some exercise these days?”

“No… Hey. What are you doing right now. You can’t even sew properly…”

“It doesn’t matter. You have to fix your clothes yourself. Don’t worry. I’ll fasten the next button properly… Oops!”

“Now…Wait a minute! Hey!”

Even the second button came off with a flick, and the clothes unfolded to reveal the inside. Luca was very shy and threw her body back, but Ellie clung to her and slammed her head against her chest. She then shrugged her shoulders and dropped her button in her hand to her floor.

“Looks like he’s playing too much. Ehh. Actually, this guy doesn’t like muscles very much. I don’t know where our cute Luca went.”

“Haa…Yeah. I lost, I lost. So stop…”

“Huh? What?”

“Ah! Yaa!”

Again, the third button popped off. Once again, it is clear that the intention itself was a joke.

“Haha…”

However, Ellie’s laughter did not last long and she faded little by little. And instead came the sound of nervous breathing. Luca, too, wondered if she felt it, and she said with a smile.

“What is it? Are you nervous now?”

“Hmm…”

Ellie wondered if she couldn’t come up with a decent joke this time. She could have just dismissed it as a joke until she undid the first and second buttons, but the third had a very different meaning. After that, only the last button remains. From there, it’s out of the realm of jokes.

Lucca looked at Ellie’s strawberry-red face and burst into laughter at her. And she asked lightly, taking her breath away.

“What are you thinking about now?”

“…Let’s take it off.”

“Here?”

“Well.”

“Go home and do it.”

“Do you want to do that?”

Ellie raised her head in the midst of casual conversations. The distance between the two was already close because he was holding on to her collar, but there was still a gap. A gap that can only be filled by a relationship beyond the name of friends. Of course, the boundary line still remained, albeit faintly. But it always fell apart in an instant.

“I know.”

Then Luka took a deep breath and took a step closer. And she ran her hand through Ellie’s black hair. It was the moment when the boundary between friends was so easily torn down and the name of lover invaded. Once or twice, if the boundary line collapses like this, at some point it will disappear without a trace. And the two will no longer be inseparable. That’s why this moment was so precious to both of them.

And as I looked at that moment, I turned back feeling a faint pain as if I had been stabbed by a thorn.

And, without a sound, he started running.

“…”

I quickly left the scene, holding my breath and suppressing the sound as much as possible. It was a natural treatment. The moment the boundary between the two collapses, a fence is built around it to prevent others from entering. Because I, my friend, cannot cross that fence.

“…Ah.”

Okay. No wonder. ‘Cause I’m just a friend

Friend.

Those two letters stabbed my heart especially.

I myself couldn’t figure out why I was doing this. Why is it so heartbreaking, why something unbearably explodes every time I see the two of them happy.

Because of that unknown feeling, I ran away today without being able to say the simple words of congratulations on the wedding.

…

No.

In fact, I know very well what my heart is.

He even knew that this future would come.

But that future came much sooner than I thought.

Perhaps the beginning was the day the female knight came to our village. She called out to Luca, saying that she had come to find the hero of the prophecy, but Luca did not appear until the sun went down. Ellie, of course. The two suddenly disappeared, like people who hadn’t been in the village since the beginning.

At first, of course, I was worried. Maybe something happened to the two of them. To me, they were the most precious people in the world, so for a while, I wandered through the woods looking for them all day. The same was true of the villagers, but the chief and Emile’s grandmother were calm. He showed a relaxed attitude, saying he would be back soon, and even secretly hinted to me that he would be back soon.

After a few days like that, the two returned. To be precise, it came only to me. And he told me what had happened. The fact that sooner or later we will get married.

I still feel like my head is spinning when I think of that time. It was worse then. Because I couldn’t say anything at all.

Of course, what had to be said was decided. Congratulations. But those three words just couldn’t get out of my mouth. I couldn’t say anything.

So how did you do it?

…

Ran away

So I can’t even explain why. Just ran away Like a fool. Like an idiot. Like an innocent child.

Just like I always did.