10. The Two
With her basic training complete, Yume met back up with Ranta, Haruhiro, Shihoru, Manato, and things happened so fast.
She was surprised Ranta was a dread knight when he was supposed to have become a warrior, but Moguzo, who she thought had joined another party, popped back up, and they were able to recruit him, so the problem was solved.
The first day they were attacked by pit rats, and they had nothing to show for it, but thanks to Manato, they found a place to stay, and things were good.
In her bed in a pitch dark room, Yume whispered to herself, “Were they good?”
“Huh?” Shihoru, in the bed next to her, had apparently heard her. “Did you... say something?”
“Hmm... Did Yume?”
“Y-Yes.”
“Yeah. Yume did, huh?”
“Um...” That was all, and then Shihoru fell silent.
Yume was waiting for her to say more, but then she started getting tireder and tireder.
As she was drifting off, Shihoru opened her mouth. “U-Um... Yume? Are you asleep already?”
“Nuh uh. Not asleep yet.”
“You’re tired, huh?”
“A bit, yeah.”
“I... I’m sorry. G-Go to sleep. I won’t get in the way anymore...”
“Just now, Yume woke up, so it’s okay to talk, you know?”
“Erm... uh... it’s nothing... really... important, though.”
“Oh, yeah? You’re a hesitater, aren’t you?”
“H-Hesitater...? M-Maybe...”
“Yume, when she’s got somethin’ she wants to say, she tends to blurt it out.”
“I... I’m grateful for that, though. I, uh... I’m not so good at talking, so...”
“Oh, yeah? Well then, Yume and you’re gonna have loooots of chances to get closer, huh?”
“I-I’d... like that... I think. If you don’t mind... that is.”
“Yume doesn’t mind.”
“O-Oh, good. I was feeling u-uneasy... If Manato-kun hadn’t been there... who knows what would have happened?”
“Ohhh,” Yume said. “Manato, huh? He’s a quickie, and a fresher, too.”
“...He’s quick, and his personality’s refreshing?”
“Maybe that was it?”
“H-He’s so reliable, isn’t he?”
“Super reliable, yeah.”
“He’s a good guy. Really.”
“Hey... Shihoru?” Yume asked.
“Wh-What?”
“Listen, you mind if Yume sleeps with you?”
“Huh...?”
“You can say no if you don’t wanna. Yume, she’s feelin’ a bit lonely.”
“I-I don’t... mind?”
“Yippee!”
Yume immediately moved over, lying down next to Shihoru. Their hands happened to touch when she did, so she sort of held Shihoru’s hand.
Shihoru slowly gripped her hand back.
“Shihoruuu,” Yume said. “How was your trainin’?”
“W-Well... stuff happened, but it went okay. It was hard, though... I guess.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“What about you, Yume?”
“Um, well, Yume had looooads of fun!”
“...Oh, I see. Good for you.”
“Yume’s master, he was so nice,” Yume said happily. “He taught her all sorts of things. He stayed with her the whole time. Oh, and the wolf-dogs were cute, too.”
“My teacher was... a grandpa, though.”
“Ohhh. Shihoru, you had a grandpa?”
“N-No, that’s not it... I mean an elderly person. He was over a hundred years old...”
“Over a hundred, huh? That’s super old, right?”
“But he was still, how should I put this...? A deviant.”
“A deviant, huh?”
“It means a weird person. He was a handful. He was a great man... and I learned a lot from him, but... I don’t know whether he can be trusted or not.”
“Shihoru, did you like that grandpa?”
“I don’t think I... hated him. He had a lot of bad points, but if you were to ask if hated him...”
“Well, then. It’s fine like that.”
“...Is it fine?”
“If you decide you wanna see that grandpa again, you should go see him. That’s what Yume thinks.”
“I’ll think about it.” Shihoru’s grip tightened. It was very warm.
By the time she thought she couldn’t fight the drowsiness any longer—Yume had already fallen asleep.
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