To Enjoy One Last Supper

After one and a half day, the party decided to make camp before reaching Khunar the following day. So they could reach the city sooner, the stallion had to go faster, barely taking any breaks. And while that—apparently—was not uncommon for Soma enhanced horses, the animal still had to take at least one rest before reaching their destination.

“Let me do it, let me do it!” Johnny wasted no time in volunteering to light a fire, the excitement in his eyes almost palpable. “I’ve been training this shit like crazy. Check this out.”

Raising his sleeves, the man pointed both palms toward the cut-down wood. Words slipped from his mouth, their sound soft and low—even more so than a whisper. Then Johnny’s eyes glowed a fiery orange, the same glow that appeared in his hands before flames poured out of them, spiraling and dancing toward the wood before lighting up the fire.

The man let out a heartful laugh, punching the air with a jump before turning to the group.

“You saw, right?! Hah, I told you guys—best cleric ever!”

While Yuushin and Heidi were genuinely impressed, Vel and Kez didn’t even bat an eye. The female dragon chuckled, wrapping her arm around Johnny before pulling him close and messing with his hair as if he were a child.

“That was adorable, champ! I knew you were a funny fella, we’ll certainly have a blast with you here.”

Johnny had stopped responding, his face as red as a rose.

Hang in there, bro…

Unable—perhaps unwilling to try—to free himself from Kez’s grasp, Johnny remained mostly unresponsive as Yuushin and Heidi unloaded some things from the cart, their bodies emanating a bit of Soma.

So Heidi’s Soma is blue, huh?

Its tone was lighter than his master's, a tone that was as soothing as it seemed…friendly, to him. Almost trustworthy.

Though the sun hadn’t set yet, they would rest and sleep for a few hours before leaving at dawn. After laying out the bedrolls, having Johnny set up some barriers—after Kez got tired of messing with him—and feeding the horse, the group sat down around the fire.

To his amusement, Yuushin saw how the vegetation around it changed its coloration, its shade going from orange to a deep maroon.

“I caught this one earlier today! Isn’t it a beauty?” Kez’s smile mirrored a child’s as they all stared at the furry animal she held by the neck. It looked like a mix between a hare, a baby deer, and a goat.

”Dude, that’s sick! Let me get a knife to—“

Kez scoffed, Johnny’s following words dying in his throat as they watched the female dragon slice and clean the animal with her bare claws.

Somehow, Johnny was even more in awe.

It didn’t take long for them all to be taking their first bites, and Yuushin was happy to see how juicy and rich the animal’s meat was. Apart from a comment here and there, they mostly ate in silence.

Until Johnny broke the silence, drawing Yuushin’s attention with a light bump in the shoulder.

“Yo, that’s right. I’ve been meaning to ask—who’s this dude we are trying to rescue?”

They all froze for a second, Heidi’s long sigh being the very first thing they heard before Vel spoke.

“You mean to say you’ve been ready to risk your life without even knowing who we are trying to save?”

Johnny took a big bite of the cooked leg in his hand, chewing it a few times before speaking with a mouth half full.

“I mean…those Veritux guys suck big time, right? Doesn’t matter who that priest dude is, as long as he’s a friend of ours, right?”

A smile bloomed on Yuushin’s face.

Hah…

In the back of his head, he could still hear it. Jay’s words to him, their sheer honesty shaking him to his core.

“This is not our world. The people here, they don’t mean anything to us.”“Whether they live or die—whether is by our hands or theirs—it’s none of our concern.”

Not being able to help himself, Yuushin gave Johnny a few taps on the back.

“Please, don’t you ever change.”

The blond man flashed him a bright smile. “Not even planning on adding that to my to-do list, bro.”

Vel cleared her throat, directing their attention to her. And as she was opening her mouth to speak—

“He’s a pretty funny one,” Kez spoke ahead, her nail absently scratching and scribbling on the bone in her hands.

“Are you talking about Lyr?” Yuushin asked, surprised Kez had been the one to bring the subject back.

She nodded, once, before shifting he gaze to Johnny.

“The priest you are risking your neck to save, he’s one of the good ones. Sure, he’s quite a pain at times, given how uptight he is. But that’s also what makes him such a funny theryan to mess with…”

…

I didn’t know Kez and Lyr had gotten so close.

It was not only the reminiscent tone in her voice, but the concern that would flash in her eyes at times as she spoke. The small things that made Yuushin realize Kez cared for Lyr more than he’d realized.

Johnny stopped right before a bite, leaning back as his eyes narrowed. “Wait…these theryans. Aren’t they that animal folk? With the furry ears and tails?”

When both Vel and Kez nodded in agreement, to Yuushin’s surprise, Johnny turned to the side.

Toward Heidi.

“Huh. Is that so…?”

And instead of meeting Johnny’s gaze, the woman averted her eyes, stuffing her mouth with meat and water as her face flushed.

Yuushin got very confused.

When Heidi didn’t reply, the blonde man put the cooked leg away, getting a bit closer to her,

“Say, Heidi. You never really got to talk much with those priests before we left, did you?”

She let out a nervous chuckle, still not turning to face him. “Just as much as everyone else, I suppose.”

“Yeah…thought so. Then how come you agreed so fast to help with the rescue as soon as Yuushin briefed us in?”

Heidi finally recomposed herself, wiping her mouth with a cloth before replying with so much confidence, it even made Yuushin feel bad for her for all of Johnny’s intrusive questions.

“How could I not? My friend came asking for help—helping save someone else from an unjust death. What kind of person would I be if I refused?”

Yet instead of backing off, the man leaned even closer, his tone even more accusatory.

“Is that so? So you are saying you would do this for just about any priest? Any other human priest?”

With a flinch, Heidi bit her lips, her face flushing more and more. “I have absolutely no idea what you are talking abou—”

Johnny stood up with a jump, pointing his finger at her.

“ADMIT IT! The reason you got all ‘gonna help and make armor and shit for everyone’, and agreed to it so fast, is because you are a furry!”

Heidi gasped.

Yuushin almost choked.

Kez and Vel froze, completely bemused.

“Wh-what are you, I-I’m not…” as Heidi struggled to speak, face burning hot, the blond man spoke again, his voice booming with incredulity.

“We’ve been traveling together for a month! And you were not subtle!” Heidi’s words died in her mouth, the last few letters coming out of her like a whimper. “Whenever we crossed paths with one of those terry folks, you started oogle over them like a kid in a candy store! And—even after using those crazy negotiation skills to get us those discounts—whenever a vendor had furry ears? You ended up paying more than the price tag!”

Little by little, the bright embarrassment on the woman’s face started to melt, getting to something closer to anger. Then Heidi exploded, standing up so fast she dropped her cup.

“Well, you are no better! With all that ‘Queen of Darkness’ nonsense, and almost having a nosebleed whenever a woman touches you!”

“You’re goddamn right!” Johnny blurted that out with so much confidence and pride, it threw even Yuushin off guard. “I’m a healthy, single man in my twenties, and I have my tastes—but I don’t hide them! And I sure don’t lean on preferential treatment, either!”

For the following moments, the two of them continued to bicker back and forth, the subject going so far Yuushin couldn’t even follow the conversation anymore. Yet while Kez had already lost her interest in whatever was going on with Johnny and Heidi—going back to carving things in the bones with her long nails—Vel seemed dedicated to trying to understand what they were discussing.

That is definitely something I don’t want to have to explain to her, though…

So Yuushin decided to retire for the day, taking the time to put away the cups and plates before turning to Vel with an embarrassed tone, his face warming up as

“I’m…sorry. About these two, I mean. We shouldn’t be so loud, right?”

Vel closed her eyes for a brief moment, a soft smile touching her lips.

“It’s fine. This is good, actually. Being loud and merry like this. You should enjoy it while we can.”

Though it took him a few seconds, Yuushin understood the meaning of Vel’s words.

That’s right…tomorrow we’ll be breaking into Veritux’s dungeons.

We’ll confront Arch Bishop Decimus.

And those words weighed in his heart like rocks.