When we left the curry shop, Sion said.

"Lidi, if that"s alright with you, could you show me to the outer gate as an after-meal exercise?"

As I recalled him saying he"ll leave the country, I nodded.
Hearing Sion"s story a while ago I was honestly confused.
About him losing his job, and about him leaving today.
It was too sudden for my thoughts to keep up.
I thought his proposal was G.o.dsent for giving me the time to collect my thoughts.

"… Very well"
"I"m saved"

There was no further conversation.
We walked in silence, pa.s.sing through the main street we came to the riverside.
A few months ago I met Cain here. There are few people here, but it"s a shortcut to the outer gate.
Like this, I"ll part with Sion without saying anything.
… Can I just let him go. I have no idea, I"m lacking too much information.
Sion walking next to me said "Then" and stopped.

"This far is enough. Thank you very much. It was a short time, but it was fun. Well then…"

Saying so he turned away from me. I have to say something.
But, even if I know that, I can"t.
Because, I have no idea what I should say.

Unable to even spin the words of goodbye, I sank into silence. Ashamed of myself I tightly clenched my fists.
At that moment――――.

"Lord Sion!!"
"Eh"

As I stood stock still unable to say anything, suddenly I heard a tense loud voice from behind.
He was called in a shouting voice.
Be that as it may, it wasn"t a man"s voice. It was a little girl"s.
That voice called out to Sion with utmost effort.
When I hurriedly looked back, I saw a girl vigorously run from the side of the town. She"s wearing a deep hood.
Without lowering her running speed, she pa.s.sed by me and with all her strength leapt at Sion"s chest.
The small girl only reaches to his chest.
The moment she jumped the hood covering her slipped off, and fluffy pink hair came out.

"I finally found you! Lord Sion!"
"Rena…"

Sion"s voice sounded taken aback.
Even so, it doesn"t sound like he rejects her. I also understood that by how he caught the girl.
The girl who was embraced by Sion appealed to him in a tearful voice.

"Cruel, you are cruel! Lord Sion! Even though I was waiting! To really not return to the mansion! Even though I wanted to come with you!"
"Rena… I told you to go back to your country. You couldn"t have possibly come here from Tarim alone?"

Senpai looked baffled by the girl who pounded on his chest.
When the girl raised her face, despite her teary eyes she severely glared at Senpai.

"Of course I have! Lord Sion, before you left Tarim you had only been researching materials about Wilhelm. That"s why I was sure you"d come here!"
"Well done on acting with only that much…"

As Sion said it like he was amazed, the girl made a proud face.

"My only master is Lord Sion! I will serve my master wherever he goes! That"s why please don"t cast me away!"

Once again she tightly clung to Sion.
Patting her back to soothe her, Sion said.

"I haven"t cast you away… My journey doesn"t have an aim. I couldn"t take you with me…"
"But, but… I"m like this… Besides, as soon as Lord Sion"s disappearance was noticed, soldiers came to the mansion. Everybody was searching for Lord Sion with scary faces. I was hiding, but if I had been found, surely I would have been disposed of immediately. That"s why without letting soldiers see me, I did my best to come here"

Like this――――.
At her words I cast my eyes down a little. I thought it"s sad for her to say that about herself.
On her head are bent triangular ears. And from the hem of her old-looking hooded robe a tail sticks out.
Looking at those traits, I understood she"s a beastman, who have by now become rare.
Beastmen don"t live on this Heingrad continent, but on a separate island country. I"ve heard due to their rarity on the continent, they"re traded at high prices among people with unusual tastes.
Wilhelm doesn"t practice slavery, but unfortunately it remains firmly rooted in Tarim.
I guess she"s also one of those who were brought for that.
She"s barefoot, on her left ankle are traces of an iron ring, it shows that she indeed was a former slave.

"Rena… To say disposed of. You should have been released from slavery. Such a thing wouldn"t be allowed"

The girl clearly said to the perplexed Sion.

"Because, everybody had been saying it all the time. That I"m alive thanks to Lord Sion. After all, somebody as useless as me would have been disposed of long ago if I didn"t have Lord Sion. It doesn"t matter whether I"m a slave or not. I know that!"
"My goodness…"

Senpai was shocked. Hearing that story, I also had my breath taken away.
"Disposed of". Even though we"re alive all the same. Aside from ears and tail, there"s nothing different about us.
My chest tightened from hearing of Tarim"s cruel methods for the first time.

"That"s why please take me with you. It was Lord s.h.i.+on who saved me from that h.e.l.l. Without repaying that favor I cannot return to my country. I will not complain no matter what place it is. Finally, if I become a burden, I don"t mind if you cast me away then!"

After the girl desperately appealed, breathing a sigh Senpai nodded.

"… I understand. But I really have no aim. If worst comes to worst, I might release you and disappear. Do you not mind despite that?"
"Yes! Yes! I don"t mind. I don"t mind so!"

As Senpai grumbled resignedly, the beastman called Rena clung to him in tears.
She"s probably a cat beastman.
The tail is protruding from her robe perpendicularly.
I immediately realized she"s happy.
But her ears that continued being bent strangely reminded me of something.

"… Ah, I see. She resembles a Scottish Fold"

I clapped a little.
With my memory stimulated by the bent ears I recalled my beloved cat from the past, and while laughing as to not make any noise I turned back.

… If I stay here any longer I"ll only be a nuisance. There"s somebody who chases after Senpai. He"s not alone.
I don"t know what Senpai wished for when he came to this country, but it seems to be true that he fled from Tarim, so I think it"s fine not to ask.
Even if Senpai was the Tarim tactician, if he"s no longer one it"s fine.
If he won"t fight Freed I"m satisfied.
My and Senpai"s paths had diverged long ago.
There"s no need for me to b.u.t.t in. Senpai will go his way.
There"s no doubt that Senpai struggled when he came to this world.
Nevertheless, it would be arrogant to decide on Senpai"s matter on my own, even if I think I"m helping.
After all Senpai hasn"t told me a single word asking for help. He hasn"t talked of wanting to go home even as a joke.
Just like in the past, he properly stands alone. Alone he will determine the path he should take. I have no right to interfere.

―――― Yup.

Finally convinced, I nodded slightly.
If something happens in the future, let"s leave it to Freed and stay quiet.
This is how far the bond from my previous life goes.
With a smile I started walking away from him.

I don"t think we"ll ever meet again, but stay well. I"m glad to have met you.

Now then, I thought after finis.h.i.+ng the farewell in my heart.
I no longer have a need to consult Ms. Delris.
There was the matter of him being the Tarim tactician, but there was also the matter of returning Senpai to his original world.
Once again I thought that I had been truly arrogant to try to rush headlong on my own.
It"s something for Senpai to decide, not something I should decide on my own.
Either he asks for help or not. That"s all.
Still, since I"d specially prepared a gift for her, I reconsidered that I could go there just to chat. Ms. Delris"s house is nearby.
It will be fun to talk about things that have happened recently over the usual unappetizing tea.
That"s right, let"s do that.

"… Wait, please wait. Lidi"
"Eh…?"

While my head was filled with the matter of Ms. Delris, I was stopped by Sion"s voice. For some reason its sound contained surprise.
When I looked back wondering what it is, Senpai looked at me with an extremely surprised face.

"Sion?"
"… Before… That… No, it"s nothing. Um… Why don"t we talk a while longer. I also have questions for you"
"Eh, but, I soon…"

Separating the girl from him, Sion"s looked at me as if his eyes were somehow clinging to me.

"Please. Give me just a little time… Are you"

While confused, Sion approached. Then, at the time he began asking a question while reaching out his hand to me, a cold, harsh voice resounded.

"Get away from my consort"

Everybody here stiffened for a moment.
It"s a voice I know well.
Although the evidently angry voice was remarkably lower than usual, I knew all too well whose it is.
I looked back nervously.
Aah, as expected.
Recognizing the figure that I"d expected, I looked up.

There - with a scary face that I"d never seen before, was black-haired Freed glaring at Sion, and for some reason next to him stood Cain, with just as harsh face.