Chapter 27 - X

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After receiving the answer, Rei covers his mouth with one hand and turns his gaze to the young woman next to him to ask again:

— The elves?

— Yes.

— Are you serious? They're in the forest? But aren't we in the kingdom of the beastmen? How is that possible? — Rei asks with extreme enthusiasm. Even though he was confused, he wanted to know what elves looked like.

— I don't know either, okay? That was just some information we picked up on the way. The old lady who guided us died in the end. So we don't know anything else — Laili responds, somewhat reluctant to continue the conversation.

Noticing that both Zeryn and Laili seem unwilling to say more about the subject, as if they were harboring some internal pain, Rei gets up from his spot and speaks as he walks toward the nearby meat stand:

— Well, whatever. I'm sorry about your friend, but people die sooner or later. It's not unusual, especially in a war.

— We should be grateful we're still alive. Anyway, I'm out... I'm fucking tired after all the shit that happened today.

After his statement, he runs a hand through his hair and walks away quickly, lost in thought.

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When he was far enough away from the campfire, the boy began to think about what to do next.

His thoughts were interrupted the moment he heard a nearby noise.

Tilting his head, he noticed Kazuki's presence right behind him.

— Rei, wait.

The moment he realized that the man had followed him and now had a nervous expression on his face, Rei stopped walking. Judging by his face, this was probably not good news.

— Kazuki?! What are you doing here?

— Well, I decided to follow you. The atmosphere at the fire was really tense.

— Really? It was tense? Huh, I hadn't noticed.

— You know, so… how do I put this… I think you might've offended them before you left — he mentions, shoulders slightly hunched.

— What? How is that possible? I didn't want to insult them or anything. — Hearing Kazuki's remark left Rei looking puzzled.

— Still, that wasn't exactly a nice thing to say.

With a dissatisfied expression, he declared:

— Seriously? Saying that people can die at any moment is now an insult?

— You should apologize to them, Rei. They're still shaken up by everything that happened.

— Oh, come on, you've got to be kidding me. Why the hell would I apologize? I didn't do anything wrong. On the contrary, we helped them with food, offered them a place to stay, and even listened to everything they had to say.

"Man, give me a break. People have been way too emotional lately, trying to find problems where there aren't any! And now I'm the one who has to apologize? I even said I was sorry, which is something I don't usually do."

Looking at Kazuki's face, he noticed that his ears were slightly lowered and his eyes looked hesitant.

Kazuki knew that Rei had a point, but he didn't want people to think negatively about his behavior.

A pointless concern, considering that the student never cared how others saw him.

Rei took his hands out of his pockets, rolled up his sleeves and finally spoke lazily, giving Kazuki a sideways glance.

— Come on, Kazuki, you're too damn righteous! You know I won't change my answer. It will stay the same. - He finished his sentence and sighed in disappointment, knowing that even if he could go back in time, he would've said exactly the same thing again.

— It's fine. If you don't want to, you don't have to apologize — Kazuki replied calmly, no longer insisting.

In a way, that surprised Rei, who didn't expect the man to just back off.

— That's more like it! Well, since you followed me here, why don't you give me a hand with something too?

— A hand?

— Exactly, I need a good night's sleep. I'm fucking exhausted after everything that went down.

— But… how could I help with that? — he asked immediately, shooting a quick glance in his direction.

At that, the boy walked up to Kazuki, closing the distance between them.

Feeling Rei's breath close to his neck, Kazuki's heart sped up, and his breathing became uneven.

— I can't just sleep on the ground, you're gonna have to help me with some heavy lifting, Kazuki — he whispered in his ear.

— H-Heavy lifting? — Kazuki stammered, heart pounding.

Then, the boy placed his arm over Kazuki's back, breaking all the tension that seemed to be leading the conversation in another direction.

— Yeah, I need you to help carry some stuff I'm about to create with my crafting ability.

"Holy shit, what the hell was that? What am I even thinking?"

The thought popped up spontaneously in Kazuki's mind. He bit his lips and looked at his hands, frustrated by the direction of his own thoughts.

Meanwhile, as Kazuki was still caught up in those thoughts, Rei had already activated his crafting ability. Four camping tents appeared before them.

— Alright, just carry these — Rei handed the tents to the man.

With his heart back to its regular rhythm, Kazuki looked at the student, unable to express himself, and replied:

— O-Okay…

— Let's head back to the fire. What are you waiting for? I need some rest.

After that, Kazuki followed the boy walking ahead of him.