When was it again…?

I don’t quite remember, but there was a time when, for some reason, Garid did something unusual for him—he bought flowers.

A bulky man with rough muscles and a long scar across his face taking care of flowers? Sure, that’s possible.

There’s no law saying you can’t have such a hobby just because you look intimidating.

Just like how you shouldn’t trust someone just because they look nice and kind.

Judge by appearances, but don’t make hasty conclusions.

I had lived in a place where if you judged people by their appearance and got burned for it, you had no one to blame but your own stupidity. So, for the sake of survival, I had to be cautious.

In other words, you could call me suspicious by nature.

So when I said Garid wasn’t acting like himself, I wasn’t talking about his appearance.

When I first came to Garid’s house, I could hardly believe the place he proudly pointed to was a place where people lived.

The yard was overgrown with weeds and littered with garbage that had been carelessly thrown around, and the furniture inside was arranged with no thought for comfort or convenience.

The air was filled with a musty smell, the sink was overflowing with dirty dishes caked in leftover food, and to top it all off, there were even mushrooms growing in the corners.

I couldn’t tell if I was in a house or a garbage heap in the slums.

We ended up abandoning that place and moving to a new house, as the mess was beyond any hope of cleaning.

After that, I took over all the household chores.

That’s why, when Garid brought home flowers, I couldn’t help but ask:

“…Are you crazy?”

The man who couldn’t even handle basic cleaning had brought flowers, claiming he was going to plant them in the yard. It was absurd.

“I won’t touch them. You take care of them yourself.”

“Oh, come on, that’s cold. I wasn’t planning on asking you for help anyway.”

“Why the sudden interest in flowers?”

“I don’t know, just thought it wouldn’t hurt to grow some.”

After that, Garid worked pretty hard at maintaining the garden that the yard had become.

I thought he’d forget to take care of the flowers and let them die or lose interest quickly, but to my surprise, he kept planting new ones and tending to them with care.

One day, Garid sat me down in front of the now vibrant garden and grinned from ear to ear.

“Pretty, isn’t it?”

“…Yeah, it is pretty.”

“Hahaha! See? I told you I could do it if I tried. What do you think? Don’t you feel like taking care of a garden too? You could plant flowers, trees, and all that. Right? Doesn’t it sound fun?”

“Not really.”

“…You’re so indifferent.”

I remember him grumbling about how a girl like me could dislike flowers more than he did.

Even now, years later, I still don’t know why Garid did that, and I probably never will.

So instead of trying to figure it out, I planted flowers at his grave.

I hope these flowers bring him peace.

“…”

Maybe it’s because I saw some faces I didn’t want to see today, including those Empire bastards, but I’m feeling unusually sentimental.

I shook off the faint traces of lingering mana and turned my body.

Did they understand what I meant?

The three standing behind me looked restless, unsure of what to do.

Even the big sword-wielding chick, who seemed like the type not to care about anyone’s opinion, was cautiously watching the situation. It was amusing.

“Uh…”

Journey, who at least had some semblance of familiarity with me, tried to stammer out a few words, but before she could, I extended my hand.

“…Huh?”

“Feed me.”

I worked hard for the first time in a while, and now I’m hungry.

 

*  *  *

In my previous life, in the country I lived in—Korea—there were an unusually large number of sayings related to food.

"Even sightseeing at Mount Geumgang comes after a meal," "Even a ghost looks better after eating," "Not even a dog is bothered while eating," and so on.

From these sayings, you could tell how much our ancestors valued food.

In this world where I’ve been reborn, although it’s a bit less emphasized than in Korea, people still understand the importance of a meal.

The problem is, there are just too many people for whom that understanding doesn’t mean much because of how poor they are.

So, what I’m doing right now is a perfectly normal thing to do.

Thud.

"Uh, K-Kana? I’ll make sure to bring something tomorrow, so don’t be mad, okay? Pine, Yuki, do either of you have any spare food?"

"We came here right after logging in to fight, so there’s no way we have anything. There’s some hard bread and preserved food, though..."

"I have some jerky."

"I don’t think she’ll want that... Kana, do you want this?"

"…"

…Would I want that?

I glared at the jerky being offered to me, and Journey awkwardly pulled her hand back.

I’ve eaten enough jerky during my time as a knight to be sick of it now.

Even back then, I always tried to have a proper meal, but when time was tight or I needed to hide, I had no choice but to eat preserved food like jerky.

I sighed as I watched the big sword-wielding chick gnaw on her jerky.

It’s not Journey’s fault. I know that.

She didn’t have to bring me anything to begin with, so it’s not like it was strange that she stopped bringing food at some point.

But did it have to be today?

Hearing Journey say she hadn’t brought anything made my shoulders slump.

It wasn’t that I was expecting something because her food tasted particularly good.

It’s not that her food was bad either—it’s just that I’ve eaten better, so it didn’t leave much of an impression.

Even if I was scorned both inside and outside of my knighthood, I was still a commander, so I often dined with royalty and nobles.

Royalty and nobles don’t care what the common folk eat as long as their own bellies are full, so the food that made its way to their tables was always flawless in taste and presentation.

No matter how good Journey’s food was, it didn’t exactly move me because of that.

But the food she brought yesterday was different.

Honestly, it wasn’t my kind of flavor, but the mind-numbing spiciness that made me want to slap the chef across the face gave me an odd sense of nostalgia for my past life.

I was kind of hoping she’d bring me something like that again today, but…

It can’t be helped…

I stood up and walked back to the cabin, grabbing a large pot and some leftover ingredients before heading back to the clearing.

As much as I didn’t want to, I’d have to cook something simple, like stew, since I wasn’t in the mood to eat jerky.

I roughly tossed the ingredients into the pot, sautéed them, added water, and let it simmer for a while...

And so, a somewhat decent stew was complete.

Slurp.

Nom nom.

"Hmm…"

Luckily, there was some cockatrice meat left. If not, the stew would have turned out bland, but the savory taste of the meat saved it, making the stew from just okay to pretty good.

If only I had more ingredients and more time.

Feeling a bit regretful, I ladled the stew into some extra bowls and handed them out to the three chicks.

"...Oh, you’re giving us some too?"

"I never thought I’d live to see the day the gravedigger cooked us a meal…"

Even if I didn’t invite them, they came to my place, so I might as well give them something to eat.

Besides, I’ve eaten enough of their food before.

More than that, I couldn’t handle the idea of eating alone while their eyes were on me.

"...It’s surprisingly good."

"Yeah, I wasn’t expecting much when I saw how roughly you chopped the ingredients, but it’s perfect for a simple meal."

Slurp.

Even though they were chatting, they seemed to be enjoying the food, so it must have suited their taste.

Thankfully, my cooking skills, honed from taking care of Garid, haven’t gotten rusty.

I ignored them and continued eating my meal.

Out of the four of us, I was the first to finish eating.

Partly because I started first, and partly because I didn’t eat much, I set down my empty bowl and spoon and stood up.

I sat on the edge of the cliff, staring blankly at the sun as it passed overhead.

"Should I leave…?"

I wasn’t worried about the Empire attacking.

Judging from what that snake bastard said, they didn’t want to stir up trouble by messing with me, so it should be quiet for a while.

Sure, there might be others who come to avenge the knights I slaughtered, but unless the snake or the Empire’s swords come personally, there’s no way I’ll lose.

It’s just… the idea of leaving Garid behind is still something that weighs heavily on my heart.

To me, Garid was more of a father than my actual father ever was, someone who more than deserved to be called Dad. He was also the one who kept me grounded when I was adrift, like a leaf falling from a tree.

So, after losing Garid and the will he protected, I drifted aimlessly through the world like a leaf falling from a tree.

I had vowed to end my life here, where he was buried.

Yet, the thought of leaving now pricked my conscience with guilt.

Are dimensional beasts, the Empire, apostles, or Edel more important than Garid?

…Of course not, but why does it still feel like I can’t decide?

Thud.

Someone approached.

Journey, terrified of the steep cliff, trembled as she clumsily sat down next to me, dangling her legs over the empty space.

Pat, pat.

Then, she raised her hand and began patting my head.

"...???"

I had sensed someone coming, but I didn’t expect them to pat my head.

I froze, wide-eyed.

…What is this?

 

 *  *  *

As Journey ate her stew, she kept stealing glances at Kana.

With each blink of her eye and every small movement of her mouth, Journey silently screamed inside.

At the same time, she couldn’t help but cast a doubtful look, still finding it hard to believe that this adorable girl had killed those formidable knights in an instant.

She looked like the kind of girl who should be hugging a doll, playing with flowers.

Even just looking at her arms—they were thinner than Journey's.

It’s no wonder so many people still didn’t believe that this terrifying gravedigger was actually this girl.

Journey glanced at Kana, then back at her stew, again and again.

Because she was eating so slowly, it took her a long time to finish, so naturally, Kana finished her bowl first and stood up.

Kana sat at the edge of the cliff, where the grave was.

Though Kana sat there nonchalantly, looking like she might fall at any moment, it was Journey who felt more nervous just watching her.

Journey, who had been anxiously keeping an eye on Kana, suddenly asked Pine a question.

"Are you going to keep doing the Perklean?"

"…I can’t."

Pine firmly shook her head.

"The public opinion is bad, and I just can’t picture myself taking down Kana."

"I, on the other hand, want to fight her again. That last battle... just thinking about it gives me chills. It was so exhilarating."

"…I see."

Pine, too tired to even argue anymore, responded half-heartedly.

"I plan to just level up and wait for the next raid to be discovered. What about you, Journey?"

"I don’t know…"

Unlike Pine, who had a clear path ahead, Journey was still unsure about what to do next.

Her original goal had been to get closer to Kana, but after everything that had happened, she wasn’t sure if that was the right thing to do anymore.

Whether she wanted it or not, her stream had been the catalyst for the battle between players and the Empire.

If she wanted to avoid something like this happening again, she’d have to stop streaming… but abandoning her main job was no easy task.

She felt like she’d gotten closer to Kana—close enough for her to share her real name—but had she achieved the closeness she’d initially aimed for? It didn’t quite feel that way.

Lost in her thoughts, Journey realized she had finished her stew.

She quietly set her bowl down and made her way toward the cliff.

"It’s so high…"

The sheer drop below made her shudder as she carefully inched forward.

Kana’s small back, which had looked tiny from a distance, seemed just as small up close.

What kind of burden was this small back carrying to cause her to speak with such pain in her voice?

Journey, gazing down at Kana, instinctively pressed the "Info Check" button out of curiosity.

It was a function that could be used not only on objects but also on NPCs and players, though most people only used it to check a player’s ID.

For objects or NPCs, the information displayed was based on what you already knew, whereas for players, the details were accurately shown.

For example, if an NPC named A lied and said their name was B, the info would display B. If they bought plain water, thinking it was a cure-all, it would be listed as a cure-all.

So, in that sense, it was a half-useless function…

Journey didn’t even know why she suddenly felt so curious.

[Little Bird, Canaria Grassis]

The name Kana had introduced, "Canaria Grassis," appeared, just as she had said, along with the title "Little Bird" in front of it.

Occasionally, NPCs were given titles like this.

Despite Kana being the strongest NPC Journey had encountered in Silia Online, she thought the title suited Kana perfectly.

From Journey’s perspective, Kana looked like she might disappear without a trace with a single blink, like a small bird ready to take flight.

With cautious steps, Journey sat beside Kana and raised her hand, gently patting the small bird’s head.

She didn’t know what burdens Kana carried, but she hoped this grounded bird could take flight once more.

Journey smiled softly as she looked at Kana, who froze in surprise, her eyes wide at the unexpected gesture.

‘…She won’t kill me for this, right?’

No way. She wouldn’t kill me… would she?

Even as she worried, albeit far too late, Journey relished the sensation of Kana’s soft hair between her fingers.

Just as she expected, Kana’s hair was incredibly soft.