Zel woke up.
Opening his eyes, the first thing he saw was the sky which two moons and many stars paints full - it was the usual scene of the night, nothing more and nothing less. But as his eyes started to slowly focus, he notices that it was starting to lit up, meaning that morning will come for not too long.
He still doesn't have much energy, but he did his best to try to immediately sit up, and when he did, he saw the back of a familiar person he had worked with only for this day.
[ Oh? You're finally awake, Zel? ]
There - he saw Gerald tending to his partner Kira, who seems to have been injured in the leg by a sharp weapon. Zel thought at first that it was an arrow that hit her, but as he sees how big the wound was, he figured that it couldn't be it, perhaps some kind of blade was at fault to her injury.
But since it seems her wound is already healing, he did not worry more than he already is, instead, he turns to look at Gerald and spoke his own concerns.
[ Gerald-san? What... Happened? I can't remember anything... ] as he asks, he was immediately able to get an explanation.
Apparently, he was knocked out by the bandits' leader and has been unconscious this whole time. It was not hard to believe as he could still feel the pain that aches in his body, and every time he tries to move, it only hurts more.
Gerald continues, and as he goes further to his story, Zel slowly recalls what had happened for himself.
If his memory was correct, he was trying to help Walter from the said bandits' leader and was immediately been handled and knock out. Gerald said that he shouldn't feel bad about it, but it shames him to remember that he was not of help at all, in the worst, he might've only bothered Walter by trying to help.
[ Hmm... But really... I never expected that he would be that strong... I thought he would at least struggle a little, but he finished him off so easily; it's unbelievable. ] still changing the cloth that was covering his partner's wound, he laughs off as if it was the funniest thing he could tell Zel. But Zel was uninterested, so he immediately changed the subject.
[ So, where is he now? ]
[ He said he would rest... I don't think he will come out of his tent for a while... He was suddenly put into this task by Arthur-sama so it wouldn't be a surprise if he would want to rest. ]
[ I guess so... Still, I need to at least try and apologize... I could've done better. ]
[ You can try; I think Walter-sama is considerate enough to have you chat with him despite being tired, but don't force it if you can't, you don't want to get on his bad side. ] finally finished tending Kira, he finally stood up and turns to Zel, giving him a hand to help him stand up - telling him what he had asked for earlier.
[ He's the captain of this group so it's only natural that he would choose the biggest tent there is, right? That's right... while we're here taking turns to guard, he's there comfortably resting. He's a noble so he will have that kind of attitude, but I guess he definitely deserves it, it doesn't even feel right to compare him to normal nobles... ] saying so, he pointed at a particular tent and brushes him off with a tap on his shoulder.
[ Just make sure you will take your turn as a lookout after; we also need our rest. ]
[ Ye-Yes... ] he nodded hesitantly as Gerald sends him off. He doesn't know if he will be able to get his turn as the sun is already rising up, but he nodded anyway.
After, he leaves and begins to stroll towards the said place and immediately reaches it without taking long.
( So this is where Walter-sama is, huh? I wonder if he had trouble with his enemy... maybe that's why he wanted to rest in the first place... I was also defeated by the same enemy easily so it wouldn't be far off if he at least got exhausted... ) standing in front of the rugged dirty tent, he thought.
( No... That can't be it... Gerald said that he finished him off easily... Ugh... That's disrespectful... ) shaking his head, he focuses on what's in front of him.
[ Anyways... I hope he's not sleeping. ] taking a deep breath, he prepared himself to open the easy entrance of the tent, just with a brush of his hands, he could easily do so. But before he could open it...
Walter's figure opened the tent for him from the inside and receive him in front of it very suddenly, and seemingly not noticing he was there, he almost bumps on Zel - and they both surprised each other.
[ O-Oh! Walter-sama...! I didn't mean to - ]
[ Zel...? No, it's okay; why are you here? ]
There was Walter in front of him, still wearing his usual clothes and still has his usual demeanor and look on his face. For some people, he might look young and inexperienced, but Zel knows that - that wasn't the case at all, and he respects him because he knows what's he's capable of as a leader.
[ Umm... ] scratching his head, he murmurs -
[ I wanted to talk about what happened... I'm sorry... I heard that you've defeated the enemy yourself... I guess I kind of interrupted your fight and got injured for it, I'm really sorry. ]
[ Is that so? I'm not bothered by it at all. ] so casually, Walter replied, and as he said, he doesn't seem to be mad and the expression on his face doesn't distort into any negative emotion Zel thought he would make.
But to Walter's concern - in the first place, Zel was the one who got hurt trying to help him so it somehow confuses him why he should apologize for that.
[ Re-Really...? ] Zel replied, perplexed.
( He doesn't think I'm weak, stupid, or anything after witnessing that, right...? ) a worried look appeared into his face as he continues to chat with Walter. He really doesn't seem bothered or anything close to that on him at all.
As long as he knows, the last superior he accidentally messed up with shouted endlessly at him - compared to it, Walter just easily brushed him off.
[ Nevermind that... How are the others doing? ]
[ A-Ah... Gerald and the others seem to be fine... ] still not being able to recover from the shock, he stutters.
[ It's already morning so we'll be coming back to the city immediately. Tell the others to prepare everything and we'll ride when they're ready. ]
[ Ri-Right now...? ]
[ That's right, it's always good to travel early, if we do that, we'll be able to arrive at the city before noon comes. ] as Walter said that - he was suddenly reminiscent of the times when he needed to go to the trains early to avoid the crowd and to arrive earlier than he was supposed to, wherever and whenever he goes out. He thought that maybe he still has that attitude he thought was long gone.
[ I will also prepare so come back here when everyone is ready. ]
[ Yes, I will tell them... ] suddenly being put into the task, he nodded and agreed hesitantly.