Zect POV
"Oh, God, why do I have to go through all this trouble after hunting and questing is over?"
"Mel, don't say that... even though you're exempt from other tasks."
"But, Zect, it's such a pain in the ass... I have to regularly write down where we bought what, everything, and even what we're going to do in the future... Really, Ceres used to do this kind of thing. I can honestly say I respect him now... "
At this moment, Mel's face was dark with dark circles in her eyes.
She was no longer the pretty girl she used to be as she scratched her head.
"I'm sorry, Mel... that's all I can say..."
"Huff… I'm tired of being told off in church for my messy handwriting and lack of planning when I've been working so hard."
"That's why... we shared the same anger! There's nothing more I can do too."
"I know, I know... huff, I can't help it."
This is how Mel always throws tantrums...
* * *
"I'm sorry, Zect, but I need you to do the laundry today."
At first, I was assigned the job, but the cooking was tough, and the laundry was rough, so the three of us, except for Mel, took turns doing the chores.
"Lida, I'm a man. I don't want to wash women's underwear."
"I see... Zect must have played it easy because you don't have to take care of the holy sword. You just need to wipe it and be done. But, you see, my sword loses its cutting ability immediately if I don't take care of it properly!? The other day, I couldn't cut Ogre's arm; it was almost a disaster! I really don't want to go through that again!"
Well, I'll ask Maria to do it.
"Maria, I'm sorry, can you do it instead?"
"Nope! I have to go medicine shopping and make dinner! Also, can you stop to force me to do everything... like the other day..."
Oh, for God's sake...
"Reall, it's my fault."
Why do I have to wash women's underwear now that I'm a hero?
I have to admit... it was a complete error of judgment on my part to kick Ceres out.
After all, I don't think I would have thought that he was the one we needed most in our party... not the three, who were a saint, a wise man, and a saint sword.
"Hey, guys... C-Can we ask Ceres to come back?"
After all of this... we really needed him.
But we shouldn't have chosen to go back, even for a short distance and a few days, without proceeding with the trip.
The church must be complaining again...
Normally they would object...
"That's right, we can't do without Ceres. If this paperwork hell ends... yes, let's have him come back..."
"Ah, yes, Ceres is excellent with the sword, too, I agree!"
"Yeah... we need to make the necessary purchases... especially for the medicines... and only Ceres can do that... agreed."
I agree... even though we're going to ruin our reputation here, we still need to go back and get him.
"Then let's bring Ceres back."
With this, it's decided.
"That's good, but what do we need to exchange for his back?"
Hmm, what do you mean?
"Lida... what are you talking about?"
"Zect? Don't you remember... we cut off Ceres, who was doing all this work for us, in such a horrible way, right?"
"I... don't remember doing anything that bad... and I'm sure everything was fine."
"I don't think so. You know, Mel had received a necklace from Ceres, and she had taken it off and put it back with your necklace, Zect. In that situation, he was expelled because of the abuse he received! Would you forgive Zect if he did the same to you? And although he left without saying a word... surely, Ceres was hurt a lot... hey Mel, you were pretty good to Ceres, weren't you?"
Oh yeah... his eyes looked so sad when he left, now that I think about it.
If I were in his shoes, I would have hit him.
And yet...
* * *
'Mel... You don't need me, right?'
'I want to hear it from you.'
'Yes, I don't need you anymore.'
'Well then, Zect, be happy!'
'Hey... You knew it, didn't you?'
'Yeah, but Zect's a good guy... Any other man I'd duel with, but with Zect I'd give up.'
'I'm sorry!'
'Don't worry about it.'
Really, he's always been kind to me.
But what did I say to him... remember it!
'You'd better go back to the village and become a local adventurer... or find another weak party...'
Yeah, that's what I said. Really... I'm a demon!
I'm getting too carried away... I'm a fool.
I took my best friend's girl, and then I banished him.
If I were in his shoes, I'd never agree and be pissed.
But this guy...
'Don't worry about it, Zect! Next time we see each other, we'll smile and talk... also, thank you for your help until now. I hope you four live happily ever after!'
And then he left.
It must have been hard for him...
'Next time we see each other, we'll smile and talk.'
That's the opposite of the feeling that even he can't laugh now.
I mean, how can I laugh at something so unreasonable.
I'm a womanizer... but I shouldn't have messed with Mel.
I should never have touched my best friend's girl.
I'm such a fuck-up.
"This won't bring Ceres back... I've hurt him so much... what do I do? I didn't mean to do this," said Mel.
"No, Mel, it's cruel to say this, but you knew what you were doing. However, I was getting carried away, too," said Zect.
"Lida..." said Mel.
"I'm just as guilty as you are... and we're going to have to offer the Ceres something to make up for it," said Lida.
"That's right... let's think about it for a while."
"""You're right (That's right)..."""
Thus, the price for Ceres, which I'm sure the three girls understand.
I took his girl and his place, and the least I can do is give it back.
So do I give Mel back... no.
Will Ceres accept a girl who has hurt him so much?
I don't think so...
Then... it's Lida or Maria.
No... they're not like Mel... and I love them.
I don't know what to do now...