novelraw Chapter 225: Childhood Friend – Hans’ Side Story
Chapter 225: Childhood Friend – Hans’ Side Story
224.2. Childhood Friend – Hans’ Side Story
Second Encounter as Childhood Friends.
A farewell party was held in the village of Demos. It was a gathering to wish Lena and Leo well as they left for the capital church, and what started as an evening of well-wishes turned into a lively celebration as the drinks flowed.
Hans alone grumbled in front of the glowing campfire.
“How are they going to get to the Holy Kingdom of Jerome?” he thought. It seemed as if everyone was lost in their dreams.
But Hans knew the truth.
The reason the villagers were happy wasn’t that they believed those two could make it to the capital churChapter They believed Lena would eventually give up her dreams and come back to marry Leo.
Ptui.
Hans spat into the fire and said loudly, for everyone to hear, “Aren’t those two just eloping?” There was laughter all around, but he got a scolding from his mother.
That night, Hans couldn’t sleep. As he tossed and turned, he accepted his defeat.Lena and Leo were set to leave with a wagon heading to a bigger village. Hans hurriedly changed his clothes and ran to the bakery. He packed the unsold bread from the previous day into a small box and loaded it onto the wagon.
“Hey, Leo. It’s your last day here, so just once won’t hurt.”
“No, it’s fine.”
As they pushed the wagon together, Hans fumed inside. If he could, he would have flipped the wagon over. He wanted to tell Lena, who was handing out water,
“It’s all a lie! You can’t go to the capital church!”
But he couldn’t bring himself to do it because Lena looked so happy, completely oblivious to the ways of the world.
Damn it. Damn it all.
The wagon arrived all too quickly.
By dusk, they reached the outskirts of Torito village, and the youths prepared to camp for the night. Lena and Leo said their goodbyes and left. Hans quietly slipped away and followed them.
He knew what ending awaited them. He also knew it was better not to see it.
But he couldn’t help himself. He watched in a daze as the two found an inn, and he stood in the dark street, looking up.
A light turned on on the second floor, casting shadows on the curtains.
A silhouette with long hair moved up and down. Then the light went out.
Hans bit his lip. Feeling a bitter sense of defeat, he turned away and found a shop he often helped at, where he learned the trade from a merchant.
Even there, with its shabby bed, Hans couldn’t sleep. He thought of the bouncing silhouette and knocked his head against the wall to calm himself. That silhouette didn’t necessarily mean they were doing anything like that, and even if they were, so what? Lena had chosen Leo.
Hans sighed and let go of his lingering feelings.
Fine. I hope the two of them are happy. I’ll be cool about it. One day, they’ll see me as a grand merchant. Leo will be nothing more than a hunter, anyway... By then, it won’t matter even if he tries to get on my good side.
Hans dreamt of a poor cousin coming to him to borrow money. In his dream, he generously lent money to Lena, who wore tattered clothes, and told her she didn’t have to pay him back.
But the next day, Hans found himself heading to that inn without even realizing it.
Leo happened to be standing in front of the inn. Hans pretended not to know anything and greeted him.
“Oh! Leo. So you stayed here last night?”
“Hans. Have you sold everything already?”
“My stuff sells out quickly. Have you eaten yet?”
“Not yet. I’m going to eat here a little later.”
“Great~ Let’s eat together then.”
Leo nodded stiffly. His demeanor was a bit different from usual.
‘Is he boasting that he’s won?’
Suddenly feeling a surge of anger, Hans asked,
“So, did you do it with Lena?”
“Do what?”
“What do you think?”
“...”
Leo didn’t answer for a while. He had a calm expression, as if wondering why Hans was asking such a pointless question, making Hans feel pathetic.
Soon, Lena came downstairs.
The three of them had a meal at the inn’s dining area, and Lena greeted Hans with her usual bright smile. The conversation naturally shifted to Lena and Leo’s journey.
“You’re going to the lord’s castle? Isn’t that the wrong direction? You said you were going to Nevis. You should head west, so why are you going north?”
“But we don’t have a choice, right? We need to join a merchant caravan, but there aren’t any here, are there?”
What an idiot.
Hans clicked his tongue and said,
“Eh~ You don’t know anything about the world. There’s a market open here right now, so how could there not be any caravans? I bet there are quite a few heading west. Want me to introduce you to one?”
“You know someone?”
“I know Torito like the back of my hand.”
How well could a mid-teen boy really know the place? But in front of Lena, Hans boasted confidently.
After wandering around the market, asking the merchants he was familiar with if any caravans were heading to Nevis that day, he finally got an answer.
“There’s nothing going out today. I asked the guy over there, and he said their caravan is leaving tomorrow morning. It’s the fastest one, apparently. If you want to go, I’ll introduce you to the caravan master. I’m not exactly close to him, but I’ve met him a few times.”
The caravan master was a merchant who always tried to get Hans to work for him in exchange for teaching him something, without paying a dime. The pot-bellied man greeted Hans warmly.
“Hey, it’s been a while. These are my friends. They want to go to Nevis. Do you have a route?”
“I’m not going straight to Nevis, but I can take them partway there. I can introduce them to another caravan going to Nevis from there. Would that work? If two people want to ride, it’ll cost five silver coins. It takes two weeks to get there. I’d have to unload a lot of goods to make room for them. And food will be…”
Lena looked at Hans differently. Feeling her changed gaze, Hans helped Leo haggle over the price.
“Hans... Thanks for your help.”
Ha-ha. What could be more exhilarating than receiving thanks from the girl you have a crush on? Hans replied,
“Ha-ha-ha. It’s nothing. Safe travels.”
And laughed it off. Coolly.
The next day, Hans stood at the outskirts of Torito village.
The caravan he had introduced to them was departing, and he saw Lena and Leo riding at the back of the wagon. Hans felt a little bittersweet, but he wished his first love and his cousin well on their journey.
Lena, Leo. Live well.
I’ll become a merchant and go to Nevis too. By then… I think I’ll be able to tell you that I liked you.
His steps back to Demos village felt lighter. A few years later, Hans became a merchant, just as he had promised himself, and went to Nevis.
And there, he met Leo.