part2 · 087-ep87

Episode 87: A Meal After Ten Years

Out of the patrol car, the two of them began walking side by side.

They had moved far enough that the commotion was out of earshot; the streets were quiet again.

Ren looked around at the town as he walked.

Buildings he didn't recognize. Stores he didn't know. Cars running down the roads. And people walking with smartphones in hand.

Compared with ten years ago, everything looked different.

"...It's changed a lot, huh."

said Mizuki, walking beside him.

"...Yeah."

"This area's changed quite a bit from the old days too."

Mizuki went on, her eyes on the town.

"There are more new buildings now, and a fair number of the old shops are gone."

"...I see."

Ren looked around without a word. This was a town he should have known, yet it felt like walking through somewhere he'd never been.

Ten years. The town, the people — both had changed as time went on.

"...I come around near your house sometimes."

"...?"

"My place now is close to here too."

Mizuki pointed ahead.

"It's just a short walk."

"...So it's close, huh."

"Yeah."

A little farther on, Mizuki looked up at an apartment building.

"Here we are."

A fairly new apartment building stood there.

"...You live here?"

"I do."

Mizuki nodded.

"I live alone now."

"...By yourself?"

"Yeah."

Ren glanced at Mizuki, just a little.

"...I see."

"I'm twenty-five now, you know?"

Mizuki laughed a little.

"Living alone is nothing at my age."

"...Right."

The two of them went inside. They rode the elevator, and before long stood in front of Mizuki's door.

Mizuki unlocked it.

"Come in."

"...Yeah."

Ren stepped inside, slowly.

"I'm home."

Mizuki said it without thinking. At those words, Ren reacted — just slightly.

"...'I'm home'?"

"Hm?"

"Just now..."

"Oh."

Mizuki laughed.

"It's just a habit."

"...Oh."

Ren looked around the room.

A living room, neatly kept. A sofa. A TV. A table. A kitchen.

All of it — things Ren hadn't laid eyes on for a long time.

"Have a seat."

"...Yeah."

Ren sat down on the sofa.

It was soft. His body sank in, just a little.

"..."

Without a word, Ren sat there, as if confirming the feel of it.

Mizuki brought a drink over from the kitchen.

"Here."

"...Thanks."

Ren took it. Then Mizuki, quiet until now, sat down in the chair across from him.

"...Ren."

"...Yeah."

"Can I ask?"

"What?"

"...These past ten years."

Mizuki chose her words carefully.

"What were you doing?"

Ren went silent. His eyes fell.

Ten years. It had been such a long time.

"...I was in the dungeon."

"......What?"

Mizuki's expression froze.

"The dungeon?"

"...Yeah."

"For ten years?"

"...That's right."

Mizuki was at a loss for words.

"...Why?"

"...I couldn't come back."

"Couldn't come back?"

"...Once I was in, the exit was gone."

"......"

Mizuki's breath caught.

"The exit... was gone?"

"...Yeah."

Ren nodded, quietly.

"So there was no going back."

Mizuki couldn't say anything.

He had entered a dungeon. And then—the exit he needed to come home had vanished entirely.

If that was true, then ten years without a single return made sense.

"...And then?"

Mizuki asked, slowly.

"...How did you survive?"

"At first, I didn't understand anything."

Ren answered, quietly.

"But there was nothing to do but live."

"......"

"Finding things I could eat. Securing water..."

Ren went on, matter-of-fact.

"I fought monsters too."

"...The whole time?"

"...Yeah."

Mizuki looked at the Ren in front of her.

Ten years. In a place with no way home.

All by himself—

he had lived.

"...You were alone? The whole time?"

"...Yeah."

It was a short answer. But that one word was enough.

Ten years. Speaking to no one. Unable to ask anyone for help.

Alone, he had gone on living.

"...And then"

Mizuki asked, slowly.

"How did you come back?"

"...I went all the way to the end."

"...The end?"

"...Yeah."

"The dungeon...?"

"...I cleared it."

"......"

Mizuki's breath caught.

Ten years. Ren had been fighting the whole time.

And—

on his own strength alone, he had made it back.

"...I see."

Mizuki murmured, softly.

"...You really went through so much."

"...Yeah."

Ren said nothing more. Mizuki asked nothing more, either.

Not now. There was no need to hear everything about those ten years yet.

Ren was here. That alone was enough.

"...Ren."

"...?"

"Let's just rest for today."

"...Yeah."

Mizuki stood up.

"You can use the bath."

"...A bath?"

"Yeah. The water's hot already."

"......"

Ren's eyes widened, just slightly. Seeing that, Mizuki laughed.

"It's your first bath in ten years, right?"

"...I guess so."

"Then take your time in there."

"...Yeah."

Ren stood. And headed for the bathroom.

Mizuki watched him go.

Ten years ago, her childhood friend had vanished without a word. She had thought she'd never see him again.

And now—

he was here, in her home.

"...He really came back."

Mizuki murmured, quietly.

And Ren sank into hot water, for the first time in ten years.

"...It's warm."

The words slipped out.

No need to fight. No need to watch his surroundings. Simply soaking in the water.

This ordinary, taken-for-granted time—

was, to Ren now, fresher than anything.

When Ren emerged from the bath, there was a proper meal waiting — the first in a long, long while.

"Here. Eat."

"...Thanks for the food."

Ren brought the food to his mouth.

"......"

For a while, he said nothing.

And then—

"...It's good."

In that moment, a single tear ran down Ren's cheek.

"...Huh?"

Mizuki stared at him, startled. Ren himself hadn't even noticed he was crying.

He took another bite.

"...It's good."

Again, the tears spilled.

Eating a proper meal—

was something he hadn't done in ten years.

In the dungeon, he had searched for anything edible and put it in his stomach to stay alive. There had been no room to enjoy the taste.

No one had ever cooked a warm meal for him, either. He had eaten simply to live.

That was why—

this ordinary meal, eaten after so long, tasted impossibly good to Ren.

"...Ren."

Mizuki said his name, softly.

"......"

Ren didn't answer. He simply kept eating.

Tears running down his face.

When the meal was over, Mizuki led him to a room.

"You can use this room."

There was a bed in the room.

"...Sleep?"

"Yeah."

"...Here?"

"That's right."

Ren touched the bed.

Soft.

"...Are you sure?"

"Of course."

"...Thank you."

Ren sat down on the bed. Then, slowly, he lay back.

Soft bedding. A quiet room. No hint of enemies anywhere. No need to worry whether he'd live to see tomorrow.

In ten years, there had been no night like this.

"...Tomorrow."

Ren looked at the ceiling.

"...What am I supposed to do?"

Mizuki smiled a little.

"You don't have to do anything."

"...Nothing at all?"

"Yeah."

Mizuki said it gently.

"You only just got home today."

"......"

Ren was quiet for a while.

And then—

"...Okay."

He closed his eyes.

For the first time in ten years, Ren was able to sleep without thinking of anything at all.

It was—

the first ordinary night Ren had had in a long, long time.