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Chapter 48 Part 10 – A memory from the previous「108 times」. For the sake of the people we love. And for our friends.

Unable to wait for the carriage door to open, Arnold nimbly jumped off and rushed to Seraphy’s side, who was in tatters and covered in filthy water, and roared at the sight of his wretched condition.

「…… He did such a terrible thing.」

He took off his gorgeous coat and threw it over his head at Seraphy, who remained seated.
He wiped Seraphy’s hair with his coat as Seraphy blinked his eyes, not understanding what’s going on.

「I don’t have a towel, so this will have to do.」

He kneeled by Seraphy’s side, looked him in the eye, and smiled to reassure him.

「…… I’ll take care of it. Don’t talk until I say it’s okay. I won’t hurt you.」

He put his face close to his and whispered in a small voice that only Seraphy could hear.
He sternly raised his head, stood up, and glared at the gatekeeper.

「Hey!! What the hell do you think you’re doing to my friend? You asshole!」

Arnold’s family is a prominent family with close ties to the Kingdom of Orhidea.
Learning that he had caused their displeasure, the subservient gatekeeper’s eyes widened and he trembled.

「…… I’m sorry ……!! I didn’t realize he was a friend of yours, and …… there must be some mistake …… I’ll immediately let him enter and arrange a meeting ……」

He arched his back in a flattering manner and bowed to Arnold, who was much younger than he was.
However, Seraphy’s eyes also widened as well.
He had never met Arnold before.
While Seraphy was perplexed, Arnold shouted at the gatekeeper, saying that there was no way Seraphy could have a meeting after getting soaking wet like this and made him promise that he would properly arrange a meeting after Seraphy cleaned himself up and came back again.

「…… That …… please, keep this a secret from your family ……」

Arnold snorted at the gatekeeper, who had a servile smile while rubbing his hands together, and told him that it depended on his attitude. Then Arnold forcibly dragged the hesitating Seraphy to the carriage.

「…… My family has a villa not too far from here. Change your clothes over there. If you leave it as it is, you’ll catch a cold.」

Seraphy had confidence in his ability to judge a person’s character. His tone was rough, but there was no malice in Arnold’s eyes. He judged him to be trustworthy and went along with his words. The reason he did not thank him immediately was because Arnold reminded him with his eyes to still be quiet.

「…… It’s okay now, he wouldn’t be able to hear what we’re saying in this distance. Sorry about that. The roads in that area are complicated. I was looking down through the eyes of the owl, so I knew what was going on. But I was late getting there with the carriage. It was a disaster.」

Since Arnold gave his coat to Seraphy as a towel, he sneezed as he continued to talk.

「…… Thank you for your help. I am Seraphy Orange, the head of Orange Privateers. You even helped me arrange the meeting …… I can’t thank you enough. I will definitely repay this favor …… even if it costs my life.」

Now that the gatekeeper’s eyes were gone, there was no longer any need to pretend to be friends, so Seraphy bowed and wanted to move to the seat for the aides across from him, but Arnold held him back in the seat next to him.

「…… Thank you? No need for that. I just happened to be looking around town and came across an incident that I didn’t like, so I went over to bust it up. I don’t like formal greetings. I’m Arnold, nice to meet you. Let’s get along as we’re close in age.」

Arnold stared at Seraphy’s face as he cheekily moved his face closer and closer to his.

「…… Your eyes are like emeralds. And you also have a beautiful face. If you were a woman, I think you would be very popular. No, even as a man you’d still be popular. You just need to lift your bangs and show your face.」

Seraphy usually has long bangs to hide the scar on his forehead and had never received a compliment about his face. He was flustered and couldn’t think of a good response on the spur of the moment and so he said,

「…… It’s because the scar on my forehead gives people the creeps ……」

He ended up speaking his true feelings.

「It’s a scar on the forehead. You fool. Don’t worry about what that gatekeeper said. A man’s scar is a medal, a mark of a warrior. You’re a great warrior, aren’t you? I was amazed before. The only reason you kept bowing to that scum was to protect your family, wasn’t it? When I saw that, I made up my mind. I’m going to become his friend for sure …… If I had to say, that scar is something that should be respected for.」

Seraphy couldn’t help but burst out laughing at Arnold’s words.

「I’m a merchant, not a warrior …… but I don’t feel bad about being called a warrior. Okay. If you’re okay with me, I’m happy to become your friend. Please take care of me in the future.」

Living in a world of intrigue and trickery, Seraphy is accustomed to reading the deadly poison hidden behind the smiling words. For Seraphy, Arnold’s words, rough but gentle in nature, were like a refreshing drink of water.

「…… Ohh, you have a nice smile. A good man has a smile that attracts people. Nice to meet you, and since you’ve become my friend, you shouldn’t use any honorifics or add a title to my name. Got that.」

Seraphy held Arnold’s hand with both hands as Arnold held it out with a grin. Seraphy pressed his forehead against it as if he were praying.

「…… Got it. …… Thank you, Arnold. Thanks to you, the Orange Privateers have a future. A merchant lives to trade. Someday I will definitely return the favor I received. I swear in my name and my life.」

「Don’t worry about that. Friends help each other. Don’t mind it and just let it slide.」

Arnold smiled wryly, the skin on his hands was thick from all the time he had spent training with his bow. He must have had a lot of blisters. The amount of hard work Arnold had done was transmitted through his hands and made Seraphy’s liking for him even deeper.

Since then, Seraphy and Arnold have been the best of friends.
One is calm and composed, while the other is frank and impulsive. Their personalities were different like water and fire, but they were strangely compatible.
They have always worked together. They could trust the other to have their backs. They often saved the other from crisis, or conversely, were saved. They have shared their sorrows and joys for a long time.
But that will no longer be the case.

‘…… Although this is not a good way to die, I had a friend like Seraphy. That alone makes it not so bad. My life wasn’t that bad. …… Thank you, my best friend ……’

Arnold closed his eyes and waited for his last moments. The wind whistled.
But it wasn’t the sound of Alisa cutting his neck.

「…… I told you. I will definitely return the favor I received ……」

His friend’s gentle voice blew past.
Seraphy’s red uniform that symbolizes his status as the ship’s captain fluttered before Arnold’s eyes.
The trademark of his best friend that had always stood next to Arnold.
Seraphy jumped forward to protect Arnold.
Brandishing his whip as if he was drawing a sword.
There was no way anyone could move faster than Alisa.
Seraphy was behind Arnold, so Alisa couldn’t see him, but he predicted her next move before she could attack Arnold, quickly put down the Queen in his arms on the floor, and started running.

Arnold was gripped by a fear that made every hair on his body stand on end.
He tried to scream, 「Stop!」, but he couldn’t speak in time.
In fact, all of this had happened in the blink of an eye.
His sense of time was slowed.

Alisa coldly glanced at Seraphy and changed her target.
The whip would never work on Alisa. Alisa was like a natural calamity. Seraphy understood this more than anyone else, which is why he had repeatedly urged Arnold and tried to retreat. But now Seraphy was about to confront Alisa in earnest. He is going to protect Arnold, and for the sake of that, he threw away all his calculations aside and used his own life as a shield.

‘…… You stupid idiot!! How strong can your sense of duty be!! You!! Saying that you’ll repay the favor!! What a joke!! You’ve already long repaid that favor, to the point that I won’t be able to pay you back!! You can’t even do a simple profit and loss calculation like that when you’re a merchant!!’

Tears welled up in Arnold’s eyes.