Chapter 57: The Pure Heart of an Apology (1)
“Could I have some more soju?”
“Mr. Benen, aren’t you drinking a bit too much?”
“It’s fine. There’s still some stew left, isn’t there?”
Well, the clam stew was indeed still steaming hot. Clam stew with soju—it reminded me of a street vendor back home, but surprisingly, this combination was quite popular in this world too.
While people’s tastes may vary from world to world and era to era, the pairing of alcohol and stew seemed to be universally appreciated.
I handed over another bottle of soju. The man sitting at the bar, named Benen, appeared to be in his late fifties. He was the owner of an orchard located at the entrance to the hill leading up from the city. In this world, he grew a variety of apple called “Herollic.”
Because of this, every time Mr. Benen came to the restaurant, he would bring a basket of apples. Today was no different.
Of course, every time he did, I would return the favor with some complimentary service. You can’t just take without giving back.
I first met Mr. Benen when I initially arrived in Grayke City.
My original plan was to purchase all the land up to the orchard at the foot of the hill.
“I plan to spend the rest of my life here with the fruits of this orchard. This is my home; how could I possibly sell it?”
I had offered a price several times the market value, but his response left no room for negotiation, so I gave up immediately. No matter how much I needed the land, I couldn’t destroy someone’s reason for living. The orchard at the foot of the hill didn’t obstruct the construction of my lair or farm.
But perhaps feeling sorry about it, Mr. Benen would visit the restaurant frequently after it opened.
“If I can’t sell the land, I should at least buy some food, right? Or is that not necessary? Should I leave? Am I such an eyesore?”
“No, not at all. I’m always happy when you visit.”
“That’s good to hear. Haha, by the way, your food is quite tasty!”
Those were his words on his first visit, and since then, he had become a regular customer.
Which was fine, except that recently, he’d been coming just to drink, and drinking heavily at that. I wondered why he was drinking so much.
“Phew, the room is spinning.”
Mr. Benen quickly downed the additional soju, gulped down the clam stew, and staggered to his feet.
“Well, I’ll be back.”
He paid his tab and walked out with his characteristic swagger. There’s nothing to worry about since his house is just down the hill.
“This red one is both sour and sweet!”
Come to think of it, Rurin was quite fond of the apples Mr. Benen brought. Even now, Rurin was hunting down the apples he had brought.
Crunch, crunch!
Every time Rurin bit into an apple, her face lit up with joy. She ate so delightfully that it made me want to eat one too. It seemed that to Rurin, Mr. Benen was synonymous with red apples, and whenever he visited, she would automatically seek out apples.
“Want some of this too? I’ll share it with you!”
With her mouth full of apple, she rubbed another apple on her sleeve and offered it to me. As soon as the customer was gone, Rurin raised her voice, handing me the apple.
She rarely spoke when customers were around. She didn’t interfere—only occasionally chiming in.
According to the dragon, it’s most boring when there are customers, but she endures it. Good grief.
***
“Elena, try this. It’s a fruit from the hill orchard, and it’s ripened nicely.”
“Oh my, the color is beautiful. I know that it takes a lot of care to achieve this kind of color. We have a lot of fruit in the Elven Forest, but they don’t have this hue.”
Elena accepted the apple, its vibrant red color reminiscent of the sun, with a delighted expression.
The reason I was with Elena was that I had come down the hill to the market in the morning and decided to stop by the clinic.
I was distributing some of the apples I received yesterday to a few close friends.
“By the way, how’s the count doing?”
“There’s been no improvement. Given how much time has passed, it’s probably impossible to detoxify him…”
“Yeah, I heard that… It’s just such a tragic situation; I keep asking. Sigh.”
“Indeed. Even hearing about it briefly made me sad.”
Elena’s pale face twisted with sorrow. Her drooping eyebrows were full of sadness.
“Still, I stop by every week to check on him. I’m also planning to consult the Elven Forest.”
“You’re going that far? I’m sure Grayke and Berna will appreciate it. You’re so kind, Elena.”
“No, it’s not like that. I just think good humans deserve blessings! Th-thanks for the apple, I’ll enjoy it!”
When I praised her kindness, Elena started twisting her body bashfully. She twisted so much that she ended up dropping one of the apples she was holding.
“Eek!”
She chased after the rolling apple, only to drop another one, which also rolled to the ground. Such a pure-hearted elf.
Anyway, there wasn’t much I could do about Count Grayke for the time being. Dragons aren’t known for their healing magic.
Dragons could use mental magic, but in the count’s case, his brain nerves were already destroyed. If his brain had been manipulated by magic, that would be one thing, but in his case, the nerves were damaged by poison. There’s no way for a dragon’s magic to fix that.
This situation required healing magic, not mental magic.
However, dragons are completely incapable of using healing magic.
So, we had to rely on those who knew healing magic, such as priests who served gods or forest-dwelling races like elves, but it seemed even they didn’t have any solutions.
It’s a shame.
After helping pick up the apples, I left the clinic and continued my walk. As I walked, I spotted a familiar figure ahead.
It was Mr. Benen.
It was unusual to see him out and about, as he was almost always at his orchard tending to his fruit. I watched him curiously and noticed something odd about his behavior. He was pacing back and forth in front of a building, holding a piece of clothing.
Sneaking up, I saw that Mr. Benen was loitering outside a small shop called Miel’s Tailor.
Eventually, he sighed and walked back up the hill, disappearing from view.
Curious, I looked inside the shop where Mr. Benen had been lingering. Inside, there was a woman who appeared to be in her fifties, sitting there.
I’d heard that Mr. Benen had lived alone his whole life. He had never married, and of course, had no children. This woman seemed to be around the same age. Could it be that he was starting a late-in-life romance?
It’s hard to tell from just this.
Anyway, after stopping by Mr. Knoll’s butcher shop and the vegetable market, I returned to the restaurant.
And that night…
“Give me the same thing as yesterday.”
Mr. Benen was the first customer to arrive, and once again, he asked for alcohol.
“Sure, coming right up.”
As he began to drink again, Mr. Benen let out a sigh. It seemed the reason he had been drinking so much lately had something to do with the woman from the tailor shop I saw earlier.
So I casually probed.
“I saw you earlier today outside the tailor shop on the street… Is that why you’re drinking like this?”
“What? What are you talking about? Ah, no. It’s not that, no relation at all.”
“Alright, if you say so.”
I didn’t want to pry into things he didn’t want to talk about. I quickly served him the clam stew as he drank the straight soju. The clear broth was steaming hot.
Staring at the steam, Mr. Benen seemed lost in thought, then he spoke to me softly.
“Well, about that…”
“Yes?”
“I know you saw me… But, no, forget it!”
Then he hung his head again and resumed drinking. He continued to drink. After finishing one bottle, he ordered another, and by the time he was about to start on the second, he spoke up again, hesitantly.
“Well, you wouldn’t know since you have a wife… But I’ve been alone all my life. And… the truth is, there’s a story there…”
“Yes?”
Perhaps it was because I had caught him hesitating outside the tailor shop.
Or maybe it was the alcohol.
Or both—I wasn’t sure.
But after a long silence, Mr. Benen finally began to speak. However, there was one line I couldn’t overlook. Here was yet another person assuming Rurin was my wife.
Why does everyone who comes and goes at this restaurant see Rurin and me as a married couple?
It’s quite strange.
“So, you see… I first met Miel, oh, about 50 years ago…”
“Miel, as in the woman in that tailor shop?”
“That’s right. I’m a pathetic fool. I’ve been in love with her for 50 years and never once confessed.”
“Fifty years?”
I didn’t know whether to be impressed by the scale or to think it was foolish. It was a staggering amount of time.
“Well, we were childhood friends, you see. That crush from our childhood somehow lasted a lifetime. People usually laugh at this, but it’s true. I’ve truly loved her for 50 years. Isn’t it foolish? I considered getting married and raising children like everyone else, but I just couldn’t fall for another woman…”
“And, uh, did Ms. Miel… get married?”
“She got married about 30 years ago. She moved to a neighboring city. But she soon returned. Knowing she was married, I still couldn’t do anything. When she returned to Grayke after her divorce, I was overjoyed, even though it was unfortunate for her. She told me herself that her marriage was so unhappy that they never had children. Of course, it’s selfish, but I was glad. She was always good at sewing since childhood, so I helped her set up a small tailor shop for mending clothes. And I would tear up perfectly fine clothes just to have an excuse to visit. That alone made me happy. I’m old now, so I don’t expect much more. Just being able to grow old with her, helping her like this, would have been enough…”
After a long speech, Mr. Benen took another swig of soju.
I’ve never seen anyone with a more devoted heart. Just as he described himself, he was single-minded. It was foolish not to have confessed his feelings.
“Ah, but that doesn’t mean nothing ever happened.”
“Something happened?”
“I once asked her to meet me before she got married. No matter how much I liked her, I couldn’t just sit back and let her marry someone else. So I asked her to meet me, thinking I’d make a big confession. But I waited all day, and she never came. Thinking she understood my feelings and chose not to come as a response, I felt rejected. Yet I still couldn’t forget her, even now.”
Wow.
To have feelings that strong for someone…
I looked over at Rurin, who was dozing off with her head down. How would she be? If I were gone, would she wait that long for me?
To Rurin, 50 years is a short time. She’d probably wait at least that long. Should I stretch it to 500 years for her?
I bit my lip, suddenly wondering what I was thinking.
I shook my head and refocused on Mr. Benen’s story.
