Another World Where I Can’t Even Collapse and Die

couldn’t really tell, but he didn’t seem to have any particular problem with being treated like this.

After that, we were guided to a bath to get rid of our sweat, but it was so dirty that it physically pained me to look at.
After that, the man followed me like a baby bird behind its mother, causing warm looks to wash over us as we walked through the town.
The house Gartis-san had brought us to was vacant, so we decided to live there together for now.

In this world, there was the coveted Adventurer’s Guild.
I had encountered a screaming plant, so this was within my expectations.

Gartis-san was in charge of the guild branch in this town and, because of that, I was allowed to help out with the guild and the recently-recovered man, who I now knew was named Fikar, began working as an adventurer.
It was a completely unfamiliar world, however, and there was much less science and technology.
It wasn’t easy getting used to living in such a situation, but thanks to Fikar, who was like a big, quiet dog, I was slowly getting there.

And then, Fikar disappeared.

One morning, I was busy finishing up my early prep for the winter, since it was going to be my first winter here.
After cleaning up from breakfast, Fikar called out to me, which was unusual.

“I’m going out for a little.”

“Eh? Erm… is it work far away?”

Fikar nodded slowly.
Silence returned, so I continued asking questions.
I was used to it.

“Are you going to stay overnight? Does Gartis-san know about this job?”

He nodded.
Basically, Fikar completes his communication with this act of nodding.
I sent him on his way, thinking that it wouldn’t be an impossible job if Gartis-san knew about it.

Autumn passed, then winter, and Fikar hadn’t returned until today.

“I, was, worried, to, death, that, you, would, die!”

*squish* *squish* *squiiish*

After I finished stretching his cheeks, he said “I’m sorry” in a small voice.

To be honest, I wasn’t actually worried enough to die.
Two days after I had sent him off, I was getting worried and asked Gartis-san about Fikar, but he told me that Fikar’s job had been completed.
He looked into it a bit more and found that Fikar was taking additional requests in the region he had been sent to.
After several such exchanges between us, Gartis-san finally said, “There comes a time when every man must go on an adventure.” Mesil-san hit him on the head for that.

In the first place, it’s not like we were travelling together, so it shouldn’t have been surprising if we were to go our separate ways.
Pushing away the thought that I would miss him, I went about doing my daily work and household chores, occasionally checking with Gartis-san to make sure that Fikar was still alive and taking requests.

As much as it saddened me to think that he might not come back, it also frustrated me that he should have told me.
Though, any fiery feelings I had were extinguished when I saw the real Fikar in front of me.
His happiness at seeing me again seemed to help the firefighting efforts.

As the taller Fikar lifted me up to his eye level, I could see his silvery hair shining iridescent in the rising morning sun.
His dark blue eyes were softly narrowed as he stared straight at me with an almost unchanging expression.
I smiled back and he hugged me again.

“… I told you, it hurts…”

A spring day was about to begin.