Proofreader: DreaMing
Cloud popped the wine bottle's cork.
The deep aroma of the wine rose in the air.
The wine was some hundred and forty years old, it had a rich yet subtle entrancing scent.
The wine was poured into the glass as it glowed in its bright crimson hue.
"Sure enough, expensive things taste different. It isn't at all worth comparing to the wine I have at the pubs.”
“The wine has been fermented for more than hundred years in a warehouse where clean mana flows. Yup, it's picky to compare it to the wine purchased at a regular bar. By the way, the Duke did pay a lot of attention towards us.”
Wines of this quality are very expensive. By the kingdom's standards, it is impossible for even a rich merchant to get his hands on one, maybe only a wealthy count would have the capacity to own a bottle.
Of course, in the Empire, there are cases where a baron may own several dozen bottles of such quality, but the Empire and the kingdoms are different in nature and money.
Giving this quality of item to consume to the guests, than saving it for banquets or important meals, was a sign of considerable favor.
“The next head of the Perdiac family asked for drinks, you know, so I guess he could not had have offered a crude one.”
"…but I never did put pressure on him for that."
As Frillite sighed with a sullen expression on her face, Cloud smiled and poured more wine into her glass.
“It’s just a joke, and maybe it’s because they are trying to win the heroes' favour. The public sentiment is already in bits because of this incident, now he can't be a miser even to the heroes who saved the city, can he?”
“…is it really true that the Duke of Oler locked the inner city's gates?”
"Um, yeah. Because of that, the public sentiment is very heavy. I don't know about nobles, but among the knights there must be quite a few who are housing animosity."
And not to mention the common soldiers.
Cloud tilted the wine glass he brought to his mouth. He sipped a mouthful of wine and savored the taste.
Well. It tasted just like wine.
‘Yeah, I’m not some wine sommelier, how should I compliment the taste of wine?’
Whether it was expensive or cheap, it was good wine to him as long as it exceeded a certain level. He gulped down the wine from his mouth to the throat.
He said, placing the wine glass on the small round table.
“Then tell me about you.”
“You already know most about me."
“Not that.”
Cloud shook his head.
“I saw soldiers' corpses lying around the Behemoth. Is it because of that that you have a wilted expression on your face, Frillite?"
Frillite opened her lips to say something then pressed it into a fine line.
Cloud gently patted Frillite on the back to comfort her.
“If anything feels difficult, tell me. Isn't that's what a friend is for? To share their laughs and sorrows as the time shows them one by one?"
Frillite raised the corners of her lips and tugged a small smile. She quickly erased her smile and she put on a serious expression. Like Cloud, she poured her wine into her mouth without savoring it.
“The Behemoth was strong.”
"Hm."
“The sound of his roars made my head ache, the ground shook when he stomped his foot, and he shredded dozens of soldiers with any kick of his like it was nothing.”
“Crazy.”
“Yeah, crazy. But it was preventable. Unbeknownst to others, I was capable of stopping his attack. Still, I did not and dodged it. Do you know why?”
Frillite's expression was pained.
A look of self-hatred and guilt was etched on her face.
Instead of answering, Cloud quietly poured wine into her glass. She continued to speak, she didn't want an answer, she needed a listener.
“It was because there was a possibility that I would not be able to subdue the Behemoth. I could have held the attack, but if I did, injuries would have built up inside my body, making me lose my strength to face it again.”
“So do you regret it? What you did? ”
"No."
Frillite firmly shook her head.
“I do not regret that. The me back then thought it was right, and the me now still thinks so. Even if I go back to the past, my judgment will not change.”
"However, I cannot shake the thought that if I had been stronger, they wouldn't have had to die."
Frillite muttered with a bitter expression.
Even though known as the strongest of the four Heroes, she had taken it as her own weakness.
Cloud couldn't stay silent towards Frillite's self-blaming attitude.
“Hey, let me ask you one thing. Have you ever not done your best in your life? Have you ever been lazy, indulging yourself?”
Frillite tilted her head as if to ask why I was asking such a question.
Still, she answered my questions faithfully.
“I think I did my best. But now that I think about it, there were many better paths.”
“Yeah, there must have been a better way, there must. But you didn't know at that time, and you did your best. The you of that time exerted effort. Why are you belittling her hardship? Why are you criticizing the results of your own?”
“…”
“Sometimes… no, I always think. You are too strict with yourself. I mean, you have a tendency to push yourself too hard. I don't even know if that's a bad habit. Because most people who do, don’t have a good ending.”
In the past, Cloud had a colleague. A swordsman with no talent for swordsmanship. What others would realize in one hour, he had to practice for ten continuous hours to realize the same thing.
Everyone told him to give up.
It was not that they were demeaning him or sympathizing with him. They said it because they were genuinely concerned.
But the swordsman did not agree. Every time he heard such words, he secretly increased his training time and abused his body into practice.
After pushing and overusing himself like that, the swordsman finally bloomed into a beautiful flower and became what others called fruit. Or maybe not?