Chapter 9: A Room for Two (Patreon)

Artorias had no idea that his name was already spreading across Orario.

He didn't know that Asfi of the Hermes Familia had compiled his information into a report and handed it to Finn.

Nor did he know how highly Finn had spoken of him at a meeting in Guild headquarters.

Even less did he know that praise had already reached the ears of other Familias.

"The black-haired boy?"

"The one who can hear Evilus ambushes coming?"

"They say Captain Lidith of the Hermes Familia is alive today because of his warning."

"The Astraea Familia said he saved plenty of people in the North District too."

"Even the Loki Familia vouches for his judgment."

Rumors about Artorias quietly spread among the adventurers in Orario's makeshift camps.

Some praised his perception. Some marveled that a boy without a blessing could act so calmly in the middle of a battlefield. Others were simply curious about who he was.

The subject of all this talk knew nothing about it.

Right now he was sitting on a wooden crate outside the emergency medical tent, cradling a bowl of soup that had long since gone cold, staring blankly at the two girls in front of him.

Ais sat on his left.

Adi sat on his right.

Neither of them said a word.

And yet the mood was tenser than it had been during the Evilus attack.

Artorias glanced down at the soup in his hands, then looked up at Ais.

Ais was staring at his bandages.

More precisely, she was staring at his stomach.

The wrap there had just been changed, but a small patch of blood had already soaked through the white cloth.

Ais reached out and pointed at the wound.

"Hurt?"

"It's fine right now."

Artorias answered honestly.

Ais nodded, then stood up.

"Come with me."

"Where to?"

"Treatment."

"You just got treated."

"Again."

With that, she reached out and grabbed Artorias's wrist.

Adi immediately raised a hand to block her.

"He just finished treatment. He can't use recovery potions again so soon."

Ais looked at Adi.

"Why not?"

"The effects interfere with each other. And his wound only reopened a little — rest will heal it."

"How long does he need to rest?"

"At least two hours."

"Treat him again after two hours?"

"If it's necessary."

"It's necessary."

Ais answered without a moment's hesitation.

Something flickered in Adi's eyes.

"That's my judgment, after assessing him."

"I judged too."

"Based on what?"

"Blood."

Ais pointed at the bandage on Artorias's stomach.

"Still bleeding."

"A little blood doesn't mean the wound is getting worse."

"It hurts."

"He said it doesn't."

Ais turned to look at Artorias.

"You said it was fine just now."

"Mm."

"Fine means it hurts."

"I suppose you could interpret it that way."

Adi's brow twitched.

"Artorias, don't just go along with her logic."

"But what Ais said makes sense too."

"Whose side are you on?"

The words slipped out of Adi's mouth.

The moment she said it, she froze, startled by herself.

Artorias, holding his wooden bowl, looked even more confused.

Ais tilted her head slightly.

It was a small movement, her long golden hair swaying with her shoulders.

"Adi is angry."

"I am not."

"You are."

"I'm just—"

Adi stopped herself.

She had meant to say she was simply worried about Artorias's injury, but Ais's gaze was too direct to argue with. Those golden eyes held no hostility, no challenge — just plain, quiet observation.

And that only made it harder for Adi to explain herself.

She knew, of course, that Ais meant no harm.

She knew this golden-haired girl simply had a habit of saying whatever she wanted to do, out loud.

But ever since they'd sat down, Ais hadn't stopped hovering around Artorias.

"Should we change the bandage?"

"Do you want water?"

"Does it still hurt?"

"Should we move somewhere safer?"

Every so often, Ais would ask again.

The questions were short.

Her tone never changed much.

But every time she asked, she waited seriously for an answer. The moment Artorias so much as frowned, she would rise at once, ready to go find a healer.

Artorias hadn't even noticed anything unusual about it.

He simply thought Ais was very dependable.

Adi, on the other hand, found it all a little uncomfortable.

"Artorias."

Ais spoke again.

"Come with me."

"Where to?"

"To find Riveria."

"Why do we need Riveria?"

"She can judge the wound properly."

"Riveria's supporting the front line right now. She won't have time."

Adi set the medical kit on her lap, opened it, and pulled out a fresh bandage.

"I'll change his dressing."

Ais stared at her hands.

"Do you even know how?"

Adi's hands stopped moving.

"Of course I do."

"You tied the last one in a dead knot."

"That was so it wouldn't come loose."

"It hurts."

"How do you know all this?"

"Artorias told me."

Ais answered earnestly.

Adi turned her head.

"When did he tell you that?"

"Yesterday."

"You two only met yesterday, didn't you?"

"Mm."

"You've known him for one day and already memorized all his habits?"

"Not all of them."

Ais lowered her eyes, glancing at Artorias.

"Just the ones he told me."

In that instant, something pricked lightly at Adi's chest.

The words sounded ordinary enough.

Ais's expression hadn't changed either.

But Adi knew — Ais really had remembered everything Artorias had ever said.

When he could move, when he needed rest, when he'd bite down on pain rather than speak of it, when he'd forget his own injuries just to make sure his companions were safe.

Ais had learned all of it, and fast.

Fast enough that it couldn't be ignored.

Adi lowered her head and unwrapped the bandage, her movements a little rougher than before.

"Since you remember so clearly, then you should also know he needs to rest right now."

"I know."

"Then why are you asking him to come with you?"

"I want to protect him."

"I can protect him too."

Adi lifted her face.

Ais looked at her.

Their gazes met in midair.

No sparks. No open hostility.

Ais simply watched Adi quietly, as though confirming something important.

"I know that," she said.

"But you can't protect him forever."

Adi's fingers froze in midair.

"What do you mean?"

Ais pointed at Artorias.

"You're injured."

"I can still move."

"You were just hit by an arrow."

"Just a graze."

"Your left shoulder's hurt too."

"That's an old injury."

"Your right hand shakes when you hold a blade."

Adi went quiet.

Ais was right.

During the fighting just now, her right hand had trembled — briefly, but it had. It wasn't from exhaustion; it was the old shoulder injury pulling at her arm.

She hadn't expected Ais to notice.

And she certainly hadn't expected Ais to point it out right in front of Artorias.

"I can protect him."

Adi went back to sorting the medical kit.

"Even injured."

"So can I."

"You don't have enough experience."

"I can defeat the enemy."

"On a battlefield, defeating the enemy isn't everything."

"Artorias will tell me where the enemies are."

Ais said it as though it were simply obvious.

For a moment, Adi didn't know how to argue with that.

Beside them, Artorias finally sensed something was wrong.

"Adi, Ais — are you two fighting?"

"No."

"No."

Both girls answered at once.

Their voices overlapped.

Artorias blinked.

"But the mood feels strange."

"You're imagining it."

Adi stuffed the fresh bandage into the kit.

Ais walked over to stand in front of Artorias and held out her hand.

"Give me the soup."

"Why?"

"It's cold."

"I can still drink it."

"No, you can't."

"Syr said just now it's fine to drink."

At the mention of Syr's name, Ais's hand froze midair.

Adi looked over as well.

Not far off, Syr was crouched by the big cauldron, feeding the fire. She seemed to sense the three of them looking her way and glanced up.

Her eyes flicked between Ais and Adi, then she broke into a smile whose meaning was hard to place.

"Artorias, drink your soup while it's still warm."

"Mm, got it."

Artorias raised the wooden bowl and took a serious sip.

Ais's hand still hovered in front of him.

"I can reheat it for you."

"No need to bother."

"It's no bother."

Adi couldn't help herself.

"He's just drinking a bowl of soup."

"Mm."

"You don't have to stare at him the whole time."

"I'm not staring the whole time."

"You've been staring since we sat down."

"Because he's hurt."

"I know he's hurt."

"You know?"

Ais's eyes widened, ever so slightly.

The change was so subtle that anyone not watching closely would have missed it entirely.

But Adi saw it.

Ais cared about this.

It was as if she were checking whether she, too, had the right to worry about Artorias.

Adi suddenly found herself at a loss for words.

She looked at Ais's near-expressionless face, and the jealousy in her chest slowly shifted into something more complicated.

Ais wasn't trying to take anything away from her.

She had simply, for the first time, found someone who understood the rhythm of her own fighting.

For the first time, someone stood behind her and told her exactly where the enemy would come from.

For the first time, someone wasn't afraid of her blade, and didn't doubt her judgment just because she was young.

Ais probably just thought Artorias mattered.

So she couldn't stop watching him.

"I know," Adi said, softening her tone.

"You're worried about him."

Ais nodded.

"Mm."

"But he needs quiet rest right now."

"Mm."

"So let me handle the bandage. You go check on the area around us."

Ais looked at Adi for a moment.

"You won't let him run off recklessly?"

"I won't."

"You won't let him give his food away to someone else?"

"I won't."

Artorias glanced down at the half-eaten ration in his hand.

Adi added, "At the very least, I'll make him finish his own share first."

Ais thought it over, then held out her little finger.

"Promise?"

Adi froze.

She hadn't expected Ais to make a gesture like that.

Ais's golden eyes remained clear, her expression unchanged. She simply held out her hand and waited quietly for an answer.

Adi looked at that small finger, and finally held out her own, hooking it lightly with Ais's.

"Promise."

Ais withdrew her hand.

"I'm going on patrol."

She turned and walked off.

Artorias watched her retreating back.

"Ais seems upset."

"..."

"But she looks the same as always."

"She always has that expression."

"Then how do you know if she's happy or not?"

Adi pulled out her scissors and began cutting away the old bandage on his stomach.

"You look at what she does."

"Like this?"

"Mm. If she's willing to speak to you first, it means she approves of you. If she stands by your side, it means she trusts you."

Artorias nodded.

"What about Adi, then?"

The scissors in Adi's hand stopped.

"What about me?"

"Why do you always protect me?"

Rain pattered against the roof of the tent, thin and steady.

Artorias looked at Adi.

"Ever since I took human form, you've always stayed with me. Whenever there was an enemy, you'd stand in front."

"Because you're one of us."

Adi bent her head, cleaning his wound.

"And you're not used to this place."

"Only because I'm a companion?"

"What else do you want to hear?"

Artorias thought seriously about that.

"I don't know."

"Then don't ask."

Adi's tone was gentler than usual, but she still didn't really answer his question.

She wrapped the fresh bandage around him, deliberately leaving a little slack for movement.

"There. Done."

Artorias looked down.

"Looser than before."

"So it won't hurt."

"Ais was right."

"What did she say?"

"That you tie the knot too tight."

Adi looked up.

"She told you that too?"

"Mm."

"You've known each other for one day."

"But she's very observant."

"Are you complimenting her right now?"

"Yes."

Artorias answered without hesitation.

Adi stared at him for a moment, then reached out and pinched his cheek.

"Ow."

"So you do feel pain?"

"I do."

"Then remember this — don't just trust others blindly on the battlefield."

"Ais wouldn't lie to me."

"I never said she would."

Adi let go of his cheek.

"What I'm saying is, you need to trust your own judgment too."

"My judgment?"

"You can hear the enemy. You can find traces no one else can. That's your strength."

Adi reached up and wiped rainwater from the side of his face.

"Stop thinking you can only be protected."

Artorias looked down at her.

"I don't think that."

"No, you really don't," Adi said quietly.

"Which is exactly what worries me."

Artorias seemed about to say something more, but a sudden commotion broke out nearby.

"Evilus spotted to the north!"

"Wounded trapped in a warehouse!"

"We need backup!"

Artorias stood up.

Adi immediately pressed a hand to his shoulder.

"You stay here."

"I can hear the enemy."

"So stay here and tell me where they are."

Artorias stopped in his tracks.

Not far off, Ais had already returned to the edge of the camp. Katana in hand, her golden hair soaked with rain, she gazed silently at the two of them.

"Ais."

Artorias looked up.

"How many people are at the warehouse?"

Ais looked at him.

"Eight."

"She's asking you, not Ais."

Adi frowned.

Artorias closed his eyes.

"Five inside the warehouse, three outside. There's a mage on the left side, gathering magic power."

Ais turned at once.

"I'll take care of the mage."

"I'm coming with you."

Adi stepped in front of her.

"You go straight in. Artorias and I will stay here."

Ais didn't move.

"He needs my protection."

"He needs mine too."

Their gazes clashed again.

This time, Artorias finally understood the problem.

"I can protect myself."

Both girls turned to him at once.

"No."

"No."

The answer came out perfectly in sync, again.

Artorias stood there, utterly bewildered.

"Why not?"

Adi pointed at his stomach.

"You just had your bandage redone."

Ais pointed at his feet.

"Your left foot is slower than your right when you walk."

Artorias looked down.

He truly hadn't noticed that.

"So you're staying," Ais said.

"I'll be back."

With that, she dashed toward the warehouse.

Adi followed right after, glancing back at Artorias before she left.

"Stay put. Don't wander off."

Artorias nodded.

"Understood."

But the moment the two of them left, he heard a third, out-of-place sound.

Not from the warehouse.

Not from the north.

But from the drainage ditch behind the camp.

Someone was quietly prying at the iron grate from inside.

Artorias had only made it halfway when he stopped.

Almost at the same instant, Ais glanced back from a distance.

She saw that Artorias hadn't followed.

"Artorias?"

Adi turned as well.

"What's wrong?"

Artorias pointed at the drainage ditch.

"There's someone there."

Adi and Ais exchanged a glance.

No arguing this time.

Ais changed direction immediately, while Adi circled around to block the exit on the other side.

Artorias stayed between them, calling out enemy positions.

"Two of them, prying the door. One more behind, carrying a Flame Stone."

Ais leaped over the broken wall.

Adi sealed off the retreat.

Their movements meshed perfectly, as if the argument moments ago had never happened.

Standing in the rain, Artorias finally understood.

Ais and Adi both seemed to be competing for the chance to protect him.

But he couldn't quite grasp the reason for the argument itself.

To him, both of them were companions worth trusting completely.

As long as they could fight side by side, it didn't seem to matter who stood in front and who stood beside.

"Left!" Artorias shouted.

Ais's blade knocked a short knife out of an enemy's hand.

"Right!"

Adi sidestepped a Flame Stone and struck an enemy's wrist with her sheathed sword.

"The Flame Stone's falling!"

Artorias rushed forward and kicked the Flame Stone into a nearby pool of standing water.

There was a boom, water and smoke rising together.

The blast, weakened by the water, took down all three Evilus soldiers at once.

Ais walked up to Artorias.

"You didn't run off this time."

"I found the enemy."

"Mm."

Ais nodded.

"Well done."

Adi came over to his side and checked his bandage first.

"Any shaking from the blast?"

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"Sure."

Ais watched Adi's hands.

"His wound hasn't reopened."

"I'm confirming that."

"I already confirmed it."

"Then you don't need to say it again."

"Mm."

"Don't just say 'mm.'"

Ais fell silent.

Adi rubbed her temple.

She suddenly felt she was seriously competing with a child who held absolutely no ill intent toward her.

Ais didn't mock, didn't argue.

She simply said what she saw, and stood in front of whoever she wanted to protect.

That kind of honesty left Adi with no ordinary way to respond to it.

"Adi."

Artorias spoke up suddenly.

"Ais said I did well."

"I heard."

"You could say it too."

Adi froze.

"Say what?"

"That I did well."

Ais glanced over.

Adi felt both pairs of eyes settle on her at once, and could only reach out and pat Artorias's shoulder.

"You did fine this time."

"Just this time?"

"What more do you want?"

Ais added earnestly, "He did well yesterday too."

Adi's smile went a little stiff.

Artorias nodded.

"Thanks."

In the distance, Syr approached carrying three bowls of freshly ladled hot soup.

She handed one to Ais.

Ais took it but didn't drink.

"For Artorias."

Syr blinked.

"This one's for you."

"I'm not hungry."

"You just fought a long battle."

"Artorias is injured."

"He has his own bowl too."

Syr handed the second bowl to Artorias, then offered the third to Adi.

"So this one's for you, Miss Adi."

Adi took the wooden bowl, her gaze sweeping between Ais and Artorias.

A smile touched Syr's lips, but her pale grey eyes looked as though they'd already worked something out.

"All three of you, drink it all."

"Mm."

Ais lowered her head and drank.

Her expression stayed exactly the same, but after her first sip, she tilted the bowl slightly toward Artorias.

"It's good."

Artorias looked at her.

"You like it?"

"Mm."

"Then finish it."

Ais nodded.

Standing off to the side, Adi suddenly thought that the aftermath of a battle could be more exhausting to navigate than the battle itself.

Ais had said all she needed to say with a single 'mm.'

Artorias, meanwhile, hadn't noticed any of it at all.

He drank his soup while dutifully reporting on the footsteps he heard around them, playing his role as scout with complete seriousness.

"People to the east are moving."

"Someone's crying."

"A group of adventurers is passing by — probably reinforcements."

Ais listened to his report and quietly stepped closer to him.

Adi moved in from the other side at the same time.

Sandwiched between the two of them, Artorias looked from side to side.

"Why are you both standing so close?"

"Protecting you."

"Protecting you."

They answered in unison, again.

Artorias fell silent.

Off to the side, Syr covered her mouth, her shoulders shaking with laughter.

Anya Fromel's eyes went wide as she looked back and forth between Ais and Adi, cat ears swiveling.

"Are you two staking out territory, meow?"

Adi's face changed instantly.

"Anya Fromel!"

"Did I say something wrong, meow?"

Ais thought about it seriously.

"I'm not staking anything out."

"Then what are you doing?"

Ais looked at Artorias.

"Protecting him."

Adi spoke up immediately too.

"Protecting him."

Both of them said it again, at the same time.

Artorias drank his soup, head down.

He still hadn't figured it out.

The sky remained grey, the fine rain soaking the broken streets.

Sounds of fighting drifted in and out from the distance, the moans of the wounded mixing with the cries of civilians. Orario had not yet regained order, and the shadow of the enemy still hung over the city.

But in this small patch of makeshift camp, Ais and Adi guarded Artorias, one on each side.

One quiet and sparing with words, but showing her care through action.

One strict in speech, but never letting him out of her sight for a moment.

Artorias had no idea about any of this.

He simply thought both of them were unusually dependable today.

"Ais."

"Mm."

"Adi."

"What is it?"

"Thank you both."

Ais nodded.

Adi looked away, pretending to check the perimeter line.

"No need to thank us for something like this."

"But you've both been protecting me the whole time."

"That's because you always walk toward danger."

"I just heard someone calling for help."

"Which is exactly why you need someone watching you."

Ais added, "I'll watch you."

Adi turned immediately.

"So will I."

Artorias sat there cradling his bowl, looking more baffled than ever.

Syr watched the three of them, the amusement in her eyes deepening.

She'd remembered Artorias's name.

She'd remembered the two girls at his side as well.

Perhaps, among the gods and adventurers, Artorias had already become a trusted source of intelligence, a figure who could change the course of a battle.

But to him, today was still just an ordinary day.

Hearing the enemy.

Warning his companions.

Protecting the civilians.

And then finishing a bowl of hot soup in the middle of two companions' argument.

"Artorias."

Ais looked up.

"Mm?"

"Once the rain stops, spar with me."

Adi's brow twitched.

"He needs to rest."

"Just a little while."

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because I said no."

Ais turned to Artorias.

"Do you want to?"

Artorias thought it over seriously.

"I could."

Adi's gaze snapped to him at once.

"Before you answer, could you take a look at your own injury first?"

Artorias glanced down at the bandage.

"It's fine."

"That's not a proper basis for judgment."

"Then what is?"

"What I say goes."

Ais nodded.

"Adi says goes."

Artorias nodded along.

"Then Adi says goes."

Adi had been about to lecture him further, but hearing that, she couldn't say anything at all.

Ais finished her soup quietly.

Then she set the empty bowl aside and held her little finger out toward Adi.

"In two hours, can we practice a little?"

Adi looked at that finger and finally sighed.

"Only basic movements."

"Mm."

"No using sword pressure."

"Mm."

"Don't push Artorias too hard."

"Mm."

"You're not allowed to push yourself too hard either."

Ais paused for a moment.

"Mm."

Her little finger hooked with Adi's again.

Artorias sat nearby, watching them.

"You two get along better now."

Adi let go of her hand.

"We were never on bad terms to begin with."

Ais nodded.

"Mm."

Artorias smiled.

"That's good, then."

That simple line made both girls fall quiet at once.

Adi looked away.

Ais glanced down at her own fingers.

Neither of them noticed a few adventurers on duty nearby, sneaking glances their way.

"So that's Artorias?"

"The one on the left is Adi of the Astraea Familia, the one on the right is Ais of the Loki Familia."

"He's quite popular, isn't he."

"Keep your voice down, don't let him hear."

They had no idea Artorias's hearing had already caught every word.

He tilted his head, puzzled.

"They're talking about me."

Adi and Ais both looked toward the distance at once.

The adventurers immediately turned away, pretending to be busy sorting supplies.

"What did they say?"

Adi asked.

"I don't know," Artorias shook his head.

"Sounded like they were complimenting me."

Ais spoke up.

"They're right."

Adi's fingers tightened again.

"Ais."

"Mm?"

"Don't encourage him at times like this."

"Why not?"

"Because he'll actually believe it."

Artorias nodded seriously.

"I really did believe it."

Adi pressed a hand to her forehead.

Ais blinked.

Syr finally couldn't hold back her laughter.

The camp after the battle was still steeped in exhaustion and gloom.

But for this one moment, a few people's laughter briefly cut through the drizzle.

Orario had not yet won its true victory.

No one knew when the next battle would begin.

And yet, at least for now, the black-haired boy sat at the center of a makeshift camp, guarded on both sides by two girls of utterly different temperaments.

Artorias knew nothing of how the outside world saw him.

He didn't know that Finn already considered him an indispensable battlefield asset.

He didn't know that Hermes credited Lidith's survival to his warning.

All he knew was that Ais and Adi were both here.

All he knew was that his wound had been freshly bandaged.

All he knew was that the soup in his hands still held some warmth.

"Artorias."

Ais spoke up suddenly.

"Mm?"

"In two hours — swordplay."

"Adi said only basic movements."

"I know."

"Then basic movements it is."

Adi watched him, and thought that this argument would probably go on for quite a while yet.

Ais wasn't good at expressing herself.

Artorias was slow enough to be exasperating.

And she herself, she supposed, had no right to laugh at either of them.

Because if Artorias ever walked into danger again, she'd still be the first one to step in front of him.

"Finish your soup first," Adi said.

"You can only spar after you finish it."

Ais nodded.

"Mm."

Artorias raised the wooden bowl in both hands.

The fine rain kept falling.

In the distance, the horn signaling the adventurers' muster sounded across the ruined streets.