It had been a few days since my birthdays. Life returned to normal slowly after that, with Feyt handling farm work once more and Carine continuing her packed-as-ever schedule.

The day that Feyt was to be sent to the capital was still a few days away, so I planned to spend time with my family as much as possible. However…

“You’re leaving, Sis?!”

“Today?! Why are you telling us that now?!” Dad asked.

Fray glanced up from her licked-clean plate, her face completely oblivious to our shock.

“There’s a lot of errands and letters piling up on my back since I stayed here for a while. I need to get them sorted as fast as I can.”

Fray was ready to set out on another journey between villages. She would be leaving this at noon, and she somehow decided the best time to break the news to us was during lunch, just hours before her leave.

To be honest, I wasn’t sure how I felt about her leaving. On the one hand, it would be a lot more peaceful without her around. Even when my other self wasn’t around, she still brought her up during dinner or work. 

On the other hand, it would also be a lot more quiet without her. I couldn’t believe it myself, but I was kind of looking forward to her tortu—I mean, training. I could actually feel my body building up strength from her barbaric methods, whether I liked it or not. Lose the teasing, and I would gladly train with her a lot more.

“How long will you be gone?” I asked her.

“Hmm…” Fray placed her finger on her chin, looking up to the sky as she pondered. “Three months, I guess?” She said. “The rumors did say the place’s pretty far away, after all…” she mumbled quietly, but of course, with my ears, I heard her perfectly.

“What rumors?”

“Huh?!” Fray jumped back, startled. “Did I say that out loud?! A-Anyway, it’s just a rumor that… uhh… one of the villages I’m heading towards is pretty far away! Yeah!” She puffed up her chest as she said so.

The way her eyes darted to the side told me she was trying to cover something up.

She’s bad at lying…

“Oh, you’re not just visiting the usual?” Mom joined in. Surprisingly with no bottle of booze in her hand. Her brow furrowed slightly in concern. “Did someone ask you to deliver a letter to someplace far away again?”

“Y-Yep! That’s it! Gotta help them out somehow, amirite? H-Haha…” Fray’s words trailed off at the end along with her voice crack.

It wasn’t my business where she went for her work. I just hoped she would stay out of danger… Wait, no, considering her strength, wouldn’t she be the danger?

Now that I thought about it, why didn’t she seem to have problems with bandits? I heard rumors about the Bandit Killer around these parts that scare off any bandits from setting bases near our village, but what about other villages?

The base I was brought to when both of me were kidnapped was located near a neighboring village. Knowing she traveled a lot, wouldn’t she had some encounters with bandits? Why did she never tell tales about them?

Well, it wasn’t like this gorilla would be stopped by a couple of measly bandits. They probably realized it was better not to mess with her, or she thought they were so insignificant they weren’t worth talking about. Either way, she seemed to glide through her journeys with ease somehow.

Still, as much as I hated to admit it, the house was going to feel a lot emptier without her around. I sighed, not realizing how much I’d gotten used to her presence until now.

Somehow sensing my thoughts, Fray walked up to me and began ruffling my hair. “Hey! No worries! I’ll visit you in the capital when I have the time!”

“W-Wha, stop! You’re being too rough!” I swatted at her hands, but she only laughed.

“Hahaha! You need to train more if you think that’s rough!” Fray stopped ruffling my hair with a grin on her face.

Dad cleared his throat, drawing our attention. “So, you’ll be leaving…”

“In an hour or two, just need to pack my stuff up!” Fray replied nonchalantly.

Mom rested her cheek on her palm, a pout forming on her lips. “But still, couldn’t you at least warn us a little bit earlier that you’re leaving? I wanted to cook you a more proper meal before you go!”

“Aww~! Appreciate the thought, Mom! But your food’s impressive no matter what!” Fray buttered Mom up as easy as she breathed. “But yeah, I’ll remind you guys in advance next time!”

Knowing her, I doubt she would do that. Impulse was her middle name.

“I’ll be in my room, packing things up.” She turned around and headed to her room, but not before shooting a glance back at us. “No. Peeking.” She closed the door to her room with a soft thud.

…

An hour or so passed quickly.

“You got everything packed up, right?” Mom asked, her voice raspy with concern.

“Yup! All ready!”

“Be careful on the road, alright? Take care not to meet any monsters or bandits!”

“You worry too much, Dad! I’ll be fine!”

The four of us stood near the village gate. Fray had her leather armor equipped along with a giant leather bag that was twice her size. The fact that she could move so easily with that thing behind her back just further proved to me that she was a gorilla.

“Yo, Feyt!” Fray called out.

“What?”

“Make sure you train properly without me, you got it?” she said with a gentle smile. For once, there was no mischief in her tone, catching me off guard.

“A-Ah, yes! Of course, I will!”

“Good! Well then!” Fray turned on her heel, shooting us a salute. “See ya!!”

Fray began her walk down the beaten path. The wind carried her cloak and hair as she walked further down the road, eventually becoming nothing more than a speck in our vision.

This was a scene our family was accustomed to. She often left without saying much, so it should feel like it was something inconsequential. But I couldn’t help but feel some sort of tightness in my chest as I saw her leave.

She’ll visit me in the capital sometime, huh?

A bit ashamed to admit this, but I was already looking forward to her visit…

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