I still see it in my dreams sometimes.
His words from that day.
"Hoss. If something happens to me, look after Ruma."
"Don't say stupid shit! Don't jinx it! I'll get you home alive no matter what!"
I couldn't do it.
He died protecting me.
I was supposed to be the one protecting him… but he protected me instead.
He had Ruma waiting for him, so why did he save someone like me…?
I ended up inflicting an irreparable wound on Ruma's heart.
If it had been me who died back then instead of him… Ruma could've been happy.
That day.
When Hoss disappeared, I wasn't all that surprised.
I was sad, and it was a shock, but I also felt a little relieved.
It wasn't Hoss's fault.
If anything, he'd protected someone. As a delver, he had every right to be proud.
But still, why, why, why… I can't help but wonder.
If it had been Hoss instead of him back then… could things have been happier?
"Well then, let's prep the innards properly."
"Yes!"
"First off, scrape out all the grime on the outside and inside, wash away the dirty fat and any blood vessels you don't need, then cut here and there — just lop it all off and toss it."
"You're cutting off this much?"
"That whole part's no good, see."
"This much..."
Samarniya looked surprised.
She'd been learning how to make mixed-meat soup from Hoss.
Mixed-meat was just a jumble of miscellaneous cuts any butcher was sure to have on hand.
They blended all sorts of odd parts together, and because they were scraps you'd throw away anyway, they were absurdly cheap.
"Rel loves this mixed-meat soup."
"Huh? Rel isn't really into this kind of thing."
"Ha, the guy's a bit particular, but he's got a real eye for flavor, that one."
"A flavor that Rel likes..."
"Remember it good and proper so you can serve it to Rel later."
"Yes!"
Samarniya was a really good kid, but I never would've guessed she was the daughter of Duke Tassan.
I wondered what would've happened if she hadn't been there.
And her brother had partied up with Hoss as delvers in Hydrangea.
Thunder Fang... Fourth-rank delvers. From what I heard, they were a bunch of guys who didn't have any Relics.
"Skim the scum off constantly."
"Got it! Whoa, there's so much."
Hoss was teaching someone to cook in the dining hall's kitchen.
What a strange sight.
"Luma. What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
She smiled naturally.
"Huff, huff... this takes so much effort."
Samarnia was roughly skimming the scum, panting as she did.
Hoss smiled wryly.
"Good food's always like that. If you want it to taste right, that's what it takes."
"That's right. Hoss wasn't much good at cooking at first either."
"Huh? Even Hoss?"
"Back then I was rough about everything, and he'd always yell at me."
"Him?"
"...This mixed-meat soup. He and Hoss came up with it."
"He..."
"My hometown's mostly potato crops, and it's poor, so we'd throw everything into soup. So I just said, 'Why not throw the cheap cuts in too, eh?' Back then I couldn't cook worth a thing, so it was just a greenhorn's half-baked idea."
"He was doing his best to make something tasty out of really cheap cuts."
"He tried all sorts of stuff."
In truth, the main way to cook cheap cuts was to boil or grill them, not to make soup.
And even boiled or grilled, they didn't taste all that good.
If you use plenty of seasoning it tastes good enough, but it's not worth the cost.
Then you'd be better off just buying good meat.
A soup that draws out the flavor of cheap cuts without using hardly any seasoning.
Someone once told me they'd quit being a hunter someday, get married, and run a diner.
The diner was his dream.
Inheriting the Belk Diner was his dream, plain and simple.
What made him achieve that dream was sheer stubbornness.
When his uncle and aunt retired, they handed the shop over to him.
Not bad. It's still tough to quit hunting and devote himself to it full-time, but not bad.
A lot had happened. The biggest crisis of his life was overcome thanks to Hoss.
"…What are you going to do now, Hoss?"
"What do you mean, 'now'?"
"Are you going back to Hydrangea?"
"My original goal's been achieved, but Wof's got something he's trying to do. I figure I'll head back once that's done. Axe and Rel should be coming back before long too, so I'll go on back."
"I see."
"Luma's back on her feet and the diner's still going, so I'm happy."
Hoss grinned.
"…Because it's his dream."
"Luma?"
"…Hoss, you… you don't care about me one bit, do you?"
"Huh? Oh, Luma!?"
"Go after her, Hoss!"
"But—"
"Go! Get moving!!"
He barked the order and I took off running.
By the time I noticed, it was raining outside.
"How did it come to this?"
I searched all over, but I couldn't figure out where Luma had gone.
Just as I was at my wit's end, someone came running up.
"Man, this is a pain. I don't have a plastic umbrella on me, do I…"
"Wof?"
That blue hair. No mistaking it.
"Hoss?"
"Wof. You seen Luma?"
"Luma? No."
"…I see. Sorry to bother you."
"Wait—did something happen to Luma?"
"I don't know! She just bolted out of nowhere, and I got no clue where she went!"
"…Hoss. There's a way to find her."
"For real?!"
"Is there something Luma always kept on her at all times?"
"In that case… the thing she'd still have on her now is probably the coin, I reckon."
"A coin?"
"The coin we found in the dungeon. The first treasure we ever got, back when we first met."
"Got it. Just a moment—… Found her! Over this way."
"Much obliged!"
I followed after Wof.
This direction—the western outskirts of Hyzen, wasn't it?
Wait a second. Up ahead was supposed to be… This place was—
"Hoss?"
My feet stopped on their own.
"I…"
He hung his head.
"Hoss. I don't know the full details, but the fact that she isn't moving in this rain—I think Luma is waiting for you."
Waiting for me?
"I—I ran away from Luma. After she died protecting me and was left all alone, I ran.
I couldn't forgive myself, no matter what. I couldn't stand in front of her. And before I knew it, I'd left Hyzen behind."
"…"
"Truth is, I don't even deserve to stand in front of her. Time's passed, we're all adults now. I figured this was as good a chance as any to deal with the sore spot that's been sitting in my heart, so I tagged along on Wof's journey. I thought Luma would deck me when we met, but she didn't—she just looked relieved. Still… Luma knows. It's the end of the road for me."
"…………"
"I've been trying to make up for abandoning Luma, but I never thought I'd actually be forgiven. As long as Luma's safe, that's enough. Even if she's happy without me around, that'd be more than enough—but then… why was Luma just now—"
'…Hoss, Hoss… you don't care about me at all, do you?'
She was crying.
"—I don't think anyone but you will do, Hoss."
Wof said, looking right at me.
His eyes were glowing a strange, otherworldly blue.
It felt like he was a completely different person from the Wof I knew.
"Not me…?"
"Yes. I believe the person Luma is waiting for right now is you and you alone."
"…Me?"
"Whether you're apologizing or whatever else—just go to her."
"B-b-but—"
Someone like me—
"That's enough! No more buts! Are you really going to abandon a woman waiting all alone in the rain all over again?! Hoss!"
Wof roared.
I widened my eyes.
It wasn't just the shock—his words had pierced right through my heart like a knife.
"…Thank you, Wof."
Wof apologized.
No. Thank you. Truly.
Does it have to be me?
Yeah... it's gotta be me, doesn't it.
I've made up my mind. I'm moving forward.
And just like that, my feet started moving on their own.
I'm going.
Through the rain-drenched graveyard... to Ruma, who's waiting in front of his grave.