After lying on the bed for what felt like an eternity, Aksibilian began to grow restless. The room was quiet, save for the occasional creaking of the wooden house and the faint sounds coming from outside the window. He had already spent two days unconscious. He didn’t particularly enjoy the idea of spending even more time lying around doing nothing.
Just as he was about to shift his position again, the door creaked open. Aksibilian turned his head toward it. Macarius stood in the doorway.
or a moment, the two simply looked at each other.
Macarius’s hand remained on the doorknob, and his eyes widened slightly as he took in the sight of Aksibilian sitting upright on the bed. Then, as if he needed a few extra seconds to convince himself that this wasn’t some sort of dream, his expression slowly changed.
The tension disappeared from his face. His eyebrows relaxed, and a faint smile began to form on his lips. Before long, that smile had grown into something much more genuine. Relief. Pure, unmistakable relief.
"Man... finally, you woke up."
His voice trembled slightly.
He didn’t even wait for Aksibilian to respond. Macarius hurried across the room and threw his arms around him, hugging him tightly as though he were afraid that letting go might somehow make him disappear again.
Aksibilian froze. For someone who had spent most of his life dealing with dangerous situations, being suddenly embraced by another man was certainly not something he had prepared himself for. He blinked twice, staring blankly over Macarius’s shoulder.
Then he felt the slight trembling in his friend’s arms. Aksibilian’s expression softened.
"...Yes, I did."
He hesitated before raising one hand and giving Macarius an awkward pat on the back.
"But what’s with that situation?"
Macarius finally pulled away. He looked at Aksibilian with a puzzled expression, his eyebrows drawing together.
"What do you mean by that?"
Aksibilian stared at him for a moment before letting out a quiet sigh.
’This idiot really doesn’t understand what I’m talking about.’
He tried to straighten his back, but a sharp ache immediately spread across his chest. His face twisted, and he instinctively sucked in a breath through his teeth.
"Careful!"
Macarius quickly reached out to support him, placing a hand behind his shoulder and helping him settle against the headboard. He even adjusted the pillow behind Aksibilian’s back, making sure he wouldn’t have to strain himself any further.
Only after confirming that Aksibilian was sitting comfortably did he pull his hand away. Aksibilian glanced at him, then looked down at the bandages covering his body.
"I heard from that old man," he began.
Macarius tilted his head slightly.
"You were the one who brought me here."
Aksibilian paused.
His gaze traveled over Macarius’s face, his shoulders, and his arms, searching for any sign of the injuries the old man had described. Although Macarius seemed to be moving normally, Aksibilian knew better than to assume that meant he was fine.
"But how...?"
His eyebrows gradually knitted together.
"How did you do that? That old man told me how bad your condition was when you arrived here, and I already knew it was serious because I saw you bleeding with my own eyes."
He swallowed, his expression growing increasingly troubled.
"I know you can regenerate, at least to some extent. But how did you manage to carry me all the way here? And how did you even find this town?"
The questions came out one after another, each carrying more concern than the last. Aksibilian had been unconscious for two days. During that time, he had no idea what had happened to Macarius, how far they had traveled, or how close his friend had come to dying.
The thought bothered him more than he wanted to admit. Macarius, meanwhile, remained silent. He slowly turned toward the window. Sunlight spilled across the wooden floor, and somewhere outside, a bird chirped from a nearby tree. For a few seconds, he seemed to be searching for the right words.
Then he released a long, tired sigh.
"Actually... I was afraid."
Aksibilian’s expression changed slightly. Macarius kept his eyes on the window, his fingers fidgeting nervously against his trousers.
"I thought I was going to lose the only person who had actually saved my life. The only person who smiled while talking to me."
His voice was quieter now. He paused, rubbing the back of his neck as he struggled to continue.
"I mean... I don’t have anyone. At least, I don’t think I do. I can’t even remember anything about my past, so I don’t know if there was ever someone waiting for me somewhere."
He gave a small, awkward laugh, but there was little humor in it.
"Sometimes, I wonder whether I had any friends before I lost my memories. Whether there was someone who cared about me. Whether I was important to anyone at all."
His fingers slowly curled into his palm.
"But I don’t remember anything. No faces, no names, nothing."
For a moment, Macarius fell silent. Then he finally turned toward Aksibilian.
"Still, when I met you, I felt like... maybe you could become someone who would stand beside me. Someone I could rely on, and someone who could rely on me too."
His cheeks reddened slightly, perhaps from embarrassment at saying so much out loud.
"I mean, I don’t expect you to protect me all the time. I want to help you as well."
He scratched his cheek and looked away again.
"Like friends, I mean."
"Like friends?"
Aksibilian stared at him. Macarius nodded hesitantly. For a moment, Aksibilian’s face remained perfectly still. Then his lips twitched. A second later, he burst into laughter.
"Pfft... Hahaha! Man, seriously?"
Macarius stared at him in disbelief as Aksibilian leaned back against the headboard, laughing hard enough that he had to stop and catch his breath.
"Did you really risk your life to save me just because you thought we could be friends?"
Aksibilian wiped the corner of his eye with his finger, still chuckling.
"Man, that’s ridiculous!"
Macarius’s face slowly fell.
"What’s so ridiculous about that?"
He folded his arms, looking genuinely offended.
"Can’t we be friends? I thought we could be friends! After all, didn’t we fight together against those damn goblins? Isn’t that enough?"
His voice rose slightly at the end, as though he were presenting the most obvious argument in the world. Aksibilian’s laughter gradually subsided. He looked at Macarius for a moment, then shook his head with an amused smile.
"No. Just that isn’t enough."
Macarius blinked.
"What?"
"How would you know whether I might betray you someday?" Aksibilian asked, raising an eyebrow. "For all you know, I could be pretending to be your friend right now. Maybe I’ll wait until you trust me completely before stabbing you in the back."
"Why would you even say something like that?!"
"Because it’s possible, idiot!"
Aksibilian chuckled and carefully shifted his arm to find a more comfortable position.
"Listen, Macarius. You need to choose the people you trust properly. Not everyone who smiles at you has good intentions. Some people will take advantage of you the moment they realize how easily you trust others."
His tone was still light, but there was a seriousness beneath his words.
"You can’t go risking your life for every person who treats you nicely. Sooner or later, you’ll run into someone who doesn’t deserve it."
Macarius lowered his eyes. For a brief moment, he looked almost disappointed. Then Aksibilian smiled.
"But anyway, thanks for saving my life."
Macarius looked up. Aksibilian’s smile had changed. The teasing had faded, leaving behind something quieter and more sincere.
"I owe you one."
Macarius stared at him, searching his face as though trying to determine whether he was being serious. Then his shoulders slumped slightly.
"...Does that mean we’ll go back to being strangers?"
The question came out more quietly than he intended. Aksibilian’s smile disappeared for a brief moment. He hadn’t expected Macarius to take his words that way. Then he sighed and shook his head.
"No. Why would we?"
Macarius raised his eyes.
"I never said we couldn’t be friends, man."
Aksibilian scratched his cheek, looking slightly embarrassed himself.
"I just think you’re way too easy to fool. Someone needs to keep an eye on you, or you’ll definitely get yourself killed one day."
He gave Macarius a crooked grin.
"And after going through all that trouble to survive together, I don’t particularly feel like watching you die because you trusted the wrong person."
Macarius’s expression brightened almost immediately.
"Really?"
"Really."
"So we’re friends?"
"Don’t make me regret saying that."
Macarius grinned.
Aksibilian rolled his eyes, although the corner of his mouth lifted despite himself.
For the first time since waking up, the room no longer felt quite so unfamiliar. The sunlight was warm, the house was quiet, and the person he had been worried about for the past two days was sitting right in front of him, looking happier than Aksibilian had ever seen him.
Then Macarius suddenly straightened his back.
"Then, are we going hunting again?"
Aksibilian’s smile froze. He slowly turned his head toward Macarius.
"...What?"
"Hunting."
"I heard you the first time."
"Then why are you looking at me like that?"
Aksibilian pressed his fingers against his forehead. I swear, this guy’s brain works in the strangest ways. Macarius, completely oblivious to the thoughts running through his friend’s head, continued.
"Those people who attacked us really pissed me off."
His smile disappeared as he remembered the three attackers.
"I was angry when they were hurting you. I wanted to stop them, but I wasn’t strong enough to protect you without nearly getting myself killed too."
He looked down at his hands. The memory of that fight still lingered unpleasantly in his mind. He could remember the pain, the blood, and the helpless feeling of watching someone he cared about get hurt while he struggled to do anything about it.
"But after that, I started thinking about something else."
He slowly clenched his fists.
"If people like that exist, then they’re probably hurting other people too. People who can’t defend themselves. People who might not be lucky enough to survive an encounter with them."
His jaw tightened.
"I don’t want to just stand around and let that happen. If I have the strength to stop people like them someday, then I should do something about it."
He looked back at Aksibilian.
"But to do that, I need to become stronger. And to become stronger, I need to hunt."
Macarius hesitated before adding, "Besides, I don’t think hunting alone is a good idea." Aksibilian stared at him. Then, slowly, a grin spread across his face.
"Finally using your brain, huh?"
Macarius’s expression immediately soured.
"Hey! There’s an actual difference between not knowing what to say and not using your brain!"
Aksibilian snorted.
"Is there? Because I’m having a hard time seeing it."
"You’re the worst!"
"And you’re an idiot."
"At least I’m an idiot who saved your life!"
Aksibilian opened his mouth to respond, then paused. Macarius froze as well. For a second, they stared at each other. Then Aksibilian burst into laughter again, shaking his head carefully to avoid aggravating his injuries.
"Fine, fine! You win, you damn idiot!"
Macarius grinned triumphantly.
"That’s what I thought!"
Before Aksibilian could say another word, Macarius leaned forward and wrapped his arms around him again. This time, however, he hugged him much more tightly.
"Hey, wait..."
Aksibilian barely had time to react before Macarius squeezed harder, apparently overcome by the simple happiness of having his friend awake and talking to him again.
"Idiot! You’re going to break my bones!"
Aksibilian tried to push him away, but his arms were still too weak to do much. His face twisted as a sudden, sharp pain shot through his chest.
"Kgh!"
He coughed violently. A small spray of blood stained his hand and the bandages around his chest. Macarius immediately released him. The grin vanished from his face. For a brief moment, he stared at the blood in Aksibilian’s hand, unable to process what he was seeing. Then all the color drained from his face.
"W-Wait... Aksibilian?"
Aksibilian leaned forward slightly, coughing again as he tried to catch his breath. Macarius’s eyes widened in panic.
"Grandpa!"
He spun toward the door so quickly that he nearly tripped over his own feet.
"GRANDPA! COME HERE! SOMETHING’S WRONG WITH AKSIBILIAN!"
His voice echoed through the wooden house. And somewhere in the hallway, hurried footsteps immediately began approaching.