The Man Who Remained — His Second Life Began with a Humble Bow of Apology.

The Ending Came Suddenly.

Just as there are times of meeting, the time for parting inevitably comes.

That much was obvious.

The days had been so comfortable, so full of joy, that Cross had poured himself into every moment—so much so that he had even considered staying there forever.

He couldn’t say he had no regrets.

In truth, he did wish for more—much more.

But, of course, it wasn’t that simple.

To be specific, after leaving only a terse message stating he was intervening in the affairs of the village of Hourai and not to interfere, Cross had essentially disappeared. As a result, Aura became increasingly worried about both him and the situation there. Eventually, a letter arrived from Aura’s father, Gryul, stating they were considering sending in military forces. That was when Cross finally resolved to return.

He had many regrets.

If he could, he would have loved to share a passionate night not with Gyokuran… but with Hisui. He wanted to reunite with Anji-chan, to enjoy a warm and playful moment together, maybe even go on a spontaneous date.

But above all… he really wished he could have stayed to see how things would unfold between Unyou and Haku.

Well, it was easy to guess: Unyou would prostrate himself in desperation, and Haku would reluctantly agree—only to end up having him under her thumb for life. That much, he could see with prophetic clarity.

There was probably no romantic love there.

But the bond they shared—one strong enough to last a lifetime—was clear to him.

So, there was no need to worry.

Still, Cross deeply regretted not being there to witness it firsthand… and tease Unyou mercilessly before heading home.

That said, there was no helping it.

By the time he had introduced Vaahl, Cross had already fulfilled his role.

And even though he announced his sudden departure on such short notice, Unyou, Haku, Vaahl, Roza, and even Gyokuran had come to see him off.

That alone made for a perfectly satisfying farewell.

***

“Well, I had fun. How about you, Ellie?”

As village of Hourai still lingered faintly in the distance behind them, Cross posed the question.

Ellie didn’t reply with words. Instead, she let her actions speak.

With a flash, she changed from her armored form into a graceful kimono, strutting confidently with a proud smirk.

“As you can see.”

“That’s good to hear. Oh, just a simple question—can you change clothes like that anytime?”

“Yes. I can freely shift into two sets of casual clothes, a dress, this kimono, and my armor form whenever I wish.”

“That’s really convenient. Think I could learn how to do that?”

“Hmm… I’m not sure. It’s not really ‘changing clothes’ per se—it’s more like shifting phases. A trait unique to spirits. Even understanding it might be difficult. That said… I can’t say it’s impossible either.”

“Got it. Sounds complicated. I only asked because it seemed cool—not a big deal.”

“Understood. By the way…”

Just as Ellie started to speak, Cross turned around with a soft sigh.

“Everyone seemed really busy. Maybe I should’ve stayed a little longer, even if it meant forcing it…”

Hearing that, Ellie made a slightly troubled face.

“No… Aura-sama went out of her way to overlook us—or rather, overlook you, Cross. We really shouldn’t impose any further. I plan to push the results of our mission hard to justify our actions, but even so… we’ve likely caused quite a disturbance.”

“Yeah… Even Gyokuran told me to hurry up and leave during the farewell. That says a lot.”

Cross chuckled bitterly, and Ellie smiled wryly.

“Considering how strict she is about etiquette, for her to say something like that… she must be going through quite the ordeal. I… sympathize a little.”

“Hmm. Maybe I should check in after I return to see if there’s anything I can do to help. Though, all I could really do is ask Aura…”

“Even so, just the act of trying makes a big difference.”

While Cross and Ellie conversed, a voice chimed in from behind—Sourin, who had been quietly following them.

“Pardon me. I believe what Gyokuran-sama actually said was ‘Good morning and welcome back,’ rather than ‘Hurry home.’”

“Yeah, which basically means ‘Hurry up and go,’ right? …What’s with the frown, Sourin?”

“…Forgive me. I was simply unsure of how to respond. Matters of romance are… rather beyond my expertise.”

“Hmm? Well, if that’s the case, don’t worry about it.”

Cross turned back forward with a grin and resumed walking.

“Um… Cross, there’s something I’ve been wondering…”

“Oh yeah! Ellie, did you manage to buy any souvenirs?”

“Huh? Oh, yes. I bought quite a few things.”

“Not for us, I mean for your own friends.”

“Of course. Besides the sweets we picked out together—like those dumplings—I picked up various other items.”

“Can I ask what kind? I bought sake, by the way.”

“Ah, yes. I got cosmetics, hair ornaments like kanzashi, and accessories.”

“Ahh, those were beautiful. And the cosmetics too—village of Hourai had good stuff?”

“Yes. They had some great natural skincare products. As a spirit like me, I actually prefer such gentle, plant-based formulas. So I thought I’d share them with friends who might have sensitive skin.”

“Sounds good. Come to think of it, you didn’t really have much time to hang out with your friends, did you? Since you were always with me. Sorry for being so thoughtless. Next time, don’t hesitate to say something. If you ever lost your friends because of me, I’d be furious with myself.”

Ellie smiled softly and nodded.

There was no way Cross could have known—the very friends Ellie spoke of were ones she had made during those hectic days after meeting Cross, when she had spent most of her time by his side.

Back when she was Aura’s knight, she had no emotional room to foster genuine friendships. The only people around her were from her faction or her subordinates.

And yet, Cross’s innocent and well-meaning misunderstanding—that she had old friends to cherish—was deeply amusing, and incredibly heartwarming.

However…

There was one thing Ellie couldn’t ignore anymore.

It had been bothering her for a while—so much so that she had wanted to ask several times, but kept missing the chance.

“Sourin. Did you buy any souvenirs?”

“No, I’m afraid not. This was my first time outside, so the concept didn’t even occur to me. And more importantly… I have no one to give them to.”

“…Ah. I see. Sorry, that was thoughtless of me.”

“Not at all.”

Sourin replied in his usual deadpan tone, offering a slight bow.

That was when Ellie could no longer contain herself.

“Okay, seriously! Who is this extremely stoic gentleman!? He’s been following us this whole time and no one has introduced him!”

Her voice rose, breath ragged with frustration.

Cross blinked in confusion.

“What are you talking about? That’s Sourin of the Kiryuu.”

“Indeed. My name is Sourin of the Kiryuu.”

“He’s my retainer, just like you, Ellie. He’s been traveling with us the whole time.”

“No, he hasn’t!? I was your only knight retainer!”

“No, no, right, Sourin?”

Cross turned with a cheerful smile.

“…Yes. Alongside Ellie-sama, I serve our Lord.”

“See? How could you forget a fellow travel companion, Ellie? Must be all that fatigue catching up with you.”

Ellie, utterly flustered, held her head in her hands and groaned in confusion.

Then she paused, composed herself, and asked Cross:

“Is this your way of brushing aside a difficult situation? Or are you just teasing me to enjoy my reactions?”

Cross replied with a wide smile.

“The latter.”

Ellie beamed.

Striking one’s lord is, of course, utterly unbecoming of a knight.

However… perhaps just this once wouldn’t count as a breach of duty.

With that reasoning, Ellie pulled out a slipper from who knows where and whacked Cross over the head with full force.

***

“So, this is Sourin. He’s Unyou’s father, and—well, after a few twists and turns, he ended up leaving the village.”

“Whoa, whoa—‘a few twists and turns’? You’re going to have to elaborate on that,” Ellie said.

At her words, Cross gave a brief glance in Sourin’s direction.

“If I must summarize… perhaps one could say I left to broaden my narrow, ignorant worldview. Or perhaps, to find a reason to keep living. Or even to repay a debt to Cross-dono. In any case, it’s complicated. If I were to start from the beginning… well, we might be here quite a while.”

“…Is this one of those stories that turns dark?” Ellie asked, cautiously.

“Who’s to say? From my perspective, it’s difficult to judge. But if Cross-dono’s expression is any indication, it might not be a lighthearted tale.”

At that moment, Cross wore a pained, thoroughly worn-out expression.

His eyes squinted nearly shut, brows deeply furrowed, and his mouth twisted as though he’d just bitten into a lemon.

“Ah, never mind! I can already tell I shouldn’t ask,” Ellie said, reading the atmosphere and waving it off.

Indeed, the weight of Cross’s past seemed to speak louder than words.

After a brief moment of contemplation, Sourin muttered quietly, “Hmm. My apologies. I’ve only ever known how to live clumsily. That’s why I failed to realize it sooner. In other words, the two of you are romantically involved, and I’ve just done something worthy of being kicked by a horse—”

“No, we’re not,” Ellie replied flatly and without a trace of embarrassment or deflection.

She meant it, too. Ellie had no romantic feelings toward Cross, nor had she ever thought something like, If only Sourin weren’t here…

“You don’t need to worry about that—either for Cross’s sake or mine. And besides, I’ve always known Cross tends to do outrageous things. If it’s something he’s decided on, then I’m happy to go along with it. That said… since we’ll be traveling together, I’d like to get to know you a little better, Sourin-san. And, of course, if you’re curious about me, feel free to ask anything.”

“You honor me. You’re right—it was discourteous of me not to properly introduce myself. I truly apologize.”

He bowed his head deeply.

“No need for that. So, can you tell me a bit about yourself?”

“Of course. I have no intention of hiding anything. It’s just…”

“Just?”

“I’m not quite sure where to start… Unfortunately, I’m not very adept at social interaction.”

As he spoke, the sword at Sourin’s waist gave a quiet clink.

“Well then, let’s start with something simple. My name is Ellie. What should I call you?”

Ellie offered a warm smile, to which Sourin responded with a grateful bow before introducing himself after a pause.

“Sourin, of the Kiryuu family. Though there’s no longer any need for me to cling to that name. Just ‘Sourin’ is fine.”

“All right, Sourin-san. It’s nice to meet you.”

With that friendly exchange, Ellie smiled again and took the initiative to further the conversation, making an effort to foster mutual understanding.

Throughout their conversation, Cross watched Ellie with a somewhat lonely yet content smile on his face.

***

When Cross travels, he doesn’t carry a watch.

While portable timepieces don’t exist in the human world, in the monster realm they do—expensive, but not unattainable.

Cross knew that well enough. He also understood the practical benefits of knowing the exact time. And yet, he never carried a watch.

Partly, it was because he hadn’t worn one during his adventures back when he was still human. But the main reason was financial.

Ellie, who managed their funds, had offered to cover the cost since it was a necessity, but Cross declined.

The truth was simple—he was afraid. Afraid of breaking something so expensive.

In his mind, watches were delicate and fragile. Carrying one would make him so anxious he wouldn’t even be able to run properly.

So Cross went without. But in exchange, he had something else—his experience adventuring with heroes.

One of them, the thief Mary, could tell the time within minutes even in pitch-dark caves. She had taught him that skill one-on-one. While he hadn’t reached her level, Cross had trained himself to estimate the time reasonably well under the open sky, day or night.

And more than anything Mary had taught him, Cross had an even more accurate method—his stomach.

It was just before noon. He could feel the familiar stirrings in his gut, a quiet signal that lunch was approaching.

Yes—when it came to lunch and dinner, Cross’s internal clock was never wrong.

“Hey, Ellie, Sourin—mind if I take my time with lunch today? There’s something I want to try, and that shade over there looks perfect.”

Cross spoke casually.

Neither Ellie nor Sourin objected.

This wasn’t a rushed journey, and Cross was leading the way.

Ellie, as always, began unloading their supplies and setting up for lunch, excluding the actual cooking.

“…Hmm. Cross-dono, Ellie-dono—what would you have me do?”

Sourin, clearly unsure of how to help, asked honestly.

Cross thought for a moment before answering.

“I’d like a chair. Hm… That tree over there’s kinda in the way of the road anyway. Think it’s okay to cut down, Ellie?”

“Definitely. In fact, I think they plan to widen this path soon. Plus, this area gets a lot of bandits and ruffians, so no one’s really going to mind.”

“Gotcha. Then, Sourin—would you mind cutting that tree and making a few chairs?”

“I don’t mind… but—”

“What? Oh, wait—you don’t want to use your sword for something like this? Sorry, I get it. You’re not like me, flailing around with some improvised style. Yours is refined—”

“No, that’s not the issue. The path of the sword may sound noble, but at its core, it’s still a tool for killing. I actually believe it’s more meaningful to put it to use in a peaceful way during our travels. However…”

“However?”

“I’ve never made a chair before… so I don’t really know how.”

“Just cut three logs to a sitting height. That’ll do.”

“Ah, I see. Clear instructions are most helpful. Let me estimate the height of your legs then…”

With that, Sourin placed a hand on the new katana at his waist and drew it.

In a single motion—no, in nearly simultaneous five strikes—he sheathed the blade again.

A moment later, the tree fell apart cleanly, the logs rolling into neat pieces fit to be used as chairs or even a table.

“Like this?”

Cross gave a thumbs-up and smiled.

“Whoa, that’s impressive. As expected from someone from Hourai Village—those cuts are incredibly clean.”

Sourin neither accepted nor denied the compliment, instead bowing his head politely.

After the utensils were arranged, Ellie sat beside Sourin and waited eagerly for the meal their host was preparing.

To distract himself from the awkwardness of doing nothing while Cross handled the cooking, Sourin quietly muttered, “So Cross-dono is preparing the meal… and Ellie-dono is…”

Ellie quickly turned her head away.

Sourin had always lived awkwardly. Hurting others, being unable to forgive himself, and waiting to be hurt in return—that was the only path he knew.

As a result, he struggled immensely to read others’ emotions.

Even so, even he could tell: this was one of those times when kindness meant saying nothing at all.

So he shifted the topic on his own.

“When Cross-dono mentioned it earlier, I found myself thinking—I really do love swords.”

“Huh? Isn’t that why you mastered them in the first place?”

“No. It was simply the way of my family. Honestly, I had never once considered what I liked.”

“…That must’ve been a difficult life.”

“I never thought of it that way… but perhaps so.”

“So you realized only recently that you like swords?”

“Yes. When my previous sword broke and I went to choose a new one, the thought struck me—why not go find one myself? Our household was fortunate, both in wealth and in strength. We had no shortage of fine swords. But even so, I chose to go out and search.”

“Hmm. And you enjoyed the process?”

“Yes. Far more than I expected.”

As he said that, Sourin drew the sword from his waist and placed it on the table.

“It’s a plain sword. Just like me—I know nothing of embellishment.”

That’s what he said, but Ellie couldn’t agree.

A black scabbard, white hilt—far from plain, it stood out.

“…No, I think it’s pretty flashy, actually. Or, well, maybe compared to most other swords…”

“Yes. It’s stripped of ornament, with a rugged color scheme. It was fairly cheap too… but the blade—it was beautiful. Before I knew it, I had bought it.”

He gave a self-deprecating smile.

“Does it have a name?”

“It’s a uchigatana, a sturdy blade from a line known for splitting helmets. Likely a kageuchi—a ‘shadow-forged’ replica. The name is ‘Jinrai.’ Whether that’s the name of the swordsmith or the blade itself, I’m not sure. It wasn’t exactly treated with care where I found it. But it’s new, and undeniably well-crafted.”

With that, he returned the blade to its sheath and fastened it to his waist again.

“I see… Hmm, maybe I should be pickier with my own weapons. I’ve been going through them like they’re disposable lately.”

“Perhaps. But that’s a hard call—especially when it comes to weapons I know nothing about…”

Their conversation was interrupted as Cross returned.

“Sorry to keep you waiting. This being my first time and all, I fumbled a bit.”

“No worries. I’m in no position to criticize anyway… haha.”

Ellie let out a dry laugh, clearly still bothered by her lack of cooking skills.

“Well, I think it turned out pretty good to make up for the wait.”

As he set the food down, Ellie tilted her head, and Sourin let out an admiring hum.

“…What is this again? I feel like I’ve seen it in Hourai Village…”

A large, golden, flat roll. When Cross sliced into it, the spiraled cross-section gave Ellie a hint.

It was a dish she’d seen in Hourai—a type of egg dish.