The day after Hermit’s first subjugation.
Jae was walking the streets under [Invisible Body].
It was something he was doing because Reine had told him to find a hobby.
Originally, he had planned to simply walk around without using any magic.
“No, that’s not it. That won’t do. Please use the one you showed me yesterday instead.”
Thanks to Shizaki, the girl called [Neal Knocker], who had firmly stopped him, he had to move around unseen by others.
“...Are you not planning to wear different clothes, Hyun?”
Of course, Shizaki had also suggested that Jae change his clothes.
“This is probably better.”
He had simply refused.
The reason he insisted on full armor was simple.
It was to prepare quickly in case something happened.
Weapons could be drawn at once, but armor could not.
It was a hassle to put on piece by piece, and in Jae’s world, armor was the norm. He had learned some of this world’s culture from Reine, but there was no reason to take off his armor just for that.
Besides, Jae only ever left Fraxinus when he went out for Shido’s subjugations, which was part of it too.
Then why was he walking the streets instead of staying on Fraxinus now?
“Um, Hyun. Why are you going out?”
Kannazuki had asked that question just before Jae left.
“Sightseeing.”
That had been Jae’s answer.
For Jae, who had died dozens, hundreds of times, there was no such thing as a hobby. He had never had time to make one, and in Jae’s world, hobbies were something that could not exist.
Maybe the wine, soup, and idle conversation he had shared with Siegbert belonged in the realm of hobbies. Or maybe listening to Henri chatter at Horace or himself had been a hobby.
He could not say for sure. But one thing was clear: Jae no longer had any hobbies. He could not have had any.
In the end, Jae had struggled to return to his original world, and while he was in Jae’s world, he had never let others get too close to him.
He had overcome every trial that way. He had even slain the final and hardest trial, the [Lord of Cinder], and inherited the fire.
“......Ah.”
What had come was not an ending, but another ordeal. He had failed to return to his original world and fallen into another instead, only to be swallowed by despair and a terrible emptiness.
There could be no room left in his heart for leisure, and because of that, there was no way a hobby could have been born.
Even so, there had been one thing Jae did from time to time without thinking.
“Sightseeing... you mean?”
It was something he had not done in his original world, but had been forced into after entering Jae’s world: looking around the surroundings.
At first, the purpose had simply been to check for enemies and danger. But Jae’s world itself had been so grand that, before he knew it, he had kept moving forward while looking around as he went.
Of course, he had never forgotten his original goal of returning home.
That habit had continued until now, and when Jae first set foot in this world, he had looked around his surroundings. It might have been the only thing he could call a hobby.
That was why, while walking the street, Jae suddenly sensed something strange.
“......”
An unnaturally cold feeling in the air around him.
It was only natural for it to be colder than usual because it was raining, but this was not the cold of rain.
It felt almost as if a faint chill were seeping out nearby, and that sensation was not unfamiliar to Jae.
Clunk
“Uuugh...”
Then came the sound of metal and someone’s voice.
From the young girl’s voice, Jae could tell the source of the chill.
Carefully stepping closer, he saw a girl in a green hood, looking around the area near a metal trash can before bumping her head against the lid.
“Hermit.”
The girl rubbing her reddened forehead and crying was Hermit.
The cold he had felt was clearly caused by Hermit’s power.
Having identified her, Jae tapped the communication device.
“Ah, Hyun? What is it?”
From the other end came the voice of the deputy commander, Kannazuki.
Jae muttered softly so Hermit would not hear.
“It’s Hermit.”
“Hm, so it is── wait, what?! Hermit, you say?”
“Yes.”
“P-please wait a moment. If possible, please hold her so she doesn’t disappear! Thank you!”
After saying that, Kannazuki ended the call.
He was informing Kotori of the situation.
While Kannazuki was relaying the news to Reine and Kotori, Jae revealed himself in front of Hermit.
“......?”
Hermit lifted her head at the sudden shadow falling over her.
What reflected in her sapphire-blue eyes was a strange man clad in full armor.
Startled by the bizarre sight of rainwater running down the armor, Hermit immediately tried to get up and run.
Only, Jae was much faster than Hermit, so she could not escape.
“Hmm...”
Jae let out a low murmur as he watched Hermit try to flee from him.
To Hermit, he looked like a predator wondering whether to eat her or not, and that only made her fear grow stronger.
“I have no intention of attacking you.”
Reading the fear in Hermit’s eyes, Jae said that.
He truly had no intention of attacking, and even raised both hands above his head.
“......”
Only then did Hermit stop trying to run and remain awkwardly by Jae’s side.
Once Jae had caught Hermit, the communication device connected again.
“Phew... Sorry, I’m late.”
At Kotori’s slightly sleepy voice, Jae nodded.
It seemed she had been woken up in a hurry.
“I can’t believe she came out again without a [Spacequake]... Anyway, thanks for holding her. We’ve pinpointed her location, so Shido will be there in a bit.”
Shido had also just finished shopping and was looking around nearby.
Using the camera attached to Jae just in case, Kotori confirmed Hermit’s manifestation and location, then informed Shido.
And right as Kotori finished speaking, a boy entered the alley.
“She’s really here...?”
It was Itsuka Shido, who had come after hearing the news from Kotori.
Shido looked at Jae and Hermit together with a puzzled expression.
A knight standing in the rain without an umbrella, and a girl trembling slightly in fear at the sight of him, yet not running away.
It was the sort of scene one might see in a comic or a game, and for a high school boy like Shido, it was a strangely fascinating sight.
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