An Unexpected Proposal

October 19, 2020

"How did you catch the wild boar?"

"......"

"Did you catch it with that sword?"

"......"

"Sir?"

Mikael leaned his upper body slightly toward Cabelenus. If it were any other day, the man would have recoiled, telling him not to get too close, but today, he was quiet. Mikael tilted his head, then gently tapped Cabelenus’s hand with his index finger. But again, there was no reaction.

"You're an idiot, sir."

"......"

"You're a fool, sir."

"......"

"Sir!"

"...What did you just say?"

Mikael sharply tapped Cabelenus’s knee, making a sound, before the man slowly turned his head.

"I asked how you caught the wild boar."

"What about it?"

"Sir, you weren’t listening to a word I said."

"No."

"Then repeat what I said."

"......"

"See? You didn’t hear a thing!"

Mikael frowned and crossed his arms. Cabelenus stared at the child’s face, then finally rubbed his face roughly with one hand. It was a face he had seen countless times, yet it felt awkward now, which made him laugh at himself. But every time he met Mikael’s clear eyes, old memories would surface, and he could barely endure it.

"I just need to think about something for a moment, so you go ahead and swing that stick around."

"I already swung it all around."

"Stop lying."

"I don’t lie about things like this."

Mikael gestured toward the sky with his chin. The twilight was slowly falling.

"Do you even know what time it is?"

"......"