Vol 4 Chapter 40

Kran was already a handsome man with a striking face, but in addition to that, his sparkling blonde hair and even more dazzling armor made his appearance easily memorable in others' minds. Despite experiencing several inconveniences due to people recognizing his face, he disliked covering his appearance, causing trouble for those around him. Kapros thought that to move around comfortably, he had to forcibly give him something like that.

Somehow, he only managed to buy that robe on the day they were parting, but looking at it again, it seemed like a really good purchase.

After staring at the robe for a long time, Kran let out a deep sigh, then slowly removed the cloak that had been covering his shoulders and put on the one Kapros had given him.

"Put the hood on too."

"Okay..."

As Kran put on the hood resignedly, a menacing figure was born, looking even taller and more imposing with his sleek height. Kapros was very satisfied with the change that made him look more like Caesar than Kran, just by covering his trademark sparkling blonde hair and armor.

"Kap. Thank you."

After putting it on, Kran smiled slightly under the hood, as if feeling he should at least express his gratitude.

"I really like it, it's like we have couple outfits now. Hahahahaha."

"..."

Without answering, Kapros looked at Un-o, who was just taking out his gift and placing it on the ground. Seeing that, it seemed he quite liked it, and Kapros quietly smiled.

What Kapros had given Un-o was a new pair of boots. The reason for buying boots over anything else was also closely related to their previous fight with Caesar. At that dangerous time, Kapros had noticed that Un-o's shoes, which he used to shoot arrows desperately and retreat, were ankle-high shoes with a slightly loose upper part, not boots, which he found surprising.

Among combat-type users, those who primarily required speed and mobility often wore long boot-type shoes as a necessity. Not only were they comfortable for movement, but they also had the advantage of protecting the entire leg and could even hide small weapons if there was space.

In fact, although Un-o paid a lot of attention to money and items, it wasn't for items he would use himself, so none of the things he actually wore looked particularly sturdy.

While no part of the body is unimportant, Kapros thought that among them, the feet were what maintained the balance of the entire body. Isn't it because of feet that people can stand upright and find the strength to walk towards their goals?

He wanted to give the sturdiest shoes to support the feet of Un-o, who was constantly walking without properly playing or showing a smiling face at an age when he should still be enjoying himself. Un-o, who had taken off his shoes and changed into the new boots, rolled his feet for a moment, then turned towards Kapros and bowed his head slightly.

"Thank you."

"If they're uncomfortable, you can exchange them."

"No. They fit perfectly and are good."

Un-o smiled in a way befitting his age for the first time in a long while.

Finally seeing Kran and Un-o standing in front of the warp portal made Kapros feel empty. He tried to hide his expression to not show it, but he couldn't do so until the end.

Although he understood the reason they had to go and knew that this wasn't a path where they would never see each other again, it seemed that the heart didn't always follow one's intentions.

"Thank you for everything."

Un-o was the first to offer a brief greeting.

"Yeah."

As Kapros answered, Un-o bowed his head almost imperceptibly. Both of them felt satisfied with just that for Un-o, but Kran was standing behind with his hood pulled down, his shoulders stiff. Although his face couldn't be seen due to his posture, Kapros could imagine what expression he might be making.

"Kap..."

"..."

Kapros's feelings towards Kran were also incomparably more complex than towards Un-o. Kran had been with Kapros the longest since he started the game. He was also the one who had approached him most affectionately, and his personality was so bright and cheerful that Kapros had never seen anyone like him before, always feeling a sense of unfamiliarity whenever he saw him.

Yet, his inner thoughts were infinitely serious and thoughtful, giving advice when Kapros lost his way and unhesitatingly taking the lead to guide them when necessary.

'Come to think of it, we really traveled together for a long time.'

Smiling bitterly, Kapros extended his hand, and Kran bowed his head deeper, unable to continue speaking, and grasped it tightly. But then, instead of shaking hands as Kapros had intended, Kran suddenly pulled that arm and embraced him tightly.

Caught off guard by Kran's uncharacteristically intense action, Kapros was unable to react properly as his body was abruptly pulled in. A low, slightly trembling voice resonated from Kran's hood near his ear.

"Kap. I'll finish the quests quickly, become strong for sure, and come back."

Those were words Kran had said before on the phone, but Kapros couldn't bring himself to point that out. It was because he felt the same way. He truly wanted to become stronger so that they would never experience such a defeat again, so that a friend would never die before his eyes due to his own stupidity...

Kapros slowly raised his arms to embrace Kran's back in return. Uncharacteristically, he felt something hot boiling inside his chest.

"...Alright. But really, never use that skill again."

Despite having said it before, Kapros couldn't help but make that request once more. After a long while, Kran answered in a small voice.

"Sorry. I don't think I can promise that."

"What?"

Just as Kapros was about to push him away with a hardened face to give him a punch, Kran embraced him more affectionately with both hands on his back and continued with a smile.

"Of course I can't. If it looks like you're going to be in danger again, I'll cast the Holy Transfer skill on you beforehand."

"I told you not to do it."

"I will."

This guy...

"Why?"

"Why do you think?"

In the end, the scene of a good farewell was lost, and as Kapros was being embraced suffocatingly tight, his eyes wide with anger, he heard Kran's voice, the softest and most unbelievably gentle he had ever heard, in his ear.