Eris bluntly responded.
Ruijerd lightly smiled and caressed Eris's head.
"Eris, you have talent. You should have enough talent to become far stronger than me."
"That's a lie, after all... That guy..."
Eris linked her lips together in a frown and made a sullen face.
Ruijerd suddenly laughed a bit, normally, he would have said words about training.
"You fought against someone with the name of God, and received their technique. The meaning of that..."
Understood?
Eris was definitely glaring at Ruijerd.
Before long, she opened her eyes wide.
"...I understand."
"Alright, good girl."
Ruijerd patted Eris's head and then removed his hand.
Eris continued with her lips shaped in a frown and grasped her fist tightly.
It looked like she was on the verge of crying but desperately tried to endure it.
I asked Ruijerd without taking my eyes off her.
"Ruijerd-san, what are you going to do from here on out?"
"I don't know, I intend to search around for survivors of the Supard race in Central Continent for a short while. If it's just me alone, then recovering the honor is just a dream within a dream after all."
"I see, please give it your best. If I have any spare time, I'll try playing some kind of hand."
"...fu...Then I as well, if I have spare time I'll look for your mother."
Ruijerd said that while facing me.
Preparations for a journey are unnecessary for him.
He can live and walk on with just the clothes on his back.
However, he suddenly stopped.
"Come to think of it, I still needed to return this."
While saying that, Ruijerd took off the pendant that was hanging around his neck.
The pendant I received from Roxy.
The Migurd race pendant.
It was the only item that connected Roxy and I.
"That is, Ruijerd-san please hold onto it."
"Is it fine? Isn't it a precious item?"
"It's because it's a precious item."
After saying that, Ruijerd nodded silently.
It seems like he'll accept it.
"Well then, Rudeus, Eris... Let's meet again."
While saying that Ruijerd left us.
The time when he decided to come along with us, he talked about all sorts of things, but during the time he leaves, it's in an instant.
I had a lot of things I wanted to say.
Meeting in Magic Continent and coming together with us to the Asura Kingdom.
Really a lot of things happened.
Enough that you can't even put it into words, a lot of things, a lot of feelings...
The feelings towards an ally who I don't want to part with.
"Let's meet again."
I summarized those feelings with just those words and watched Ruijerd's back disappear into the distance.
That's right, it's fine if we meet again.
I'm sure we'll meet again.
As long as we're both alive, definitely.
Eris and I watched Ruijerd's figure until we could no longer see him.
Just quietly, packed together with our thanks until now.
---
Just like this, our journey came to an end.