The desert city of Baern.
The moment he heard that name, a flood of thoughts surged through Usher’s mind.
It was the land where he was born and raised, the land with fragments of the happiest moments of his life, and at the same time, the land where his saddest memories were buried.
A name buried in his heart, yet fate led him down such a cruel path.
When he heard that he had to leave for there, he couldn’t calm down for a while.
Unaware of his turmoil, Halia continued speaking.
“They say it’s worse than other places. It’s a city that’s rotting from the inside, to the point it’s amazing we didn’t notice it before. That desert…”
“It’s hard to notice such anomalies. It’s a city-state that’s not part of the continent’s union.”
He answered with a bitter smile.
The continent’s union, led by the Holy Order, was clearly the absolute group that set the rules of the land.
But even though they were part of the continent, not all cities were members of that union.
Baern was one of those exceptions.
A city-state in the middle of the desert, with no connections to other cities and barely any interaction, a peripheral city that the union hadn’t even urged to join.
Halia widened her eyes in surprise and smiled.
“You know about Baern? Ah, I guess your bodyguard is from there.”
It’s probably correct to assume he heard about it.
Now, saying that he, Usher Therbion, knew more about the place than anyone else would be ridiculous.
Usher awkwardly smiled.
Then, Bersia looked at Usher in surprise.
The conversation ended there, and Halia spoke.
“You leave in five days. Get ready.”
It was almost like an announcement.
However, there was no reason or justification to refuse.
A native of Baern, there would be no one else in the Order who knew the place better than him, and if it was such a dangerous place… a place where street battles could break out at any moment, there would be no better knight for the job than Usher Therbion.
It was something that could be dealt with by simply calming his mind.
Usher nodded.
Thus, the unexpected return to his hometown was decided.
That afternoon, Bersia returned to the garden and observed Usher, who was lost in thought.
Naturally, worry followed.
In fact, this was a side of Usher that Bersia had never seen before.
He was silent, his lips tightly sealed, with a mysterious expression that seemed to speak volumes.
It may sound strange, but Bersia felt for the first time that Usher was a stranger to her.
They had always been concerned about each other and had judged who the other was, ever since their bodies had been switched.
They were so close that it was as if their bodies were swapped, so how close could their psychological distance be, as people often say.
That was why it was the first time.
Feeling Usher’s unknown side.
The feeling that he was distant.
Curiosity and frustration were there, but she didn’t ask.
Clearly, it wouldn’t have been a pleasant past, and if she asked Usher about it, Bersia felt she would also have to talk about her past.
If it came to that, wouldn’t it be better to bury both sides?
At least, there was something vaguely known.
The mercenaries who raised him during his childhood, or the things he said about battling pirates on Pirate Island.
When piecing them together, there were some guesses that could be made.
Initially, what Bersia didn’t expect was that those who raised Usher were ‘mercenaries from Baern.
Bersia’s gaze deepened.
She knew of Baern’s mercenaries because of their unique nature.
‘What was it called? The national identity.’
Generally, mercenaries were those hired to fight for a fee, swordsmen for hire.
But Baern was different.
Sometimes errand runners, sometimes militia, sometimes knights, they moved to ensure the city’s security and peace.
They followed their own rule of strength and survival, constantly fighting.
In other words, the city-state of Baern was built and destroyed by them.
It was indeed a peculiar country.
Based on that, it made sense that Usher learned martial arts from the far East or swordsmanship from pirates within such a group.
Of course, what had happened between them, why her thought of his hometown with such emotion, was still a mystery.
The atmosphere began to settle.
“…I’m sorry.”
Suddenly, Usher apologized.
Bersia looked up and saw him scratching his cheek awkwardly with a smile, a familiar sight to her.
“I think I’ve been overthinking. Hmm… it’s just my hometown, after all.”
“…I see. I understand.”
“I’ll need to prepare. Baern is a place I know well, so yes, I’ll handle the preparations.”
As he spoke as if he had regained his focus, his actions immediately showed otherwise.
Bersia furrowed her brows.
“Not that way.”
Why is he trying to walk into the garden when there’s a perfectly good path?
Usher flinched, his cheeks turning red.
He seemed to try to brush it off with a casual laugh, but Bersia couldn’t do the same.
Sighing, she eventually made Usher sit back down.
Usher flinched.
Perhaps he thought it was a foolish mistake, even by his own standards.
In the midst of it all, human hearts are so devious; there was a part of her that hoped Usher would just speak up if he was going to show it so clearly.
Even though she didn’t want to talk about her past herself.
Her lips pressed tightly together.
A short but not insignificant silence. At the end of it, Bersia asked.
“Are you okay?”
She was asking sincerely.
No matter how frustrating Usher’s unfamiliar side might be, that didn’t mean she didn’t care about him.
On the contrary, because she loved him. She wanted him to be happy, and if he had any worries, she hoped they were about herself, so she asked him this question.
Then she recalled Usher’s words.
The words about needing to be told things because she didn’t know them.
The words about trying to understand each other because they were different.
For the first time, Bersia offered genuine care, something rare for her.
“There must be things you can’t talk about. I understand. As you know, I haven’t told you everything about myself either. But if I had any worries about you, I would at least say I’m struggling. I would ask for comfort.”
“Ah…”
“Do you need comfort?”
She took his hand.
She wasn’t sure how he’d feel, but when Usher held her hand and looked her in the eyes, she felt an overwhelming sense of calm and happiness.
She hoped he felt the same. Fortunately, it seemed her actions had worked.
After a long pause, Usher burst out laughing.
“Haha…! I’m failing at my guard duty.”
Though he couldn’t completely hide his awkward expression, he seemed much better than before.
Bersia felt relieved.
For some reason, she also felt a sense of accomplishment.
It wasn’t just that; compared to the usual times when she had emotionally relied on him, this time it felt like she had allowed him to rely on her instead.
“Not that it matters, you’re already failing. You’re too much of a girl to be a proper guard.”
“You didn’t have to say that.”
“After all, females are a better fit for you.”
“Stop.”
“…What, you’re listening for once?”
“I’m actually good at listening.”
There was no need to look at her like that.
She smiled and he shook his head.
Then, he shook off his gloomy mood and stood up.
“Yeah, I feel a bit clearer now. No point in worrying about it, right? It’s in the past, so I shouldn’t get stuck in it. Let’s think about the future!”
“That’s a good mindset.”
Bersia stood up too.
That should be enough for today’s good deed, right?
Since he seemed to have regained some strength, she decided she would tease him a bit before they left.
There was no real danger; their current companion was Halia.
Even though their bodies were switched, Halia and her guards were all high-ranking knights.
Any major danger could likely be dealt with through sheer force.
They were just going to travel through Usher’s homeland.
It was just then that she thought of something.
“Then let’s get ready! Shall we start with disguising ourselves?”
“Huh?”
“I might be the only one who knows what you look like there, but if anyone else recognizes you, it could be troublesome, right?”
“Troublesome?”
Why was she going to such lengths to hide his identity with a disguise?
She tilted her head slightly.
Usher smiled and answered cheerfully.
“Oh, I haven’t told you this yet.”
“If it’s about this…”
“I’m wanted in Baern.”
“???”
“Haha, the mercenaries who raised me were involved in an attempt to overthrow the government.”
Bersia’s body stiffened instantly.
The answer came with a playful laugh, but the content was quite severe.