Just this once | Kazuha × Scaramouche

Chapter 6 - Sal Terrae

*Scaramouche POV*

It has been a day we were walking and the sky was dark. We were both tired of the journey we did by foot.
Kazuha's eyes were struggling to stay open. His legs were shaking and he had a weak posture. Noticing a tent, I pointed it to him.

"It'd be a good idea to rest for the night."

There was almost no life in his eyes. He's really tired, then.
I grabbed his arm and dragged him to the tent.

There was some blankets, books, cooking supplies and boxes. I grabbed one of the sheets and looked at him.
The tent was right next to a rock, luckily. He sat down and rested his head on the rock.

"Kazuha, you should get some sleep now."
"N-no, I'll have to stay on the lookout—"
"I'll be on lookout. Please, get some sleep."

I hand him the blanket and he wrapped himself in it. Soon enough, his eyes closed, slowly but surely.
As I told him, I stayed on watch. After all, a puppet doesn't need to rest much.

Nothing was happening. It was long.
I declared that the was no danger, but before going to rest at my turn, I sensed movement.
It was swift. I still felt the presence.
I look around.

"Who's there?", I shout.

The sun was rising. I would see it one way or another.
In the horizon ran a tall, black-dressed person. They seemed to have a weapon on them, looked like a gun.
It must've been 4 A.M, given how bright the sun was.
I was lost in thought until I heard a faint noise.

"G-good morning, Scaramouche.", he said with his usual, shining smile.
"Good morning. Slept well?", I asked.
"Yes, it was good to rest a bit. Thank you for finding this spot."
"I-it was nothing."

His comments and answers are always so straightforward that most of the time, I just feel embarrassed. I still don't know why I don't act as cocky with him as I usually do.
Maybe it's because of my sudden returning memory, or maybe it's just because I appreciate being with him.

He got up, tied the blanket to his belt and arrived by my side.

"Are you ready?", he asked me.
"Yeah. Let's go then.", I answered.

*Timeskip, at Sal Terrae*
*Still Scaramouche POV*

We finally arrived. It must have been about 3 hours of walk, as the sun was still shining bright, if not at it's peak.
There was salt. Everywhere.
I did overhear the old man talking about the God of Salt once, but she perished during a war... or something like that.
It was known to have some seal, but it disappeared.

Kazuha looked down at the hole, perplexed.

"What is supposed to be in there? And also, is it salt everywhere?", he asked.
"There's a good supply of Cor Lapis and Nocticulous Jade in there. As for the second question, I'm not sure. All I know is that..."

He looked at me and waited patiently for an answer.

"...the God of Salt's people were turned to salt after her defeat.", I finally answered.

The white-haired boy looked at the hole again, with a disgusted look this time.

"It won't be long, don't worry about it. Just need to check if there's life down there and then we're off.", I said, trying to comfort him.
"Alright. Let's do our best.", he added, with a calm, yet playful tone.