﻿\setgamedatatitle("Rebecca_04")

\text("Caym")
Are you still... open?
\endtext

\text
――The labyrinth tavern.
\endtext

\text
Late at night, after finishing his duties, Caym wandered in
alone.
\endtext

\text
He just didn't feel like sleeping, but wasn't in the mood to
call for a woman either.
\endtext

\text
He figured having a drink wouldn't be so bad.
\endtext

\text("Rebecca")
Oh, Caym. We're actually closed for the night...
\endtext

\text("Caym")
Oh? From what I see, there's still one customer here,
drinking.
\endtext

\text
Rebecca smiled softly at Caym's words. There was a glass on
the counter, amber liquid swaying at the bottom.

\endtext

\text("Rebecca")
Alright, come on in. ...Tonight, we're both customers.

\endtext

\text
She pointed to the stool next to her, inviting him over.
\endtext

\text("Caym")
Come to think of it, even though we've known each other so
long, we've never actually sat down and had a drink together
like this.
\endtext

\text("Rebecca")
Well, it wasn't really that kind of atmosphere back then...
Want the same as me?
\endtext

\text
Rebecca poured him a drink. The two of them clinked their
glasses lightly and brought the swaying liquid to their
lips.
\endtext

\text
Back then, they were just a boarding house resident and the
landlady. Their relationship was more like adult and child,
or maybe mother and son.
\endtext

\text("Caym")
―So you never saw me as an adult, huh?

\endtext

\text("Rebecca")
Hehe, maybe not.
\endtext

\text("Caym")
And now?
\endtext

\text("Rebecca")
...Isn't this your answer?
\endtext

\text
Rebecca poured him a refill in his empty glass. She did the
same for her own.

\endtext

\text("Caym")
I appreciate it, but you're pouring a bit much. ...Did
something happen?
\endtext

\text("Rebecca")
Not really. Just... remembering the old days, that's all.

\endtext

\text("Caym")
I see...
\endtext

\text
Caym didn't press her for details, just quietly drank with
her.
\endtext

\text
Rebecca let out a soft chuckle.
\endtext

\text("Rebecca")
You've really grown up, Caym boy.

\endtext

\text("Caym")
Don't call me 'boy'... But if you want to talk, I'll stay
and listen tonight.

\endtext

\text("Rebecca")
Yeah. I don't usually talk about this with anyone...
Actually, I try not to remember it myself.

\endtext

\text
Saying that, Rebecca stared intently at the liquid in her
glass.
\endtext

\text
Caym didn't force her to speak, waiting until Rebecca was
ready to talk on her own.
\endtext

\text("Rebecca")
It shouldn't have been that long ago, but... maybe it feels
like something from another world because I'm the one who's
changed.
\endtext

\text("Caym")
...You're talking about your late husband and child, aren't
you?
\endtext

\text
Rebecca nodded with her eyes closed. There was loneliness
there, but not much sadness.

\endtext

\text("Rebecca")
Yes... He and I had a relationship just like you and
Riz-chan do now.

\endtext

\text("Rebecca")
He was reckless and had no plans, but for some reason, he
was always so confident―

\endtext

\text("Caym")
...How does that sound like me?
\endtext

\text("Rebecca")
I mean I was the one who made up for what he lacked.

\endtext

\text("Rebecca")
I used to think it was a thankless role, but I didn't need
to be in the spotlight... I could leave that part to him.

\endtext

\text("Rebecca")
...No matter how talented Riz-chan is, she could never
become king and lead the army herself, right?

\endtext

\text("Caym")
Yeah. That's what being a king is. At best, you're just a
symbol, or something that's useful by being useless.
\endtext

\text("Caym")
On the other hand, if I do everything myself, the people
below me will just look up and stop doing anything
themselves.
\endtext

\text("Rebecca")
Exactly. You get it.
\endtext

\text("Rebecca")
Anyway, even when he said, 'Let's get married and start a
family,' he didn't even have a plan for how we'd get a
house.
\endtext

\text("Rebecca")
But I wanted to make his dream come true, so I suggested we
start an inn.
\endtext

\text("Rebecca")
I did everything―from finding someone to give us a loan, to
securing land and buildings, to negotiating and handling
paperwork with the merchant guild.
\endtext

\text("Caym")
...That guy was something else. Did he really not do
anything himself?
\endtext

\text
Being told he was similar to that man left Caym feeling a
bit conflicted.
\endtext

\text("Rebecca")
Hehe... But if it weren't for him, I never would have
thought of doing something so bold back then.

\endtext

\text("Rebecca")
...For the first few years after we started, the main
attraction at the inn was my dancing at night. I wore this
southern dancer's outfit.
\endtext

\text("Rebecca")
Maybe he didn't like that. He started drinking a lot more...

\endtext

\text("Rebecca")
...And once my son Simon got old enough to understand, he
often told me he was embarrassed by this outfit.

\endtext

\text("Caym")
Hmm... Well, I like that outfit. Why do you still wear it
all the time?
\endtext

\text("Rebecca")
Who knows why...
\endtext

\text
Rebecca gave a soft, mature smile and took a sip from her
glass.
\endtext

\text
...It seemed it was still a bit too soon to dig deeper into
that topic.
\endtext

\text("Rebecca")
Anyway, about him...
\endtext

\text("Rebecca")
Back then, I was doing all the work at the inn. Even if you
say 'useful by being useless,' maybe as a man, he felt
threatened.
\endtext

\text("Rebecca")
Especially in front of our son. He couldn't exactly say that
lazing around and drinking every day was his job as a
father, could he?
\endtext

\text("Caym")
Well, I don't think I'm that bad... grumble grumble.

\endtext

\text
Still, Caym thought, if he ever had a son, it might actually
be a tricky situation.
\endtext

\text
In the Demon Lord's army, almost all the actual work is done
by Risbell.
\endtext

\text
Basically, Caym's only real job as king is to approve
whatever Risbell comes up with.

\endtext

\text
Other than that, he spends his nights with women, organizes
his erotic illusion stone collection in his free time, or
just jerks off―
\endtext

\text
He couldn't exactly call that 'work' in front of his son
with any pride.
\endtext

\text("Caym")
So, what happened to that man? ...How did it end?

\endtext

\text("Rebecca")
Well, right around that time, there was a little trouble at
the border...

\endtext

\text("Rebecca")
Back when he was young, he worked as a mercenary. When there
was no war, he'd hang around the tavern, and that's how he
met me, a dancer.
\endtext

\text("Rebecca")
...I told him, 'You're not young anymore, things are
different now.' I tried to stop him. But it was no use.
\endtext

\text("Rebecca")
He said he wanted to show our son how he fought. He dug out
his old weapons and armor...

\endtext

\text("Rebecca")
Honestly, I thought he looked kind of cool, just a little.
...I guess he picked up on that too.

\endtext

\text("Rebecca")
But that battle ended really quickly. ...He said at least he
wanted to show our son the aftermath of the battlefield.

\endtext

\text("Rebecca")
The two of them went out together―but in reality, the
enemy's retreat was a trap.

\endtext

\text("Rebecca")
I heard there was a large-scale attack from another
direction. The mercenary unit he joined got scattered in the
chaos...
\endtext

\text("Rebecca")
It was about two months later that I heard what happened to
him and our son. ―There were only a few survivors, and
neither of them were among them.
\endtext

\text("Caym")
I see...
\endtext

\text
Caym reached for the bottle and poured Rebecca another
glass.
\endtext

\text("Rebecca")
...Thank you.
\endtext

\text
Then they gently clinked their glasses together―intending it
as a requiem for the man and his son.

\endtext

\text("Rebecca")
After that, I was just desperate. Anyway, I had to make sure
the shop didn't go under.

\endtext

\text("Rebecca")
I did everything by myself, so it shouldn't have mattered
whether he was there or not―but it wasn't like that at all.

\endtext

\text("Caym")
...It must have been tough, running a place like that all on
your own as a woman.
\endtext

\text
Even if he didn't do any real work, just having an
ex-mercenary thug around made a huge difference.

\endtext

\text("Rebecca")
Yeah. Not a single employee would listen to me. The
suppliers jacked up their prices, too.

\endtext

\text("Rebecca")
On top of that, some shady types started harassing me,
trying to take over the shop.
\endtext

\text("Rebecca")
―To deal with it, I had to change myself.

\endtext

\text
The Rebecca Caym knew was a reliable woman with a great
reputation in town, trusted by men and women alike.

\endtext

\text
But she wasn't always like that. She gained experience,
grew, and became stronger―that's how she became the Rebecca
she is now.
\endtext

\text("Caym")
(Somehow―I think I get why I'm drawn to this woman.)

\endtext

\text
Her strength, her kindness, the years she's lived―they all
shine through.
\endtext

\text
Maybe she's lost some of her youthful beauty, but her depth
more than makes up for it.

\endtext

\text("Caym")
Come to think of it, I never asked... What made you decide
to join the Demon Lord's army?

\endtext

\text("Caym")
Are you really okay with leaving the shop? It's an important
place you inherited from that man, isn't it?

\endtext

\text("Rebecca")
Don't worry. It's true―the shop is finally at a point where
I can safely leave it to the younger ones.

\endtext

\text("Rebecca")
But, if you ask me why...
\endtext

\text
Rebecca rests her chin on her hand, swirling her glass,
making a small gesture as if pondering.
\endtext

\text("Rebecca")
Maybe... I was lonely. On the other hand, as the others
grew, the shop started running just fine without me.

\endtext

\text("Rebecca")
――When I'm training those girls at my current workplace, I
can really feel that I'm needed.

\endtext

\text("Caym")
Hmm... Is that all? Really?
\endtext

\text
When Caym presses further, Rebecca gives him a mischievous
little smile.
\endtext

\text("Rebecca")
Sharp as ever. ...Yeah, I was jealous―of you, and of
Riz-chan too.
\endtext

\text("Caym")
Risbell, huh...?
\endtext

\text("Rebecca")
Yeah. She's so cute, so earnest... almost annoyingly so.

\endtext

\text("Rebecca")
Ah, keep this a secret, okay? That I ever thought something
like this... chalk it up to the alcohol.
\endtext

\text
Caym nods. Rebecca is an adult. She'd never actually bully
Risbell during the day.

\endtext

\text("Rebecca")
Letting a man carry all your burdens for you. In return,
giving everything and serving him―
\endtext

\text("Rebecca")
I wonder if that girl realizes just how lucky she is.

\endtext

\text("Caym")
I'm a man, after all. Whether she realizes it or not, I'll
just quietly shoulder it all for her... Ow!

\endtext

\text("Rebecca")
See, that's what makes you so annoying.
\endtext

\text
Rebecca flicks Caym on the temple with a quick snap of her
finger.
\endtext

\text("Rebecca")
I just realized why I'm still wearing these clothes.

\endtext

\text("Rebecca")
Because they remind me of those days. Back then, I could be
a cute woman who devoted herself to her man.

\endtext

\text("Rebecca")
...Even though they don't really suit me anymore.
\endtext

\text("Caym")
Rebecca―
\endtext

\text
Caym deliberately doesn't say the cliche line about how
she's still beautiful and the clothes still suit her.
\endtext

\text
It's not that she wouldn't appreciate it, but―
\endtext

\text("Caym")
Let's call it a night. We've both got work waiting for us
tomorrow.
\endtext

\text("Rebecca")
...Yeah. Thank you, Caym. For listening to me.

\endtext

\text("Caym")
Rebecca... The woman I know has always been capable and
dependable from the very start.
\endtext

\text("Caym")
That's why I'm glad you joined our army. ―I'm counting on
you to keep working hard, okay?

\endtext

\text("Rebecca")
That's right. ...To be honest, I don't dislike who I am now.

\endtext

\text("Caym")
―That's the Rebecca I know. See you.

\endtext

\text("Rebecca")
Yeah, good night, Caym.
\endtext

\text
Seeing the fresh strength return to Rebecca's expression,
Caym felt he'd made the right choice―though...

\endtext

\text
He couldn't help but think, if he'd played his cards right
tonight, he probably could've gotten her in bed―and that, he
did regret a little.
\endtext