As soon as we entered the house, Garnett urged me to sit down on the couch, and I quickly prepared a drink for myself.

　I thought it was the usual herbal tea, but what was being poured was a bottle of wine that I had bought on hand.

　I wondered if he thought it would be easier to talk to me if there was alcohol in it or something.

I'm going to tell you again, I'm not angry with you. It's just that I wanted to see a side of you that I didn't know.

　Garnett seems to have sensed my inner turmoil and dexterously peered over the back and said such things in a teasing tone.

　It's not at all ...... apparently they can't just end it at random.

　I wet my lips with wine and then decide to tell a story that I don't remember ever telling you in detail.

I've been an adventurer for about fifteen years now, having left my home village at the age of fifteen, and I personally believe that things have changed every five years or so.
You mean the first five years, the next five years, and the last five years?
Yeah. The first five years are common rookie adventurers. It's really rare to see someone like Sakura, who has risen to the C rank immediately and will soon be promoted to the B rank within seconds.

　The E ranks, whose age is around the late teens, are an existence that can literally be swept away.

　It wasn't uncommon for guys who hadn't yet acquired decent skills, and unless they were unlucky or in a hurry to get promoted, it wasn't impossible that they couldn't be promoted to a D-rank on a yearly basis.

'It was a time when I was concerned about being outpaced by Travis, my peers, but I never dreamed that things would be the same after a decade. I may have felt inferior to Travis, but I wasn't extremely impatient.
That's when you were playing with that Vera guy in the Kuronuma Valley?
'I was older than you long ago, though. And it didn't last long. I guess they gave up on me early on, saying there was no future with me.
You're a dickhead.

　Before I knew it, Garnett had climbed over the back of the sofa and was sitting next to me, stirring up a glass of wine.

''I think it was around the time that I had a crush on Florence, the head of the chapter, but she was outclassed by the other adventurers, right?
'You remember it well. Half of the new guys based in the same city had a thing for Florence. The guy who ended up winning was a really nice guy too, so it's just a nice memory.

　But he had lost his life less than ten years after I left town - and he decided not to talk about it again.

　Garnett must have known that, and now is not in the air to talk about it.

'So who came first, Florence or Vera?
'Florence was first. I met Vera afterwards ...... Anyway, I was really just a human being at the time. I wasn't playing fancy, I was just a human adventurer in my youth .......
"I don't even know what I'm doing at ......

　I overheard a somewhat self-mocking murmur, and I finally intuited the true nature of the feelings Garnett was having.

　It's not jealousy over the fact that she had a boyfriend in the past - although that can't be denied - but an inexplicable sense of distance or alienation.

　Garnett lost his mother at an early age and joined the Silverwing Knights with a desire for revenge.

　With that alone, it's not hard to imagine that she lived a childhood separated from the 'normality' of the world, but in Garnett's case, the fact that the Silver Wing Knights are forbidden to girls further complicates the situation.

　The Silver Wing is a knight order that adheres to the old policy of limiting its members to men.

　Although it was convenient that the knight leader is his own brother and his duties are best for pursuing his revenge partner (Agart Ram), there was no other way for Garnett to belong than to lie about his gender.

　-- of course, knights have their own youth, I suppose.

　However, due to the fact that Garnett had to disguise his gender, it must have been difficult for him to establish relationships among such knights.

　Hence, even if the topic of my old me came up, he was unable to empathize with it and may have felt a sense of alienation.

　After all, what Garnett said earlier, 'I want to know the side of you that I don't know', was exactly what she meant.

　Then I've decided what I have to do.

　All I have to do is keep talking about my youthful memories until Garnett is satisfied.

...... The next five years I kept moving from place to place. I guess it wasn't a waste of time either, because I ended up gaining a lot of insight and knowledge as a result.
Didn't you ever get away from home before that?
Of course we had the occasional expedition, but overall, the first five years were a period of time when we were based in certain cities and gained experience. But all in all, the first five years were a period of time where I was based in a particular city and I sat down and gained experience.

　As I sipped my wine, I gradually moved forward through the ages of my memories.

'But I left town. Maybe I'm paranoid, but I didn't get promoted to a D-rank for any length of time, and I didn't gain any new skills, so I got uncomfortable.
Wouldn't they be any different in other parts of the world?
'It changes, doesn't it? I don't usually bother to find out how many years I've been an adventurer, so if I don't tell anyone, it's hard to tell the difference between me and someone who turned adventurer after the age of twenty (haha) if I don't tell them.

　Now it was my turn to smile at myself.

　Now that I've put it into words, I can't help but feel ashamed of myself.

　I was just running away to a place where I didn't know anyone, and I was only fooling myself for being so bad.

I was exploring with Travis on occasion during this period, and it was during this time that I met Dustin and Theodore. I gained quite a bit of knowledge as well, so maybe I got more out of it as a result.
'How popular were you for the middle five years?'
I'm sure you're worried about that too, but it's nothing compared to the first five years. I'm starting to get to the point where I can't do that anymore.

　I can't help but smile at Garnett, who seems curious.

'So, the last five years I've been out of touch with the s*x trade. I was a complete self-declared failure, and I tried to think it was time for one last chance, or I gave up on the idea that I couldn't do it anymore. ...... That's when I jumped at the request of the brave Falcon, and you know the rest.
'It was around this time, I believe, that you took care of Alexia and A-ranked Roy. What was that like in your mind?
Oh, that.

　As you might expect, the last five years or so, I remember the specific feelings that I had in mind.

"Of course I couldn't leave him alone, but I'm sure there was also a part of me that wanted to leave something behind. I wasn't even aware of it at the time, but looking back now, I think I probably did.
'Even if you end up in the bottom ranks yourself, it's not pointless if the juniors you raised rise to the occasion. ...... You must have been pretty backed into a corner, man.
Yeah, exactly. If I was cool, I wouldn't have been asked to take a job on those terms and follow the Falcon.

　I can't very well confide in anyone but Garnett about this.

　You can't even talk about it with your old friend Travis.
　I'm not sure I'd be able to talk about it even if I had to, since I tend to act like I'm trying to impress that guy with my strength or something.

　It's because he's someone who can expose his true face and weaknesses, and that's why we talk about the old days.

　For me, it's a reminiscence with only Garnett.

You might not be able to understand this kind of thing if you don't put it into words, so let me say it clearly. It's true that I've had a lot of friends in my life, but you're the best, Garnett.
Buh-ha! ......!

　Garnett nearly blew out the grape wine he was about to drink and looked up at me with a bright red face and rolled his eyes.

'Oh, come on ......!　You don't say that kind of thing sober!
'Thanks to my bad luck and someone else's, I just lost my mind just now. If you're going to hate me, hate this wine.

　He smiles at Garnett's upset, and then smiles as he does so.

　It's not like I've been beaten to death either.

　I got a cute reaction, so it's enough of a counterattack for getting groped so far.

'Anyway, tell us your memories, too. It's not fair if I'm the only one talking about it.
Mmm ...... I can't tell you too much about it. I've got a lot of things I don't want to divulge outside the silver wing. If you still don't mind, you can go to ...... and start with .......

　Garnett casually put his shoulder to mine as he thought back to his days as a silver-winged knight.

　Even that faint weight felt endearing and important to me.