Published: February 1, 2026
Lizel decided to tell Judge and Stud about his leaving the country after his deal with Jade was finalized.
With the deal settled, the departure date was fixed for the day of the knights’ public training, and there was no longer any chance that Jade would whimsically change it to Sars instead. The inconveniences involving Sars that might once have made Lizel hesitate were, to him, trivial. The fact that Jade secured a connection to the cavalry would probably be considered fortunate by quite a number of people.
“Judge-kun.”
“Y-Yes!”
Even after deciding on his departure, Lizel had continued entering the labyrinth as usual. On this day, he visited Judge’s shop with Gill to get appraisal on the dungeon items he had obtained. Eleven, grinning to himself and saying he had something he wanted, had wandered off somewhere.
Judge had just finished appraising a piece of cloth Lizel handed him—something whose use was hard to understand even after hearing the result: “a wrapping cloth whose pattern changes depending on what it wraps.” When Lizel called out to him, Judge, still soft and wobbly from the effort, answered with a limp smile.
“…You really picked this timing to tell him?” Gill muttered under his breath.
“It’s not something I can really put off, is it?”
Lizel replied with an amused laugh.
It wasn’t that Lizel felt nothing. He understood perfectly well what would happen when he told them.
But as he’d said, it wasn’t something he could postpone, and if he was going to say it, the sooner the better. As Judge looked back and forth between the two of them in confusion, Lizel fixed his gaze on Judge’s face.
“The truth is, I’ll be leaving this country for a while.”
According to Gill, this was the first time he’d ever seen a human being fall so decisively from happiness into despair in a single instant.
Judge froze, the wrapping cloth still in his hand halfway extended. As it slipped and nearly fell, Lizel caught it and tucked it away into his pouch, his smile unchanged.
Judge stared down at him, eyes wide, forgetting even to blink. It was cruel to let him stay that way, but Lizel continued in a gentle, explanatory tone.
“I’ll be going to Astarnia. I do plan to come back eventually, but I thought I should tell you, since I’ll be away from the country longer than ever before.”
Judge blinked slowly, once.
His slightly parted lips trembled, trying and failing to produce words. Lizel watched, saying nothing, as those wavering eyes gradually filled with tears. He did not hurry him, simply waited.
Judge’s lips opened and closed faintly several times, clamped shut for a moment, then finally, with visible hesitation, parted again.
“D-Don’t… go… ah—”
His face crumpled, and tears spilled free at the same moment. Watching him forcibly swallow the words he’d tried to say, Lizel’s smile softened, his brows dipping faintly.
Trying to hold back his sobs, Judge lowered his head. He bit down on his lip so that his true feelings wouldn’t escape, but even so, his eyes flooded and overflowed with tears. With his tall height, he couldn’t hide any of it from Lizel. Not wanting to make him cry, and yet—Lizel reached out his hand.
“Judge-kun.”
“Uu… uh…”
When Lizel cupped his cheek, the sound that slipped from Judge’s throat was laden with too many emotions to name, but it did not hold even a trace of blame. Lizel gave a wry smile—this was just like him—and brushed away the flowing tears with his fingers.
“Don’t cry.”
“I’m… s-sorr—”
“You haven’t done anything wrong.”
Judge hunched his already slightly stooped back even more, looking at Lizel with trembling eyes.
He lifted his uncooperative hand to cover Lizel’s palm on his own cheek, gripping it to hold him there in place of words he couldn’t say. Even Judge himself didn’t know if he was doing it consciously or unconsciously.
He took a single deep breath to pin down the tremor in his lips and voice, then slowly loosened his grip.