Sharti looked questioningly at the rock Ren pointed to.

After confirming there was no one else around, she carefully opened her mouth.

“Where are you going? Surely you’re not planning to go to the log cabin alone?”

“That’s right.”

Ren looked at Sharti with an expression that seemed to say it was no big deal to go back and forth dozens of times.

“We only have this one water container anyway, and it’s more efficient for me to go alone than for both of us to go.”

Ren casually replied and started to move as if he was about to leave right away.

Sharti grabbed his arm in a panic.

“Then let’s take turns going. I’ll go after you come back.”

“…”

“Just follow the path we came on, and be careful not to get lost since we won’t be seen by others.”

Ren, who had been looking down at his arm grabbed by Sharti with surprised eyes, cleared his throat and nodded.

“I’ll go for now.”

Ren rubbed his nape and disappeared into the trees.

Sharti anxiously watched his retreating figure, which didn’t seem very reassuring.

She felt more worried now than when she had sent Tein down the mountain alone.

‘I feel uneasy sending him alone.’

Then suddenly she remembered how Ren had chased after and caught Dodint when he escaped from the log cabin.

‘…Am I being too overprotective?’

She felt like an overprotective guardian.

Sharti sighed as she relaxed her body.

‘I should walk around a bit.’

There was nothing better than gathering herbs to change her mood.

Sharti turned to head towards the bushes, away from the stream.

At that moment, the sunlight reflecting off the stream caught her eye.

Squinting, Sharti stopped and stared at the water.

“…”

The clear stream was full of stars on its surface.

Sharti stood transfixed, blankly taking in the scenery.

‘…Ren told me to wait.’

And the weather was too nice.

It seemed a waste to just crouch down and dig up herbs, getting dirt on her robe, with such a beautiful scene before her.

Sharti slowly sat down on the rock facing the stream.

‘This is nice too.’

It felt a bit strange to just appreciate nature’s scenery without doing anything, but it wasn’t bad.

The sound of the stream flowing at a moderate pace was refreshing, and the cool breeze carrying moisture felt invigorating enough to make her hood and robe feel stuffy.

‘I’ve been through quite a lot recently.’

Sharti smiled faintly as she rubbed her cold cheeks.

A series of crises encountered in dire situations, and unexpected relationships and changes.

It seemed like a trial given to her at twenty, but she also thought it was just growing pains that would pass.

‘None of this would have happened if I hadn’t met Ren.’

If Ren hadn’t lost his memory, they wouldn’t have gotten entangled, and Sharti would have spent the last season of the year uneventfully, welcoming spring.

Sharti hugged one knee and rested her chin on it.

‘How can I help Ren regain his memories?’

How could she alleviate his anxiety even a little?

Just as Sharti was deep in thought…

“…!”

Sharti turned her head in surprise as a thick blanket was draped over her shoulders.

Ren, who had returned unnoticed, was calmly wrapping the blanket around her.

“When- I mean, you’re back already?”

Sharti asked in surprise, trying to gauge the time.

The time she felt had passed since Ren left and she sat on the rock didn’t seem that long.

How lost in thought must she have been to not notice his return?

“Ren, you sit here too. I’ll go quickly now.”

As Sharti got up and tried to take the wooden water container from him, he suddenly stepped back.

Sharti, who had awkwardly risen, blinked her eyes.

Ren pointed to himself and her with an impassive face.

“It’s been proven that I’m faster and stronger, Sha. If you can go there and back faster than me, carrying the water container with one hand like I did, I’ll yield.”

“…”

“I’ll be going then.”

Ren smirked and disappeared into the trees again, heading towards the old log cabin alone.

Sharti, who had been swiftly and logically persuaded, let out a short sigh belatedly.

The satisfaction that had flashed across Ren’s calm expression somehow seemed cunning.

‘He even brought a blanket.’

Thinking it was all planned, Sharti shook her head and sat back down on the rock.

With the blanket shielding her from the cold wind, warmth spread through her body.

Perhaps because of that, her chest felt ticklish.

‘Is this kind of thoughtful consideration a memory ingrained in his body?’

As Sharti fidgeted with the edge of the blanket, a strong wind blew, and she buried her face in the blanket.

It was warm.

[This is the timeline separator]

Only after diligently fetching water from the stream to fill the water storage container in the old log cabin did Ren put down the wooden water container and return to Sharti.

“…Wait.”

His steps, which had been excited at the thought of receiving praise from Sharti, gradually slowed.

Ren stopped abruptly and clicked his tongue, rubbing his forehead.

“Maybe I should have only filled it partially.”

If he had only filled it with enough for a few days’ use, they could have gone out together again soon, like today.

Ren sighed deeply at his belated realization.

He felt pathetic for becoming less meticulous and more naive whenever Sharti was involved.

[Ren needs to try harder.]

He didn’t know why the child’s advice kept coming to mind.

Ren suppressed his childish irritation and moved on.

‘…But it’s not wrong.’

He wanted Sharti to rely on him and feel his necessity, not out of sympathy or pity.

If so, he needed to act proactively like this time.

“Pretending to be sick or pitiful won’t work anymore.”

Now he had some leeway too.

As Bireta said, once he realized why he wanted to stay by her side, he could make his attitude clear.

‘I want to face Sha… if not as equals, at least eye to eye.’

He wanted to be someone who didn’t feel indebted to Sharti or feel powerless around her.

A relationship of sharing secrets and keeping them.

That was all Ren wanted.

“And later, for Sha…”

Ren closed his mouth as he was speaking his sudden thought out loud.

He lightly shook his head and hurried his steps.

Unlike his stiff expression, his earlobes had turned red.

“Hm?”

Just then, Ren immediately changed direction at the glimpse of bluish-purple.

He saw bluish-purple flowers blooming in clusters among the bushes.

Ren quickly crouched down in front of them and picked the flowers.

When the petals were damaged due to his rough handling, Ren carefully picked the flowers again.

“I wonder if she’ll like it more if I give her a lot.”

With that simple thought, Ren got up.

A moment later, as soon as he arrived in front of Sharti, Ren held out the clumsily made bouquet.

“Ah…”

Thanks to the wind that blew just then, her hood was disheveled, revealing the soft curve of her lips.

A bouquet of just five flowers made Sharti smile.

Ren unconsciously rubbed his solar plexus as he stared blankly at her.

This time it stung a little.

“Thank you.”

“It’s nothing.”

Strangely, the embarrassment was Ren’s share.

Ren shifted his gaze awkwardly.

After looking at the bluish-purple flowers for a while, Sharti raised her head.

“I have something I want to give to Ren too.”

“What are you going to give now?”

Ren frowned reflexively.

Whenever he managed to repay one thing, Sharti would try to give him something else as a return gift.

“I have some sense of propriety too.”

As Ren took a firm stance, Sharti also closed her mouth.

After considering her words for a moment, Sharti pointed up the mountain.

“It’s not something material, there’s something I want to show you.”

She added that if he didn’t want to, they didn’t have to go.

Ren quickly turned his thoughts.

‘If I refuse, we might go back to the cabin.’

If they returned to the log cabin, there was nothing he could do.

Ren promptly nodded.

And so the two climbed the mountain again. As they approached the area Sharti had pointed to, the terrain became steeper and rougher as they neared the mountain peak.

Ren looked at Sharti’s back as she walked ahead and swallowed a sigh.

‘It might be better if I carried her.’

But Sharti, who wasn’t injured and showed no signs of fatigue, was unlikely to allow it.

Ren racked his brains.

“Sha, stop for a moment.”

“…?”

“Avoiding branches and mud, there’s a risk of rolling down if you misplace your foot.”

Ren held out his hand to Sharti.

“For safety, it seems better if we at least hold hands as we go.”

It wasn’t a lie. It wasn’t obvious acting either.

Throughout the climb, Ren had been on edge, worried that Sharti might fall with each step she took.

‘It would be better if I got hurt instead.’

Ren was resolute.

Sharti also seemed to be considering.

She too was worried about Ren’s legs, after he had gone back and forth dozens of times carrying the heavy water container.

“We’re almost there, so let’s hang in there a little longer.”

“Alright.”

As Sha held out her right hand, Ren unconsciously relaxed his facial muscles.

Seeing his relieved expression, Sharti gripped his hand a little tighter.

The two, looking out for each other’s safety, soon arrived at their destination.

“It’s here, Ren.”

Led by Sharti, Ren experienced a moment of his mind going blank.

“…”

“This is the scenery I wanted to show you.”

Literally, a wide open mountain vista entered his eyes.

The fading autumn colors and the bare trees that had entered early winter preparation.

And an endless expanse of mountain forest was visible.

Ren muttered his impression that rose from his chest at the vast sight that felt like it opened up his heart.

“…It’s wide.”

Ren suddenly recalled the dark, narrow cave. And Sharti’s log cabin.

The outside, the world, was wide and vast.

It was inexplicable why this was shocking.

“It’s wide.”

Ren murmured in a low voice, as if his throat was constricted.

Ren lowered his gaze.

“…”

He felt oppressed by the realization that he was looking down at the world from a high place.

More precisely, it felt like devastating loneliness and heavy solitude were swallowing him up.

“…Ren?”

Ren slowly turned his head.

Sensing something was wrong, Sharti was looking at him with concern.

“…Sha, I think high places-”

Though he tried to maintain a calm face, he couldn’t hide his pale, ashen eyes.

Sharti immediately pulled his arm.

Then she covered his eyes with her right hand and placed her left hand on his forehead.

“Don’t push yourself, try to breathe steadily.”

“…”

Strangely, upon hearing Sharti’s voice, the chilling sense of déjà vu that had been enveloping his body disappeared.

Thanks to his eyes being covered, he could focus solely on her voice.

‘Could falling have been one of the causes of my injury?’

It was possible.

Like how Sharti had seizures at the sight of fire, the sense of alienation and pressure he just felt could be trauma.

‘It might be speculation, but.’

Or perhaps he was shocked by suddenly seeing the wide world.

Of course, Ren wanted to believe he wasn’t that weak-minded.

Ren closed his eyes, using Sharti’s flower-scented hand as a shield.

“…”

Ren, now much calmer, lowered her left hand and gripped it tightly.

Although it looked as if he was clinging to her, Sharti didn’t mind.

“I’m sorry. I was too careless.”

Self-blame was evident in Sharti’s apology.

“It’s alright.”

As Ren shook his head, Sharti spoke in a gloomy voice.

“You’ve been staying in narrow places until now. I should have considered the possibility of your heart being startled. I’m sorry.”

“…”

Ren, who had just escaped being treated as a patient, closed his eyes tightly and swallowed.

Ren sensed it.

That Sharti’s impression of him as a weak patient, contrary to his outward appearance, would become fixed.

And as expected, Sharti was overly attentive to Ren as they descended the mountain together.

Ren’s only consolation was Sharti’s hand gripping his tightly.

‘It’s warm.’

The sense of déjà vu he had felt momentarily had vanished without a trace, replaced by the warmth transmitted through her small hand.

The fragment of memory that Ren had unconsciously rejected faded away again without leaving a trace.