Road Where Flowers Bloom

Running down the street was a duo of Magic Knights—Grey Deer, made evident by the colors of their cloaks. Both had dark hair and one seemed broader in shoulder than the other, if only by a little. As the two got closer to where I stood, one of them seemed to slow their pace for a moment before picking up speed again. That same Magic Knight came to a stop in front of me while his companion dashed ahead.

Now up close and standing still, I saw that the Magic Knight was a boy my age, with his black hair pulled back in a small ponytail and a delicate smile on his face.

“Are you waiting for someone?” he asked out of the blue.

“Erm, no,” I answered. “I’m waiting for the rain to stop.”

“Ahh…” The young man looked up then back to me. “There’s no telling when it’ll stop though.”

I hummed half-heartedly then said, “I’ve got the time to just wait.”

“Still, you should be cozy at home, not standing alone in this terrible melancholy.”

I felt myself smile at his words because he seemed to have read my mind.

“Heeeeyyy!” Up the road, the other Grey Deer member shouted and waved. “What’s the hold up?”

“I’ll only be another moment!”

I don’t think that other guy is a noble, just based on how he talks, I noted. “Looks like you should—” I turned my head to look back at the boy in front of me then let out a gasp.

The boy had taken off his squad robe and now held it in front of me.

“Here. Use this to cover yourself on your way home,” he stated. He went as far as to step forward and extended his arm all the way out so that I wouldn’t have to reach into the rain to take his robe.

“H-hold on,” I choked out. “Is it okay for you to give this to me?”

“Not to worry,” the boy responded, his smile not faltering for a second. “I can always get another robe if the one I have currently is damaged or lost.”

“That’s not really the problem. I mean… I’m a regular person. I shouldn’t have a Magic Knight’s robe.”

In the span of a couple blinks, the boy’s expression shifted from a smile to pursed lips and back to a smile. Despite being a guy and someone from nobility, he looked cute when he did that.

“It’s a temporary loan. Simply come by the Grey Deer base to return it.”

“Hurry up, man!” the other Knight yelled.

“Yes yes! Just a bit longer!” The boy shouted back. He faced me again and stepped closer. “Now here, take it.”

Unable to refuse anymore, I accepted the cloak from the boy.

The boy waved goodbye then took off running.

Wait… “Wait!” I called out, stepping to the edge of the awning as I did. “Your name! I need to know who to give this back too!”

The boy spun around and shuffled backwards before responding to me.

“Morgen! You need to return the cloak to Morgen Faust!”

He—Morgen, as he had said—turned his back to me and continued to run in the rain.

I stood in place for a moment and committed the name to memory.

I lifted the cloak in my hand. Despite it having been in the downpour for at least a few minutes, the fabric was remarkably dry with water droplets instead seeming to sit atop the tufts of fluff that made the cloak.

Fancy material for the kingdom’s beloved Magic Knights I guess.

I took a moment to pick a good position that would hold the cloak, Morgen’s cloak, over my head then I started the mad dash back home.

For a moment, I paused and looked behind me. To my surprise, Morgen was still in sight and he too was looking over his shoulder at me. I saw him wave and, after a second’s hesitation, I waved back.