“Ugh...” Rowe grimaced in pain and slowly opened his eyes.
“Oh, you’re awake! Good morning.”
“Where...are we?” Rowe sat up on the bed and looked around. It dawned on him he had been sleeping not in a dungeon passageway but in a village inn near the dungeon. “An inn? What about the dun— Ugh!”
Rowe’s face contorted in pain. Moving his body and wounded leg must have hurt. He pressed on his injury with both hands and groaned.
“Nuh-uh, don’t do that,” Shannon chided. “You’ve got to rest. You’re still recovering! I got a doctor to treat you, but you still shouldn’t be moving around.”
“Right, I messed up and got injured,” Rowe muttered. His expression turned sorrowful. “But more importantly, what...what happened to Leo’s effects? I have to bring him back.”
Shannon grabbed the silver pendant she had left on the bedside table and held it up for Rowe to see. It flashed dully in the light.
“It’s...” Rowe blinked and reached out gingerly. He took the pendant in hand and reverently traced the engraved L with his finger. Abruptly, his face crumpled further, though this time, it wasn’t because of physical pain. “Leo...!”
“Looks like I got the right one,” Shannon said.
“I... Thank you! I can’t believe you actually got this...” Tears appeared in Rowe’s eyes. He grasped the pendant tightly and brought his forehead to it.
“Did you really think I wouldn’t?”
“No, I didn’t mean it that way. I just... I just knew it was easier said than done. I’m already a senile old man who’s lost both his wife and his son. I thought it would be a good way to end my life as an adventurer. I was going to end it there.”
Shannon shrugged her shoulders at his earnestness. She could understand how he felt. “So should I not have gotten it for you?”
“That’s not it! I’m truly grateful. There’s nothing better than realizing your goals while you’re still alive.”
“Then I’m glad.” After a moment, though, Shannon groaned. “I still haven’t died.”
She heaved a large sigh. Rowe stared at her, wide-eyed.
“Wh-What’s wrong?” she asked.
“What you just said. I... I remember now!”
“Huh?”
“During the war between the Kingdom of Aust and the Valkia Empire, there was a battle at the Silano Plains. And you... You were there.” Rowe held a hand to his mouth. He looked dead certain of what he was saying. “Blonde hair and pale skin... Round green eyes... I’m sure you were the girl I saw there on the battlefield. There’s no way it was someone else.”
“The battle at the Silano Plains,” Shannon murmured, dredging her recollection of the conflict up from the depths of her mind. Back then, she had been working for the Valkians as a fake soldier. She had acted as a mercenary, and for reasons beyond her control, she had found herself with no choice but to serve on the battlefield. Her magic had greatly influenced the course of battle. “Oh... Oh, you were there?”
“You remember me?!” Rowe gasped.
“No, I can’t remember if you were there or not. But I think I was there.”
“S-So that really was you?” Rowe’s voice rose in excitement. Perhaps he was recalling his youth.
“Hmm, maybe? I know I was at the battle, but I don’t remember if we met.”
“No, no, no! If you were there, then you must have been the girl I saw! I know I met you there! My life changed that day.” He closed his eyes, seeming moved. “When we were at camp, you said, ‘I still haven’t died.’ I remember wondering what in the world you were talking about. After that, you took an arrow meant for me and helped me escape enemy territory even though you were covered in blood. I’m still alive because of you! I thought for sure you had died there.”
“No way. I’m immortal—forever young.”
Rowe gasped again, but a moment later, he was smiling. “Ha ha ha! No wonder you look exactly the same. That wouldn’t be possible unless you were immortal!”
Shannon laughed. “You’re pretty quick to believe me.”
“I only believe the things I see. So there’s nothing strange about you being the girl I met back then or about being immortal. After all, you’re alive even after I saw you take a fatal wound.” Rowe stroked his beard, beaming. “After that, I vowed to get stronger. In some ways, you made me the man I am today. Thank you.”
“Oh, you don’t have to be all grateful about it. It’s fine! I just really wanted to die then, is all.”
“I see now. That’s why you’re traveling, huh? That’s why you were on that battlefield and why you went with me into the dungeon. You’ve saved me twice now. Guess I’m lucky.” He smiled contentedly. It turned out that his muttering about “fate” in the tavern hadn’t been a pickup line after all; it really had been about his memories.
This was their second meeting in the span of many, many years. The world was wider than most people could imagine, and in her lengthy travels, Shannon rarely met the same person twice, especially after decades. Other humans had such short lifespans; Rowe was right when he said their reunion was lucky.
“So will you be leaving to look for another place to die?” Rowe asked.
“Guess so. I finished what I wanted to do here, so I’ll be heading out again.”
“I wonder if dying is even possible for you.”
Shannon shrugged. “I believe it is. But I’ve been like this for a long time.”
“Sounds troublesome. Maybe we’ll end up meeting again.”
“If we do, Mr. Rowe, it’ll be when you’re dead.”
He laughed. “Don’t say such cruel things! But you’re right. I’ve already been saved twice; any more times and I’ll have to pay big for it.” He smiled, looking happy. Shannon wondered if he had only been living to collect his son’s pendant. He looked much more amiable now than when they had met at the bar, as if he were a string that had been pulled taut but now had some slack.
“Anyway, I’ll be off now.” Shannon shouldered her bag. “Enjoy the rest of your life, and make sure not to move around until you’ve properly healed.”
“You’re in a hurry.” Rowe’s eyes widened, and the look he gave her was a little sad. “Leaving already?”
“I only meant to stop in this village for a little bit. I had fun though, Mr. Smooth Talker.”
“I told you, I’m not a smooth talker!”
She laughed. “Bye now. If we do happen to meet again, try another line on me.”
“I’d do it even if you hadn’t told me to.”
Shannon gave him a lighthearted wave before leaving the room. Rowe waved back and watched as she closed the door. He turned his gaze back to his son’s pendant, then closed his fingers around it tightly.
After fifty years, he had reunited with the girl who had saved him. Rowe smiled to himself. No one would ever believe what had happened to him.