"M500, then? No problem... Come pick it up in three days."
As he spoke, he stopped paying attention to me and turned straight toward the furnace.
I looked at him for a long moment. We hadn't had much to say to each other during our conversation, so I turned and headed for
the door, leaving him with one last remark.
"I'll come pick it up in three days."
By then, I'd reached the door. As I passed Yuejian, I gave her shoulder what looked like a casual pat.
"Let's go..."
Yuejian froze for a moment, then looked at me and at the old blacksmith, who had already resumed hammering away. She hesitated,
but didn't ask anything. She simply followed
me out.
After that, I wasn't in the mood to shop anymore. I went to the bank and withdrew some cash, probably a few hundred dollars. First, I returned the money Yuejian had paid for me that morning,
though he didn't want to take it. But when I threatened, "If you don't take this money, we can't be friends anymore," he reluctantly accepted it.
It wasn't much—less than a hundred dollars.
Then I returned to the inn and sat on the bed in a daze, my mind completely blank.
I'd run into someone I knew here, someone who had recognized me at a glance. But... we really hadn't had much to do with each other.
The only time we'd met was when he'd gotten beaten up by me
and had his electromagnetic cannon stolen.
I stared blankly at the unfamiliar, slightly moldy ceiling, murmuring to myself...
"I can't believe... he's gotten so old."
Time passed, and the years flew by.
I was still the same person I'd been back then. My appearance had changed a little, but my heart was still