Meanwhile, in Ron's inn ....

Ron sat down in the chair. It had been a strange day for him, with Erwin's "goodbye"; he believed that after so much time and after so much suffering, he would no longer feel such feelings, but seeing Erwin leave, some pleasant memories came to his mind, which soon after, however, were accompanied by memories that he hoped to erase and that he had locked into the depths of his conscience.

For this reason, since he could not understand his state of mind, he opened a bottle of wine placed behind the inn counter, starting to drink after so many years that he had stopped; he hated drinking alcohol, but at that moment, it was the only thing that seemed to be able to help him;

"You took it really badly, huh?"

Suddenly, a male voice interrupted his thoughts;

"Ludwig, what are you doing here?" asked Ron, who at that moment had no desire to talk to anyone, not even his long-time friend Ludwig; but the latter sat right next to his friend, ignoring his cold gaze.

"Well, I came to drink with my friend... Can't I?" said Ludwig, who took the first clean glass, inviting Ron to pour him some of that red wine he was drinking.

"...Just shut up..." Ron replied almost annoyed, pouring some wine into his glass, which Ludwig drained in a single sip;

"... Good!" said Ludwig, who asked Ron for another glass, who at the moment seemed even more frustrated.

Ron got up from his chair, then headed to the counter; he took another bottle of wine, then laid it forcefully next to Ludwig and looked at him with annoyed eyes.

"Drink."

"O-Ok..." Ludwig said slightly intimidated, realizing that the friend, at the time, was not really in a good mood.

The two men spent several minutes drinking, without saying a word; then, however, alcohol began to activate its effects in Ludwig, who, feeling a little more relaxed, opened his mouth.

"So... Why did you change your mind?"

Ron also seemed less angry, and if he didn't feel like talking before, now he felt a little more relaxed too.

" About what...?"

"About letting Erwin go!" - Ludwig said, in a slightly high-pitched voice – ""Does it have anything to do with the letter I gave you?" asked Ludwing, who even though he was half drunk, his insight and intelligence seemed intact.

Ron remained silent, as he looked at his bottle, which no longer contained much wine; so he drained the wine that remained inside;

"Well, something like that..." said Ron,with his face that in the meantime had turned slightly red;

"What could ever have made a stoic man like Ron the Terrible change his mind?"

"... My father is dying."

At that moment, a deafening silence shet into the room; Ludwig had imagined a couple of things, but in the end, the worst possible scenario for Ron had occurred;

"That's... a problem." said Ludwig, who despite being slightly snake, had taken on a very serious expression at the time.

"Yeah, but that's not all..." Ron said, with a moffing smile on his face.

"What do you mean?"

So Ron, after a few moments of silence, began to tell what had happened these days, from the arrival of Elaine, to the clash against Rudolf and the latter's threats. Finally, Ludwig began to understand the reason for such a choice to let Erwin leave, even though he was very worried at the time.

"So... the reason you changed your mind about Erwin being able to go to Veras, was because your father is diyng, but also because of the Darksold... I'm right?"

"That's right. I wanted to kill that Rudolf, but if I killed that bastard, tehn I don't know what would have happened to Hakvill; Also, that bastard saw Erwin, and it's too dangerous for him to stay here. And let's not forget about this fucking letter, since now I'm required to go back "home." and since i don't want Erwin to find out about my past... I seized the moment" said Ron, who breathed a long sigh of disappointment.

Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!

"Wait a minute... so are you going back to home?" Ludwig asked, looking worriedly at Ron, but he seemed very calm;

"Well, I'm forced, Ludwig. Or have you forgotten about the deal I made with my father?"

"... How the heck i can forgot something like this?! I was there that day too, remember?!" - exclaimed The administrator of the 21st district, banging his fist slightly – "But didn't you think about Erwin? We both know that it's almost impossible for Erwin to enter the academy of a thousand magical arts; what will I tell him when he gets home and doesn't find you in the inn?"

"I'm not that stupid... that's why he goes to Mykotos' number 1 academy; I know the principal, and he's a very 'open' person mentally. Then it's true that for him, a elementless, it will be difficult to be admitted, but you know a professor from that academy, right? He can help us..." Ron said, giving a slight mischievous smile.

"Tsk... I would have contacted him anyway, since you're irresponsible! Don't worry!" Ludwig said slightly annoyed, as he realized that his bottle of wine was also finally empty.

"Anyway... are you Really sure you want to go home? I mean, you and your father..."

"Yes, stop asking that. Even though I hate him, it's still thanks to him if for a while I could live as I wanted..."

Ludwig looked at Ron's expression, and realized that no matter what he would tell him, it was evident that he would still go back to home, and this time, it would be forever. He was sad, but at the same time, in his heart, he knew perfectly well that this day would come, sooner or later.

Ron was acutely aware that this day, sooner or later, would arrive. Inevitably, everyones faces mortality, and this hard truth applied not only to him but also to his father, who lay on his deathbed.

Despite feeling highly annoyed at the prospect of returning to his homeland, Ron had already prepared for his departure: the man rose from his chair, abandoning the half-filled glass of wine thta stubbonly failed to produce the desired effect. He moved behind the counter, sifting through one of its many drawers. After a few seconds, he retrieved a letter gazing at it with uncertainty before finally handing it to Ludwig.

"I don't know when i'll return... but if i don't make it back before Erwin, please give him this letter."

"... Okay, I get it. When he comes back, I will hand it over to him." said Ludwig, putting the letter in the pocket on the inside of his jacket;

The administrator then got up from his chair, thus going to the exit of the inn; as he walked, he noticed, near to the entrance of the inn, a small bag and the sword that accompanied Ron to numerous battle.

"Ron, be careful..."

"Sure..." said Ron, who without turning around, raised his hand, greeting what was undoubtedly his best friend.

Ludwig gave a small smile, and left the inn without saying a word;

Ron, on the other hand, cleaned up the inn again from top to bottom; that inn, which he had built with so much effort and sweat, had become almost a part of him, and he was sad that, in all likelihood, he would never come back here.

After cleaning the last corner of the inn, the man went in the middle of the room, looking carefully at every little detail of what for almost 40 years, was his humble dwelling and seat of his humble work;

He then thought of Erwin, feeling guilty toward Artemisius, as he had promised to raise his son and take care of him as he thought best: the fact that he had to leave him behind was like a failure, and although it was not a thing that depended on him, he was annoyed by how things had gone;

"I'm sorry..." he said with a long sigh. He took his bag and sword, and after giving the last farewell to the inn, he walked out the door, no longer looking back...

END OF CHAPTER 13.1 - FAREWELLS (Part 2)