Responsibilities Of A Man

Crowell took us all around the city until we reached the governor's land.

There were two large buildings far from one another surrounded by a stone fence.

Lewis pointed out that the building that was in the center of the governor's lane was his home while the other building was his office.

In the area, there were many guards with torches going about their watch, each group consisting of two people. They would nod in the direction of Crowell but didn't speak a word.

"Well, this is where I must stop, I'm afraid," Crowell turned around as he reached the gate to his land. "It was a pleasure taking a long stroll with you two."

Lewis bowed to him, "The pleasure was all mine. Enjoy your night, Crow."

With one last smile, Crow walked through the gates. The guards immediately closed the gate behind him.

"We should get some sleep too," I suggested.

Lewis nodded.

The night air was chilly, and I was beginning to feel very cold. I held my myself as tight as I could, but I couldn't stop myself from shaking. I looked over to Lewis, but he seemed unaffected by the cold weather.

We didn't exchange any words as we walked back home. I guess Lewis was just as tired as I was.

As we reached the gate to the Higher Central, I noticed a figure behind one of the buildings.

It was the kid that tried stealing Tal's pouch!

"Lewis, it's him. That kid from earlier," I whispered.

Lewis looked over to where I was motioning, "Yeah, you're right. I'd recognize that red robe anywhere."

"Let's act like we don't see him and get as close as we can, then we can try to jump him the moment he's close enough," I suggested.

"No, don't," Lewis held my shoulder.

He had a stern look in his face.

"We don't need to chase that kid. Tal already got his pouch back," Lewis said.

"That might be true, but if that kid keeps getting away with stealing, then he'll never stop," I retorted. "The person he steals from next might not be able as lucky as we were."

"Enough, Din!"

I took a step back by surprise. I hadn't expected him to yell at me like that.

He noticed his actions and apologized immediately, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you like that."

The kid noticed us and fled the scene.

I sighed, "It's fine."

We continued walking home. I hadn't seen Lewis like this before, it was actually frightening.

As we reached the door, he began opening the door, but then suddenly stopped.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Din, I think I'm going to quit being part of the Ravagers."

"Huh? W-wait, why?"

He turned towards me.

He didn't start speaking right away, but he finally answered, "I want to have a family."

I wasn't sure where he was getting at.

He noticed my confusion and continued, "The life of a Ravager is a dangerous one. We are forced into missions where we put our lives on the line for the sake of the greater good. That was a sacrifice I was willing to make."

Lewis walked away from the door and motioned me to follow him.

He led me outside of the Higher Central gate towards the hillside. He didn't say a word until we finally reached our destination.

We were on top of a cliff with a great view of not only the ocean, but also the city. It was hard to make out things through the mist, but I was sure this would make a good scenic viewing spot.

"This was where I proposed to Chris," Lewis started.

"The hillside past Higher Central…" I remembered Lewis mentioning that.

Lewis nodded, "Before coming back here, I couldn't imagine a life outside of being a Ravager. I had been part of that group for so long along with Chris. We had gone on countless missions and there were multiple times when I thought I would die. But somehow, we're both still here. We're both back where we started, in this city."

Even with his pause, I remained silent. I didn't know what I could add in.

"I want a child. I want to have a child with Chris. I want to be a father. I finally understand now," Lewis said.

"That's great, Lewis. I'm sure you'll make a great father."

He gave me a nod, "Thank you, Din. That means a lot and I'm sorry, I can't go on your journey to Aegis."

Is that what he was worried about?

I laughed, "You don't have to be sorry about that. I was planning on heading there with just Lorelei to begin with. I'm just grateful you were there to even bring me here."

Lewis gave out a long sigh before smiling again. "I feel so much better now! I really needed to get that off my chest! I wasn't sure how you'd feel if I suddenly told you I was planning on going. I didn't want you to hate me or anything. So how about we head home now?"

He really was a nice guy. He was that worried about it. The look of relief on his face showed how much he hated the idea of leaving a friend behind.

I was just happy to have met a guy like him.

On our way home, he was lively again and began talking about what foods to eat the next day.