~Chapter 116~
“Everyone, move!”
Bang!
I shouted as I took down another monster trying to get over the wall.
Startled merchants pressed themselves against the wall or crouched low.
Bang, bang!
The sharp smell of gunpowder brushed my nose.
Even while taking down monster after monster, my mind kept replaying the conversation from just before—
The one we had at the back-alley boss’s hideout before rushing here.
“Karl!”
Seeing smoke rising in the distance, I immediately grabbed Karl.
It was obvious something serious was happening.
Even the eyeball, which had been looking at us with disapproval, widened its eyes at the sight of the flames.
“We have to go there!”
Zeon jumped up from his seat.
“I’ll ask the Temple for help!”
“No, Zeon! Go to the inn near the Grand Duke’s estate instead! The four-story building with the red roof!”
“The inn? Why there…?”
“Holy Knights from the capital are staying there!”
Yes. Near the end of the banquet, I’d heard they were being assigned to that inn—
The very one I had stayed at.
“Holy Knights from the capital? Since when…?”
Zeon, who hadn’t heard, looked shocked.
“Ask later! Go!”
Still looking uncertain, Zeon nodded and ran off.
I watched his back as he left.
‘Honestly, it’s hard to trust the Temple.’
This monster incident could very well be something the Temple set up.
But those staying at that inn included Captain Ista and the Holy Knights under him.
I wanted to trust the captain—
Because he had risked bringing Reyna to Saint Portu just to warn me.
“Then now—”
“Come with me, Karl!”
I was about to run when—
“No, Elaine.”
Grab.
My waist was caught.
When I turned back, Karl was looking at me with an expression hard to describe.
“Come to the Grand Duke’s estate with me.”
“…”
“Stay in the room. I… need to join the Grand Duke’s army.”
“Stay in the room?”
“…I can’t let you run into danger alone.”
His face was earnest.
I stared at him, then said—
“You’ve gone to dangerous places with me plenty of times.”
“This is different now.”
Karl glanced toward the growing flames, as if to prove his point—
“Now…”
“It’s no different.”
I cut him off.
“Then and now, people are in danger.”
“Elaine. This isn’t your responsibility.”
“How can it not be? We took down the boss but let the rest escape.”
“The Grand Duke’s soldiers will—”
“And you’re planning to take care of it yourself, just like you stopped me in the mines.”
Karl fell silent.
Up close, I could see traces of pain on his face, maybe from lingering injuries.
I locked eyes with him and whispered:
“You said you’re joining the Grand Duke’s army. Go.”
“You’re telling me to leave you here…”
“You can come back to me after.”
“…”
“Someone has to alert the Grand Duke’s estate.”
“Elaine.”
“I’ll do what I can here in the meantime.”
His face showed dissatisfaction, so I covered his mouth with my hand.
“You’re not the only one who doesn’t want to send someone into danger.”
“…”
“I don’t like it either.”
I don’t want you hurt again—
Not with the same body already injured from protecting me.
But I knew trying to stop him would never work.
‘I’m the same kind of person.’
Someone who can’t back down when told to.
“Go call for reinforcements, and stop by the physician for treatment.”
“…”
“Then come back to me.”
Of course, I knew he wouldn’t.
If he called for reinforcements, the Grand Duke himself would come, find me, and take me away.
Karl wouldn’t be able to return to my side after that.
But…
‘It’s still better than risking your life again when you’re not fully healed.’
Any thoughts beyond that, I pushed away.
In an emergency, weighing Karl against the Grand Duke was pointless.
When I adjusted my musket strap, I heard Karl grit his teeth.
“Elaine.”
“Promise me you won’t do anything reckless.”
“…”
“You promise me, and I promise you.”
I met his gaze for a long moment.
“You know I’m strong enough to protect myself.”
“…”
“As a sniper, I won’t even be at the front. And most importantly—”
I held up the eyeball hanging at my waist.
“With a dragon’s blessing, who could harm me?”
The eyeball squinted in a smile, clearly pleased.
Then it narrowed at Karl and flicked its gaze as if telling him to hurry up and leave.
“See? Even it says so.”
“…”
“Go. Bring the Grand Duke and his soldiers.”
After several whispers from me, Karl finally sighed in resignation.
Then he pressed a long kiss into my palm.
“Promise kept.”
The warmth of that whispered promise still seemed to linger on the hand gripping my musket.
Bang!
I took down another monster, then quickly surveyed the situation.
“Hmm.”
The walls might soon collapse, the domain was burning in multiple places, and the ones fighting the monsters were a ragtag bunch of familiar faces.
A mess.
But not the worst kind of mess—
Because there were people here trying to protect others, even before the Grand Duke or Duchess arrived.
“Miss—no, Your Grace.”
The tavern owner still stumbled over my title, looking uncertain.
I shrugged like always and shouted:
“Anyone with combat experience, come here to form squads!”
I really did sound like a drill instructor—
And I had been one, so it made sense.
“Those without, move to the rear! Half of you fetch water, the rest help the elderly and weak evacuate!”
My eyes went to the flames.
‘Winter is dry—if we don’t stop this, it’ll spread through the entire slum.’
Maybe even to the city center.
The merchants called out anxiously:
“There’s no water! The nearby streams are all frozen!”
“There’s an ice storage, isn’t there?”
“Ice?”
“We’ll use it for barricades! Cover the rest with snow!”
Seeing them nod, I ran over to the tavern owner.
He still looked flustered.
I clapped him on the back.
“Save the manners for later. Now’s not the time.”
“Well…”
“Enough. How long can you hold if monsters get through?”
“For small ones, maybe a few dozen minutes… but the wall’s about to fall!”
“There’s someone to handle that.”
When I pulled out the eyeball, the tavern owner flinched.
I tapped it and murmured:
“Someone told me…”
…
“You were irresponsible. You didn’t even think about protecting your people like they were your children.”
…
“Want the chance to clear that name?”
Maybe it was a cheeky provocation for a dragon—
But the eyeball squinted into a crescent-moon smile, clearly entertained.
Whoosh.
Its gaze turned toward the cracked wall—
And then—
Rumble.
Light burst from the snow globe, its magic flowing into the wall, which slowly began to repair itself.
“My word…”
The tavern owner gaped.
Even I was a little surprised, but there was no time to marvel.
I patted his back again.
We’d leave that to the eyeball—
“Now let’s move on to our next job!”
