Chapter 51
The Next Morning
“Did you sleep well?”
When I woke up and opened my eyes, Allen was right in front of me. His face had grown noticeably more mature over the past three years, and he was smiling gently at me. At some point, he had started waking up before me, and now he was watching me sleep with careful attention.
The moment our eyes met, I wanted to bury my face in my hands.
If he were just watching from a distance, I wouldn’t have minded, but the problem was that he was so close. Even now, his breath brushed against my nose deliberately.
Am I overreacting?
Even I couldn’t help but notice how handsome he had become. His build was just right—not too muscular, not too thin—and seeing him like this made me acutely aware of him as a man. That’s why every time Allen acted like this, it was incredibly awkward for me. Typical main male lead—unnecessarily handsome.
This is maddening.
If we had met after he had fully grown, I might have been able to think, Well, that’s understandable, and let it slide. But I’d been there, watching him grow up, so it wasn’t that easy.
Still, unlike a game, this was reality. I had already resolved that I wouldn’t develop a deep relationship with Allen—or anyone else, for that matter. After all, any relationship would vanish once we returned to reality after reaching a happy ending.
“I told you, when you wake up, train first,” I said coldly as I got up. I needed to do this just to strengthen my resolve. As I turned to button up my cleric robes, Allen spoke.
“Aren’t you going to miss it?”
“Miss what?”
“Soon, you’ll be going back to the Central Continent.”
A week after falling into the Demon Continent, a hidden quest had triggered. The quest required us to extract information from a demon who knew the way back to the Wall of Light, though it didn’t reveal which demon it was. Tracking it down had been a headache.
We wandered across the Demon Continent indiscriminately, and in the end, we managed to obtain a map to the Wall of Light from the last demon we sealed.
“So what? Do you want to stay here forever, eating tasteless monster meat?”
“That’s not it… but if we go back to the Central Continent, our time alone like this will get even shorter.”
What nonsense was he saying?
Allen’s expression clearly showed regret. I couldn’t understand why he would feel that way.
We were surviving on purified monster meat because all other food was gone. Not to mention, there were no places to get basic supplies on the Demon Continent. Considering all this, Allen’s remark about feeling regretful sounded utterly ridiculous to me.
“You worry about things that don’t matter too much.”
To reach his head, I had to stand on tiptoe. He had really grown. Feeling the height difference, I ruffled his hair.
“Why would the time with me decrease? I’ll still be by your side.”
At least until we returned to reality. I swallowed that thought and spoke it aloud. Finally, Allen relaxed and grabbed my hand, pulling it toward him.
“You better keep that promise.”
His eyes, dark as the night sky, held me as he faintly smiled. He seemed less like a puppy now, more like a clever fox. He still clung to me like glue, just as he always had.
“Enough. Just get ready.”
I pulled my hand free from Allen and said,
“And don’t act spoiled like you just did.”
“Why?”
“I know you think of me like your sister, but I can’t always indulge your childishness. You’re grown up now too.”
Allen probably didn’t feel a sense of distance from me because we had been together since we were kids. But I realized I had to maintain a little distance now, or else I might really start seeing him as more than a friend. Having said this, he would likely understand my meaning.
“I’ll go ahead, so come out when you’re ready. You need to exercise before we leave.”
I left the tent before my thoughts could wander in any strange direction.
“…I think you’re misunderstanding something,” Allen muttered quietly after I left.
“If you really thought of me like a sister, you wouldn’t act like this.”
Whether he didn’t know or was pretending not to, I could take my time letting him figure it out. There was plenty of time. Allen watched in the direction I had gone, smiling faintly.
At the northern edge of the Independent Holy Nation of Eden stood the Wall of Light, a continuous barrier of radiant energy that served as the frontline against the monster invasions.
Monsters swarmed constantly near the Wall of Light. They knew that destroying it would erase the boundary between the Demon Continent and the Central Continent.
Knights, mercenaries, and soldiers from various nations fought relentlessly against the monsters. Humanity understood that the Wall of Light was the last line of defense.
“Surround them! If you can’t handle three, gather five to take them down!”
“Eek!”
“Focus!”
Shouts and screams echoed across the battlefield. The stench of dead monsters made soldiers gag. It took five of them to barely handle a single monster.
Even the mercenaries were in rough shape. Compared to the standard equipment of the regular soldiers, most of their gear was shabby. A few were exceptions, but most fought with what little they had.
Holy knights used their divine powers to slow the monsters’ advance. Regular knights, aided by the holy knights, took advantage of immobilized monsters to strike them down.
Thanks to their efforts, the Central Continent managed to maintain a fragile peace.
“Huff… that was close.”
Hans, a low-ranking soldier of the Aslan Empire, ducked into a trench and removed his helmet, gasping for air. Other soldiers in his squad rested alongside him.
“Corporal, haven’t the monsters been acting strange this past week?” Hans asked, trying to get the attention of his squad leader, who was busy drinking from a flask of cheap alcohol. The corporal, though grumpy, was skilled and had saved his squad countless times.
“Wear your helmet properly. And stop stressing the ‘Corporal’ part so much.”
The corporal threw his empty flask, hitting Hans squarely on the forehead. Hans rubbed the sting and put his helmet back on.
“I’m serious, it’s weird! Sure, monster attacks have always been intense, but it feels like there are too many lately. I know that’s unlikely, but it’s like they’re being chased… Isn’t that strange?”
“What can people like us do about it?”
Grudgingly, the corporal agreed to some extent. Indeed, the monsters’ numbers had increased noticeably. They still lacked intelligence, but many acted like moths drawn to flame. Even the seasoned corporal, who had survived the northern front for years, had never seen this before.
“Shouldn’t we report this?”
“You fool. Do you think the higher-ups don’t already know? Our job is only to buy time for the illustrious knights.”
Knowing didn’t change anything. If low-ranking soldiers like them noticed, the knights surely had as well.
“But still…!”
“Stop whining and get moving! You think you can sit around all day like slugs?”
The soldiers shot Hans an annoyed look but obeyed, getting up to rejoin the battle. They ran toward knights surrounded by three monsters.
I want to live! I want to live! I want to live!
Hans had volunteered as a low-ranking soldier to support his family. The pay was high, but the risk was deadly.
He thrust his spear into the monster’s body, screaming inwardly. He didn’t want to die, even if he was just there to buy time for the knights.
At that moment, a squadmate was struck by a monster’s tail and killed instantly. They didn’t even have time to close his eyes. Another monster immediately lunged toward Hans.
“Uwaaah!”
His legs gave out. He sank to the ground, pounding desperately with his fists, but the monster’s jaws closed in. Hans knew he was about to die.
“Allen.”
Then, amidst the chaos, a voice unlike anything on the battlefield reached his ears. Hans blinked, doubting himself. But the monster attempting to devour him was sliced in two. Finally, he realized what had happened.
“There are so many of them!”
Before him stood a girl, her golden hair shining like sunlight in the dark battlefield. She looked almost bored by the scene.
“Why aren’t you running?” she said, tossing the question toward Hans.
