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Dawn broke,

Under the warm sunlight, the mad, shimmering moonlight was washed away. Finally, those damned critters had retreated and disappeared.

Shouldn’t I have been watching the arrows fly and the flames burning all night? Thanks to Friel and Airine, who had laid a good smackdown on our friends who met the enemy’s gaze, it felt like the screams of those severely pounded turned into my cheering song.

“Park Shin-woo, are you alive?”

“If I were dead, I’d be lying flat on the ground! What suddenly got into you?”

“No. You looked like you were about to fall over dead.”

“…It’s a bit tough.”

Mentally, I still had some strength left. I’ve been through much crazier nights than this.

But the problem was Mana. Throughout the night, I had contributed my Mana to help Tania create flames. Even though I tried to save it as much as possible, after setting that much fire, the hole through which it leaked was larger than my recovery rate.

Fortunately, I wasn’t about to collapse from exhaustion, but I felt weighed down by a heavy fatigue. Not great at all.

“Hmm─ your master looks equally worn out.”

And that was true for Shione as well.

Well, that was only natural.

Focusing all her nerves until dawn to pinpoint the enemy’s positions must have been extremely tiring. After fighting valiantly, Shione had performed excellently well, so it wasn’t surprising she would be exhausted.

Yet, there she was, still standing tall and checking her surroundings until the very end, which was commendable.

Tania, hiding behind me and watching Shione, suddenly zipped in front of her and asked in the awkward common tongue.

“Are you okay?”

“…Me?”

“Yeah, you. Princess… Ray’s lady.”

“Uh….”

Shione seemed fascinated that Tania, who usually spoke almost entirely in Korean, was speaking the common tongue.

She then froze up, seemingly pondering whether the meaning of Tania’s words was indeed correct, before she immediately nodded.

“That common tongue is correct.”

“Really?”

“Yep.”

“How?”

“Isn’t it spirit magic? They must learn to speak faster than us. It seems Tania also wants to talk to Princess Shione. How about you try talking to her directly?”

With a determined expression, Shione nodded and began talking to Tania.

How long had it been since that awkward conversation and Shione’s fluent yet casual talk started, easing the tension?

After the finished battle, a brief respite was ended by Friel’s command.

“Everyone, retrieve the arrows you used last night!”

Resources were limited, and the number of arrows consumed overnight was quite significant.

Picking up arrows that still looked usable along with Shione and reorganizing my thoughts wasn’t a bad idea either.

As I collected the arrows scattered where the melted demons had once been, I slowly began to sift through the events from yesterday.

‘First. The second demon might also be involved in thisincident.’

The corpses shaking the minds of intelligent beings with the most horrible illusions. I recall they only appeared when that nasty demon was nearby. If that was still the case, then both a countermeasure for the first and second demons would be needed.

Soon, whether through Tania’s method or not, the Grand Elder Edelin stated she would reconnect with Changsik, so when I meet her, it might not hurt to hint at planning measures.

If she possesses keen insight and trust in me, she wouldn’t simply dismiss my words as nonsense, right? Perhaps I should gradually drop hints for the elders as well.

‘Second. There might be a discrepancy between the continent now and the dungeon I was conquering in the other world.’

The five demons harboring great evil never left their territories.

They would fight each other only to mess with each other’s plans or to take each other’s lives.

Yet Edelin’s oracle warned that the first would descend here, and looking at this monster, it seemed the second was already hiding nearby.

If the second one went all out to approach the Great Forest, those forest guardians, being the elite, could easily engulf it. Why then is the first waiting without striking the Great Forest until its descent?

‘What on earth could be the reason?’

So many uncertainties are piled up, likely causing a disaster.

There is precisely one clear answer that I could think of:

“Revive her and save the world.”

[Success: Saving the world, returning to Earth (Option)]

[Failure: Destruction of the world]

From the first moment I met my master, this quest has been unchangingly displayed in one corner of my status window.

“Eradicate the enemies hiding in the Eastern Forest. They are demons and numerous offspring… in various places… Princess Shione Saanelra… %….”

Even at this moment, the most crucial person is being mentioned.

“Hashal?”

“Arrow.”

“Hoasal!”

“Hwasaal.”

“Haaasal!”

“…Let’s just stick with Hashal.”

“Properly tell me!”

“…Hashal.”

“Dammit…!”

…

To resolve this troublesome dilemma, Shione’s presence was absolutely essential.

Even if she’s acting like that now, she will ultimately achieve the most honorable feat in this Great Forest.

*

Airine moved with precision, picking up an arrow.

What was reusable was placed back in her quiver. The ones severely damaged were just the tips, which she stored separately, and while she was separating them, she contemplated the events of the night.

“……”

As she gazed blankly at a distant place to recall the past.

Memories of their remarkable feats surfaced again.

In the pitch-black darkness. Mysterious enemies completely concealed, even their presences, in the shadows of the forest.

The sensations and directions indicated by the Count’s Young Lady, who pointed accurately, even with just a short mention of the direction. The distinct arrow of a spirit mage, firing without hesitation as they gauged the distance like a ghost.

They both had something special. A strong bond and skills that couldn’t be easily imitated by others. Among the superior elves, they could certainly blend in, allowing them to be the protagonists in yesterday’s battle.

‘Bond.’

Especially the harmony arising from their bond left a significant impression.

They seemed to completely trust each other’s words and actions. Moreover, they did say that a vast difference in status existed. Nobles governed while commoners obeyed and followed. Normally, feelings like friendship wouldn’t take root between them.

The sight of their relationship, which strayed from her common sense, was firmly etched in her memory and turned into a lasting thought. Those thoughts lingered stubbornly.

It was at that moment.

“Airi, over here for a moment.”

“…Got it.”

She heard the familiar yet stiff voice of a woman from behind her.

This made her thoughts swell even more.

That woman had been her caretaker and the one who taught her archery and spirit magic since she was a child.

“I’ve witnessed both of your abilities first-hand. It might be time to act more seriously under the Master’s orders.”

Unlike the bond she had with those two humans,

“……”

No, the only one who felt a bond was herself.

She had been a loyal confidante to her mother and had never done anything except follow her. This woman was the one preventing her advance.

“Airi, you do remember the Master’s orders, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Good. Our family must never fall behind the Arielte Family.”

“…I know.”

“Together with our Master, Fletta, and you and Friel, we should always be the ones leading.”

“……”

“Always keep that in mind, Airi—”

“I know.”

“……”

“……”

The atmosphere turned chilly at an alarming rate.

In that space, their gazes crossed.

The two women, tightly pursing their lips, stared at each other’s inscrutable expressions briefly.

It was the forest keeper who reacted first.

She placed her right hand on the sword’s handle, revealing the blade slightly, and bowed her head.

“I hope that honor always accompanies Ianette.”

However, while she bowed her head.

Her eyes remained wide open, clearly absorbing everything about Airine. Her breath, the slight tremors of her eyelids, even the depths of her being.

“The most honorable deeds shall always belong to us.”

Airine, as if accustomed to it, slightly twisted the words of the forest keeper and began to echo them back.

“Our glory shall always accompany Ianette, and the most honorable deeds shall—”

But today, she couldn’t bring herself to utter that last line, which she always repeated like a mantra.

“……We will make it ours.”

A tumultuous heart.

Today, she struggled to imagine herself shining the brightest.

Why was that? Instinctively and oddly, it felt extremely heavy.

 

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