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“I’m sorry, but could you please step aside for a moment… or could you hurry and pass me that potion over there?”

Airine bit her lip in response to her overly cold and negative demeanor.

Taking a potion from beside her, she handed it to Shione as instructed.

“Here─”

“Thank you. Just a moment.”

Whoosh!

Without hesitation, Shione snatched the potion, uncorked the glass bottle, and began pouring the red liquid onto Ray’s leg.

Thanks to Shione’s efforts, the mana around the injury had noticeably faded from its initial intensity.

Finally, as the potion’s effect started to kick in, the stubborn resistance began to weaken, and little by little, new flesh started to grow over Ray’s wounded leg.

“Whew…”

Shione let out a tired sigh as she watched his leg gradually improving.

It seemed like a little relief had finally washed over her, though there was still a tension that wouldn’t let go until his injuries healed completely and Ray regained consciousness.

Using the entire bottle of potion solely to heal his injured leg, just then, Diolia stepped a little closer to her.

Shione was about to drain her mana again for Ray.

“Princess Shione, surely we had agreed this last potion would be the final one before taking a break.”

“……”

“Since you’ve already seen the leg starting to heal with that last potion, you can afford to relax.”

Despite Diolia’s words, Shione remained silent.

Diolia, looking a bit frustrated, tried to lessen the wrinkles forming on her brow as she continued.

“You’ve already finished six empty mana potions. Maybe a couple would be fine, but six is pushing it for you, Princess.”

Forcing her mana out and then downing several more potions to exhaust her reserves wasn’t going to be kind to her body.

Fatigue was clearly visible all over Shione.

“At this rate, Princess, you might collapse too. If Ray were awake right now, he’d definitely stop you from overexerting yourself.”

As Shione quietly gazed down at the unconscious Ray, Diolia stepped a bit closer and urged, “You really need to rest now.”

At those words, Shione finally turned her eyes towards Diolia.

Airine quietly observed from a distance, reading the mood.

“Do you know how many times Ray has thrown himself in harm’s way for me?”

“That is—”

“You must know the first time. It was when we were ambushed on our way to the Feiosha Marquis Family and he single-handedly defended me.”

Diolia tried to respond to Shione’s chilly tone but fell silent.

“Twice in the Beltlin Mountains. Once, he threw himself into danger even as his arm was left crippled to protect me. During the chaos at the royal castle, and even amidst the tumultuous storms and enemies swarming the castle walls, he’s saved me countless times—big and small.”

“Lady Diolia, what I’m doing now is nothing compared to what he has done for me. Who else would put their life on the line time and time again to protect my life if not him?”

Shione chuckled coldly.

Only Ray had sworn complete loyalty to her.

Diolia was a loyal knight, but if it came to sacrificing her life for Shione, she doubted Diolia would do so.

In Shione’s world, only Ray could throw his life away for her as he had, fostering a bond deeper than any other.

“I still owe him.”

Shione whispered softly.

“I have to repay him.”

She bowed her head, covering her face, glancing cautiously at Airine on her left.

Airine from the Ianette Family had a history of watching Shione and Ray from the shadows. And while Friel had suffered such grave injuries, she had somehow managed to take out a half-demon without a significant injury herself.

Though she was grateful for being brought this far before Ray’s leg was wrecked…

Honestly, she felt suspicious.

She had no idea what motives Airine might have.

“I’ve only been able to repay him once, so—”

Shione’s eyes glinted dangerously.

While he was unconscious, she would ensure that no one’s malice would reach him.

By any means necessary.

*

“…It seems I’ve inadvertently eavesdropped. I hope that’s not too rude.”

“It’s fine. Princess Shione knows I’m here, so she won’t mind.”

“That’s a relief. I’m glad to hear that.”

After a brief pause, Airine closed her eyes for a moment, lost in thought.

When she opened her eyelids, she spoke to a sighing Diolia.

“It seems the bond between the young lady and him is deeper than I expected.”

“That remark is…”

“I also have someone I’ve known for quite a while. No matter how long you look, it’s hard to reach such a deep connection as the young lady and her knight.”

“Ah, yes. Shione and Ray’s relationship is particularly close.”

Diolia nodded slightly and continued.

“As the princess mentioned, there were indeed many times he saved her life—”

She paused to organize her words, trying to avoid making her explanation unnecessarily lengthy.

How could their relationship best be defined?

After a moment of silence, Diolia described their connection in terms of the bond between master and servant, or soldier and lord.

“They trust each other without hesitation.”

The sight of Shione and Ray fighting side by side on the castle walls was still vivid in her mind.

Even when swords were pointed at each other, neither would flinch. They’d shoot arrows next to each other’s heads when circumstances called for it without so much as a frown. They would merely nod at each other.

They were bound by an unwavering trust.

Airine felt Diolia’s sincerity in her words and silently nodded in agreement.

“…Trust.”

It was a somewhat foreign word to her.

“How enviable.”

Airine envied their genuine trust, feeling her own ambiguous trust paled in comparison.

Just a little, or perhaps a lot.

*

After a whole day of rest, we decided to break camp the next day.

Having completely destroyed a massive altar, one day’s rest seemed well-deserved, especially considering the fatigue many were feeling.

Though we had yet to encounter the demons hiding in the forest, we had successfully slain all but one of the half-demons. The biggest disturbances had been cleared away; a day of rest was well within reason.

Now, capturing the last half-demon’s head would allow us to return home. The demons could regroup and attack again later.

I conveyed this information about our rest and tomorrow’s actions to the elves, filling in for the still-unconscious Friel.

Fortunately, Ray’s valor had given us new hope, leaving all with a glimmer of optimism.

At least, that’s how it seemed to me.

*

A new day dawned.

The injured remained, with some left to guard them. We scoured the area, guessing where the remaining enemies might have fled. Having roughly identified their locations, we planned to take them out either tomorrow or the day after before returning.

However, the issue lay with the night.

Returning to that place and preparing to spend the night, the monsters lurking in the shadows came looking for us again.

“Prepare for battle!”

We had grown accustomed to this.

One problem remained: one of the two humans actively pushing back against the current situation remained deep in slumber.

The young lady had fallen short. While she was adept at sensing them with her perception, her ability to shoot and mark their locations was lacking.

But today was different.

Pow! Whizz! Whoosh!

Somehow, despite the summoner taking their slumber, a small wind spirit that hadn’t been recalled assisted the young lady. Her archery skills began to look impressively fluid, almost as if her prowess had been perfected overnight.

The battle went smoothly.

Most of the momentum in the fight was driven by the young lady.

However, her status didn’t seem promising. She had an unusual air about her; she was shooting her bow like a machine. It was unlike her usual demeanor.

Eventually, as the strain of pulling the bowstring caught up with her, red blood began to seep from her injured hands.

—Myaah.

A little spirit brought her a finger guard.

“Use this. It’ll make shooting easier.”

The young lady ignored it, too busy firing arrows like a machine.

Unable to bear it, the knight spoke up.

“Please, wear it.”

“……?”

“Ray would certainly say the same.”

“……”

Upon hearing those words, the young lady silently donned the protector.

She seemed to have been displeased that the spirit’s words had reached her instead of her own.

Even as the spirit began to frantically poke her cheek, trying to stick close and not leave her, the night didn’t turn out too poorly.

*

I noticed Airine and her kin whispering among themselves without including me.

The center of their discussion was my forest guardian.

I had been aware for some time they were sharing secrets, but…

Why was this situation feeling a bit off?

*

Friel woke up.

She complained about burning pain at the wound on her chest.

Thanks to the crafty schemes of our forest guardian, it was an incident she mistakenly believed to be all her own fault.

On the contrary, she caught whiffs of laughter among Arielte’s followers, celebrating the success of fending off the half-demon’s life and keeping her safe from harm.

Something felt amiss. I couldn’t quite place it.

*

The young lady fainted once from overexertion. It was a dire consequence. Yet, the man still hadn’t regained consciousness.

With Ray’s mana settled, I couldn’t help but subtly ask Friel for her treatment.

Guilt lodged in my heart. She had been the most toiling and striving among us.

The discussions among our elves had increased slightly. But once again, I was left out. It was irritating.

*

We were ambushed while searching. The demons had finally shown themselves.

*

The damage was far worse than expected.

Friel complained of burning pain once more.

*

The night’s battle intensified.

Most of us started to wear down.

*

The frequency of ambushes spiked.

Our supplies were beginning to dwindle.

*

We managed to strike down one remaining half-demon, but the damages incurred were significant.

It was dangerous. We needed to retreat.

And today—

The man finally regained consciousness.

 

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