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“Wasn’t this supposed to be a strategy game?”

Eden quickly shifted her gaze from the stairs and looked back at me, her gray eyes lingering on mine. They still seemed indifferent, but something felt subtly different.

‘What’s going on?’

Feeling a strange sense of unease, Eden recalled the quest that had been given to her. She couldn’t afford to relax, not knowing when an alert about Sereman would pop up.

“Hagen’ti.”

Eden took a step closer to Hagen’ti, still looking at her, and gazed up at him.

“Thanks for waiting.”

As she said this with a warm smile, Hagen’ti’s gaze subtly deepened.

“As a reward, I’d like to show you something amazing. Want to see?”

Her voice was secretive, like trying to lure a child with candy, yet Eden felt anxious.

Hagen’ti was clearly different from the average human, and while she had no idea how he ended up with such a setup, by now it was certain he was a character devoid of interest in anything.

So there was no way such a shallow trick could entice this fortress-like man.

However, those worries vanished in an instant.

“Sure.”

Hagen’ti, who had maintained a disinterested face, nodded again.

“Show me.”

As those quiet words came, Eden’s pupils widened. Hagen’ti was staring at me as if he truly wanted to see what I would show.

“I want to see.”

This time, an undeniable feeling of deep emotion flooded in. From within, a vow to save Hagen’ti surged up like a tidal wave.

Eden couldn’t hold back her excitement and grabbed Hagen’ti’s hand. At the sudden contact, a jolt of static electricity made Hagen’ti’s hand flinch momentarily.

Eden, bubbling with excitement, gazed at him with earnest eyes.

“But I need your help.”

At the mention of needing him, Hagen’ti’s eyes flickered slightly.

“We need to go outside right now. I need a monster.”

As she spouted nonsensical words, Eden anxiously clutched onto his hand, worrying that Hagen’ti might change his mind.

‘I’ve got nothing to lose.’

It wouldn’t be surprising if Hagen’ti pushed my hand away right now and flat out said no. There was no way to lure out someone who had been holed up for fifty years with such childish tricks…

It was just then. She felt a sudden emptiness beneath her feet, and without even blinking, the scenery around her changed in an instant.

Whoooosh—.

A sudden gust of wind blasted against her eardrums, and the snow swirled viciously around her. The abruptness of the scene had Eden frozen in shock.

“……”

In front of her, the dark corridor made of stone walls she had just been standing in disappeared, replaced by snow-capped peaks completely covered in white.

And there stood Hagen’ti, still holding onto her hand, gazing at Eden with the same indifferent eyes.

‘Teleportation…!’

Eden finally grasped that she and Hagen’ti had moved outside his castle, thanks to Hagen’ti’s magical power.

As if to confirm her thoughts, a clear notification window appeared above the cold snowy expanse.

Even upon seeing the clear message, it didn’t feel real.

‘Is it really this easy? Like this?’

As Eden barely regained her composure and was about to voice her thoughts, an ear-piercing roar echoed from afar.

Roooaaar—!

Startled, Eden turned her head and spotted something charging toward them with excitement.

In an instant, she realized it was a monster. A gigantic one made of solid ice, appearing superior at first sight.

“Gah…!”

Boom! Boom!

Each heavy step it took shook the ground, sending snowballs crashing down from branches.

Eden realized Hagen’ti had taken her words about needing a monster seriously without dismissing them.

“Nooo! Not that!”

Seeing the colossal monster, Eden yanked at Hagen’ti’s hand, not even blinking an eye.

“It’s—it’s a low-tier monster!”

As Eden screamed the accurate incantation, Hagen’ti merely gazed at her. Meanwhile, the monster was almost upon them.

Roooaaar—!

As the ice monster, now beyond excited by its prey, swung its massive fist overhead, both Hagen’ti and Eden vanished just before it struck, causing the enormous fist to slam into the snow below, creating a quake.

“Huff….”

Having narrowly escaped, Eden kept her eyes squeezed shut, and as she felt the crushing weight of ice above her head didn’t fall, she opened her eyes wide.

In front of her, the previously high-level dungeon-like scenery completely vanished, replaced by a serene field of snow where nothing swirled around.

With the life-threatening dangers gone, Eden sighed in relief.

“Hah….”

Even after being in the middle of snow-capped mountains just moments ago, her forehead was beaded with cold sweat.

The sudden whirlwind of events was difficult to process, but the most crucial understanding was crystal clear.

‘I cleared the quest….’

Huff, this had been the toughest and longest quest she had encountered so far, sending waves of exhilaration and emotion crashing over her, but it was still too early to relax.

Lifting her head, Eden realized that at some point, it had flipped—now she was clutching Hagen’ti’s hand rather than the other way around.

In the midst of all the chaos, Hagen’ti was staring at Eden, his expression unchanged.

“Where… are we?”

Eden cautiously asked, and only then did Hagen’ti shift his gaze, slowly turning his head.

Curious, Eden followed his line of sight and spotted a small creature hopping around the snowy field without a sound.

It looked like a white snowflake bundled up. One of them stopped upon seeing Eden and tilted its head, causing hearts to appear in her eyes.

“Aww, so cute!”

Forgetting her original purpose for being there, Eden squealed as a notification window popped up in the snow-covered landscape.

‘A low-tier monster….’

It seemed that after hearing her cry out, Hagen’ti had teleported to a snowy field where low-tier Rutatatas were present.

While it was a reliever,…….

“……”

I can’t kill it.

Eden bit her lip in distress, battling an internal struggle filled with conflicting feelings.

Even if it was a monster, there was no way she could just kill it, as it posed no threat to people. Of course, this world was just a game where such moral ideas didn’t apply, but…

Most importantly…….

“It’s just too cute….”

With a choked voice, Eden mumbled, causing Hagen’ti to stare at her intently. After pondering with a heavy heart, Eden turned to Hagen’ti as if she had made up her mind.

“Um, Hagen’ti. I’m sorry, but could I show you something amazing later? Let’s just go back for today….”

“……”

“……That’s not going to happen, is it?”

Hah, feeling awkward, Eden let out a sheepish laugh while trying to rub the back of her head.

Suddenly, she felt that emptiness beneath her feet again, and within moments, the background changed back to the dark, cold corridor of stairs they had been on earlier.

In shock, Eden stared at Hagen’ti. He’d already teleported them three times just from her words, but he still looked at her with those calm, impenetrable eyes, giving away no hint of his thoughts.

“Ah….”

Eden realized he still held her hand without any space between them. It seemed that as long as he held her hand, they could teleport together.

‘This is amazing!’

The three moves had all taken place in an instant, and they felt exceptionally smooth—far more so than moving through a portal.

Eden once again felt the presence of the Empire’s only Great Mage standing before her. And that Great Mage was surprisingly attentive to her words.

‘Alright. Let’s make some progress.’

Feeling a surge of confidence, Eden decided to ask something more profound today.

As she opened her mouth to speak, she paused and looked around. The desolate, dark hallway didn’t seem suitable for a deep conversation.

“Um, Hagen’ti.”

Since Hagen’ti had been surprisingly attentive, Eden thought it would be worth taking advantage of it a bit more.

“I just came back from the snowy field and it’s really cold… Can I have a warm cup of tea?”

Wrapping her free arm around her shoulder as if genuinely shivering, Eden made a show of being cold.

And just like that, it happened. They moved to a warm room complete with a fireplace.

Eden found herself sitting in a cozy and comfortable chair without any intent, and across from her sat Hagen’ti, gazing at her.

‘Wow….’

This time, Eden was truly taken aback.

For one, the room was so warm and inviting that it hardly seemed like it belonged to the same castle as the earlier dark hallway. For another, Hagen’ti was instantly moving at the mere utterance of her words.

Is this… really okay?

 

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