Chapter 93
Chapter 93
Saladin stood up.
“Now then, everyone’s finished eating, right?”
Nia asked.
“Hm? Is something going on?”
“Since the moonlight is bright today…… ahem. It seems like a good time to train.”
Bestia let out a sigh.
“Ah, here we go again……”
“What, you don’t like it?”
“No, it’s not that, but…….”
Ivaki suddenly sprang to his feet.
“Nice! We’re finally doing something fun!”
“Wait.”
Ryeong cut in with a cold voice.
“We should set rules before we begin. Please don’t collapse half a mountain like last time.”
Everyone turned to look at Ivaki.
“W-what are you all staring at! That was a mistake!”
I let out a small chuckle.
“Ivaki. Your mistakes always lead to major disasters.”
“What did you say?! Want to have a go with me?!”
Nia smiled and mediated.
“Alright, alright. How about we try to be a bit more careful this time? If we split into teams……”
Saladin nodded.
“That’s a good idea.”
“Sounds good! Sounds good!”
“Then let’s decide the teams. First……”
At Ryeong’s sudden remark, everyone looked at her in surprise.
“I will be on the same team as Van.”
Bestia grinned playfully.
“Oh ho. This is getting interesting. Ryeong, you want to team up with Van? Is there a reason?”
“I simply believe it would be most advantageous to be on the same team as Van.”
“Is it just me, or does it feel like there’s another reason?”
“Yes. That is your misunderstanding.”
Everyone watched their subtle clash with interest. The way Bestia was looking at me felt unusual, so I ended up speaking without thinking.
“W-why are you looking at me like that?”
Bestia gave a mischievous smile.
“No…… well, it’s just…… interesting.”
Saladin spoke.
“Alright then. Van, Ryeong, and Nia will be one team. The rest will be with me.”
Though it was called training, it was closer to rest. Under the moonlight, we ran around like children.
Bestia’s dazzling magic embroidered the night sky.
It looked like fireworks.
Ivaki still charged in with brute force, but for some reason, he looked almost comical.
Even while seriously clashing strength against strength, we didn’t cross the line and kept it light. Ryeong shouted urgently.
“Van! Watch your back!”
I naturally and smoothly spun 180 degrees and avoided Saladin’s attack. For some reason, it felt like an attack filled with genuine intent—though that was probably just my imagination.
I spoke with a smile.
“It’s definitely nice being on the same team as you, Ryeong. If you weren’t here, I’d have already been taken down.”
“……Of course. Because I am here.”
At those words, a corner of my chest warmed. Ryeong was always like this. With her blunt tone, she would say the warmest things.
I liked her kindness.
Ivaki shouted.
“Hey, you brat and you weakling. Aren’t you two being a bit too sweet?!”
Ryeong replied coldly.
“You’re noisy, Ivaki. I’m more concerned about how many openings you have.”
“What did you say?! What openings?! It’s just that my body is so tough that it doesn’t matter if I get hit!”
From behind, Nia prepared a healing spell and smiled.
“This is quite peaceful.”
“It really is.”
Bestia smiled as well.
“It’s nice…… being all together like this.”
Ryeong asked.
“Bestia. Since the journey began, has there ever been a time when we were not together?”
Bestia answered.
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Then what did you mean?”
“…….”
Saladin lowered his sword for a moment and looked at us. There was a deep emotion in his eyes.
After the training ended, we gathered again around the campfire. This time, we drank tea made by Bestia’s magic as we talked.
Bestia asked.
“Hey, Van. Can I ask you something?”
“What is it?”
“Why are you so weak?”
“……Out of nowhere?”
I was dumbfounded. To Bestia, I might look weak, but if I truly set my mind to it, it wouldn’t even take two seconds for me to kill her.
And despite being the one here who had known me the longest, she was also the one who had no real grasp of how strong I actually was.
“No, I was just curious. You can only use basic magic, your swordsmanship is average, your stamina isn’t great……”
Ivaki spoke as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
“Bestia. Sometimes you seem smart, but moments like this make me think you’re just carrying around an empty head.”
“What do you mean by that?!”
“Do you truly think Van is weak? If so, there’s something wrong with your eyes. Probably everyone here except you doesn’t think that way.”
Bestia looked at each of our companions’ expressions one by one. As if to prove Ivaki’s words true, they all nodded.
Ivaki spoke confidently.
“Puhahahahaha! As expected, you’re just book-smart. Is magic the only thing you can do?”
I replied.
“Ivaki, that’s enough. From Bestia’s perspective, she might see it that way.”
Bestia looked at Saladin and asked.
“Saladin. Do you think so too?”
After a brief moment of thought, Saladin let out a sigh and answered.
“Bestia. Van is not weak. If anything, I personally rate him the highest among everyone here. His fighting style may not stand out in battle, but it’s undeniable that his presence completely changes the flow of combat.”
“…….”
“He isn’t even fighting at full strength. As you know, he’s close to being an all-rounder. Swordsmanship, hand-to-hand combat, marksmanship, vanguard, midline, rearguard, magic, healing, tactics—he excels in every field. That’s not something easy to achieve. In truth…… I was chosen as the hero through divine revelation, but…… I believe the role of this party’s leader suits Van more than it suits me.”
Bestia stared at Saladin blankly. She hadn’t expected such words to come out of his mouth. Just as Ivaki had said, the foolish one had been herself.
“So I was the only one who didn’t know……. I’m sorry, Van.”
“It’s fine.”
“I misunderstood you. To be honest, I thought you were just… an ambiguous person. You have various abilities, but I didn’t think you had anything particularly outstanding.”
“That’s a fair way to see it.”
Bestia shook her head.
“……No. I’m the one who lacks judgment. Honestly, I just have talent in magic—I don’t have a good eye for the battlefield or anything like that. I was arrogant. I’m really sorry.”
Feeling awkward, I scratched my head.
But this time, it was Ryeong who spoke.
“I don’t understand. For someone who has known Van longer than anyone else to say such things. And even if that’s how he appeared to you, why would you bring it up in front of everyone? Did you want to humiliate him?”
The atmosphere instantly froze.
Bestia also looked at Ryeong with a cold, hardened expression.
“If Van doesn’t suit our party, then for his own future, I wanted to recommend that he leave. That’s why I brought it up. Our goal is to kill the king of the demon race, and we all know just how dangerous that truly is, don’t we? If Van doesn’t fit our party, then there’s no need for him to endure that kind of danger. Why, do you still not understand?”
“……From what I can see, you seem to have a tendency to look down on Van.”
“That’s just your opinion.”
Unable to watch any longer, Saladin stepped in to mediate.
“That’s enough, both of you. You’re being too sensitive.”
Ivaki chimed in as well.
“Yeah, yeah. The two brats have the worst tempers.”
Ryeong and Bestia replied at the same time.
“Be quiet, barbarian.”
“Shut it, barbarian.”
Nia smiled benevolently.
“Ah, Van Descartes. Our sinful brother. How is it that you stir the hearts of women so easily?”
I was momentarily speechless.
“What is this, suddenly praising me like this makes me uncomfortable……”
Ivaki slapped my shoulder hard.
“Haha! Don’t be shy! It’s only natural for a fine male to attract women.”
Bestia’s voice followed.
“That’s right. No matter what Ryeong says, Van and I are practically family.”
Ryeong responded.
“No. All of us are family. You just don’t realize it.”
Ivaki laughed heartily.
“Hahahaha! That’s right, we’re all family!”
The moonlight illuminated our faces. The warmth of the campfire seeped deep into my chest.
And then—
Ivaki’s face collapsed.
I urgently called out his name.
“Ivaki! Ivaki!”
But Ivaki gave no response. His face simply melted like candle wax.
I turned my head to look at the others.
Nia’s neck was twisted. Just moments ago she had been smiling kindly, but now she looked pale.
“What the hell is this…….”
The surroundings became completely drenched in blood. In the distance, a massive wave surged forward, dyed red as it swallowed and covered the entire island.
---
“……!”
I opened my eyes. A familiar ceiling came into view.
Dawn had not yet broken.
‘Another dream…….’
I raised my body.
Cold sweat had soaked my entire body.
Snow was quietly falling outside the window.
Just like that day.
A heavy weight pressed down on one side of my chest.
Everything I had seen in the dream was far too vivid. The conversation we shared by the campfire, the training under the moonlight, even the warmth we exchanged as we called each other family.
I clenched my fist tightly.
‘Family?’
A bitter smile escaped me.
“In the end…… you betrayed me.”
My voice trembled faintly.
Bestia’s single word, “I’m sorry.”
Saladin’s cold words, “the will of the Goddess.”
The corpses of Ivaki and Nia.
Ryeong, growing cold.
Unable to bear the suffocating feeling, I got up from my seat and walked to the window. As I watched the falling snow, I thought—
‘Still, things are different now.’
Because Cecil is by my side.
She would never betray me.
‘Would she really never betray me? Can I be certain?’
I didn’t know.
On the day Bestia betrayed me—
all trust I had in people collapsed.
Even so… if it’s Cecil—
‘I want to believe.’
A knock came from the door.
“Young Master?”
It was Cecil.
“Come in.”
She was as expressionless as ever. Like Ryeong in my previous life.
But her eyes were different. They were no longer filled with sorrow.
“Did you have another dream?”
“Yeah.”
“Was it…… a bad dream again?”
I hesitated for a moment.
“No…… if anything, it was a dream that was too happy.”
“You saw the past again.”
“You… really know me too well.”
Cecil took a step closer.
“Of course. In my previous life, and now… I’ve always been watching over you, Young Master.”
At those words, a warmth spread through part of my chest.
“Hey, Cecil.”
“Yes?”
“You really are Ryeong.”
Cecil didn’t answer. She simply stood quietly beside me, looking out the window together.
“Young Master.”
“Yeah?”
“In this life, I will never die. So that I can protect you longer, and more strongly.”
“…….”
“So, Young Master, you must never die either.”
The snowfall grew heavier.
“Of course. One mistake is enough.”
Cecil smiled.
“You should get ready now. How is your condition?”
“Not bad. Even if it were, I have no intention of losing.”
“That sounds like you, Young Master.”
Ivaki’s laughter echoed in my ears. Nia’s warm smile came to mind.
“Once the friendly match is over, let’s go retrieve our comrades’ belongings.”
“Alright.”
After finishing my preparations, I left the Annex.
At last, the friendly match was about to begin.