Chapter 421: Shared Responsibility
"See, Yue and Rui are already falling asleep."
The two who had been sitting on either side of Joa were now so tired from crying and so full that their heads were nodding unsteadily, and Mao and Mayo were doing their best to support them.
"Lian and Cari, please take care of Papa Elias. He seemed really lonely after you two disappeared."
Surely Elias would sleep properly if his beloved daughters were with him.
"Lingxiao, go with Papa and Uncle."
Lingxiaou who had already completely closed his eyes was left to the two of them.
"And Leander is--"
"I’m staying up with you, Qiong Xing."
Before Qiong Xing could finish asking him to take care of Hui, he was immediately refused.
"One night is fine. Up to now I’ve left everything to you all, and from what I’ve seen, the enemies seem like ones even I can handle."
Although he had left the fighting to Leander and the others who always took the front line, from what he had observed, the enemies were all ones Qiong Xing should be able to defeat without issue.
"Don’t worry. Albe is here too."
"So I’m getting dragged into this as well. Well, whatever."
Qiong Xing felt a little guilty for deciding it unilaterally, but he was grateful that Albe accepted without complaint.
"Then I guess... it can’t be helped."
"Even I have something to say, why is it fine when Albe is there but not when it’s just me--"
"Call us if anything happens."
"Got it."
Leander and the others waved their hands and went off to sleep.
"I’m being treated so badly..."
Even though they had insisted it was not allowed earlier, the moment Albe was included it suddenly became fine.
It felt terrible.
"My level of trust compared to Albe..."
Was he really that unreliable?
He had rarely fought in front of them before using magic, but he did not think he was so untrustworthy that they would doubt him this much, and he sank into mild disappointment.
"It’s not that they don’t trust you. They’re just worried."
"So they think I might fall asleep?"
Even if a few days would be difficult, he would not collapse just from staying awake for one night, and he had no intention of falling asleep when everyone’s safety was at stake.
"No, they just don’t want you doing anything dangerous. Well, they probably also want you to sleep properly."
"They’re idiots, huh."
"Hey, don’t call them idiots..."
Qiong Xing was grateful that they worried about him, but to him, they were family, bonded mates, and halves of each other.
He believed that being halves meant supporting each other, being supported, relying on one another, and allowing oneself to be relied upon and spoiled in return.
It was not about only receiving affection and care.
"I know and understand that Leander and you all care about me, but I also care about everyone. Of course I worry when you do something dangerous, and I want you to properly rest when you’re tired. It goes both ways. If I had to choose between seeing you get hurt or getting hurt myself, I’d rather be the one who gets hurt."
"That’s not allowed. No. Absolutely not."
Albe immediately shook his head, and Qiong Xing smiled at him.
"It’s the same for me. That’s exactly why I want you to rely on me too. I want you to lean on me. I want to be able to support you all as well."
Compared to the others, he was well aware of how weak he was.
He understood how much stronger and more capable Joa and the beastmen were, how powerful Albe and the demons were, and how extraordinary the dragon race like Iseul were.
There was not much he could do for them.
But because of that, he wanted to do whatever he could.
"Thank you for always helping me, Albe. I love you."
"...Isn’t that kind of unfair? ...I love you too, in my own way."
He did not want to be someone who only received affection and relied on others, neither as part of his personality nor as a member of this family.
"Then I’ll leave this to you all and rest as well."
Fenrisúlfr, too, had worked very hard today.
"That’s fine. But it’s a little cold, so can I hold you?"
Even while saying he would rest, Fenrisúlfr still seemed worried and was trying to lie down at Qiong Xing’s feet.
When Qiong Xing reached out, Fenrisúlfr obediently climbed onto his lap.
He was grateful that, even without words, Fenrisúlfr understood him and trusted him enough to leave things to him.
"Good night, Fenrir."
Qiong Xing gently stroked his favorite fluffy fur and smiled as Fenrisúlfr slowly closed his eyes.
"...It’s unexpected, isn’t it."
"It is unexpected."
During their family dungeon trip, it was already late, so Qiong Xing and Albe were on watch together.
Albe shrugged at the surprising scene before them.
"I didn’t think Raon slept this badly."
"I didn’t think he slept this well."
While keeping their voices low so as not to wake everyone, Qiong Xing and Albe were talking when they suddenly heard a strange "roar" sound.
When they turned around, that was what they saw.
"Lingxiao is getting crushed."
Next to the soundly sleeping Iseul, Raon was lying sprawled out in his sleep, his arm pressing down on Lingxiao who had been sleeping beside him.
It seemed he had rolled over in his sleep and ended up like that.
"I’ve slept next to him a few times too, but even then his arm suddenly came down on my face. I was really surprised."
Qiong Xing laughed as he recalled how he had jolted awake from the impact.
"Isn’t it the opposite based on personality? He looks like the one who would have bad sleeping posture."
Saying that, Albe pointed at Iseul who was sleeping neatly with his fingers interlaced as if he were lying in a coffin.
It was the complete opposite of what their usual personalities would suggest.