“We’ll go ahead and check, so you guys come slowly. That place is swarming with werewolves or banshees.”
I thought about taking Krius with me, but I was worried about Evan and Lilith, who would be stuck with Aaron.
‘If he runs away while my back is turned again….’
After some thought, I turned a round and looked at Krius.
“No, Krius. You stay here and come slowly with the survivors.”
“Excuse me? Please take me with you too!”
“Idiot. If something happens again, you have to clean up the mess!”
I spoke in a small voice so the survivors wouldn’t hear as much as possible.
“Ugh…”
“If you don’t like it, you can go back even now.”
“Turning back without facing it proudly goes against the spirit of chivalry!”
“Good grief. Build up some courage instead of rambling about the spirit of chivalry.”
Krius’s face burned up brightly.
“Th-that’s….”
He definitely seemed like he wanted to retort, but Krius couldn’t open his mouth in the end. He just looked embarrassed as if he knew he was a coward. As a means of surveillance and control, Krius wasn’t very reliable.
‘I’m a bit worried…’
I looked back several times out of worry even as I flew towards the Dark Lake.
* * *
As Evien flew towards the Dark Lake first, a tense atmosphere lingered among the survivors.
“…Why do we have to be doing this because of one gluttonous human?”
When Evan voiced his complaint first, Lilith answered.
“Even so, we can’t just let him die, Evan.”
“….”
Evan stopped walking and his gaze wandered around the ground.
“Do you… still think I pushed you?”
“What are you saying, Evan? That story is already completely over. The culprit who pushed me was Mary. Perhaps because of that, Mary is not in her right mind right now…”
“No, back when Havel and I pointed at each other as the culprit. You definitely thought I was the culprit.”
“….”
Lilith did not deny that fact. Meanwhile, while the two were fighting, Aaron plotted to run away. Because his excited heart had subsided due to Evien, who had praised him, leaving her spot. Swish—. Krius noticed that and aimed the Flamberge at him.
“Put that away! I’m not scared of a ghost’s weapon.”
“Hmm. Have you ever… heard of a weapon modified by the Ghost Knights Order?”
Krius brought it close to Aaron’s wrist so he could feel the cold touch of the blade.
“W-what is this?”
“It’s a rare weapon that can inflict damage on both humans and ghosts. So…”
Krius suddenly did a bizarre action like licking the Flamberge.
“It would be best for you to stay put if you don’t want to end your life in a dreary place like this. Since I’ve been quite distressed lately, I might just lose my mind too….”
“….”
Fortunately, Krius’s threat worked, and Aaron quietly shut his mouth.
‘Hmm. He’ll be quiet for the time being.’
Krius stuck the Flamberge into the ground and started listening to Evan and Lilith’s argument.
‘Watching a fight is the most fun thing.’
The two were continuing to argue.
“Lilith, you still think I’m the culprit. You just don’t want to believe it, so you’re avoiding it.”
“…I’m sorry, Evan.”
Lilith bowed her head, absolutely unable to face Evan. It definitely meant she agreed.
“You are right. I wasn’t being honest. My reason definitely tried to push you away, but my heart kept wanting you. Even now…”
“For such a wise person, should you be swayed by your emotions? If I really were a person related to the evil god, it would be natural to kill me.”
Krius, who was listening to the conversation with bated breath, felt nauseous at the mention of the ‘evil god’.
“Evan. No matter how smart a person is, when someone their heart reacts to appears, they have no choice but to become a fool.”
“….”
Evan didn’t like Lilith. He instinctively felt that neither at this moment nor in the future would he ever harbor romantic feelings toward her.
“I’m sorry, but I am not someone who can reciprocate those feelings.”
“….”
It was a heartbreaking sentence. Lilith was not a generous enough person to say something she didn’t mean, like ‘It’s okay’, as a formal reply. The air became heavy. To the point where even Aaron couldn’t butt in tactlessly. Perhaps unable to bear this atmosphere, Evan opened his mouth while looking at Krius.
“You ghost over there. If I say I’ll go separately on my own, will you stop me?”
“…Are you asking me that right now?”
“Yeah. Who else is a ghost here besides you?”
Evan reacted sensitively, perhaps because his nerves were quite on edge.
“Of course I will stop you. Because if you leave this group, the beautiful lady will hold me responsible.”
“….”
Perhaps Krius’s answer grated on him, Evan frowned for a moment. ‘I will stop you.’ and ‘beautiful lady’. These two phrases grated on his nerves.
“Then I will follow slowly from the very back. I’m not leaving, so that should be fine, right?”
“Yes, well… As long as you don’t run away.”
Having received Krius’s consent, Evan voluntarily moved to the very back of the formation. With only an awkward silence lingering between the survivors and Krius, they silently moved forward. Actually, Krius, who unintentionally ended up witnessing someone else’s heartbreak, was the most in a tight spot. The three survivors were all unpredictable, figures who didn’t know where they would bounce to. Thanks to that, Krius had a hard time turning his head this way and that, keeping an eye on the survivors.
‘Haa… should I have said I wouldn’t follow?’
Even in the midst of that, Krius recalled what Lilith had said.
“No matter how smart a person is, when someone their heart reacts to appears, they have no choice but to become a fool.”
Krius thought he was absolutely not the type of personality to follow someone around to clean up after them like this. He had truly become a fool now. Wouldn’t he have no choice but to admit to some extent that he had feelings for Evien.
‘This is troubling… There’s a competitor too.’
Krius glared meaningfully at Evan following from the very rear.
* * *
I started screaming while circling the Dark Lake.
“Havel! Havel! You stupid glutton! Send a signal if you’re in danger! Try beating on your belly fat or something!”
But there was no answer in return. Come to think of it, there was no way beating on belly fat would produce a magnificent sound like a drum or a janggu.
“…Is he in a state where he can’t speak after all?”
Because if his mouth was deliberately gagged, he wouldn’t be able to make a sound.
‘But considering that guy’s durability… shouldn’t he be able to overpower that much with strength.’
I became despondent because I couldn’t figure out Havel’s location at all. Just then.
“Grrr…”
A fierce sound could be heard nearby. It was a pack of werewolves. They were looking for prey, drooling as if starved with hunger.
‘This is a big problem.’
From the werewolves’ perspective, the plump Havel was truly the optimal prey. Without realizing it, I ended up playing a cruel scene in my head.
‘Ugh. That’s a bit…’
But when I can’t find the target like this, there is a last resort left. That is none other than going high up into the sky! Swoosh—. The night wind brushing past my face was quite cold. I first went high up into the air and looked around.
‘…What is that?’
From the northern direction of the Dark Lake, something with agile movements caught my eye. I sped up to follow it. As the distance closed a bit, I was able to realize that it was the clockwork doll Lilith mentioned. I didn’t know last time because I didn’t have time to look closely, but there really was a spring on its back.
“Mary?”
The doll stopped so I could follow, and sped up when the distance closed to a certain extent.
“That means… you want me to follow, right?”
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