“Friends.”
At the extremely ordinary and unremarkable response, Cassian was horrified.
“You? A human garbage dump like you actually has friends? Newbie, if this bastard is blackmailing you, raise your left hand.”
“Cassian, keep thoughts like that to yourself.”
Astaire scolded him.
‘That’s not what I meant!’
Elsez leaned in toward Rashiel again and whispered.
“It’s not just friendship, is it?”
Tell them we were comrades who fought back-to-back against the demons. Tell them I’m Ruel!
But Rashiel simply added,
“We’ve been friends since childhood. We’re close.”
It was as if he had deliberately left out the name “Ruel.”
Realizing his intent, Elsez flared up and shouted,
“No! We’re much closer and more deeply connected than just friends—”
“Oh. So you were lovers?”
Rashiel responded with a completely straight face, without the slightest hint of amusement.
Elsez’s mouth dropped open as she stared at him in shock.
Rashiel then leaned in slightly, lowering his voice as he murmured,
“You only need me, don’t you?”
‘What the hell is he saying?!’
Cassian, Astaire, and Tezette, who had been watching, all had identical grimaces on their faces.
In the end, Elsez, who wasn’t known for her patience, drove her fist straight into Rashiel’s chest.
After effectively “one-shotting” Rashiel, she turned back to salvage the rapidly chilling atmosphere.
“We really are friends. But not just any friends—”
“Not just?”
“Not just… ugh…”
She tried to say something—tried to reveal her true identity—but the words wouldn’t come out.
“Argh! This is so frustrating!”
Damn this system! Damn Rashiel!
As her pent-up anger exploded, Elsez took it out on Rashiel once more.
Even while dodging her punches, Rashiel simply chuckled in amusement.
Cassian, watching the exchange, pieced things together and concluded,
“So basically, you two really are friends. And newbie, you went there to save him, right?”
Cassian seemed to accept the explanation, but Astaire and Tezette still looked unconvinced as they regarded Elsez and Rashiel with distrustful eyes.
However, Elsez was too frustrated about being unable to reveal the truth to even register Cassian’s words.
And so, the long-awaited reunion of the five heroes, after three years apart, came to an end just like that.
* * *
That night, after finishing her shower and returning to her room, Elsez glanced at the table and let out a small chuckle.
“I want cookies.”
Next to a crumpled note, scrawled in messy handwriting as if written while half-asleep, lay Reti, sprawled out in a starfish position.
She wasn’t moving at all—it seemed she had fallen asleep just like that.
“You make it look like some kind of dying message.”
Smiling, Elsez gently placed a handkerchief over Reti.
“You worked hard too. Let’s have cookies tomorrow.”
After turning off the lights, Elsez stretched and collapsed onto her bed.
“It was such a long day…”
Her body was exhausted, but her mind felt lighter.
‘I’m glad things with Rashiel wrapped up well.’
Knowing that she no longer had to doubt or worry about him was a relief.
More than that, he had realized her true identity. In a world where no one had recognized her, where she had felt utterly alone, that single fact made her feel a little less lost.
‘Still, starting tomorrow, the entire continent is going to be in an uproar.’
After all, the imperial crown prince had been exposed for sacrificing innocent people to resurrect a demon king.
While it was fortunate that Cedric’s crimes had come to light, the real problem was that the “demon king” he had tried to resurrect… was Elsez herself.
Soon, the entire continent would know that the demon king had returned—and they would start searching for its reincarnation.
‘…At this rate, it’s only a matter of time before they find out that I’m the demon king’s vessel.’
Even if she had no intention of conquering the world, would anyone believe her?
For nearly a thousand years, people had seen the demon king as the ultimate evil, the enemy of the world.
And now, Cedric had resurrected that very being by sacrificing innocent lives.
It didn’t matter what the truth was—no one would see a demon king revived through such means as anything but a threat.
‘So what, I have to fight against the world I saved just to stay alive?’
…Maybe even against her own comrades.
Elsez unconsciously bit her lip at the thought.
‘No. There’s no point in worrying about a future that hasn’t come yet.’
She shook her head and buried her face in her pillow.
‘Tomorrow, I need to confront the crown prince.’
She needed to ask him again—why he had tried to resurrect the demon king, and how exactly he had planned to do it.
‘And Rashiel… he was tracking the crown prince’s actions, so he might know something about the demon king’s powers.’
As she organized her thoughts and planned for the coming days, her mind drifted to Rashiel’s injuries.
‘Did he even get proper treatment?’
She had told Astaire to heal Rashiel’s wounds after the chandelier shards had cut him, but Rashiel had left, saying he had something to take care of.
It wasn’t a serious wound, but knowing how careless he was about his own body, Elsez couldn’t help but worry.
Just then—
Knock, knock.
“Hm?”
Thinking it was just the wind, Elsez glanced toward the window—only to freeze at the sight of a shadow beyond the curtain.
It could have been terrifying, but strangely enough, the figure felt familiar.
She walked over, pulled back the curtain, and found exactly who she expected, standing on the moonlit balcony.
“…Rashiel?”
Leaning casually against the railing, he met her gaze and let his expression relax.
“You shouldn’t just open your window so easily for a man. It’s dangerous.”
With his crimson eyes lowered under the moonlight, he gave off a dangerously alluring air.
But instead of fear, Elsez only felt trust.
“You’re not a dangerous person.”
Rashiel stared at her for a moment before breaking into a quiet laugh.
His low chuckle echoed softly through the cool summer night air.
“So? What’s the reason for this late-night visit?”
“Can you treat my back? It’s hard to do alone.”
Elsez was about to suggest that he go to the temple for healing but stopped herself—it was far too late for that.
So instead, she agreed without hesitation.
“Come in.”
After Rashiel stepped inside, Elsez took a look at his back and frowned slightly, almost as if she could feel the pain herself.
“You need to wash up first. But… I don’t have any men’s clothes here.”
“I brought my own.”
Elsez tilted her head.
‘Why do you even carry spare clothes around…?’
Just as she was about to question him, Rashiel turned to look at her.
“Where’s the bathroom?”
“Out of the room, to the right… Wait, hold on!”
She had absentmindedly given him directions before realizing something important. Quickly, she grabbed his arm and peeked outside.
If Lenny or Mrs. Mars saw this, they’d have a heart attack.
“…Alright, go ahead.”
After leading Rashiel to the bathroom, Elsez gathered some first-aid supplies and returned to her room.
She must have dozed off while waiting because the sound of the door opening startled her awake.
Out of habit, she wiped at her mouth, looked up at Rashiel—and immediately turned red.
“W-why are you shirtless?!”
Rashiel stood before her, completely bare-chested.
“I’m wearing pants.”
“No, I mean your shirt!”
“You can’t treat me with it on.”
“Oh.”
…That was a dumb thing to say.
Feeling flustered, Elsez cleared her throat awkwardly.
“Come here and sit. Let’s get this over with.”
Rashiel, having dried his damp hair, sat down in front of her and turned his back.
She had noticed it before when he was wearing a robe at the mansion, but now that he was completely shirtless, his physique was even more striking.
‘He’s more built than I expected.’
It completely shattered the stereotype that mages weren’t muscular.
His broad shoulders and well-proportioned muscles were impressive—but as Elsez admired his figure, her gaze eventually landed on the wounds scattered across his back, and her expression darkened.
With the blood washed away, the injuries stood out even more.
‘That must hurt.’
Carefully, Elsez applied antiseptic to each wound before covering them with ointment and bandages.
Every time her fingers brushed against his skin, the muscles in his back twitched slightly.
‘The medicine must sting…’
Trying to be more gentle, she scolded him.
“Didn’t it hurt? I told you to let Astaire heal you.”
“I wanted you to worry about me.”
His quiet voice came from over his shoulder.
“All done.”
After placing the last bandage, Elsez casually turned to face him—only to pause when she met his gaze.
“…Do you like making me worry?”
“Yes.”
She had assumed he was joking—until she saw the look in his eyes.
“I want you to think about me all day long.”
In those still-unfamiliar crimson eyes, a new and unfamiliar emotion flickered.
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