ESMLT 20

Chapter 20

With a rather aggressive tone, Rihad finally showed his true colors and sneered wickedly.

“Before you spew more nonsense, I should rip your tongue out. What can you do to resist when you can’t even use mana?”

Sién pressed his lips tightly together and glared at Rihad.

The two of them stood off for a while.

Then Sién turned his head first and irritably ruffled his hair.

“Damn it….”

Rihad was right.

In the Empire, he could have dealt with his opponent using magic, but here only brute strength mattered.

And he knew very well that he couldn’t overcome that man’s physical power.

He could fire his gun, sure, but cleaning up afterward would be troublesome.

Tsk. When Sién withdrew the killing intent he had been radiating, Rihad clicked his tongue.

That filthy mouth of his, always pretending to be refined, never changes.

Then, jerking his chin toward the door, he suddenly changed the subject.

“What’s the relationship between the duke and the young lady?”

At that unexpected question, Sién frowned with clear displeasure.

“Well, I wouldn’t know. I don’t care about anyone but myself.”

“Why not share? You’re the one relying on help here—shouldn’t you at least know that much?”

Leaning his head against the wall, Sién glanced at Rihad.

“You don’t need to know. It’d bother you too much if you did.”

Sién lowered his eyes, a faint shadow falling over them.

Same with me, right now.

Rihad frowned and twisted his upper body toward the bunk bed.

“So what the hell do you mea—”

Click.

Just then, the door opened and Jaeger came in. He ignored the two who had been speaking and sat down under the window.

Resting against the wall, he crossed his arms with his longsword tucked against his arm, then closed his eyes.

Soon after, Redria entered. She glanced at Jaeger under the window and scratched her cheek awkwardly.

A strange tension passed between the two.

What’s that?

Both men noticed it immediately, their eyes meeting.

Oh, hell…

Goddamn it…

Sién and Rihad whipped their heads away, wearing the sourest expressions as though they’d just seen something they shouldn’t have. Even so, questions lingered in their minds.

It seemed something had happened between those two—but what exactly?

The thought crossed their minds, but they couldn’t ask.

Redria’s faint, uneven breathing filled the silence.

There was nothing more to say.

Morning was fast approaching.

“Everyone ready?”

I asked while checking over the weapons I had shrunken down with the miniaturization kit—each now no larger than a finger and laid out on my palm.

The male leads in the living room all seemed prepared as they turned to me.

The Crown Prince had a spear slung over his shoulder, Jaeger carried a pack full of provisions with a mace in hand, and Sién…

“You’re taking that blanket with you?”

Clutching the blanket I’d washed for him again, Sién hugged it carefully.

“Is that not allowed?”

His sleepy eyes blinked drowsily.

“Well, it’s not exactly not allowed.”

On his thigh was a leather holster we’d found in the armory the day before, with a revolver secured inside. Since he was armed, I supposed bringing along a blanket wouldn’t hurt.

But then, my eyes accidentally met Jaeger’s. I flinched and quickly looked away.

I shoved the miniaturized weapons into my pouch and fidgeted with my tied-up hair.

Ugh, this is so damn awkward.

After yesterday’s conversation, I had no idea how to treat Jaeger.

So, his first love wasn’t the Saintess, but Redria?

Which meant—

[Childhood Friend → Betrayal → Hatred]

was now replaced with—

[First Love → Betrayal → Resentment]

In the original story, he was often shown gazing longingly at a handkerchief given by the Saintess in his childhood.

And since he’d even given up the dukedom to become the leader of the Holy Knights, it only made sense to assume he’d loved Roeni from the beginning.

That his first love had been Redria never even crossed my mind.

Really, treasuring a symbolic object could happen with family or friends too…

Thanks to this revelation, my plan to persuade him by saying, “Don’t you want to see the Saintess sooner?” had become useless.

So what the hell do I do now…

I sighed at my hopelessly stone-like sense of romance.

“Lia?”

“…”

“Lia.”

Suddenly, warmth touched my hand, pulling me from my thoughts.

I snapped out of it and looked up.

All three of the male leads were watching me.

Sién held my hand, asking in concern,

“What’s wrong? Is something troubling you?”

“…It’s nothing.”

Somehow, just looking at them cleared the tangled mess in my head.

Like finally seeing the forest after staring only at the trees.

I just need to meet one more male lead, return to the capital, and it’ll be over. Why was I even worrying this much?

I smiled faintly, let go of Sién’s hand, and pulled out a pack of sticky notes and a fountain pen from my pouch.

“What are you doing?”

“In case more survivors come this way. I’ll leave a note telling them to head north.”

Of course, this was just for show in front of the Crown Prince, Jaeger, and Sién.

My actual goal was only to gather the male leads, but I had told them we were also trying to save other survivors.

Before leaving the cabin, I stuck the note on the front door.

“This should be easy to spot.”

I looked at the sticky note and smiled crookedly.

Well, not that there’s any chance more survivors actually exist.

We trekked through the lush Sacred Forest for quite a while.

Following my suggestion that survivors might be westward, we headed in that direction.

The whole way, Rihad and Jaeger stayed alert, trying to find any leads.

Naturally, there were no other survivors, but I played along and pretended to search diligently too.

After walking all day, we set up camp.

The next morning, I packed leisurely by the fire while the male leads readied themselves.

Jaeger was cleaning his drawn longsword, the Crown Prince was polishing his spear with a spare handkerchief from the northern shelter, and Sién…

“Hm?”

Sién was crouched under a leafy tree, staring at something.

“What are you doing, Tower Lord?”

“There’s something strange here, Lia.”

I went behind him to see what it was. The Crown Prince and Jaeger also approached.

There, wedged tightly between tree roots, was a small creature.

A rabbit?

It had pale pink fur and jet-black eyes.

Its drooping ears made it look almost like a plush toy.

I delightedly grabbed it by the ears and lifted it.

The Crown Prince smirked as he crossed his arms, noticing my brightened face.

“You like rabbits?”

“Of course.”

“You’ve got a surprisingly cute side.”

My mouth watered. Roasted, it’d probably taste great.

As I licked my lips at the thought, the rabbit, sensing danger, kicked at my arm.

It flipped through the air and landed neatly on the ground, raising its front paws into a fighting stance.

“Grrrrr.”

And it even growled.

Staring at the rabbit, I whispered to the Crown Prince,

“Your Highness, do rabbits normally growl like that?”

“Sparrows meow, and ducks mew, didn’t you know?”

The way he looked at me—like I was pathetic—made me grimace.

I know, okay? I only asked in case this world was different.

“Khugh!”

The rabbit’s nose twitched, and suddenly its tiny mouth gaped open—stretching wide enough to match my whole body.

Beyond its teeth lay a vast darkness—an interdimensional space, surely.

I blinked in bewilderment when suddenly two arms blocked my view.

I was startled by who it was.

One was the Crown Prince. The other—Jaeger.

Jaeger protecting me?

Honestly, I wouldn’t have been surprised if he’d teamed up with the rabbit to shove my head inside that void.

While I stared in disbelief, Jaeger unsheathed his sword and narrowed his eyes sharply.

“Step back. That’s a monster.”

In that instant, the rabbit, startled by the two men shielding me, faltered—then scowled at me and lunged, mouth agape.

“Raaagh!”

Thwack!

“Yip!”

Jaeger kicked it hard, sending it flying.

The rabbit whimpered and got up, glancing nervously between the Crown Prince and Jaeger.

Then its eyes locked on me.

It bared its teeth and growled, undaunted.

So I’m the easy target, huh?

The rabbit opened its mouth again, charging straight at me—

Whoosh!

A violet bullet whizzed past, grazing the rabbit and burying itself in a thick tree trunk.

Startled, I turned back to see Sién twirling his revolver lazily. The barrel shimmered with a faint violet barrier—likely a silencer.

“You need to be careful, Lia.”

I let out a shaky breath and looked back at the rabbit.

It was trembling, mouth still gaping.

“Kkii…ul…”

Slowly, its oversized mouth shrank back down. Its twitching nose wrinkled, and tears welled up in its black eyes, spilling down.

“Whimper…”

With its ears drooping and tears flowing, it looked so pitiful.

…Okay, kind of cute, actually.

Maybe my tastes weren’t exactly normal.