[CHAPTER 70]
The question was asked in an unusually friendly tone for Noah, yet its content was utterly bewildering.
Sian waved his hand dismissively.
“That is not it.”
“I do not harbor such feelings for Jerena.”
“Then why are you going that far for her?”
“You said a demon came looking for Jerena, which means any threat around her from now on will be related to demons.”
“I simply want to take responsibility and resolve the problem for Jerena…”
“Resolve it?”
“How?”
“Are you going to deal with every demon that comes after her one by one, or—”
Noah, who had been firing off questions, took a sharp breath.
“Are you planning to wage war against the Demon Realm?”
“For a woman you do not even like?”
Noah’s brows were tightly furrowed as he spoke.
“Think carefully.”
“You foolish human.”
“Are you sure you truly feel nothing?”
“I…”
Sian was confused.
Did he like Jerena?
The feelings he held toward Jerena were not something that could be answered simply with a yes or no.
I wanted to protect Jerena.
Her noble humanity, sacrificing herself to save others, had left a deep impression on him.
Sian had always been the one protecting others, so being protected in that way was a first for him.
That was why, on the day they met again and he saw her bleeding, he swore to himself that this time he would protect her, as he always had protected others.
Yet even after that, Jerena repeatedly threw herself into danger to save someone, and every time she succeeded.
She possessed a noble soul he had never seen before.
As Sian watched her, he began to feel something beyond mere responsibility.
However, he firmly believed it was not romantic love.
Reverence.
It must be reverence.
Was that not only natural?
Anyone who faced such noble character and soul would feel reverence.
Such a being deserved reverence, and wanting to protect someone as much as one had been protected was only natural.
He had always thought so, but…
Is it really nothing more than reverence?
A stone was thrown into what had been a calm, lake-like heart.
It was because of Noah’s question.
You like her?
At that moment, Jerena’s face flashed through Sian’s mind.
He had seen many expressions and many sides of her while spending time together.
The scene that had carved itself deepest into his heart, repeated over and over, was her bleeding as she saved someone, because it endlessly reminded him of his own helplessness.
But the image of Jerena that crossed his mind now was different.
She was smiling.
With eyes that often seemed to look nowhere at all, as if she held no lingering attachments to anything.
Yet in the moment her face softened into a smile…
Every time he faced that expression, what had he been thinking?
She is lovely.
……
“Ah.”
In the instant he realized it, Sian’s face flushed red.
His heart pounded violently, loudly asserting its presence.
***
Jahar Knox draped his robe over me and led me down to the dining hall.
He said it was because I had been unconscious for several days and needed to eat something, anything at all.
On the way to the dining hall, Jahar Knox told me that this inn was not far from the forest where we had been.
That made sense enough.
Anyone who encounters such noble character and soul would feel reverence.
Such a being deserves reverence.
Wanting to protect someone as much as one has been protected is only natural.
I had always thought so, but…
Is it really nothing more than reverence?
A stone was thrown into his calm, lake-like heart because of Noah’s question.
You like her?
Jerena’s face flashed through Sian’s mind once more.
He had seen many expressions and many sides of her while spending time together.
The scene that had carved itself deepest into his heart was her bleeding as she saved someone, endlessly reminding him of his own powerlessness.
But the image that crossed his mind now was different.
She was smiling.
With eyes that often seemed to gaze nowhere, as if she had no lingering attachments to anything.
And in the moment her face softened into a smile…
Every time he saw that expression, what had he been thinking?
She is lovely.
……
“Ah.”
As realization struck him, Sian’s face flushed red, his heart pounding fiercely.
***
Ifrit and Jahar Knox alike opposed the idea firmly.
It was a rare moment of unanimous agreement for this group.
On top of that, Ifrit snorted and added bluntly,
If you go to the Demon Realm in that state, you will not even be able to gather your bones.
I could not entirely disagree.
In fact, that was the biggest reason I had been unable to return to the Demon Realm in the first place.
But things were different now.
I subtly clenched and unclenched the hand resting beneath the table.
Compared to my original power, it still felt like an empty can that had poured out all its contents, but even so, it was far more than I had before collapsing after absorbing Sian’s poison.
When I first woke up, I had been too flustered to notice it.
What was surprising was that my magic power was not merely stopping at that level but continuing to recover at an increasingly rapid pace.
My magic power disappeared after receiving Sian’s holy power.
Perhaps the holy power mixed into the demonic poison actually helped restore my magic.
It was still far from sufficient for a Demon King, but it was enough to open the gate to the Demon Realm, and unless an Illay-class demon attacked, there would be no immediate danger.
Of course, I told all of this to Ifrit, but—
“You say there will be no danger, but that is not certain.”
“What will you do if you are threatened?”
My words fell on deaf ears.
“And did you forget you will soon be going to meet the World Tree?”
“I can stay in the Demon Realm and come when you call me.”
“You plan to go meet the World Tree while reeking of demonic energy?”
“How dare you?”
…It was my complete defeat.
There could be no greater disaster than promising to grant a request only to be unable to meet the World Tree afterward.
In the end, I had no choice but to abandon my plan to return to the Demon Realm and separate from Sian.
It cannot be helped.
At least I can take comfort in the fact that my magic power is returning.
The mere presence of something hopeful was a great comfort.
I quietly finished my soup.
Jahar Knox had been glaring at my plate for a while, irritated that it was not emptying.
Since staying at the inn had not been part of the original plan, everyone looked hurried.
Especially that person…
The young priest speaking with Seria beside him.
He was the one who had contacted the temple when Sian fell into a coma from demonic poison.
He is so young, yet he can detoxify that poison?
He must be quite capable, and Seria seemed to comply with his words in a peculiar way.
I withdrew my gaze from the two of them.
Almost at the same time, my eyes met Sian’s as he emerged from the inn carrying luggage.
“……”
“……”
Sian froze the moment our eyes met.
He was completely frozen.
Unable to say a single word, his face soon flushed bright red, and he averted his gaze as he hurried past me.
“W-What was that?”
As I stared at his retreating figure in confusion, his ears were so red they looked as though they might burst if lightly poked.
Was he still angry about what I had said earlier?
But no matter how I looked at it, that reaction seemed less like anger and more like embarrassment.
Sian being embarrassed.
Hmm…?
Hmm?
As I pondered, a single scene flashed through my mind.
The moment just before I collapsed and met the World Tree.
What I had done to absorb the poison.
Sian’s lips, as he lay unconscious…
“……”
Only after recalling that scene did I freeze in place.
Just like Sian had earlier.
