episode_0118

Click. The campfire crackles, sending sparks flying into the air.

Returning to the campsite, Riel found Leona preparing dinner.

“Where’ve you been this time? I told you to rest.”

“Just gathered some firewood.”

Riel set down the heavy bundle he had been carrying on his shoulder. Despite his already poor stamina, he had stubbornly overexerted himself and collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily.

Leona’s expression hardened as she surveyed the excessive pile of firewood he had diligently gathered.

“I told you not to push yourself. What would you have done if you’d collapsed out there in your state?”

At a glance, Riel appeared perfectly unharmed—not a single scratch on him—making the fuss seem unwarranted. But Leona hadn’t turned serious for no reason.

After all, any normal person would react the same way if a comrade who had narrowly escaped death just a day prior suddenly disappeared without a word and returned after strenuous physical labor.

“Don’t overreact. Thanks to Marika, I’m already healed. See? I’m perfectly fine.”

“Healing magic closes wounds, but it doesn’t recover accumulated fatigue. You know that.”

“That’s why I’m keeping myself busy with light work like this. I can handle this much. Really.”

Leona watched with uneasy eyes as Riel shrugged, acting as if nothing was wrong.

“…Would you say that even if it were Marika?”

Everyone in the party knew just how much Riel doted on Marika, treating her like a younger sister. He wouldn’t even take her near dangerous places, let alone let her move around after an injury—he’d tie her down if necessary.

“……”

“Marika’s no different. She cares for you just as much as you care for her—no, even more. Do you plan on collapsing right in front of her?”

“Marika and I aren’t the same.”

“How so?”

Riel considered himself the most morally upright in the party. After all, this was a team of heroes who had sworn to defeat the Demon King, even at the cost of their lives. None among them could be called dishonorable.

But among their differing personalities, Leona was the one who always made choices for the sake of the group, never for selfish desires.

Under her reproachful gaze, Riel had no choice but to avert his eyes.

Maybe he was wrong. That thought made his words sound like feeble excuses.

“Marika is a girl.”

“And?”

“That’s it. I can’t push a girl like Marika, and the same goes for the rest of you. As the only man in the party, I can’t just laze around while all of you—”

“What kind of nonsense is that?!”

“Stop it, Leona. Just leave this idiot alone.”

Breaking into their conversation was Erwin, who had appeared from atop a tree.

“Erwin. Done with patrol?”

“Yeah. No one’s around here. More importantly, Riel, I can’t stand your arrogant talk. Are human men made of steel or something?”

Though the two often bickered, this time, the atmosphere around Erwin was unusually chilly—far from their usual playful banter.

“If you owe someone your life, shouldn’t gratitude come first, knife-ear?”

“Gratitude? For saddling me with the burden of owing my life to a human for the rest of my days? It’d be a miracle if Marika didn’t follow you to the grave.”

“I’m still alive, aren’t I? Blocking the Black Dragon’s breath was the logical choice. That gave everyone the best chance of survival.”

Dragons had long since become creatures of legend, spoken of only in historical texts. Among them, the Black Dragon—said to be the sole survivor—had succumbed to the Demon King’s power and fallen into its service.

Facing the creature they had only heard of in tales, the party had been utterly powerless before an enemy far beyond their level.

They had been active as the Hero’s Party for about a year now—yet neither the genius’s magic nor the Holy Sword of the Hero could pierce the Black Dragon’s scales.

In the end, they had abandoned the hunt and retreated—only for the Black Dragon’s breath to come chasing after them.

“[You rushed ahead with a defensive spell.] I know being called a once-in-a-lifetime genius got to your head, but even you couldn’t have seriously thought you could block that alone. Even I, who barely understands magic, could tell it was impossible. You’d definitely be dead if Yuria hadn’t backed you up with the Holy Sword in time.”

He wasn’t wrong. It was as if Yuria had known exactly what he was thinking—had she not offset the breath’s power with the Holy Sword, both Riel’s barrier and his own body would have been reduced to ashes.

A genius isn’t merely called so because they are strong. At his level, he should have keenly sensed the gap in power between them. Yet he had stepped forward alone regardless.

“You were prepared to die protecting us, weren’t you? Even though we could’ve stopped it together, you never even considered accepting our help from the start.”

The fact that Riel and Yuria had barely managed to block the attack meant that, had the other three assisted, they would have avoided injury entirely. There was no excusing that. The only mitigating factor was that Yuria had exceeded expectations with her strength.

“……It was urgent. I hadn’t seen a Dragon’s Breath before, and I didn’t fully grasp the Holy Sword’s potential. What if I’d involved you all and something went wrong? This generation’s Hero Party could’ve ended then and there.”

“But it was fine if you died instead?”

“I was never supposed to be chosen for the Hero’s Party anyway. The party would function fine without me—maybe even better.”

“Is that really all there is to it?”

“……What else could there be?”

Unable to meet Erwin’s piercing gaze, Riel’s evasiveness betrayed his words as lies. Not just Erwin—even Leona refused to believe him.

Erwin glared coldly at Riel, who turned away, knowing full well he wasn’t being honest.

“Whatever the others might think, I am not some child who needs protecting. I don’t have so little pride that I’d be grateful for being shielded by a human.”

Erwin was angrier than Riel had ever seen him before.

The atmosphere worsened, leaving Leona sweating between them like a deer trapped between beasts, nervously watching their expressions.

Just as the suffocating silence made it hard to breathe, the sound of footsteps crushing dirt announced the arrival of their remaining two companions.

“Sorry for the wait! For dinner tonight, we’ve got quite the feast—Wait, what’s with the mood?”

Yuria, carrying a massive wild boar larger than herself, and Marika, with a basket of edible berries, froze upon seeing Riel and Erwin glaring at each other. Something must have happened while they were gone.

“What’s going on?”

“Nothing. I’ll just grab some water.”

Ignoring Yuria’s question, Riel stood and vanished into the trees.

The two glanced at each other for a moment before moving to follow.

“Ah…”

Marika hesitated, realizing that though she had known Riel far longer, Yuria was his lover now.

While she deliberated, Yuria set the boar down and spoke first.

“I’ll go.”

“O-okay…”

###

The stream in the forest was a vital water source for adventurers camping in the wilderness.

Having already drunk her fill earlier, Yuria returned to the stream chasing after Riel. There, the moonlight illuminated the silver-haired boy as he cupped water in his hands.

He looked exactly as always from behind—but it was a sight she never wanted to see again.

Quietly, Yuria crept up behind him and suddenly pounced.

“Wha—HUH?!”

“W-Wait—?!”

Caught off guard, Riel lost his balance and tumbled into the stream.

And Yuria—even more startled than he was—followed right after.

A splash shot up as the two crashed into the water.

Though the current softened the impact, the frigid nighttime stream instantly sapped the warmth from their soaked clothes and scalps.

“Pwah! Yuria?”

“Sorry, I didn’t think you’d fall over so easily. You’re weaker than you look, Riel.”

“I-I’m injured, okay? If I were at full strength, this wouldn’t—”

“Even though you told Erwin you were fine?”

Cut off any escape, Riel scowled and turned away, sulking.

Neither Erwin’s elven finesse nor Leona’s warrior reflexes would’ve led to such an embarrassing fall.

Slender with little muscle, Riel’s delicate frame often earned him the label of a “pretty boy”—something he was acutely self-conscious about.

“Pouting now? You’re really childish, you know.”

“I told you not to say that.”

Seeing him genuinely irritated, Yuria shifted the topic back to the issue at hand.

“This time, I agree with Erwin. You just couldn’t say it outright, but in the end, you were worried about us, weren’t you?”

Her tone was like scolding a child, yet Riel obediently nodded, aware how childish his behavior had been.

“I know. I didn’t mean to ignore or upset you. I just…”

“Thought you had to do it alone? I know. But we feel the same. We’d have been devastated if you’d died. I would’ve cried buckets.”

Yuria studied Riel’s flustered reaction before continuing.

“Promise me something. That you won’t do it again—that you won’t try to shoulder every dangerous thing alone.”

She gripped his hand tightly and locked eyes with him. That pleading expression, filled with sincerity—Riel had always been weak to such things.

“I can’t.”

But this time, even Yuria’s plea—from the woman who prided herself on knowing him best—didn’t work.

“No matter how much you’re the Hero Party chosen to save the world… In every nation, in every era, men have protected women. That’s how humanity survived. Those are the rules. The tradition. And I’m part of that. I can’t let any of you die before me. That’s my duty.”

He knew they wouldn’t understand. Even if they called him stubborn, he wouldn’t budge.

He was the type who refused to compromise on what he believed was right—even when it came to Yuria’s requests.

Bracing for her reaction, Riel watched her nervously. But Yuria only smiled faintly, looking a little sad.

“I see. Well, if that’s who you are, then I suppose that’s that.”

She gave in far too easily, leaving Riel stunned before she pulled him up by the hand.

“Let’s go back. You’ll catch a cold sitting around in wet clothes.”

Though faded by time, he never once doubted the sincerity of the hearts those girls had shown him.

“Anyway, let’s talk after you’ve come to your senses.”

She had already completed the invocation during her approach. Arina unleashed her magic at once.

“[Dark Moon].”