Ch.126Surely, a good day will come.

“Ah, you… came…”

With a thud, Reina’s hand fell.

“Reina!!”

Nahan quickly approached her but didn’t dare touch her as he examined her condition.

A thick piece of wood piercing through her abdomen.

Blood gushing out uncontrollably.

Her complexion growing pale.

As death’s shadow rapidly descended upon her, memories of deaths from his previous world flashed before him.

-Don’t live like me.

The Black Dragon Faction’s big brother who worried about him even as he was dying.

-It’s not your fault, Han-ah.

The orphanage director who embraced him despite having lost everything.

And,

The one who smiled at him even as he removed his respirator, shortening his own life,

-Brother, will you fulfill my dream for me?

The face of his only friend.

Though he should be used to it by now, as his life had always been about losing things,

Crunch.

Grinding his teeth until they nearly shattered, Nahan muttered in defiance of fate.

“One by one… slowly.”

The first thing to do was to remove the wooden stake embedded in her abdomen.

“…Bear with it.”

Muttering to the unconscious Reina, Nahan grabbed the wood and counted.

One,

Two,

Three.

With a cracking sound, the wood was pulled out, and Reina’s closed eyes suddenly flew open.

“Kuhaa…!!”

“Sorry, I’m sorry.”

With a dark mutter, Nahan’s hand reached into his spatial storage.

A top-grade elixir appeared and was sprinkled over Reina’s wound.

Hissss…

Reina’s brow furrowed at the healing power that exceeded her body’s limits.

“Ah, kuhaa…!!!”

Her white hand flailed in the air.

Nahan firmly grasped it and whispered, groaning as if sharing her pain.

“It’s okay.”

“Kuhaak…!!”

“It’s okay. Everything’s okay now.”

As the pain disappeared along with the wound, Reina’s consciousness finally returned.

Without even checking her healed abdomen, she grabbed Nahan and asked,

“What happened to Hestia?!”

“…I need to go find her now.”

After answering, Nahan immediately stood up.

“Stay with Count Gardner.”

“But I…!!”

“You what?”

At Nahan’s cold question, Reina trailed off before finally completing her sentence.

“I… must help too…!”

She tried to pick up the national treasure sword with trembling hands and stand up, but her legs gave out and she collapsed.

She tried to rise again but failed, and this process repeated several times.

Nahan spoke firmly to Reina.

“You help by staying safe.”

He had learned through countless misfortunes.

Some misfortunes must be fought against with all one’s might, but if one lacks the strength, the best option is to hide and save oneself.

Recognizing that this is all one can do is also a skill.

That’s why Nahan pressed down on Reina’s shoulders as she kept trying to stand.

“Stop. You know it too, Reina. There’s nothing you can do in this situation.”

There was no time to waste.

He needed to confront both the Black Wolf and the Light, and right now, he had to save Hestia and stop Eclipse’s plan.

“So please. Don’t waste your energy on useless things and just wait quietly.”

A warning delivered with a faint trace of aura.

“Knowing your place is also strength.”

After those words were spoken.

Reina’s face, which had momentarily contorted with hurt, filled with anger.

“…So. You tell me to know my place? Do I appear that weak in your eyes?”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“What do you mean it’s not?!!”

Reina raised her head sharply and thrust the national treasure sword deep into the floor.

The silver longsword sank in with a thud.

“I already know…!!”

Using it as support, Reina exerted force and spoke to Nahan.

“I know that I’m weaker than other powerful beings, that I’m too incompetent to be useful!!! I know that better than anyone!!!”

Even to Reina, Nahan’s words weren’t wrong.

Hadn’t even her sister, whom she always trusted and followed, advised her before disappearing?

-If you’re incompetent, at least stay still.

In fact, during the very early days of her reign, Reina had followed Lactea’s advice and remained passive.

So she wouldn’t die.

Even if she became a puppet of enemies like Hallorand or Eclipse, at least her life wouldn’t be in danger as long as they found her useful.

But she soon realized.

“When I stayed still… the people I cared about got hurt and perished.”

Her loved ones were used as sacrifices to prove her incompetence.

“The safer I became by staying still, the more devastation surrounded me!!”

Only then did Nahan understand.

If Reina had been just a little more selfish,

If her will had been just a little weaker,

If she hadn’t struggled so desperately.

Surely, an even worse situation would have engulfed this world.

“Reina, I… I was worried about you…”

Nahan belatedly opened his mouth, but Reina cut him off and declared,

“That’s why I will struggle.”

Even if she couldn’t greatly defy the approaching fate, as had been the case until now,

“I’m sure I can be of some help, somehow.”

When Reina finally stood and made this declaration, for some reason, Nahan could no longer meet her eyes.

Reina looked at him and continued in a calm voice.

“I hope you don’t misunderstand. I’m not angry with you, it’s just…”

Suddenly standing beside Nahan, she embraced him and added,

“You don’t need to bear this burden alone.”

Having been saved by the Black Wolf several times, Reina had finally realized.

That this man before her was simply acting to save this world.

Though his unexpected actions and their reasons remained incomprehensible, his desire to save the world was genuine.

And that within the world he sought to save,

‘…I am included as well.’

Therefore, in Reina’s mind, from the moment he had reached out to her in her isolation, she had already been saved.

“Thank you. From the moment you first reached out to me, to your concern just now—all of it.”

A golden light bloomed like a flower in the midst of the worst situation where nothing else had changed.

【Congratulations!】

【Main Scenario – Saving <The Emperor> and <The Hero>, you have achieved the salvation of <Emperor – Reina Babylonia (SS-)>!】

【Remaining salvation targets: 1/2】

Nahan stared at the system window that appeared before him and unconsciously muttered,

“What did I… even do…”

Before his question could reach Reina’s ears, she explained the situation to the frozen Nahan.

“Save the self-deprecation for later and listen to this information first. Here’s what’s been happening……”

She explained that Eclipse’s leader had personally raided Gardner’s mansion, that he had taken Hestia to unseal something, that she, an SS-rank, had been helplessly overpowered…

After finishing her briefing, she removed a brooch that only imperial family members could wear and handed it to Nahan.

Then, after briefly searching for words, she scratched her silver hair and added shortly,

“I trust you.”

Her snow-white face flushed slightly, seemingly embarrassed by her own blunt words.

“……”

Nahan, who had opened his mouth to say something, closed it again and nodded.

“…I’m sorry for speaking harshly.”

“It’s fine. Because of it, I learned that you truly care about me. But if you think you’ll feel guilty when you remember it……”

Reina’s outstretched hand slightly opened the Golden Dragon helmet Nahan was wearing.

“When everything is over, let’s walk through the peaceful imperial islands and chat.”

A smile filled with sincerity.

Despite her rare beauty, Nahan simply nodded without any particular reaction.

“…Alright.”

“I entrust Hestia and the world to you. I’ll prepare in my own way to help.”

2.

Immediately after parting with Reina.

Nahan activated his ultimate skill – Usurpation and borrowed Lactea’s dragon speech.

“【Track, Hestia.】”

Unlike teleportation, this consumed about 3% of his aura, and an amber-colored line appeared in his vision.

The color of Hestia’s hair.

The line, intertwined with murky energy, traced back the path he had walked and extended straight toward the imperial islands.

“…The islands, huh.”

Nahan immediately changed direction and headed back toward the Blue Magic Tower.

‘Let’s think simply.’

The <Main Quest> had two conditions:

One, prevent all bad endings from occurring.

Two, save <The Hero> and <The Emperor>.

In other words, as long as he met these conditions, it didn’t matter if he couldn’t save the world.

Having successfully saved Reina, he only needed to save Asha to fulfill the first condition.

‘If I save Asha and prevent the remaining three bad endings, at least my safety is guaranteed.’

Fulfilling the quest <conditions> rather than <saving the world> was a much easier task.

If failure seemed imminent, he could just meet the conditions and flee.

‘If I were still the person I was at the beginning of this possession, I would have certainly chosen the lesser evil to prepare for the worst.’

If one cannot defy fate, at least avoid it and preserve one’s life.

That would surely have been the best choice to fulfill his only friend’s wish, but,

-I trust you.

Reasons why he couldn’t choose the lesser evil kept emerging.

Honestly, it was heavy.

Nahan himself was a weak human who could only live by relying on others.

Someone relying on him was too burdensome.

“…What am I supposed to do?”

Nahan felt the weight on his shoulders as he moved his feet diligently.

-One by one, slowly.

…Right.

As you said, if I take it one step at a time,

-Surely better days will come.

As he recalled his only friend’s words and tried to straighten his hunched shoulders, a dark red system window appeared before him again.

【Warning.】

【Main antagonist – <Black Wolf> and hidden antagonist – <Eclipse> are clashing.】

【The possibility of <Bad Ending 13 – Seed of Destruction – Germination> <Conclusion> is skyrocketing.】

【Crisis of <Conclusion>.】

【Summoning the three <Saviors> designated by the world to the battlefield – <Imperial Palace>.】

Immediately after.

With a flash of light, Nahan’s body was transported to the underground of the imperial palace.