Ch.17Chapter 17. Truth is, I’ve Been Waiting for a Man Like You for a Long Time

A Belated Realization

When clearing Chapter 1 and moving to Chapter 2 in the game, there was just a brief dialogue about finding a city, and after skipping through a few text boxes, you’d immediately be transported to the front of that city.

As she soared through the air, Lin thought.

Could it be that we traveled using Lucy’s five leaps back then too?

No.

In the system, despite high affection levels, Lucy would have been in a normal state, so they probably just walked or took a carriage.

Above all,

“Urrrgh…!”

“Lin, are you okay?”

After the journey ended, the porter in the game hadn’t been hunched over dry heaving like she was now.

“Want me to pat your back?”

“No, no…”

If you pat me, I might spill my guts out.

Lucy had always been exceptionally strong within the hero’s party, but she seemed even more powerful since regaining her limbs.

It wasn’t that she became strong after being chosen by the holy sword and becoming a hero.

She was chosen by the holy sword precisely because she was already strong enough to be called a hero.

The holy sword was famous for thoroughly examining and evaluating a candidate’s beliefs and values rather than physical strength.

Nevertheless, Lucy was considered the strongest among all heroes throughout history.

It made sense, given that she had defeated the Demon Lord when no other hero could, but ironically, the public viewed her as someone whose behavior was as extraordinary as her strength.

But who would have known?

That the hero who had been acting recklessly, relying solely on her position and strength, would even put down the holy sword—the source of a hero’s power—for just one person.

Even Lin didn’t know.

She would probably collapse in shock if she found out, but for now, she remained unaware.

In other words, Lucy was no longer a hero.

Just a girl with an unrequited love, following a man around.

Unable to endure the dizziness any longer, Lin collapsed at a spot far from the city.

Normally, she would have forced herself up, not wanting to waste time lying down, but since they had covered a month’s walking distance in just half a day with only five leaps, there was no need to rush.

It was better to properly recover her condition and prepare to enter Chapter 2.

Lucy laid Lin on her lap and gently stroked her hair.

“We need to get moving…”

Due to the severe dizziness, Lin quickly fell asleep.

She even broke into a cold sweat as throbbing headaches accompanied her.

Lucy carefully wiped Lin’s forehead with a piece of cloth she had.

With great concern about waking Lin, she very gently pressed and removed the cloth, her face filled with immense satisfaction.

Until recently, she had been wrapped in swaddling clothes, dangling from Lin, but now she had Lin lying on her newly formed lap, examining him with her newly formed arms and hands.

“Mmph… hng…!”

She bit her finger to suppress her pleasure.

As Lin touched her body newly created by the elixir, Lucy felt herself heating up from just that contact.

“Haa… haa…”

She wanted to kiss those lips, that forehead, right away.

Those tightly closed eyelids were so adorable.

She barely managed to resist as her mind began to sink into lustful thoughts.

Suppressing her rough breathing that yearned for him, Lucy twisted and plucked a strand of her own hair.

A single strand of bright red hair.

When she infused it with magical power, it glowed even more vividly.

But it wasn’t just the freshly plucked hair that was glowing.

As she circulated magical power throughout her body, a thin red thread appeared along Lucy’s little finger.

The small line filled with red magical power extended all the way to Lin’s left little finger.

Lucy brought the hair to that line.

The red thread absorbed the hair, extending its length by that much.

“Hehe.”

Since regaining her body, Lucy had been weaving this red thread every day without fail, taking advantage of moments when Lin was asleep.

At first, she took a long time, afraid that the sensitive Lin would wake up immediately, but after his revival, he had developed a habit of falling into very deep sleep.

That’s why Lucy would anxiously try to check his heartbeat if Lin didn’t wake up for a long time.

Today too, she wove the thread.

The red thread imbued with Lucy’s magical power wouldn’t break under normal circumstances.

No matter how far apart they were, she could always know where Lin was.

If the thread were to break, it would mean that Lin was in serious danger.

It was the best way to keep him under her surveillance to protect him.

The red thread of fate.

An old legend she had heard from Arsil.

Although she hated the Saint herself, Lucy purely wanted to believe in that legend.

She had no doubt that this red thread connecting him and her would eventually lead to their marriage and family.

There were no competitors anyway.

Although there was the fault of her past misdeeds, Lucy planned to take her time, slowly healing those wounds and seeping into Lin’s heart without rushing.

She had plenty of time.

The holy sword had vanished, so she was no longer a hero.

If Lin wanted, they would go hunt demons, but Lucy would primarily focus on finding a nest for just the two of them.

“My only ally, my best companion, my Lin.”

Even though she had plenty of time, she had absolutely no intention of wasting even a single second.

—

Surprisingly, Lin woke up early.

Less than an hour after falling asleep, he quietly got up and faced a blushing Lucy who was slightly sticking out her tongue.

“…”

“…Can I eat Lin?”

“No.”

After spending time together, Lin noticed Lucy had a peculiar habit.

She would space out, close her eyes, and stick out her tongue or lips, which was quite suggestive.

Lin had cautioned her, but it hadn’t improved, and she even went further by directly asking if she could eat him.

How can someone eat air in such a sensual way?

At this point, Lin found it hard to tell if she was doing it on purpose or if she was genuinely innocent.

“Is your headache better, Lin?”

“Yes, thanks to you. Thank you for the lap pillow, Lucy.”

“I’ll do it anytime if Lin wants.”

“I’ll let you know when I need it.”

“No, I want to do it whenever I feel like it too.”

“Lucy, you’re really free-spirited.”

“Hm? No, not at all.”

Lucy smiled brightly and hugged his arm tightly.

“I can’t be without Lin.”

Lin stroked her head without any particular objection.

Like appeasing a cat with severe mood swings.

“By the way, how do we get in?”

“What do we have to be afraid of? We just go in.”

Lucy grumbled with dissatisfaction, but in reality, there was plenty to be afraid of.

First of all, the two of them still couldn’t be discovered regardless of whether there were trackers or not, and their travel route couldn’t be exposed either.

It might not be a bad ending, but if they were caught by the hero’s party, they would be forced to join them.

If that happened, all of Lucy’s affection events with her partner character, item acquisitions, and stat enhancements that were scheduled before the normal joining point would be skipped, and they would go straight to the final battle with the demon race.

Affection might no longer matter, but there were also Lucy-exclusive events for items and stat enhancements.

Without going through this process, Lucy would remain incomplete for the rest of the scenario, and naturally, without reaching end-game specs, it was uncertain if they could even reach the final battle.

They couldn’t hide Lucy in swaddling clothes like in Epaltherga.

But trying a frontal approach seemed unlikely to work either, as red-haired women were so recognizable in this world that Lucy or Estel would immediately come to mind.

In the end, there was only one answer.

Lin had known it all along, and there was no other solution.

But he really didn’t like it.

Lucy and Lin pulled their hoods over their heads and stood at the end of the line waiting for inspection at the city gate.

The commercial city of Valtercrois.

A city of merchants where various rare goods pass through both land routes and ports.

Although it belonged to the Empire, it was not directly managed by the state but was governed by a guild coalition, making it somewhat like a subjugated city-state.

That’s why the waiting line was long, and the inspection itself was extremely thorough and strict.

Unlike in Epaltherga, smooth-talking and slipping a few coins wouldn’t work here.

As one of the cities where the most money circulated alongside the financial city, everyone from the guild rulers to the lowly guards knew very well what kind of financial damage a moment’s carelessness could bring.

They wouldn’t be imprisoned for not having identification, especially with Lucy’s presence.

Instead, it would be immediately reported to the imperial palace, and the hero’s party would instantly appear via Tigria’s teleportation magic to capture them.

If they were unlucky, the useless porter might even be summarily executed in the process.

Lin made his decision.

Yeah, doing something I don’t like is still much better than dying.

As Lin looked around, he spotted him.

A man casually eating a rice ball among the thick bushes beside the well-maintained road.

Though his appearance was clearly unkempt, with dust and grime making his sleeves shiny, his eyes thoroughly scanned the inspection line.

With strong facial features, he had the kind of face that would be quite popular with women despite polarizing opinions.

“Lin?”

Ignoring Lucy’s call, Lin left the line.

He approached the man and tried to strike up a conversation.

“Actually…”

His tongue got tied.

“Actu-ally…”

He stumbled over the pronunciation.

“What are you trying to do?”

The man threw away the rice ball he was eating and frowned.

I need to be serious.

Ah, I really don’t want to do this.

Lin had to calm himself before he could properly say it.

“Actually, I’ve been waiting for a man like you for a long time.”

Lucy was shocked.

“Eh…?”

The man responded.

“Honestly, me too.”

“Really?”

Lin just wanted to throw up.

“Just kidding.”

Judging by the man’s expression, he felt the same way.

“Damn, you know this code phrase. I had my doubts, but the boss was right.”

“Boss?”

“Don’t play dumb. I heard only one person knows this.”

They’re treating me quite specially.

Is it because we’re from the same hometown?

After confirming the cringe-worthy code phrase, Lin and the man deliberately maintained stern faces as they spoke solemnly.

“You’re lucky. The boss just returned not long ago.”

“If it’s alright, I’d like to go right now.”

“I was about to suggest that. Even with a code phrase, I don’t have the guts to stay here after saying something like that.”

The man gestured with his chin and turned his back.

“Follow me.”

His pace was surprisingly quick, so they had to hurry.

As Lin was about to run after the man, he noticed Lucy standing still and grabbed her arm.

“Lucy, let’s go.”

“Lin…”

Lucy asked tearfully.

“Do you like men?”

For the second time today, Lin tightly shut his eyes.