Ch.9696. Where You Are (5)

It’s warm.

I froze, forgetting what I was about to say or do, and breathed in Marianne’s scent as she drew closer. Marianne had her eyes tightly shut and was awkwardly holding my face. When I tried to pull back slightly, Marianne’s strong grip pulled me forward again. I noticed her shoulders tremble slightly when I moved my lips. That strangely brought me back to reality, and I closed my eyes as well.

As if it were our first time, our tongues didn’t meet. But that moment seemed to last forever. The surrounding scenery faded away, and the smell of the sea disappeared. When I exhaled softly, Marianne slightly lowered her head and pulled her lips away.

“Hero.”

Marianne looked at me with eyes moist like moonlight. The moment I met her gaze, I couldn’t say anything. Perhaps it was because her eyes were telling me too much. I could only quietly watch her.

“I’m… a bit embarrassed.”

Marianne’s body was trembling slightly. Her cheeks were flushed bright red. At this sight, so unlike her yet so very much like her, Ilroy couldn’t help but let out a small laugh. Marianne looked up at Ilroy with a somewhat dissatisfied expression.

After hesitating over what to say, Marianne firmly closed her mouth as if making a big decision, took a breath, and opened it again.

“I am not an illusion. I came to save you… to help you.”

I quietly looked at Marianne as she spoke. Magical power. Completely normal. Though my own magical power was already depleted. The holy spear Marianne held was emitting a strange light different from holy artifacts, rippling with energy. It seemed Marianne had succeeded in unlocking the holy spear. I gazed at her silently, then spoke with a faint smile.

“Why did you start to call me by my name and then stop?”

At my sudden question, Marianne blinked and looked at me. Her eyes seemed to ask why I would ask such a thing.

“That’s… because you told me not to call you by your name, Hero…”

“You can call me by my name.”

Hearing my words, Marianne lowered her head. Then she grabbed the hem of my clothes and moved closer to me. Up close, Marianne was trembling much more than she appeared to be, and seemed immersed in fear.

“I was scared.”

That’s what Marianne said. Unable to respond, I quietly nodded. Marianne pressed her head against my chest and shook it vigorously. Her hair rustled against my clothes.

“I was afraid you might never return, that you might be devoured by the fog. I was afraid that even if that happened, I wouldn’t be able to be by your side.”

Marianne’s voice trembled as it grew tearful. Not knowing what to do, I had to watch as she whimpered. Whimpering. It was a word that didn’t suit her at all, but Marianne was indeed whimpering. Her hand gripped my clothes tightly.

“Why do you always try to shoulder everything alone?”

Marianne’s voice finally changed to that of someone who had completely broken into tears. She pressed herself closer to me, trying to hide her face. All I could do was wrap my arms around her back and comfort her crying.

“You don’t need to protect everyone by yourself. I joined your party to follow your orders. You should command as you wish, and I should simply move according to your orders.”

Marianne let out a heavy sigh. As she repeated her words, she seemed to be getting tangled in what she wanted to say.

“I don’t know what to say. Just, just.”

Marianne’s voice was retreating into a mouse hole. Instead of words, she clutched my clothes. I embraced her shoulders even more firmly.

“I don’t want you to leave. I want to be by your side. You showed me a different world, you tried to protect me, and now I know what this is.”

Marianne said pitifully, placing her hand on her chest. I looked at Marianne as she raised her head. Her face was completely ruined with tears. I carefully wiped her cheeks.

“Why were you holding onto something that hadn’t even happened? What was weighing on your mind so much? Suffering and getting hurt like that…”

Marianne spoke strongly. Had she been seeing the Kraken illusion I was seeing? I scratched my cheek in embarrassment.

“…It could happen someday. I didn’t want to lose any of you, and I didn’t want to sacrifice people. I thought it might be something I couldn’t handle.”

I answered in a rough voice. Aryen’s words still echoed in my mind. I wanted to protect you. Would Marianne dislike it if I said that?

“We are not beings you need to protect, Ilroy.”

Marianne said, as if reading my mind. I inhaled sharply and bit my lip. Marianne brought up the issue I had been trying to ignore and confronted me with it.

“I won’t remain weak forever, nor will I make you worry about me.”

As she spoke, Marianne gestured toward a distant island. There, the illusions of George and Daphne were standing intact, looking at us.

“George and Daphne aren’t that weak either. They’re not children who remain as they were when you first met them.”

Marianne emphasized, grabbing my arm.

“Trust your companions. We’re not weak enough to fall to such monsters, nor are we thoughtless enough to die behind your back.”

“…Even so.”

“This is an illusion, Ilroy. I won’t let you leave me in your regrets.”

It was difficult to say I believed her. I sighed. I couldn’t simply answer that I understood.

“Without all of you, I can’t remain myself.”

“Then we’ll become stronger. Together. Ilroy can become strong enough to protect us and everyone else, and we can become strong enough to stand alongside you. So that when you fall, we can always support you.”

I wanted to ask if it was really that easy, but I remembered that I had uttered equally difficult words to implement several times before. Marianne put on a small smile, as if trying to say something decisive.

“Because that’s the attitude of a hero, and that should be the attitude of companions who stand by the hero’s side.”

Marianne’s words awakened me again. Suddenly, I found it amusing that we were bickering like this, and I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“I won’t make you worry. And I’ll become stronger than Ilroy, so you can rely on me.”

I nodded. Marianne’s eyes, which had been looking straight at me all this time, wavered slightly.

“…That was a bit embarrassing to say.”

Suddenly, as if embarrassed by it, Marianne quickly pulled away from me. I blinked, watching her fidget.

“So, let’s go back together. No, let’s defeat the fog together.”

Marianne abruptly came to that conclusion, clenching her fist. With eyes completely red like a rabbit’s from crying, yet talking about defeating the calamity together, she looked cute.

“By the way, how did you get here?”

I had forgotten. The fog wouldn’t allow this, yet the Marianne before my eyes was undoubtedly the real Marianne. Hearing my question, Marianne raised her holy spear to show me.

“With the help of the holy spear. I didn’t know it could cut through the fog.”

Setting aside cutting through the fog, how did she know where I was? Surely she hadn’t been wandering through the fog for days…?

“How did you find your way here…?”

Marianne’s face flushed again, and she started to take something out but stopped. Curiosity suddenly rose in me, and I approached her. As I came closer, she reluctantly showed it to me.

“…A compass?”

I’m sure the Pope had said something. Something about it pointing to what one desires.

Seeing my expression as if I was recalling something, Marianne waved her hands in front of my eyes, trying to distract me. I looked at her and smiled appreciatively, which for some reason made her blush even more, all the way to her ears.

“A-Anyway, that’s how it happened. Can we use this compass?”

Marianne handed me the compass, but when I held it, the needle just kept spinning around.

“…It’s not working. How are we supposed to use this?”

I muttered with a frown, and Marianne took the compass back and looked at me with a serious expression. The fog is both a colony and a single entity. There’s no convenient method to defeat the fog at once. I sighed as I recalled this fact.

“I’ll transfer some magical power to you, Ilroy.”

Marianne said with determination.

“To me…?”

“I can remain as I am outside, but you’re in the form the illusion has overlaid on you. If you have enough magical power to regain your strength, we might find another way.”

Marianne said, taking my hand.

“…This illusion seems to be maintained by your magical power, Ilroy. If we can reclaim it and you can return to your original form, we might find another solution.”

Marianne said, looking around. From the moment Marianne intervened, time in this world stopped, and the drain of magical power from my body also stopped. I clenched and unclenched my hand while looking around with her.

“…Alright.”

Marianne’s magical power slowly began to enter my body. I used it as a clue and slowly began to operate it. My beating heart distributed the magical power. And I checked how the ownerless magical power was spread throughout the world.

“Return.”

Slowly, the surrounding background began to collapse like a sand castle. I started to collect my magical power that was trying to dissolve into the air as fog, piece by piece. Marianne let out a small sigh as she felt my magical power gradually filling up, and I clenched my fist, feeling my strength slowly returning.

“…I’ve been waiting.”

My tattered clothes return. Wounds heal. A new weight is added to my waist, and familiar power surrounds my body. I opened my closed eyes. The halo rising above my head. I faced the fog again with a new perspective. The fog itself seemed to writhe and twist its body.

“Have you been waiting for this too?”

The fog made a growling sound as if in anger, and I smiled.

Now, how shall I hunt this thing?