Ch.97Chapter 97. There Are No Standard Moves or Correct Answers Anymore

“I’ll be back.”

In the end, Rabin left the hero’s party to visit the Sewage Alley with Arsil for a while.

Lin had no choice but to agree to Rabin’s request to trust her in order to correct Arsil, who kept going astray.

He figured that since Naidrian had already left without permission, a day or two wouldn’t make much difference.

“Here are the coordinates.”

Surprisingly, Rabin remembered the exact coordinates of Sewage Alley.

While working with Valter Crua, she had studied how to read and set coordinates on her own, and had prepared the alley’s coordinates so she could come and go whenever needed.

“Sorry I can’t go with you.”

“It’s okay, I’m taking him to give him a good scolding.”

Rabin forced a bright smile when she saw the charm swaying on Lin’s chest.

Whenever she saw that charm pouch in the dark and bleak reality, Rabin felt connected to Lin.

Of course, what truly connected them was the red thread made from Lucy’s hair, but this charm pouch connected Lin and Rabin’s hearts.

“I’m ready.”

Despite the burden of casting being doubled when there was no teleportation magic circle at the destination, Tigria activated the teleportation spell without much trouble.

“I’ll be back.”

“Okay.”

Lin gave Rabin an affectionate look, but not to Arsil who stood beside her.

Arsil had desperately waited for him to look at her, but Lin never gave her a glance.

Hoping against hope, Arsil touched the hairpin she had put in as she was enveloped in light alongside Rabin.

After a moment of brightness, the two had successfully teleported away, vanishing from sight.

With a slight feeling of emptiness, Lin walked away from the campsite.

Though it was a bit late, he planned to take a complete rest today.

From a distance, the duke’s soldiers glanced over, wondering if he would cook for them, but they had no chance.

For several days already, Lin had spent his own money to prepare meals and distribute them to all surviving citizens of the Holy Nation.

Garin and the duke’s side had been able to save a considerable amount of provisions because of this, so asking for more would be greedy.

Not only that, Lin had even paid for and provided food for the evacuated children.

Knowing these circumstances, Garin sternly warned the glancing soldier not to get distracted.

The soldiers couldn’t hide their disappointment and licked their lips.

Especially, there was a hint of sadness in the faces of the mess soldiers who had been preparing meals for large numbers with minimal personnel.

Lin continued walking.

He couldn’t remember the last time he had walked with such leisure.

Since rescuing Lucy, his days had been a continuous cycle of chasing and being chased.

Ironically, sometimes he had to remove his mask to breathe, and after the military district incident, he had to wear it again to survive.

“Hoo.”

Feeling stifled, he removed his mask and wiped away the accumulated sweat.

A cool breeze blew in, cooling him down.

That improved his mood considerably, and as he stretched, Lin spotted Tigria floating in the air, using magic with her scroll of knowledge.

“…”

“…”

“Is this wind your magic?”

“Yes.”

Tigria landed gently on the ground.

“You didn’t need to make the wind blow for me.”

“But…”

The mage tapped the ground with the tip of her shoe and muttered.

“It’s all I can do for you right now…”

I see.

This must be Tigria’s way of atoning without disturbing Lin too much.

“And…”

The mage blushed and whispered softly.

“I thought if I did this, you might look up at the sky at least once.”

Lin was momentarily stunned by the shy confession, then smiled slightly.

It wasn’t his usual businesslike smile, but a genuine one.

Clink, clink, clink

One of the chains wrapped around his heart turned purple and loosened.

It didn’t take anything grand to unlock a person’s heart.

All it needed was attention and sincerity.

From the journey to defeat the Demon King, all Lin needed was a little attention and goodwill.

Unfortunately, Tigria couldn’t see into Lin’s heart.

This regret would be even greater when recalling the big mistake Tigria would make later.

“Lin, you look troubled.”

The doll, who was just beginning to understand and feel emotions, carefully calculated her distance from Lin.

A distance that wouldn’t be burdensome, yet would naturally express her concern.

“Well.”

Many thoughts crossed his mind.

From how to handle Arsil going forward, to how much he should trust the main episode progression that had been manipulated by the Evil God.

What variables would arise from that, and how should he prepare for them?

But no matter how much he pondered, nothing seemed to go according to Lin’s wishes.

And there was no guarantee that things would flow as Lin expected in the future.

“I just have a lot of anxiety building up.”

“Lin.”

The wind continued to blow.

The gentle breeze made Lin and Tigria’s hair flutter.

Holding back her fine hair to keep it from covering her face, Tigria said to Lin:

“I know you might hate me and Lucy, and find us untrustworthy, but our desire to be with you, to be there for you, is sincere.”

The overly honest mage still didn’t understand the implications of what she was saying.

“I don’t want you to bear everything alone. I don’t want you to keep everything to yourself. Even if you can’t open up and talk to me, you can treat me like a tool if you want. I’m willing to be that for you.”

Lin was slightly embarrassed by Tigria’s somewhat impulsive words.

“Thank you, but I don’t see you and Lucy as tools.”

Right after rescuing Lucy, Lin had indeed felt that way.

Both himself and them as tools.

But as the chains loosened and Lin began to find his emotions again, the warmth from before was returning to him.

Although anger was the predominant negative emotion, Lin was slowly coming back.

“…”

“What’s wrong?”

Suddenly, Tigria stopped.

When Lin looked puzzled, she blushed softly.

“I don’t think Lin realizes that his voice is pleasant to hear.”

“Huh?”

“That’s why I want to talk with you more, and for longer.”

“Well… I haven’t really had much experience with conversation…”

Lin’s awkwardness made Tigria’s heart heavy.

He hadn’t experienced conversation.

That must have been because of the hero party members’ attitudes.

It was guilt-inducing to realize that even such trivial things had hurt him.

“Can I still talk to you in the future?”

“Of course, I’ll try too.”

When Lin readily agreed, Tigria clasped her hands to her chest.

It was such a precious agreement that she wanted to cherish it.

“This is enough for me today.”

Tigria didn’t push for more.

The mage had one more person she had wronged besides Lin.

“No one should come here.”

With those words, Tigria floated up and slowly drifted away.

Wondering what she meant, Lin looked down,

And saw the back of the hero standing quietly, her red ponytail fluttering.

I see.

Understanding the situation, Lin deliberately made his footsteps audible as he approached Lucy.

“What are you doing?”

“Just… wanting to calm down.”

Lin sensed loneliness in Lucy’s answer.

He realized she had been feeling lonely because he hadn’t been able to pay attention to her lately.

“Is it hard to stay calm when you’re near me?”

“I like being near Lin.”

Lucy was still looking somewhere far away.

“But then I only see Lin, and I want to be spoiled. That would trouble you.”

She’s… trying to change a lot.

Lin was somewhat moved, but he didn’t realize that all of Lucy’s actions and thought patterns were centered around him.

Thanks to the excellent education from the temporary holy sword Abyss, the hero had been broken for a long time.

Lucy was prepared to swing her sword without hesitation at anyone who interfered with Lin, even if it were a god, all for Lin’s sake.

“It’s okay for now.”

“…!”

“We decided to rest today.”

“Really…?”

“Yes.”

With Lin’s permission, Lucy immediately turned around.

He patted her back as she rushed into his embrace.

After a moment, Lucy pulled away slightly and tugged at Lin’s hand.

Lin felt something warm press against his palm.

“Can you feel it? My heart.”

Lucy whispered with a simple yet seductive smile.

As she said, Lin could feel her heart beating faster than usual.

Through Lucy’s chest.

While Lin was flustered, Lucy placed her ear against his chest.

The sound of his heart beating a little faster than usual.

And her own heart beating even faster.

To Lucy, it was sweeter than any melody.

I like you.

She moved her lips without letting him see.

I will love you forever.

But she swallowed the words, not daring to speak them aloud.

Because she hadn’t been forgiven yet.

Because she hadn’t been acknowledged.

She felt she had no right to confess to him.

She only hoped that somehow, through her heartbeat, he would notice, would understand.

Lucy harbored a bittersweet hope for her distorted affection, which was less than a country girl’s unrequited love.

Ah, if only she could stay like this with him a little longer.

But the girl’s moment of happiness didn’t last long.

“Hero! Porter!”

Garin was running toward them, calling out.

He had left his soldiers behind and was running personally, which seemed unusual.

“Commander?”

“A letter has arrived from His Grace the Duke.”

Without even catching his breath, Garin spoke directly to the point.

“Monsters are gathering at the demon army front line. They’re still few in number and moving slowly, but they’re definitely assembling!”

Lin’s face hardened.

That was a sign of the main episode right before the final chapter.

According to the original story, they should be going to the Elf Forest next?

That was when they were supposed to clear up any misunderstandings with Naidrian and recruit her.

The demon army was supposed to gather on a large scale and the front line episode would begin only after the Elf Forest episode ended.

‘Could it be the Evil God?’

Lin quickly changed his thinking.

This is a game created by the Evil God.

There was no guarantee that the sequence would be correct.

Even in the confrontation with the Pope, while the magical ritual failing was accurate, the Evil God possessing the failed creation wasn’t in the DLC.

Even the Pope was surprised, so it must have been the Evil God’s independent action.

Think, Lin.

There was that area at the demon army front line that had to be protected at all costs.

That very area for the elves.

If they entered the front line episode late after preparing in the Elf Forest, the increased demon army would trample not only that area but also the City of Romance.

In that case,

“We’ll strike first.”

“What? But His Grace cannot easily leave the capital as acting regent, and I must remain in command here.”

“We’ll go.”

He couldn’t be swayed anymore.

With everything uncertain now, even Rainford and the Imperial Princess might return to the capital at any moment.

“Hero Lucy, Mage Tigria, and I, the porter, will go ahead to clear them out or at least maintain the front line so it doesn’t collapse.”

If the Evil God was going to act so recklessly, Lin didn’t need to follow the main episode sequence either.

Clever moves and lucky breaks weren’t the Evil God’s exclusive domain.

“We’ll leave immediately.”

As Lin firmly resolved, Lucy, who had moved away from his embrace, nodded while gripping the handle of the temporary holy sword.

“…I pray for the hero party’s safety in battle.”

Garin bowed deeply to the heroes.

Hoping that the anxiety rising in his heart was just a groundless fear.