The Person Who Should Always Be Together

It usually feels strange when someone who has been constantly chattering without rest for days suddenly goes quiet.

That’s exactly how Bigrin felt right now.

The hero, Ludvik, walking beside her now, was that kind of person.

The type who would probably keep his mouth afloat even if he fell into water.

He was so talkative and seemed so frivolous, constantly chattering away, that even on the ship to Capatia, Bigrin almost had her soul sucked out.

But then he could also be quite serious when needed, and when it was time to act, he would do so boldly, so he wasn’t entirely strange.

To Bigrin, Ludvik was that kind of person.

“Hero.”

“Yes, Saint.”

Even while walking together on this Semec search, Ludvik had little to say.

So Bigrin also fell silent.

After all, for someone with virtually no experience with the opposite sex, let alone spending a long time alone with someone, Ludvik was the only one for her.

“Is something troubling you?”

“Troubling? No, nothing like that.”

Ludvik looked at Bigrin with his usual smile.

But it didn’t seem quite right.

When it comes to Ludvik, his refreshing and cheerful smile that made even onlookers feel refreshed was truly his strong point, but even now, wasn’t there some shadow in his smile?

So, when he says nothing’s wrong, it’s hard to believe.

It was a night with a bright full moon.

Although the village looked desolate and there was no sign of life anywhere, even such a village standing proudly under the moonlight had its own charm.

Moreover, with a man and woman walking side by side through it, it couldn’t be more perfect.

With even Bigrin falling silent, the surroundings were filled only with the sound of their footsteps.

Walking along the path that could hardly be called a trail, formed naturally by people frequently passing through, the two were silent.

“Hero, you once said.”

It was Bigrin who couldn’t bear the silence.

Not even fully aware of what she was saying, Bigrin opened her mouth.

“Yes?”

Ludvik adjusted his grip on the light spear he was holding instead of a lamp as he responded.

A voice that sounded somewhat deflated, lacking energy.

“That you and I, that is—the Saint, should be the closest people.”

“Yes, I did say that.”

With a final crunching sound, Bigrin stopped.

This caused Ludvik to stop as well.

“Then, tell me too. What is it that’s troubling you so much now, shouldn’t I know as well?”

Ludvik quietly looked at Bigrin.

Bigrin stood still, facing Ludvik.

A chilly wind blew.

A rather cold wind came, ruffling Bigrin’s veil as it passed.

“…Your veil is disheveled.”

Ludvik stepped closer and fixed Bigrin’s veil.

The veil that had been covering her view crookedly was properly adjusted by Ludvik’s hand, and only then did she see Ludvik looking down at her quietly.

“Saint.”

“Yes, Hero.”

“Actually, I’m a coward.”

“…Pardon?”

Bigrin’s eyes widened at Ludvik’s words as he straightened up.

Until now, when fighting the demon in Capatia—no, even before that.

From the time he faced the demon in Evian until now, Ludvik had always thrown caution to the wind and fought at the forefront.

For such a person to now call himself a coward, it was something Bigrin couldn’t quite understand.

“Literally, I’m very scared. But, even if I’m scared, it doesn’t mean my physical strength is weak.”

Ludvik grinned at Bigrin, whose eyes were wide like a startled rabbit.

It might sound somewhat contradictory to say he’s scared but strong, but it’s not entirely implausible.

“Because I’m scared, I didn’t like getting hurt, and I disliked dying even more. So, that’s why. I hide my fear in frivolous words and reckless actions. If I give the impression of being a womanizer, adding the weakness of being a coward doesn’t matter much. After all, for someone frivolous, reckless, and loose-tongued, being a coward isn’t out of character. It was actually easier for me to act that way.”

“I-I see.”

“But, even a coward like me could suppress my fear and act wildly because the Saint behind me provided such strong support. And because such a Saint was with me, I didn’t really need to put on that act anymore. But in the end, that’s not who I am, is it? It’s the Hero Ludvik receiving the Saint’s help, but the human Ludvik remains unchanged.”

Ludvik’s face was dark as he said this.

Although he had said nothing was wrong, once he started speaking, it seemed there was quite a lot pent up inside him.

However—

For Bigrin, these words didn’t really resonate.

She too was acutely aware of her own inadequacies, and had been soaked in endless self-loathing as she watched others bravely confront the undead.

How could she, who had been like that, say anything to Ludvik, who was speaking as if making a confession of faith, saying it was all thanks to her?

“Shall we keep walking? I’m worried that my words might be causing you to miss traces, though.”

“You don’t need to worry about that. I couldn’t miss demonic energy even if I wanted to.”

As the Saint bearing this heavy responsibility, she never misses demonic energy.

Even if she were in a deep sleep, she would undoubtedly wake up if demonic energy was felt nearby.

“Is that so? Well, anyway. That’s how it was. But, a few days ago when we faced that tidal wave of undead… I realized even more.”

“Realized what?”

“That the human Ludvik is nothing, and only the Hero Ludvik is somewhat useful, but even so, I’m still far from where I need to be.”

Ludvik looked around, twirling his light spear.

Each time the spear rotated, a holy light flickered in the surroundings.

The trees and bushes only cast long shadows in that light, with no movement at all.

“What do you mean by saying you’re still far from where you need to be? If anything, I think I’m the one who’s still lacking…”

“What kind of joke is that?”

Ludvik let out a small laugh.

“You are truly amazing, Saint. You supported me without any lack, and showed a dignity truly befitting the name of Saint, literally.”

The smile gradually fades from Ludvik’s face.

In its place settles an indescribable darkness.

“I merely ran wild borrowing your power, Saint. I am still far from sufficient, and I, who should be knocking down all the demon bastards, am just a novice, a mere gold-rank adventurer who can do nothing without you, Saint. That’s what I mean when I say I haven’t escaped from that yet. That I’m only useful when I have the gold-rank adventurer and the title of Hero attached to me.”

Bigrin’s lips moved several times, but in the end, she couldn’t speak.

As someone who wasn’t a warrior, and with such limited experience standing on life-threatening battlefields, she didn’t know what to say.

She wasn’t sure if this was a situation that needed comforting, but she also wasn’t sure if she should just keep her mouth shut like this.

Meanwhile, Ludvik continued speaking.

“A gold-rank adventurer, and essentially a coward. I haven’t been able to break free from these two things. Even when I thought I had become stronger, in reality, it was because you were there, Saint, not because I had become stronger on my own. After realizing that, I feel like I’m still incredibly far from where I need to be. Yes, that’s what was troubling me.”

Ah, I feel better now— Bigrin continued to ponder what she should say to Ludvik, who was saying this.

She knows that becoming a gold-rank adventurer is not an easy feat.

Given that Yona had only reached bronze rank after so much struggle, there’s no way gold rank and bronze rank could be comparable, despite there not being much age difference.

Bigrin kept thinking and thinking about what she should say to this man of such an incredibly high rank who was saying he was still far from where he needed to be.

And at the end of all that pondering, one hypothesis.

What would Yona have said?

Yona, who had the talent for gathering people wherever she went, what would she have said?

Maybe she would have said something like this.

Bigrin took a small breath.

“T-together.”

“Pardon?”

Ludvik, who had been looking around, turned back to Bigrin.

Ludvik silently waited for her, whose lips were moving as if trying to say something.

“Let’s, let’s grow stronger together. I’ll also… ask the Celestial God if there’s a mantra for curing cowardice…”

“A mantra for curing cowardice?”

Ludvik, who looked like he was about to burst into laughter, didn’t laugh.

Bigrin’s face was bright red, and it was clear that those words were spoken with all the courage she could muster.

“I really hope there is one, that.”

Her appearance, red to the tips of her ears, was quite adorable.

More than enough to make Ludvik break into a refreshing smile.