Chapter 27

“……”

I opened my mouth like someone who’d forgotten how to speak. Nothing came out. Then panic set in—I had to answer—so I nodded quickly instead.

It wasn’t that I was scared of Lycian or trying to avoid him…. No, well—maybe he was a little scary? Still, he protected me every single time. I should be grateful!

“I’m coming up, so don’t be startled. Or… would you rather jump?”

He spread his arms wide toward me. As if to say that if I leapt, he’d catch me without fail.

Then, in a tone brimming with absolute certainty, he declared,

“I won’t let you fall. Not ever.”

For some reason, my heart lurched at those words.

After a brief hesitation, I nodded. Lycian smiled and gave his arms a small wave. Ready.

Carefully, I let go of the tree trunk. I slid both legs down. The moment my body dropped into open air, gravity yanked me down hard.

“…!”

As the ground rushed closer, I squeezed my eyes shut. A flicker of fear shot through me—but the instant I landed in his solid, broad embrace, it melted away like snow.

Hands clasped tightly together, I slowly opened my eyes.

He was smiling at me.

Lycian pulled me snugly against him with firm strength and whispered,

“See? I didn’t miss.”

“Mm….”

His arms felt far more secure than any thick, sturdy branch. And warm. My body, chilled from the wind atop the tree, quickly thawed in his heat.

“You’re not hurt anywhere?”

I asked, a small note of worry in my voice. Lycian let out a soft laugh.

“As if.”

Sure enough, there wasn’t a single scratch on him. Not even a bruise.

The monsters hadn’t so much as brushed the hem of his clothes. The gap in strength had been utterly overwhelming.

Lately, it seemed like Lycian had dropped the whole amnesia act, so I cautiously voiced something I’d been wondering.

“I’ve been meaning to ask… you’re really good at fighting. Who taught you martial arts?”

“My teacher did. When I was very young, I was pathetically weak. Didn’t even know how to fight.”

“Everyone’s weak when they’re little….”

At that, Lycian let out a hearty laugh. His next words were light—but I could sense the tempered sharpness beneath them.

“I couldn’t afford to be weak. I had to grow strong.”

“…How old were you when you started learning?”

The more I asked, the more careful I became. Was I prying too much? But Lycian answered readily, without a hint of irritation.

“Thirteen. I was supposed to start at ten, but I hated studying, so I lazed around instead.”

“Ten’s still young. That’s understandable.”

“Ha.”

He laughed again, seemingly in a good mood, then looked at me with warm, steady eyes.

“Muriel, you know you’re especially lenient with me, right?”

“…!”

It felt like he’d struck dead center. I froze.

…It wasn’t something I’d consciously realized. Was that true? Had I been treating Lycian differently?

As my thoughts spiraled, a faint third voice drifted over from nearby.

“Um, excuse me…? There’s still a person here…?”

“……”

…I forgot. No, how could I forget? I was appalled at myself.

Embarrassed, I cleared my throat and turned toward him. The boy we’d rescued scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

“Thank you for saving me. My name’s Allen. Are you two adventurers?”

We’re farmers… would’ve been the honest answer, but I didn’t want to offer too much information to someone we’d just met.

“We’re not adventurers…. We were just passing through. What about you, Allen?”

“Ha, well… I was out conducting an investigation and ended up losing my way. Got separated from my party…. I’m more of a support role, so I’m not very good at fighting. I really thought I was done for back there—but thanks to you two, I’m alive! Truly, thank you again.”

He spoke gently and politely. Even his features were so guileless that he looked like the type who’d get scammed anywhere he went.

I had a weakness for people like that.

So I lowered my guard a little and offered,

“Would you like help finding your party? There might be more monsters around. It’s dangerous to walk alone.”

“I shouldn’t impose that much… is what I want to say, but honestly, I don’t think I can manage on my own. Could you at least accompany me out of the forest to the main road?”

“Of course. We’ve got plenty of time anyway…. That’s fine, right?”

I trailed off and glanced at Lycian. This wasn’t something I could decide alone. He was the one fighting the monsters, after all.

‘Was that too hasty?’

But contrary to my worries, Lycian smiled gently.

“Of course it’s fine. I’ll do anything you want. I’ll grant any request.”

“Th-thank you….”

It was such a reassuring answer that I felt oddly flustered.

I rubbed my cheek for no reason, trying to play it off—then a thought struck me and I hurriedly spoke up.

“The monsters’ cores! We can’t forget to harvest them!”

“Ah.”

Only then did Lycian seem to remember.

Still holding me, he stepped carefully around the monsters’ corpses and set me down on a clean patch of ground untouched by blood.

“Wait here. I’ll get them.”

“Okay.”

I nodded, thinking how his tone had grown more casual compared to before.

Personally… I liked it better this way. It felt like we’d grown a little closer.

‘…No, no! Getting closer is a problem!’

I nearly grabbed at my hair when I felt a strange look from the side. It was Allen. Watching me carefully, he asked in a tentative voice,

“Um… are you two… married? Or in a relationship?”

“……”

Whenever I’m with Lycian, people always get the wrong idea. Is it the world’s obsession with pairing up men and women—or do we really look that close?

I let out a long sigh.

“We just live together. It sort of… happened.”

“I see…. My apologies if that was an inappropriate question.”

“No, it’s fine. It’s natural to be curious.”

While Lycian extracted the cores from the monsters’ hearts, I chatted idly with Allen. There wasn’t much else to do.

“So what kind of investigation brought you all the way out here?”

“Ah, well…. Lately, the monsters have been acting strangely. It could be a sign that a dungeon is about to appear, so several adventurers’ guilds are surveying nearby regions. This forest is one of them.”

“I see….”

Come to think of it, the monsters that attacked Allen had seemed unusually ferocious. Was a dungeon really about to emerge?

‘What if one suddenly pops up right in front of my house?’

…Please let it be far away from my farm. Leave my peaceful fields alone!

“Muriel, I’ve collected all the cores. Sixteen in total.”

I was fervently praying for my farm’s safety when Lycian approached, holding a large pouch.

He opened it for me to see. I bent down to look inside. It was filled with translucent stones glowing faintly blue.

Their sizes varied—from ones as small as a child’s fist to much larger.

Since they’d been taken straight from the monsters’ hearts, black blood still clung to the cores. The pouch’s fabric was lightly stained, and Lycian’s hands were dirty as well.

I quickly snatched the pouch and pretended to stash it in my bag, adding it to my inventory instead. Allen was watching, after all.

Ignoring the system notification, I pulled out my canteen and poured water over Lycian’s hands. Then I scrubbed them clean with a fresh towel.

Lycian watched me intently as I focused on cleaning him up, a strange little smile on his lips.

“You worked hard. Let’s take Allen back now.”

“Okay. Thank you.”

I folded the towel away as I spoke, and he smiled.

Allen stood nearby, observing the exchange between us with undisguised interest.

Why are you looking at us like that…?

When I shot him a sideways glance—face blank like a Tibetan fox—Allen coughed awkwardly and quickly looked away.