CH 102.1

His body felt jaded.

No doubt, the after effects of using [Abloom] had sapped his stats by a staunch 10%.

So, in addition, witnessing the scene unfolding in front of him made his head hurt.

“Eri, make some distance.”

Eri hastily backpedaled away from Shedia. After caressing her neck to check for lacerations, she immediately shouted at Shedia.

“What did you think you were doing!”

“…”

Shedia silently stared at Eri.

Black, unfeeling eyes.

Eri trembled, her body startled. A chilling rush that evaded her spine, making her fingers tingle.

‘This isn’t good.’

It wasn’t. They were going to be teammates. A relationship that started poorly only seemed to be getting worse later on.

He was in the right to squish any antagonism this instant.

“Shedia. Apologize to Eri.”

“…I told you earlier. She tried to threaten Noonas first. Her wand sparkled. I know how spell casters act. It would have been too late if I’d kept mum until what generally happens after the glow.”

“So what was your go-to decision to salvage the situation? Putting a dagger on your teammates’ neck?”

“…”

Shedia bit her lips tightly with an expression of uncertainty. She stayed that way and just when she opened her mouth to retort, her head drooped to the floor as she sighed.

“Sorry. I won’t do that next time.”

“Look at that. You know you have that in you.”

He stalked down the stairs and approached Shedia. Smiling, he reached out to stroke her hair. The black-haired she-wolf pursed her lips and pulled her head back, avoiding his hand.

Stifling the subdued sigh lingering in his throat, he decided better.

Halting, he lowered his hand and turned his gaze to Eri.

“I know the experience must be harrowing, but could you please forgive her for me? She didn’t even know what she was doing.”

Eri put on a puzzled expression.

“Is that something you just do without knowing? Do you think that makes sense?”

“I would have told you at a more appropriate timing, but then again, here we are. Shedia… she grew up in a special environment. She seems to have taken your actions as a measure of serious threat.”

“A threat?! I don’t think…”

“The jewel on your wand shone, yeah? Isn’t that what occurs when the chant ends?”

“That, that’s true… b, but I really didn’t mean to attack…!”

“Even though your intentions weren’t such, you drew your weapon, didn’t you? She, and many others, classify that as a threat.”

“That, that’s…”

“Can you forgive her, please ?”

Eri licked her dry lips, looking resigned as she nodded her head.

“Yesh. I will. Only because…”

“Thank you, Eri. Sure enough, you have a big heart.”

“Ah! I, It’s not a b-big deal! I, It happens!”

Eri fumbled aloud before running up the stairs. At first glance, her ears were slightly red. As he tilted his head, Neria asked him in a trembling voice.

“Hey, Cloud. I heard something strange earlier…”

“Something strange? About what?”

“That you have a lover…”

“You mean Katarina? That’s right, she is my lover.”

Neria’s face blanched.

“Why… why, all of a sudden…”

“Cloud! What the hell are you doing down here?!”

Neria’s voice was drowned out by Katarina’s vexed and annoyed intonation. She walked up to him and slapped him on the arm.

“If you woke up, you should have laid back down and rested, why did you come down!”

“Why? What’s sooo horrific about me leaving the bed?”

He rather shouldn’t have said that. Katarina’s eyelids twitched in anger.

“Why? ‘Why’ is what you ask? Do you know what condition you were in?!”

“I was?”

“Yes! Not only me, but Leslie too, she was in a state of fright as well!”

Turning his gaze to Leslie, he found her nodding supporting Katarina’s claim.

“I was nervous. Seeing as how you were bleeding to death.”

“Oh, was I?”

“Yes! Do you know through what we had to go through to save you? To s, save you, we…”

“What did you do to keep me alive?”

“Yes?”

“Listening to your experiences, the ordeal seems more than what I had assumed, so satisfy my intrigue — if you will — what you two did specifically.”

“Yes..?”

Katarina’s eyes widened greatly.

Hmm. He wondered why.

Was she hiding something?

He tried to pry one more, before she yelled, slapping him on the forearm again.

“Ah, whatever! You are sick, so go in and get some rest!”

Katarina’s face adopted a vexed expression .

Leaning in, he kissed her lips briefly.

She stared back, perplexed.

“What, why?”

“You looked too cute.”

He took a step back, grabbed her cheek, and kissed her again. Unlike before, their tongues were laced thick. He spoke again, parting their lips.

“This is a thank you for treating me.”

-Krunch!

The sound of something being crushed between fingers.

It was Neria.

The muscles of her face quivered.

“Ugh, ugh!”

She wobbled a step back before taking off in a sprint.

Katarina narrowed her eyes as looked at the place Neria had left empty.

“There are oh-so-many thieving cats.”

* * *

Dealing with the small commotion at the inn, I ambled outside. Katarina and Leslie tried to stop me, instructing me to rest, but I came out nonetheless.

To be honest, I just wanted to fall down on bed in the inn and go to sleep.

The recoil from using my friend’s skills with this body was quite severe.

However, I couldn’t just rest in peace.

The situation here was different from the Behemoth’s. At that time, there was a leadership at the top to take care of these obligations, but that was not the case now.

The royal palace, the mainstay of the monarchy — the royal family and its leading vassals — had been compromised and now lay in shambles.

If they had all died, it would be natural for Lupus, the capital of the kingdom, to become paralyzed, and in severe cases, the Kingdom of Prona itself could collapse.

The cause being the civil war of the lords.

‘I hope it doesn’t happen.’

I hoped that most of the blue bloods, or at least the king, was unharmed.

While I was walking towards the palace with such hopeful thoughts in mind, I felt that the atmosphere on the streets was a bit strange.

Compared to the city being destroyed, the atmosphere of the citizens was not that bad.

Usually, with everything destroyed, soggy emotions such as despair and anger should rule the streets, but I couldn’t find them.

There was sadness, but they hadn’t broken down.

And even a small kindling of hope remained.

‘More reason for me to not let the bed be my obstacle. But…’

Why was everyone stepping aside, giving me a wide berth?

Why were they quietening down in front of me, and were they stopping to pray?

‘Did they recognize that I am a Hero?’

It seemed highly likely.

I increased my pace quickly. I couldn’t afford to be surrounded by citizens like during the Behemoth subjugation. Time was running out for that.

Fortunately, no citizen came up to me, and thanks to that, I arrived at the palace faster than I had imagined.

No — not the palace — but the majestic edifice’s ruins.