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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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Inside the darkened meeting room, it was hard to breathe because Elsie was hugging me tightly from behind. But I had to explain to Elsie why I had to hide my identity from her.
“Acting as ‘Seo Yoo-rang’ was too restrictive. So I needed another identity.”
‘Allen Blake’ was a high-ranking hero who had defeated three demon lords. Elsie would know that too. The appearance of a new high-ranking hero was a big event.
“So, can you understand? Elsie.”
“I suspected that much from the beginning. But that’s not what I’m asking, is it?”
Her embrace tightened. My ribs were starting to feel the strain. Was she threatening to kill me?
“If it’s not that, then what…”
“Don’t you remember what I just asked? Then I’ll ask again. Why did you have to deceive me too?”
“Well, I’m sorry, but I wanted my disguised identity to be perfect… Kuh-ugh!”
Now I was certain. This was a death threat. If I dared to spout any more nonsense, she would kill me.
“Elsie? What’s the problem…”
“Yuseora. You showed her your swordsmanship. Why was it okay for her, but not for me?”
Elsie seemed to have figured out the relationship between Yuseora and me to some extent. Considering that she had been following me around recently, it was only natural.
She probably hadn’t witnessed us becoming comrades, but she could have deduced it just by listening to our conversation.
“I had no choice. It was the only way to save Yuseora.”
Then, Elsie’s grip loosened a little. I could finally breathe more easily.
“That’s a very you excuse. Since I’ve also received your help, I’ll forgive you for that much.”
“Then if that’s the case…”
“But I can’t help but be pissed.”
Suddenly, my body was lifted. It felt as light as if I had used the Power of Wind. Come to think of it, throwing a grown man wasn’t a problem for the current Elsie. It was a problem for me, though.
“Wai…”
Before I could even finish, I was thrown backwards. At this rate, I would land headfirst. Desperate to live, I frantically activated the Power of Wind. Wind swirled around my body, and I adjusted my position in mid-air as much as possible.
And…
I managed to land relatively safely. I looked up, and Elsie was glaring at me as if she wanted to kill me.
‘Should I have rolled a few times on purpose?’
That regret came belatedly, but it was too late. Fortunately, Elsie seemed to have resigned herself to my appearance and sighed, shaking her head.
“That ability is really a cure-all. Are you some kind of wind god?”
It was that person’s power. But it wasn’t the right atmosphere to admit it.
“Um, Elsie? I’m sorry.”
“You apologize quickly.”
“Even if I didn’t say it out loud, I’ve always felt sorry towards you.”
Especially when I shot her in the head with an arrow in the last mock battle. I had been meaning to apologize for that someday.
“But are you planning to end it with just an apology?”
Of course not. Somehow, I was already kneeling in front of Elsie, but that wasn’t enough. I said to her,
“I’ll do anything. Just name it.”
…I regretted it the moment I said it. But I couldn’t take it back.
“Anything?”
I couldn’t help but nod. Then, Elsie finally smiled. The problem was that it was a chilling smile.
“Then, how about we drop the formalities? I didn’t know before, but after meeting you again, it seems like we’re about the same age…”
In reality, Elsie and I were only a year apart. The problem was that Elsie was severely malnourished at that time, but it seemed that Gwen had taken good care of her nutrition, as she now had a fairly well-built body.
“More than anything, it feels weird that you speak informally with Yuseora, but you’re always so formal with me.”
Yeah, that could be annoying. It was something I could fully understand. And it wasn’t something I couldn’t do.
“Alright. Let’s drop the formalities from now on.”
I imagined the worst-case scenario, being beaten to death by Elsie. Dropping formalities was something I could easily do.
“Okay, or… okay…this is awkward.”
But the person who had suggested dropping formalities was the one who felt awkward. Of course, Yuseora, who had dropped formalities right away, was the unusual one.
“Since it’s awkward, let’s keep the formal speech for now. That’s not what’s important.”
Not what’s important? I couldn’t guess what kind of wish she would make. Whatever it was, I had to say I would grant it.
“So, we’re comrades now, right?”
However… this was something I needed to think about. It depended on what she meant by comrade. I carefully asked her,
“What exactly do you mean by comrades, Elsie?”
“I’m talking about your relationship with Yuseora. Is your relationship with her not that of comrades, but lovers?”
And the comrades Elsie was talking about were what I had been worried about. I couldn’t grant this wish.
“I’m sorry, but Elsie, being comrades isn’t as simple as you think.”
It was the same worry I had when I accepted Yuseora as my first comrade. Becoming comrades meant that she would share the dangers I was shouldering.
And the danger I was carrying was not small.
“But you accepted Yuseora as a comrade. Why not me?”
“It’s the same reason I showed her my swordsmanship. I had no choice if I wanted to save her.”
She had the kind of ability that made it difficult for her to survive alone. It was an ability that someone had to take care of, and I had volunteered to be that someone.
But in Elsie’s case, it was a different story.
“But Elsie, you…”
“If becoming comrades isn’t simple, what’s the problem?”
“You don’t know how dangerous the path I have to take is.”
In a way, it was all because of me, ‘Allen Blake.’ I had killed three demon lords, and in my conversation with Libero, I had declared my next destination to be the Lodreim Kingdom.
Furthermore, with the death of the 71st Demon Lord, the demon lord’s forces were now concentrated in the Lodreim Kingdom, where the 72nd Demon Lord resided.
The Lodreim Kingdom in this turn would probably be dangerously beyond Elsie’s ability to handle.
“It’s for your sake, Elsie. I don’t want to drag you into that danger.”
Originally, I had planned to spread rumors that Allen Blake was elsewhere and resolve everything in the Lodreim Kingdom as Seo Yoo-rang. But now that things had come to this, that was impossible.
The only option left was to persuade Elsie.
“I’m not strong enough to be responsible for your life in that danger. So…”
But Elsie wasn’t easily persuaded.
“Don’t give me that. I’m not who I was two years ago. I don’t need your protection anymore.”
Of course, I had no intention of backing down either. I declared,
“No, you’re still weak.”
Even if Elsie’s talent stat was high compared to her relatively low initial stats, even if she had learned the Reedval family swordsmanship, which even Libero had highly praised, from Gwen… compared to the danger lurking in the Lodreim Kingdom, she was still weak.
But Elsie didn’t care about my assertion.
“Why are you so sure?”
She drew her sword from her inventory. It was Breeze Bringer, the holy relic Gwen had given her. She wasn’t about to attack right away, but the atmosphere was quite tense.
“If you don’t prove it to me directly, I won’t accept it.”
It seemed there was no other way. Elsie didn’t seem to have any intention of backing down. Then, as she said, I had no choice but to show her directly.
“Then this place isn’t suitable…”
If I caused a commotion here, there might be witnesses. Facilities could be damaged too. But there was a place I had used before for this kind of thing.
“Let’s go to the Trial. We can fight freely there.”
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The school at night, after sunset.
For some reason, it felt like déjà vu. Although everything was the opposite of last time. First, unlike last time, now we weren’t on our way back from a bet, but on our way to make one. And the one who had initiated the bet wasn’t me, but the other party.
But the biggest difference was…
‘This time, the opponent was Elsie.’
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