Chapter 46

* * *

“Iren of Amire… as you said… Iren of Amire…”

“Swoen!!!”

No matter how many times Iren called out Swoen’s name…

He remained unconscious, not giving any response.

“No… this can’t be happening, Swoen!! Answer me! Wake up!”

I shook him again and again but there was no answer.

Iren couldn’t comprehend what was happening at all.

I built the altar for him when he asked, made the drum when he requested it…

And even when Swoen did something strange, I trusted him.

But… could the result really be-

A burning rock falling from the sky? It was something I never imagined.

‘What exactly did you do?’

Swoen had said, “We need to communicate with the heavens.”

Something about three stars disappearing… though I didn’t understand it at first, the Swoen I knew always had mysterious insights.

So naturally, everything he did must have meaning.

Could the result be…

That he did something to make a rock fall from the sky?

Then why…

Why did Swoen lose consciousness immediately after?

It wasn’t hard to deduce.

Even if Iren lacked knowledge of such mystical powers, she understood that making a rock of that size fall from the sky would require tremendous effort.

No…

On this scale, it wouldn’t just be ‘effort.’

Surely…

“Did you… stake your life… to do this?”

Thinking about it now, it made sense.

To perform such an impossible miracle, staking one’s life wouldn’t be surprising.

Why?

The question of ‘why’ brought back memories of everything Swoen had said to her until now.

“I am Swoen. Starting today, I will serve Lady Lin Brance. Our lord has ordered me to reside here as your roommate.”

That’s right. That’s how we met.

Though our meeting wasn’t pleasant, he had always supported me.

“I want to continue living with Lady Iren forever if she allows it.”

Even getting involved in my affairs with Lord Brance, he never got angry but consoled me instead.

“It’s a splendid thing for me to get to know Lady Iren better.”

He was truly kind, listening to all my heavy-hearted stories without showing it.

“Lady Iren… I’m glad you’re safe.”

He was the only person in this country who genuinely worried about me when no one else did.

“The person I want to protect in this country is Lady Iren.”

He was someone who wanted to protect me, someone who had been born to protect but had that protection taken away.

His kindness was almost too sweet for her.

“Lady Iren… As you said… Lady Iren…”

And now, at this moment…

For me, he defied orders and risked his life to create a miracle.

To prove that I was right, to prove that my words were true.

“…Swoen.”

Tears began streaming down Iren’s face.

She soon buried her face in Swoen’s and started sobbing uncontrollably.

“Don’t die, Swoen… don’t die…”

Her heart ached.

This person who believed in her, told her she was right, worried about her, and wanted to protect her…

Someone who had spent her whole life protecting others couldn’t protect the one who had said those things to her.

If…

If this man were to die, what would become of me?

Just as I was starting to move forward after breaking free from the Brance Clan’s restraints…

Would losing the person who helped me break free mean?

“…No…!”

I absolutely cannot lose him.

I won’t let you die.

Iren shouted towards the nearest soldier.

“Bring a doctor here immediately!”

There should be a doctor nearby in the fortress who treated wounded soldiers with her.

“A doctor… my lady?”

“Hurry!”

In response to Iren’s urgent cry, the soldier loudly acknowledged and quickly ran off.

The soldier must have been shocked.

To see Iren, who was always thought to command everyone with dignity, crying like a child…

But now was not the time for Iren to care about appearances.

She quickly checked Swoen’s condition.

Though unconscious, he was still breathing faintly.

Not knowing exactly how much strain communicating with the heavens had put on his body, she had to act fast.

‘I will not let you die…!’

At this moment.

Accepting being abandoned by the person she wanted to protect forever was fine.

Because now…

She wanted to protect someone else.

‘I will definitely protect you…!’

The target protected by Iren Julieat’s sword had changed.

A miracle that had never occurred in any timeline was happening right now.

* * *

When I came to, I found myself wandering yet again through familiar alleys.

Blue roofs and white walls of various buildings lined the narrow paths.

But strangely, I didn’t mind this aimless wandering.

The breeze felt refreshing, the sky was clear and gentle, and most importantly, she was by my side.

I knew who she was while simultaneously not knowing her identity.

Though it seemed contradictory, I accepted it as naturally as objects falling downward or night following sunset.

Holding hands, we wandered through the alleys.

Despite not encountering a single person, I felt comfortable rather than uneasy.

After all, how long had it been since I’d walked alone with her like this?

Turning my head, I saw her looking at me and smiling.

Her dazzling blonde hair, and eyes that shone brighter than the golden strands, sparkling like stars scooped from the night sky…

Ah, this time.

This time spent with her…

Suddenly, the ground beneath me collapsed.

I lost her hand and began falling endlessly.

My consciousness faded.

*

“…Ah.”

Awareness returned.

About thirty seconds passed, my heartbeat became noticeable, and the smell of furniture in the air tickled my nose before I realized it.

Ah, it was a dream.

That dream. The very same one I had the first night I slept at Iren’s place.

“…”

Slowly raising my hand, I touched the corner of my eye.

Tears.

I don’t know why they came, but… was I crying?

No.

The contents of the dream were still vivid upon waking.

It wasn’t a sad dream.

It was more like walking around an unfamiliar neighborhood with an unfamiliar woman…

I remember the blonde hair… but everything else has already faded from memory.

Do dreams really vanish this quickly?

Instead of the fading dream, reality filled my mind.

I was lying on an old bed.

This ceiling… I recognize it. It’s probably the ceiling of the fortress commander who guards the fortress.

Connected directly to the meeting room, it was used by Kalintz when he was around, Miguel when he wasn’t, and sometimes Iren.

Only then did the memories before I lost consciousness return.

Seeing the meteor strike the Serpina Army, then blacking out.

A meteor…

Who would have thought a meteor would fall?

Actually, there was a flaw in my plan to make it seem like I summoned a natural disaster.

If someone can summon lightning through sorcery, doesn’t that make them a mage?

I went through the trouble of building an altar and beating drums to avoid looking like a typical mage, but summoning lightning to strike the earth is practically textbook mage behavior.

Getting mistaken for a mage might cause some inconvenience, but I had to drive the enemy away and follow the order to hold our position openly.

However…

A meteor is different.

There are no mages in this world who use such spells.

In the later stages of the game, when mages with mana-sensing abilities emerge across the continent, they typically use fire magic, lightning magic, and earth-shattering magic – standard but predictable spells.

None of them used anything resembling a meteor spell.

Maybe performing such absurd magic was less troublesome than being mistaken for a mage.

Just as I was pondering this, I noticed something pressing against my knee.

“…Hmm.”

Using my core strength, I sat up on the bed.

Only then did I realize what was pressing against my knee.

“…”

Lady Iren, seated on a chair, had fallen asleep resting on my knee.

The sunlight shining on her side profile created a very peaceful atmosphere.

On the small table next to her were empty dishes from her meal and various herbs used in this world’s medicine.

Had she been nursing me all this time?

“Lady Iren.”

“…”

“Lady Iren.”

Calling her name a few more times, she stirred slightly on my knee before slowly lifting her head.

“…Umm…?”

“Lady Iren. Have you awakened?”

She looked at me with a somewhat dazed expression. Her pupils dilated slightly.

“…Swoen?”

“Yes.”

She stared at me silently for a while before…

A tear streamed down her large violet eyes.

“Swoen… you’re awake…?”

“Yes. Somehow.”

“Swoen…!!”

Overwhelmed with emotion, she hugged me tightly.

“Swoen… thank goodness… thank goodness you’re awake, Swoen…!”

Half-sobbing, she pleaded with me.

At this point, I realized two things.

First, for some reason, I wasn’t wearing a shirt.

I could feel her tears soaking into my skin.

Second, she wasn’t wearing her armor either.

As a result, I could feel her soft body and warm temperature even more clearly.

“Is Lady Iren well? What happened to the fortress? What about the Serpina Army?”

“You saved us, Swoen. In a battle where no one thought we could win, you made it happen… pushing yourself so hard…”

“Pushing myself?”

Iren looked up at me and nodded. There was a hint of guilt in her face, as if she felt responsible for pushing me too far.

“For me… to prove I was right, you pushed yourself… and did this, right? That’s why… you passed out. You risked your life…”

“…Huh?”

“To do something like this… unless you risked your life…”

???

She seems to have some misunderstanding.

When trying to understand someone else’s actions, it’s best to put oneself in their shoes.

I quickly tried to see things from Iren’s perspective.

What must she have seen?

First, I started spouting nonsense about “communicating with the heavens” and “three stars falling,” then suddenly started building an altar and muttering strange incantations.

Then I had soldiers beat a drum I had made, and on the day of battle, performed some bizarre ritual shouting “O Heavens!” at the top of my lungs before a meteor fell from the sky.

After the meteor struck, I promptly passed out.

‘…Ah.’

Now I understand why Iren thought I risked my life.

It must have looked like I drained myself after summoning the meteor.

In my opinion, it was probably just my low base stats – physical endurance – causing me to faint from tension release.

Without prior knowledge, anyone witnessing that would assume I staked my life.

Especially since a meteor fell instead of lightning. That’s enough to make anyone think “This must have required risking one’s life.”

“Because of me… I’m sorry… Swoen, please… never risk your life for me again…”

Lady Iren had discarded her usual dignified tone and was clinging to me, sobbing.

Seeing this made my heart warm.

Reaching out, I gently stroked her hair and said:

“Lady Iren. I’m fine. I didn’t stake my life. It’s okay.”

“Lie… fool… stop lying, Swoen…”

“…”

I looked down at Iren, who was trembling in my arms.

Perhaps…

There’s no need to convince her right now.

Instead of saying anything more, I pulled her closer into my embrace.

The miracle I created wasn’t summoning the meteor.

It was saving Iren from Lin.

The fact that I successfully protected the person I wanted to guard in the Brance Army was far more important than anything else right now.

So, just a little longer…

Feeling her warmth isn’t so bad…

* * *

Regaining stability in the bed, an unexpected face appeared.

“Oho! Swoen! I heard you’ve regained consciousness!”

“…Eh?”

A familiar face, a familiar male voice.

A handsome man with blue hair, the fortress commander who oversaw the construction of this fortress and one of the main generals of the Brance Army.

“Kalintz sir…?”

“Ho! Yes, Swoen! I’m glad you’ve come to!”

I blinked and looked at the man.

Why is he here?