Chapter 38

Three paper cups were placed on the wide table.

“I don’t want to drink this cheap coffee.”

It seems that the lack of manpower is reflected in the coffee’s taste as well.

“Just drink it.”

“If you feed me directly.”

“Are you a baby?”

I hesitated for a moment. In front of Erica, it seemed like anything would be fine.

“I’m Orley.”

Erica sighed and turned her head. At the end of her gaze were her crimson pupils.

“I’m sorry for calling you this early.”

“You know well!”

Erica glared sharply at me. I ignored her. I’m not even part of the Association, so why should I care?

The feeling of trudging to the Association with a tired mind early in the morning was truly unpleasant.

“The gate’s progress has rapidly increased. It’s a high-rank level.”

The director motioned toward the report placed in front of him. It was the same report I received casually last time. A top-tier gate.

“I think it will open around the afternoon, but strangely the intensity has skyrocketed.”

“Has this happened before?”

The director shook his head.

He sipped his coffee. I wasn’t particularly interested. After all, Erica would take care of everything.

I thought it was cheap, but it’s surprisingly drinkable.

“Everyone is on business trips, so they can’t send reinforcements. Is that okay with you?”

“I’m fine.”

Erica placed her paper cup down.

“As long as Orley doesn’t interfere.”

“Me?”

That’s unfair.

“I have no intention of doing that.”

I faced Erica. During that fleeting silence, her pupils shimmered.

“Why would I interfere with you fighting the evil demons?”

Erica made a displeased expression.

“You should be able to handle it…”

“That aside, can you call my name just one more time?”

“Huh?”

“My name.”

Until now, my name had only come out of Erica’s mouth a few times. Only when she wanted to draw my attention during the hostage situation.

“When you keep calling me ‘you,’ it makes me happy when you finally call me by name!”

“I don’t want to.”

That’s too much.

I slumped my body, trying to convey that I was sad.

“We’ve mixed our bodies together.”

A silence fell.

“Huh?”

“Don’t you remember? Pressed closely against each other, with bite marks on my skin…”

My mouth felt blocked and for a moment I couldn’t breathe.

“Haha.”

“No! No, Director!”

Erica hurriedly shook and stammered. Her pupils were trembling severely.

“Ugh!”

I can’t breathe. I wish this would loosen up.

“It’s a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding! It wasn’t like that…!”

“Ha! There’s no need to be embarrassed. It’s a natural instinct of our species. The act of mixing bodies…”

“Stop! Stop!”

The director chuckled weakly as he brought the paper cup to his mouth.

Erica looked at him with a blank expression. Her flushed cheeks were a bonus.

It was cute. I wanted to tease her more.

“Please understand, Director. She seems to be embarrassed still. Saying it out loud.”

“It’s fine. I know everything at this age. That aside, I hope you can focus since we’re currently working.”

“I’m sorry. It’s because of Erica.”

Erica’s arm drooped. That expression looked like the world was ending.

“Ugh…! You, you really…!”

A shallow pain stung my cheek as she pinched it. I remained still until it stretched out.

“Anyway, I’m glad you two are okay. But since it’s a top-tier gate, I hope you exercise caution.”

“Yes.”

Erica answered with her head bowed deeply.

The top-tier gate was an opportunity to easily obtain pieces of Dracul’s reinforced skin. Since it was a demon at the top of the food chain, this gate hunt was a good chance.

According to the report, the estimated opening time was around noon. So, I had to kill time until then.

Lying my head on the office desk under the crushing fatigue, I saw Erica’s profile.

I just kept staring at her.

“…..”

Maybe feeling my gaze, our eyes met for a moment before she turned her head away, and suddenly I felt mischievous.

I whispered while leaning my head on the table.

“Tired Erica.”

“…..”

She closed her eyes.

“Sleeping Erica.”

“…..What are you doing right now?”

She straightened her upper body and covered her face with her hands.

“Erica, who felt too embarrassed thinking about having committed such shameless acts with Orley twice!”

“H.”

When I removed my hands, Erica was pressing her forehead with her palm.

“Are you tired?”

“…..Why so suddenly?”

I thought for a moment.

“You seem particularly tired today.”

Erica was silent. It seemed to hit a nerve.

“…..I’m fine.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

If the person involved says so, then it must be true.

“I was just wondering if the gate could evolve like that without going through necessary stages.”

Her voice was subdued. It sounded like she had unknowingly let the worry slip out.

Even if it was a different level than hers, I didn’t mind saying it.

“Because of the envoy.”

Erica silently looked at me.

I suddenly stopped thinking and blurted out words.

“Because of the Spirit World envoy.”

Connecting the Spirit World and the human world is also a crack. As Seran sent a team of three knights into the human realm, the aftermath of frequently causing the gate and source to have the same cracks was the current situation.

“It tears space every time they come.”

Erica seemed to have somewhat understood, nodding her head. She neither got angry nor sank into deeper worry.

It was beyond what a mere ranker in the Association could handle.

She seemed to not want to think any further due to the pressure of fatigue weighing down on her. So I had a desire to embrace her, as I was crumpled on the floor, paradoxically.

While being below her, it felt like.

However, it didn’t turn into the self-hatred I usually experienced. If it had, I would have already been tearing my hair out and screaming.

She might be someone who, under the guise of wanting to strengthen her, gradually claims each goal.

If there were no chains binding us between each other with the wall in between, I would have felt like I wanted to pat her head. That would be my clumsy but best action I could offer her.

But I knew Erica would hate that. It was a bit sad that it was a situation where I couldn’t do so.

I couldn’t help but smile a small smile.

Strangely, she didn’t say much.

When the time came, I followed Erica out, and the place we arrived at was unlike the usual bustling street. In the wide field with no one around, the gate was inflating in size.

“Let’s go!”

Sitting on the field, I spread my arms. I’m sure she will do well.

The demons howled and burst out. They didn’t pour out all at once like a normal gate but revealed themselves one or two at a time.

Among them were golems and beast-like monsters, but Dracul was also present.

As the magic power soared, the ground cracked from the beams emitted by Dracul. Erica quickly took her stance and leaped to stab her sword into the heart of the monster in succession.

It was clear that she had grown stronger. Perhaps due to being a swordswoman with a high regeneration stat, the accumulated magic power in her body was being accepted without rejection.

I couldn’t contain the satisfied smile that formed.

The sword strikes surged, and the monsters were torn apart. The ground was stained crimson, and the air became murky. In the rising currents, Erica scattered her magic power and easily shattered the incoming monsters.

“Well done! So cool! Erica!”

Holding my breath, as I watched Erica face the pouring Dracul, a sense of déjà vu washed over me.

There was a roughness that was different from usual. Her eyes seemed to carry a venomous edge. In an instant, her demeanor looked ruthless, causing me to involuntarily stop cheering her on.

So this is another side of her.

In a momentary series of battles, she seemed to be gradually getting tired. Well, that made sense. She was facing a top-tier gate alone.

Just as a wave of Draculs was spilling forth, it was a good opportunity.

Observing the continued exchange, I kicked off the ground and leaped. Opening my wings, I drew out my knife. The blood-red magic gathered in the blade, and as I plummeted, I swung it at the monsters.

The air ripped apart, creating a massive crack. The blade turned into the teeth of a monster, sucking in the currents as it lunged to devour the demons.

I gathered the blood that filled the space into the form of a small demon. With a sickening grin, it wielded a scythe, tearing apart the monsters as it roamed the air.

Controlling more than two beast-like builds was quite strenuous, but perhaps because of the plentiful blood I had, it seemed to be easy.

Erica, who had landed on the ground, looked at me blankly.

“So how was it? Isn’t it cool?”

I went beyond our promise not to interfere and helped her out. This deserves praise.

“Why didn’t you help me earlier?!”

Her tired eyes shot daggers at me.

For a moment, a pleasant feeling tickled my insides.

Even surrounded by the chaotic sounds of blood gushing and demons howling, her focus on me filled me with pure joy.

Like a beast that pouts and resents its owner when not given food, then wags its tail the moment meat gets into its mouth.

When I first met Erica, her attention was hard to gain, but as we shared time together, it was gradually increasing, which made me truly happy.

Could this be the progression of love?

I smirked slightly and turned my head again. The Draculs that filled the air had been completely eradicated, and pieces of skin were floating around.

Focusing on the reinforced skin, I condensed it into a small cube.

Perhaps because it was made from the monster’s skin, the cube was black.

As I reached above my head to remove the crown that was caught, the cube disintegrated into dust and seeped into the crown.

The color turned slightly redder.

After placing it back on my head, I came down as I watched the gate close.

“Good job.”

At my words, Erica, seemingly tired, closed her eyes and lay down in the field.