Chapter 78

“Alright, let’s think.”

…….

As I stood up and looked directly at Ria while speaking, she gave me a somewhat incredulous expression, but soon corrected her posture and sat straight.

Now we were both sitting across from each other with a desk between us, and the light was still off.

Well, that didn’t really matter. After all, facing Ria wasn’t an issue.

“Ria, I’m not just some simple escort target.”

“……Really?”

“Do you know I can shoot?”

Hah.

Ria gave a scoff at my words. Hearing that, I felt equally baffled.

“What’s that, Ria? You said I’m not talentless, right?”

“You’re not talentless, but saying you can shoot doesn’t make you a proper escort either.”

Ria crossed her arms.

Alright.

But her attitude was still the same as usual. Let’s take that as a positive sign.

“While you’re busy hugging me and jumping—what’s up?”

As I spoke, Ria flinched and trembled her shoulders a bit. Her lips quivered, and her eyebrows twitched.

It looked like she was about to burst into laughter, right? If not, her expression was one of awkward embarrassment. Either way, considering the situation, there was no reason for Ria to make that face.

“Ah, it’s nothing! Just… keep talking.”

Her voice was shaking?

“What? If you have something to say, go ahead. Was it that funny when I shot my gun back then?”

“No, that’s not it.”

……Why the serious face again?

Ria usually has a pretty expressive face, but this mood shift was too sudden, as if she was acting like a moody teenage girl.

“So, you’re saying it wasn’t completely unhelpful?”

“Uh, well… there’s a bit more potential for improvement, I guess?”

Ria mumbled slightly, as if being shy about it.

“Isn’t that good enough?”

“Huh?”

“I mean, I’m not saying I’m a full-fledged power yet, but I can definitely handle a couple of weak enemies. And if they’re monsters, my Saint Power could definitely be used as a weapon.”

…….

“I’m not planning to just be a burden.”

“……I don’t think that.”

“But that’s how I feel.”

I leaned slightly forward, still holding onto the bed, looking directly at her. Ria pulled her upper body back a little, looking flustered as her eyes darted around.

“I don’t want to just be dragged around without being able to do anything while putting you in danger.”

Exactly.

Ria is my friend. Perhaps the first friend I’ve ever made since coming into this world.

She’s the only one who doesn’t run away when I say something stupid and actually argues back. She’s the only one who thinks of me as an equal, regardless of my status.

…….

And more than anything, I didn’t want Ria to die. I don’t want anyone to die because of me. I don’t want to treat death as a given or think of it as normal.

“Those who fight on the front lines tend to be like that.”

I hadn’t seen it directly. The world I came from, at least the country I lived in during my previous life, was not a place where you should risk your life recklessly like that.

……Not that there weren’t people like that. It’s not that such sacrifices aren’t noble. I couldn’t stop all of that.

I want to believe I’m not bad enough to take lightly the deaths of those who sacrifice themselves to save others in car accidents or fires.

So, I really hope there’s no one who would die because of me.

No matter how normal it seems for someone barely reaching adulthood to become a hero, to become a Hunter and fight for their life…

That shouldn’t be me. I never wanted that.

Especially if it’s my friend.

……If someone says that, especially if it’s Ria, I wouldn’t want that.

“Ria.”

As I looked straight into her eyes, I purposely added strength to my voice.

“If you’re my knight, what am I to you?”

…….

“Just a burden to protect? Or like a weapon you can use when needed?”

Ria shook her head. For the first time, she looked like she was overwhelmed by something, but I couldn’t feel happy about that.

I didn’t want to have this kind of argument.

“If neither of those fit, and the position isn’t yet stable, then I want to become your comrade. Not someone who unilaterally sacrifices their life for you, but a friend who can help each other as equals.”

…….

Ria’s eyes blinked.

“Is that kind of relationship bad for you?”

For a while, Ria stayed quiet, and then finally opened her mouth.

“……No. It’s not bad.”

I smiled lightly at Ria.

“Then it’s settled.”

Ria finally nodded.

*

Deep into the night.

Perhaps it was the exhaustion from the earlier conversation, because as soon as I lay down, Anna fell asleep just like that.

Since Anna usually collapsed right after expending her Saint Power, Chaeun thought it was impressive that she managed to hold out until now.

Listening to her steady breathing, Chaeun momentarily fell into thought.

She recalled what Anna had said.

Not just a burden, not merely a protected existence, but a comrade who relies on each other.

…….

How had Chaeun thought of Anna until now?

Even asking herself that, she couldn’t easily come up with an answer.

That feeling was one that was difficult to articulate clearly.

Friend.

That’s the right word. Ria thinks of Anna as a friend too. She values her dearly. Anna isn’t the first friend Chaeun has ever had – she had not been without friends entirely. Among them, there were even some she could consider equals.

A friend who has heroic parents. A friend who is preparing to become a Hunter at such a young age and standing out.

But among those, there hadn’t been a friend quite like Anna.

Why was that?

……Right, maybe it was because Anna was the first ‘person’ like her. Someone who wanted to save others unconditionally. Unlike those who aimed to elevate their own position, she wanted to live a normal life.

And that’s despite having all the reasons not to.

Now, she felt she understood, if just a little, why that was.

And that realization scared her.

She wanted to untangle that complex feeling. Why does Anna make her feel so strangely embarrassed? Is it truly because of a religious sentiment, or some other feeling entirely? She wanted to get to the bottom of it.

But what if. What if—if Anna ultimately accepts her fate entirely?

And if that fate leads Anna down a path of self-sacrifice?

What if Anna goes away first, before she can figure this out?

“……An equal existence, huh.”

Could it be?

Would Anna really leave her behind like that? Ascending through the light descending from the sky?

Would she really sacrifice herself for others and just go away—like how her mother used to say—

“……”

Once saved,

Ria wrapped her hands around her face.

Anna has no idea. She has no idea how Ria saved her. Only thinking that she just crushed some chocolate in her mouth.

Recalling that thought, all the other complicated memories she had just conjured up flew away.

In the end, Chaeun couldn’t fall asleep immediately and tossed around on the bed for quite a while before finally dozing off.

Anna’s uninterrupted sleep must have been the grace of the gods.

……Or maybe just good luck.

Somehow, it felt like her thoughts were shifting towards Anna, Ria reflected back on this later.