“Cion, wait! It’s too dangerous on your own!”
I spurred on my horse at full speed, but even then, we were already in the mountains by the time I’d managed to catch up to Cion.
We’d only brought a bare minimum of supplies with us when we’d headed out this morning. The sun had already set, and the moon was obscured by clouds; visibility out here was better than in the forest, but it still wasn’t good.
“Let’s go back and regroup with the others! We can work something out all together!”
“Like he said, it’ll be too late by then.” Cion put out her torch and took stock of her equipment, not turning to look at me. “It’s fine. They won’t be able to spot me while it’s this dark out. I’ll just wipe them all out and come right back. So could you go back to the boss and look after the injured guys, Alicia? I’ll be back by morning.”
“Don’t you think something’s wrong here?! That archbishop was obviously—”
“He was obviously provoking me. And looking at you like...!” She trailed off in an angry hiss.
“Cion...”
She’d seemed unusually upset; was that what she’d been stuck on?
“Listen, Cion... ‘Bride’ is really just an honorary title I can wave around. It isn’t especially out of the ordinary for people to treat me like that—or rather, it’s thanks to you that I’ve got as much free rein as I do now.”
“Then—! Then I’m never, ever letting you go back to those bastards!”
She really does care a lot about me, huh?
One part of me quietly took that in from the sidelines, while another part wondered why I meant so much to her to begin with.
“Please, calm down,” I said. “I’m grateful you’re concerned for me, but it’s not as though a single false move from you will put me in danger. Just think about it rationally. This is way too reckless. You’d basically be going out there to die.”
The archbishop had riled her up, and now she was in too much of a rush. I took her hand to try and calm her, gently pulling her closer to me.
“I don’t want you to carry everything on your shoulders. If we’re going, then let’s go together. I’d like to bring the boss and the other mercenaries with us too, if we can. But if you insist, then—”
“No. I’m going alone.”
“Why—”
I made it that far before I felt Cion’s gaze on me, colder than I’d ever seen it.
“Because you’ll get in my way, Alicia.”
I started to understand. It wasn’t because I’d been putting on a front around her, and it wasn’t that she didn’t want me seeing whatever tricks she had in her back pocket. No, it must have been...
“I killed the Demon Lord without anyone spotting me,” she said slowly. “I assassinated him. That’s what I do. That’s why I could kill him.”
For the first time, she admitted the truth about her victory.
“That’s the kind of skill I’ve got. So...if you’re around, you’ll just make things harder for me.”
Looking at her face, I could tell that she hadn’t wanted to say that out loud. I could see how important I was to her. I could see that if we could’ve tackled this together, then she would’ve wanted me by her side. But in this situation, I wasn’t going to be any help to Cion. If anything, I’d be a hindrance.
“I’m sorry, Alicia. I know I’m being selfish.”
She gently lifted her hand to stroke my cheek. Her eyes were usually hidden beneath her hood and her bangs, but right now, they were staring straight into mine.
“I just don’t want to lose anyone else.”
Time and time again, she’d lost people she cared about right before her eyes. She’d had that terror carved into her heart. During General Heavenfang’s attack, she’d fought alongside her master, Veiss, and she’d ended up being the reason he’d left himself open. And just recently in the Holy City—according to the story we’d given her—she’d gotten controlled by our enemy, albeit temporarily, and she’d attacked me and the saint. Cion hadn’t done anything wrong. She’d fought with everything she had back in Clastreach, and her getting brainwashed hadn’t been her fault at all. But telling her the truth wouldn’t be any comfort to her.
Veiss had vanished from Cion’s side, and Cion had sliced through me with her own hands. Those were the facts.
“I know I’m being unreasonable,” she said. “If you’re mad at me, I can’t blame you. But just this once, can you leave stuff to me? If the Gods say I can do it, then I probably can. And after I fought alongside everyone else again, I finally figured it out.”
Every single one of us will only hold her back.
“Cion...” I could hear the part she hadn’t put into words, loud and clear—that was how close I’d gotten to this girl, I realized belatedly. And at the same time, she’d gotten way too attached to me. “I definitely can’t let you go alone.”
“Alicia...”
“You get it, don’t you? You told me how mad Veiss got at you back when you killed the Demon Lord. I know how incredible your stealth abilities are, but it’s still too risky.”
Cion’s skill might have been perfectly suited for assassinations, but there was no guarantee it’d always save her. Even just recently in the Holy City, I’d gotten past her defenses twice myself. When she’d been hiding out keeping watch by the saint’s room, my demonification had let me see through her stealth. And when we’d fought while she was being controlled, I’d been able to punch her right in the face. In the past, her master’s love had given her “divine protection” that had guarded her from sneak attacks; even when she’d lost the initiative, she’d been able to slip out of her opponent’s awareness and get away. She’d made it this far thanks to that, but that protection was gone now.
“I know you’re scared of losing me, but I’m just as scared of losing you. You know how awful it feels to just sit and wait, don’t you?”
The night I’d first met Cion, Veiss had gone off alone to attack a warwolf encampment, and she’d dashed out after him. I hadn’t thought much of it at the time, but after coming back from a day of hunting demons, going right back out that same night to fight more definitely wasn’t normal. She hadn’t been after the bounty money—she’d just been worried about her master.
“I’m going with you, Cion.” I gripped her wrist tightly and stared back at her, firming my resolve. “I’m the bride of the Hero now, and I’m not leaving you alone.”
I wasn’t saying anything wrong. I’d been sent out by the Church to get this girl under my thumb; to that end, I was working on getting close to her and manipulating her. I certainly wasn’t going against the will of the Gods, and there were no grounds for anyone to find fault with my actions.
“Please, don’t try to carry it all on your own.”
The gentle smile I gave her was genuine and heartfelt—I could say that for certain. I wouldn’t let Cion go alone. I wouldn’t let the demons do as they pleased either. Even if things were hard for her on her own, the two of us together ought to be able to work it out.
But for some reason, there was a pain deep in my chest that just wouldn’t go away.
“I understand that I’ll be a hindrance to you, but—”
“Alicia!”
“Aah?!”
Cion suddenly wrapped her arms around me, and I let out an involuntary yelp—it really was completely unintentional.
“Ci...on...?”
She held me tight. Her hair tickled my cheek.
“Wh... What’s the matter...?”
My mind was having trouble keeping up. My ears were filled with the pounding of my heart as it beat out a fast rhythm. I wasn’t all that flustered by her hugging me, but I never would’ve expected her to do something this bold, and even if she’d been overcome by emotion, grabbing onto me like this was—
“Alicia, I... I was so happy...” Her voice was trembling as she whispered in my ear. “It made me happy seeing another girl like me, struggling with everything she had. Lots of stuff just feels hopeless, but seeing another girl fighting against this messed-up world made me want to fight harder too. I felt like I needed to keep going—like if I’m the Hero, then you’re the kind of person I need to protect...”
Her arms gripped me even tighter.
“Cion...?”
I tried to peel her off of me, but she wouldn’t let me go. She was squeezing me so tight I was starting to have trouble breathing.
“I’ll protect you. No matter what. I’ll never let anyone take you away.”
“C-Cion... It...”
It hurts, just a little.
I put a hand on her shoulder, as though I were chiding a boisterous younger sister. That was when it happened.
“So, I’m sorry.”
“Huh...?”
I felt Cion’s breath on my neck, and then a spreading heat.
A bite. Someone bit me...? Cion?!
“Ngh... Ah... Aaah?!” My thoughts couldn’t catch up to the pain, to the sensation. “Sh— Cio—!”
I tried desperately to struggle, but my fingers weren’t moving properly.
My blood... My mana... She’s sucking them out???