The guy with the burned face had disappeared when I wasn’t looking. I’d just lost myself in the battle alongside Master. We’d sliced, killed, crushed—we’d survived.
I couldn’t move a muscle anymore. I’d pushed myself past my limits, and I was so worn out I could barely think straight. But as I stared up at Master’s unfamiliar shadow, I needed to tell him how I felt—how frustrated I’d been when I’d failed to protect him, how reckless I’d gotten when I’d wanted to protect Alicia. I needed to thank him. My tongue wasn’t working right, and my words were all jumbled up. Even I couldn’t understand what I was saying. But I just needed to tell him all of it.
“I... I was scared...”
I’d thought Master was dead, and I’d almost lost Alicia.
“I was so scared...”
I’d learned that I could only protect them by fighting. I’d found things that I needed strength to protect. But all this time, I’d still been terrified of losing them.
“What... What do I do, Master?”
I knew he wouldn’t answer. He’d never opened up to me like that. He’d always been cold and distant. When I’d told him I wanted to be his apprentice, he’d shoved me onto the boss and run off who-knows-where. He was careless, he was irresponsible... But he’d always show up to save me.
“Was it scary for you too?”
Were you afraid of losing me, just like I was afraid of losing Alicia...?
I never would’ve even thought stuff like that normally, but now the words just came flowing out. Master’s wolf face twisted into an uncomfortable scowl.
“If you’re that damn scared, then throw away that sword and go hide in a hole somewhere.”
“You’re always so mean,” I groaned with a bitter smile. “I fought really hard back there...”
Thinking back, I remembered how mad he’d been at me when I’d killed the Demon Lord. He must’ve been worried about me back then too.
But you know what, Master? I was just trying to be like you.
“It wouldn’t kill you to tell me I did a good job once in a while, would it?”
“What are you, a little kid?”
Master looked like a wolfman now, but something in his smile was still the same as ever. He vanished into the morning light. The only ones left were me and Alicia.
Alicia was still clinging onto me. From the sound of her breathing, she was probably awake. I could tell she was really mad at me, though.
“Alicia?”
I gently patted her shoulder—no reaction.
“Alicia, we should start heading back. The boss is probably worried...”
I tried to peel her away, but she wouldn’t let me. She just kept hugging me tight.
Uhhh...
“I... I was so worried about you...” Alicia’s voice came from somewhere around my shoulder. “I told you you couldn’t go alone. I told you it was dangerous. Are you an idiot? You’re lucky we made it in time...” She shuddered. “You would’ve died back there. If we hadn’t come, you would’ve been torn to shreds, Cion!”
“Yeah,” I said with a grimace. “That’s pretty scary.”
I’d known guys who’d died that way. I didn’t want to think about it much.
She gave a frustrated grunt and squeezed me even tighter.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I’m really sorry.”
“Apology not accepted.”
If I told her she was cute when she got a little childish like that, she’d probably get even more mad at me.
“I’m so sorry...”
I gently hugged Alicia back.
I knew she was hiding things from me. After all, she was a bride—she was part of the Church. Of course there’d be stuff she couldn’t tell an outsider like me. Plus, I’d just seen the way that archbishop had treated her, and how she couldn’t talk back to him at all. Her position in the Church was pretty shaky now that the cardinal with the glasses had gone missing. She’d told me the Holy Saint had taken her in, but I guess she still didn’t have as much freedom as before.
“I’m sorry. I just wanted to protect you.”
I knew I was only making excuses, but all I could do was keep apologizing. I felt a shove on my chest, and Alicia’s wide-eyed, tearstained face pulled back in front of me.
“I told you I’m not just a bride for you to protect!” Her eyes were red and puffy, she was just as beat-up as me, and she was really mad. “I’m glad you care so much about me. I appreciate it. But—that time you got controlled, I was the one who saved you!”
She hadn’t told me that before.
“Really...?”
She gave a sulky nod. I knew she was talking about the fight back in the Holy City, but I’d thought the saint must’ve used some sort of mystical power to free me.
“I’m the one who rescued you when you got seduced by an evil witch! I’m the one who shielded you from getting eaten by a big scary wolf! If I weren’t protecting you, you’d be dead! Why can’t you see that, Cion?!”
She didn’t sound like she was joking. Alicia never joked about stuff like that, and I wouldn’t have expected her to—even if she was an assassin out to kill me.
“I... I guess I’m hopeless on my own, huh?”
“You idiot...”
Alicia’s head thudded softly into my chest. I wasn’t really sure what to do—stroke her hair, or maybe give her a hug again?
“Actually... How’d you catch up to me, anyway?” I decided to ask the question that was bugging me the most. “I mean, I really did suck out almost all of your mana. Even if you just rested and recovered, I didn’t think you’d be able to move again until morning.”