I felt a gaze so hot it was almost burning.

Siel had been staring at me ever since we locked eyes, and the uneasy look on her face sent a chill down my spine, filling me with a bad feeling.

‘…Calm down.’

Maybe I was just being overly sensitive. After all, what stood before me wasn’t an enemy gunning for my life but rather one of my allies.

Reuniting with a companion should be a joyful moment, not frightening. Where else could anything be so ridiculous?

Taking a deep breath, I tried to steady myself and looked at Siel.

Instead of running away like before, there had to be better options available.

I could chat casually like with Lady Rubia, have a heart-to-heart, and maybe even calm the zealots down. Wouldn’t that be the perfect ending?

I wouldn’t even have to come up with a topic. Siel was timely enough to reach out and speak first.

“You know, now that you’re gone, I thought I should carry on your dreams.”

What a completely out-of-the-blue topic!

What in the world is my dream that I don’t even know about? Why is she suddenly talking about this? I had a million questions racing through my mind.

“It’s the only way I could atone for preventing your death.”

She spoke so seriously.

It felt off to interrupt her mood with a quip.

After all, she initiated the conversation, and it just wouldn’t be right to nitpick now.

“I did whatever was needed to make your vision of equality a reality.”

So, instead of countering with, ‘When did I draw a communist utopia?’, I just nodded.

“Ah, I see. Thanks for cheering me on.”

Gratitude and praise were all I could muster.

In this world, no one hates compliments or expressions of thanks.

So, surely she was a bit cheered up. I held onto that hopeful thought while observing Siel’s condition. But then…

“…I don’t deserve to hear that from you.”

Siel’s demeanor felt strange.

I had just given a simple thank-you, but here she was, wallowing in self-blame and guilt.

“I’ve realized something over the past three years. I’m terribly selfish.”

She walked slowly towards me. Although she was clearly smaller than me, I felt a primal fear radiating from her presence.

The kind of fear a prey feels from its predator.

“If I truly cared about you, I should have prioritized your dreams. But I couldn’t do that.”

The scent of blood brushed my nostrils.

I could see the corpses of imperial soldiers hanging behind her. The grotesque usage of alchemy, a fusion of body manipulation and more sinister forms of magic, was evident.

Each sight was more horrifying than the last. Thank the heavens I hadn’t ended up like that—if those dark arts had truly been completed, I can’t imagine how messy things would be now.

“What mattered more to me was my own feelings.”

Her face drew even closer.

Her eyes, seen up close now, were filled with a deep-seated madness and obsession.

“I… love you. Enough to feel like I can’t live without you. If you were with me, I’d do anything. So…”

I could feel her breath on my face, her lips almost touching my ear.

“I can’t lose you, not again.”

Such a heart-wrenching declaration. But even in this situation, I wasn’t dense enough to feel touched by it.

I immediately took a step back. And sure enough, where I just was, a shadowy wolf materialized.

What was so funny that the wolf was chuckling like that?

Through that shadow, the visage of a confinement chamber peeked through.

Constrictive obsession? If I only read it in a novel, sure, but experiencing it firsthand? No, thank you.

In this situation, there was only one choice I could make.

I gathered my mana in my legs and sprinted across the forest.

Once again, this would end with me making a hasty retreat, just like before.

Why on earth am I running desperately not from enemies, but from my allies? It was an absurd situation, and I couldn’t help but feel a sense of reality crashing down on me.

There wasn’t exactly a better plan in sight, and both the zealots and Siel had to cool down before we could even have a decent chat.

Time would likely resolve most of our problems. For now, my top priority was buying as much time as possible.

Well, it shouldn’t be too hard.

Thanks to Lien’s rampage, hardly anyone approached this area. I could just loop around without worrying about being spotted.

With my already abnormal physical abilities bolstered, playing tag would be a piece of cake.

So there was really nothing to worry about.

But still…

“I’ve been looking for you.”

A voice echoed from ahead.

Soon, a familiar face came into view.

With her blue ponytail and armor that I had first fitted for her three years ago, it was Lucy, now standing before me.

“I’m so glad to see you alive.”

But what could be the reason? There wasn’t a hint of anything odd in Lucy’s tone, expression, or behavior—everything seemed perfectly normal.

This was the exact opposite of what Lady Rubia painted her to be!

While Siel looked quite unwell, Lucy appeared just like I remembered her from three years ago.

“I’m aware of the situation. Please don’t worry about anything, my lord.”

Her words were incredibly reassuring.

Naturally, a wave of relief washed over me as I thought, ‘Of course, it’s Lien. She must have come to save me.’

She extended her hand. I immediately reached out to grab her hand, wanting her help—but then I hesitated.

I recalled what Lady Rubia said about Lucy being in a strange state. Could it be that she was just chatting nonsense without any base?

No, that couldn’t be right.

Though she often required a lot of hands-on help in daily life, when it came to work, she was purely exemplary—perfect in every sense.

I took another look at Lucy. Her face, seemingly ordinary, bore an unmistakable glint of madness in her eyes.

“From now on, I’ll protect you, my lord. No one will lay a finger on you.”

As she said this, Lucy unsheathed her sword.

Instantly, she sliced through a leaf, turning it into hundreds of tiny pieces.

Then, she proudly boasted about taking out a magic squirrel that was trying to approach me.

Her nonsensical chatter and the slight tremors in her face proved she had been abusing a sleep-suppressing spell.

How many days has she gone without rest? I couldn’t even begin to fathom!

Given this, I knew what I had to do. I quickly prepared myself to leave again.

Just then…

“The Saint! The Saint is here!!”

Dominic bellowed with his booming voice. Upon hearing him, Siel came rushing over, followed closely by Lucy, who was also running to protect me.

With unstable individuals gathering in one spot, nothing good could possibly come of it.

Siel attempted to intervene as Lucy tried to grab hold of me, trying to subdue the fervent zealots from the Holy Church after chastising Dominic.

In short, it was a chaotic scene.

This was beyond ridiculous. I couldn’t help but worry that a genuine bloodbath might erupt.

Looking at the chaos unfold, I sighed.

‘Looks like there’s no running away from this forever.’

I couldn’t just stand by and watch; I needed to step in. It was time to finally accept my responsibilities.

Taking a deep breath, I took a step forward.

Given the situation, I worried whether anyone would even listen to me, but that worry was probably unfounded.

“Stop it.”

With just a single phrase, all eyes turned toward me.

“In the last three years, both you and I have accumulated a lot to talk about. I understand the emotions are running high since we haven’t met in a while. But I won’t allow this conflict.”

I still hadn’t quite adapted to this sort of thing, but it didn’t ultimately matter whether I had or hadn’t.

“Let’s take a rain check on the catching up part.”

Whether I wanted it or not, whether I chose it or not—

I am the leader of the Black Fangs.

“Let’s go back, to our city.”

It was up to me to lead everyone.