Boooooo—.

The sound of a bugle horn echoed from Nina Castle.

I wiped the blood and sweat off my face and fell into thought.

Finally, it’s over.

The long, long battle.

It has finally come to an end.

However, I knew.

The fact that the entire war wasn't over yet.

That’s why, even in this moment of victory, I couldn’t shake off the fear.

The moment the Seven Swords and the Sword Saint of the Nina family personally stepped forward.

This war would be over.

Swoosh—.

I lifted my head and gazed at the figure looking down at the Demons with an aloof expression.

Sword Saint.

He was overlooking the battlefield with seven knights by his side.

It made sense.

Why didn’t they step forward themselves?

They waged this battle to gauge our level.

And they must have realized it.

That they could completely annihilate the Bares family.

So soon, they would take to the battlefield themselves.

To see the end of the war.

To annihilate the Bares.

‘……I’ve done everything I could.’

But I didn’t have the power to stop them.

Just today, I almost died.

The Human soldier called her Shael, was it?

While facing the female knight, a sword force from the Sword Saint nearly severed my body, and I suffered internal injuries from another sword force fired by one of the Seven Swords.

So, it’s only natural to be afraid.

A total of eight people.

One person who has reached a level I haven’t even dreamed of.

And seven others who have reached a level similar to mine.

If that main character brat, the Sword Saint’s son, was here, we wouldn’t have won even the first battle.

Especially that guy, who’s all about justice, wouldn’t have forgiven the Sword Saint’s act of sacrificing his soldiers' lives to figure out our strength.

So, he would have been the first to step forward.

Based on my estimation, the protagonist’s current power is one level below Crete or the Sword Saint.

It’s a given that he’s stronger than other members of the student council, and me, of course.

It’s somewhat disheartening, but it’s the inevitable reality.

In the first place, I was the one who gave him such power, so who can I blame?

There was nothing I could do but yield.

Thump, thump—.

Thump, thump—.

As I was catching my breath amidst the corpses of countless Human and Demon soldiers.

The Human soldiers began to flee from us, and the distance between us grew considerably.

Looking at the retreating Human soldiers, Crete spoke.

“Don’t chase them. We are also returning to the camp.”

Crete suggested we retreat for now.

It was true that I had killed many Human soldiers with my performance, but the Demons had also suffered countless injuries, so it was the right choice.

More importantly,

‘Rene. Where’s Rene?’

My heart suddenly lurched, and my face turned pale.

The battle and the stench of blood had numbed my mind, making me forget about her.

No, in fact, I had fought desperately to find her.

The feelings of ‘excitement’ and ‘immersion’ that had blossomed within me at some point.

Because of those two emotions, I had lost sight of Rene.

Suddenly, an ominous thought occurred to me.

Don’t tell me.

Rene’s not dead, is she?

I’m scared.

Terrified.

Tap, tap—.

I hurriedly kicked off the ground and dashed forward.

I desperately looked around for Rene.

All I could see were wounded Demon soldiers and those returning to the encampment by the mountain.

I couldn't find Rene among them, and it terrified me.

“My Lady….”

Because I failed to protect her.

Why did I forget the most important thing?

As that ominous thought was about to pass through my mind.

Thud—.

I tripped over a corpse lying on the ground.

The slimy blood and dirt splattered on my face, and a searing pain shot through me.

My eyes, which had been using the Eyes of Arrogance for a long time, were already stinging.

Now, with the blood seeping in, the pain was excruciating.

It hurts.

It hurts like hell.

I feel like crying.

No matter how accustomed I had become to killing, I had still taken hundreds of human lives.

I had taken lives.

I, who was just a modern-day person a few years ago, couldn’t possibly have a heart of steel overnight.

My heart felt heavy.

At the same time, my shoulders felt heavy as well.

And then, someone gently lifted me up.

“... .”

Swoosh—.

The gentle touch of their hand seemed to make the pain vanish, even if it was just an illusion.

“You are… .”

Although my eyes weren't open yet, I thought I knew who it was.

It was her, the one I had been searching for so desperately on the battlefield, who was helping me up.

I managed to part my lips, which seemed reluctant to move.

“...Where have you been?”

“With Father.”

“I see….”

A chuckle escaped my lips for some reason.

Rene said she had been with Crete.

It’s true what they say about things being hidden in plain sight.

Crete hadn’t participated in the battle at all, yet his presence had been more prominent than mine.

That’s probably why I hadn’t noticed Rene, even though she was nearby.

She had been overshadowed by Crete’s presence.

It was somewhat absurd, yet the relief of knowing Rene was safe made my legs go weak.

So, even though it might be rude to Rene, I decided to speak my mind.

“May I, just for a little while, lean on your shoulder, My Lady?”

“...Sure.”

Rene accepted my request casually as if it were nothing.

Swoosh—.

With Rene’s support, we walked side by side toward the Demon encampment.

As we made our way back, I spoke to Rene.

“Have you, by any chance, changed your mind?”

Wouldn’t she come back to the Demon Realm with me now?

I was asking Rene the same question I had posed before.

But there was no answer from Rene.

“... .”

She just kept quiet and continued to support me.

I knew that her silence meant a tacit refusal, so I decided not to bring it up again.

Rene.

It seemed she had no intention of leaving the Human Realm for the Demon Realm.

What was she trying to see?

What was it that she wanted to witness in this Human Realm, on this battlefield?

I didn’t know the reason, but for now, I decided to respect Rene’s decision.

I might be weaker than the Sword Saint, but I was by no means weak compared to others.

I could protect at least one person like Rene.

Even if it meant using the Demon God’s stroke, I would protect her.

As I continued walking in silence, just like Rene, she spoke, removing her hand from my shoulder.

“We’re here.”

“...”

Only then did my damaged vision gradually return.

Although the damage from activating the Eyes of Arrogance wouldn’t heal completely, it wouldn’t hinder my daily life or combat abilities.

And then, the interior of a tent came into view.

There were no beds or anything like that inside the tent.

It couldn’t be helped.

Expecting a bed in the middle of a war was absurd in the first place.

I hadn’t expected it anyway.

Swoosh—.

Rene gently guided me by the waist and sat me down on the floor.

Swoosh, swoosh—.

And then she started wiping the blood off my face.

I felt grateful for her actions.

“Thank you. You must be exhausted from today as well, My Lady. I apologize for causing you unnecessary concern.”

Rene replied with an indifferent tone.

“Don’t worry about it.”

“That’s a relief.”

“Yeah.”

"..."

For some reason, conversations with Rene always felt a bit awkward.

I stared blankly at Rene, who was gazing back at me.

“Is there something you wish to say?”

Shake, shake—.

Rene shook her head.

I was puzzled.

Then why is she still here?

“...It’s time for you to rest. Wouldn’t it be best to get some proper sleep?”

I tried to phrase it as politely as possible, suggesting that Rene should return to her own tent.

However, even after hearing my words, Rene didn’t budge an inch.

“My Lady?”

“I’m sleeping here.”

“Ex-excuse me?”

Did I hear that right?

Rene’s words made me blink my eyes in surprise.

Why would she sleep here?

What’s going on?

I racked my brain for an answer, but my stupid mind couldn’t come up with one.

Seriously, why?

As I wore an expression full of confusion, Rene finally spoke.

“You said you’d protect me.”

“...That’s...”

“I’ll protect you from the sidelines.”

“... .”

I felt a headache coming on.

Didn’t her words imply that she would be staying in this tent while I was asleep?

I felt a sense of resistance.

How could a man and a woman... under the same roof…?

Just as I was about to decline Rene’s offer, a thought struck me.

This situation…

It felt strangely familiar like I had experienced it somewhere before.

As I narrowed my eyes in a strange sense of déjà vu, Rene spoke first.

“I heard about it.”

“Abo-about what?”

“About the midterm exams, you, and Ki… .”

“... !”

Thump—.

I hurriedly covered Rene’s mouth with my hand.

Who on earth told Rene about that?

When I fell asleep with Luna.

Rene knew about what happened back then.

As I stood there, flustered and at a loss for words, Rene pulled my hand away from her mouth with a sullen look.

“Fron told me.”

That damn… !

So he was watching us back then?

And it didn’t end there.

Something even more unexpected, something I could never have imagined, came out of Rene’s mouth.

“You like sleeping with women, don’t you?”

“Who, me?”

I was so scared of what might come out of her mouth next that I could only stammer in response to her serious question.

What did I do this time?

I don’t remember.

I did something like that?

My words caught in my throat, and I couldn’t even open my mouth.

Looking at me like that, Rene made a disappointed face.

“...Idiot.”

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