A silence lingered in the air.

Yuria looked on with moist eyes, while Ruin glared as if he wanted to kill. I was at a loss, with the burden of the gazes from the female protagonist and the secondary male protagonist of the novel upon me.

Especially Ruin.

Ruin glared fiercely at me. Clenching and unclenching his fist, it seemed he was ready to shoot a spell into my face at any moment.

It seemed like he was trying to score points with Yuria on this occasion, but I did not want to play along with the plan of the village chief of the Algae Town so easily.

I sincerely asked Ruin, who kept trying to make eye contact as if he wanted to flirt with me, “What are you looking at? You just stood by when we were tormenting Yuria.”

“What did you say?”

“Why? Are you going to say you didn’t step in because you weren’t close back then?”

“…Shut up. I didn’t know Yuria was having a hard time back then…!”

“Bullshit.”

As expected, Ruin formed a red sphere in his hand. Just as he was about to dash towards me with a forceful step,

“Ruin!”

Yuria shouted.

Ruin glared at her. His eyes protested her interference, and I too sent the same kind of look towards Yuria.

I could have had a chance to make Ruin’s head into a flower arrangement, so why interfere?

“Yuria.”

Ruin called her name with a serious tone.

“That bastard says he tormented you just for fun.”

“It’s not ‘that bastard.’ It’s Ricardo. The village chief of Algae Town.”

“This bastard.”

“And don’t sugarcoat it. It’s not because of Yuria, is it? You’re just stabbed by guilt, aren’t you? It seems you never witnessed the bullying Yuria endured at the Royal Academy.”

My words were right. Back then, Ruin slowly began to develop feelings for Yuria. To Ruin those days, Yuria was nothing more than a fairly pretty girl, no more, no less.

Although the torment bothered him.

He never stood up against it.

“I told you to shut up!”

“Shh.”

Quietly, I brought a finger to my lips.

“Be quiet. The orcs will wake up. You might mistake yourself for one of them, Ruin, but Yuria and I are not.”

“I’ll kill you….”

“Talk back if you think you can handle it. I can, but it seems impossible for you.”

Ruin hesitated.

Even he, a prodigy of flame magic, would be minced meat if he fought several elite orcs.

The now silent Ruin was met with my sly smile.

“Let’s talk quietly.”

Watching the scene in silence, Yuria spoke to me.

“Ricardo.”

“Yes.”

“It’s fun?”

Her voice was falteringly soft. She tried to look me squarely in the eyes, but her pupils quivered as soon as our eyes met.

Yuria, unused to anger, grasped the hem of her dress tightly and said,

“Do you find this situation fun?”

“…”

“Do I not exist to you when you make a serious inquiry? You try to fight with Ruin, but I become invisible?”

Tears were welling up in her eyes. At the slightest touch, it looked as if she would burst into tears. I clenched my fist tightly.

“Do I amuse you?”

“No.”

“Then why do you act like this?”

“…”

“I’m asking you! Did you dislike me that much? Or is it because you couldn’t stand that a commoner mixed with nobles?”

That was what Yuria had heard the most at the Royal Academy.

In the early part of the novel, Yuria wasn’t…

Pretty.

Lovable.

Amazing.

But rather, she heard things like:

Being common-born.

Disgusting to look at.

Appearing vulgar.

Because Yuria heard them so much while attending the Academy, as did I.

I, too, was a commoner, and unlike Yuria, who was admitted based on her overwhelming divine power, I was admitted by riding on the coattails of a lady’s status.

Perhaps Yuria experienced even worse discrimination than I did, and she knew all too well the difficulties of attending the Academy as a commoner.

So now, she was asking me.

We were both commoners, so why did I discriminate against her? It might have been a vent for the past treatment, or perhaps it was a genuine inquiry because she truly disliked me.

Because we were commoners.

We could have shared our hardships.

Even if disparaged by the nobles, we could have overcome together, yet I tormented her for fun.

If I were Yuria, I might have lost affection too.

I spoke honestly. Forgetting the words I first said, this time I was frank.

“I wasn’t ignoring you. I’m also a commoner, how could I ignore?”

“Then what is it? Are you saying you just did it for fun as you mentioned earlier?”

“No. Earlier I just…”

‘No matter what I say, you won’t believe me. It’s my last plea.’

I pressed down the frustration in my heart and presented a more plausible explanation.

“Uh… Just, you know…”

Yuria let out a hollow laugh. I knew all too well how frustrating this must be for her.

I’m such a fool.

That’s why I felt even more apologetic to Yuria.

I offered the best answer I could think of.

“It’s because I’m mean.”

“Ha.”

-Slap-

Yuria hit my cheek.

***

Two days later, after completing the assignment and heading down to return to the Academy…

“…”

Yuria’s expression as she descended the mountain was not good.

She finished the assignment perfectly, and once back at the Academy, she could return to her high ranking.

Having lost early to Hanna in the ranking match, Yuria fell to the lowest tiers, yet there was still a chance to recover her position.

Yuria exhaled a deep sigh, struggling to find any energy.

“Haah…”

Ever since meeting Ricardo, she remained in this state—feeling uneasy and unrefreshed.

‘It’s all my fault.’

His face was unforgettable: even after getting slapped, he smiled brightly.

-Finally, I feel a bit better.
-Are you insane?
-I thought I deserved at least one hit.

She resented him, yet his face, grateful and bowed, weighed on her mind.

She clearly detested him.
Extremely loathed him.
She didn’t want to see him again, even by chance.

Yet, she hated herself for screaming inside that she wanted to see him once more.

Because she had truly liked him.

Always showing up like a knight in shining armor, vanquishing the villains.

-Miss Yuria, I’m asking you.
-I am not a dog, you know?
-I’ll bring you a mint chocolate bath bomb.
-I bark quite well!

When she had collapsed after drinking  tea laced with poison.

-Which bastard who did this!?
-…
-You better start talking now. Otherwise, you’re really going to die.

In front of high-ranking nobles, even a mere commoner stood grinding his teeth in anger; she couldn’t help but fall for him.

It was all in the past now, however.

“Haah… Yuria, get a grip.”

She needed to get her act together.

Yuria had no intention of forgiving Ricardo.

It irritated her that he hadn’t returned despite being able to resume his studies. She had heard Olivia was ill, but Yuria didn’t believe the inflated rumors of nobles, known for their lies and exaggerations.

“Hey, Yuria.”

Ruin, seeing her lack of energy, spoke to her softly. Yuria’s mood lifted at having such a supportive friend.

“Your expression looks really down, do you want to go see the Forest Friend on our way?”
“The Forest Friend? We’ve already been there before.”

Ruin replied with a smile.

“We could go again.”

Yuria shook her head.
She didn’t want to bother Ruin who had taken time out for her.

“No, it’s okay. I’ve got my spirits back now.”
“I’ll pay for it.”
“No, really, I’m fine.”

With a rueful smile, Ruin continued walking with her for a bit longer.

“Uh… what’s that?”

Ruin, who was leading the way, saw something and abruptly pulled on Yuria’s clothes.

“Kyah!”

Yuria lost her balance and fell.

She quickly tried to get back up. Since Ruin was acting like that, it must be because of either monsters or thieves.

As she swiftly prepared to take up a battle stance and stand.

“Yuria. Stay still.”

Ruin pulled her to her feet.

With an ominous expression, Ruin began casting a spell. Yuria shut her mouth tightly.

Ruin murmured softly.

“Shit.”

Something was definitely very wrong.

Yuria slowly lifted her head.

A giant man stood before them.
Holding a massive sword.
A man looking at her with a deranged expression.

“You seem to be quite lucky.”

Thud. A droplet of blood fell onto Yuria’s forehead.

“Uh…um…?”

Stuttering, Yuria tried to speak.

Ruin also stood silent.

Frozen by the enormous presence before them.

Dressed in black priest’s robes.
A man with many scars, wielding a large sword.

He held a black scripture in his hand and said.

“Ah… Let’s ask for directions. Saints.”

-Gulp.

“Do you know the way to salvation?”

It all happened in an instant.

The cold blade of the great sword approached Yuria’s face. Just as she thought she could do nothing.

“What are you doing?”

Boom. There was a loud, explosive noise, and the ground rumbled tremendously.

***

As the dust settled,

Yuria, who had tightly shut her eyes, gently opened them.

Not a scratch on her, completely unharmed.
She exhaled a breath of relief.

“What is this? Do you really want to die?”

A voice, cold and hard, reverberated in her ear.

Polite yet cheeky in tone.
Familiar with the sound, Yuria lifted her head.

A red-haired man, intercepting the great sword with both hands, stood there.

The man said.

“Close your eyes for a moment.”