"Pant, pant..."

"Are you alright?! My goodness, you're covered in sweat. Here, here, we have an injured person! Healer!"

I pushed through the mental and physical agony to return to the battlefield.

Fortunately, despite the chaos, an anonymous superhuman quickly noticed my poor condition and I was swiftly treated.

They must be busy fending off that swarm of spiders.

A mix of gratitude and guilt stirred within me, creating an indescribable feeling.

"Is this the girl?"

"Yes. She seems to be in critical condition. Sorry to trouble you, but please take care of her."

"Go ahead. Be careful."

"I can't promise that. The situation is worse than expected."

Every breath and every movement sent waves of pain through my side.

Trying to steady my breathing and manage the pain, the woman who had pulled back the clothes Siwoo had covered me with gasped in shock.

"...Bruises? Are you a traitor? Did those criminals..."

...A traitor? A criminal?

Trying to process her words through the haze of pain, I realized what she was implying.

Oh, I see.

Bruises wouldn't form from the spider attacks.

If it were cuts or punctures, it would be different, but bruises?

It made sense to think I had been hit by someone nearby.

"...It's not like that."

"Be honest! What did those bastards do to you..."

"I said it's not like that... I found the target. The villain hiding here. I was attacked by him."

"...!"

I hurriedly explained to stop the woman, who looked ready to charge off and tear someone's hair out if she found out who had hurt me.

"Right now, Siwoo is holding that person... no, that monster off by himself. We need to clear this area and call for reinforcements..."

Siwoo is holding off that creature alone.

The mere thought pained me, and I bit my lip hard.

Looking down at my body, I saw that my bruised side, which had been turning blue, was slowly returning to its original color.

The pain was gradually subsiding.

Yet, even as the physical pain eased, my chest still ached with a dull, persistent pain.

"...Will he be okay?"

"I don't know. He said he'd be fine, but..."

...Pathetic.

I felt pathetic for needing Siwoo's help with such pain.

Siwoo would have brushed off this level of pain like it was nothing.

Despite having fought many times before, here I was, receiving care after just one attack.

Wasn't there a time when I insisted on making Siwoo a hero?

How arrogant.

"Don't be too hard on yourself."

"What?"

"Your face is filled with worry. Usually, kids like you make bad choices in that state. Are you feeling guilty for leaving him behind?"

"...Isn't that the case?"

"Maybe. If that's what you think."

...That’s enough.

She nodded in satisfaction and began patting my side gently.

I flinched, expecting pain and reaching to stop her, but there was none.

"Sometimes, it's okay to do what you want."

"But..."

"Hmm, this might sound a bit odd, but... isn't he someone precious to you?"

Precious, she said.

I was about to nod reflexively, but paused, sensing a deeper meaning in her words.

Was she talking about love?

"...I'm not sure."

"Really? But what about the other side?"

"What?"

"He stayed behind in that dangerous place to help you, right?"

Oh.

I realized what the woman was implying.

I had understood.

"So, even if you don't think that way, he might."

Thinking back, it was always like that.

Siwoo was always kind and gentle with me.

Even when I had a panic attack at home, he protected me.

He must have been uncomfortable with someone invading his personal space.

Yet, he still cared for me.

Thinking about it, Siwoo had been looking at me more often.

I thought it was out of concern that I might succumb to my anxiety.

That might be part of it, but...

Could he love me?

"If that's the case, shouldn't you at least respond to those feelings?"

"...Yes."

"Then hurry. We need to kill those horrible things to help him, right?"

She gave me a smile and ran off to help other injured people.

Love.

Something I hadn't considered. Or maybe I had ignored it.

As soon as I realized it, memories of countless events flooded back.

Siwoo spent most of his time with me.

I thought it was because I was watching over him, but maybe he chose to be with me.

Thinking back, Siwoo spent more time with me than with Amelia or Dorothy.

I thought the heroine race hadn't started yet.

But maybe it had ended long ago.

"..."

I felt my face heat up.

How did my actions seem to Siwoo?

I had trusted Siwoo, believing I wasn't the heroine.

Maybe it was because, in this world, I had no one else to rely on but Siwoo.

Thinking back on all the things I did, I realized how they might have seemed to Siwoo.

What did Siwoo think about all this?

I couldn't fathom his thoughts.

"...Ugh!"

But there was no time for embarrassment.

Even though my face was burning, I needed to move right now.

I had to deal with those creatures as quickly as possible to help Siwoo.

I untied the clothes Siwoo had given me and, just like in the hero movies I had seen, I shot a web towards the building and let my body swing.

Despite not being used to this action and almost running out of thread, I finally reached my destination.

Without caring about walking through the dorm naked, I ran to my room to change as quickly as possible.

And as I hastily changed my clothes, I noticed something about the room.

"...Ah, that."

Looking around the room, I realized there were no unfamiliar items.

That was Siwoo's cherished item.

That was something we bought together that turned out to be a bit of a white elephant.

As I looked around the room Siwoo and I shared, I realized.

I had spent most of my time in this world with Siwoo.

"..."

Watching over Siwoo, being with him, living with him.

If I thought of my arrival here as a rebirth, then I had spent more than half my life with Siwoo.

That thought crossed my mind.

After changing clothes and layering on another for the journey, I felt a shiver.

My body was trembling, probably due to heading back into battle so soon after healing.

But instead of succumbing to that tremble, I caressed the bracelet Siwoo had given me.

The precious gift from Siwoo.

"...This will be alright."

If it gets dangerous, Siwoo will come to help me.

Siwoo will always be by my side.

Feeling the trembling subside, I threw myself back into the battlefield.

The cold wind cooled my heated body, but my heart still burned hot.

I acknowledged it.

There was no retreat now.

I accepted that the bracelet Siwoo gave me provided more comfort than any transcendent presence like the author.

...That I had fallen for Siwoo.

I acknowledged that the feelings Siwoo had for me were the same as mine for him.

I couldn't deny it.

I might have fallen for him a long time ago.

"Damn it, there's too many!"

"It's endless..."

"Commander! At this rate, the front line will collapse! We're barely holding it together, but we're at our limit!"

"..."

I bit my lip anxiously.

No matter how unruly, they were still my subordinates.

I had managed to keep them alive, but it was reaching the limit.

It seemed I had overestimated our ability to handle this endless swarm.

"I thought we could hold out for three more hours..."

"Are you crazy?! We've already held out long enough! This is a miracle as it is!"

Lionel, desperate to protect his daughter, unleashed more lightning than usual.

The lightning shattered the beasts in its path, but only for a moment.

The gap was quickly filled as if nothing had happened.

"...Hmmm."

We could still fight.

It wasn't that we lacked the strength.

I had estimated three more hours because I believed in their capabilities.

The problem was mental endurance.

No matter how many we killed, the endless wave kept coming, and doubts began to surface.

Could we really hold them off?

Could we survive this?

They didn't show it, knowing their mission and being ready to die here.

But no matter how much they ignored it, morale was dropping.

Retreating was the right choice.

We would regroup a bit further away and fight again.

The numbers had reduced somewhat.

A few more rounds of regrouping and we could finish this.

...But I couldn't bring myself to give the order.

To retreat, I needed to leave some troops behind to buy time.

Those who stayed would essentially be given a death sentence.

But the commander forced the words out.

It was his duty.

To sacrifice the few for the many.

"We have no choice. Retreat..."

-Swish.

Just as I steeled myself to give the order, countless spiders at the front were suddenly cut down.

"W-What..."

"...This is our chance."

A girl descended, relying on a single thread in mid-air.

While everyone else stared in bewilderment, the commander quickly assessed the situation.

That was his ability.

To deal with the root of this crisis, we needed to quickly secure this area.

Reinforcements were on the way.

The commander made a swift decision.

We had to end this here.

"Reinforcements are coming! A unit specialized in mass destruction! Hold out a little longer!"

"Yeahhhhh!"

Seeing the spiders being cut down in droves before their eyes, hope began to rekindle in their hearts.