Ermes and Katia had successfully escaped from the Prison.
They continued running for some time after that, but even for Ermes, maintaining Bloodline Magic while sprinting for an extended period was no easy feat. On top of that, lingering near any sizable town would be far too risky with their pursuers on their trail.
"I'm sorry, Lady Katia, but we'll have to camp outdoors tonight. The conditions won't be great, but I'll do my best to improve things as quickly as possible, so please bear with me."
"...Very well."
Though she still lacked her usual energy, she nodded with a relatively clear expression. Ermes promptly set her down, gathered nearby twigs, and ignited them with magic to start a campfire.
He then pulled an iron rod and some cloth from the supplies he had brought along and constructed a makeshift tent. He laid cloth inside as well and lightly tilled the ground beneath. It was sure to fall short of the beds at the Duke's estate, but this much would at least make the sleeping arrangements somewhat bearable.
Next came food. He took out cooking utensils and ingredients, poured water from his canteen into a pot, and began heating it.
"...You certainly seem experienced at this."
Katia, who had been quietly warming herself by the fire, peered over at his hands with a look of mild surprise and curiosity.
"To some extent, yes. Staying overnight for Dungeon expeditions in remote areas wasn't uncommon."
During the five years under his master Rose, he had accumulated combat experience and delved into numerous Dungeons to hone his magic.
Along the way, he had picked up a fair amount of survival skills — and he recalled how he used to prepare inventive meals for his master just like this, reminiscing as he continued cooking.
The base of the flavor was his reliable dried meat. On its own, it had plenty of savoriness but also carried a strong gamey tang and off-flavors, making the taste rather monotonous. To address those shortcomings, he used a combination of herbs he had discovered on his own to neutralize the unpleasant notes, then added dried vegetables. He had found these brought real depth to the broth, and his master had praised them as well.
After that, he adjusted the taste with salt and other seasonings, adding just a pinch of a relatively inexpensive but flavorful spice as an accent.
Before long, the soup — now giving off a wonderful aroma — was ready, and he served it to Katia.
"! ...You really are a good cook. No wonder our chef speaks so highly of you."
"I-I'm honored."
That said, this was a simple meal prioritizing shelf life and convenience over refinement — he wasn't confident it would suit a palate accustomed to the finest dishes of the Duke's estate.
The moment Katia took a sip of the soup, her eyes widened, and she offered her praise in a voice tinged with a hint of exasperation.
It seemed he had at least managed to produce something edible.
And now that she had finally calmed down a bit, he settled in and began to lay out the current situation.
"So then, Lady Katia. As it stands, you have been falsely accused by Prince Aster and are currently being hunted under that pretext."
"...Yes."
"However, their methods are hasty and sloppy. Given enough time, cracks are bound to appear, and the Duke is currently doing everything in his power to find them. Until then, my will and the mission entrusted to me by the Duke is to protect you and keep you one step ahead of your pursuers."
That was why it was best to avoid populated areas as much as possible on this flight. Aster was royalty, after all, and if he threw the full weight of that authority into the search, the scope of the investigation would be enormous.
Their movements would be severely restricted, but for someone like him, that was no problem. He was highly skilled in survival techniques, and if it came down to it, he could simply rely on a barrage of powerful Bloodline Magic to stay on the run — they wouldn't catch him so easily.
"Rest assured. The only inconvenience is that you'll have to endure some discomfort for a while, but the Duke will definitely prove your innocence. So please, bear with it until then."
"I see... but... I..."
Yet Katia's gaze still drifted, as if she remained caught in indecision.
Perhaps that was only natural. She had fled all this way purely to avoid her own death, after all. The doubt that truly gnawed at her had yet to be resolved.
So, he said:
"I think you should get some rest for now, Katia."
"Huh?"
He offered that piece of advice gently — reverting to his old tone, as she had asked, since they were alone.
"When your body is tired, your mind has a tendency to dwell on nothing but unpleasant thoughts. Mind-body correlation, or something like that — that's what my master used to say, I think."
Thoughts that arose under such conditions were, in most cases, excessively negative. Sound judgment was often absent, too.
"So right now, the best strategy is to rest without thinking about anything. Don't worry — it's not like you need to come up with an answer immediately."
"...Okay."
Katia nodded obediently and slipped inside the tent he had prepared.
"So how is it? The sleeping arrangements probably aren't that great, but can you sleep?"
"I think I should be... okay..."
"Got it. Then I'll put out the light."
Once he confirmed she had crawled inside the futon, he held his hand over the campfire.
By tomorrow, the other side would likely get serious about their search. He wanted to put as much distance between them as possible before that happened, so it would be best to rest early so they could move out first thing in the morning.
That thought had just crossed his mind as he extinguished the campfire, when—
"Nn—!?"
From inside the tent, he sensed Katia bolting upright in alarm.
"Ah— Ermes!?"
"W-What's wrong, Kat?"
"You're there, right? You're right there, aren't you!?"
"Well, yeah, I'm here...?"
"If you're there, come here! Now!"
What was going on? There was no trace of any Monsters nearby, and he had thoroughly checked that there were no pests or anything inside the tent.
Wondering about this, he stepped into the tent and spoke to her.
Katia shuffled closer, reaching out as if groping in the dark. Her fingertips brushed against Ermes's arm.
"! ...Ermes, right?"
"It's me, but..."
"!!"
And in that instant—Katia threw her arms around him.
"What!?"
Even Ermes couldn't help but go rigid at the sudden soft warmth pressing against him at such close range.
As the fragrance of her hair brushed past his nose, slightly scattering his thoughts, Katia spoke in a tearful voice.
"El! I-I can't see anything!!"
...Ah. He finally understood.
She wasn't used to this.
True, complete darkness—
—the kind that truly existed here.
Katia had lived in the Royal Capital ever since the day she was born. Even at night, the Royal Capital was full of light sources—streetlamps and the magical lights used by lookouts—so you could always make out your surroundings to some degree.
But this forest at night was different.
There were naturally no light sources. Moonlight and starlight alike were blocked by the trees and couldn't reach this deep. As a result, a darkness had settled in so absolute that even with your eyes wide open you could see nothing at all—something you would almost never encounter in the Royal Capital.
"I-It's okay, right?! My eyes haven't gone weird or anything...!"
"Y-Yeah, it's fine. Just wait a moment—"
Ermes was somewhat accustomed to this and could vaguely make out his surroundings, but for Katia it must have felt like going completely blind all of a sudden. To calm her panic, he tried to light the campfire once more.
But the moment he twisted his body to reach out, Katia suddenly hugged him tighter and held him in place.
"...Um. I can't move."
"N-No... don't let go..."
"No, I just need to light a fire real quick—"
"I-I'm scared... please...!"
"..."
Katia clung to him even tighter, pressing herself against him.
It seemed she was genuinely terrified of the night's darkness. At this rate, things would get complicated.
Left with no choice, Ermes kept the embrace as it was and, with his free hand behind his back, launched a fireball produced by enhanced universal magic through the gap in the tent.
He then put on an unnecessarily technical magical display, curving the fireball's trajectory to land squarely on the campfire and ignite it, managing to restore a source of light.
"Oh..."
"See, it's not like your eyes were going bad or anything—"
And once the light was restored, their current position naturally meant they ended up face-to-face at extremely close range.
Her stunning beauty, illuminated by the campfire — those anxious eyes brimming with vulnerability that stirred every protective instinct, and those lovely yet bewitching eyes glistening with tears — filled his vision completely. He caught his breath.
But in the very next instant.
"—————!"
Having regained her senses along with the light, Katia became acutely aware of how she had been behaving moments ago. Her face turned crimson, she pulled away in a flash, and crouched down on the spot.
"Just kill me already!!"
"Let's not say things like that right now — they're a little too close to the truth..."
However, leaving the campfire burning while they rested carried risks of spread and various other dangers.
On the other hand, going without any light at all had proven entirely unsuitable for sleep for someone unaccustomed to the dark. So, as a compromise—
"Is this about the right amount of light?"
"Y-yes..."
They decided that until Katia fell asleep, Ermes would use a faint magical light to gently illuminate their surroundings.
Too bright would risk alerting nearby monsters, so he kept it just barely enough to see by in the dark.
And on top of that.
"……"
"……What is it. If you're going to laugh, then just laugh already!"
She looked toward her own left hand — the opposite side from where Ermes held the magic.
There, peeking out from beneath the blanket, were her slender fingertips.
──In short, her request was for him to hold her hand until she fell asleep.
"No, I wasn't going to laugh… I was just wondering if it was really okay."
"Okay… okay with what?"
"Well… a girl probably wouldn't feel very comfortable having a man watching over her while she falls asleep…"
"……Is that all?"
It was a rather pointless question, given the circumstances they were already in. Katia let a faint hint of exasperation show on her face.
"It's fine. It's not like it matters now. Besides, with you here… I actually feel more at ease."
"Hk—"
Her voice, usually so bold and sharp, carried a rare note of pure vulnerability — and it made his heart skip a beat.
But then she continued.
"Also… right now, I'm scared."
"Scared?"
"Being alone… I feel like I won't know who I am anymore. Like I'll just dissolve into the darkness and disappear… That's why…"
"!"
Before she was captured, he had never asked her for the details of what had happened. It hadn't been the right time.
But he could more or less imagine it. She had most likely had everything she'd done up until now brutally torn apart and denied — and she was on the verge of losing herself.
"...I'm alright."
With that murmur, he gently squeezed the hand he held.
"You haven't done anything wrong, and I'm here. ...Come on, rest now. Otherwise I won't be able to remove the magic."
"...Right. ...Th-thank you."
A faint, wry smile graced her lips as her eyelids slowly drifted shut.
(Truly...)
What would anyone have to say to her, what hardships would she have to endure, to break someone who had always been so straight-backed into this?
He hadn't heard the details, so he could only imagine — but he was certain of one thing: what had driven her to this.
"...I don't think I can forgive that."
Those whispered words, small yet brimming with quiet resolve, left his lips.
And before long, the gentle sound of her sleeping breath drifted softly from beside him.
After a string of heavier chapters, here's a lighter one featuring the adorable Lady Katia.