Chapter 28
“Huh?”
It was already awkward enough that this guy was seriously apologizing.
“…Huh? Why?”
Why was he asking for forgiveness when he hadn’t even done anything wrong?
‘Did he pick up dirt from somewhere weird?’
Or did he hit his head during the fight?
Tilting my head in confusion, I watched him hesitate before speaking.
“For putting you in danger.”
“Danger….”
I repeated his words and thought for a moment.
Was he talking about regretting that he couldn’t explain the hidden quest?
But that was—
“If you had told us, it would’ve been nullified anyway, right? Nothing we could’ve done.”
I’m not that petty.
Because he showed up first, the team did struggle a bit in the early phase…
But Xenon had tried his best in his own way, and in the end, things worked out.
‘Isn’t that enough?’
But that wasn’t the reason he meant. He corrected himself.
“That’s not it.”
“Hmm?”
“There were two choices when we were escaping. I chose one of them.”
“…You chose it?”
Still not understanding, I frowned. He continued.
“One was the current option.”
“……”
“The other was a quest where my teammates would be safe, but many unrelated people would die.”
…So what he meant was—
He didn’t choose the option where we and the team would all be safe.
Instead, he chose the higher-risk quest—the one where more people could survive overall.
‘I knew it.’
I knew it!
No wonder he didn’t complain at all while running away together.
If it were the usual him, he would’ve said things like, “You’re making me run for no reason,” or “Pay me back for this.”
But he didn’t say any of that.
‘So that’s why.’
Still, thinking about it, it was actually a relief.
Because of that choice, casualties were minimized and as many people as possible were saved.
Thanks to it, Yeliel also awakened.
‘It’s a pity that Liria didn’t awaken, though.’
But since Liria is the protagonist of the original story, she wouldn’t stay unawakened forever anyway…
‘Putting that aside.’
Thanks to him, the first gate—known as the most brutal turning point in Three Lifetimes Land—ended relatively smoothly.
Of course, it wasn’t without any casualties.
Some were severely injured, and some were betrayed by teammates.
But because of that, a small group of weaker survivors managed to unite and resist.
Through this incident, they must have realized that even in harsh conditions, survival is possible if they stick together.
I almost wanted to praise him.
But—
Squeeze.
The spirits who survived because of him were now practically worshipping Xenon like a savior.
I clenched my trembling hand and forced myself to stay composed.
I couldn’t afford to boost his ego too.
“Ahem.”
I asked with a calm expression, hiding all emotion.
“Why did you do it?”
At that, Xenon stiffened briefly.
He scratched the back of his neck, then let out a small sigh.
“So that you would….”
He trailed off unusually.
“Me?”
I repeated impatiently, and he finally continued.
“…like it.”
“…Huh?”
It was an unexpected answer.
Then he looked at me again, returning to his usual expressionless face.
“You don’t want anyone to die.”
“……”
“Was I wrong?”
It was true that I preferred minimizing unnecessary killing.
In the early stages of Three Lifetimes Land, people kill each other just to survive.
But later on, everyone has to unite to fight mythic beings—or even god-like entities.
So survival rates mattered a lot.
But this guy didn’t know any of that.
A guy who ran off first without a second thought.
And yet he chose that hidden quest for my sake?
‘Why?’
…No.
Why was he even thinking about me in the first place?
A guy who acted like debt, repayment, and survival were all that mattered.
I froze for a moment.
This felt even stranger than when I first heard the word “ally” from him.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Suddenly, my heart started beating irregularly.
“…Wendy Foselin?”
Just then—
“Unnie! Let’s go now!”
Through the brightening vision, Liria and the kids appeared.
“Unnie!”
“Noona!”
Celestine and Sylvester ran toward us with luggage almost as big as their bodies.
In Liria’s hands, a small sapling swayed.
“Wendy, I’ve got him. He probably just turned back after awakening and fell asleep.”
Looking at the sapling in her hands, I finally came back to my senses.
“…Ah.”
An awakening is a state where one briefly exceeds their limits.
Yeliel must have returned to sapling form while recovering.
“Yeah… let’s go.”
“I took care of the old man. He’s probably sleeping after deactivation.”
Liria smiled brightly, holding the sapling carefully.
“He got cute!”
She spun around with it, eyes sparkling.
[…Ueeek.]
Yeliel groaned from the sudden motion.
I patted Liria’s head.
‘No one else can hear him, so they probably think he’s just asleep.’
Unfortunate for the kid, but Yeliel looked like he was suffering, so I should take him back now.
“Thanks, give me the sapling.”
“Okay!”
The moment I received it—
“I’ll carry it.”
A hand reached in beneath mine.
Startled, I reflexively pulled away.
The sapling ended up lifted awkwardly into the air as I avoided him.
“…F-pho—photosynthesis!”
“Photosynthesis?”
“…M-might be necessary?”
For a moment, I felt something strange when his hand touched mine.
A tingling sensation in my palm, like warmth and sweat.
I wiggled my fingers and looked away.
“He used a lot of power, so… maybe he needs photosynthesis.”
“I see.”
I quickly turned away, hiding my red face.
“Anyway, I’m fine, so help the others with their bags.”
Xenon stared at my hurried back for a moment.
“…Alright.”
He turned away.
Or rather—
‘Huh? Why did he stop?’
He suddenly halted, then turned back.
“And one more thing.”
“…Y-yeah?”
He leaned in close without warning.
“I’ve noticed something odd.”
He looked straight into my trembling eyes.
“Your gaze is shaking.”
I didn’t even have time to hide my reddening face.
He narrowed his eyes and stared again.
“…You.”
His large hand slowly reached toward my face.
I stepped back instinctively, but—
“Ah.”
His arm was longer.
A cold hand touched my forehead, measuring my temperature.
“You’re warm.”
Warm breath brushed over my forehead.
“You pushed yourself too far….”
He frowned as if to continue, then stopped when he saw my stiff expression.
“…Forget it.”
His hand fell away, but I still couldn’t move.
“Looks like you’ve got a fever. You overdid it.”
There was still warmth lingering above my head.
Strange. His hand was gone, but—
“……”
“Take care of yourself before worrying about others.”
I couldn’t understand what he was saying.
My head buzzed.
“Don’t be late.”
He turned away.
“Let’s go first.”
With that short sentence, he walked ahead.
It sounded cold—but somehow concerned.
Watching him disappear, I finally exhaled.
“…Haa.”
Even after he became a dot in the distance, I couldn’t move.
Thump, thump.
[Wendy?]
Sensing something wrong, Yeliel called out, but I couldn’t answer.
[Is your head really… maybe you’re sick—]
“Absolutely not!”
I shouted immediately.
No. I refused to admit it.
Because if I admitted my head was hot…
It would mean I was admitting I had just been flustered.
‘It’s useless even if you walk away!’
I clutched my head with both hands.
I wanted to scrub my memory clean like washing a dirty rag.
[Waaah, Wendy, I’m shaking…]
But I couldn’t throw Yeliel away, so I could only scream internally.
‘Did I… really just get flustered?’
- ronan(xgfxxx): Do I… like you?
- mia(miaxxx): Ehehehehe~
- wendyriel_stock_hopes(wetxxx): I said I wasn’t buying this kind of stock.
[5 observers have gained favor.]
[Total favor: 35]
Out of everyone… I got flustered over that guy?
And just like that, the inexplicable pounding in my chest continued for a long time.
