“Nothing bad happens because I’m here. I can protect her.”

“Why would you protect Miss? I will protect her.”

The bickering had become almost routine. As he frowned and looked up, he found himself already standing in the corridor outside the woman’s room.

He needed to return, yet he was angry again.

Those bastards.

These were members he had carefully selected as completely trustworthy, who had carried each other’s lives together…

In his current state, he wanted to rush over and throw them out the inn door.

“All of you, stop talking nonsense and return to your rooms.”

※※※

After the night McClain furiously sent the members back, Natalie found herself strangely conscious of his reactions.

Of course, it wasn’t her fault, nor was it a situation she had wanted.

Yet she was conscious of him and concerned about him.

Well, this is ridiculous. I’ve never even dated that man, so why do I feel like I’m cruelly dumping him?

She couldn’t understand her own emotions.

When she thought about it, McClain was the person who treated her most coldly among the expedition members.

Except for the fact that he was also a transmigrator and had the title of the original male lead.

Except for the fact that he was the most handsome and strongest man.

And except for the fact that he was the only one who knew her true identity.

It might seem like too many exceptions, but aside from these few minor points, he wasn’t a good romantic prospect at all.

Whether it was treating her kindly or speaking nicely.

We’re the only two transmigrators in this strange place. Couldn’t we be friendlier, confiding in each other and consulting with each other since we’re in the same situation?

There’s no need to treat your only confidant so coldly.

Of course, she couldn’t say he had never been affectionate, but those instances could be counted on one hand.

It couldn’t compare to the other members who had kindness and affection for her as passive skills.

At that level, it was right to assume that the nature of the person inside McClain was simply prickly.

Yet she couldn’t understand why he kept weighing on her mind whenever she tried to choose other options.

Could it be that I’m attracted to bad boys?

This isn’t rational.

The affection scores are clearly showing the answer.

That man’s affection was the lowest among the men…

“Hmm?”

Reflexively glancing above McClain’s head, Natalie encountered an unexpected situation.

McClain Lindhart’s a؃tion has incڣڒ৶ed by 15%.

McClain’s a؃tion: 23% ▶ 48%

“Huh…?”

She couldn’t believe her eyes.

Natalie found it difficult to close her gaping mouth at the message whose reason she couldn’t comprehend at all.

23%?

Even rubbing her eyes and looking again, the number 23 remained unchanged.

The last time she checked, his affection had been stuck at just 12%.

Hadn’t she excluded him from the male lead candidates, thinking there was no way he could reach 100% at that rate?

But she could hardly guess when or at what point it had risen so much.

Moreover, after their conversation in the village when it was 12%, all they had exchanged could be described as the epitome of bad relations.

Just cold glances and rebukes like “depart quickly,” “let’s go to the lodgings,” or “stop talking nonsense and return to your rooms.”

Not only that.

Hadn’t she even been avoiding meeting him due to a needless sense of guilt about calculating other options?

She was staring at him—or more precisely, at his affection score—with surprised eyes when it happened.

Perhaps feeling her persistent gaze, McClain turned his eyes toward her.

The first thing that appeared on his face when their eyes met was a faint joy.

He twitched slightly and raised the corners of his mouth, then quickly lowered his gaze. He narrowed his brow and shook his head, then rolled his eyes around before glancing at her again.

Watching all this, Natalie felt strange. She couldn’t tell if he was acting that way because he liked what he saw or because it bothered him.

She expected to be scolded for staring so openly, but instead, he seemed preoccupied with stealing glances at her.

The problem was that even though McClain was showing such strange reactions, she couldn’t take her eyes off him.

In the end, McClain was the first to turn away.

Natalie belatedly shook her head and withdrew her gaze.

There must have been some error. That’s why there was an error only in that man’s affection score. She tried hard to convince herself of this.

※※※

As they approached the north, the landscape rapidly became desolate.

“From here is Deloa territory!”

Deloa territory had quite wide and fertile wheat fields for a place adjacent to the northern mountain range.

However, the ears of wheat, which hadn’t even shed their plump grains and were rotting as they leaned askew, evoked an atmosphere of devastation and bleakness rather than abundance.

“Does no one live in Deloa territory?”

When Natalie asked with a furrowed brow, Bertel, who was driving the carriage, answered in a gentle tone.

“It seems everyone has recently migrated to other territories as the erosion area has been spreading rapidly. Still, the lord’s castle and buildings should remain intact. That means we can spend the night more comfortably than camping outdoors.”

Though Bertel responded reassuringly, Natalie couldn’t feel completely at ease.

The atmosphere of the group was becoming increasingly solemn as they approached the erosion area.

McClain’s voice, instructing them not to let their guard down, had also grown noticeably sharper than before.

“As you all know, from here on we can consider ourselves within the erosion’s sphere of influence. Monster attacks may become frequent, so don’t let your guard down!”

“Yes, Commander!”

After hearing McClain’s stern order, Natalie felt even more keenly that they were heading toward the erosion area.

Monster attacks may become frequent? The only monsters she had faced so far were goblins at most.

It was hard to guarantee she could handle stronger monsters with composure.

Moreover, apart from the first few instances, all the messages that had appeared in recent days were related to affection.

Perhaps unlike McClain, who had properly transmigrated into a game character, she hadn’t been given things like status windows or skill windows at all.

Even the initially blurry text she had presumed to be skill acquisition messages might have been affection acquisition messages.

Her tense expression must have been noticeable, as McClain passed by her carriage and said a few words.

“Whether it’s a defensive barrier or a concealment barrier, keep a barrier on the carriage from here on. It should have some effect until we enter the erosion area.”

It sounded dry but considerate. However, Natalie found those words more frightening.

It should have some effect until we enter the erosion area?

Didn’t that sound like saying no barrier would be of use once they entered the erosion area?

And as if confirming this was true, Jorel’s shout came from the front.

“Wolf-type monster pack ahead!”

“Everyone dismount and form ranks!”

It seemed difficult to face wolves from horseback, so everyone hurriedly dismounted.

Five knights including McClain formed a circle around the carriage, and Orlando gathered his quiver and climbed onto the carriage roof.

“Pereira, please wait inside the carriage for a bit.”

“Oh, yes. I understand.”

Natalie complied obediently.

While goblins at least walked on two legs, she had no idea how to deal with beast-type monsters like these.

“Attack!”

As McClain’s order fell, one wolf from the pack leaped toward him. It seemed to know who the commander was.

The sound of Orlando’s rapid fire from the carriage roof repeatedly tore through the air.

Swish! Thunk-thunk-thunk!

The wolf-type monster that had bravely taken the lead died gloriously before reaching its target.

Grrrrawr! Yip-yip-yip! Clang-clang-clang!

The howling of wolf-type monsters and the eerie sound of weap*ns cutting through bone and muscle continued endlessly.

Though Natalie had hurriedly cast a concealment barrier on the carriage, the barrier didn’t erase its existence. As a result, monsters charging toward the members occasionally missed their targets and crashed loudly against the carriage walls.

Feeling she should help somehow, Natalie cautiously looked out the carriage window and was startled.

“Gasp!”

She had discovered a monster with long fangs protruding to its chin, peering inside the carriage with yellow eyeballs. Its fiercely gleaming eyes clearly revealed its identity as a predator.

Could the concealment barrier have broken? She hadn’t even started any offensive action yet.

Fortunately, the barrier hadn’t broken, as the monster that was just rolling its eyeballs toward where Natalie was had its neck cut in a single stroke by McClain who had approached.

“Grrrrawr!”

The problem was that, as if the creature had alerted others before dying, other monsters kept poking their faces into the carriage afterward.

It seemed more like they were trying to find something hidden rather than just checking what was there. Of course, McClain, Orlando, and others dealt with them each time, but the conflict in Natalie’s heart was growing.

Self-loathing about constantly hiding even after coming this far, and a sense of responsibility that she too should do something.