His chest felt like it was on fire with anger and urgency.

He had returned with his subordinates thinking he needed to get his hands on her faster, but to think she would flee without leaving a trace in that time.

Without looking back at his subordinates, he ordered.

“Seal it off.”

His blazing voice was filled with rage.

“Kill them all.”

***

Leah’s party was preparing for camp, completely unaware of what they had escaped from. The maids and knights were busy dividing up tasks to set up the campsite.

“If only the Lady could at least sleep in a tent… What? There are no tents at all? Since we hadn’t planned to camp, there’s nothing we can do? Then what should we do?”

“Who brought these damp logs? The fire won’t light!”

“Does anyone know where the bread sacks were loaded?”

There was chaos everywhere as they tried to make the impromptu campsite suitable for a noble lady. However, Leah currently had no mind to worry about such things.

She pulled Helix to a corner.

“Helix, Helix.”

Leah whispered to him.

“About when you blocked that black-haired man earlier.”

“Tell me, Leah.”

She swallowed hard. Her voice naturally grew quieter.

“That light coming from my brother’s sword then… that was sword energy, right?”

“It was.”

“Ack, I knew it!”

Leah gaped. He explained.

“He’s moved on to the next level.”

“By next level, you mean…?”

Helix confirmed.

“Your brother has become a Sword Master.”

Sword Master.

Not just the Kingdom’s Best Swordsman but now a legendary Sword Master.

Leah muttered, feeling dazed.

“Honestly, my little brother is already a lethal weapon, and now he’s even stronger…”

“He’s already a sufficient human weapon.”

“Well, that’s… true.”

Helix chuckled.

“Why are you talking like it’s about someone else? You’re a powerful fire mage yourself, Leah.”

“I’m safer than my little brother though.”

“You say that while using Fire Storm against monster hordes?”

She had no response to that. Looking at her, Helix spoke seriously.

“Anyway, since this is a world dry of mana, both you and your brother need to be careful.”

She tensed slightly at the concern in his voice.

“Why?”

“While being a double-core mage or Sword Master is an immense talent, it’s dangerous in a world like this. Your brother, he was seriously injured before, wasn’t he?”

She swallowed and nodded.

“I thought so. Despite his naturally robust constitution and remarkably trained body, his energy flow was twisted.”

“His energy flow was twisted?”

“From what I know, this symptom occurs when one fails to advance to a higher level.”

Now that she heard it, something came to mind.

“That’s right. Before, when my brother was surrounded by enemies and kept fighting, he ended up coughing blood and collapsing… He said his body wasn’t the same after that.”

“It was an inevitable failure.”

Helix said.

“He had already reached a level, but failed because there wasn’t enough mana in the world to support that level.”

Leah asked.

“Do swordsmen need mana too? Not just mages?”

Helix explained. Mana was just a term for the world’s energy. Whether it’s mages who read and twist its flow to break physical laws, or swordsmen who reach the ultimate level and wield power beyond mere physical force, they both need mana all the same.

“Hmm… So when swordsmanship reaches the realm of magic, they become similar?”

“That’s right. While the form and use of energy differs, you could say the essence is the same.”

Because the current world lacks mana, outstanding swordsmen like Ruyan were more likely to face setbacks.

The larger and hotter the vessel, the more water it needs to be filled.

But when the world can’t supply enough water, the principle is that cracks form in the heated vessel.

“That’s why I’ve been injecting mana and trying to correct his twisted blood vessels. Fortunately, it seems to have worked.”

“Yeah…”

For a moment, Leah couldn’t speak and just looked up at Helix.

When it was about herself, she could say “thank you” right away, but now emotions choked her throat and she couldn’t get the words out.

“My brother… back then… really, really suffered.”

Remembering that time when the always confident Ruyan became like an invalid, shutting himself in his room and refusing to see anyone, still made her heart heavy and dizzy.

“You care deeply for your brother.”

“You’ve seen how my brother treats me.”

She smiled faintly and continued.

“If it weren’t for my family, I wouldn’t have survived. I wouldn’t even have known I could be this kind of person.”

Without the love showered by the Piert Ducal Family, Leah wouldn’t have found her bright personality while enduring her past life’s wounds and sickly body.

A shadow briefly crossed her smiling face.

‘In my previous life, I was just told to endure because I was different from my brother.’

Now Leah didn’t just endure. Thanks to twelve years of childhood spent again in the Piert Ducal Family, where she was loved and supported to do whatever she wanted.

‘…Though I couldn’t properly do anything I decided because I was sick, well, I can start from now.’

Helix smiled gently.

“Your brother said the same thing about you. That if it weren’t for you, he would have become an invalid.”

“That was him overcoming it himself. All I did was go and do forward rolls every day.”

“Forward rolls?”

“Yeah. Since I’m terribly uncoordinated, I thought if he saw me not giving up and practicing even something as simple as forward rolls, it might at least make him laugh…”

Leah’s face clouded again as she recalled that time. Helix quickly comforted her.

“It’s natural to despair when such great talent hits a wall. Not breaking is what’s remarkable. Your forward rolls must have helped a lot.”

“…Really?”

“Really. You can tell from Ruyan’s actions.”

He continued.

“And your brother is a genius, Leah. The moment I injected mana, his body accepted and absorbed it. Even without knowing the principle or even that it was mana.”

“That’s cheating.”

“Indeed. He’s genius enough to be called cheating.”

Leah smiled crookedly at the words that didn’t suit Helix.

Seeing her smile with teardrops in the corners of her eyes, Helix unconsciously reached out.

“So don’t worry.”

His delicate fingers wiped the corner of her eye.

She inhaled briefly, then closed her eyes trustingly.

“My right eye too.”

“Don’t you have hands?”

“Helix has four hands right here.”

As Helix shook his head and wiped her other eye, she spoke.

“…Thank you.”

She said in a slightly choked voice.

“He’s your contractor, my brother.”

“Still. Even though my brother imprisoned you in the basement and all that, you didn’t hold it against him and helped him.”

“The situation then was understandable for misunderstanding.”

“…This really is cheating.”

Leah wrinkled her nose and opened her eyes.

“How can anyone’s contractor be this handsome and big-hearted? Isn’t this too much of a cheat contractor?”

Her laughing eyes were full of trust as she said this.

Helix impulsively cupped her cheek. Blue eyes blinked as they gazed back at him.

“…Leah.”

Suddenly Keron’s words came to mind.

‘Lady Leah Piert could be the Dragon’s Holy Maiden, couldn’t she?’

Helix’s eyelashes trembled. He gently shook his head.

‘It’s just groundless worry.’

He must be getting anxious about not being able to find Azura and needlessly suspecting Leah. Just as Helix was convincing himself and about to remove his hand, Leah nuzzled her cheek against his palm.

“Le…!”

Cheeks like cream puffs brushed against his firm palm. Helix flinched every time she rubbed against it.

“W-what are you doing!”

“Didn’t you want to touch my face? Your palm is really hard.”

He quickly pulled his hand away.

“S-saying such improper things.”

“…How is saying your palm is hard improper? In what way?”

“When speaking of the opposite s*x’s body, one should stop at the level of ‘your eyes are beautiful.'”

What?

“Isn’t that standard from hundreds of years ago, something that would only apply in some love-forbidden monastery?”

Leah shook her head. Having to seduce this old-fashioned man, the road ahead was endless.

‘What’s wrong with saying his palm is hard? It’s manly and nice.’

Grumbling internally, Leah looked at Helix sulkily. Was it because he wasn’t wearing his usual ancient style clothes but modern formal wear? Even in a frock coat, you could tell his body was firm.

‘Come to think of it, not just his palms, but his chest and shoulders were hard too.’

Remembering when she was carried up the library’s book tower, she fixed her gaze intently on his chest area.

“…Where are you looking?”

“No, I’m just curious. Is Helix’s whole body muscle?”

“How could that be?”

“I think it was? Why, before in the cave…”

The scene automatically played in her mind without her meaning to.

She vividly recalled Helix taking off his top when he gave her his clothes in the cave. His long silver hair wet and clinging to his broad shoulders and chest…

‘Aaah! Get thee behind me, demon of lust!’

When she couldn’t continue speaking, Helix glanced down at her.

“…Leah?”

Why were her ears and neck turning red while talking about his body? Helix’s voice grew suspicious.

“…What are you thinking about?”

“N-nothing in particular!”

Helix buttoned one more button of his frock coat with a disbelieving face.

“No, this isn’t fair!”

“Ahem, keep your distance.”

“Your Honor, is this really necessary!”

“The accused must stay three steps away.”

He straightened his clothes and turned around toward the campsite. Leah somehow felt wronged.

‘What did I even do! It’s natural to be… in-interested when the man you like has a good body! Why! What! Am I the only lustful demon here?’

***

“Hah… Huff.”

The mercenary took ragged breaths while leaning against the blood-stained inn wall.

Blood was everywhere. The knees of the veteran mercenary who prided himself on having been through everything trembled.

“What is this…?”

He looked up at the black-haired man standing on the inn’s landing with blurry vision.