Chapter 42. Desert Night

It was a headless knight.

There were dozens of such horrifying creatures. No, they were still rising. When would this black tide stop? When it reached hundreds? Thousands?

The light brown desert was instantly covered in black.

Some might call it a spectacle.

But not for me.

A chill ran down my spine as my heart raced madly.

The durahans before me were no less terrifying than the skeleton and lich hordes I saw in the Fjord Gorge. At least in terms of scale.

“H-h-h-how can I handle this alone…?”

I turned my head, trembling. I must have looked like a broken wooden puppet, creaking and shaking.

At least in the Grodes Mountains, I was with the Northern Knight Order. Claude fought alongside me too.

But this Mihail bastard, even though he’s one of the three heroes…

“It’s dangerous if you get distracted.”

His attitude was like watching a fire across the river.

But I had no choice but to heed his advice.

The durahan legion that had appeared silently began to advance, seemingly ready. While they closed the distance, my heartbeat quickened even more.

As I stood frozen, I heard Mihail’s voice from behind me.

“There’s one thing I should tell you.”

“……?”

“I absolutely detest anything tedious.”

“What does that have to do with—ugh!”

This crazy bastard!

Mihail roughly pushed my back. As a result, I, who had been standing on relatively higher ground, rolled down right in front of the durahans.

“Huh!”

As I raised my head, a headless knight was looking down at me.

How can it look down without a face, you ask? I don’t know. I just instinctively felt that way. I even felt like our eyes met.

Shudder!

My body reacted to the thought that I might die.

Thud!

The durahan’s sword struck where I had just been.

Wait, wasn’t I supposed to die in the Agulena battle?!

Surely the original story hasn’t twisted to the point where I die even earlier? I’ve been diligently working as a purifier, nothing should have changed yet, right?

Please tell me it’s not so!

I hurriedly swung my sword to block the durahan’s attack. The special training I had under Johann and Jesuf’s guidance at the Imperial Palace paid off.

However, it was uncertain whether I could handle hundreds of undead alone.

There was only one way!

Purification!

Fwooosh…

I reached out and turned one of them swinging a mace into dust. Everything that made up the creature, including its weapon, scattered and disappeared into the sand.

But that was it.

The tremendous power I had reportedly displayed in the Fjord Gorge, as written in the newspapers, didn’t manifest.

“Ugh…”

What’s different?

What’s changed from then to make my ability so feeble now?!

I gritted my teeth and desperately purified the durahans one by one. Since they were high-level undead, it wasn’t easy.

Come to think of it, even when I faced ghouls at the Imperial Palace, the purification area seemed wider than this… Though my eyes were closed then, I still had a sense of it.

While dodging like a squirrel and purifying, I even had time to think. I realized how much I’ve developed compared to when I first possessed this body.

While I was busy and even indulging in such reflections…

“……”

My eyes caught Mihail, still standing with his arms folded, staring down at me.

That weirdo bastard!

I was instantly furious to the tips of my hair.

He really won’t lift a finger? Did he do this to Aveline too? No, will he do this? You’re definitely out of the running for male lead, you jerk!

Inwardly cursing and anticipating Mihail’s miserable future of crying and clinging to Aveline later, I unleashed a barrage of mental curses.

Even without reading the later parts of the original story, I could tell. No woman would fall for a man who acts like this.

Fwooooosh!

I unleashed my purification ability once again.

…Huh?

A powerful light obscured my vision.

What’s different from just before?

The durahans that I had been killing one by one frustratingly suddenly turned to dust en masse and disappeared. Black ashes mixed with the dry wind and swirled around.

“Hooh…”

I heard a faint exclamation from somewhere above my head. It could only be Mihail.

I turned my attention away from the annoying guy and focused on the situation before me. Hundreds of durahans seemed to have vanished. But there were still hundreds more left.

Riding this momentum, I unleashed my purification ability again and again.

The durahan legion that had seemed endless turned to ashes and disappeared. Unlike in the Fjord Gorge, I didn’t faint this time.

I really don’t know what’s different.

Anyway, I did it, right?

Clap, clap, clap.

Then I heard leisurely applause from above my head. Mihail was elegantly clapping his hands, looking down at me with a satisfied expression.

“……”

I really want to hit him.

* * *

A few days later.

I entered the walls of Sahar again.

“My goodness. I can’t believe a person’s first impression can change so drastically.”

My evaluation of Mihail was now plummeting to rock bottom.

He might look like an angel on the outside, but he’s nothing short of a demon.

“How could he really just stand there with his arms folded the whole time!”

Splash!

Thinking about it made me angry again.

I was taking a half-body bath in warm water and punched the water surface.

I couldn’t bring myself to hit a hero…

This was my petty revenge.

“Phew.”

I should drink some cool juice.

I reached out to the table beside the bathtub and grabbed a glass filled with ice. As I gulped down the cold liquid, I felt a little better.

After relaxing like that, I came out of the bathroom.

After roughly drying my wet hair with a towel, I put on clothes that I had bought recently in the bustling area, which seemed to be fashionable in Sahar. They were flowy clothes with wide sleeves, well-ventilated and perfect for hiding my protruding belly, which I liked very much.

I looked out the window.

It’s the desert night.

The desert I spent with Mihail over the past few days was quiet, but the city night was bright with lights everywhere and bustling.

“I wonder if there really was a romance with Aveline.”

Such a question suddenly occurred to me.

After all, the desert expedition alone with Mihail was, well…

A bit strange.

With Claude, even when we got separate inn rooms and set up two tents for camping, all sorts of things happened…

‘We stayed so quietly in one tent.’

As night fell in the desert, Mihail skillfully set up a large cone-shaped tent. He set up just one as if it were natural, and I slept on the ground. And he sat in a corner, raising one knee and casually resting his arm on it, with his eyes closed.

I couldn’t tell if he was sleeping or just had his eyes closed.

He stayed like that, motionless like a statue, and when morning came, he would quietly lift his eyelids.

It felt like seeing a flawless human figure that should only exist in books.

Knock, knock.

Then a knock pulled me out of my reverie.

When I said “Come in” towards the door, a boy named Andrei, who had first guided me to Mihail, appeared.

“Miss Seraphina, the Commander is looking for you.”

“Sir Andantino?”

I blinked, finding it a bit unexpected that he was looking for me.

After all, we had just returned from the expedition a few hours ago. Compared to when we first arrived in Sahar, when he had neglected me for days after a brief greeting, this seemed quite unexpected.

Andrei bowed politely and said,

“I’ll escort you.”

* * *

Mihail was lying askew on a long chair with a cushion, staring at the ceiling. However, his focus seemed to be on something beyond the ceiling.

“Enchanting…”

It was a dreamy voice.

His blue-green eyes, muttering as if entranced by something, were filled with happiness.

“I want to see it again.”

Fwoosh!

The light seemed to flicker before his eyes like a vision.

The small bursts of light were good, but what truly captivated him was the massive light that had turned hundreds of durahans to ashes at once.

It was grand, magnificent, and beautiful.

Ripples form in his monotonous daily life. A spring wells up.

Mihail was thirsty.

He wanted to see a bit more of Seraphina’s purification ability. She had not only proven her usefulness but had also manifested a light purer than any purifier he had ever seen.

On the past few days they spent in the desert,

During the day, he saw that ability with his own eyes, and when night came, he closed his eyes and replayed it in his mind.

This won’t do.

I need to keep her here firmly.

I absolutely can’t let Claude that bastard have her.

With that resolution, Mihail slowly rose. He could hear footsteps approaching from outside. It should be about time for her arrival.

“Sir Andantino, I heard you were looking for m…e…”

His quick-witted boy Andrei, having finished guiding Seraphina, bowed politely and retreated.

Seraphina’s voice pleasantly floated on the night air.

Mihail gazed at her intently.

His large hand was grasping Seraphina’s chin with a gentle yet firm strength.