74 – What Pious Believers Expect (6)

“Serica. Listen carefully.”

“Yes, yes…!”

“Don’t ever step out in front of Kayla again.”

Celica was teary-eyed and grabbed her own hair.

It’s a shame because her fire didn’t catch on, and Celica could have been engulfed in the flames if she did something wrong.

“Sorry…”

Celica couldn’t lift her head because of her apologetic heart.

I was too embarrassed.

It was my first time fighting, so I could make mistakes. But just now, his life was in danger.

Celica couldn’t even lift her head, as if she knew what she was doing wrong.

She apologized to Kayla as well as to me.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know what to do…”

“No. It’s fine.”

Contrary to what he said, Kayla’s face hardened.

She received Celica’s apology, but she didn’t seem very happy.

How can a new colleague look good if he makes an embarrassing mistake?

But she couldn’t even get angry. Everyone has a first time.

More than anything else, Celica came out to help Kayla.

She stepped forward to stop the Werewolf, who was after Kayla, and nearly caught herself in flames.

If I hadn’t stopped Kayla’s flames with my shield, big trouble would have happened.

“From now on, just stay still. Never mind me.”

“Yes, yes…”

Celica’s voice gradually shrunk, as if she had died.

Erina, who was watching her, clicked her tongue.

I woke up with a more irritable tone than usual.

“We must hurry. We won’t be able to see half of the plains today.”

She was right.

Compared to the last expedition, the speed was noticeably slower.

Everyone knew who it was.

It’s just that he doesn’t open his mouth because he’s looking at me.

“Serica. It’s okay, so be careful in the future.”

“Oh, I see!”

Celica held onto her wand with her answer.

It was said to be a staff brought from a monastery, but it didn’t seem like a very good weapon.

She was rusted in places, and the cross on her handle was chipped.

Rather than not being maintained, it seemed like an old item.

After tidying up her surroundings, she started searching the plains again.

The way to find Cerberus was simple.

Just walking around aimlessly until you come across it.

Witchbeasts whose archetype is a wolf tend to live in groups.

So, if you kill Werewolf, Cerberus, the leader, won’t stay still.

“It’s too slow. Can’t you walk a little faster?”

Erina nervously hurried her steps.

Celica’s body flinched and trembled at Erina’s scream.

In fact, even Kyla could have reached her speed.

But Celica wasn’t.

I was gasping for breath even though it had only been ten minutes since the march started.

There was no way that Celica, who usually prayed in the monastery, could keep up with our physical strength.

“Erina. Don’t be impatient.”

“…Still too slow.”

Erina was in a hurry more than usual.

He was probably acting more sensitively to pressure Celica.

But she was right.

Because of Celica, the progress slowed considerably.

“Serica.”

“Yes, yes…!”

Wiping the sweat off her face, Celica looked up at me.

The backpack on her shoulder was full of potions.

At least we shared all the heavy luggage, such as camping gear and emergency food.

I was considerate in many ways, but Celica was lagging behind the most.

“Isn’t it hard?”

“No! It’s okay…!”

In the meantime, I was holding my breath to pretend I wasn’t tired.

She snatched the backpack off her shoulder.

Even with a gesture of dissuading her, she put her backpack down for a moment, and her shortness of breath subsided.

“Let’s cheer up a little more. We’re going to have lunch in half an hour more.”

“Okay…!”

At my words, Celica burned with enthusiasm.

Celica was a colleague who brought her despite the opposition of her other colleagues.

Erina didn’t even look at her, let alone talk.

Kayla couldn’t reveal the fact that she was Yongin, so it was difficult to approach her prematurely.

In other words, there was no one to take care of her unless it was me.

“My lord, I will carry it.”

“No, it’s okay.”

Kayla came to carry Celica’s luggage.

She tried to say no out of pity, but Kayla stubbornly grabbed her backpack.

But Erina came up first and snatched her backpack from Kayla.

“Okay. Let’s go.”

As if nothing had happened, Erina slung her bag over her shoulder.

Kayla shut her mouth, feeling offended by her.

And Celica was trembling as if she thought it was her fault.

‘This combination… Is it okay… ‘

She definitely thought it was the perfect party.

In fact, looking at the composition, it was good to think that it was the most ideal combination.

Shield soldiers and swordsmen. Wizards and healers.

The balance between the front and back rows was good, and the division of roles was clear.

Everyone was good at their skills.

Needless to say about Erina and Kayla.

Celica is still lacking in experience, but looking at her stats, she is a promising enough talent.

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But the mood at the party was five minutes before the sh*t started.

“Ugh… Ugh…”

The sound of heavy breathing filled the forest.

As Celica was sweating profusely, she was barely following us.

The priest’s cane was used to reach the ground for miracles.

In the end, I opened my mouth.

“Let’s take a break.”

Everyone stopped at my words.

It’s still early to eat lunch, but it seemed like there would be a dropout if we moved any further.

Erina glared at Celica with a dissatisfied face.

But maybe because of me, there was no open criticism.

“Kayla. Prepare the food.”

“Okay.”

I made a seat in the shade of a nearby tree.

Wiping the sweat, I looked around the scenery.

As the wind passed, the pampas grass in the plains swayed.

There was an endless field of silver grass that had grown to cover the view.

It wasn’t easy to navigate the roadless wasteland.

Every time we moved, we had to break the silver grass to make a path.

It was also a problem when meeting monsters.

It was difficult to identify the enemy as the field of vision was obscured by the silver grass.

‘There was a reason why the guards were wiped out.’

It was a natural environment for monsters to attack.

It was even more dangerous if it was a fast and clever werewolf.

Even I missed a werewolf out of sight in the middle of a battle.

Even Kayla was more sensitive than usual, being careful not to catch fire on the silver grass.

In the midst of that, Celica made her mistake, so her mood had to sink.

“My lord, here you are.”

“Ah. Thank you.”

Dry bread and water.”

Kayla pulled out her emergency rations from her bag.

Dry bread and fruit jam.

This is the food I ate until I got tired of it while camping.

I already miss the meat soup I had for breakfast this morning.

Still, it’s a shame to go back two days later.

When I climbed the snowy mountain, I never wanted to think of it again.

“Here it is.”

“Ah, thank you… !”

Kayla also took care of Celica’s share.

One good thing was that Kayla was sorting out the construction work.

At least, like Erina, she didn’t pay attention.

Apart from not trusting Celica, she was taking care of her in her own way.

I wasn’t the only one who cared about Celica, in case Celica would fall behind.

She even carried her on her back on her way to the capital with her former Colin.

But that didn’t mean she accepted Celica as her teammate.

“At this rate, we might not even find Cerberus until the sun goes down.”

“Don’t be too impatient.”

Erina stayed by my side and continued to mumble.

As time passed, she was getting sharper.

You have changed a lot from when you first met me.

The image that always smiled brightly and sometimes acted cute has completely disappeared.

He has developed a habit of frequently getting irritated and grumbling.

Were all of the previous actions a pretense?

However, my liking for myself has not changed at all.

She, who was always sensitive next to me, was the only one who became calm.

“Seohyun.”

“Huh?”

“I want to go back soon. I want to go back to the village and rest in peace.”

Erina looked very tired today.

She seemed uncharacteristically listless and exhausted.

Looking back on the journey, it was a stressful day for Erina.

The number of unwanted colleagues has increased.

Unexpected things keep happening.

In the meantime, there were often times when I almost lost my life.

In particular, the request from Seolsan was the most dramatic.

After being almost killed by her snow woman, Erina’s obsession with me intensified.

“Don’t be in too much of a hurry. Still, this quest is easier than the last one.”

“Still, you can’t be careless. You never know where monsters will come from.”

Even in the midst of her meal, Erina did not put her longsword in her hand.

There were no signs of monsters around.

But she kept looking around to see if it was different.

It was to the point where I felt stuffy watching it.

Erina ate the bread in an instant and stood up.

Kayla is busy taking care of other people’s meals. Now she is taking a bite of bread.

Serikado She hasn’t finished eating yet.

While she was busy taking a breath, she couldn’t even swallow her food properly because she noticed.

“Let’s rest for a while and move again.”

While the two finished eating, Erina and I guarded the area.

Thanks to that, I got time alone with Erina after a long time.

Although we are always together, the atmosphere is different.

“Erina. Why are you in such a hurry?”

At my words, Erina’s head sank.

She was also aware of her own condition.

“I’m sorry. But I want to protect you.”

“I am fine. Above all, you are there.”

If Erina was by her side, at least she wouldn’t die.

But she shook her head slowly.

“I… Not strong at all.”

Why did he say such a weak thing?

Is there anyone who can compete against Erina and win?

At least for now, no one was there.

Even so, Erina was full of melancholy.

“I wonder if I will lose you. I am anxious every day.”

Lately, Erina has often shown an emotional side.

When I first met her, she acted lively like the main character I knew.

Since she met Kayla, her dark side was revealed.

When the conflict reached its peak in the snowy mountains, she lived in depression.

After returning to the capital, she seemed to have regained her energy.

But she couldn’t be more sensitive now, so she was showing obsessive-compulsive disorder.

“Let’s rest for a while and then set off. And it’s okay to move a little slower.”

“…I see.”

Erina needed a break.

But she herself didn’t know that.

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