While waiting for Alterra to return, I was in the room pondering how to explain this to her. As the sun set and after we ate dinner without her, an idea came to mind.
Where could Alterra have gone? It’s about time she should come back by now. Even as the moon hung high in the night sky, there was still no sign of her.
Worried about her, I had already checked all the places she might have gone, but couldn’t find even a shadow of her. The only thing I learned from checking the smithies was that she had bought numerous ingots and disappeared somewhere with them.
Is she trying to create something amazing again? Though it’s strange that she’s completely out of sight. Besides, there was a flash of light earlier near the border.
No matter how much I think about it, it seems like she’s doing something, but I have no idea what it is, which is quite frustrating. Akashi, whose condition has slightly improved, is now sound asleep with Yuna at the inn.
I don’t know if Yuna’s feelings will reach him. I’m not sure about other Akashis, but this one clearly prefers men, so will Yuna’s feelings get through?
Apologies to the parties involved, but it seems impossible unless Yuna makes the first move. For someone who enjoys reading books more than talking to people, he wouldn’t approach Yuna first.
…Though I feel like I’ve been half approached myself, since I did take the initiative too, I don’t think it’s entirely one-sided. If anything, we’re exchanging blows…
Lately, I’ve been hit pretty hard. While thinking of some trivial jokes, I calmed my worries about Alterra. She must know I’m worried, so she won’t do anything reckless, I trust.
…Can I really trust that? She’s returned covered in blood more times than I can count after charging off alone into battle, so I can’t help but feel uneasy.
Should I go check the place where the light flashed earlier? Surely she didn’t launch a solo surprise attack in the middle of the night.
Just a moment. That can’t be right. Really, it can’t. Although my head was making that judgment, my feet were already moving outside the inn. Having done similar things myself, I just couldn’t stay still.
Alterra isn’t someone you can judge by common sense. From her very nature to her power, everything about her is extraordinary.
“Did you see a bright flash just now?!”
“Huh? Hey! Don’t grab people like that…! Oh, umm. Yes, there was a flash over there. Those mages are up to their usual tricks… Wait, why did you…”
I grabbed a random passerby, handed them a silver coin, and asked if they saw the flash. Once confirmed that I wasn’t imagining it, I headed toward the border where the light originated.
The silver coin should be enough payment for the question. While running, I reinforced my body with mana whenever my mouth watered or my legs twitched, unlike how Alterra does it.
I almost threw up what I’d eaten, but the thought that Alterra might have gone on a solo raid kept me moving.
In my imagination, Alterra was already charging towards the enemy lines alone, disregarding the hail of bullets and bizarre attacks, driven by her desire for recognition.
That seemed to be the biggest reason, despite her giving several others.
I should have followed her. Clenching my teeth, I left the fortified city. Running across the wilderness, I shouted Alterra’s name without expecting a response. I anticipated only the sounds of night animals fleeing or approaching, but an unexpected voice reached my ears.
“Here! Here I am… cough… hey… here! Myungho, over here!”
It was unmistakably Alterra’s voice. She signaled her position by firing something luminous into the sky. Pushing myself for a final sprint, I finally reached her.
She appeared to have already been in a fight, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth, her armor melted in various spots, and her lower arm completely gone, revealing the scorched flesh beneath. Yet, under the moonlight, her face looked more refreshed than anyone else’s.
Seeing that made me angrier than worried.
Who would not be angry when someone they worried about so much is casually laughing without a care?
“…Altera! No matter how strong you are, why would you go off to fight alone?!”
“Eh? What are you talking about? I’m not coming back from a fight…”
Does she really not consider this appearance as having been in a fight? Checking the color of her words with my left eye revealed the truth. Just a moment. Is it really true?
—
Myungho seemed to have mistaken me for going on a secret nighttime raid. Upon hearing his reasons for being so angry, I involuntarily spoke up, finding it absurd.
“What exactly do you think I am…? I’m neither a battle maniac nor someone who wishes to die. Why would I do such a thing? No matter how incapable I may seem, I can at least tell the difference between what I should and shouldn’t do.”
Still, I felt a bit guilty while saying this. The time I recklessly tried to fight a dragon, when I secretly attempted to lay eggs in the Mold Kingdom due to distrust of my comrades, and the countless times I blindly charged into enemy trenches without knowing what was there.
But I’m not stupid enough to go off to fight alone. What exactly do you think I am?
“Huh… So it’s true. Why is the color of your words…? Then what happened to make you look like this…? And why is your armor like that?”
Ah, so that’s why he assumed I fought. Since it wasn’t something I needed to hide and was rather something to boast about, I confidently tapped on the melted parts and explained.
“I was just experimenting with what I could do with the armor. The results weren’t great… hehe. Please don’t look at me like that.”
Myungho still wore an expression of disbelief.
So I explained what I was actually doing here. I consumed a lot of metal and fired breaths repeatedly, which probably caused the sky to flash.
And within the influence of this vein, I tried every method to fire my breath but failed, instead injuring myself and damaging the armor, so I stopped.
“…That’s what happened. I can fire segmented breaths, but… well. It didn’t work inside the vein. Instead, the power reversed and nearly caused serious trouble. I tried to use the armor to generate breath… Hmm. But it just melted. Ah, don’t worry too much. It’s just a minor burn on the skin.”
“Ultimately, it was still pushing yourself too hard.”
Too hard? It was something I calculated thoroughly to avoid endangering my life. There were slight errors in the middle, but since it ended with just burns, it can be considered a minor error.
“…Altera. You don’t need to push yourself so much. We’re here too. Can’t you take better care of your body? I know these wounds will heal soon, but still…”
Myungho looked at my burned arm with genuine concern. To someone who only possesses their physical body, being told not to use it feels contradictory, but seeing Myungho’s sorrowful expression, I unconsciously nodded.
Having someone worry about me is a good thing, but for some reason, it felt a little annoying. Probably because I’m not used to it; there hasn’t been anyone who cared about me this much in either my past or present life.
“Sorry for worrying you. While firing breaths, the pain strangely became addictive… and I lost track of time.”
The sensation of my throat melting, the feeling of my heart racing as if it would burst, the pleasure of releasing it, and the heat that made my body feel like it was burning—all of it felt inexplicably wonderful.
Recalling that sensation made me smile slightly, and Myungho gave a bitter smile as if he had seen something indescribable.
“Then… shall we head back now?”
Even I thought it was awkward. Myungho answered as if he had been waiting for that line.
On our way back, I roughly repaired the melted armor with metals I gathered from the craters created by my breaths.
Since I simultaneously shot metal and mana, carefully examining the craters revealed leftover metal at the bottom.
With the mindset of conserving resources, collecting the metals led us back to the lodging much later into the early morning.
Though I suggested we return, our detours made it late, and I glanced sideways at Myungho, but he seemed unaffected.
“…Altera. That… never mind, maybe later. Uh, not now. No, nothing. I’ll say it someday…”
Myungho started to say something but abruptly stopped mid-sentence, seemingly experiencing a change of heart. What was it? You’re making me curious.
However, since I was tired and my body wasn’t in perfect condition, I didn’t feel much like asking. After drinking potions and applying ointment, I should be healed by tomorrow morning.
…Shuddering from the strange sensation in my abdomen, I tried to fall asleep.
This will definitely hurt when it comes out.
…Should I ask Myungho to tone down the intensity of the pleasure?
