“Lucia, your mind looks blank. Are you alright?”
“Oh… yeah, I’m fine.”
“Did you get hurt somewhere?”
The warrior glanced at me. His sword was still pointed sharply at Deran and Derakal.
“We’re fine. I think you’re the one who got hurt.”
“… It’s nothing.”
I looked at the red mark that bled through from his abdomen. When he saw me looking, he slightly raised his arm to cover his wound.
“Grrrr…”
The two jaguars continued to circle around us. They instinctively noticed that this man was a warrior, and as they hovered around us, they growled more and watched. The warrior held on to the sword even more.
“They’re very dangerous creatures, go inside the village.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I’m on my own.”
“I don’t think…”
I mumbled and grabbed Tina’s hand and stepped back slightly. The warrior gripped his sword at the monsters with a face that did not care about his wound.
‘Actually, it might be best for the warrior to die here.’
I glanced at his abdomen, where blood was still seeping out. It wasn’t a fatal wound, but it still looked like it took quite a blow.
Deran and Derakal are also strong creatures, and if they attack his weak points, no matter how brave he is, he’ll still suffer. My life will no longer be threatened if that happens. But…
“Ah…”
At that moment, Tina’s moan next to me rang through my ears. I quickly came to my senses and looked back at her.
“Tina, are you alright?”
When I slightly raised her skirt and looked, her ankle was swollen much more than before. The warrior peeked at us and uttered again.
“Go ahead.”
Eventually, I left him alone and took Tina away. However, Deran and Derakal looked like they wanted to compete with the warrior somehow.
“Lu, Lucia. Are you sure you’re going to leave him alone?”
“They’ll do it on their own.”
“But…”
The tender-hearted Tina looked back anxiously at the warrior. She knew that Deran and Derakal were my men, and the fact that I’m letting them do whatever they wanted. But, she didn’t know that the man was the warrior.
“Come on, Tina.”
I reached out my hand to help her, and she hesitated for a moment but soon accepted it. We left him behind and left the forest by ourselves.
***
As soon as we arrived at the village, we headed towards the treatment center. Tina’s ability to sing a song of healing doesn’t work on herself, so she had to go somewhere to get treatment.
Fortunately, her condition wasn’t as bad as I thought it was, so walking wasn’t a big issue. The problem is that she won’t be able to return to the Devil’s Castle today.
After the treatment, Tina and I headed towards a small house on the side of the village. It was a place I used to live in.
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen this house! It reminds me of the old days.”
