Things were going smoothly until now.

Until… the swordmaiden dropped a nuclear bomb and wiped a mountain off the geography.

"This might have leaked our current whereabouts and must have alerted those Abyssal class demons."

Saying that, Alice narrowed her eyes, glancing toward Leon, and then to the swordmaiden.

Both, for some reason, had unusually calm expressions before Alice pointed this out.

But now, she noticed a slight twitch on both their faces.

'Knew it,' Alice thought.

These two must have been so indulged in showing off that they forgot the whole point of keeping it low and safe.

"Leon is an idiot, but Miss Lumina," Alice said, turning her face to Lumina, sighing in disappointment, "I didn't know you of all people would make such a blunder."

Indeed, the whole point of Lumina residing in the cave was to hide from the Abyssal class demons who were creating those chimeras out of dead bodies.

And because of its location, surrounded by icy peaks, the cave served as the perfect base of operations for her.

But now…

"Umm… we already know that."

Leon awkwardly said, glancing at Miss Lumina who was standing behind him. "Right, Miss Lumina?"

She nodded, walking up to him. "Yes, I actually want them to find out our location."

"Huh?" Alice was confused. "What? Why?"

Lumina explained.

"As we discussed last night, I will be attacking the demon base today. And for that, I need to create a better distraction.

The demons, especially the Abyssal class, will most likely send the lower-rank group to inspect this area, leaving the base occupied with less security.

The higher-rank demons won't come themselves because a rumor has been spreading that one of the Calamities, the Blood Calamity, was sighted in this region. That was also the reason most demons feared to approach Lumina's cave.

But today, this explosion will make them curious and make them believe the Blood Calamity is finally about to attack their base.

Of course, that was all just a rumor, but for the demon, it would be difficult to confirm.

Lumina planned to use this chance to attack the base herself.

"Is that so…" Alice rubbed her chin, feeling satisfied with what Miss Lumina had just explained.

Even so…

"Why do I feel like you two just thought of this now?" Alice muttered to herself.

"Cough… cough…" Leon coughed, signaling Alice to stop asking so many questions.

They were here to help the protagonist, not interrogate her.

Alice's doubts might make Lumina think she did not trust her judgment.

So Leon just lightly warned her.

Shifting the topic slightly, Leon asked Lumina,

"Miss Lumina, they might have seen the explosion. It would be a bad idea if we stayed here for long."

Lumina, maintaining her calm facade, agreed and told both of them to prepare to leave the cave.

Truth be told, this whole explanation was made up right after Alice pointed out the blunder.

Both Leon and Lumina had been training.

They never thought it would lead to this.

But because Alice's intuition was correct, both Leon and Lumina cursed their luck and started preparing to move out before the sun fully rose.

Leon and Lumina acted naturally, saying little as they went deeper inside the cave.

After several minutes, Lumina moved to the other side of the cave to set up some traps, leaving Leon and Alice alone.

Packing up some bear meat, Leon whispered to Alice.

"Hey, the expression you are making is giving me nausea."

"Huh?" She glared. "Are you really asking me this? After what you did…"

'What did I do?' Leon thought.

Then he recalled the incident a few minutes back where he saw Alice in those clothes.

'She's really set on that incident?'

Leon hadn't done it knowingly, it was all an accident. And moreover, it was Alice's fault.

She was just playing the victim card at this point.

But he wanted to talk this out, so he apologized.

"Alright, I am sorry for looking at you in those clothes while you were the one running around just wearing only a t-shirt, and going all commando early in the morning."

Alice blinked.

"What? I didn't mean that… I was talking about you and the swordmaiden."

It was Leon who blinked several times this time.

"Me and her?" he asked. "Why?"

But he noticed the fact that Alice didn't deny it when he said she was roaming all commando.

'Was she really though?'

He thought for a second, then shaking his head, he instantly banished the thought.

Alice, narrowing her gaze, asked, "I noticed you acted way too soft when you talked with her."

Leon was lost for words.

He noticed it too today. He was acting all worried, whenever he saw her in grief, whenever he recalled that she would soon die…

He didn't understand the reason why.

This never happened before in his life. Not even when he was Haru.

This feeling wasn't like anything else.

It was not pity, not sympathy, not even respect. He had felt those before.

As Haru, he had seen countless characters suffer, ones he created himself, but never once did he stop to care. Not even for a second.

But now… every time he looked at her face, his chest ached.

Every time he thought of her fate, a strange panic rose in his throat.

Whenever she smiled faintly, whenever she turned her gaze away, whenever her voice softened for even a moment, he felt something twist inside him.

'What the hell is this…?'

He tried to rationalize it.

Maybe he was just too absorbed in this role, maybe his mind was playing tricks.

Yet when he put the word to it… just once, just a vague whisper, his heart nearly stopped.

'Love?'

No. No way.

His mind instantly rejected it. His whole body screamed in denial.

"No…" Leon muttered under his breath, shaking his head violently.

Love was not possible. Not for him. Not for Haru. It was ridiculous. Stupid. And even impossible if he must say.

He didn't even know what real love was supposed to feel like, and yet—

A sudden chill ran down his spine.

His chest tightened as if someone had stabbed a knife straight through his lungs.

His knees buckled, and he fell to the ground, his breath hitched.

"Hey!!" Alice's voice cracked, noticing him.

She rushed to his side, grabbing his shoulders, shaking him.

"Leon, what the hell—?!"

Saliva dripped down from his lips as his body trembled violently.

He couldn't hear her properly, her words melted into the noises replaying in his mind.

His skull throbbed like it was splitting open. And then, he saw something…

A scene burst into his head without warning.

He saw a bed.

And a pale figure lying on it…

No, not only that, he was lying on the bed himself, and the pale figure was lying beside him.

Glossy white hair spilled across her shoulder.

A young beautiful face, peacefully sleeping right beside him. Her slow breaths brushed against his skin, each exhale humming like a pleasant melody.

Her eyelashes trembled faintly, her lips curved softly as though she were dreaming something.

She looked so incredibly charming, yet distant…

'This face…'

Leon's heart lurched. He knew who she was. He recognized her.

The image vanished as quickly as it came.

His brain screamed, trying to hold onto it, trying to grasp the pieces before they scattered.

For a second, he couldn't breathe. For a second, he thought he was going to black out completely.

And then, a voice called out.

"Hey. You alright?"

Leon blinked.

The blurred haze around him slowly cleared up.

What he saw before him was that same woman. The same face he had just seen in his vision.

Lumina.

But a bit older.

Her crimson eyes were filled with worry as she crouched beside him.

Her hand brushed his cheek softly, with her low yet calm tone, she spoke to him once again.

"Breathe slowly. You must have pushed yourself a bit too much."

Her touch was warm, gentle, and almost felt unreal.

Leon's breath came in uneven ragged gasps, but his eyes didn't waver from hers for even a second.

His S-ranked Intelligence was in action right now.

His mind raced, spinning at tens of thousands of processes per second, tearing apart the vision, analyzing every detail he just saw.

And then, pain struck again.

"Khhekk!!"

It was sharper this time.

He felt his left eye throbbing.

He clutched it, squeezing tight as the sharp sting nearly blinded him. When he forced it open, the world blurred again.

And through that blur, he saw her.

The same white-haired maiden. The one he had seen in his flashback. Overlapping with Lumina's figure.

Two faces. One present, one from… somewhere else.

Leon's lips trembled. His voice came out hoarse, broken.

"Miss Lumina…" he whispered.

"Yes, I am here."

Lumina gestured to Alice.

"Alice, bring him some water."

Her hand froze against his, her eyes widening at his sudden tone.

Leon swallowed hard, forcing the words out, his mind still fractured after all.

"…what happened to me…?"

.

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