"..."

Sitting alone in the room, Hans naturally heard Kael's words clearly.

But, as the protagonist had said, he decided not to forgive Kael so quickly.

But then, when Kael mentioned that he would leave this place and go to a village called Olive for a while, Hans couldn't help but frown.

What was this?

Had Kael decided to give up?

But that wasn't his personality.

But that tone… didn't sound fake at all.

It belonged to someone who was completely helpless, who had no intention of trying anymore, who had accepted giving up on everything.

Had Hans gone too far?

"No, I'm not wrong."

Shaking those thoughts from his mind, the protagonist shook his head.

Kael needed to learn a lesson.

And if he didn't even try, then Hans might have to reconsider this friendship.

But…

Were those Hans' true feelings?

"…As expected, I have another weakness. And this… seems to have been around for quite some time."

***

In the days that followed, Kael had truly disappeared from Hans's life.

It was as if he had evaporated from this world.

To be honest, this feeling was refreshing, comfortable, and peaceful when the protagonist was not bothered by anyone.

But at the same time, he also felt… empty.

As if he had just lost something important.

At some point, Kael had become an indispensable part of Hans's life.

And now that Kael was gone, the protagonist felt a little uneasy.

Like an addict, once they get addicted to something, they couldn't get rid of it.

'Should I go to that village called Olive? Kael is there, after all.'

Those thoughts had crossed Hans's mind many times.

But every time, he would immediately dismiss them from his head.

Why would the protagonist do that?

It was obvious that Kael was the one who did the wrong thing first.

Then why should the innocent person go to the one who was at fault?

Thinking like that, Hans continued walking down the hallway of this inn.

"Hmm?"

Suddenly, he raised his eyebrows when he noticed Seraphina walking towards him.

It was as if she had something to say to the protagonist.

"Hey, do you know what happened, Hans?"

Sure enough, he was right when Seraphina suddenly stopped in front of him and spoke.

What the hell was going on?

They weren't that close, were they?

But, keeping a minimum of courtesy, Hans replied:

"Did something happen?"

"A member of my guild just informed me that one of the elite demon troops is starting to advance towards a village called Oliver. Sounds scary, huh?"

"…!"

At that moment, the protagonist's body seemed to freeze.

One of the elite demon troops?

And they're advancing towards the village called Oliver?

Wasn't that where Kael was headed?

Ignoring the protagonist's pale face, Seraphina continued:

"But fortunately, none of us were near that place. Otherwise, they would have died. After all, they are the elite troops of the demon race. Hahaha…"

However, Hans could not take anything in anymore.

Right now, he only had two thoughts.

One was that Kael was in danger.

Although Hans knew that his friend was very strong, having to face the elite troops of the demon race was still too much.

And two, the protagonist had to save Kael.

"Well, I'm going."

Just like that, Seraphina left, leaving Hans still standing there, bewildered, like a person who had lost his soul.

It was obvious that everything that had happened from the beginning until now was so strangely coincidental and confusing.

However, Hans had no mind to realize that strangeness.

Then, like an arrow shot, he rushed straight towards the stables.

***

Sitting on the balcony of the inn located in Olive Village, drinking a cup of hot tea, enjoying the cool autumn breeze, Kael felt very relaxed.

But at the same time, he also felt anxious.

It was a natural reaction for a gambler.

Because right now, Kael was betting.

And the bet was his life.

Yes, it was all Kael's plan.

He glanced at the letter sent from Alaric, who had long since decided to leave the empire and was on a journey to find the answer.

— The demons are attacking the villages on the edge of human territory, villages that not many people care about.

— I think they're using the cancer plan.

"Heh."

Kael smiled.

It was thanks to this letter that his plan was born.

Since this Olive village perfectly matched all the conditions for the demons to attack based on Alaric's letter, he chose to make himself a victim.

Furthermore, Kael had also seen on the map that this place was also one of the closest to the demon king's castle.

That made his situation even more dangerous.

Although Kael was strong, fighting the elite troops of the demon race was still beyond his ability.

Even with Mavis, who had been weakened after becoming his soldier.

But it didn't matter.

Because Kael had asked Seraphina to act with him, to tell Hans Varun about this information.

And perhaps now, the protagonist was on his way here.

"I'm such a smart person."

He let out a smug smile, pleased with his plan.

But why was Kael so sure that Hans would come here?

"Because we're friends."

Even though the two of them were currently in a cold war, that didn't erase the fact that they were close friends.

Even if Hans felt angry, his subconscious already considered Kael a friend, an important person.

And with the main character's personality, he would never allow someone important to him to be in trouble.

If something happened to that person, Hans would almost lose all his sanity.

That was both his good point and his weak point.

After all, this was a detail that the game developers created for Hans Varun because they didn't want him to become overbearing.

Putting down his teacup, Kael then glanced at the distant horizon.

Where there was now a lot of black.

Those weren't clouds signaling an upcoming rainstorm.

Those were ferocious demons approaching this village.

Kael paused a bit when he saw that scene.

"...Wow, there are more than I imagined."

Honestly, he felt a chill down his spine when he saw this apocalyptic scene.

But anyway, things couldn't be changed anymore.

Drawing his sword, Kael summoned Mavis.

"I hope you come soon, Hans Varun, or I'll really die."

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