"So... are you sure you didn’t lose it?" Lydia asked.
She’d seen fighting Nexar. Well, not fighting exactly, since neither of us can hurt each other, but more like Nexar enjoying my breakdown.
[Not gonna lie, I enjoyed the show.]
’Shut up.’
’I’m not letting that psychopath into my crew.’
[Oh! You will.]
His confidence was so irritating.
"I’m fine," I said, waving it off. "What about your training?"
Lydia was sitting beside under the tree, sweat still clinging to her neck.
"I can now use the first three steps on instinct. The fourth step is... still not good."
She looked down, trying to hide the disappointnt in her tone.
"The fourth step is nothing like anything you’ve trained before," I told her, smiling softly.
"It’ll take ti to adjust to sothing that foreign."
"Hmm.." She humd, clearly not happy with her own pace.
"But still... mastering the first three before lunch is already a feat."
Before I realized it, my hand was already on her head, patting her lightly.
Her eyes widened in surprise.
Ah, damn it. What am I doing? My body just... moved on its own, like when I used to do that with Sera. I quickly pulled my hand back.
"S-sorry," I said, scratching the back of my neck awkwardly. "That just... happened."
But she didn’t say anything. She just lowered her head a little, shoulders softening.
"You really think...?" she asked quietly, her gaze still on the ground.
I smirked. "Yes," I said, patting her head again.
A small smile tugged at her lips.
"But you should still learn the fourth step before evening."
"tsk." She pouted. "Fine. I get it. I’ll go back to training."
She stood up, brushing the dust off her skirt.
She really needed to be more careful about the angle she gave people when she did that, though.
"By the way," she said suddenly, "I talked to Sera yesterday. Before I ca looking for yo... I an, before I coincidentally found you here."
I quickly looked away from below her skirt. "Is that so? What did you two talk about?" I asked, standing up.
"We just exchanged greetings," Lydia said. "I asked about her training. Commander Quinn is overseeing her now."
"Yeah, I heard," I said. "I talked to Quinn this morning. Seems like Sera improved her footwork. She can even perform mana bursts now."
Lydia nodded, satisfied. "She learns fast."
"She’s always been a quick learner," I said.
Lydia glanced at sideways. "You sound a little too excited," she said, trying to sound casual. But I could feel the undertone in her words.
"Who wouldn’t be?" I chuckled. "I really want to see her strength during the showdown with rin."
Quinn said she’d be taking Sera to her quarters for training until then, so I probably wouldn’t see her again before the fight.
Lydia smiled faintly. "Yeah... you’ll be leaving after that, right?"
I turned to her, she was looking far into the sky, a soft smile on her lips, but I can feel the sadness in her eyes.
"Lydia," I said. My tone shifting serious.
Her body tensed, eyes widening a little. She didn’t expect to get serious so suddenly.
"Will you join ?" I asked.
"...What?" she blinked, not fully processing it.
"After all this is settled. Will you co with on my journey?"
[Damn! I’m dying from secondhand cringe.]
’Shut up.’
Lydia’s eyes widened, her cheeks flushing pink. "Are you... asking to co with you?" she said softly.
"Yes."
’Shouldn’t you be generating recruitent prompt?’
[No use. Probability of her accepting is less than seven percent.]
’What?’
Lydia looked down, shaking her head lightly.
"I really want to, Rune. And... thanks for asking. But I can’t. I have my unit to lead. And I still owe Tugnier for saving my life and everything he’s done for . I can’t abandon them."
Her voice wavered near the end, eyes glistening.
"I’m sorry," she whispered, bowing slightly.
’Why does this feel like I just got rejected after confessing?’
[In a way, you did. Different goal, sa dialogue.]
"H-hey," I said, flustered, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You don’t have to bow. It’s not that serious."
Sothing wet hit my hand. A tear.
"Lydia?" I said softly.
She looked up, forcing a small smile. "It’s nothing," she said, rubbing her eyes. "Just... the dust. And the sun."
"...Right," I said quietly. No way that was dust or sun.
"Well, I should get back to training!" she said quickly, turning away.
"Lydia," I called out.
She stopped.
"We’ll make it out of this alive. Both of us."
I said that now, because I get this feeling that we won’t see each other until the fight.
She closed her eyes for a mont, then looked back at with a steady, determined gaze and nodded.
I exhaled as she walked off.
Two more days. Two hundred SBV soldiers. Over 500 Orcs.
And one threat — rin.
No one’s dying this ti. Not again.
********
For the next two days, I trained hard, harder than I had in a long ti.
Every bit of stat point I earned, I converted straight into my attributes. My MP finally hit the threshold of the first circle, at three hundred.
Those two days were quiet.
I slept alone, ate alone, and practiced alone.
It reminded of my past life. Back then, I didn’t have Sera. I barely talked to Lydia, who was always out on missions.
Even though I’d been in this sa place for two years in that life, I was always on my own.
Tugnier only dropped by now and then to give pointers about aura control, and then disappeared again.
The silence now... felt the sa.
It was... strangely peaceful.
I’d only gone back to my room once during these two days, just to grab etherium.
Lydia had moved her training spot sowhere else, probably to avoid overlapping with mine. Sera was under Quinn’s direct training inside her quarters.
As I sat on a high branch, I looked at the sun slowly climbing over the horizon. The clouds burned crimson, the forest glowing red and gold in the morning light.
It’s almost ti.
I jumped down from the tree, landing lightly on the ground, and started walking back toward the settlent.
"Wh–Who are you...?"
An orc guard stepped forward, holding his spear out, but froze the mont our eyes t. He stepped aside without another word.
The others didn’t speak either. Every orc I passed turned to stare as I walked into the cave.
My boots echoed against the stone steps as I climbed upward, sunlight spilling faintly through the cracks.
It was already bright outside when I reached the top.
Tugnier, Quinn, Lydia, and Sera were already there, standing together, their eyes fixed on the horizon.
The air was tense.
It was about ti rin arrived.
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