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Chapter 41
The conflict between the Temple and the Tower of Magic had persisted for a thousand ‌‌‌‌years.
After centuries of endless mutual vigilance, the situation finally erupted into the Divine-Magic War—a catastrophic clash between the Temple and the Tower of Magic.
Currently, the Western Continent was experiencing a steady decline in ‌‌its population of ‌‌those possessing magical or divine power. Yet despite this scarcity, the Papal See and the Tower of ‌‌‌‌Magic had squandered precious lives through their war.
The greatest battle of the Divine-Magic War took place on the Anes Plain at the heart of the Western Continent, where the Holy Knight Order had lured the mages toward Romallizan, the sacred northern stronghold of their homeland.
And unbelievably, the Tower of Magic's army fell for this transparent stratagem, marching toward Romallizan and suffering catastrophic casualties.
Unable to stand idly by, the Langrid Empire and the Hestia Kingdom formed a coalition army to mediate between them, with Enoch ‌‌serving as the commanding general of that alliance.
"Listen, Asdal. Why didn't you tell me about this?"
"Did I need to?"
"Of course! Weren't we close enough to fight almost every day back at the academy?"
Asdal shrugged his shoulders and answered with a shameless grin.
'Fighting every day counts as being close...?'
The definition of close friendship in this world seemed somewhat different from what I knew.
"I've heard about the war too. When I woke from my hibernation, the Tower of Magic was suddenly engaged in ‌‌‌conflict."
Kaiden, who had been quietly listening to their conversation, interjected. I turned to him in bewilderment.
"Hibernation? Are ‌‌you a snake?"
"I was kidnapped by the Temple as a child and subjected to experiments. To recover the magical power ‌‌‌‌‌‌I lost, it was an unavoidable choice."
At Kaiden's words, I was momentarily at a loss for what to say.
"I'm sorry."
"It's fine. But will we continue standing at a standoff like this?"
"Enoch and I will keep watch over them, so would you check the Cabin to see if there's anything we need to gather?"
He obediently followed my instructions and entered the Cabin.
Watching him do so stirred something peculiar within me. It meant that Kaiden trusted me to that extent.
'Perhaps it's the psychology of banding together when facing a common enemy.'
Suddenly, Enoch, who had been standing guard against Asdal, spoke to me.
"I wish you would stay by my side like this always."
Something about Enoch's words struck me as odd, ‌so I gazed at his profile. He tilted his head ‌‌‌slightly closer to me.
"I still cannot fully control my outbursts. Right now, you are the only person who can handle me. No one else will do. It seems I only respond to someone as beautiful as you."
"Beaut... what?"
At my bewildered response, Enoch's eyes crinkled with playful amusement.
"Your voice is beautiful, I said. Did ‌‌‌you misunderstand?"
"...N-no misunderstanding at all!"
Why did he have to phrase things so confusingly?
"If you misunderstand, it ‌‌‌would be awkward for both of us. We're not at that stage yet, are we?" ‌‌
"What are you saying? Just be quiet."
At ‌‌my reproach, Enoch burst into laughter.
I tried to calm my racing heart and shook my head.
He wasn't wrong. It seemed Yuanna still didn't know how to stop ‌‌Enoch's rampage.
Whatever ‌‌he was thinking, his soft golden eyes suddenly rippled with intensity.
"Margaret, I need you. So please, don't leave me. I'm begging you."
At Enoch's words, I found myself unable to respond and could ‌‌‌only gape silently.
I recalled what Kaiden had said before. ‌‌
"The Crown Prince acts as though he has some kind of separation anxiety, desperately searching for you like a madman..."
Just ‌‌‌‌as Kaiden had said, Enoch seemed to have developed something akin to separation anxiety.
While I was thinking this, Enoch, who had been gazing down at me quietly, smiled.
He patted my head once, then gripped the harpoon tightly again as he kept watch over Asdal's group.
Only then did I remember that a sword was sheathed in the backpack I had claimed.
"Enoch, use this."
I pulled the sword from its sheath in the backpack and handed it to him. Enoch accepted it from me without protest. ‌‌
"I can't use it anyway."
"Much obliged."
Enoch offered his thanks plainly, then immediately discarded the harpoon and drew the sword.
A sword suited Enoch far better than a harpoon. Disheveled ‌‌as he was, ‌standing there in the Crown Prince's uniform with blade in hand, he cut an ‌‌impressive figure.
As I was admiring this, Enoch spoke to me.
"Staying in the Cabin doesn't seem like a good choice."
"I agree with you."
I nodded while looking at Asdal's group standing in the distance.
This Cabin is special. For reasons unknown, Monsters rarely ventured near it.
That's why I remember the protagonists in the original story staying here for such a long time.
But no matter how good the Cabin is, I cannot stay ‌‌here with them. Their group is far too aggressive for us all to coexist.
To claim the Cabin for ourselves alone, combat seems inevitable, and I had no desire to take on such risks.
"Staying at a base camp exposed to enemies isn't a good choice. I'm worried they'll just take what's useful and leave."
I classified Asdal and Diego as 'enemies.' Since they had threatened us, calling them enemies seemed only ‌‌‌appropriate.
And at my words, Enoch nodded with a rather satisfied ‌‌‌expression.
But before leaving the Cabin, there was one last thing I needed to understand.
"Well, there are actually several reasons we must leave that I can't fully explain, but the biggest ‌‌reason is ‌‌‌that I hold the key. The escape key."
I should ask Yuanna ‌‌‌‌what that means, but I had missed my chance. Should I call her aside before we leave once things settle down?
Just then, Asdal extended his hand toward Yuanna with a rather affectionate expression.
"I think it would be ‌‌‌best if the Saint came this way."
Yuanna glanced back at me. When our eyes met, she gave a light wink. ‌‌
"Think it over. Staying with us. I really want to get close to you, Young Lady. Women surviving together. I find that far more interesting."
With those words left behind, Yuanna walked leisurely toward ‌Asdal.
Hearing ‌what she said, Enoch looked at me. His expression asked what Yuanna's words meant.
"She suggested we stay together in the Cabin. In exchange, she ‌‌said she would share information she knows."
Since ‌‌‌‌she mentioned she would tell us about the escape key, that counts as sharing information, doesn't it.
Anticipating the conversation would grow longer, I chose not to mention Yuanna's remarks about her service to ‌Enoch.
'But did Yuanna's last statement really mean surviving together as ‌‌‌‌women?'
I am truly someone interested only in 'survival,' protagonist or not. To be honest, Enoch and Kaiden were genuinely useful.
There was no reason to abandon useful Enoch and Kaiden in favor of Yuanna.
'Besides, I'm just someone who wants ‌‌‌‌to abandon everything and survive alone.'
"Rujeep. Come here."
Asdal gestured toward Rujeep this time.
Rujeep turned to me with an anxious ‌expression.
"Y-Young Lady...?"
He even called out to me, his eyes seeking my opinion on what he should do.
No, this man genuinely believed I was the leader of our group.
To be honest, I had no idea what to say either. If we accepted Rujeep to our side, it seemed like the conflict with ‌them would reignite.
"Why are you hesitating, Bishop?"
When Asdal called him again, Rujeep moved with a resigned expression.
Thus both Yuanna ‌and Rujeep had completely crossed over to Asdal's side.
What was more surprising than them all defecting to Asdal's group was that Diego, who should have been absolutely bound to follow Enoch's commands, was still standing firm on their side.
What on earth had happened ‌‌‌between Yuanna and them?
Just then, Kaiden emerged from the Cabin.
"Nothing much in there."
In his hands were women's white athletic shoes.
Then I noticed a small silver rectangular Zippo lighter in his other hand—a classic design with a hinged lid.
"My goodness."
An exclamation escaped me ‌‌unbidden.
'A lighter? And a Zippo lighter at that!'
Unlike ordinary lighters, Zippo lighters ‌‌‌‌rarely extinguished even in wind, making them ideal for use in the wilderness.
It used a flint ignition mechanism and would become useless once the fuel ran out, but when I gave it a slight shake, it seemed ‌to be filled with fuel.
I deliberately refrained from igniting the lighter in front of Yuanna's group and quietly accepted it, placing it in my dress pocket.
Fortunately, since no one here knew the purpose of a lighter, no one ‌‌‌‌found my actions suspicious.
"These seem to be women's shoes—they have an unusual design. Would you like to wear them?"
Kaiden showed me the white athletic shoes as he spoke.
It seemed the Empire had no concept of athletic shoes, so he called ‌‌‌‌them shoes instead.
Just as it had appeared in the original work, there might actually be ‌‌‌‌‌modern clothing inside the Cabin.
Since there were shoes, wouldn't there be clothes too?
"Margaret, would you like to wear them?"
Kaiden asked me again, his eyes ‌‌‌‌‌eager to remove ‌the ‌‌‌crude wooden slippers from my feet.
"I would."
"I'll put them on for you. You keep holding that."
Kaiden gestured toward the flare gun I was pointing at Asdal.
I nodded obediently.
He knelt on one knee before me and put the shoes on directly. His large hand wrapped around my ankle in one motion. Kaiden's hands were indeed large.
After removing the wooden ‌‌‌slippers from my feet, he even dusted off my soles with his own hands.
He touched my bare feet with movements as careful as if handling glassware, caressing my skin so slowly that my feet tickled.
Was he torturing me?
"I've never touched another person's feet before."
"I didn't ask you ‌‌‌‌to touch—I asked you to put shoes on. We don't have time, Kaiden."
"It's so soft."
Kaiden ‌‌ignored my words and continued fondling my feet ‌‌for quite some time.
What is this bastard doing...?
Needless to say, the atmosphere around Enoch, who had been watching this spectacle, became ‌‌suffocatingly tense.
Eventually, Enoch muttered in a low voice.
"I should break his fingers off."
Calm down, he's on our side.

---------------
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please ‌read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
---------------