HPV 3

The cracked and burned soles of his feet left long footprints on the ground.

The hellish time passed, and gradually, the blue light of the forest returned. The trees were nearly intact, But the flames that had turned human bodies to ash were still enough to send a shiver down one’s spine.

The man, carrying Riarun, crawled into a cave like a beast.

The cave had an entrance on the other side, allowing fresh air to flow through. But the one truly purifying the air in the area was the limp human he carried.

He needed to erase the footprints to avoid being tracked, but he lacked the strength. As soon as Banwes hid deep within the cave, he collapsed.

Cradling the frail body in his arms, he fell into a deep sleep. As if his true refuge was not the cave but the fragile, pale form of the human in his arms.

It looked as though this had always been their shape—peaceful and serene.

After about two hours of sleep, a large shadow rose smoothly.

Banwes, who had been motionless the whole time, stared at the young human beneath him as if seeing him for the first time. Slowly, he sat beside him.

After surviving the flames, the immediate instinct for survival was replaced by a strange unease as his reason returned. The warmth of the human, which had been comforting earlier, now made him feel uncomfortable.

What had once felt like the miracle of a lifetime, this human, was actually nothing more than an irrelevant presence to him.

Irrelevant? Perhaps that was an understatement. He should never have been around a human. He shouldn’t have even looked at them. Touching, holding, none of it should have happened.

Even now, he could not stop staring at him.

Finally, he jerked his chin to the side to avoid the guilt.

Lying in the cave, Riarun looked like a wreck. His head was tilted to one side, sunlight-like hair in disarray. His clothes were singed and wrinkled, and his pale limbs curled up in the cold. The rough stone floor of the cave seemed poised to bruise his delicate, rounded bottom.

Despite this, Banwes left him undisturbed. He would not touch him until he came to his senses.

Meanwhile, Banwes erased the footprints outside the cave and fetched water from the river in a large leather pouch. He used it to wash his own wounds and soot away.

How much time had passed?

“Ugh… mm…”

With a small groan, Riarun stretched his curled body and opened his eyes. His deep, olive-colored irises immediately locked onto Banwes. The face before him, like a summer lake, drew Banwes in, and for a moment, he felt as if he were lost in an unfamiliar, intoxicating haze.

Then, the smooth, bloodless lips parted.

“You washed yourself and left me like this? After saving your life?”

That voice was sharp, biting.

Banwes was stunned. To have someone like him—a monster—be reduced to such a state twice, the other person was no ordinary being.

His personality… is terrible.

The faint affection Banwes had managed to form shattered like glass in his mind.

⸻

Looking back, so much had happened in the span of just half a day.

Even as I lay unconscious, I reflected on the chain of events.

Until recently, I had been captive to Hancanera. I thought all hope had been shattered.

But then, out of nowhere, someone had spoken to me.

And a great twist had occurred. I hadn’t expected such a stroke of luck. Clearly, a third party had intervened.

Could it have been the spirit, the enigmatic being who speaks to Hanqanera and only him? Why me?

I couldn’t understand the spirit’s intentions, and since I had escaped the cult, there was no way to learn more. In truth, I should have been more concerned about my future.

Then the entire forest had caught fire, throwing me into an even more dangerous crisis than when Hancanera had captured me…

The game’s protagonist had not arrived. If things continued like this, I would die before Banwes did.

Hold on to me. I’ll save you.

Right, I had finally caused some trouble.

Though I had been numb and hazy, my memory began to sharpen. I had unleashed the power of the spirit I had been hiding. And as a result, I had become noticeable.

I’ve ruined the story. I shouldn’t have stood out as an extra.

I should never have saved Banwes. I wasn’t even a character in the game. Not even an extra.

As a result, I was still here, alone with one of the main characters.

His presence felt wrong. I was effectively the one who saved him, the hero standing in for the protagonist. Banwes shouldn’t see me as special.

If Banwes didn’t bond with Paronai, and if the dragon hunt failed later on, and the kingdom fell, what would I do?

I sighed inwardly, then opened my eyes, which had been tightly shut for so long.

“Ugh… mm…”

As my stiff body loosened, a pained sound escaped me. My clothes were covered in soot, and I looked a mess. My muscles, which had been cramped for so long, screamed in agony.

I lifted my head, startled for a moment at the hulking figure across from me.

“You’re blocking the cave entrance with your back.”

With the story so tangled up, I threw out all my previous plans and decided to take a new path.

“You washed yourself and left me like this? After saving your life?”

I had shed all my temper. Patience had dried up completely in the underground church. It was easy to scold Banwes so that he wouldn’t grow attached to me.

The sharp words worked perfectly. Banwes, as if I wasn’t worth a conversation, quietly threw a cold, wet towel at me.

I needed to wash my clothes, but at least I had cleaned my face and hands. I met his eyes directly.

“Your name is Banwes.”

I recited the information I knew, as if reading his past, with meaningful emphasis.

“You’ve been alive for thirty years now. Your mother was human, but your father’s people were savage beasts…”

As soon as I spoke those words, his reaction became heated. Banwes glared at me fiercely, as though he was about to strangle my neck and hang me on the wall.

The brief flicker of warmth I had seen earlier vanished into the depths of the abyss.

“Everything you said is true. Now, tell me about yourself.”

This time, I smiled faintly, making sure it was visible. The blood-red glint in his eyes flickered just a little.

“Me? I’m the one trying to make a name for myself using you.”

“….”

“I saved you, so you have to help me. If you’re ‘human,’ you’d understand, right?”

I spoke with a mocking tone, recklessly. His expression didn’t twist too much, but his eyes seemed to flash brighter with every passing second.

Then, he spat out words in a voice as threatening as the lowest note of a rusty string instrument.

“When the darkness falls, I’ll leave this forest.”

“Mm, fine. You can take me with you then. I’m very weak, by the way. I got caught in the fire they started to kill you, and now I’m even more frail. If you leave me behind, I’ll die right away.”

It wasn’t that I was sick by mistake, but still, my attitude was shameless and audacious.

But soon, the flicker in his eyes dimmed slightly, and he turned his head. A faint, weakened sound escaped him.

“Back then, when you told me those comforting words…”

Hearing his voice crumble, I finally remembered what I had said to Banwes in the flames.
You’ve done no wrong. I won’t leave you like this.

Hold on to me. I’ll save you.

Those words… were things I had muttered unconsciously. I had been shaken by seeing Banwes desperately struggling in the fire. It was a mistake to say such meaningful words.
Because it wasn’t me who should be offering comfort to him. That should be the protagonist of the game.

Remember this: the flow where only the protagonist acknowledges Banwes is the way the black dragon is slain and the world is saved.

“What did I say to you?”

The best course of action was to feign ignorance. I was afraid that trying to come up with an excuse would only make things stranger.

Banwes’s eyes hardened in confusion. He couldn’t speak for a while after I pretended not to know.

“Are you saying it was all my misunderstanding?”

“Yes.”

I puffed my chest out, deliberately showing off. Banwes’s gaze was fixed on me. I didn’t avoid his eyes and successfully played my part.

Now, if I could just make Banwes meet the protagonist, I could naturally fade into the background.

At this point, I didn’t know yet.

That I, as an extra, would end up entangled with the hero’s party.