HPV 37

By now, I understood it too —the probability of Banwes following me wherever I went was extremely high.

Because he was tasked with protecting me, making sure I didn’t die.

I could tell just by how he helped shoulder the burden of the demon that dwelled within me.

‘Even after doing all that for me, he still can’t say a single kind word.’

Not that I was upset about it.

I knew better than anyone that Banwes had lived his life with almost no interaction with others.

How could I not know?

Honestly, the idea of Banwes suddenly acting kindly toward me made my stomach turn.

And imagining myself sweet-talking Banwes like I was dripping honey…

That thought genuinely made me want to throw up.

It wasn’t as if I had ever engaged in that kind of interaction either, so it couldn’t be helped.

This kind of relationship between him and me — it was just right.

‘Anyway, I hope Yurichen doesn’t misunderstand and think I’m refusing Banwes’ company because I’m worried he’ll get hurt…’

I tried to gauge if the look Yurichen gave me carried any hidden meaning, but I gave up quickly — my nerves were getting fried.

Besides, I couldn’t explain the real reason to a game character.

Yurichen, who was trying so hard to conceal his identity, would probably prefer Banwes to stay out of it too.

Because Sisen Danoah — the villain of this episode — was someone who had proper knowledge and discernment about how the world worked.

As a nobleman and swordsman, Sisen would likely be aware of the bounty on demonic half-bloods.

It wasn’t a coincidence the game always made Banwes and Sisen just barely miss encountering each other.

If I took Banwes along, it would be dangerous.

“Do you think he’ll actually listen to me?”

Yurichen raised a fundamental concern rather than immediately agreeing to my condition — and he had a point.

“You can use an artifact to take control of Banwes’ consciousness.”

The High Priest tilted his head slightly and rested his chin on his knuckles, making it obvious he didn’t like my suggestion.

“I don’t want to be in conflict with Banwes.”

“Just tell him I ordered it. He’ll direct his resentment at me.”

His face still showed hesitation, but since I was being this insistent, he couldn’t argue anymore.

He pulled out Banwes’ holy artifact from his sleeve and, in one swift motion, imbued it with power.

The veins stood out on the back of his hand, as if he were strangling a small animal.

Thud.

A soft sound of something collapsing echoed from inside the room.

There was no need to check — I knew what had happened.

Still, it was hard to imagine the huge man collapsing so helplessly, so part of me grew curious about the scene inside.

But another part of me really didn’t want to look. I wasn’t even sure myself why I felt that way.

Now it would just be me and Penzey handling this episode.

The forest wasn’t far, and I could walk the distance easily. Thanks to the short nap I took earlier, I had enough stamina to manage.

“I’ll be back.”

Penzey slung an arm over my shoulder and waved at Yurichen.

Yurichen quietly watched the two of us standing side by side.

“…Haaaah.”

He let out a deep, heavy sigh, as if the ground itself would sink.

Then, with a serious expression, he walked up to me and pressed a pure white dagger into my hand.

“Riarun, carry this dagger with you. If anyone tries to touch you without permission, don’t hold back — scream.”

“You act like he’s some damsel. How boring.”

Penzey grumbled, but neither of us listened. I accepted the dagger with determination.

I twisted up my loose hair and tied it back, covering it with a hood to hide the light color.

Penzey didn’t stand out much to begin with, so he didn’t need any disguise.

The two of us set out into the night.

As we quietly walked toward the forest for a while, Penzey suddenly spoke up in a low voice:

“So… what was life like in the Rohin temple?”

Inside my sleeve, I clenched my fist tightly.

“Why are you asking? What do you want to know?”

I returned the question in a casual tone, making it sound like I found his question a bit pointless, but not too coldly.

Penzey shrugged.

“I just figured it must’ve been boring. Yuri always seemed like he lived a boring life. Though if he heard me say that, he’d probably get mad.”

The mage wasn’t as lighthearted and careless as he appeared.

That, too, was part of his archetype.

In other words, if I said something wrong, he might grow suspicious.

When Penzey took an interest in something, he tended to dig persistently.

I didn’t want anyone discovering what had happened to me at the temple.

If I were ever to talk about it, I wanted it to be when I could use it to my advantage.

“It was kind of like Yurichen’s lifestyle. After all, we were serving a god in our own way.”

“So you’re saying—”

Wake up at dawn for morning prayers, wear heavy veils that made it impossible to even tell if the person walking ahead of you was handsome or not, eat flavorless meals, pray some more…

Penzey rattled it all off like he had been to the temple himself.

I nodded vaguely at first, then corrected him a bit, saying it wasn’t quite that strict.

‘It feels like Penzey knows more about temple life than I do.’

After complaining so much about how boring the temple must have been, Penze seemed to have completely forgotten he was the one who asked the question.

He was now gazing up at the night sky.

His black pupils didn’t reflect the starlight at all — they remained as dark as ever.

“How can locking yourself up in a temple be called living for yourself…?”

Originally, Yurichen was supposed to be here.

Thus, the lines meant for him were now being said to me instead.

But the intent behind them hadn’t changed.

It was then that Penzey suddenly bumped his back against an invisible wall with a soft thud.

Beyond the wall, the forest scenery looked the same.

But when he reached out, something blocked him.

Penzey glared into the air for a moment, then smirked.

“…A barrier.”

In the original story too, they discovered this same barrier.

Because of it, Banwes couldn’t track the scent any further.

Since Banwes wasn’t interested in meddling in others’ affairs, he gave up and left, while only Penzey and Yurichen went inside.

Three crimson magic circles swirled around the mage, pulsing faintly.

I could feel a strange flow of magic. The barrier didn’t budge.

Penzey’s left eyebrow twitched slightly.

I had to say the line that Yurichen was supposed to say.

“…Expand your circles.”

“Hold on. I have my pride, you know? Expanding the circles isn’t always the answer. This thing—three circles are enough to break it.”

He poured a bit more magic into it.

The scent carried through the air became noticeably thicker.

After a little while, cracks began to form on the previously transparent barrier.

That was enough.

There was no need to push him further.

No need to ask if it was because he couldn’t expand his circles even if he wanted to — that would come out naturally later.

The clash of swords shattered the quiet of the forest.

An ominous bloodlust spread out with every swing of the blades.

It was hard to believe that the same classmate he had just been sharing drinks with was now swinging a sword at his throat.

Was this some kind of joke?

Relying purely on instinct, Paronai drew the sword at his waist just in time to block Sisen’s strike.

But he didn’t have the strength to defend himself for long.

As Sisen pressed down with more force, Paronai’s arm trembled.

The balance of power looked like it could tip over completely at any moment.

It really seemed that Sisen intended to kill him.

“Pao, you… ran away, didn’t you? Because you didn’t want to graduate. Isn’t that right?”

Sisen’s voice felt like it pierced right through his neck.

A chilling killing intent radiated from him.

Paronai gritted his teeth and tightened his grip on the sword.

But his drunken body wouldn’t muster its full strength.

And then, the others — the ones who had been laughing and drinking just moments ago — now lurked in the shadows, silently watching.

Although they had called themselves Sisen’s friends, in this extreme situation, they were clearly more like his private soldiers.

The only small consolation was that while Sisen was engaged in a duel, they seemed unlikely to interfere.

If they attacked all at once, Paronai wouldn’t stand a chance.

After all, although Paronai had scored the highest in the monster-hunting exam, his skills in human combat were poor.

It was purely a matter of conviction.

“Answer me, Pao.”

Suddenly, Sisen deflected his blade with a sharp move, breaking Paronai’s balance, and then thrust his sword at Paronai’s abdomen.

Paronai just barely rolled aside to dodge.

His breathing was ragged, sweat running down the back of his neck.

Taking advantage of the brief gap, he steadied himself and answered:

“No… I was just taking on a commission, planning to delay graduation for a while…”

“That’s just an excuse. I asked the academy. They said you officially dropped out.”

His sweaty hands slipped slightly on the sword’s grip.

Paronai bit his lip, unable to give any answer.

Sisen closed the distance between them in a flash and aimed another thrust at Paronai’s chest.

But what Paronai feared the most right now wasn’t the sword in Sisen’s hand —it was the sharp words that would come from his mouth.