HPV 4

That evening, at the deep, dark hour when the sky had turned black.

Banwes began to move, hidden in the darkness. It had been hours since he last moved. Until then, he had stood still as if to become a massive stain on the cave wall.
Naturally, I tried to follow him. At that moment, he looked back at me.

I knew that the moment he took a breath, I would lose track of him. So before being left behind in the forest, I opened my mouth.

“Stop right there. Move slowly, so I can keep up.”

“……”

“If you leave me behind, I’ll die in this forest.”

This would make him wait, right? More unpleasant than my presence would be the thought of me dying and becoming a bleeding corpse.

The soft grass and dirt underfoot made soft crunching noises as I walked. I found myself frequently panting and leaning against trees to rest. Every time I did, the man in front would stop and exhale out of frustration.
I moved forward, keeping track of the arrangement of trees, the density of leaves, and the shape of the ground.

Suddenly, Banwes disappeared from my sight. And then, someone else appeared before me.

‘…There.’

In the center of the forest, a man was swinging a sword, alone, with no opponent.
It was the protagonist of the game. Exactly like the scene from the game.

Though he seemed ordinary, the impression he gave was strangely unforgettable. His brown hair reaching up to the nape of his neck, green eyes, light eyebrows, and a sharp nose were a peculiar blend. Every time he pulled the sword back, the tight fabric of his thin shirt would reveal his well-toned muscles.

Perhaps because I had met Banwes first, his muscles didn’t seem as intimidating.
But within that unremarkable body, there must be the sharpness of a sword capable of slaying the Black Dragon.

I hid behind a distant tree, hoping not to be seen. I pressed my clothes, made of fluttering material, against my body to hide them.

At this point, a great dilemma arose.
‘How can I make Banwes and the protagonist meet dramatically?’
The most important first part of the story was likely broken because of me. The fire had been put out early in the day, and the dramatic encounter between them never happened.

I needed to artificially stitch things together again, or else the hero’s party wouldn’t form.
Banwes hid in an unseen spot. Without another fire, Banwes wouldn’t come into the protagonist’s sight. If this continued, Banwes would quietly leave the forest and go his separate way, far from the protagonist.
How could I make their meeting leave a lasting impression…? I thought, and then looked ahead again.

My heart sank. The protagonist was gone.

‘Where did he go?’

I looked around, my eyes wide in confusion. Just as I was about to panic, I heard a desperate shout.

“Duck!”

The protagonist appeared suddenly in front of me, pressing my head down with one hand while swinging his sword in a wide arc. A shadow loomed over my shoulder.
The movement was so fast that I couldn’t follow it. The snap of breaking branches and the rustling of leaves filled the air as his sword sliced through them. I struggled to get up from my kneeling position, barely registering the situation, and then I was shocked.

‘Banwes?’

At first, I thought the protagonist had plunged his sword into a vicious monster. But looking again, it was Banwes, wearing a monster’s hide. Why is he wearing that?
Of course, thinking of the Banwes from the game, he always covered his face with monster skins, so it wasn’t entirely surprising. But why, of all times, is he wearing it now, making things so confusing?

‘The protagonist and his companion are fighting right now!’

I was dumbfounded. This wasn’t part of the story at all. Even saving my life wasn’t enough; now there was a fight?
And because of me?

The man, draped in monster fur, dodged the protagonist’s sword with incredible speed. The protagonist, with a serious glint in his eyes, continued his attacks undeterred, even after facing a formidable opponent.

However, the man facing him did not yield at all. Every time he stretched out his thick arm toward his opponent, an overwhelming aura emanated from him. The air seemed to vibrate, and the ground seemed to tremble. He resembled a giant many times his size.

‘…Wait, is Banwes attacking too?’

I was even more stunned, my mouth agape. Stop! I shouted loudly, but neither of them heard, too absorbed in the fight.

While the protagonist displayed textbook-perfect yet rapid swordplay, Banwes ignored small attacks and boldly charged toward his opponent. He deliberately exposed his arms and waist to the blade, leaving the protagonist confused. The sword could barely pierce his brawny forearm. It only left a thin red mark.

“These two are really fighting with their lives on the line.”

I couldn’t just watch the story fall apart miserably because of me. It felt like watching the end of the world.

“Stop it right now!!”

At that moment, Paronai’s strike, powered with all his might, was unleashed toward the other side.

Thunk!

The sword hit an invisible wall and bounced back. A barrier had been formed around Banwes in a circle.

The warrior, running at full speed, abruptly stopped. A look of surprise spread across his face as he turned to look at me.
I took a deep breath, calmly exhaling despite receiving his gaze.

The surrounding leaves, the trees, the pure life around me all seemed to listen to my breathing. The barrier that deflected the attack gently settled, turning into transparent green particles that scattered like waves.

‘I was trying not to use it again, but…!’

The protagonist’s expression was blank, as though he had just encountered a mysterious spirit in front of him.

The young man, whom I had thought I needed to protect, had just effortlessly deflected his own sword without lifting a finger, so it made sense for him to react that way.

Moreover, having been born and raised in the capital, this was likely his first time witnessing the power of a spirit-servant.

I stared directly at him, walking over to stand in front of Banwes.

“He’s not a monster!”

The protagonist’s eyes widened in shock, as though they might pop out.

Then I remembered the action I needed to take here.

‘If I stop here, it might seem like I’m siding with Banwes, but I’m definitely not. What if being good to Banwes makes him trust me?’

“He’s my source of livelihood, so I can’t let you get past him. If you want to get to him, you’ll have to go through me.”

Paronai’s brow furrowed slightly, and he looked up at me, as if asking for an explanation.

Banwes shot back in a harsh voice.

“You’re trying to capture me and sell me off for profit.”

“Yeah, just go with that story.”

I shrugged. As Banwes and I exchanged words, the protagonist looked at us carefully, as if inspecting us.

“When you speak, it’s a bit different from what I imagined…”

“I get that a lot.”

I replied, nonchalantly. Whether it was effective or not, the protagonist’s face hardened as he alternated his gaze between Banwes and me.

“Are you really going to sell him off? That’s a bad thing to do.”

“Who doesn’t know that?”

He hesitated at my words, then his face turned cold after a few exchanges. Exactly like Banwes.

Now, the protagonist exchanged a look with Banwes.

‘Already exchanging glances? I guess they’re quickly finding common ground since they both dislike me?’

Of course, I was the one they both disliked. I did well in making myself a point of contact between the two.

Paronai sheathed his sword and, without looking at me, extended his hand toward Banwes.

“You got pretty hurt because of me. Let’s go to the nearest village. You need treatment.”
Wait, this line?

Only then did I feel a weight lift off my chest. Finally, the story was starting to piece together.

In the original story, after Paronai saves Banwes from the flames,
Paronai insists on taking him to a village to treat his injuries.

But if they could easily go to a village, Banwes wouldn’t have lived a life being chased, persecuted, and living among monsters.

When Banwes blatantly ignored Paronai’s suggestion and tried to leave, Paronai offered to go to the village and bring back medicine while Banwes waited.

“I’ll go get the medicine. Wait here.”

Just like this.

But when Paronai returned, Banwes was nowhere to be found. After searching the forest thoroughly, Banwes, discouraged by the academy’s summons, eventually returned to school.

Paronai, too, couldn’t go back to school as planned and met someone else instead, but that’s a story for later.

‘I’ll meet him again soon.’

As soon as Paronai disappeared from sight, Banwes slid back into the forest. I hurried to follow him.

Meanwhile, I withdrew the last remnants of the spirit’s power still flowing through me.

“…Ah!”

At that moment, a sharp, needle-like pain stabbed through both my lungs and heart. I clutched my chest with my hand, gasping for breath.

‘What was that?’

Before I could figure it out, the brief pain vanished without a trace, like water clearing up after a storm. I stood still, frowning for a while.

Then I realized Banwes was looking at me, and I quickly relaxed my expression. I decided to put off thinking about this for later.