Lieselalte pushed desperately through the pale, moonlit forest, her legs nearly giving way as she repeatedly tripped over gnarled roots. By then, she was beyond rational thought; her only focus was finding Wolka.
(Wolka…! Wolka…!)
She was well aware, of course, that Wolka had simply needed to get away from the group.
The two girls from the party known as Seeklore, whom they had rescued from the ruins along with Shiarie, had reached their breaking point. After hours of being unresponsive to any attempt at communication, they had suddenly collapsed as if a dam had burst inside them. They fell into a state of delirium, wailing and screaming incoherent words of repentance and apology. Likely, watching Liesel and the others prepare the camp had forced them to see their former selves—it made them realize, in the truest sense, what had been stolen and what they had lost back in those ruins.
For Wolka, it must have been a sight he could not endure.
He was the type who could never just sit and watch. Yet, as a man, he couldn't carelessly approach them either. Liesel knew his choice to distance himself to calm his mind was a perfectly reasonable one.
This was just a case of her worrying too much.
She could track Wolka’s general direction with her Probe, and she could clearly sense there were no prominent monsters nearby. There was no need to chase after him in such a frantic state. If she simply calmed down, took a deep breath, and maintained a light pace that wouldn't cause her to trip, she would catch up without any trouble.
She knew that.
But even so—it didn't matter.
(If… if something were to happen to him right now…!)
Even knowing he was safe, she couldn't suppress the impulse to chase him for even a second. Wolka had left their side; he was alone. If the unthinkable happened, no one would be there to save him. It would be irreversible. The thought wouldn't leave her, and her body wouldn't stop trembling.
That memory kept surfacing. That cursed, hateful memory where she could do nothing but pull his blood-stained body close to her.
And she had just heard, with her own ears, the screams of those who had lost the people they loved most.
A terrifying chill crept up the back of her neck. Though she had only just started running, her breath was already ragged. Her heart hammered against her ribs as if it were trying to tear her body apart, and she was forced to realize that she could no longer maintain her sanity if Wolka wasn't by her side.
She wanted to scream his name. However, they were about to step outside the range of the barrier. Raising her voice might lure monsters from the darkness. Even if her Probe could detect them immediately, she hesitated to invite unnecessary danger.
"Ngh…"
Her foot caught on a root again. She didn't fall completely, but her hands struck the ground. In that moment, the tightness in her chest felt like it would burst, and she sank to her knees.
"Liesel-san…"
Yulitia stopped immediately, placing both hands gently on Liesel’s shoulders. The chill at her neck subsided, if only slightly.
From behind, Atri caught up, pulling Anze along, who was struggling to run through the uneven forest.
"Are you okay? Do you want a piggyback?"
"…No, I am fine."
Liesel brushed the dirt from her hands and stood up. Catching her breath, she offered a self-deprecating smile.
"S-Sorry. I’m… I’m just worrying too much, aren't I?"
"…That’s not true," Yulitia said, shaking her head softly. "He is the person who matters most to us, after all."
"…"
"Senpai was reckless again today. It’s only natural for us to be this worried."
Atri gave a short nod of agreement. "Mm. Wolka is the one in the wrong."
"T-That is true. Honestly, that foolish disciple is always finding new ways to make us fret…"
Liesel had no intention of forgiving him for what happened at the ruins today—at least not anytime soon. Even after his left arm had been pierced, even though he might have been killed, he had told them to stay back and not interfere. He had no idea how they felt. Wolka, you idiot, idiot, idiot.
As her irritation flared, her panic began to recede. Liesel finally took a deep breath.
"…Let’s go. He’s close."
They found him shortly after. They reached a small clearing where the trees thinned, the darkness giving way to faint moonlight that illuminated the hazy silhouette of his back.
He was completely outside the barrier. Relief flooded through her, followed immediately by a huff of anger. Honestly, Wolka, you foolish disciple, why must you always make us worry! She prepared to scold him from behind, but then—
Wolka’s fist suddenly whipped forward, shattering a tree trunk with a thunderous crack.
At the sound of the splintering wood, Liesel froze, body and soul. She stood paralyzed. Though he had hardly used any Strength, she could tell it had been a full-power strike. The tree didn't snap in half, but the surface of the trunk had been pulverized, sending shards of wood scattering at Wolka’s feet.
Behind Liesel, Yulitia, Atri, and Anze stood equally frozen, unable to even breathe.
"…………Wol…ka…?"
Liesel’s voice was too thin, and at a distance of ten meters, it failed to reach him.
Instead, Wolka’s low monologue drifted back to them.
"—Ah, damn it. I really… I hate this."
Though they couldn't see his face, his voice was thick with an unbearable, bone-deep loathing.
And so, Liesel understood with a quiet ache in her heart. Ah, as I thought. This young man didn't see today as a day where he had saved someone; he saw it as a day where he had failed to save them.
Certainly, lives had been lost. In both Windmill and Seeklore, the men had been slaughtered. They hadn't even been able to recover the bodies for a proper burial.
But on the other hand, they had rescued all the women.
If Liesel and her party hadn't chosen this path home today, Ruerie and her companions might have vanished without a trace, and no one would have ever known. Even more adventurers might have fallen prey to the Ruffians' malice in secret.
In that sense, Wolka’s choice had saved Ruerie, saved Shiarie, and likely saved many future victims as well.
But he didn't see it that way. If anything, there was a chance he didn't believe he had saved a single person.
He likely believed that for these women—tormented by Ruffians, stripped of their friends, and scarred for life—there was no such thing as being "saved."
"Why is it that in every world, humans are—"
Even from where Liesel stood, she could see Wolka’s fist trembling with despair. He spoke of the ugliness of humans who would torment others for money or pleasure—a sight he seemed to have seen so many times, across so much time, that he was beyond disgusted and simply weary of it all.
Yulitia caught her breath. "I knew it… Senpai…"
In every world—it meant that before Wolka had met Liesel and the others, he had lived a life entirely different from that of an adventurer.
And in that life, hadn't he seen more than his share of human ugliness? He claimed he had spent his youth training with his grandfather. But was that really everything? Surely there was more—something he couldn't even reveal to them.
Otherwise, there was no way to explain why a seventeen-year-old boy would loathe the world with such intensity.
"There's no such thing as a god—I won't believe there is—"
"Ngh…"
Anze’s face contorted with a sorrow so deep it looked as if she were being physically wounded. As a Sister of the Chryscles Holy Church, words that denied God were an attack on her very existence. Coming from someone she held so dear, they must have been all the more devastating.
"Is that… how it is? Wolka-sama… do you truly feel that way about God…?"
"…"
It wasn't that Liesel had no inkling of this.
Since the beginning, Wolka had been strangely indifferent to the concept of "faith." People and faith were traditionally inseparable; regardless of the country, everyone lived with some deity in their heart. Even children were usually taught by their parents that someone was always watching over them, nurturing a small seed of belief.
Wolka was different. He didn't know the simplest Holy Words known to every commoner, and he never offered prayers at a church of his own volition. When necessity forced him to, he would merely mimic the motions of those around him, glancing sideways to make sure he was doing it right.
He had been that way since the moment Liesel met him.
She used to think lightly of it, teasing him that he was just a sword-obsessed boy who was ignorant of general common sense.
That was before.
"Surely… you must have suffered so much… for so long…"
"…………"
When he had cut down Staffio, his face had been a mask of severing grief.
When he had reprimanded Ruerie, his face had been filled with a yearning anger.
When he had saved Shiarie, his face had been a study in sharp, painful kindness.
And now, surely, his face was twisted with a boiling sense of disappointment.
I won't believe there's a god—they sounded like the words of a man who had completely given up on the world.
"…Maybe," Atri said softly. "For Wolka… the sword was his religion."
A spiritual anchor for a life he couldn't share with others. The only thing he could believe in when he couldn't believe in God. If Wolka loved the sword—and more importantly, if the pursuit of the blade was the only thing that could comfort his heart…
If that was his only support.
"…………"
They realized then that even now, they hadn't truly understood the depth of Wolka’s suffering. Liesel, Yulitia, Atri, Anze—none of them could find the words to speak.
"If I get depressed over something like this, they’ll laugh at me—"
Wolka mocked himself. As if any of them would ever laugh at him. He knew they wouldn't, yet he continued to blame himself, trying to forcibly bury his own weakness.
They wanted him to stop being so hard on himself, and yet—
"Master, and Yulitia, and Atri, and Anze—they have to be happy—"
It was painfully clear to all of them that Wolka did not include himself in that "happiness."
Perhaps it had started after the battle with the Life Reaper.
Just as Liesel had been crushed by the fear of losing him, and just as she had been haunted by nightmares of him vanishing ever since that day…
Perhaps Wolka had also glimpsed a future where he failed to protect them. Perhaps that was why he could no longer tolerate seeing anyone hurt before his eyes.
If that were the case, his actions when Shiarie attacked him hadn't been reckless at all.
When he saw Shiarie fighting desperately for her sister’s sake, he must have seen himself—the way he had fought like a madman for his own companions.
Because he knew that resolve, he couldn't forgive the world. He couldn't forgive the absurdity of a world that forced such a heavy burden onto a young girl.
That was why he couldn't bring himself to stop her by force.
That was why his body had moved before he could think.
That was why his emotions had overruled his logic.
"This life is surely meant for that—"
"――――……"
There were so many things they hadn't realized.
That he had endured a past too painful to speak of.
That behind his stoic mask, he was constantly hurting.
That he was so disappointed in the world that he had discarded God.
And that, despite all that, he was ready to bet his very life on their happiness.
(Wolka, you idiot……)
Liesel had never known anyone so foolish and clumsy.
Why did he work so hard to hide his own pain from them?
Why did he only think of others when he was the one truly suffering?
Why did he wish for their happiness when his body was broken because of them?
She couldn't begin to imagine what kind of life or upbringing could produce someone so irrational.
He wanted them to be happy.
Watching his trembling back and hearing those fragile words… Liesel was beyond help.
《Everyone,》 she called out to Yulitia and the others through Telepathia. 《Let us keep this to ourselves. If Wolka knows we saw him like this, he will likely…》
It would be easy to run out and embrace him with all her strength. But she knew that would only corner him. If he knew his weakness had been seen, he would be ashamed and would only try to bury his true heart even deeper.
《I will ask, just to be sure—》 She paused. 《Is there anyone here who is simply happy to hear his words?》
She was happy that he cared for them. Given the sins Liesel and the others had committed, it wouldn't have been strange if he loathed them, yet his kindness toward them was absolute.
And that was why his kindness was so painful.
They hadn't done anything for him that made them worthy of such a wish.
Simply trying to atone for their sins wasn't enough anymore.
They wanted to do more for him. They wanted to give back more than everything he had given them.
For Wolka’s sake—more, and more, and more.
The intensity of that longing made Liesel feel as if she might lose consciousness.
《…Everyone, do you understand?》
Yulitia offered a serene smile, as if the question were unnecessary.
Atri stood tall, her stance making her answer clear.
And Anze held a powerful, self-sacrificing devotion in her blue eyes.
《…I asked, but Anze, is it safe to assume you feel the same way?》
"…Yes," Anze whispered. "Compared to all of you, I may be an outsider to Wolka-sama. But…"
Liesel had been told the reason for Anze’s devotion once before.
When she found out that Anze had actually been the first to meet Wolka, she had been incredibly jealous. She had tried to reclaim her superiority by pointing out that Wolka was their companion now, only to feel guilty when Anze sadly agreed, calling her past self foolish.
Wolka didn't remember their first meeting, and Anze believed it was only natural that he had forgotten her. But even ten years later, she was still haunted by that regret. To her, Wolka was—
"My feelings for him are every bit as strong as yours…"
"…"
To be honest, Liesel usually found Anze unpleasant. She was an outsider eyeing Wolka, and the curves she hid beneath her chaste habit were an insult to Liesel’s own petite frame.
But she was grateful to her. Today, Anze had played a vital role—identifying the Ruffians, treating Wolka’s wounds, burying the dead, and tending to the survivors. Without her, they would have been in a far worse state.
She had gone far beyond the duties of a Sister.
So, her feelings for Wolka were clearly the real thing. Liesel supposed she could acknowledge her, just a little bit.
Her mind was made up.
"—Wolka!"
"…!"
Liesel stepped into the clearing, calling his name loudly as if she had only just caught up.
As expected, he had been completely unaware of them. Panic flashed across his face. He hadn't wanted to be seen. That was why he had come out here, outside the barrier, to vent where no one would hear.
So Liesel buried everything she had seen and scolded him exactly as she always did.
"Honestly, Wolka! What are you doing out here? You gave me quite a fright!"
—They… they didn't see?
His expression didn't change, but it was obvious how relieved he was.
"Sorry, everyone. I just needed some air…"
"You wandered outside my barrier! Wolka, you idiot!"
Anze, Yulitia, and Atri followed her lead.
"Wolka-sama, the two women have settled down. There's no need to worry anymore."
"Let's go back. Dinner will get cold if we stay out here."
"I'm hungry."
The sight of his companions was no different than usual. Wolka seemed to doubt them for a moment, but then he appeared to decide that worrying about it was pointless.
Liesel smiled and held out her hand.
"Come, let’s go back!"
"A-Ah."
She took his hand and squeezed it—hard.
She etched the feeling of his calloused, sword-worn palm into her mind. This was the hand she had to save.
She remembered the flash of his blade when he cut down Staffio. It was like the silver lightning that had slain the Life Reaper—a strike that surpassed magic itself. Even when his body was on the verge of death, he had forced open a path to overturn destiny through sheer will.
Even with only one eye and one leg, he still tried to cut through the world’s absurdity for the sake of others. Seeing him like that, she realized once again—Ah, that is his sword.
It would be a lie to say she didn't wish for him to just live in peace.
But tonight, hearing his true feelings, she finally understood what she had to be for him.
—Wolka. I’ll do my best.
I’m still scared, and I know it will take time for me to face the world again, but I’ll do my best to live up to your feelings.
But you see, Wolka, I can’t live without you. If you go away, I’ll break.
It doesn't mean anything if you aren't there with us.
So, okay?
Wolka.
We’re going to be together… forever, okay?
To Liesel, Silvery Grey and her close friends were her entire world.
As long as she had them, she had everything.
She needed nothing else.