Traces of the Past and an Ominous Discovery

His attitude was surprisingly consistent with how he usually acted. No, it was a little different. He treated me with much more friendliness than before. Yet, there was no awkwardness in that friendliness. To me, that felt even stranger. When a madman starts acting like a normal person, there’s usually something behind it.

I’ve seen too many deranged characters to simply believe this guy had turned over a new leaf.

“Why?”

As I continued to stare at Raphael almost as if I were glaring, he must have felt my gaze from where he rode ahead, because he looked back.

“Didn’t you say you’d go back if things got dangerous?”

When I asked while looking at him with a piercing gaze, Raphael gave a harmless smile. It was incomprehensible considering his looks and personality. Without realizing it, I glanced toward Judas. From where I sat, I could only see his back.

“It is safe now.”

Raphael shrugged. I countered coldly.

“Is it safe?”

The nuance was clear: Do you think I’m actually going to protect you? But he answered as if he felt no sense of crisis at all.

“You’re going to protect the whole group, aren’t you?”

He wasn’t wrong, but because it was Raphael saying it, I felt a bit offended.

“Do you believe I’ll protect you as well?”

Raphael’s expression didn’t change in the slightest. He simply nodded and said in a playful tone.

“Of course. You aren’t the type of person who can just stand by and watch a situation that would cause trouble for your Prince, are you?”

It was an unpleasant thing to hear, but since it wasn’t incorrect, I just frowned.

“You seem to be in a very good mood.”

“Yes, I am in a good mood.”

What?

Perhaps I made a face that was too overtly pissed off for a moment, because Raphael hurriedly added more.

“I mean, it’s exciting to be able to see a powerhouse like you with my own eyes while I’m alive. Of course, from your perspective, those words might not mean much.”

“…….”

“Isn’t it every person’s dream to dip their toes into a heroic epic?”

“Well…….”

I didn’t particularly want to agree with him, but I felt like I could understand what Raphael was getting at.

“Well, rest assured. Even I have no intention of becoming an enemy to someone this strong. That’s all there is to it.”

I said nothing and merely nodded at his words.

During the rest period that night, I sat leaning against Azrael’s shoulder, watching the campfire.

Everything felt eerily comfortable and stable. Even though this was an area crawling with powerful monsters, the assassins who usually visited at night didn’t show up tonight. The monsters here weren’t yet strong enough to be a threat to me, and the people around me—except for Raphael—were all knights loyal to Azrael.

And Raphael, the only slightly uncomfortable one, had said he had no intention of opposing me anyway.

Basking in the warmth of the crackling fire, I faintly retraced my memories of the old collaboration quest. Back then, we had sat by a fire together like this. I didn’t know I would grow to love Azrael this much at that time.

I had merely participated in the event out of greed for event items or trivial experience points, and Azrael was a time when he was still confused, having just fallen into a different world.

“…Thinking about it now, it is quite surprising.”

“……Huh? What is?”

My reaction was a beat late to his sudden comment. I looked up at Azrael at his out-of-the-blue remark.

“I mean, when we first met.”

“What about it?”

Azrael continued with a face full of mischief.

“Didn’t we fight each other back then?”

“Ah…….”

“Even if you went easy on me, thinking about the fact that I survived that battle now… it feels amazing.”

I pressed my hand to my forehead. No, I’m happy and glad he’s recalling the same time I am, but why on earth is that the focus……?

“If the Prince hadn’t charged in so recklessly, there wouldn’t have been a fight to begin with.”

When I spoke sulkily, Azrael let out a soft chuckle.

“I could not help it. I was not the type of person who could trust someone who suddenly appeared in a strange place claiming they would help.”

“Back then, no matter what I said, it didn’t get through, and I thought you were a really troublesome person because fighting was the only option……. But now I get it. It makes sense that the Prince wouldn’t trust me easily.”

When I let out a light sigh, Azrael laughed again.

“I passed out from your attack, and when I woke up, I was in front of a campfire. I was truly bewildered. I thought I would never wake up again, or at the very least, be confined in a prison somewhere…….”

It would have been nice if that was just a misunderstanding in a confusing situation. It was a bit bittersweet to realize that Azrael’s words weren’t mere delusions. Azrael must have actually experienced those kinds of situations many times.

But instead of asking Azrael if that happened to him often, I smiled playfully and nudged his side with my elbow.

“……But when you actually woke up, you were lying in a cozy sleeping bag by the fire, and someone was boiling cocoa next to you. Were you very flustered then?”

Azrael nodded.

“I thought I had already died and gone to heaven.”

We stayed like that for a long time, retracing memories and melting into the warmth of the glowing fire.

Raphael’s quest was still ongoing, the assassins hadn’t necessarily given up on following us for good, and the greatest mission—the Demon King subjugation—remained. But I decided to enjoy this leisure for now.

It was a rare, peaceful time.

The next morning, as soon as I opened my eyes inside my sleeping bag, I was overcome by an awkward feeling. Had I been intoxicated by the atmosphere last night? I felt like I might have crossed the line as a friend emotionally. Nothing specific happened, but the intimate atmosphere felt… a bit… something… hmm, sweeter than usual…….

Was it just me? Maybe I’m just jumping the gun and making assumptions……. In the first place, what kind of delusions am I having about a person who thinks of me as a close friend…….

Since I kept swinging between being excited and depressed since morning, the group members kept glancing at me while pretending not to.

After agonizing for a while, I tossed the sleeping bag I was folding and flopped face-down onto it. No, seriously, look at me! It’s not like I’m having my first love, or that I’m some fifteen-year-old with fresh innocence, and yet I’m acting like this over a game character who only sees me as a friend!

As I pressed my head against the cool fabric, I felt myself calm down a little. I stayed buried in the sleeping bag, repeating silent breaths in and out, and the complicated, tangled thoughts in my head settled down.

If only I could logout, I could clear my head more easily. I want to calm this… fluttering heart and come back. I feel like if I didn’t see Azrael for about two days, I’d be fine.

I reached out toward the logout button for the first time in a while. Naturally, the logout button was not activated, and no matter how many times I tapped it, logging out did not happen.

When I don’t care about logging out, it works just fine. Why is it that when I desperately need the logout function, it doesn’t work?

I stayed face-down for a moment, muttering complaints that were slightly off the mark, before I was forced to get up by John.

“The scouting team is back, so please get up now.”

“I don’t want to…….”

“Yes, yes, of course.”

After being forcibly separated from my sleeping bag by the strength of two knights, I felt like I understood how a three-year-old feels when their blanket is taken away, even though I had no particular attachment to the sleeping bag. Scowling deeply, I stood up and trudged toward where everyone was gathered, only to find them sitting there with subtle expressions. Hmm, why?

The role of the scouting team, which included Azrael, was generally “pathfinding.” Even if Azrael could determine the location of the Demon King’s summoning through the power of the Holy Sword—be it blessed or cursed—he couldn’t know the actual paths humans could travel, so scouting was somewhat essential.

Well, they say it’s essential.

As long as I’m here, it doesn’t seem particularly necessary, but I didn’t bother opening my mouth to point that out.

Even if they look human, NPCs are NPCs, not players. Among the actions of NPCs, there are many that won’t change even if a user points them out, and NPC are programmed to automatically ignore user remarks that might affect the system or worldbuilding.

Efficiency is important, but I’m the type who enjoys immersing myself in the game world by watching these small actions. I’d rather do multiple quests at once to save time than begrudge the time spent on each individual quest.

You can’t play a game for a long time if you get stressed over every little thing.

The returning scouts were talking while looking at the map with serious faces. Azrael was also pondering over the map with a serious expression.

Was there something to worry about this much? On the map I saw when I asked Azrael, this surrounding area was supposed to be a place where nothing particularly existed…….

Once the latecomers sat down, Azrael opened his mouth with a hesitant expression that was unlike him.

“I have discovered something a bit concerning.”