Alnea went into a daze the moment he heard Yuri’s words. She was right. Even if it was because of his carelessness, he did break his word. No excuse he made could change that fact. Fortunately, he had not taken an Oath. A realisation that only deepened his guilt. Had he never even considered keeping his word? And if he had, why did he not give it his all? Why did he let his guard down? She had warned him repeatedly… Why did he not listen to her? Why—

  Feeling the soft, warm lap disappear from below his head, Alnea came back to his senses. Glancing at Yuri, and looking at the Clarity in her eyes, he understood that continuing their conversation was impossible. At least for the moment. Suppressing the trace of guilt and panic surging in his Heart, he followed Yuri’s actions, and pushed himself off the ground, while taking a quick look around himself.

  Blood Hall? It looked like they had changed position from where he had been stabbed, but they were still in the main lobby of the Blood Hall. Thankfully, the Final Trial had not begun. Yet. How long had he been out for? Did they still have enough time to explore the Final World before the Final Trial?

  Suppressing his thoughts for the moment, Alnea continued his observation. The counter for Healing and Recuperation? That made sense. But why was he alone with Yuri? Where were the rest of his teammates? A question, whose answer he found right in the next moment, when he turned towards his left, and saw the counter for Law Enforcement.

  With their weapons out in their hands, and a lone purple robed girl tied up in a rope made from grey fog to their side, the rest of the Star Seekers were standing fearlessly against a group that was roughly three to four times their size. They were even waving their weapons from time to time. Of course, they did not take any action. After all, they were still in the Blood Hall. But the same went for the group they were facing.

  Lotus clan? No, judging from their numbers and robes, they must have also brought their allies to intimidate his team with numbers. Unfortunately for them, the Star Seekers had long stopped fearing a group that outnumbered them by only three to four times. Not to mention that they were still in the Blood Hall. Those Wanderers should not be stupid enough to take action. Probably.

  Yet, there were also times when one could be forced to take stupid actions, Alnea thought, glancing at Amira. Though she should be a special case. An Initial Stage False Wanderer with no backing in her clan… She did not belong to the Lost City. From the very beginning, her purpose in being brought to the city was to be used against him. Since she had fulfilled her purpose, why should they feel sorry for sacrificing her? In hindsight, he truly should have been careful…

  In any case, the Lotus clan should not be stupid enough to sacrifice such a large number of Wanderers. Even if they shared their losses with their allies, such a meaningless sacrifice should still make them feel the pain. Of course, Alnea did not think that his enemies were not ruthless enough. He had already learned his lesson. Still, even if they were going to sacrifice their Wanderers, they should do it in the Final Trial, not in the Blood Hall.

  Then, what exactly were those clans trying to accomplish? Why were they creating such a ruckus? Did they want the entire city to… That might indeed be possible, Alnea thought, glancing at Amira once again. From the way she stood silently, she should know that resisting was useless. Even if the entire alliance of the Lotus clan came out, she would still have to accept her punishment honestly. The only difference would be the degree of punishment. And the Lotus clan’s statement. Those bastards wanted to—

  “He is awake,” Yuri said, drawing everyone’s attention to herself, while pushing Alnea towards the rest of their teammates. “Let him decide her fate.”

  “Alnea!”

  “Captain!”

  “You are awake!”

  Alnea did not even have time to register what was happening, when he heard his teammates exclaiming in animated voices. Right in the next moment, all of them rushed towards him, not bothering to hide their surging emotions. They did not even care about their prisoner, or the Lotus clan watching them from the side.

  Still, at least the men restrained themselves to only patting him on his shoulders, and greeting him with wide grins. Cecilia and Vestia, on the other hand, disregarded everything, throwing themselves into his arms, and burying their faces in his chest. For a moment, Alnea went into a daze once again, turning stiff, not knowing how to react. That was until he felt the shoulders of the girls sticking to him tremble, and heard their soft sobs.

  “…You are awake,” Vestia mumbled, sobbing so softly, that her voice came as mere whisper to his ears. “I was so scared… Your robe… it did not work… and there was so much blood… I did not know what to do… I thought… I…”

  “It’s alright,” Alnea said, patting Vestia gently on her back, not forgetting to do the same for Cecilia, enjoying the warmth overflowing from his chest. “Everything is fine now. I am all—

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  Before Alnea could finish his words, he felt something pushing into his stomach, trying to knock the air out of his chest. Thankfully, this time, his robe did not fail him. But that only served to anger the girl who had thrown the punch. Pushing herself away from him, she glared at him with reddened eyes.

  “Clench your teeth,” Cecilia said, this time punching Alnea in his face, only to be stopped by the golden glow of his robe. But that did not stop her from throwing more punches. Some to his face, and some to his chest. “This stupid robe… Why is it only working now? Why did it not work earlier? Why? Why!”

  “…It’s alright, Cecilia,” Alnea said, pulling his flustered green robed friend into a hug, and refusing to let go no matter how she struggled. “I am fine now.”

  “We told you to be careful…”

  “…You did.”

  “…I told you that you will be dead if something happens…”

  “…I am sorry.”

  “…Do you think just a sorry will be enough?”

  “…I promise that I will be careful from now on…”

  “…You are stupid…”

  “…I know…”

  “…You are a big stupid idiot…”

  “…I know…”

  “…Don’t die,” Cecilia said, burying her face in his chest, finally letting go of the tears she was holding back.

  “…I will not.”

  “…Don’t you dare die before me!”

  “…But I cannot let you die before me…”

  “Promise me!” Cecilia said, withdrawing her face from his chest, and looking him right into his eyes. “Promise me that you will not die before me!”

  “…I promise you that I will always be careful, and not put myself in needless danger.”

  “That is not what I said.”

  “…I am sorry.”

  “…You are a big idiot!” Cecilia said, burying her face in his chest once again, and wrapping her arms around him. Patting her back, Alnea turned towards Vestia, and found her wiping her tears away.

  “Are you alright?”

  “…Even after you just rushed past death, you are still worrying about others.”

  “It was not so serious. I was just stabbed in the stomach—

  “With an Oren Weapon that was carved with the Mysteries of Decay. Had we been even a moment late in pulling out the dagger from your stomach, the Decay would have spread to the rest of your organs.”

  “…Decay? Was it not a Blade of Void?”

  “Blade of Void? What is that?”

  “…How did the dagger pierce the defences of my robe?”

  “It did not exactly pierce through your defences. Your robe did react, it just could not react in time. My guess is that the ink of the Glyph Array had traces of a Nulloid’s or a Phantom’s blood. That could potentially allow the dagger to fool the Glyph Arrays of your robe, and would also explain why the spread of Decay in your body was so slow. Like I said though, this is just my guess. We will have to examine the dagger to be sure.”

  “…I just had a brush with death, and you are saying that the spread of Decay was slow?”

  “Why do you think we were so worried?”

  Alnea turned stiff for a moment, glancing at Yuri from the corner of his eyes. No wonder she was so angry.

  “…I did not know…”

  “Did that stop you from being careful?”

  “…I promise that I—

  “No need. I would rather not have you make a promise at all, than you make a promise that you can break anytime.”

  “I never break my promises. You know that.”

  “You broke your word.”

  “…That was—

  “Not a promise? To me, it was even more important than the Oath you took for me.”

  “…I am sorry…”

  “…I will not forgive you.”

  “…I will gladly accept any punishment you give me.”

  “…If you really want me to punish you, then suggest me a punishment I can be satisfied with.”

  “…How about you be careful in my stead?”

  “…Are you suggesting a punishment for yourself, or are you trying to punish me?”

  “You are angry with me because I was not careful. So, as punishment, it is only fitting that I have you take care of me for the rest of my life.”

  “…Say that when you do not have another girl in your arms, and I might consider it.”

  Alnea turned stiff once again, this time for a completely different reason. Glancing at Vestia standing next to him, and Cecilia in his arms, he sighed at the missed opportunity. It was not their fault though. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he patted Cecilia’s back, confirming that she had calmed down, before gently pulling her away from himself.

  “I am sorry for worrying everyone,” Alnea said, glancing at the girls, and the rest of his teammates with an apologetic smile.

  “As long as you are fine,” Vestia said, smiling back in return, while Cecilia just snorted at him, and turned her face away. Yet, she was not fast enough to hide the flush on her cheeks. Was her shyness finally catching up to her? With his smile growing wider, Alnea was just about to tease her, when he noticed Yuri finally willing to take the initiative to come to his side.

  “Yuri—

  “We can talk later,” Yuri said, still speaking in an indifferent tone. To his relief though, the way she looked at him was no longer indifferent. There certainly was resentment in her eyes, but most important of all, there was also a hint of care and relief. Although she was still angry, at least she was willing to talk to him. That meant that his work was already half done. Next, he just needed to find an opportunity—