Droplets of water behind Hayden glowed, creating a rainbow as they flew. His wet hair, now completely dry, flowed with his brown hair. A large hand with white gloves covered her nose.

“Don’t endure the pain. There’s no need. I’m not worth it.”

Certainly, the parts where the curse had loosened and broken would hurt. Lú’s trembling lips seemed to want to deny that. Hayden quickly lifted his head.

“Lú, later. I’ll take care of it later. So, leave everything to me for now. It’s okay.”

He continued to reassure and soothe Lú not to exert more strength. She, who had lost half her sanity, couldn’t use more power. Right now, it’s just a nosebleed, but next, she might vomit blood.

“…No.”

Light returned to the green eyes that had lost focus and blurred.

“It’s not over yet.”

While bleeding from her nose, she was looking over Hayden’s shoulder.

He narrowed his eyes, throwing an irritated glance behind his shoulders. It was uncomfortable that there was a presence taking away Lú’s attention and gaze, even though it wasn’t visible, it could clearly be felt.

Hayden wanted to say that he would handle it and Lú didn’t need to worry. But he couldn’t dare to say such words to Lú. Lú, after removing her face from his hands, wiped her nose roughly. It was nothing much at this point.

Once again, a whip-like leg of Delgau emerged from the sea. It was precisely targeting Lú and Hayden. It attempted to separate Hayden and touch Lú, but it didn’t go as planned, so it was clearly annoyed.

“What are you going to do?”

Hayden asked Lú, holding her and avoiding Delgau’s leg. The sea monsters wriggled to break free from the seawater controlled by Lú.

“We need to push them away as far as possible to resolve this.”

Lú answered with a textbook response, biting into it. With a thud, a hefty sound echoed, and the monsters were once again bounced back into the deeper sea.

“Even the current distance is enough.”

Hayden quickly responded, one hand holding Lú and the other ready to draw his sword. But Lú grabbed his arm.
“It’s water. It’s okay.”

It meant there was no need to step forward. The whirlpool grew stronger and larger. The number of monsters swept up there was also immense.

Keeeek!

A dreadful sound echoed from that whirlpool. Though it should be unheard, Imperialle was visibly startled.

“Haha.”

Dry laughter fell over Lú’s head. At the same time, instead of drawing his sword, Hayden lightly flicked the hand under Lú’s arm, which he had been holding.

She remained still as she held him, but the horizontal gesture was endlessly irritating. And in an instant, the once blue sea turned red.

The horrifying screams from the whirlpool also abruptly stopped. The giant whirlpool became increasingly red.

Hayden reached out for Lú with both hands and, in her place, wiped her face once more. Unlike the gesture that beckoned blood, the wiping touch was tender and gentle.
“Thanks to the knight who lives by the water, we managed to overcome it well.”

His white gloves were also stained red with Lú’s blood.

“I can handle the duties of a faithful squire to the knight as much as needed, but do you find favor in the knight’s eyes?”

His voice was filled with suppressed irritation. Although Lú, while letting her blood flow, reluctantly tried to protect him, it seemed that he wasn’t pleased with it.

However, for Lú, who is more accustomed to protecting than being protected, the unfamiliar feeling of being guarded made her blink.

“Or should I strive harder so the knight can rest?”

The red-tinted sea was filled with silence. Delgau’s swinging legs were no longer visible.

Lú wanted to check more, but Hayden, who was looking at her piercingly with their foreheads together, didn’t even allow her to turn her head. The light emanating from him enveloped Lú, protecting the part where the curse had broken.

“Trust me a little.”

The menacing whirlpool that had dominated the sea slowly began to stop. Even when it stopped, the red flowers blooming in the seawater remained as vibrant as ever.

“Overcame… it?”

To the cautiously asked question, Hayden nodded his head without detaching his forehead.

“Are you okay? Not scared? Can you go in without trembling?”

Once an answer came back, questions poured out like a torrent. With eyes wide and pale, bleeding profusely, was that really so important? Hayden swallowed a sigh and answered.

“If I tell you to go swimming, you can do it as well as you want.”

“Swimming too? Do you know how to swim now?”

“Lú taught me.”

“Why ask if you already know everything?”

Responding with a tone that hinted at a stuffy nose, Hayden marvelled.

“It’s already messy, so it doesn’t matter. Stop using magic, sir. If you keep using it, blood will come out from your nose instead of your nose.”

Upon hearing this, Lú retracted the unfolded magic. Still, she awkwardly turned her face away from his hand covered in her blood.

“Why?”

“Seemed like you ran away.”

“Yes, I did. Everyone ran away.”

Delgau, and the legs he swung, all were pushed back and back, avoiding the whirlpool. Just as she suspected. Lú looked up at the sea.

“We should catch them!”

Hayden covered Lú’s nose again, stopping her shouts, and turned her face toward him, making her bend down again. In contrast to Lú, he acted very calmly and resolutely.

“We’ll catch them after the bleeding stops and the curse is resolved.”

He checked the seawater that was slowly retreating toward the shipyard and moved from the ruined shipyard to the outer beach. The movement was so swift that Lú didn’t even realize the surroundings had changed at first.

“I felt it. Carlos…, Emperor Calleta, right?”

About to call him Carlos, Lú, remembering Hayden’s strong dislike for that name, changed the title.

“Probably.”

He did not deny it. From the outside, Imperialle, who was evacuating people, quickly gathered around the Emperor’s vicinity and began his protection. Gradually regaining its original coastline shape, the rising sea swirled, spewing out monster corpses onto the shore with its dark red waves.

“Don’t rush. Although you may not feel it now, your health comes first…”
Hayden turned his head to soothe Lú. The beautiful and pristine white sand beach of Turington, adjoining a green forest, shook. A colossal presence had arrived here.

“We have someone else to work with besides us.”

Who? Lú, glancing at Hayden, followed his gaze and turned her head.

“I wish I could sleep, Odin!”

Disrupting the forest noisily and stirring up sand on the white beach, the Eastern Sage, Dragonlord Melpius, appeared with irritation, sweeping his hair aside.