The black hair was drenched in blood from who knows where, giving it an even darker hue, and his tattered armor was barely hanging onto his body.

It was a miracle he was still standing.

“Lord Wiegratz!”

What happened to this powerful Weapon Master? The soldiers, their faces darkened, rushed over to support him.

But Matian raised his hand, signaling that he was alright.

Even in this state, he smiled gently. That dangerous aura was closer to a seductive demon than a hero.

No wonder there were rumors of even men being enchanted by him.

“We were ambushed during the move, but it’s not enough to bring me down.”

“But…”

“I appreciate your concern, but please call a priest with strong Holy Power. I wish to be healed quickly.”

Though Matian’s voice was certainly gentle, it carried a strength close to a command.

“A priest with strong Holy Power…”

The soldiers exchanged glances, immediately thinking of Rukna first.

At that moment, Head Priest Jerome approached with quick steps and held out his hand to Matian.

“It’s been a while, my lord. Let me heal you. Hm? Why the expression?”

Matian stared at Jerome’s hand without taking it.

The aura of rejection was so palpable that Jerome unknowingly lowered his outstretched hand.

“I appreciate the thought, but Head Priest, your Holy Power will struggle to handle me.”

Matian declined with a regretful expression. It was obvious who he was looking for.

Funny guy, this brother of mine? Jerome, his pride hurt, put on a forced smile as he withdrew his hand.

“Then what, should I call the Archpriest for you?”

“Even if not Her Holiness, isn’t there an excellent priest here?”

“I am also excellent.”

Jerome pretended not to know Matian’s intention. But it didn’t last long.

As soon as Matian remarked, “I’m thinking of making a donation for priest training after this war ends,” Jerome kindly pointed to a certain tent with both hands.

“Priest Rukna is purifying Lady Mella Chamberlain.”

At the mention of Mella’s name, Matian slightly furrowed his brow.

He had heard in passing that Mella was active in this area, but he didn’t know she had reunited with Rukna.

“As expected, Head Priest, you are amazing. There’s nothing you don’t know.”

“Don’t mention it. Wait here. I’ll bring Priest Rukna as soon as the purification is over.”

“No, I’ll go myself.”

“But your wounds…”

Jerome looked Matian up and down.

His body was in tatters, to the point where it seemed a miracle he was standing.

Despite Jerome’s dissuasion, Matian diligently walked towards Mella’s tent.

Though his cousin’s spirit was crushed by some incident, her tenacity towards her target was similar to his own.

Perhaps his cousin, like him, was trying to claim Rukna without necessarily discriminating between men and women.

“Rukna.”

He stood in front of the tent where Mella was temporarily staying and called her name.

Then Mella, her eyes swollen, emerged from the tent.

Her bright blue eyes, which seemed on the verge of shedding tears, dried up like a desert the moment she saw Matian.

“Who are you looking for in someone else’s tent, cousin?”

“I heard Rukna was here.”

As soon as she heard Rukna’s name, Mella’s eyes moistened again.

“As expected, that priest was indeed Rukna Golden.”

Mella muttered ‘Rukna’ in a small voice. It was a name she couldn’t speak while pretending not to know him.

Rather than revealing identities and stirring up the past, it meant they would each live as new selves.

“Don’t covet her. She’s my woman.”

“Is that all you have to say upon seeing me? You’re really losing your touch.”

“Then I’m grateful.”

Matian retorted with a bright smile.

Fed up, Mella waved her hand at him.

“Priest Rukna went to the stream to prepare to leave. She seems to be filling her water flask.”

“Thanks. It was really nice to see you, Mella. I hope you survive even if stabbed many times.”

After leaving a farewell in a kind tone, Matian quickly turned towards the place where the stream was said to be.

Is that what that hero calls a blessing? Mella sighed at Matian’s back.

Matian thought countless times as he slew monsters and black magicians in the western frontier.

Doesn’t this much fulfill a hero’s duty?

‘I miss her so much I’m going crazy.’

Then a giant one-eyed monster appeared.

Its eye was as large as a lion’s head and sparkled as if an emerald had been cut.

Matian dug out its eyeball and quietly looked at it. His expression reflected in it was surprisingly serene.

“L-Lord Wiegratz? What are you doing now?”

A knight asked with a pale face.

He was quite comfortable now, so he had no idea why that guy was making such a terrified expression.

“The color is similar to the eyes of the woman I love.”

Matian smiled brightly as he said this.

His comrades who had gone to war with him exchanged uneasy glances and placed their hands on his shoulders.

“Lord Wiegratz seems to be in need of rest.”

“Y-yes. You’ve overexerted yourself. You’ve been exposed to a lot of dark magic from constantly being on the battlefield.”

“We’ll take care of things here and return to the capital. Lord Wiegratz can follow at your leisure.”

It was truly welcome news.

Matian set out on the journey home, pondering ways to naturally meet Rukna.

Perhaps due to prolonged exposure to dark magic, his heart ached, but he declined help from other priests.

‘Rukna the priest only meets the injured. So I need to get injured too.’

On the way, he made a habit of facing enemies without weapons, and as a result, he obtained glorious wounds she could not ignore.

Proudly bearing his tattered body as a badge of honor, he arrived at the military camp where Rukna was staying about an hour ago.

‘Maybe the injuries were a bit excessive.’

His head was hazy, either from blood loss or contamination.

He got lost several times on the way to the stream due to dizziness.

‘I should’ve brought a guide if I knew this would happen.’

Now he relied on his sense of smell like a beast to find the stream.

Staggering towards the place where a strong scent of water wafted, he suddenly toppled forward and fell into the stream.

Fortunately, the water wasn’t deep. Even when he plopped down on the streambed, the water only lapped below his chest.

‘Damn it.’

Matian tried to get up by grabbing a large rock. But his lower body wouldn’t move easily due to his clothes, heavy with water.

Then he heard the voice he had longed for.

“I wondered what foolish idiot was doing that!”

Matian nimbly turned his head towards the sound. His vision was blurry, but Rukna’s figure was clearer than anything else.

“Rukna.”

“What are you doing? Why are you injured like this? Did you jump into the stream in this state, unable to swim?”

“Rukna.”

Matian gently smiled and chanted only her name.

“Was it Chad? Did Chad do this to you?”

I should’ve wrung that damn guy’s neck myself! Rukna supported him, putting one of his arms over her shoulder.

What was so heavy?

As she strained and staggered, Matian, who was being supported, actually helped her maintain balance so she wouldn’t fall.

It was ambiguous whether she pulled him out or he got out on his own, but she safely brought him to the edge of the stream.

His large body plopped down on the pebble-strewn streamside, then swayed, unable to keep balance, and fell to the side with a groan.

Rukna hurriedly checked his wounds.

“To be this contaminated by dark magic even with a holy sword… What was that scrap metal Bisby doing until its owner got like this!”

“…Haha, Rukna.”

“You fool, this is no time to laugh!”

Rukna sobbed and grabbed his cheeks, immediately kissing him. As soon as the hot saliva mixed, instant purification took place.

The contamination that had seeped between his cracked wounds rose as black smoke and dispersed into the air.

Rukna briefly parted her lips to check his condition, then repeated the kissing.

She looked desperate, as if performing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

“Purification alone can’t completely heal the wounds. We need an elixir.”

When Rukna tried to leave his side, telling him to wait a moment,

he grabbed her wrist and pulled hard. She toppled over onto his body.

“Matian?”

“Where are you going? You need to do more.”

“Isn’t this much purification enough?”

“My heart still aches. You’re not enough.”

“Bear with it for now. First, we need to treat your external injuries…!”

Then a large hand grabbed the back of her head and pulled her towards him.

Mmph! His lips overlapped hers. Soon, a sweet yet metallic breath entered through the slightly parted gap and took over her mouth.

This was not treatment or purification. His heat squirmed with obvious desire of a different intent.

‘Even though you’re injured to the point of almost dying!’

Rukna tried to push against his chest, but couldn’t bring herself to use force.

The wet blood on her palms told her how seriously he was injured.

“Ma, mmh, Mati, ngh.”

This wasn’t the time. Rukna pulled her head back as much as possible and called to him.

She thought the hand on the back of her head would block her escape, but his face followed her movement and tenaciously refused to part from her.

A warm liquid was felt on her body where it touched his abdomen.

Trying to sit up, she put strength into her abdomen, worsening his bleeding.

‘Please, Matian. When you’re in pain, I’m in even more pain.’

Rukna, her eyes brimming with tears, firmly bit the hot flesh ravaging the inside of her mouth.

Ugh! As his face briefly pulled away, Rukna immediately chopped the back of his neck with the side of her hand.

“Gah! Rukna?”

He fainted and collapsed.

Through his narrowing vision, he saw Rukna’s face urgently going to seek help, then disappear.

The military camp was in an uproar with the appearance of the injured Matian.

The soldiers were busy setting up a small separate tent for him.

“The Hero fell into the stream, so his body temperature keeps dropping. We need to light a fire.”

“Wait, young lady over there! Could you bring that torch this way?”

A soldier carrying a pile of firewood made a request to Mella.

Everyone was busy with their tasks, so he asked her since she was taking a short break.

Mella, standing far from the torch, shook her head with a pale face.

“What’s this? You mean you can’t even help with that little thing?”

“Leave it. She’s a noble young lady. Guess she doesn’t want to listen to the likes of us. Who knows, maybe she’s just here on a picnic in armor.”

As the soldiers whispered among themselves, Rukna brought the torch instead and silently lit the pile of firewood the soldier had just put down.

As the fire caught quickly, the startled soldier stepped back.

“Eek, be careful, Priest! Did you see how my hair almost caught fire?”

“You all need to be careful too. That female swordsman who has reached Sword Master level may come to cut out your tongues soon.”

Rukna spoke up for Mella’s skills and chased the soldiers out of the tent.

Then her eyes briefly met Mella’s, who was standing far away. Mella bowed her head and exited to an unseen place.

The inside of the tent quickly became quiet.

The smoke exhaled by the campfire disappeared side by side through the hole in the tent’s roof, making crackling sounds.

Matian was lying on the bed.

It was too crude to call the cloth laid over a pile of straw a bed, but with him lying there, it looked like a decent piece of furniture in some inn room.

‘At least the emergency treatment with the elixir is done, so that’s a relief.’

Rukna began wiping Matian’s body with a cloth soaked in heated water.

His torn armor and clothes were all removed, so he was wearing only pants.

Whenever the campfire flickered, shadows pooled on his upper body, densely woven with muscles, making his body appear even sturdier.

The wet cloth went over his face, neck, arms, and chest, stealing away the grime.

Finally, as she rubbed his abdomen, where muscles were thickly divided, his body trembled.

‘Is he awake?’

Rukna stopped her hand and looked up at him.

“Are you awake, Matian? Are you okay?”

“…I’m not okay.”

Matian sighed, rubbing his face.

“The woman who struck my neck is groping me while I’m unconscious, and it felt good.”