“Altair.”

A growling sound flowed through Hades’s throat. Despite knowing he looked threatening, Hades had no choice but to lean closer toward Angelica.

“Oh, I know you don’t like it.”

Angelica quickly tried to remedy the situation.

“But there’s a reason we have to join him on his journey.”

“Stop.”

“What?”

Angelica widened her eyes.

“I said stop talking.”

He didn’t want to hear more. He didn’t want to know what Altair meant to Angelica, or why, unlike with the substitute manager, Angelica couldn’t bear not to go with Altair.

“The reason doesn’t matter. The answer is no.”

“Hades…”

Angelica looked up at him with a desperate gaze. Hades lowered his head; he didn’t even want to see her trying to persuade him.

“Please listen to me.”

“Why should I listen if you’re just going to ask me to do as you wish?”

Angelica’s face darkened. Hades tensed, waiting for what would come next. If her response held even a hint of a scheme involving Altair, the situation would become very difficult to bear.

For him, and for Altair.

“I don’t want Hades to die.”

Hades thought.

Angelica was a woman who could utter any feeble lie to get what she wanted.

Seeing her trembling voice and tearbrimming eyes, he thought she could become an excellent actress.

(This is a time divider.)

I was wrong.

I plunged into despair watching Hades turn away.

The truth I had finally voiced did not change the expression on Hades’s face. He walked out without saying a word.

“Wait!”

I grabbed Hades.

“Aren’t you curious why I think this way, what my basis and reasons are?”

It was a futile attempt. Of course, it wouldn’t work. But Hades slowly turned to look at me.

“…Saint.”

I realized it. Hades was once again calling me ‘Saint,’ as if nothing had happened between us.

If there’s one hope, it might be affection.

If he really doubted me, a distinct change would have appeared in that affection.

For example, like a negative emotion.

“If you’re so desperate to make such futile statements, go be a saint.”

Hades’s eyes glowed coldly.

“But don’t think about coming back to Donovan again.”

I clenched my lips.

Hades was threatening me. If I were really Angelica, it would be an effective threat. But he didn’t know one thing.

If everything goes well, I would completely leave this world and could never return to Donovan.

“… ”

I lowered my head slightly. Now was certainly an opportunity. I could leave with Altair, never see Hades again, and get the two things I wanted.

Going home and Hades’s survival.

So I should have told Hades at that point. Even the permission I had barely received after promising to clear his misunderstanding could be lost.

But…

“Hades.”

I opened my mouth desperately towards him.

“Aren’t you curious why and how I could deal with the demons so well?”

“… ”

“Even if I wasn’t originally Angelica, the likelihood of me being an expert on demons is low. Right? Then how did I know how to deal with them so well?”

Hades’s gaze met mine squarely.

“Everyone has their own talent. You may lack talent as a saint, but you are really good at understanding situations and solving problems. I valued that.”

“No.”

I shook my head.

“I have no such talent.”
It might be a humble thing to say. The reason I’m good at the game is undoubtedly due to the ‘talent’ Hades spoke of. But admitting that now would leave me without a retort against Hades.

“I was able to defeat the demons well because I have already experienced it once.”

Hades’ eyes narrowed.

“Were you a demon hunter?”

“Let’s just say it’s similar.”

I sneered. Yes, a demon hunter… it wasn’t wrong. How many demons had I killed while playing the game?

Not only controlling Reto but also many of his comrades to kill demons—if I totaled it up, it would be in the thousands.

Hades slowly opened his mouth.

“You are lying right now.”

I felt wronged. This was truly accurate…!

“You may have already forgotten, but I remember clearly. When we first met, you didn’t even know the extent of the demon’s power. That’s why you tried to leave the castle alone with a sacred sword in hand.”

“…Ah.”

I moaned. I had completely forgotten about that.

“If you were a demon hunter, that wouldn’t have been the case. Moreover…”

Hades looked me up and down.

“The posture of a hunter… you’re too clumsy.”

“…”

Hades continued speaking.

“But I have no intention of probing further. As I said before, I don’t care about your identity. What’s important is that you are with me now, and you are Angelica.”

I swallowed dryly. Hades was… despite having affection for me, he was really a good person. I felt painfully so at the thought of leaving his side.

“There must be a valid reason for you to clarify things.”

Hades met my eyes.

“I want to hear it.”

Our gazes collided. My heart started to pound. Hades was willing to listen to my story for the first time. It was a hardwon opportunity, and I had to tread carefully.

‘I can’t tell him everything.’

Obviously. No one would accept the fact that you are merely a character in fiction, a mere digital fragment.