Early in the morning, Khalif sat at the table, gently closing his eyes. It was the morning after spending affectionate time with Eve, but he couldn’t easily fall asleep. It was because Eve’s words lingered in his mind.

[“If it’s too difficult for you, I can do it, Eve. If my past self doesn’t remember, you can leave a memory of me in your mind, and I’ll take care of Felix’s matters. So if it’s too hard…”] [“No. Khalif, I’ll handle everything. You’ll remember everything, and I’ll solve the issues with Felix. I really want to do it that way. So, Khalif…”] [“…….”] [“Will you stay by my side like this? If you do, I’ll be really happy.”]

The words asking him to stay by her side just like now were undoubtedly making him happy, but the additional words were enough to stimulate his nerves.

At that moment, he wished she had hidden behind him instead. He hoped she hadn’t taken Felix’s matters to heart too much. He wished she had irresponsibly hidden behind him without making any effort.

If she had done that, she could have firmly stopped and prevented Felix. So, he hoped she would create a pretext for herself to be able to do that. But the situation he had hoped for did not happen.

Instead, she smiled even more brightly. As if she believed she could do it, she reached out her hand towards him.

“Hoo.”

Khalif couldn’t swallow a sigh. Her smile directed at him was so beautiful, and her gesture of embracing him was so lovely that his heart wasn’t at ease for a moment. It was all because Felix’s words kept ringing in his ears like a curse.

[“Do you remember the story I told you before? About why I was sealed.”] [“Yes, I remember.”] [“…Even if it’s just for a moment, I felt that energy again today.”]

The energy Felix felt was a powerful force that Khalif had to seal with his entire body. Although he had never directly faced that power, even hearing about it from Felix made it clear how dangerous that force was.

That’s why Khalif was afraid. It wasn’t because he was afraid of getting hurt by that power. It was because the reappearance of such a malicious entity in the world where Ibelia stayed was truly frightening.

Moreover, after mentioning those words, Felix’s intentions regarding Ibelia’s abilities bothered Khalif several times. There must have been a clear reason for the order of the words. Just by looking at Felix’s expression and tone when he spoke those words, it was evident.

If Felix had to fight against a dreadful force, Khalif could assist him in any way. Khalif was willing to risk his life to protect Ibelia if that meant he could keep her safe.
However, Ibelia did not wish to be with me in such a situation. She had to be safe in any circumstances. That was the premise condition for Khalif willingly risking his life in any situation.

“…Why do you have such a complicated expression?”

Khalif opened his eyes at the sudden voice. Then, the figure of Felix, who had taken the form of a human, emerged from the hamster.

Khalif silently stared at Felix. He, too, did not look well, as if he knew he had been guarding the table for a long time.

Perhaps he already saw through why he couldn’t sleep, lost in thoughts about what might be on Khalif’s mind. Felix had the ability to do so.

However, the reason for pretending not to know might be because, for this time, he couldn’t respect Khalif’s intentions.

Khalif suppressed another sigh, looking at Felix, and said, “Let’s talk.”

The tone of his demand was monotone. Felix, who had narrowed his eyes, sat across from him, as if he had no choice.

However, Khalif’s business did not continue immediately. Not only that, but it seemed like he was lost in thought after suggesting a conversation, as he didn’t open his closed eyes.

As the silent time without conversation prolonged, Felix had no choice but to narrow his forehead. Khalif thought that, considering his expression when suggesting to talk, he would bring up the main topic soon. However, as the silence continued, a feeling of frustration gradually built up.

The uncomfortable silence persisted for a long time. At the end of it, Khalif opened his closed eyes and looked at Felix with a sharp gaze.

“What do you plan to do?”

There were many omitted details in the question. Nevertheless, Felix understood his words perfectly.

“I already said. Now that it’s like this, I plan to help Ibelia awaken her abilities as soon as possible.”

“Why do we have to do that?”

“Isn’t there a reason not to?”

As if expressing frustration, Felix frowned. But Khalif, too, was frustrated just like him.

Felix had never lost his composure. There were numerous occasions where Khalif felt irritated by his constant composed demeanor.

However, Felix, who had always been so composed, couldn’t show a composed demeanor this time. Instead, he seemed restless, unable to erase the serious look on his face.

Khalif wondered if Felix was so eager because the opponent had a strong force. And yet, he still intended to place Ibelia in front of that force.