‘It’s warm.’

The bed felt unusually warm and full compared to usual.

The blanket had a different scent than usual, and something firm yet smooth touched my hand, maintaining an optimal warmth like a well-heated stone – neither too hot nor too cold – which felt very pleasant.

So I kept feeling around, eagerly stroking the firm object. Ah, it feels nice.

Warm, soft.

How absorbed was I in that sensation?

“How long are you going to keep touching?”

I opened my eyes wide at the familiar voice near my ear.

The first thing I saw was a man’s broad, firm chest. Only then did Riley realize that what she had been touching was not a warm stone, but a man’s chest, and she raised her head in surprise.

A beautiful face looking down at me filled my vision, with his head resting on one arm.

“Good morning, or is it afternoon?”

“…Givnen?”

“Yes, it’s me.”

Why is Givnen here?

As I pondered, last night’s events flashed through my mind. Riley bolted upright, then groaned and clutched her waist as she felt a splitting pain. Givnen clicked his tongue and laid Riley back down.

“You shouldn’t move recklessly yet.”

Since her waist always ached terribly the day after spending the night with him, Riley tried to recall if she had mated with him last night.

However, no matter how much she thought about it, the last memory that remained was of trying to save Valentine using magic. Riley lowered her gaze to check her body first. Givnen’s upper body was exposed, but he was wearing a robe, and she was in the same state.

As she examined every corner of her body for any traces of intimacy, Givnen, who had been watching, burst out laughing.

“What are you doing?”

“…Did we, by any chance…?”

“No. I don’t have a hobby of doing things with patients who can’t even support their own bodies properly.”

“…Patient?”

“You shouldn’t move recklessly yet. Judging by the pain, it seems some of the broken bones haven’t fully healed.”

Broken bones?

Ah, come to think of it, I remember flying off with a tremendous impact the moment I used magic.

Ah… So it wasn’t a dream.

“…What happened?”

“What do you mean?”

“Why are you here, and why am I here…? What about that man?”

As Riley showed extreme caution, Givnen wrapped his arms around her neck and pulled her into his embrace.

“Calm down.”

“…”

“First of all, you’re safe here.”

“…What about Valentine?”

“Is that goodie-two-shoes’ well-being so important?”

“…He seemed badly hurt.”

“Yeah, he was a mess. But he’s fine. Nothing serious, and he’ll recover after resting well for a few days.”

“…Thank goodness.”

Riley slumped down as the tension eased upon hearing that Valentine was safe. Givnen, who had been watching this with displeasure, asked crookedly.

“Seeing as you have the presence of mind to worry about that guy in front of me, it seems you’ve improved a lot.”

“…?”

“A few days ago, you were only worried about me, and now you’re concerned about another guy?”

Ah, that’s right. Come to think of it, Givnen was also in very bad condition.

Riley abruptly sat up and placed her hand on Givnen’s forehead to check if he had a fever. At this, Givnen laughed with a deflating sound, as if finding it absurd. Who’s worrying about whom now?

“No fever, I’m fine now. Thanks to someone’s diligent nursing.”

“…Really? So, did you save me and Valentine?”

“Well…”

“?”

“When I arrived, that goodie-two-shoes was holding you, all battered, and on guard.”

“…Ah.”

“If you mean getting both of you out of there, then yes, that was me.”

“But Valentine said we wouldn’t be able to get out until dawn…”

“That’s probably just what that novice thought.”

Come to think of it, I had momentarily forgotten that he was an Archmage.

As the disciple of the great mage Yung, he must have shown genius talent in magic as well. Even if the magical beasts and plants in that forest imposed restrictions on magic use, it seems those weren’t constraints for him.

Riley, who had been nodding stupidly in agreement, soon realized something and was shocked.

“Or maybe he was just pretending to be a novice.”

“Huh?”

“Never mind, it’s nothing.”

“But did you use magic in that condition?”

“What else could I do, just lie there?”

“The doctor said you should strictly refrain from using magic! No, you should have been resting at home in the first place, why did you come all the way here…?”

Givnen, who had been staring intently at the restless Riley, grasped her hand.

“How could I not come?”

“…”

“When I heard you had disappeared, how could I not come?”

Riley couldn’t say anything.

She felt bad for involving him in unnecessary trouble. Making him come all this way during a time when he should have been focusing on recovery… and making him use magic when he wasn’t well.

Feeling guilty, Riley hung her head low.

“…I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“For making you worry.”

“…”

“I should have behaved properly, but stupidly…”

“What are you saying?”

Givnen frowned.

“Look up.”

“…”

“Look at me.”

As Riley looked at Givnen with a face that seemed about to cry, Givnen sighed deeply and pulled her into his arms. Then he tightly wrapped his arms around her waist.

“How is this your fault?”

“…”

“It’s my fault.”

“No, you’re not at fault.”

“Then what fault do you think you have?”

“…I should have been more careful, but I wasn’t.”

“That situation wasn’t something you could have avoided by being careful. If the world was safe just by being careful, why would crimes happen in the first place?”

“…”

“If anything, it’s my fault. It happened because I, as your protector, didn’t fulfill my role. I should have been more careful and paid more attention, but I didn’t.”

It’s not your fault. You were bedridden.

Riley sighed and raised her arm to cover her eyes. Her feelings were truly complex and subtle. How many people had she inconvenienced like this? Of course… she knew it was unavoidable, but honestly, if she could have used magic, things probably wouldn’t have escalated like this.

“…Thank you.”

“…”

“To be honest, I was a little scared. Afraid that I might never see you again.”

More than the potential presence of enemies watching from somewhere, more than the swarming magical beasts, more than the pitch-black darkness, more than the bleak situation she had to endure alone, what scared her most was the possibility that she might never be able to return to this dreamlike daily life.

She sat alone, thinking endlessly. And she realized. That she had been living a life overflowing with happiness until now. That she was too incompetent compared to what she had been given. And that the life given to her wasn’t just a paradise.

‘…I’ll be a burden to Givnen. This kind of thing will happen again and again in the future.’

She might become an obstacle in his life.

‘If situations like this keep repeating, he might abandon me.’

Even knowing that being by his side would be a burden, she didn’t want to leave. She didn’t want to lose what she was enjoying now. She felt the desire to keep staying by this man’s side, lying next to her. She had been constantly thinking of him. His face kept coming to mind. A life that had no lingering attachments now had one.

“I thought about you all the time.”

“…”

“I really missed you so much. Really, so much…”

How did he end up in this situation?

Valentine, lying in the hospital bed, pondered how his life had become so tangled. And the answer came quickly.

A naive freshman. When he instinctively reached out a helping hand, momentarily angered by the troublemakers who were bullying the freshman with unreasonable demands.

Yes, from that moment, she particularly caught his eye.

Although she had a pretty appearance, it wasn’t extraordinarily beautiful, and if you looked at her features alone, she was rather on the dull side, yet she particularly stood out.

He occasionally noticed her tottering around the campus like a chick, and she had the talent of making people anxious just by walking.

First, it was a conflict with a troublesome customer. Second, it was a scene of low-level bullying that even kindergarteners at the academy would scoff at, by the type of people who are said to be common troublemakers at the Institute. Third was an unexpected encounter with an Archmage, fourth was a hunting man, and fifth was an unknown high-level enemy.

There were too many enemies around a girl who looked so innocent that she would never do anything to warrant grudges. Of course, the Archmage of Horizon, who would become her husband, couldn’t be called an enemy, but considering everything, he thought he was far more dangerous than any enemies she had encountered so far.

This incident was probably not due to a grudge against Riley Eadalin, but more likely carried out with ill feelings towards Givnen Lianster. In that sense, the most harmful thing to her might be none other than Givnen Lianster himself.

The more enemies Givnen Lianster has, the easier it will be for Riley Eadalin to become a target.

In that sense, it would be appropriate to distance himself from Riley Eadalin from now on. Otherwise, he might get involved in troublesome situations like this incident, and above all…

“I’d like you to tell me in detail about what happened that day.”

He would end up in a situation where he had to have an interview with a very burdensome opponent.

“I first heard about Riley’s disappearance from Hila Durre. She asked for help… and told me that she disappeared near the walking trail. As soon as I heard the location, I instinctively thought of the restricted area near the walking trail.”

“Why?”

“I thought there was no more efficient place to commit such an act. The time when Riley disappeared was during the busy afternoon hours, as I heard. At that time, there would be many people wherever you go in Lurat, making it cumbersome to clean up after a successful kidnapping. Especially since there were ambushes you had placed around Riley, weren’t there? They couldn’t have gone too far either. I judged that they would have looked for a place where those ambushes couldn’t easily pursue or find. I thought that place met all those conditions. Luckily, my guess was right.”

At Valentine’s calm answer, Givnen narrowed his eyes. Valentine continued his story, feeling burdened by Givnen’s gaze that seemed to be searching for something.

“I set out to find Riley much later in the evening. To be honest, I didn’t expect her to be alive because too much time had passed… but I searched around just in case, and as it happened, she was in danger of being attacked by magical beasts. So I dealt with the beasts and saved her.”

“Was she alone?”

“Yes, she was just sitting there doing nothing. There was no one around. She says no one harmed or threatened her. It seems she had been left alone the whole time.”

“Hmm.”

“If they were going to leave her alone, they wouldn’t have gone through the trouble of kidnapping and dumping her there. I don’t know what they want, but I judged that those who moved Riley to that place would be lying in ambush nearby. And not long after, a man attacked.”

“Can you describe his appearance?”

“He was wearing a mask so I couldn’t identify his face, but he was tall with a robust build and had long red hair.”

Valentine recalled the man’s appearance while simultaneously remembering that critical moment. His expression twisted involuntarily, as it had been a situation where one wrong move could have cost him his life.

“He used magic that freely manipulated metal tentacles. I suspect he might have created the tentacles through alchemy and used force to utilize them. Judging by his posture and skill in handling the tentacles, I think he might have been trained in martial arts.”

“Did you hear his voice?”

“He attacked silently without uttering a single word. What’s certain is that he was a highly trained, top-level expert.”

“So, what happened to him?”

“I don’t know. The one who activated the massive-scale magic at the end was Riley.”

At Valentine’s words, Givnen hesitated. It was a reaction of disbelief. To this, Valentine continued his story, puzzled.

“When I came to my senses, the surroundings had been turned into a wasteland, and the masked man was nowhere to be seen. Riley had collapsed, unable to withstand the magic she had activated herself… I was on guard in another location with the severely injured Riley. That’s when I encountered you.”

Valentine, who had been wondering why he had to give such a troublesome statement here, felt a little relieved after spilling everything he knew. Now that there was nothing more to dig into, this suffocating conversation should end.

Valentine hoped Givnen would leave soon. However, for some reason, Givnen just stared at Valentine. Givnen, who had been staring uncomfortably as if observing a person in detail, asked with a smirk.

“You didn’t deliberately stay there, did you?”

“…What do you mean?”

“Valentine Claff. Top admission to Horizon. I hear your name is mentioned among professors as a promising future talent.”

“…”

“Moreover, if you were able to notice the presence of my shadow, I don’t think your skills were so poor that you couldn’t immediately rescue Riley from the magical beasts and leave. Why didn’t you leave with Riley right away?”

At Givnen’s question, Valentine let out a groan and finally sighed before answering.

“I was overconfident.”

“So you admit it.”

“I was curious about who had done such a thing. And I thought it would be best to know the identity of that person for certain. Wouldn’t that prevent future troubles?”

“That’s right.”

“Well, honestly, it would have been possible to escape right away, but I thought the enemy lying in ambush wouldn’t just stand by and watch. Moreover, if a fierce battle broke out after coming out to a residential area, there could be civilian casualties. If I had to point out my mistake… it’s that I didn’t know they were that skilled.”

Valentine quickly admitted his error.

“You’re sharper than I thought. Are you usually good at sensing things?”

“I’ve lived my life eating nothing but side dishes of reading people’s moods.”

“I see. Well, looking at your place of origin, it’s understandable.”

It seems like he’s said everything he needs to say, so I wish he would leave soon.

Valentine suppressed the words that had risen to the tip of his tongue. Perhaps sensing his inner thoughts, Givnen stood up from his seat. Valentine thought he would leave just like that.

However, he suddenly extended his hand to Valentine, offering a handshake. Valentine grasped his hand with a bewildered expression.

“Thank you sincerely for saving Riley.”

“…It was nothing.”

With the handshake over, Givnen left the hospital room.

Valentine stared at the door Givnen had exited for a long time, as if surprised.

When he first saw him, and the second time too, he clearly saw eyes full of hostility. It was a natural wariness and hostility. Like the eyes of a male beast protecting its female… a very raw gaze.

Perhaps that’s why he thought he wouldn’t offer separate words of gratitude.

Rather, he expected a situation where Givnen would sarcastically ask why he kept hanging around his woman, but contrary to expectations, he expressed his gratitude very politely.

It seems he’s not as narrow-minded as I thought.

Exhausted, Valentine let out a heavy sigh and lay down on the bed. It’s tough, really too tough. Dealing with an unknown enemy and magical beasts is less difficult than dealing with a monster wearing the mask of a polite gentleman. I really never want to deal with that again.

‘…Now I really need to keep my distance.’

As he lay down on the bed, Valentine vowed never to get involved with Riley again. If he continues to be involved with Riley, he’ll have to keep dealing with that monster-like man. Just imagining it was tiring.

So from now on, he won’t show any interest in Riley, nor will he get involved in her affairs.

This was his sixth vow.