Bang—!
Bang—!
The festive sounds of fireworks that had been ringing out brightly slowly faded away until they finally stopped.
Outside the window, fireworks were still bursting joyously, and the Orenzia flower garden was glittering beyond the flower beds, but in this inn room, a thick silence wrapped around them, and the surroundings felt still and serene.
Alex stared blankly at Yona.
Her expression shifted from dazed,
to sorrowful,
then biting her lip,
forcing a smile.
Yona’s face, making a variety of expressions, showed no hint of joy. From that alone, Alex could guess Yona’s answer.
“So, right now… I can’t accept your feelings. I’m sorry, Alex.”
A gentle yet clear rejection.
Seeing Yona’s expression as she said those words, Alex couldn’t bring himself to say anything.
Yeah, it would be like that.
From Yona’s perspective, it would be.
It couldn’t be any other way.
His only ally.
He thought Yona would believe in him no matter what happened, so Alex’s confession must have brought great disappointment and frustration to Yona, even if he had treated her like a man sometimes.
Alex had anticipated this far.
That’s why he never thought this confession would be accepted by Yona.
“I see.”
Alex smiled bitterly.
Even though he thought she wouldn’t accept it, still, being rejected like this stung his heart and tasted bitter.
“You must be surprised, huh? I’m sorry, Yona.”
Alex lightly patted Yona’s shoulder.
Every time he did, he noticed Yona flinch slightly, and he let out a small sigh of relief.
He thought he would be rejected.
He expected it.
Never did he think it would be accepted outright.
To win over Yona’s heart, Alex meticulously planned his approach.
Though nothing went according to plan, a plan was still necessary.
This confession was the first step.
Even if it was a confession, it couldn’t just be a halfhearted one. It had to stir Yona’s heart, showing Alex’s sincerity without being over the top, yet also not appearing too light.
It had to be a confession of just that level.
It had to be a confession.
Alex’s plan was to break Yona’s world, and this was the first step.
Yona’s world—
A realm surrounded by walls created by the consciousness of men.
He had to shatter those walls and make Yona realize she was a woman.
That’s where it all begins.
Breaking down the walls, imprinting the existence of Alex even stronger on Yona.
If she becomes aware of herself as a woman, then she would have a stronger impression of Alex, the man.
With this confession, a crack had formed in those walls; the first step was a success.
The pain that followed for Yona, Alex would heal it.
Just like always.
It was a plan he had thought up himself, but Alex shuddered at how twisted he had become.
But there was no helping it.
To Alex, Yona held that much value.
He was determined to obtain Yona, even if it meant this.
*
The next day.
Yona looked like she hadn’t slept a wink, her eyes red and tired.
Pale and weary, her exhaustion was evident.
While Alex understood why she hadn’t slept, the innkeeper and others didn’t.
In fact, seeing her come down from the inn room, people whistled and made cheeky remarks, but Yona paid them no mind.
She simply trudged down the stairs with her head bowed.
Just yesterday, she was a lively chatterbox.
Whatever had happened so suddenly had deflated her spirit, leaving others baffled.
But Yona didn’t respond to their questions, occasionally muttering it was nothing.
“Come on, let’s go.”
Alex took her hand and led her along.
“Uh?! O-Oh… okay.”
Startled by Alex holding her hand, Yona tried to pull away, but seeing Alex’s smiling face, she followed him out of the inn, still beleaguered.
Apologies, embarrassment, and a mix of other emotions.
【Look at that. No one sees you as a man. They all think you were moaning and drained after being under a man last night. Who would see you as a man? You are a woman. How do you accept that?】
‘Shut up. Be quiet.’
“Shut up.”
Yona was troubled.
Alex had already anticipated this, but his plan was having quite a significant effect.
Yona thought maybe no one in the world sees her as a man anymore.
What if I’m actually the crazy one?
What if I really just grew up in this world and lost my parents due to some incident, leading me to think I’m a man?
But the memories of my previous world are so vivid, and the years I lived as a man are undeniably clear.
—What if these are all just memories I made up?
Maybe believing that would solve everything.
What if I just believe I was originally a girl who went crazy and ended up like this?
If I could believe that all the memories I created—both of living as a man—were false.
If I could just accept Alex like that.
Would that make things easier?
【What a stubborn girl. What charm does a girl with such an attitude possess? Even if she has the beauty to topple a nation, what use is it if she’s crazy? Even if there’s no way for you to go back to being a man, would you still act like this?】
Vervaria whispered incessantly in her ear.
Maybe it would’ve been better that way.
If there were absolutely no way to go back to being a man, that would’ve been better.
It would be better to just believe it that way.
If only, if only.
【Give up. Was it necessary to suffer this pain? It would be better to give up. Wouldn’t everyone, including you and that man, be happier?】
Yona wanted to cover her ears and scream at those continuous whispers.
Yet, she couldn’t bring herself to do it because of the hand that was holding hers—Alex’s hand.
It brought her warmth.
“Are we going to that sanctuary now?”
“Yeah. That’s the plan.”
Yona forced a smile.
Isn’t it strange how a person changes just because they received a confession?
It’s only right to act as if nothing is wrong, as if everything is perfectly fine.
“If you’re hungry or your legs hurt, just let me know.”
“Got it.”
Yona just replied like that and closed her mouth.
As she readjusted her backpack, she felt the heaviness of the wooden box inside making its presence known again.
The wooden box that contained the skirt, shirt, vest, and shoes she had received from Alex.
Wooden box.
Since it was bought at a high price, they couldn’t just throw it away, and honestly, even if it were cheap, they wouldn’t have discarded it anyway.
Because it was a gift from Alex.
As precious as that.
The two of them exited the city through the North Gate.
The festival was in full swing and was now on its second day. While they garnered curious glances from the neighborhood watch for leaving the city, they were not interrogated, allowing the two to continue walking.
“I sure hope we run into Kaiyak over there.”
After walking for a while, Yona casually mentioned it.
Kaiyak.
A bronze-ranked Lizardman warrior.
With his incredibly aggressive, whirlwind combat style, he had been quite the help to Yona, but he also caused quite a ruckus.
Kaiyak was back in his hometown now, but since Alex and Yona were headed to the Lizardden, there was a chance they might cross paths.
“Why are you suddenly bringing up Kaiyak?”
“Well, if the pond that used to be fine turned dark murky, something must have gone wrong.”
Yona spoke in a calm tone.
If such an anomaly had occurred, there had to be a reason behind it. And if that sanctuary was as important as the adventurers said, then the reason must be significant as well.
“Hmm.”
Alex, who had been walking in step with Yona, suddenly stopped, causing Yona to halt too.
“Maybe I should have gathered more information before coming?”
Alex suggested, but Yona shook her head.
After all, with the festival in full swing, the Adventurer’s Guild was probably half-closed, and considering the jokes among adventurers, it didn’t seem like there was much useful information to be found.
Even if they asked the adventurers, it seemed unlikely they would learn anything, making it difficult to gather information in the current situation.
“No, let’s just pass by and observe without getting involved. If there’s that much chaos at the Lizardmen’s sanctuary, they might already be responding to it.”
That was actually a more reasonable judgment.
If it was a sanctuary and something had happened there, the Lizardmen probably would have been alerted quickly.
By now, they might already be responding, or perhaps their response was already over.
“Really? Then let’s just go.”
Alex flashed a grin.
Yona shyly responded with a smile, albeit a bit awkwardly.
The two resumed their walk.
The road to the Lizardden was not exactly short, and the road to the sanctuary would take a whole day of walking, so they needed to hurry.
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