Grururururururu…
It sounded like something was growling fiercely.
My consciousness gradually surfaced to the surface.
It had been a long time since I woke up without trembling in anxiety.
It had been a long time since I greeted the morning without any worries.
“Jill…”
The first person to greet me when I opened my eyes was Jill, who was sleeping while hugging one of my arms.
After momentarily gathering my thoughts, I wondered if I had been moved to the room while I was still unconscious.
We were under a comfortable and wide blanket on a large bed.
Just as I was happily watching her sleep, feeling a bit guilty about waking her…
Grurur…
What I thought was a background noise or a sound from the drainage suddenly stopped.
Turning to my side, I spotted Yerina with a somewhat sullen expression.
Yerina was standing stiffly beside the bed, trying to act indifferent.
The moment I saw her face, a laugh burst out.
Yerina’s lips twitched slightly, but with a face that looked like she would never smile, she glared at me.
“How long have I been asleep?”
“About three hours. Not long at all. You should sleep more.”
“I can’t do that. I couldn’t sleep because the wolf next to me keeps growling fiercely.”
“……”
Gulp.
Yerina failed to manage her expression for a moment and swallowed hard.
At my side, Jill stirred in her sleep and hugged my arm even tighter.
“Can’t you let go if you know?”
“It’s not me holding her. If I try to pull away, she’ll wake up. Is that okay?”
“……”
Yerina’s mouth was tightly shut.
Then she strode over, crawled up to me on the bed.
Her angry expression gradually crumbled, and before long, it seemed like she was on the verge of tears.
“This isn’t how it’s supposed to be…”
“What’s not supposed to be?”
“I didn’t want to say this as soon as you got back… I wanted to welcome you more warmly… But seeing you do this right in front of my eyes, I can’t help but boil over…”
“I was actually worried because you seemed too calm. I thought you were sick.”
“Sorry. You’re going to see this scene countless times from now on. If it keeps happening, I’ll get tired of it, won’t I…?”
Is this really counted as being troublesome?
Isn’t it just cute jealousy?
As I recalled the countless troubles from the recent twelve rounds, my head spun.
“So, I decided to change my mind. Since I can’t monopolize you alone anyway… I might as well increase my share.”
“What do you mean?”
“……”
Instead of answering, Yerina slowly grabbed the collar of my shirt and pulled me towards her.
She sniffed my face, going Kikikiki, and then poked her nose against me lightly.
Then, her lips brushed against mine before sliding down to my neck, where she pressed her lips again.
Chok, chuuk…
Rather than a kiss, it felt more like sucking, a sound that resounded in the quiet room.
It was strong enough to make me flinch in pain every now and then.
That’s understandable since she possesses the strength to demolish buildings with one hand…
After a while, Yerina pulled back with a somewhat satisfied expression, shoving a mirror in my face.
She had turned my neck into a piece of art.
There were marks on my chin barely hidden, ready to be exposed if I wore a turtleneck.
While others wouldn’t see it from their usual eye level, anyone looking up from below, like Jill was now, would have no choice but to see.
“Oh. This is a bit…”
“You knew I was jealous. You said it was okay. You said you liked me just the way I am. Shouldn’t you be able to handle this much?”
“That’s not what—”
“Too much? I was thinking of doing even worse… Should I just go for it?”
Whoosh.
Yerina quietly whispered, practically swallowing my ear.
While she groped my arm and slowly lifted it to examine, her movement suddenly halted.
Wondering what was going on…
It seemed she found the marks of the guests on my arm.
As she glanced between the bite marks covering my forearm and my eyes, her expression turned sulky, teetering on the edge of tears.
“…It’s noisy.”
“Gah?!”
Suddenly, the blanket lifted, revealing a pale-faced monster with glowing red eyes from within.
Yerina startled, bursting up and releasing her killer intent.
But she quickly noticed what it was, slipping out of her combat stance, she took a breath, calming herself.
“W-what?! What’s going on…!”
“Eh, eh? Another ambush?”
The chaos erupted.
The door swung open, and Yulia entered with a worried look.
Jill, panicking, looked around, drowsily murmuring.
This noisy commotion…
I didn’t find it that unpleasant.
When I woke up, the outside was quieter than I expected.
Of course, I wasn’t expecting a grand welcome party.
Considering that someone who had been thought dead returned after breaking the dimensional barrier for three years, the world was surprisingly calm.
The headquarters of the alliance was busily working on repairing the damage caused by the fleet’s attack, as if nothing had happened.
“After you disappeared, there was no announcement about you… Honestly, very few people in the alliance know about you, Yoo Jin.”
Actually, this made it easier for me to move.
But these days, I couldn’t help but think it was about time for me to reveal myself to the public.
As soon as I mentioned it, Jill looked up at me with curious eyes.
“Why? Didn’t you say you didn’t want to be famous?”
“I don’t mind being famous. But I think it’s time to prepare.”
“What kind of preparation?”
“Preparing for marriage.”
“……!”
Whoosh, Jill’s face suddenly flushed, her lips trembling.
If I didn’t reveal myself to the public, people would start asking questions.
It wouldn’t be strange for both the Priestess and the Witch and Frost Duchess to not be married.
But on the other hand, faking a marriage with another family would be odd as well.
Yerina, Yulia, and Jill would all want a marriage they could proudly celebrate.
To do that, I would need to step into the open.
If a commoner suddenly pops up and snatches all three high-ranking officials of the alliance, the social shock would be immense.
“Right. It’s the perfect timing. There’s not a soul who didn’t see that beam of light. It will be just right to reveal myself as its owner.”
“Exactly. But what are you doing…?”
“Geez, it won’t come off…”
Seeing her fidgeting with my neck made me curious, and it seemed Yerina was trying hard to erase the marks she’d left.
Each time she looked up, it seemed it triggered Jill’s annoyance, causing her to fuss around.
That sight was so cute I ended up pinching her cheek, and soon a smile broke out.
“I missed you… It was hard… But I believed. That you would come back. Hehe. I believed that you would come back and wipe my tears…”
“That’s thanks to you believing in me. Because of that, I was able to come back.”
There wasn’t a shred of exaggeration or sugar-coated words.
It was genuinely because of Jill, Yulia, and Yerina that I managed to return.
The people remaining in the current world remembered me, cherished the memories, missed me, and waited for my return.
It was through that attraction that I was able to barely make it back.
Hehehe…
I couldn’t tell if Jill took my words seriously or as a joke.
She rubbed her cheek against me, her face full of joy.
She acted as if she would die if she left my side for even a moment.
“Priestess…! Ah! I’m so sorry!”
“It’s alright. Please tell me. What is it?”
“The emergency meeting has been called, and I wanted to let you know…”
Despite the secretary’s entrance, Jill remained glued to me like a piece of gum, not budging an inch.
The secretary looked flustered, not knowing where to glance, clearly confused.
After relaying their report, the secretary quickly dashed out.
Then Jill wrapped her legs around my thigh, wearing a satisfied smile.
“This way we can slowly leak information about our relationship publicly and later reveal it grandly, minimizing confusion, right?”
“Are you serious…?”
To deliberately spread rumors about a priestess clinging to a strange man… Is this girl eager to destroy the authority of the Priestess herself?
“Just imagine it. The priestess protected by the light from the heavens. And a man who uses techniques resembling that very light. Could there be a more perfect pair? Who would dare criticize? It’s as if they are complementing each other, battling against the enemies threatening the current world.”
“……”
“If we were to say that we couldn’t use our powers if separated or that we’d weaken if we didn’t regularly express our love, wouldn’t that make a premise for the Priestess to wed? Ah, strictly speaking, it’s not a lie. If I were to be separated from you, Yoo Jin, I might just wither away and die…”
“……”
That’s right.
Visually speaking, my ultimate technique seems to be related to the Priestess.
In reality, it isn’t related at all…
But for the time being, that might not be a bad idea.
“Let’s head to the meeting first. It might take a while.”
“Yeah…”
Only then did Jill seem a bit embarrassed, her face turning bright red as she finally released her grip on my thigh.
How many people had gathered for the meeting now?
The return of the Nameless.
Linda’s betrayal.
My revival and more; all the occurrences from these few short days would be discussed.
This meant there were plenty of stakeholders, and the number of attendees for the meeting had drastically increased.
While I couldn’t say for other matters, I had a feeling about Linda’s betrayal.
If they were planning some form of strategy regarding that…
I suspected we might be up all night.
