Flight.

  It was a bit strange, Marcus thought. He’d always been doing it, partially, using [Blink Step] and [Levitation], but, right now, he felt like things were different. He was on top of a living creature, a creature that had wings that it flapped.

  Unlike Marcus, who only flew by manipulating things with his skill, this creature was truly, in a sense, flying. But maybe he was just overthinking it. What was the new thing that was truly new to him?

  …It’s that, no?

  “...Sorry,” Marcus suddenly said. “I wasn’t sure how to hold onto you earlier.”

  “Sir Marcus?”

  While Marcus’s voice was composed, he didn’t like how he sounded. Earlier, he was so afraid that he was holding onto her wrong. He didn’t know where to place his arms, nor did he know how tight is too tight or too awkwardly loose.

  Quite frankly, when everyone looked at him and Stella wrong, he felt an urge to use [Absolute Blaze] and just end it all. In the end though, when the wyvern they were on ascended, everything else went naturally.

  Somehow.

  But he was still embarrassed. Even now, he was embarrassed.

  “It’s fine,” Stella said, her tone chirpy as usual. “You are new to this, after all.”

  “...Ridiculous. I didn’t look like ‘a guard who saved you.’ Sorry for blowing the mask you made for us.”

  “Well then, we’re even, so it’s fine.”

  “Even? What are you talking about?”

  “Well…” Stella stammered a bit, and he noticed her holding the reins of her wyvern a bit tighter as she bit her lips. “We’re going to my parents because I fumbled and revealed myself too early, no?”

  “Huh…”

  Now that Marcus thought about it, this entire fiasco started because Stella couldn’t contain her spending habits.

  But he shook his head. “I never thought of it that way.”

  “I think you struggle to think of things in ways that incriminate me sometimes. But you blame yourself for everything so easily,” Stella pointed out, laughing a bit. “Sir Marcus, you don’t have to bear the responsibility for things all the time.”

  “Still—”

  “And most importantly, you don’t need to always be the infallible, cool, and composed guy with me. In fact, I liked…seeing you squirming earlier. It was kind of cute.”

  “...”

  Cute? I am the furthest thing from it!

  Me, a bloodthirsty maniac who dug his way out of hell? Cute? What are you on, woman?!

  Marcus felt his cheeks turning red. He was thankful for the fact that he had his mask on and the fact that Stella was flying with some distance from the other riders, enough that her soft voice wouldn’t be heard by anyone but him.

  Still…

  “...You’re way too free when you speak around me.” Marcus said, exhaling exasperatedly. “Geez.”

  “Hmph, am I not allowed to do that? Besides, it’s not like you ever say that I should cut it out. You just say that, ‘you speak a bit too freely’ and all that.”

  “I suppose so…”

  Marcus took a deep breath. This woman—wasn’t she quite the major headache? Yet, he couldn’t help but help and follow her anyway. In fact, the idea of leaving her alone always bothered him nowadays.

  Without knowing it, he started leaning and holding on to her a bit too much, which elicited a small yelp from the elven princess.

  “S-sir Marcus…”

  “Ah, shit, sorry.”

  “No, it’s not that big of a deal.”

  “Don’t care. There, it looks normal now, right?”

  “Normal? I suppose so…”

  “Yeah, that’s good. Gotta stay normal. Keep that in mind.”

  Marcus felt his breathing steadying. That was good. He looked more professional and sounded more like a proper soldier now. That was what he liked, to stay as this Marcus. He was a soldier from the past, a soldier from hell. He was supposed to be capable of swiftly eliminating anything that dared threaten this world again, because that was his job, that was his purpose, and that was the only thing he lived for.

  He didn’t want to change from that. But, at the same time, he feared that he was losing grip of that.

  I’m turning soft. Too soft.

  Why?

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  Marcus straightened his back.

  Even if I’m starting to care for things beyond myself and killing demons, shouldn’t I harden myself further?

  To care for something, you need to protect it. Thus, you need to toughen yourself.

  I’m failing to meet that. Unacceptable. For someone with the strength to defeat the Death God, this behavior is unacceptable.

  Besides, didn’t Stella become his friend after he saved her from those cultists? Why was it acceptable for her for him to seem weak then? It didn’t make sense to Marcus.

  So all he did was try to retreat to his old self. That was what he knew, after all. But, as he felt the cold breeze of the air hitting him while they flew, and as he looked at the beauty of the world below—the azure rivers, the brownish forests of late spring, or even just the flock of birds flying below them—Marcus felt doubts about his ability to continue retreating to his old self.

  He was changing, and it felt truly alien. Just like this world that was largely peaceful, just like the feelings he was starting to feel for Stella.

  I’m just with her to help her become a fully-fledged [Saint], right?

  Right?

  Yet soon, he was about to meet her family. How quaint. His stomach definitely was upside down throughout the rest of their journey.

  “Your Highness, as you’ve requested, your visit in the Royal Palace will be a private affair,” Fritz calmly declared as he led Stella and Marcus out of the garrison complex that housed wyverns in Kalthafen. “You can therefore rest easy. There won’t be any fanfare for your arrival. Only His Majesty and Her Majesty are waiting for you.”

  Stella breathed out a sigh of relief. This arrangement was exactly what she wanted, as she knew that Marcus hated crowds more than anything. The last thing she wanted was to make his visit here uncomfortable by having armies of nobles greeting her on her arrival.

  So…

  “Thanks. I truly appreciate it,” Stella said to Fritz. “I must ask, though. Are you perhaps going to escort the two of us to the Royal Palace?”

  “Yes, I’ve been assigned to lead you there. Officially, you’re still not found, so my superiors don't want to use further unnecessary personnel for this, so it’ll just be me and a few servants from the royal household.”

  “Mhm. That makes sense.”

  When they were outside of the garrison area, Stella found herself in a familiar avenue of Kalthafen, one where she sneaked out a lot back in her youthful days. It was still early, so the city bustle was still quite significant.

  Once again, she was back in her hometown.

  Parked in front of them were two carriages drawn by land-dragons. The one in front was drawn by an ‘Eis’ breed dragon, a four-legged creature with white scaly skin. While flightless, it was a majestic and formidable dragon and was largely used by nobles and royalty.

  In front of the four-wheeled carriage’s side door, two maids stood side by side, waiting. Stella placed a hand on her mouth, covering up a gasp as she realized who they were.

  “Marie? Phoebe?” Stella asked out loud. In response, the two maids couldn’t contain it, as smiles and tears bloomed on their faces upon seeing Stella emerge from the garrison area.

  The one with tears, Marie, was a human. She was red-haired, with her eyes sharing the same color. With her soft facial features and her generally gentle tone, she was somewhat of an ‘older sister’ to Stella’s mind, especially since she was older, already in her mid-thirties.

  The younger blond-haired elf on Marie’s side, Phoebe, was a bit more on the reserved side. She was a fallen noble from a disgraced elven family who managed to get into service with the royal family. While she remained standing with the prim and proper etiquette of a royal maid, a small smile adorned her face, and her amethyst eyes held that silent kindness and concern Stella was used to back in her days here.

  “Your Highness,” Marie was first to speak as she bowed. “We were so worried. I’m glad to see you again.”

  “You really shouldn’t have wandered off too far,” Phoebe chastised, as usual, but there was not much of a bite from her words. “...P-please don't do that again.”

  “Marie! Phoebe!”

  “Y-your Highness?”

  “Lady Stella! Wait! Too tight!”

  Stella, overwhelmed by joy, rushed to Marie and Phoebe, hugging the two maids in a tight embrace, with the two women yelping one after another. Stella didn’t care though, as she hugged them tightly. Since she went to the Holy Church, she hadn’t met the two of them for years.

  She’d been wondering how they were doing since they were reassigned from tending to her. Now that she met them, though, she couldn’t hold herself back. They must have been so worried too, because she could feel it in their hearts how relieved they were at seeing her.

  “I’m so sorry,” Stella cried. “I didn’t mean to leave you two behind.”

  Then, Stella felt someone pinching her cheek. On the side, a small pout was on Phoebe’s face.

  “Lady Stella,” she stammered. “We’re in public. It is improper—”

  “Oh, shush! I don’t care! I don’t care at all!”

  And she hugged them tighter, practically preventing them from breathing. At that point, Siris appeared, flying out of Stella’s pendant, before chastising her for misjudging her strength again and slightly harming the two maids.

  When things settled down, both of them didn’t seem to mind, especially Marie, who quickly began doting on Stella, while Phoebe only gave a slight huff before giving Stella a reminder on etiquette.

  That was when she remembered both Fritz and Marcus, who were standing behind them, watching. Marcus seemed, as usual, devoid of expression, mostly due to his mask, while a small smile was on Fritz’s face.

  “Don’t mind us, Your Highness,” Fritz said. “We’re going to our carriage now.”

  “Right,” Marcus said, turning around.

  Stella stopped them. Marie and Phoebe had to be introduced to her new friend after all.

  “Wait! Oh…” Then, she lost her will. She almost forgot that she couldn’t reveal Marcus’s name yet. “Never mind.”

  “Hmph. Who is that man?” Asked Phoebe, as she stared at Marcus warily. “He seems…to be hiding his face.”

  “Is he the guy who rescued you from the Death God Cult that I’ve been hearing about?” Marie curiously asked.

  “Ah, u-uhm,” Stella stammered, slightly flushed, as she wasn’t able to come up with a cover story quickly, and she didn’t expect them to be informed in advance. “Yes. I’ll explain the rest later.”

  “Oh, I see.”

  “Wait,” Stella turned back to Fritz and Marcus. “Sir Fritz, you two are following us, right?”

  Stella turned to the carriage behind the one that would carry her. Unlike Stella’s carriage, the one behind had a dull, grey paint. It seemed similar to the four-wheel carriages used by the military, and it was also drawn by a ‘Panzer’ breed land dragon, which was a brown three-horned dragon usually used by adventurers and soldiers. It was heavily armored and hardy, and unlike the majestic Eis dragons, Panzer dragons looked a bit ugly, if not terrifying.

  Now, Stella was a bit worried that Fritz would lead Marcus away from the palace or that he would interrogate him. She didn’t want any complications here. So, she wanted assurance from Fritz.

  “I assure you, Your Highness, that we will follow you closely behind,” Fritz said, his tone polite and clear. “Please don’t worry about him. We are following all of your requests.”

  “I see…” Stella smiled, staring up at Marcus. “I’ll just catch up a bit with my friends, okay?”

  Marcus just nodded, no further words coming out of his mouth. He must be quite overwhelmed again, as this was how Marcus acted during social situations. He was always so strangely quiet and reserved.