Chapter 34: The Crossroads of Promotion (2)

What Starchis showed them was a sword mark carved into a tree.

It was quite deep.

Looking around, they found that it was not the only trace.

There were many beaten down plants and wounded trees.

Among the thin trees, there were also those that had been cut down.

Starchis wondered how they had not discovered it until now, but in this dense jungle where one couldn't see even a step ahead, it was somewhat natural.

“Look.”

He said, putting his hand on one of the cuts.

A sticky liquid came out.

“…It’s not old.”

For the other party members, it was the first time they had seen a mark left behind by a Kumdo monkey, but it was so neat that they couldn't imagine it was done by anyone else.

If it had been a human, they wouldn't have made such a mess in this dangerous dungeon, and if it had been another monster, they wouldn't have left such neat sword marks.

Which meant… They had caught up with their target.

"What are we going to do? Chase it?"

Luss asked, looking up at the sky.

The sky was still blue, but in a corner far away, an orange light was slowly eating the blue sky.

"It's going to be dark soon."

And if you are in a jungle like this, it gets dark quickly even if the sun moves a little. Everyone knew that through various experiences.

Starchis also pondered whether they should camp or chase after the traces they barely found.

If they camped, they had to consider the deterioration of their physical condition as well. This place was the first jungle-type dungeon they had come to, and the surrounding enemies were also dangerous. If they chose to camp in a place like this, the tension would take away their physical and mental strength considerably.

If they could pursue the traces and engage in battle, it would be better to finish before it gets dark. However, if they couldn't do that and found their target late or the battle dragged on, they also had to consider the possibility of fighting in the dark.

Fighting in the dark was not something completely unfamiliar, but Starchis wanted to avoid it if possible.

And even when they had previously fought without light, it was against a single monster. 

Could they fight against several of them in the dark? Missing even one would be dangerous.

Starchis wiped the sap-covered finger and said, "Since we found the trace, let's camp. It's dangerous to fight at night, and there might be monkeys nearby. First, let's go back to the way we came from."

Everyone followed his decision without complaint.

With Starchis in front, Vienna showed the way.

.

.

.

.

In the jungle, everything became dark at night.

The damp air here transformed into a chill when night fell.

But they didn't light a fire.

They didn't want to draw any unnecessary attention, and even if monsters who were attracted by the light came right next to them, there was a high probability that they wouldn’t even notice those monsters in this environment.

The price for not lighting a fire was feeling the cold and losing their visibility. Even when they were right next to each other, they couldn't see the other person. The sound of their breathing was the only way to confirm each other's presence. 

Nevertheless, no one complained. It was Starchis's decision, and they trusted him.

Party Maenbal covered themselves with blankets that barely kept out the chilly wind. It wasn't so cold that they couldn't bear it, but the damp ground troubled them.

Luss was sitting, keeping watch. Since she couldn't see anything even when she opened her eyes, she perked up her ears and paid attention to every sound she could hear.

"Umm."

Starchis groaned and adjusted his posture while lying down. No matter how he lay down, the discomfort didn't go away. It wasn't his first time sleeping on such damp ground, but strangely, today it was way more uncomfortable.

“…Chis, are you sleeping?”

A voice came from the darkness. A voice he could barely hear after focusing.

It was Luss.

She seemed to have sensed his discomfort and asked.

“…Isn’t it hard, Luss?”

Starchis whispered quietly, just like her. If the bugs buzzed just a little louder, they wouldn't have been able to hear each other.

"Hehe... no. Someone has to stay awake."

It was easy to make excuses like what kind of monster would wander through this darkness, but with such confidence or misunderstanding, they could be annihilated in one shot. Everyone knew that, but Luss was the first to bear the discomfort.

As he tried to fall asleep again, Luss' voice reached him.

“..Chis?”

“Yes?”

– Xir

As he answered, he heard someone moving nearby. 

“..Chis?”

Luss called him again. Her voice was a bit closer to Starchis this time.

“...yes?”

– Xir Xir

"..."

“.. Starchis.”

Luss spoke slowly, enunciating each syllable. Whispering his name like that seemed to have created a seductive atmosphere.

This time, Luss' voice came from right in front of Starchis.

He answered, thinking it had been a while since Luss had called him by his full name.

"What is it?"

At the sound of his voice, a hand appeared and placed itself on Starchis’ chest.

“Is this you?”

It was obviously Luss. With nothing visible in the dim light, it seemed as if she had already approached.

"That's me."

Starchis answered, but as if she had to confirm for herself, she felt his chest, stomach, forearm, and his face once before she withdrew her hand.

Starchis felt Luss' shoulder touch his own.

With that slight gesture, they could feel each other's warmth.

It was warm, but Starchis instinctively resisted.

“Luss, my girlfriend-“

"-Nobody's watching."

Luss whispered into his ear with a warm breath.

Strangely, Starchis felt his heart skip a beat.

Perhaps because everything was dark in his vision, his imagination grew even stronger, leading him to have thoughts he usually didn’t.

“And really, are you going to say that with just this?”

Luss was right; their shoulders barely touched.

When Starchis thought about it, there was no reason to reject Luss’ actions.

It was warmer and closer, making it easier and safer to talk. It was also possible to calm down any anxious feelings.

Even so, he felt his conscience prick as he imagined Elza, who didn’t exist. But if he moved away…

But either way, his conscience was going to be pricked:

There was the guilt of not being able to do even this much for Luss because of a lie that he had a girlfriend, but if he didn't resist he felt like he was betraying Elza, who wasn't even real.

The two guilts fought each other.

Finally Starchis closed his eyes tightly and gently moved away.

The pure love in his heart won.

But Starchis couldn’t confirm Luss’ reaction to his action.

Actually, Luss didn’t mind. She knew this was going to happen.

She was satisfied with just creating a situation to talk to Starchis.

'... How pathetic.'

However, whether it was rational or emotional, her mouth muttered on its own.

Somewhere, an owl hooted. It probably wasn't a typical owl.

"Chis…"

The voice that had felt bitter just a moment ago now felt elegant.

No matter if Starchis avoided having physical contact, courage blossomed because they were by each other’s side.

"Sometimes, I think about our time in the kingdom's defense force."

Luss whispered as she got closer.

Starchis, who was confused by Luss’ sudden close proximity for a moment, closed his eyes again and listened calmly to what she had to say.

"Actually, when you think about it, it wasn't that bad. It wasn't dangerous, the shift was not long, and the pay was decent, right?"

“…right.”

“Lately, when I walk down the street, I keep thinking of going around the alleys here and there with you. Is there any place we haven’t been to together?”

“Because we were partners.”

Luss and Starchis frequently patrolled while serving in the kingdom's defense force.

It was such a simple job as rescuing a cat from a tree or arresting troublemakers quarreling with each other.

The two, after becoming partners, did everything together for several years.

It was the most precious memory to Luss.

"... Can I be honest with you, Chis?"

“What?”

No matter what someone had to say, there was the power to draw attention when they proclaimed that they were being honest.

Starchis was also drawn to it, and though he couldn’t see anything, he opened his eyes and looked in the direction Luss was.

"Until you told me about your dream, I didn’t have any intention of becoming a hunter."

"... Really?"

“Really. However, I was interested in your straight eyes when you said you would become a hunter.”

Luss imagined Starchis of that time. 

In contrast to Starchis who opened his eyes, Luss closed hers.

"I don't know what made you such a person, but I know; once you make a decision, you never look back."

“…”

"And when I found out that you wanted to follow your brother, it was a complete surprise for me."

‘And I was scared of you leaving me,’ she swallowed those words.

Starchis, who had said that he would leave her at any moment, vividly appeared in front of Luss. Even though they had been partners for years, he looked like he had no regrets.

Because of that look of his, which was destroying her inside, Starchis’ next offer was like a ray of light.

"You said, 'Let's go together.' Do you remember?"

"...Yes."

"To be honest, you don't know how sad I was to think that we were close friends for a long time and yet you were leaving me so coldly."

“But, I’ve been with you for years, so even if I take a different job, it’s not like I’ll be leaving you, right?”

“Hehe.. That’s right.”

What followed next was Luss’ actions, not words.

She moved her body again and leaned her shoulder against his. And before Starchis could react, she rested her head on his shoulder.

“Lus-“

"-But Starchis, why did you say 'Let's go together' back then?"

The scent of Luss’ hair wafted over to Starchis.

Her shoulder against his own was warm.

Starchis struggled to catch his breath.

As she said, Starchis suggested that they become hunters together at that time.

“…”

“If you were going to form a party, it didn’t necessarily have to be with me. Was there any other reason?”

Starchis started recalling his memories from a few years ago.

It was a long-forgotten memory.

Why did he make such an offer to her back then?

After pondering for a while, he spoke up.

"...Because I had known you for a long time and could trust you."

“And…?”

"You seemed nice, and I didn't think there would be any conflicts with the other party members."

“And…?”

"...I wanted to find someone with skills similar to mine."

“And?”

As Luss' questioning continued, Starchis asked her.

"...Is there a specific answer you want, Luss?"

“…Yes.”

Starchis pondered, wondering what that could be.

He used to spend the whole day together with her back then.

But it was because they were partners, there was nothing beyond the time after work.

Starches thought to himself.

‘Why did I ask her?’

He also thought of the time spent with her.

He had not wasted much time doing nothing though. Solving problems and preventing incidents used to take most of their time.

But he had built up countless memories and exchanged countless emotions doing that.

His deep feelings reminded him of his past emotions.

Yes, maybe he was interested in her.

That's why he proposed to form a party with her first without thinking of finding other party members.

It was not love, but interest.

Starchis would always hold onto something if there was something at stake, otherwise, he would let it go.

Luss and Starchis had been friends for a long time.

And as time went on, Starchis felt that their relationship was anchored in the form of friendship.

After the party "Maenbal" was formed, the weight of that anchor became more evident.

Luss began to draw the line.

As a result, Starchis' interest in her began to fade and eventually disappeared.

This came to mind suddenly because of Luss' persistent questioning.

However, Starchis could not tell her. It was the reason and emotion that had already passed.

With his girlfriend named Elza in the setting, it would be absurd to convey his feelings to anyone.

After a long silence, Starchis replied.

"...Just because it's you."

"...Is that so?"

"Luss, and now it's difficult for us to do something like this."

Starchis gently pushed her head away.

Luss' heart sank.

When she recalled her relationship with Starchis in the past, there was always a ticklish feeling between them.

But Luss now began to think that maybe everything was just her own delusion.

However, no matter how much of it was a delusion, Luss couldn't just let him go.

Even if the base of her heart - that Stachis might have been interested in her in the past - was a delusion, it wasn't a delusion that she loved him.

“… Sorry. I don’t have any questions anymore.”

She spoke to Starchis in a calm voice, barely keeping herself together.

Letting out a deep sigh inwardly, Luss, who could feel the tears welling up in her eyes, finally admitted. Just like Vienna and Lily, she had finally accepted her defeat.

And she made a promise.

She, too, would wait for Starchis to break up with Elza.

And at the next opportunity she gets… she will go all out.

– – – End of Chapter – – –

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