Chapter 183: Comfortable
Lily slowly sat up, her movents sluggish.
She scratched her ssy hair and glanced around. Her eyelids felt heavy—she wasn’t fully awake yet.
“Hm?”
A warm sensation brushed against the back of her hand.
She turned her head and saw Arthur lying beside her, fast asleep.
She stared at his face for a mont, then suddenly—
Grrrrrrrgle—!
An incredibly loud growl rumbled from her stomach, and she pouted, shaking Arthur roughly.
“I’m hungry. I’m hun—ah!!”
“Woof!”
Before she could finish, Keros pounced on her with enthusiasm, wagging its tail and licking her face.
Lily dodged left and right, trying to avoid the slobbery assault, then pushed Keros’s muzzle away and asked:
“Where’s food?”
“Woof!”
“…Wait, there’s none? You’re lying, right?”
Keros kept barking, making different sounds, while Lily crouched and made various expressions—
It almost looked as if she were listening to a report about everything that had happened while she was asleep.
“Hell Gri??”
Her brows furrowed.
She closed her eyes and waved a hand in the air.
Her fingertips caught onto an unfamiliar energy.
Unlike in Tobaron, the air here overflowed with mana, giving her a strong sense of unease.
A forbidden land, as the Ortas had warned—
This was Hell Gri.
A place deeply influenced by Demtor, the mage collective.
“…This place is dangerous.”
Her expression soured.
She had never encountered a mage without ending up in a bloody ss.
Even soone as carefree as Lily had a strong aversion to Hell Gri.
“I have a question.”
As the light dimd slightly, Lily peeked up.
It was Lochter.
“Can you open a path?”
“…A path??”
“I was told you could open a route through the forest leading to Elletor Fortress.”
“Who told you that?”
“Him.”
Following Lochter’s gaze, Lily looked at Arthur’s sleeping form—
Then clicked her tongue.
She had a feeling she knew what Arthur had ant.
“That’s not . That’s Keros.”
“Keros? You an… that small beast?”
“Yep. Keros is the guardian of the forest.”
Keros, the Guardian of the Forest.
As the gatekeeper of the Phantom Forest, it was the only being capable of moving freely through the entire woodland.
“The forest is massive—even the Ortas get lost inside it.”
“Then, can we ask the small beast for help? To open a path?”
“If I ask, Keros will open a path. But… everyone will die anyway.”
“…What?”
Lochter was at a loss for words.
Everyone… dies?
“Because of the ghosts?”
“Ghosts? I know how to avoid them.”
“Then… what?”
“…The witches.”
“The witches?”
“The witches will kill you all. That’s the rule of the forest.”
“Even with you there?”
“…A few, if I recognize them, might be fine.”
So there was a requirent to enter the forest.
“You’re saying you can’t recognize everyone?”
“You expect to? Why would I?”
“They followed to survive.”
“That has nothing to do with the forest. The witches won’t acknowledge them. Humans aren’t on the witches’ side.”
Lochter let out a heavy sigh, looking down at her.
There was no malice in her eyes.
She was simply stating facts.
If they entered the forest with everyone, the witches would attack them.
Even she and Keros couldn’t go against the forest’s rules.
Lochter’s gaze shifted to the still-unconscious Arthur.
…Had he known this?
What was his reason for leading them here?
“There must be another way.”
“…What?”
Lily, resting her chin in her palm, suddenly pinched Arthur’s cheek and stretched it.
“He’s never been wrong before.”
“But you—you’re a witch yourself. You said there was no way.”
“I don’t know how to save them.”
“But he might.”
“Has he ever failed when he said sothing would work?”
“…No, he hasn’t.”
“Exactly. So he’ll keep his promise to cook for for three days straight. Right, Keros?”
“Woof!”
Lochter silently watched as Lily continued tornting Arthur’s face.
And suddenly—
He felt ashad.
Even a witch believed in Arthur without hesitation—
Yet, he, as a comrade, had doubted him.
Lochter bit his lip.
The more he thought about it, the more embarrassed he beca.
Finally, he bowed his head slightly toward Lily.
“…Thank you.”
“Huh? For what?”
“For reminding of sothing I had montarily forgotten.”
“…Okay, but what about food?”
At her response, Lochter let out a small chuckle.
She was simple yet complicated at the sa ti.
Arthur, who handled her like a child, suddenly seed even more impressive.
“You’ll have a full al before the day ends.”
“I want a sandwich.”
“Woof!”
“…Wait. What? Ugly Karl said he’d bring back that much at? Why all of a sudden?”
“Huh? Why aren’t you answering ?”
Ignoring Lily, who had grabbed Keros by the scruff and was shaking it, Lochter turned away.
She was right.
They had followed only Arthur to this point.
With over ten thousand people looking to him for guidance, the weight of responsibility had made him impatient.
But—
He wasn’t alone.
Hunt.
The mont he rembered his comrades, he felt at ease.
It was a completely different comfort from his ti as commander in Blyer.
Back then, it was all burden and duty.
But now—
It was sothing he could rely on.
And that felt strangely good.
In the end, they would have to wait here until Arthur woke up.
“Lochter! You liar!”
The next morning, the furious Lily headbutted Lochter in the chest.
A whole day had passed—
But Karl’s group had still not returned from their supply run.
With hunger creeping in, people’s unease began to grow.
However, no one complained.
Miners, slaves, test subjects—
The people gathered here had once been at rock bottom, only to be saved by Lochter.
To them, hunger was nothing compared to what they had endured before.
And above all, their trust in Lochter was absolute.
If he told them to wait—they would wait.
But there were two who refused to be patient.
A certain woman—and a certain dog.
“Food! Sandwich!”
“Woof!”
“…Wait.”
Lochter tried to glare at them, but neither looked remotely intimidated.
Lily shoved at his chest with her forehead again.
For the first ti in her life, she realized—
Hunger makes people cranky.
"Why do you keep swinging that damn sword when we’re hungry?! It’s making even hungrier!"
Lochter continued his boring, repetitive sword training.
“It’s for getting stronger.”
“That’s stupid. You only need to train once.”
“No training is perfect in just one session.”
“It is for .”
“Perfection and fortitude are different things.”
A conversation between a hard-working knight and a natural prodigy—
It was bound to go nowhere.
Especially when the prodigy was an impatient child like Lily.
"You've never faced death alone, have you?"
"I've almost died before, you know???"
"But you've always had soone protecting you."
"So what?"
"If you get used to standing alone, you’ll understand what I an."
"Whatever. Where’s the food?"
"Wait."
"If you keep saying that, I’m taking Keros and heading to the forest."
"Then you’ll never see him again."
Up until now, whenever Lily got angry, everyone around her would beco cautious.
But Lochter—he didn’t even blink at her threat.
His resolve was different.
"J-Just you wait and see!"
A loser's retreat.
Lily and Keros slumped down next to Arthur in defeat.
Feeling a sudden burst of frustration, she pinched his thigh—hard.
"Ggh."
No reaction.
Pouting, she curled up beside him.
But Lochter's last words kept nagging at her.
Never seeing Arthur again…
She had never really thought about it before.
She had left the forest out of curiosity, drawn by Arthur’s divine na.
She had spent half a year exploring the world and then t him—
And that’s when her real journey began.
Battles and crisis after crisis.
Escaping, fighting, surviving.
The ti they spent together was short, but intense.
And in that ti—
Arthur had beco special to her.
"..fortable."
The witches of the forest were always kind to her, but in their eyes, she could see expectation.
Mages looked at her with malice, and humans with fear.
To everyone, she was special.
But—
"With Arthur… I feel comfortable."
He didn’t look at her with expectations, malice, or fear.
He just saw her for who she was.
And she loved that.
It felt like he already knew her, like an old friend.
With him, everything was fun and relaxed.
Lily leaned her head against Arthur’s arm and closed her eyes.
Kuuu—
Before she knew it, she had fallen asleep.
Even if she was starving, she refused to leave his side.
For the first ti in her life, she was learning to endure for a purpose.
And to avoid the hunger—she simply chose to sleep.
The sun was setting.
The vast reed fields swayed in the wind, bathed in the red glow of the evening sky.
It was a breathtaking sight.
Lochter, standing among the reeds, looked in the direction Karl had disappeared.
It had been a day and a half, and Karl still hadn’t returned.
At this point, he should have at least sent a ssenger back.
Sothing was wrong.
One of the n from Karl’s scouting team approached and asked cautiously:
“…What if they still don’t return tomorrow?”
Lochter pondered for a mont before calling the remaining three mbers of the team.
One was already out scouting, leaving only three at his side.
"Choose one to co with ."
"Sir, are you personally going?"
"If Karl couldn’t return, it ans the situation is bad enough that I need to see it for myself."
"But this area—"
"I’ll only assess the situation and return. If anything happens, I’ll send a ssenger back. Follow Arthur’s orders when he wakes up."
If past experience was anything to go by, Arthur should wake up soon.
They couldn’t just sit here starving—
They had to find food or make a move.
If he left, the only one who could protect the group was Lily.
But unlike Arthur, she wasn’t exactly friendly toward humans.
She only helped because Arthur was here.
Lochter was about to ask for her cooperation when—
A scout ca sprinting back, his face pale.
"Several wagons are approaching!"
"Enemies?"
"No! Our people are on them! But there are pursuers following behind."
"Call in the combat unit."
Over a thousand trained fighters had been stationed nearby—
n from Heinz’s army, along with anyone fit to fight.
As the combat unit was assembled and weapons were drawn—
The sky, tinged with twilight, suddenly flashed with an intense light.
—CRACK!
"……!"
A blue lightning bolt.
And then—
KUUUUUUUUUNG!!!
A thunderous roar followed.
Lightning had struck—
Right in the path of the approaching wagons.
“…Magic.”
Lochter clenched his teeth.
He left the defense to his n and rushed forward.
A mage.
He had never fought one before, but he knew—
Even a single mage was an enormous threat to an army.
And here, there were over ten thousand people gathered.
He couldn’t let a mage get anywhere near them.
“Woof!”
“…I know, Keros.”
Lily looked up at the sky and stood up.
She could feel it—
The air itself was trembling.
The lingering presence of mana.
A group of mages was coming.
“…Tch.”
A soldier rushed toward her, panting.
“S-Sorcerers! We have to hurry!”
Lily stayed silent.
If she stepped in, it wouldn’t just be a simple battle.
It would change the entire balance of the forest.
“…A-Are we fighting or not?! We don’t have ti—”
Just as the soldier started panicking—
A familiar voice cut through the tension.
“…What’s going on?”
“…Ah!”
Lily’s eyes widened.
She spun around imdiately.
A man was slowly sitting up.
He rubbed his neck, his brows furrowed.
Lily’s face lit up with joy.
Arthur Clayton.
He had finally woken up.
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