Together Against the World

“…Naoya, we need to talk.”

Hearing those words sent a sharp chill running through my entire body. Seeing Liz with such seriousness was something I was clearly not prepared for. Even so, I nodded for her to continue. It had to be very important.

“…I know you want to protect me, but you’re taking it to the extreme, and that bothers me. I want to be useful too, I don’t just want to stay behind, I want to fight.”

This again, huh?

I thought the matter had been settled when we talked about it that night, but it seems I still need to make my point clearer.

“Liz, listen—”

“No, you listen to me!” she shouted, cutting me off. “I can take care of myself too, you know? You’ve seen it yourself, I know how to use magic and a bit of the sword, and on top of that… you say you want to protect me, but what about you? You almost died last night, and even against the golem!”

Yes, she was right. I nearly died against the golem and against the Treetalon. I was lucky she was there, but it’s precisely because of that that I want to become stronger, so as not to involve her in battles where it’s unlikely either of us would come out alive.

“Yes, but that’s exactly why I don’t want to involve you,” I said firmly. “Besides, what will happen when you run out of mana? Not only do you lack experience with the sword, but running out of mana is lethal for you.”

In this world, if a mage runs out of mana, then they die. That was a rule that could not be forgotten under any circumstance. I nearly lost Liz for that very reason, and I don’t want it to happen again.

“I’ll have you!” she exclaimed. “I just need to stay with you to keep track of the mana!”

“Yes, but—!”

“And you’re not invincible either, you know! If it weren’t for me, you would’ve been dead long ago!” she shot back. “Just like you protect me, I want to protect you too!”

“Liz…”

“We’ll cover each other’s backs and complement one another!” she shouted, interrupting me again. “We’re a team! I’m not just your guide to the capital, I’m your adventuring partner! Trust me more! Do you!?”

“…”

Liz’s determination left me completely speechless. She was right about everything.

I focused solely on wanting to protect her so that what happened with Clay wouldn’t repeat itself, completely ignoring what she wanted, without realizing it… No, I did know. She had tried to come with me before against the Treetalon and even against the Nolgoths, but I stopped her.

Thinking it over, I was selfish. I didn’t just want to protect her—I was also afraid of losing someone again, and I didn’t take her wishes into account. I really was a jerk, to tell the truth.

“…Are you sure?” I asked. “It’ll be dangerous, maybe even worse than what we’ve already been through.”

At my question, Liz just smiled and raised her thumb in approval.

“Yes!” she answered without hesitation. “I’ll cover your back!”

Strange. Seeing Liz’s smile and her determination made me feel lighter, as if a massive weight had lifted off my shoulders. I no longer had to fight alone; now I had someone watching over me.

I’m glad I made things right with her.

“Then I’m counting on you, partner,” I said, raising my fist.

“Same here!” she replied, bumping her fist against mine.

Having settled the matter, and realizing I had collapsed after the fight, a few doubts came to mind.

“Right, what happened with the Treetalon?”

“When you passed out, I dragged you back to the village so you could rest. That’s when I told the doctors about the corpse and they went to retrieve it,” she explained. “They managed to extract the organ they were after, and now they’re preparing the medicine for the infected.”

Thank goodness. That thing was so tough and troublesome that I thought it might have a second form or something, like a video game boss. Luckily, everything went well. I still regret that the controlled adventurers couldn’t be saved, but by then it was too late and there was nothing we could have done.

“That’s good to know, though it’s a shame we have to delay until I recover…” I said with regret.

“You’ll be fine, you’re pretty tough,” Liz replied, incredibly carefree. Sometimes I wonder what exactly this girl thinks I am.

Now that I remember…

“Hey, Liz, do you know anything about the elves?”

I recalled that radiant girl and her request to save the world. I had no idea what to do, but if what she said was true, then the elves should be able to help me somehow—or at least have information about it.

“Elves? Not much. They disappeared shortly after the destruction of the great tree Mildfir. As far as I know, nothing has been heard from them since.”

“I see…”

Hearing that is definitely concerning. Could it be that the radiant girl doesn’t know about the elves’ disappearance? Or does she expect me to search for them all over the world? That sounds incredibly tedious and time-consuming…

“I’ll have to look into them at the Noxhollow library as well, it seems.”

“I’ll help you, but why so suddenly?” Liz asked, curious.

“It’s hard to explain, but when I was unconscious, a strange radiant girl told me I had to find them. I don’t know exactly why, but we’ll figure it out once we get to the capital.”

Liz went silent for a few moments, giving me a strange look that mixed puzzlement and concern.

“Did you hit your head when you passed out or something?”

“Hey!”

Anyway, that’s a topic for another time. For now, I just need to rest and recover from my injuries.

***

A couple of days had already passed since the fight against the Treetalon. I recovered relatively quickly, just like after the battle with the golem, and once I could stand, Liz and I went out to gather supplies for the continuation of our journey.

Thanks to the doctors’ efforts, the village was gradually returning to normal. It still looked somewhat empty, but people were recovering, and it was only a matter of time before the rest of the infected were treated. Some stalls and shops had already reopened in the market, so we didn’t have much trouble getting what we needed.

We also found someone to take us to the next village, and now we were loading up our things to leave.

“Thank you so much, you two!” said Doctor Digory. “If it hadn’t been for you, things would have ended very badly!”

“No problem, I just did what I had to do.”

“Yeah, being saved by me,” Liz added with a mocking laugh. This girl really knows how to get under my skin when she feels like it.

“Here!” Kara exclaimed, handing a sack to Liz. “It’s the reward for slaying the monster and saving the village.”

“Really!? That’s a lot!”

“Of course! Saving lives is something that deserves proper reward,” explained the assistant. “By the way, well done, Liz.”

“Thanks! I could do it thanks to you!”

Looks like those two really did become good friends. It’s a shame we have to part ways, but they have work to do, and we have our own destination in mind.

Finally, we finished loading everything into the cart. It was time to go.

“Liz, let’s go!”

“Coming! Goodbye!”

We both climbed into the cart, and it began moving, leaving the village behind.

“Take care, you two!” Kara shouted.

“Have a good trip! Thank you for everything!” added Doctor Digory.

Sigh

“Those were some rough days…”

“Yeah, but you know…” Liz said, looking me in the eyes with a lovely smile. “I’m glad we’re back to how we were before.”

All I could do was smile at her words. However, I feel she’s mistaken. We’re not the same as before; now we’re a stronger team. Whatever comes our way, we’ll overcome it side by side, like a true team.

And so, with our bond strengthened and a village saved, our time in Penton came to an end, and our journey continued.