Chapter 28

Kade’s eyes fluttered open and close. His blurry vision began to clear, the thing in front of him taking shape.

“Kade!? Kade, are you alright!? Are you awake!?”

He heard someone calling out his name. It was a familiar voice.

“... Meline?”

“Kade!” Meline jumped onto the bed and hugged him.

“I was so worried,” she said, tears in her eyes. She held Kade’s in her. Kade wasn’t in his room in the human world, nor was he in his room in the castle. He looked around.

“Where… am I?”

The bed was much larger, enough for two people. It had fancy decorations on the top, with a luxurious purple cover. The furniture was made of expensive dark wood, the detail of their craftsmanship visible even from the bed.

“This is…”

“My room,” Meline said, finally pulling away. “Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“Me…? I think I’m fine.” Kade looked down on himself. He was wearing a set of pajamas, different from what he had worn previously.

“What… happened?”

“You collapsed. It has been two days since then.”

“Ah… So… we missed university again?”

“I asked someone to take notes for us, no need to worry.”

“I see…” Kade was relieved to know that he wouldn’t miss everything, although, all things considered, that wasn’t really important. Not in the moment, at least.

“Still… Two days, huh?” Kade had never slept for that long. The toll of the spell was no joke. Still… Why? Was the magic that heavy?

“I thought you died!”

“I’m… sorry…” He understood he made her worry. Kade reached out and hugged her. “I’m sorry for making you worry.”

“Kade…”

They heard knocking on the door, and before they could separate, it opened. “Meline! I heard shouting! Are you-”

Linda appeared, staring at them.

“... I’m sorry, please continue.” She shut the door behind them.

“Like hell we could!” Meline shouted.

•••

“The magic really took a toll, huh?” Linda asked. They were in the dining room. It was past lunch, but Kade needed to eat. “Can’t believe you head straight to that after he woke up.”

“It’s just a hug!”

“You must really be concerned with him, huh?” Tila chimed in.

“N- I mean, of course I am! All of you were as well!”

Meline wasn’t the only one who panicked when Kade collapsed.

“Kade, Kade,” Linda called out. “Do you want to know something?”

“I don’t like where this is going.” Meline glared at her.

“What is it?” Kade asked.

“Do you know, throughout your time sleeping, Meline refused to leave your side- Kah!”

Meline threw a spoon straight at Linda, hitting her on the forehead, knocking her down.

“Mi- Miss Linda!?” Tila asked in panic. Had Linda been a regular person, she might have been seriously hurt. Meline really did put her entire strength into the throw. But this was Linda, a mage of the heroes' party. She wouldn’t be knocked out that easily.

“Hmm… You two are really close, huh?” Kalou mused. “What if you get married?”

Meline’s cheeks turned even redder. “Wh- Wh- What are you saying!?”

“Doesn’t your blood have the power to create magical links?”

“Magical… links?” Kade turned to Meline.

“Oh, you meant that? Yes, indeed. Our blood can allow us to share the magical burden of those we chose.”

In other words, Meline could take some of the hits with Kade. This may knock them both out, but they would recover much faster.

“I- I can’t let you do that!”

Meline already suffered a lot because of the familiar link between them. He couldn’t ask for more.

“I don’t mind,” Meline said. “I’ll share- Now hold on a minute! You can do that without getting married!”

Meline just needed to let Kade drink her blood. She had great regeneration, so even if she lost a cup of blood at once, she wouldn’t suffer any more than slight dizziness. It wouldn’t take long for her to recover as well. And that wasn’t just for Kade. She could share her blood with everyone there, and she would be fine.

“Doesn’t the link through that result in a stronger connection, though?” Linda asked, rising from the dea- from the ground.

“You’re alright, Miss Linda?” Tila asked, still worried.

“Don’t worry about her. She can take an entire boulder,” Kalou said.

“Don’t say that so casually!” Linda cried, not denying the statement.

Meline’s face, meanwhile, went red. “I- I- I- I mean, ye- ye- yeah.”

Kade turned to her. “That? What do you mean?”

Based on Meline’s own explanation, the link from drinking blood was strong enough. Her blood didn’t just grant a link; it also granted long lives, similar to her family. That was why, in the distant past, her tribe would be hunted by other tribes. They wanted a long life for themselves. It was said that after overcoming many challenges, her tribe turned into the royal family, the ruler of Demon Lands. No one dared to touch her tribe ever since.

“Yo- Yo- You know, that thing that married couples do.”

“... Oh.”

He fell silent.

“Is it different?” Tila asked.

“It is. I heard the link is much stronger. If regular drinking allows like a… maybe a seven out of ten link in terms of strength, doing that allows for a ten out of ten link.”

“I see… When’s the wedding then?” Even Tila shipped them. Not surprising, considering they've been together for so long.

“Please don’t speak of it so casually!”

“You’re not against it, are you?”

Meline paused. “Ju- Ju- Just because I’m not against it, doesn’t mean I want to rush…” Meline trailed off, glancing at Kade.

“But… well… if he wants it…”

“Don’t just throw that responsibility onto me…”

Linda sighed. “Are you two really flirting in front of us now?”

“We’re not flirting!” Meline and Kade said at the same time.

“See?”

“Urk.”

“Well, it’s not like anything will change for you.”

They have already spent their entire lives around each other. They’ve gotten comfortable with the fact. Marriage wouldn’t suddenly change anything.

“Give us time to think.”