Why did you come now.

A trace of tension still lay dormant beneath her questioning voice. Even after saying it herself, Lena couldn’t keep her lips firmly pressed together; they trembled faintly. To anyone looking, she was clearly terrified.

I couldn’t bring myself to scold her. Judging by her horribly torn uniform, it was easy to guess what she had endured while I was away. She must have been caught by the bastards who broke through the door and nearly suffered a terrible fate. She seemed to have fought them off with magic, but red welts still lingered on the skin of her shoulder.

“…”

As I continued to stare, Lena hugged her shoulders and shrank back. My eyes were drawn, almost involuntarily, to the pristine white underwear revealed through her torn collar. Lena glared at me with sharp eyes.

“What are you doing?”

“Huh?”

“I asked what you’re doing.”

Faced with a contextless question, I could only foolishly ask back. Lena looked at me before snapping harshly.

“Didn’t you come to rescue me? Then give me something to cover up. I can’t stay like this.”

“…”

“Lope. Hurry.”

“Lena, you…”

A surge of anger rose in me, and I was about to spit out words, but exercising self-restraint, I clamped my mouth shut. Then, I handed Lena one of the blankets scattered around.

“Here. This is all there is.”

“Right. Thanks. Lope.”

“So? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“How does it look?”

Lena’s response was as prickly as ever. She didn’t even try to pretend to be sweet like before. Her current attitude was exactly the same as when she faced me at the Academy.

What could the reason be? Perhaps she still didn’t trust me. Was she expressing that anxiety as aggression? Or maybe, because of what happened earlier, she had developed a vague disgust toward men?

I could conjure up dozens of reasons to explain her behavior. But regardless of her true feelings, the fact remained that she was completely disregarding the person who had gone out of their way to rescue her. Because of her attitude, even the momentary sympathy I had felt for her seemed ready to evaporate entirely.

“I’m not hurt anywhere. My legs are fine, and my arms move. Is that enough?”

“Can you still use magic?”

“I don’t know. Why do you care about that? Are you checking if I still have the strength to resist? What are you going to do with that information?”

“Lena. I just…”

I must have frowned without realizing it. Lena wrapped herself tightly in the blanket and burrowed deeper into the locker.

“I just came to help you. That’s all.”

“Right. Sure.”

“Don’t talk like that. There’s no reason to act this way in a situation like this.”

“Why. Did my attitude make you uncomfortable? Is that it, Lope?”

Her voice was sharply honed, yet it still trembled faintly. However, Lena maintained that precarious aggression to the end, glaring at me.

“Did you think I’d burst into tears at the sight of you? Is that what you were expecting?”

“Lena.”

“I’m sure you did. You figured in a situation like this, you could manipulate me however you wanted. That’s what you were thinking when you came running here, wasn’t it?”

“Why would I ever do that? I just…”

“If that’s not it, then why are you only coming to get me now?”

Lena spat it out haughtily, as if it were some sharp reprimand. I shut my mouth, and she continued triumphantly.

“I have eyes and ears too. Even while locked up in here, I could easily tell what you’ve been up to. And you knew I was in this situation at least a month ago. Didn’t you?”

“No. I really didn’t know, Lena. Even those guys didn’t know you were here until recently…”

“Don’t even think about deceiving me now. I told you. I have ears to hear. And even if that were true, you should have come to rescue me the day you found out. Right?”

“I had no choice. If I wanted to help you.”

“Don’t make me laugh. There were plenty of opportunities before that.”

Now I could sense clear hostility in Lena’s voice. In fact, it was strange that I was only feeling it now. She had been acting like this ever since she faced me here.

“If you truly wanted to help me out of concern for me, you would have found a way to see me before this. But you didn’t. You were busy scheming with those guys on the other side, and only came looking for me after a day like this finally arrived.”

“That’s not true.”

“Your ulterior motive is obvious. You must have made a deal with them. What could it be? ‘I’ll help with the raid, so give Lena to me,’ was that the deal? Did you want to make me yours that way?”

“That’s ridiculous nonsense, Lena.”

“No. It seems perfectly convincing to me. Considering your attitude all this time.”

“Attitude? What does that mean?”

“Well. Do I really have to say it out loud? But there’s no point in hiding it now. You’ve had a crush on me for a long time, haven’t you, Lope?”

“…”

I didn’t think it was possible for her not to know. But having it exposed like this, no matter how much time had passed, still brought a twinge of pain.

“Don’t tell me you thought I wouldn’t know. Of course I knew. I just didn’t show it. Still, it was kind of cute in its own way. The way you kept clinging to me even when you knew it was hopeless.”

“It was cute.”

“There was a time I thought so. But not anymore. I realized you wouldn’t just approach me in a cute way anymore. So I’m going to stop pretending to be nice to you.”

“Hah…”

Pretending to be nice. I let out a hollow laugh at that part. Who had been nice to whom all this time? Did she perhaps think those half-hearted words of thanks, those hugs, were rewards far beyond what I deserved?

“I was nice to you.”

“Wasn’t I? I spent time playing with a loner with no friends. What, did you think otherwise? Did you think I actually liked you? Surely not, Lope.”

…

Right. So that’s how it was.

Only now did I feel like I was slowly beginning to understand how you had seen me. And that I had been misunderstanding things all along. Until now, I thought there was a complicated line drawn between us, somewhere between friends and lovers. Even though I couldn’t cross that line, I thought you saw me the same way. That was my delusion.

But that wasn’t the case. You just thought of me as a convenient friend to use. No, actually, I’m not sure if the word ‘friend’ is even accurate.

To you, I was just a dog. A dog that should come running the moment it thinks its master is in danger.

If that’s how you thought of me, it makes sense you’d be angry. It must look like a dog yapping, demanding its master be grateful. That’s probably why you can be so mad. Otherwise, who could speak so harshly to someone holding a sword in a situation like this? It would be impossible without a preexisting habit of looking down on me and dismissing me.

Only now did I feel like I could understand everything. And, even if belatedly, that I could finally give up.

“…So I’m sorry, Lope. But I won’t obediently become your toy. If you were using this situation as an excuse to take me, you’re greatly mistaken. So drop that idea…”

“Ah, I got it.”

“What?”

“I said I got it. I got it.”

I sheathed my sword and crossed my arms. Then, I replied with an indifferent tone.

“I got it, so just come out for now. You’re not going to keep staying in here, are you?”

“What’s this, Lope. You still haven’t given up? I told you. I…”

“I told you it’s not like that. So come out.”

Memories. Nostalgia. Yearning. Every emotion I had harbored toward her seemed to vanish in an instant. I took a step back and pointed toward the door with my chin.

“Since it’s true I came to get you, I’ll stay with you until we get out. After that, we go our separate ways. That’s enough, right?”

“Lope, you…”

“We have all those years behind us, so I can do at least that much. I’ll help you until we get out of this building. Isn’t that enough?”

“…”

Lena stared at me with a slightly blank expression. But soon, she wore a meaningful look and shook her head.

“…No. I’m not leaving.”

“Don’t be weirdly stubborn now. If you keep staying here, other guys will come. So let’s just get out of here.”

“I said no. If you really want to help me, stay here with me.”

“Lena. Stop being so pointlessly stubborn and…”

“I’m not leaving, Lope. Because there’s someone who promised to come get me.”

“What?”

What nonsense was this now? As I made an annoyed expression, Lena answered with still trembling lips.

“They said if I stayed here, they’d definitely come get me. That person came to me long before this raid happened, and they have a solid plan for what comes next. Unlike you, Lope.”

“Who is that?”

“You don’t need to know. The only thing certain is that they’re someone more reliable than you. So I…”

“Ahhhhhhhhh!”

“…!”

At that moment, a miserable scream echoed from outside the door. It was a warning sound sent by the guy I had stationed outside. Without even having time to admire his loyalty, I turned back to Lena.

“Looks like someone’s outside. Hide for now. I’ll still help you through this one. So…”

“No. There’s no need for that.”

“What?”

“Because it seems they’re finally here.”

“So who is…”

Bang!

The moment I was about to continue my sentence, the door was thrown open violently, and the sound of someone’s footsteps leaked inside. My hand instinctively went to my sword, but another instinct stopped me from drawing it. For some reason, I felt the footsteps were familiar.

But I certainly didn’t feel glad to hear them. Rather, a chilling sensation gripped the back of my neck.

“Huu…”

Soon, the intruder’s sigh fell quietly over the room. The person looked around the room before looking this way and slowly opening their mouth.

“Sorry I’m late. Lena. There were some unexpected things to take care of.”

“…Damn it.”

The moment I heard that voice, I bit back a curse. It was a voice I knew.

“Oh my.”

That person also seemed to recognize who I was, letting out a small exclamation. And then, they casually offered a greeting using a deeply nostalgic moniker.

“Fancy seeing you here. Lope-geup.”