Starchis approached the woman, who was gazing at the sky with moist eyes.

“...Luss?”

She turned her head.

Her soft black hair fluttered gently.

“...Chis?”

Her eyes widened in surprise.

She hadn’t expected to see Starchis here.

“What are you doing here, not going home?”

He asked.

It had been quite a while since they had greeted and parted ways.

“...And you?”

She asked back.

“I just came back after seeing Elza off.”

Starchis tried to forget the previous incident.

Thinking about it made him uneasy.

But it wasn’t something he could easily push away.

“...Your face is red, Chis.”

Luss, who knew every part of him inside out, quickly noticed his change.

No matter how drunk she was, she was sensitive to his changes.

“Oh.”

He quickly covered his face with his hand.

Luss disliked seeing him so agitated.

It felt like he was hiding secrets from her.

It made her feel even more distant.

‘Should I be grateful they didn’t sleep together?’

Luss consoled herself by thinking it wasn’t the worst-case scenario.

“...It must have been good.”

Even though she didn’t want to probe, her curiosity won out because she liked him so much.

She hoped he’d tell her that nothing happened.

It was a question, but the desired answer was predetermined.

“...It’s not like that.”

Starchis said, sweeping his cheek.

Even if it was a lie, he didn’t want to slander Rose by saying it was good.

No matter what the truth was.

Luss breathed a sigh of relief internally.

Her stuffy chest felt like it was being cleared by a cool breeze.

Even if his answer was out of embarrassment or a mere empty word, she was satisfied.

Lately, asking questions often led to getting hurt.

There were many times she regretted asking, wishing she had stayed ignorant.

Yet, like a moth to a flame, she couldn’t resist her curiosity and ended up getting burned.

Fortunately, this wasn’t one of those times.

“Luss. You still haven’t answered my question. What are you doing here?”

Luss redirected her gaze back to the sky in response to his question.

The bright moon illuminated her.

“Just… the moon is pretty.”

Starchis followed her gaze to the sky.

It shone bright and clear, alone in the darkness.

“…Anyway, get up. You’ll catch a cold. You’ve been drinking too, you need to rest.”

He approached her and extended his hand.

Luss grinned widely after a long time.

“Hehe…”

She took his hand and gently pulled it to her cheek.

He felt the warmth and softness of her cheek.

Despite the cold, her face was warm.

“…Luss, you’re drunk.”

Starchis said.

He didn’t pull his hand away, not wanting to react too strongly to her drunken behavior.

Luss smiled and spoke.

“Just a little longer. Sit next to me.”

Starchis smacked his lips and slowly sat next to her as she had asked.

He had seen Luss gazing at the moon several times in the past.

It was something she did when she was struggling.

“…So what’s wrong this time?”

He probed into Luss’ troubles.

“Hmm.. nothing.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“It’s okay to tell me. What is it?”

Whenever he asked this much, she always confided in him.

But today was different.

“Really, it’s nothing.”

And it truly was nothing, as she said.

To be precise, she felt better now.

Elza had been her concern, but with him sitting beside her, her worries seemed to dissipate as if she had taken a painkiller.

“Let’s just stay like this for a while.”

She said, still gazing at the moon.

“…It’s really amazing, isn’t it? Being with you makes me feel so at ease.”

“Why so serious all of a sudden, Luss?”

“Hehe, maybe it’s because I’ve been drinking… How about you?”

“Hm?”

“How do you feel when you’re with me?”

Starchis chuckled.

“I haven’t been drinking, Luss.”

“C’mon~ tell me.”

Luss poked Starchis’ side as she asked.

Tickled, Starchis laughed and covered his side.

Luss’ eyes turned into crescent moons as she laughed at his reaction.

After their brief playfulness, when things calmed down, Starchis answered.

“…I feel at ease too.”

It was sincere.

The only person who knew him better than Luss was his older brother.

They had spent a lot of time together and shared many worries.

If he had to entrust his back to someone in a fight, Luss would be the first person to come to mind.

“Hehehe...”

Luss laughed, covering her mouth.

She looked incredibly cute.

“Hey, Luss. Keep dressing like that.”

“Huh..? Uh... why..?”

“Because you look pretty.”

“Wha... what??”

“Why do you act like you don’t know?”

Luss knew she wasn’t unattractive.

She heard compliments about her looks countless times, even when walking down the street.

But that didn’t mean she was immune to hearing it from someone she had a crush on.

“If you keep it up, you’ll meet someone, won’t you?”

“... Is that what you mean?”

Luss felt like she could fly from the compliment about her looks,

but her mood sank at the thought of meeting someone else.

The two comments balanced her feelings surprisingly well.

She didn’t feel emotionally stirred.

“I’ll meet someone when the time comes.”

“What happened to the person you said you liked?”

“The person I said I liked?”

“Yeah, you mentioned it before when we were drinking at my place. You said you liked someone and that they were reliable.”

“Oh... that person?”

“Any progress?”

Luss glanced at Starchis secretly.

“... No, nothing.”

“Really? That’s a shame.”

“Why is it a shame? Do you want me to meet someone?”

“Huh? Haha... no, I mean it’s a shame nothing happened with the person you like. I want you to be happy, Luss.”

“...”

Luss twisted her lips bitterly at his well-wishing.

He had no idea what her happiness meant.

“Then you tell me.”

Luss began to gather her courage.

“What do men like? Or rather, what do you like a woman to do?”

“Me?”

“Yeah, you.”

“I’d just like it if they acted like Elza.”

Starchis regretted his words immediately.

What he liked was the imagined Elza.

He definitely didn’t want someone to act like Rose.

He told himself that.

“Damn...”

Luss felt another hit to her heart.

She thought she could brush it off easily, but it seemed that Starchis, who always sang of pure love, had now completely fixed his ideal on Elza.

“What is that supposed to mean! I need to know so I can use it on the person I like!”

“Oh, right. Haha, maybe that was too much?”

“You. And stop bringing up Elza in front of me.”

Luss, consumed by jealousy, pouted at him.

“Huh? Why?”

“All you ever do is talk about Elza, Elza. I don’t want to hear you fawning over her all the time…”

“Really? I guess it’s annoying. Alright, I’ll try to cut it down.”

Luss sat with a disgusted look on her face.

Seeing her expression made him want to tease her.

If he said something cheesy, she might cringe.

Just thinking about it made Starchis smile.

“Oh, but you know, when Elza gives me kisses on the cheek, it’s really nice.”

He waited for her to cringe at his corny words, ready to laugh.

But Luss just stared blankly at the sky with deep, unfocused eyes, as if she hadn’t heard him.

“..? Lus-”

“Chis.”

Her voice, cold as a blade, cut through the air, making Starchis shudder.

“...Yes?”

“I told you to stop.”

“Yes, ma’am. It was a joke. I’ve never done that.”

Her unexpectedly severe reaction left him feeling awkward.

.

.

.

.

After staring at the sky for a long time, Starchis finally dusted off his pants and stood up.

“Alright. Let’s go, Luss.”

Luss stood up without further complaint.

“Whoa..!”

She reached out slightly to steady herself as she stood.

Having been outside in the cold for so long while drunk, maintaining her balance was difficult.

She thought she had sobered up, but her body disagreed.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m… fine.”

Starchis thought it was actually a good thing.

He had felt uneasy about sending Vienna and Lily home alone.

Taking Luss home would ease that guilt a little.

“I’ll walk you home.”

Luss blinked in surprise.

“Oh… Are you sure?”

“What do you mean?”

“…Wouldn’t Elza mind…”

She said something she didn’t mean, just out of politeness.

At the mention of Elza, Starchis shivered, recalling the earlier memory.

“…Chis?”

“Huh? Oh, it’s fine. Don’t worry. I already took my girlfriend home. It would be worse to leave you struggling in your drunken state.”

“…Really?”

“Yeah. Come on, let’s go.”

.

.

.

.

As they walked, they talked as they used to, conversation flowing effortlessly.

For Luss, it felt like they were patrolling together again.

Having walked countless nights together, this moment felt familiar.

Starchis felt the same, memories of those times flooding back.

“…Luss, thank you.”

“Huh? Why are you being serious all of a sudden?”

“Hahaha, I guess so.”

“…But for what?”

“Well… I’ve had a lot of time to reflect while my arm was healing. I started thinking about our lives. You didn’t originally want to be a gatherer, right? You said being a guard wasn’t bad.”

“…Yeah.”

Luss had become a gatherer solely because of Starchis.

She had no personal dream of raising the party’s rank.

The only reason she had worked so hard was to help him achieve his dream.

“So you ultimately trusted me and jumped into this job, right? Believing that we could live a wealthier and more renowned life.”

Wealth and fame were not Luss’ goals.

Her goal was simply Starchis.

“…”

“Anyway. That aside, I’m really grateful for everything you’ve done for me. You’ve risked your life and gotten hurt to help me achieve my dream. Some people might be content with where we are now.”

Even though C-grade and D-grade parties risked their lives, the Barefoot Party had established its own niche.

Even without aiming for B-grade, they could survive as long as no major problems arose.

“…”

Luss couldn’t respond again.

He seemed to see her in a much grander light than she saw herself.

It wasn’t some noble reason; it was purely selfish.

Selfishness to have him.

She felt like she was deceiving him.

Suddenly, she felt uneasy.

Was it because she didn’t share the same pure intentions that he got hurt in the dungeon?

Was it a punishment for her selfishness?

The thought was overly dramatic, but it was enough to trouble her mind.

“So, thank you, Luss.”

“…Yeah.”

Luss’ mind was tangled, so she responded briefly.

Feeling her reply was too curt given his sincerity, she added a word of encouragement.

“Get your arm better soon. We need to keep chasing that dream.”

“Right. Ah, I’ll probably owe Lily Noona a lot, sorry about that.”

“…Chis, it’s enough if you just take me this far.”

“Huh?”

“I can go on my own from here.”

“Seriously, what’s gotten into you?”

She felt uneasy.

The guilt from when the head monkey created a whirlwind by tearing the scroll and left him behind while she fell overwhelmed her again.

She couldn’t bear to look at his face.

“…Go rest. Okay? You must be tired too.”

Starchis looked around.

They were close to Luss’ lodging.

It seemed safe enough, and it wasn’t a bad place to end their conversation after the awkward words exchanged.

“Hmm... alright then. I’ll head back. Be careful.”

“Yeah. Oh, Chis?”

“Yeah?”

“I’ll write you a letter. Is that okay?”

Starchis had mentioned that if she wanted to make plans, she should let him know by letter.

He smiled broadly.

“Sure, do that.”

As he walked away, the forced bright smile on her face faded, replaced by a dark expression.

With him gone, the hidden pain resurfaced.

.

.

.

The next morning, Luss arrived early in front of a building.

It was an imposing three-story structure.

The sign on the building read in large letters, ‘Aide.’

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