Chapter 199
Even as I looked down, I noticed something sparkling like broken glass fragments at my feet. Looking more closely, the object these pieces had broken off from seemed quite familiar.
‘Is this……’
Wasn’t this Killis’s glasses? It seems like I stepped on them and broke them?
Seeing the sparkling fragments, the thoughts that had been briefly lingering in my mind instantly scattered.
“Your Highness? What’s wrong?”
As I stood still, Killis’s voice came from behind me. Though it wasn’t intentional, I jumped a bit, feeling guilty.
“Well….. Can you come here for a moment? This looks like your glasses.”
Killis approached, puzzled, and upon seeing the broken glasses at my feet, let out an “Ah” of dismay. So they really were his glasses.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know they were there and stepped on them.”
“It’s fine. It’s my carelessness. I must have dropped them earlier while taking cover.”
Killis gathered the broken remains of his glasses.
“But……”
“I can get them repaired when we reach town, so please don’t worry about it.”
Killis responded casually, having noticed my concern. Though that didn’t exactly ease my mind.
I changed clothes behind a tree and came out, but Reno and Isaac hadn’t returned yet. I thought about going to look for them, but remembering the blood on my clothes earlier, I couldn’t bring myself to do it.
It was the same when I shot those arrows earlier. I fired them thinking I needed to survive and resolve the situation.
But now that things had calmed down and I could think more deeply, I realized this might have been my first injury inflicted on someone else, or perhaps even my first kill.
Although they had tried to kill us first, and they were probably just game characters, I couldn’t help feeling uncomfortable about it.
‘Will things like this keep happening?’
I really hope this was the last time…….
“Are you alright, Your Highness?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
Lost in my thoughts, I looked up. Killis was looking at me with concern, having approached without my noticing.
“You look shocked. Is it because of the attack earlier?”
I silently nodded.
“I thought so. It’s understandable. You haven’t experienced such an attack since before you came of age.”
“Before I came of age……”
Killis’s expression changed. It was the look of someone who regretted a slip of the tongue. When I didn’t press further, he seemed to decide to confess.
“I was referring to when Your Highness saved Lord Isaac.”
Ah, that.
Now I understood Killis’s reaction. That was the incident that caused the damage to my mana circuits.
They said I used excessive magic trying to save Isaac, which damaged my mana circuits. That’s how I ended up with my current condition.
“It’s fine. I don’t actually remember it, so it doesn’t really affect me.”
“I can only be grateful for Your Highness’s generosity. In any case….. I apologize for putting you through this. I didn’t expect something like this on the first day, so my response was inadequate.”
“Everything turned out fine. That’s what matters.”
I smiled as if nothing was wrong. But my hands still wouldn’t stop trembling.
I had faced life-threatening situations many times before because of quests. But this was the first time I’d felt such direct threat and fear. And it was also the first time I’d harmed someone to survive.
“Actually.”
As my thoughts began to grow complicated again, Killis spoke up. Thanks to that, I was able to put my thoughts aside momentarily and focus on his words.
“I saw Your Highness using magic earlier.”
In that moment, my heart sank.
“You pulled out a bow and arrows from thin air and then made them disappear. That’s clearly spatial magic.”
“Ah……”
He saw.
I thought he wouldn’t notice given the distance and the endless rain of arrows from the opposite direction, but he apparently did.
Discussion
0 CommentsNo comments yet.