How to Tame That Gentle Hero - Chapter 10.2

“Eldis.”

As she opened her mouth toward Eldis, who was taking a sip from his teacup, his head turned toward her, and her eyes met with his blue ones. Like sinking into a bright blue sea, Resena’s throat tightened and she staggered forward one step at a time.

“Resena.”

He put down his cup and stood up. There was not a trace of hesitation in his hand as he supported her. Resena finally felt relief as her body nestled in his arms. And when she wrapped her arms around his waist and looked up, Eldis gave a faint smile.

Then he soon made a playful expression and said kindly.

“I’ve returned safely, haven’t I? I had no injuries. I’ve completely overcome the trials of the holy land and returned, Resena.”

“Eldis…”

“Now it’s time to grant my wish. …But before that, I want to tell you. I missed you, Resena.”

Tears welled up in Resena’s eyes and flowed down her cheeks. Eldis wiped her tears with the back of his hand, looking concerned. Then he slowly lowered his head and claimed Resena’s lips.

She felt she might lose her senses at the soft touch. Resena responded fully to his kiss, clinging desperately to a violently surging tidal wave. Her mind seemed to melt completely, and she felt so good that she couldn’t speak.

“With such a passionate reward, I feel I could go twice.”

He said playfully, but when he saw tears rolling down from Resena’s eyes once more, he closed his mouth. “Sorry.” His expression as he said this was the gentlest she had ever seen.

“Come, let’s not stand like this, let’s sit down. I don’t want you to collapse from trembling like this, cute Resena.”

“Eldis…”

“You must have many questions for me. I suspected that, so I came directly. The events in the holy land cannot be recorded with vision orbs. I thought you might be curious about how I surpassed my limits there.”

Eldis gently guided Resena to sit on the sofa. She had many things she wanted to ask him, but her mind was completely tangled and jumbled.

“I’ll tell you about when I first arrived at the holy land.”

Eldis slowly searched through his memories and recalled the past events.

***

Lemordus.

The holy land of the main god, and also a terrifying place that rejects those who intrude without purpose.

But it was also a place for training to surpass one’s limits. Although if one failed to pass through, they could become a ghost wandering the holy land forever.

“Is that Lemordus over there?”

“Yes, it is.”

Eldis, standing on the deck of the airship, looked through the window at the floating island. Compared to the snow-covered mountains below, the floating island was covered with lush greenery and splashed with flowers here and there, showing off its beauty.

“It’s still a beautiful place.”

“It’s the holy land of the main god. Moreover, since it repeats only the spring season year-round and has no natural predators, it wouldn’t be surprising if many divine beasts called Lirameki inhabit it.”

Eldis nodded at Alken’s words.

“Once we enter the holy land, we’ll encounter the divine beasts in some way. It wouldn’t be bad to prepare some food to gain their favor.”

“Understood.”

“And… Alken, you and the others should not enter the holy land but wait for me outside. Although Lemordus is a holy land, there’s no barrier on the outer beach of the island where the airship can land and rest, so set up tents and stay there.”

At this, Alken frowned.

“His Majesty the Emperor told us to accompany Your Highness the Crown Prince… Will you be alright without our help?”

Eldis chuckled.

According to his intuition, he had to enter the holy land alone. His intuition as a Grand Sword Master was quite accurate, and it was also because he decided to follow his instincts based on Resena’s advice to trust his own feelings in important moments.

“Yes. I don’t need help. Rather, if you come with me, I might be in danger trying to save others. Since we don’t know what visions will appear in the holy land, it would be dangerous if I were to hallucinate and perceive you as enemies.”

“That’s true… I understand.”

Alken respectfully bowed at the waist.

“Then I will inform everyone of Your Highness’s words. …And is there anything else you’ve thought of?”

“No, nothing. Well… if I could make one more request, I’d like a backpack packed with ten days’ worth of food.”

“I’ll prepare that myself.”

“Thank you. I’ll disembark when preparations are complete.”

“Yes, I’ll prepare it right away.”

As the airship landed on Lemordus, the bottom part sank into the sand with a crunching sound. On the beach area where no barrier was set, a sea of clouds spread over the sand. The deeper the clouds, the more careful one had to be when opening the door, as a misstep could lead to a fall.

After disembarking with the backpack Alken had prepared for him, the knights followed behind. They would stay here until his return. Eldis looked back at them as they set up tents and prepared the campsite, then slowly turned around and headed toward the part where the holy land’s barrier was set.

“Haa…”

After walking a short distance and passing through the white fog surrounding the outskirts of the holy land, he could see a white deer-like divine beast, Lirameki, grazing on the lush greenery. Though it must have seen a human for the first time, the divine beast fearlessly raised its head with curious eyes and perked up its ears.

Its appearance was quite cute, so he approached it, but the divine beast just continued to munch on grass. Eldis reached out and stroked the divine beast’s ear. Seeming to enjoy the sensation, the divine beast perked up its ears and raised its head.

“I’ve come here to test my limits. To overcome myself and not lead the world to destruction, I want to fill in what I lack.”

The divine beast just stared at him with its black eyes, seemingly understanding his words. The divine beast stopped grazing, turned its back to him, and slowly began to walk ahead, clearly inviting him to follow.

“Are you trying to guide me?”

Eldis asked gently, but the divine beast continued walking without any response. He had entered the holy land before to gain the power to exercise Sernaus’s light, but at that time, he only had business at the central altar, so he hadn’t seen the divine beasts.

But now that he had made contact with the divine beast, Eldis decided to follow where it led. Currently, he had come to the holy land to surpass his limits, but he didn’t know how to do it. Even after searching through ancient documents, they only mentioned that one could surpass their limits at the holy land, but how to do so wasn’t written even in the autobiographies of heroes who had overcome their limits at the holy land.

“Anyway, it’s still a beautiful place.”

Following the divine beast, Eldis admired the sight of white flowers blooming everywhere. The fresh greenery topped with white hydrangeas and forget-me-nots, as well as other flowers of all seasons, blooming regardless of the season, was awe-inspiring.

‘I wish I could have shown this scenery to Resena.’