<Episode 16>

A violet bullet accompanied by flames pierced the zombie’s skull in an instant.

Gray smoke wafted from the muzzle.

My heart raced, and my eyelids fluttered.

“What the…?”

A gun? He had a gun?

Though old, the weapon in Sien’s hand was a revolver.

In the original story, Sien had found several weapons at the northern shelter and distributed them to the Crown Prince and Jaeger, but a revolver wasn’t among them.

Moreover, wasn’t that bullet made of purple mana?

While I stood there gaping, Sien coldly stared at the shattered skull.

“How unpleasant. Are all zombies like this?”

“…They have no awareness or intelligence.”

Sien clicked his tongue, muttering about the stench.

That aside…

“What’s that gun?”

“Ah, I found it in the weapons storage.”

Weapons storage?

Sien took my hand, opened my palm, and placed a silver key in it.

“I found it when I woke up before you all arrived.”

“Could it be that the place was locked…?”

“Exactly. It’s the weapons storage. There aren’t any bullets, though.”

Now I understood.

The source of the weapons he discovered in the original story was that place.

“So, the bullet just now…”

“It’s a bullet created using the mana preservation method.”

Preservation method?

Come to think of it, I had heard that there was a new way to manifest aura, holy power, and mana differently from before.

Seeing the questioning look in my eyes, Sien smiled lazily and explained.

“Typical magic disperses mana into the air to take effect, but the preservation method materializes mana into objects. You can think of it like freezing water to make it solid. Such preservation methods don’t affect the sanctum area.”

I see.

This was an unfamiliar part not mentioned in the original, but I felt relieved as if it added power to the story.

Gone was the terrifying Sien; he had returned to being the princess again.

In an instant, I felt Sien’s eyes scanning my face thoroughly.

His gaze was no longer hazy but distinctly probing, making me tense.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m going to leave. To the west.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

Sien pressed the barrel of the gun against his lips and tilted his head slightly. He smiled gently with his softly glowing violet eyes.

“I’m looking forward to how you’ll protect me, Redria.”

In his shimmering violet eyes, I felt an inexplicable chill.

* * *

“Weapons storage?”

The next day, I informed the Crown Prince and Jaeger about Sien accompanying us.

When I mentioned that he was armed and that there was a weapons storage at the western shelter, they both looked quite shocked.

“Here, the key.”

When I held up the key, Jaeger and the Crown Prince’s faces turned pale.

The two of them fixed their sharp gazes on Sien.

“Why didn’t you mention this earlier?”

“I just did.”

The Crown Prince stepped in, looking frustrated.

“You mean, why didn’t you say it from the start?”

Sien blinked his innocent eyes, seemingly perplexed.

“Is there a need to mention it? What’s the difference between saying it now or at the beginning?”

Jaeger’s expression darkened.

“Are you joking with us?”

They were questioning whether Sien had intentionally hidden this information, while the subject of their interrogation appeared unfazed, which was understandably infuriating.

“Okay, okay. Let’s calm down.”

I stepped in to mediate between them.

I especially sent a warning glance toward Jaeger and the Crown Prince.

“Let’s stay at the shelter today and check out the weapons storage.”

Sigh. The Crown Prince ran a hand through his hair and walked away, while Jaeger turned sharply, his eyes glinting coldly.

I felt the atmosphere grow tense, making me cautious around them.

* * *

The day before, we had been exhausted and collapsed into a rough sleep, but now we decided to arrange a comfortable sleeping arrangement.

The lower bunk would be mine, the upper bunk would be Sien’s, and Jaeger would sleep on the sofa.

The Crown Prince decided to lean against our bed and sleep.

‘Ha.’

Then a sudden memory brought a bewildered smile to my face.

The Crown Prince had proposed the ridiculous idea of breaking our bunk bed because he couldn’t allow Sien and me to sleep in the same bed.

‘Where did that heavy demeanor go? He’s turning into a nuisance.’

Fortunately, my glare dismissed his suggestion.

Right after that, Jaeger went to chop firewood, and the Crown Prince went out to scout.

It was peaceful without the two of them for a change.

During that time, I leisurely tidied up the bedding and laid out the sleeping bags. I pulled out blankets from the upper cabinet and dusted them off. Thankfully, the regular maintenance of the sanctum had kept the bedding clean.

And our princess was…

“Um, Tower Master?”

“Yes, Ria?”

“Why do you keep following me around?”

“I like following Ria.”

Sien, who had previously referred to me as Redria or my lady, had changed his address to a more familiar one.

This definitely confirmed that I had gained his favor.

‘He said he would go west, so I’m fine with it, but…’

Why does he keep following me around like a puppy chasing its owner? It’s annoying.

I tried to ignore him while carrying the blankets to the bed, but of course, Sien came trotting up with his hands behind his back.

“What are you doing, Ria?”

“I’m getting ready for bed. But while everyone else is working, what is our Tower Master supposed to do?”

Understanding the implication of my words, Sien’s eyes widened as if he had never heard such a question before. He blinked slowly with an innocent face.

“Ria, I can’t do that.”

“Yes, I figured you wouldn’t.”

Of course, you wouldn’t, my lady.

Just then, as Sien was about to climb the ladder to his bunk with the fresh blanket and pillow, he slipped his foot inside the ladder.

“Ugh.”

His foot slid unexpectedly.

However, contrary to my expectation that he would fall backward, something supported his back.

Looking up, I saw Sien lightly smiling as he steadied me.

“…Thank you.”

“Be careful. If you get hurt, you won’t be able to protect me.”

Sien lightly held my waist and helped me down effortlessly. I was a bit surprised by his stable strength, despite his delicate and slender appearance.

I could see his chest peeking out between the straps of his blue shirt.

‘Come to think of it, he’s tall like the Crown Prince, and his build is quite…’

While I was momentarily lost in thought, Sien snatched the blanket from me.

“What are you doing?”

I felt a bit guilty for being caught peeking, and my voice trembled slightly.

Sien tilted his head, looking at me with a confused expression, then said, “Because Ria’s gaze is scary. I feel like if I don’t work, I won’t get fed.”

“When did I ever seem scary?”

“Self?”

Sien stared at me with his eyes round like glass beads. The drowsiness that had previously made his eyes droopy was now replaced with a glint of light.

“…No, what I meant was—”

“Ria, I didn’t see you that way, but you’re quite bold.”

“So what I meant was—”

“If you like it, you can call me ‘self.’”

“……”

He blinked innocently, as if he had no ulterior motives, yet there was something annoying about it.

I narrowed my eyes and shot him a glance.

‘…This person seems really different from yesterday.’

He was acting like a charming cat, creating an odd sense of dissonance. No matter how I looked at it, his attitude was drastically different from the day before.

Could it be that he’s trying to impress me to find the remains of the previous Tower Master? Or does he want something else?

Or perhaps, just like a cliché, the Tower Master, who should have depended on the saintess, ends up relying on me and eventually falls for me…? No, that couldn’t be it.

Thinking in that direction, Sien, who had seemed like a child, appeared somewhat different.

I realized that pondering deeply wouldn’t yield answers, so I decided to gather my thoughts and understand him gradually.

I gestured toward the bed.

“We need to change the sheets.”

“Got it, Ria.”

Sien smiled brightly and awkwardly started changing the bed sheets and stuffing the pillows in. When he struggled to fit a pillow that wouldn’t go in, I helped him, and now he was doing it smoothly on his own.

“Did I do well?”

Sien held up the pillow and looked up at me with wide eyes.

‘Oh, unlike other male leads, he’s… kind of cute.’

At that moment, while Sien was smiling at me, he suddenly glanced somewhere and wiped the smile off his face.

Before I could turn to look in that direction, Sien stood up abruptly, scanning the area as if searching for something, then opened all the upper cabinets.