The fire burned low.


    Serenil stared at the stick in her hand for a long while,


    then slowly fed a small twig into the flame and breathed softly on it.


    “Even this mountain… even this night… it feels strange on land.”


    “Underwater, the stars never looked this clear. Maybe the lights I saw back then were just jellyfish.”


    “When I was little, I wished my name was somewhere among those stars.”


    Her words didn’t cut through the silence.


    They flickered gently—like the firelight itself.


    Sillion did not answer.


    He simply sat beside the firewood, silent.


    His sword rested at his knee.


    Her shield leaned by her side, filling the distance between them.


    For a while, they said nothing.


    The black sky was embroidered with stars, their light dimmed by faint, mist-like clouds.


    “…It was the first time.”


    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    Serenil’s voice trembled.


    “First time someone had my back in a fight.”


    She lowered her head.


    Sillion, still feeling the faint warmth of the brand on his arm, replied quietly.


    “For me, too.


    It was the first time someone’s back stood between me and danger.”


    At his words, she let out a deep breath and smiled.


    Softly, briefly—but it was real.


    Her eyes dropped to her shield, and her lips trembled as she spoke again.


    “I never meant to use a shield from the beginning.”


    He looked at her, confused.


    “Then why?”


    She caught herself, realizing she’d said too much.


    A shadow passed through her gaze as she looked away.


    “…Now, I’d just call it… regret.”


    The fire crackled gently, wrapping its sound around the silence.


    Serenil broke it first.


    “Tomorrow… it might be worse.”


    “But even so, let’s go together.”


    Darkness thickened, and the fire glowed brighter—casting warmth over the two of them.


    “Serenil,” he said at last.


    “…Yeah?”


    “We’re walking the same road, even though we know nothing about each other.”


    “But…”


    “Today’s the first time I’ve felt… it might be okay to walk it together.”


    She didn’t answer.


    Instead, she set her shield down beside his sword.


    And looked at him through the firelight.


    “…Then let’s try.


    Just tonight, and tomorrow.


    Let’s survive it—together.”


    Serenil quietly lay down, and Sillion lifted his gaze to the sky.


    Above, a faint star faded—its light surrendering to the end of its course.


    And he thought to himself:


    “Another night has passed. If we face tomorrow together… maybe it will be okay.”