"Me—!"
When I gently stroked her, her voice came out much higher than usual. She looked blissful, her face showing a mix of ticklishness and delight.
Sitting on my shoulder, she didn’t resemble the kind of creature that could effortlessly scatter griffins in battle.
"I'm sorry, Ivy... In the end, I couldn’t give you a life free of conflict."
I had planned for us to live a peaceful life—gathering herbs, sleeping half the day away.
And while we’ve managed a life of comfort, with three meals and naps included, our life as adventurers turned out to be much more chaotic than I’d expected.
Ivy is a kind soul who hates being feared or disliked by people.
She doesn’t enjoy fighting, not really.
It makes me feel guilty to push her to the front lines, to make her fight.
Sometimes, I wonder if most of the decisions I’ve made so far have been wrong.
If Ivy had been with someone more capable than me, she might’ve had a freer, more wonderful life.
"Me!"
Something brushed against my lowered head.
Startled, I looked up to see a large, white, semi-transparent hand floating in the air.
It had five fingers and was about the size of an ogre's hand—quite large.
Such a phenomenon isn’t something you see every day, and I knew only one person in all of Akoup capable of such magic.
Ivy had learned to manifest a hand using magic.
"Are you comforting me?"
"Me."
Her magic hand flicked my forehead in response.
It hurt.
With her hand being so massive, the flick felt more like a slap.
"Don’t be so soft," she seemed to say.
Ivy can be quite strict.
"Me."
Her concise words carried a weight that was impossible to ignore: If necessary, I’ll fight.
Once again, I felt guilty for the burden I was placing on her.
"Me…"
"Don’t worry," she said, walking across my shoulder before leaping off.
She used gravity magic to hover, bringing her eyes level with mine.
"Me-me."
No matter what happens, I’ll protect you, Bruno.
Hearing her words filled me with shame.
Of course Ivy feels anxious—how could she not?
Even someone as capable as her can’t predict everything that might happen.
Yet, I was making her shoulder all this responsibility, even asking her to reassure me.
What kind of man does that make me?
I chuckled softly and lightly tapped Ivy’s small forehead with my fingernail, repaying her earlier flick.
"Me?!"
"Let me worry too. Remember? We promised to share everything when we started living together—joy, sorrow, pain, happiness."
If Ivy feels pain, I’ll share it with her.
We’ll split the burden and lighten it together.
If Ivy feels joy, I’ll share that too.
We’ll feel it together and make it twice as sweet.
The day Ivy became part of my family wasn’t just a symbolic moment—it was real.
She’s somewhere between an older sister and a younger sister to me.
"I’ll protect you too, Ivy. So do whatever you think is best. And if it all goes wrong, we’ll just start over somewhere else. You have the strength to make that possible."
No matter what others think of her, or how they perceive her, I’ll stand by Ivy and act to protect her.
Because family is about supporting each other... right?
"Me," Ivy agreed softly.
I wondered how Sanshita was faring in his reconnaissance and attacks.
As those thoughts swirled in my mind, we found ourselves arriving at the Adventurer’s Guild.