Chapter 73

The one who’d been relentlessly following me around was none other than Adam—but the moment I approached him, he blatantly avoided me.

As if I were the one chasing after him because I liked him.

I felt a strange twinge run through me.

“Do you need something?”

“No.”

“Then is something bothering you?”

“No.”

“Then why are you following me around like a baby bird trailing its mother?”

Faced with such a direct question, Adam opened his mouth as if to respond, but no words came out.

“I’m just going where I want to go.”

“Riiight…”

I nodded slowly, unconvinced.

It didn’t sound right at all…

Just as my eyes narrowed suspiciously, Adam suddenly strode past me with determined steps, as if to prove his point, and walked ahead.

‘He really does look suspicious though…’

I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.

With no clue what he was up to, I scratched my cheek.

‘Well, if he needs something, he’ll just tell me himself.’

Though Adam tended to bottle things up, he had been more open with me lately.

I stood staring at the space he had just passed through—then ran after him.

Curiosity always won in the end.

Adam, who had marched past me, hadn’t gone far. He was now standing there, frozen.

“Warrior. No—Adam. What exactly are you doing here?”

Was he trying to play tag with me or something?

With the hem of his coat sticking out like that, I couldn’t just ignore him.

This situation felt familiar.

“Should I pretend I didn’t see you again?”

“Would you?”

“Nope.”

I answered firmly and plopped down next to him. It was an act that blocked his escape route—me behind, a tall wall in front.

Now quit thinking about running and speak your mind!

“Do you really have nothing to say to me?”

“……”

I glared at Adam with wide eyes.

Stop keeping everything inside and just be honest with me already.

It’s not just a day or two of this—if even Abraxas is picking up on it, it’s serious.

Sure, it wasn’t exactly a ‘problem’.

But the way Adam was acting, so different from his usual self, bothered me deeply.

‘His stress levels are down, so there’s nothing obviously wrong… But he’s still acting weird. That’s what makes this all the more uncomfortable.’

“…I’m thinking.”

Adam glanced away as he mumbled.

“Sometimes it’s important to say things without overthinking. Like, if you like something, say you like it. If you don’t, say you don’t.”

“…!”

Adam turned his head sharply to look at me.

“Like… like something…”

Whoa.

Adam’s eyes went wide in shock. Then, in a flash, he jumped to his feet and vanished at a speed I couldn’t possibly catch.

Left alone, I stood there with my mouth open.

“Wait, why are you running away again?”

But there was no response.

Feeling both dumbfounded and flustered, I returned to the Demon King’s castle.

It didn’t seem like Adam had come back yet. He had leapt clean over the giant wall that enclosed the castle grounds with barely a running start.

‘Did I say something wrong?’

I replayed the conversation in my head, but it only left me more confused.

My Adam… Back in the game, he was completely under my control…

This was more overwhelming than falling into the game world without knowing a single thing about the ending.

Back then, I at least had some sense of why Adam acted the way he did.

Fuming, I marched back into the Demon King’s castle and happened to spot Abraxas zoning out nearby.

I casually tossed the handkerchief I was holding in his direction.

Abraxas caught the flying object aimed straight at him with a frown and checked what had landed in his hand.

When he realized what it was, his eyes went wide.

“What is this? Why are you giving me this…?”

“You’re kind of like the castle’s resident ghost or something, right? Since you can’t leave, I figured you probably couldn’t enjoy the festival either. It’s not much, but still.”

“Ah… well, yeah. Thanks, I guess…”

Abraxas accepted my gift with an awkward hand.

His reaction was lukewarm, but I was still pleased.

Given his usual behavior, that meant he actually liked it a lot.

Since he only lived inside the Demon King’s castle, his actions were easy to read.

Unlike Adam, who could slip right out of the palm of my hand in an instant and hide his true feelings, Abraxas was still well within my grasp.

He fiddled with the handkerchief, as if it had never occurred to him to receive something like this, glancing at me uncertainly.

“Human, you…”

The handkerchief wasn’t luxurious, but it wasn’t cheap either.

Everyone who went to see the Founding Festival had one.

Thinking of Abraxas, who had to watch the festival from afar inside the castle, I had picked one up while buying Adam’s gift.

Abraxas opened his mouth, then spoke in a voice I’d never heard from him before.

“You shouldn’t be so nice. If you are, someone will take advantage of you and throw you away.”

I never expected such a concerned statement to come out of ‘his’ mouth.

“When did I ever pretend to be nice? This is a bribe. Just trying to get along while the warrior’s still at the castle!”

I’d expected him to say thank you, but instead, he gave me a warning.

Still, I accepted his words with a smile.

But Abraxas didn’t seem pleased with my reaction.

His eyebrows drew into a line as he muttered in a low voice.

“Even so, someone’s bound to take advantage of that kindness. Definitely.”

It was a self-deprecating tone, like someone who had already been through it.

I didn’t fully understand why he sounded so guilty, but it made me realize something—Adam and the demon clans serving the Demon King were not necessarily on friendly terms.

Was he imagining a situation where he might betray us at any time?

“Well, it’s fine! I’m sure the warrior will protect me.”

“He’s only one person, and he’s the hero of the entire empire. He’s got way more to protect than just you.”

“……”

He wasn’t wrong.

But it was rare for Abraxas to stand so firmly by his own opinion.

Especially when it came to… me.

“Abraxas, are you… worried about me?”

“Wh-what? Who’d worry about someone like you?!”

When I asked, wide-eyed, Abraxas panicked and shouted.

His response was so obvious that I couldn’t help but laugh as I replied,

“Hehe, if the warrior’s busy, then you can help me instead, right?”

“Wh—why would I?!”

Abraxas flared up for a second, but then quickly calmed down, like he didn’t really want to be angry.

As I smiled without realizing it, Abraxas lowered his crimson eyes.

He never met my gaze.

His red eyes, always so full of pride, were now wavering.

In the end, all Abraxas did was quietly fidget with the handkerchief—bearing the imperial crest he might be seeing up close for the first time.

* * *

“…Is that what you’re doing?”

I had been on my way to look for Adam again when I spotted him and instinctively hid behind a wall.

There wasn’t really a reason for hiding.

It just felt like I was sneaking up on him in a secluded spot, so my feet moved on their own.

‘Maybe I should’ve just pretended it was a coincidence? Why did Abraxas have to suddenly get nice now of all times…’

After all, the one who told me about this spot was none other than Abraxas.

Out of nowhere, wearing a face full of exhaustion, he’d said, “You don’t know where the hero is or what he’s doing, right? Wanna find out?” I thought it was just another pick-a-fight kind of greeting.

But just seconds later, he gave me the location with an expression like he’d aged ten years.

I’d come with mixed feelings—and then really did find Adam.

‘All he did was run to the Demon King’s castle?’

More importantly…

I poked my head out again to double-check what I’d just seen.

As if to confirm I hadn’t imagined it—there he was, still the same.

‘Why is Adam talking to the air? Is that how he communicates with me now?’

So ‘that’s’ why he kept asking if I could hear his voice.

It must be that we were on different systems.

Ever since falling into this game world, I’d been getting pop-ups and messages that weren’t part of the old interface.

 

Your Hero asks how you are doing.