Chapter 74

‘Of course I’m doing fine.’

I’m right next to you. Right here.

Adam was chattering on endlessly right beside me, yet the only thing that came through was that single-line message. Could all of that be summed up with just “asking how you are”? Probably not…

As I listened to Adam talk and watched the message float up, a thought suddenly struck me.

‘Come to think of it… I don’t know what happened to my body in the original world.’

If I collapsed in that tiny one-room apartment with no family, no friends, no one who knew me… wouldn’t my body only be discovered much, much later?

Unless, of course, finishing the quest really would let me return to that exact moment in time.

I was so lost in thought that I completely forgot I was supposed to be watching Adam from behind.

“If you don’t respond, I’m seriously starting a union…”

“Ahem, ahem…”

Startled by Adam’s clearly audible voice, I stood up and slowly walked toward him.

‘There. That’s your reply. Happy?’

Of course not.

Adam, who had been muttering with a dry laugh, spotted me and came over happily.

His expression was completely different from when he had suddenly snapped at me and run away earlier.

Had he worked through whatever thoughts were weighing on him?

“Eve, what brings you all the way here?”

“Nothing much. I was just checking how far the runaway hero had gone. Oh, and this place was tipped off by someone who eats and sleeps inside the Demon King’s castle.”

Realizing how it looked—like I had tracked him down to one of his usual spots—I quickly added an excuse.

Adam’s eyes narrowed as he glanced back toward the interior of the castle.

That look was clearly aimed at Abraxas, who was probably grinning to himself right now.

“Not that it matters. You’re already in the palm of my hand, hero. So this is your ‘secret’ hideout, huh?”

“It’s a bit too ordinary to be called a secret.”

Adam chuckled softly.

It really was a nice spot.

The sunlight was warm, the breeze refreshingly cool.

No one tended to the place, so white wildflowers had bloomed freely, and that made it all the more charming.

But what made it truly special was—

“You’ve been smiling a lot lately, hero. It suits you.”

Maybe it was because he seemed so at ease here.

“…Me?”

“Yes!”

When your body and mind are at peace, a smile just comes naturally.

It had happened earlier too.

Unlike in the past, when he spoke in a calm, distant tone, he hadn’t raised his voice once with me.

“That can’t be. Are you sure you weren’t just seeing shadows on my face or something?”

And there he went—his expression stiffening the moment it was mentioned.

Unfortunate, but as I said before, hero, you’re in the palm of my hand.

Your One and Only God
agrees—I saw it too!

“…!”

Adam reflexively looked up at the sky.

Whether or not a god was truly watching, the sky was dazzlingly clear.

“…I suppose so.”

Adam slowly lowered his gaze.

“Maybe I smiled because… I liked this peaceful kind of life.”

His words made me smile without realizing it.

Our Adam, being this happy—it was a beautiful thing.

Stress – 69%

The number floating above Adam’s head was dropping faster than ever.

Ever since his conversation with the god, his stress levels had noticeably decreased.

It must have been because the self-loathing belief that he’d been abandoned by his god had finally faded.

I thought, maybe I should’ve tried this approach earlier… but there was still a pang in my heart.

‘So in the end, the real me was never what he needed.’

I had thought Adam’s attitude toward me had changed.

But realizing that it didn’t even come close to how he behaved in front of the god made me feel… lonely.

Every time his reaction to me changed, I’d get a little excited, my heart would race.

Thinking of how I used to be—getting flustered and hopeful—I felt my eyes start to sting.

‘No, come on. Don’t cry here.’

What a dumb thing to do.

Adam was kind to everyone.

I was the one who got ahead of myself the moment there was even a sliver of space between us.

“Eve.”

“Yes?”

Adam’s voice, calling out to me while I sulked, was no different than usual—so much so that it made me feel bitter.

When I looked up, I saw that he’d come much closer.

I didn’t want to look him in the eye.

But in the end, I couldn’t avoid him and met his gaze.

When our eyes met, his eyes curved beautifully.

“This is all thanks to you, Eve.”

Adam smiled as he said it.

It was a smile I’d never seen before—one that made me foolishly believe he was showing it only to me. My ears turned red without warning.

I quickly raised my hand to hide the flush that had crept up from my neck.

Thanks to it, I probably looked ridiculous—but I didn’t care.

“I’m telling you, it’s strange.”

Adam said with a faint laugh.

“…Don’t smile like that.”

After a long silence, I answered quietly.

Is this what being spellbound feels like?

Even if the day came when I clearly realized Adam didn’t need me, I didn’t think I’d ever be able to walk away from him.

I couldn’t control these feelings that kept growing for no reason.

‘Adam…’

Your Hero
smiles brightly.

Even though I know his feelings must be different.

* * *

Your Hero asks how you are.
Your Hero tells you his story.
Your Hero smiles
and shares what happened yesterday.

It seemed Adam had been talking to the god since morning.

I swallowed down a grumble that was trying to escape my lips.

Once again, I headed out to find Potato for some animal therapy to deal with my sulky mood.

I thought I had moved unnoticed.

‘Ah, our eyes met.’

Before I could even dodge, I locked eyes with his golden gaze.

It was just for a moment—but I froze.

Then, color slowly returned to Adam’s face.

“Eve, where are you going?”

“Eve, what are you doing?”

“Why are you leaving?”

“Did you eat? Eveee?”

As soon as our eyes met, he bombarded me with questions. I escaped outside like I was running away.

Potato. I need Potato!

For a tired soul, there’s no better therapy than animals!

With a more desperate look than before, I whipped my head around in search of Potato.

Even I could tell my face was beet red.

I was about to give up—but why was Adam suddenly acting like this?

There was no one I could talk to about this frustration.

I couldn’t exactly confide in Potato, and Abraxas was even less of an option!

In the end, I headed outside the castle gates, trying to get as far away from Adam as possible.

If I saw him again before sorting out how to deal with his sudden kindness, I was sure he’d notice everything I was feeling.

“Huh? Since when has this been here?”

I looked at the large box left in front of the castle gate.

Up close, it was even bigger than I expected.

If someone had moved something that size, it would’ve definitely been noticed—who would abandon it here of all places?

I quickly checked over the box.

There was a letter attached to the top. In one corner of the envelope, there was a small crest. I knew that symbol well.

It was the emblem I had seen countless times on Founding Day—burned into my eyes from overexposure.

‘This is definitely the imperial crest…’

I called out to Adam, who had followed me.

I made sure to speak before he could ask another strange question.

But why on earth was a box bearing the imperial crest placed here?

Thinking back to the look in the emperor’s eyes the last time I saw him, it didn’t seem like this would be anything good.

‘Ah… could it be from His Highness the Crown Prince?’

Hmm. No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t come up with a good answer. The imperial family wouldn’t be sending ‘me’ anything directly—this must be meant for Adam.

I called out to the hero, who was staring down at Potato showing him his belly in the garden, looking far too serious for the scene.

“Hero!”

“Hero? You’re not calling me by name again?”

Oops, I slipped.

I’d only recently started saying his name out loud, so I still made that mistake sometimes.

And every time I did, Adam visibly looked disappointed.

“Ah, no! That’s not the point. A letter and a gift have arrived from the palace.”

“A letter? Who’s the sender?”

“Um…”

I turned the envelope over and over in my hands.

“There’s no sender listed.”