***
On the way back to the Kingdom of Boleno, riding motorcycles once again.
At the front, Raffaelo and Aurora kept glancing back, chuckling to themselves.
Aurora, who was not only skilled at riding motorcycles but practically performed acrobatics on one, of course, rode alone. However, Seraphina, as always, was riding together with Simone.
“Aurora, don’t tell me you predicted all of this?”
“No way, even I didn’t see this coming.”
Aurora responded, eyes wide in surprise.
“To be honest, Seraphina is lovable and a bit quirky… I figured she’d become good friends with you all. Even that prickly Arkhangelo and the blunt Ghieuspe would open up to her. And as for you, I thought you’d soon start treating Seraphina like a little sister.”
“Well, you were right about all of that.”
“But Simone… I wasn’t sure if he’d ever get close to her. You know how Simone always puts up walls. I thought he’d keep a proper distance from Seraphina… but not only did he break those walls, it’s gone way beyond that!”
“I know, I can’t stop laughing at the sight every day.”
“I can’t believe you’ve been enjoying this alone, Raffaelo! If I had known, I would have let myself get caught sooner!”
Aurora grumbled but couldn’t wipe the grin off her face. She was truly having the time of her life.
Of all people, that Simone had not only opened his heart to Seraphina, but had gone that far.
And from Aurora’s perspective, it was mutual—but neither of them seemed to realize it yet.
‘I wonder when they’ll finally get together?’
If they fumbled along the way, it would be even more entertaining. Though first, they had to get past Princess Eva.
‘I’ve never seen Simone in a relationship before, so I have no idea what type he’d be. Would he agonize over it alone or go straight for it?’
Either way, Seraphina’s reaction was bound to be entertaining. Aurora let out a mischievous chuckle.
***
“Wow, riding motorcycles really is fun!”
Watching Aurora steer her motorcycle without even looking ahead made me a little dizzy.
“Hey, hey! Look forward!”
“This is nothing!”
“Unbelievable. Kids, don’t try this at home.”
“What nonsense are you talking about?”
Just as we continued on our journey, a mechanical sound echoed from afar.
“What is that?”
It felt like a heavy presence approaching, almost like a horde of animals. An ominous instinct settled in, and everyone tensed as we turned our eyes forward.
And when the shadows finally came into view—
“Damn it!”
We were surrounded by Automatons.
“Aurora, what do we do in a situation like this?”
Aurora’s eyes gleamed as she replied.
“Isn’t the answer obvious? Violence! We just use our overwhelming power to crush them and clear a path!”
“That might work, but…”
Some Automatons were resistant to magic.
I hated Princess Eva, but at the same time, I couldn’t help but fear her.
Bang! Bang!
Raffaelo was the first to pull out his gun, swiftly destroying the cores of several Automatons.
“Damn it, there’s no end to them!”
“Raffaelo, I’ll help!”
Aurora, who had somehow armed herself with a long rifle, jumped in to assist him.
“Wait, Aurora, where did you get that gun?”
“Oh, obviously, it’s Raffaelo’s!”
“……….”
With Aurora joining in, their combined firepower quickly started taking down the Automatons one by one.
Just then, one of the Automatons’ faces distorted.
Its mouth opened unnaturally wide before twisting in an eerie, puppet-like motion. It seemed as if something was controlling it from afar as it forced out words, one by one.
“My Sera.”
“Aaargh!”
The voice clearly belonged to a man, yet what came out of its mouth was unmistakably a woman’s voice.
And not just any woman—it was the voice of Princess Eva!
“Is she speaking through the Automaton?!”
“My dear Sera, when will you return to me? I have been waiting for you, yearning for you.”
Princess Eva was once again flaunting her control over all the Automatons.
She was making it clear that if she wanted, she could capture me anytime.
As if I didn’t already know how powerful she was—did she really have to go this far?
“Ugh, does she have to be this dramatic?”
“Come to me quickly, Sera. I’ve been waiting for you.”
“Ugh, I am coming, alright?!”
“Once you return, I will cherish you by my side. I will make sure you never leave me for the rest of your life.”
Those words nearly made me faint.
‘I swear, I’m never reading another novel with an obsessive male lead again!’
Being the object of someone’s obsession was terrifying—no, downright horrifying.
“Simone, I need to revise what I said before. I like people who aren’t obsessive.”
“That will be difficult.”
“Wait, what do you mean ‘difficult’?”
Just as I turned to question Simone, the Automaton reached out toward me, as if expecting me to take its hand.
But I bit my lip hard and shook my head.
“Simone, we need to get out of here. Now!”
“As you wish.”
Simone, speaking in her usual elegant tone, accelerated the motorcycle, skillfully maneuvering away from the enemy.
At the same moment, Raffaelo fired a bullet that struck the core of the Automaton speaking in Eva’s voice, destroying it completely. The remaining Automatons, now disoriented and breaking formation, could no longer chase after us.
“Yahoo! That was exhilarating!”
Aurora, as carefree as ever, followed behind us, pulling off acrobatics on her motorcycle as if the situation wasn’t even remotely dangerous. Raffaelo quickly caught up as well.
Ghieuspe struggled a little but managed to escape, and…
“Hey! Get over here and save me at once!”
Even Arkhangelo, after a series of difficulties, barely managed to break free from the horde of Automatons.
With Arkhangelo grumbling beside us about being abandoned yet again, we continued riding for a while.
Before we knew it, darkness had fallen, and night had arrived.
We eventually stopped at a small inn.
“Strangers at this time of year… This is suspicious—”
“Payment.”
The innkeeper was about to turn us away, but as soon as Simone held out a pouch of coins, his expression changed in an instant.
“Ahaha, of course, welcome!”
“And we’re heading to the Kingdom of Boleno to deal with the Automaton crisis. You can check our identification.”
Once Raffaelo showed him their IDs, the innkeeper’s suspicions seemed to vanish completely.
As we made our way to our rooms, Aurora chattered beside me nonstop.
“Seraphina, I never thought I’d get involved in something this huge. I mean, imagine! I’m actually helping save the continent. It’s unbelievable when I think about it!”
I had half a mind to smack her on the head, but I held back.
After all, she had stood by me. And having her in the same room made the situation feel a little less scary.
“Just get ready for bed.”
I replied in my usual sharp tone as I lay down. But instead of leaving me alone, Aurora scooted closer and whispered.
“Seraphina, by the way… what’s your type?”
“Huh?”
“You know, like, your ideal guy. Let’s have some girl talk!”
…Who in their right mind brings up girl talk when we’re literally being hunted by a murderous horde of Automatons and their queen?
I gave Aurora a strange look, but then again, her antics weren’t anything new. So, I sighed and answered.
“Obviously, he has to be handsome.”
“What kind of handsome?”
“Rather than looking fierce, I prefer someone with a gentle appearance. Refined, soft… almost angelic.”
“Pffft! Angelic! So that’s your type?”
Aurora burst into laughter, clearly entertained, but I ignored her and continued.
“He should also be kind and considerate. Thoughtful and quick-witted.”
“Mhm, and?”
“Ah, but I don’t like guys who are too nice to everyone. I want someone who maintains a certain distance from others but has no boundaries when it comes to me…”
“Pffft!”
“What? Why are you laughing?”
“Nothing, nothing! Keep going.”
I shot her a glare before sighing and continuing.
“And I prefer intelligence over brute strength… but having some combat ability would be a bonus. Since I’m weak, after all.”
“Wow, way to advertise yourself.”
“What?”
“Nothing!”
Something about her tone felt like she was teasing me, so I turned to her with suspicion.
“Then what about you? What’s your type?”
“Someone who thinks my singing is beautiful.”
“…What?”
“I want someone who loves my songs.”
…I quietly shut my mouth. Honestly, I didn’t think Aurora would ever meet her ideal type in her lifetime.
Just then, there was a knock at the door.
“Seraphina, are you there?”
“Simone?”
“Yes, can you step outside for a moment?”
“Sure!”
As I responded cheerfully and jumped to my feet, Aurora chuckled to herself. I ignored her and stepped out of the room.
Even in the middle of the night, Simone stood there leaning against the wall, looking as pristine as ever. When I emerged, he gave me a strange look before speaking.
“I was worried about you.”
“Huh?”
“I was afraid Princess Eva might try something.”
“Ah…”
“Her obsession with you is beyond unsettling.”
“At this point, I don’t even know if she’s human or something else entirely. How could I possibly understand the mind of… that?”
I laughed awkwardly, but Simone didn’t seem amused. His expression remained troubled.
“Still, I don’t like this at all.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know…”
Then, Simone warned me again.
“Stay close to Aurora. Princess Eva might attack in the middle of the night. If that happens… at the very least, Aurora might be able to protect you.”
“Yeah, to be honest, she’s way more reliable than Arkhangelo. Hahaha.”
“That’s true.”
After that rather disrespectful conversation about Arkhangelo, I returned to my room.
For some reason, Aurora was smirking at me, her lips twitching.
“Seraphina, what did you two talk about?”
“Nothing much. Just a warning to be careful.”
“Really? Why did he only tell you to be careful?”
“Because Eva’s target is me, obviously?”
“Sigh… you’re both hopeless.”
Aurora let out a deep sigh and flopped onto the bed in a starfish position. Soon, her loud snoring filled the room.
I had to push her aside just to reclaim my space on the bed before lying down myself.
***
Dawn
Half-asleep, I stirred slightly—only to realize that my entire body had suddenly been lifted into the air.
“Huh?”
I was floating! No, someone was carrying me!
‘What the hell is happening?’
Startled, I opened my eyes wide—only to come face-to-face with a cold, metallic body.
“AAAAAH!”
An Automaton had picked me up and was carrying me away!
Wow thank you so much for translating and uploading this great novel.