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Chapter 48 Part 1

Emmy’s Side: The Feelings I Have Towards Russell And My Worries, The Goddess Sees Through Everything

 

While checking my own physical condition, I turn my gaze to Russell.

 

『Black Kite Saint』 Russell. The Russell I don’t know.

Russell has always been a kind boy and that’s why I like him.

He used to help me with many things, and he would always come to my rescue whenever I was in trouble and never be pushy about it.

In a way, he was looking out for everyone better than Janet.

 

In these few days between our separation and reunion, I feel like Russell had become a different person.

 

A robe with that close to a jet-black color… a color like the Black Kite eagle, was it? And a luxurious-looking golden line that looks like it was originally sewn for that purpose.

But more than that robe, what has changed most was Russell’s eyes.

It wasn’t that his face itself had changed, but… his facial expressions and the way he spoke were like those of a completely different person.

 

And about this new Russell——

 

——No no, isn’t he more like, super cool now?!

 

I’m smitten with him from way back, and I know it was for pretty simple-minded reasoning, but… I just can’t suppress my feelings when it comes to him.

The cool Russell is just so amazing. He looked so handsome, and honestly, I feel like I’ve fallen in love with him all over again.

 

Aren’t you too simple of a girl, Emmy?

No wait, in the first place, I’ve always been the most simple-minded person even back when we were in our previous party, aren’t I?

Tee hee.

 

Russell has this other side to him, not the ones where he’s all gloomy and pessimistic, but a cool side of him who properly has a goal in mind and aggressively moves forward towards it.

On top of that, he has the confidence to do so——which felt like a little thorn that pricked my heart.

 

It was definitely our party’s fault that this darkness grew inside Russell in the first place. And the main reason for this… was all me.

The bright and gentle boy is gone and a taciturn young man is born. But there is one reason why he’s no longer dwelling on the past.

 

It was Sybilla-san.

 

Sybilla is a mage with a tall and slender build and even as a woman, I can’t help but look at her at every chance I get. She’s standing at the peak of the cool beauty category.

Katie-san is also extremely beautiful, but as a girl, I would definitely look up to Sybilla-san.

 

And the distance between Sybilla-san and Russell is so close.

They don’t seem to hold anything back from each other, it’s almost like they’re brothers and sisters.

They move in sync in battles as if they can read each other’s minds.

Even just now, Sybilla-san looked at him and called him, 「Russell!」, and he immediately cast 《Wind Barrier》 without being told.

 

Not even once did I, Jannet, or Vince get Russell to cast his magic just by calling out his name.

We never even had to ask him to use his magic because we can cast Heal by ourselves.

Now I just resent the fact that I learned low-level healing magic, which becomes less useful the lower the level I reach.

 

「Hm? Emmy-chan, what’s wrong? Are you not feeling well?」

 

「Eh!? A-Ah, no, not at all! It’s nothing!」

 

「Really? Russell’s magic power won’t run out any soon anyway, so don’t hesitate to ask him to heal you, okay? I mean, your strength has been really helpful for us too, right, Russell?」

 

「Yeah, of course. I never thought having a vanguard would make things this much easier… no, well, I guess you can say that we’re the weird ones for using swords even though we’re both magicians, instead of hiring a vanguard up until now.」

 

「Hweh?! Ah, u-umm… T-Thank you.」

 

I was feeling a little down when I was looking at Sybilla-san, but she noticed my expression and praised me, and encouraged me like a kind older sister without a single hint of malice.

Moreover, Sybilla-san has known Lacelle for a shorter time compared to me. She even calls herself my rival (in love) and she wants to have Russell all for herself, but she still goes out of her way to create a chance for me to have a conversation with him. 

 

Unlike Katie-san, who’s polite and courteous but has this fog surrounding her that makes it hard to figure out what she’s thinking, Sybilla-san is carefree and attentive and speaks all of her thoughts openly.

They are the complete opposites.

With Sybilla-san… who’s so reliable and so kind to me like an older sister, I can’t help but feel inferior as someone who wants to stand next to Russell.

 

……Haah, my dream of becoming a cute princess would be nothing but a dream if I keep having shallow thoughts like this……

 

After that, we continued to defeat the monsters in the dungeon at a steady pace.

The level of monsters in this third dungeon is really high. We’re only on the fifth floor, but the monsters here are clearly as strong as those in the middle layer of Hammond’s dungeon.

 

I used to be struggling with them, but compared to those days, I’m having a much easier time dealing with them now.

Sybilla-san has already explained the reason down to the details earlier but… first of all, this shield.

To think that this was made of the materials from a Fire Dragon, or rather, I never thought that Russell could defeat one. Since Sybilla-san’s magic is fire-attribute, that means Russell took it down by himself, right? Isn’t that like, really cool?

How many times have I called him cool just today? I can even say it for hundred times more.

 

Anyway, this shield is one of them.

And the other one is…

 

「……Are you okay, Emmy? 《Extra Heal》. This should help relieve your fatigue, but don’t push yourself too hard, alright?」

 

「Wah! Thank you! This is amazing!」

 

The moment Russell cast his healing magic on me, my strength was fully restored and all my fatigue vanished like it was never there.

So Russell’s Extra Heal doesn’t only heal injuries huh? I didn’t think he would use it since I haven’t received any serious injury.

 

「I wish I had realized this when we were still in our previous party. But well, the Saintess magic has been kept secret from everyone so I guess it can’t be helped, huh.」

 

Why did they keep the fact about the Saintess’ magic a secret? I can’t help but think of the circumstances behind it. Maybe the previous Hero wasn’t that strong and the Holy Knight wasn’t so tough and weak-hearted and could barely keep up thanks to the Saintess?

Wait, isn’t that just like me right now? Aren’t I just inflicting damage to myself at this point?

 

「Besides… I like the current me.」

 

「Yep, it suits you!」

 

「Is that so?」

 

Russell smiled when he heard my lighthearted response.

It was really just a light smile, the corners of his mouth curled up just a little bit.

 

And that’s just… Sooooooo~~~~~cool, that it makes my heart flutter!

Unlike how he smiled a lot when he was a child, the current Russell doesn’t smile as much and has a sharper gaze.

And exactly because his smile is rarer now, the destructive power of a single smile from that grown-up Russell is enormous.

His smile is like his Dark Magic which has the effect of completely ignoring my defense as a Holy Knight.

My childhood friend is just too cool. I ended up saying it again, fufu.

 

….Oh well.

Anyway, now I have the skill to repel monsters’ attacks that I can activate just by thinking about Russell.

But what’s with this embarrassing skill, seriously? I mean, I know that the 『Power of Love』 is the best part of a heroic tale, I get it but, it’s troubling because it makes me feel like I’m not fighting seriously! Does the Sun Goddess love to fangirl or something?! One who loves romance talk?

Well, thanks to that Goddess, the skill is very easy to trigger! Because I can think about Lacelle 24/7!

 

「You’re really amazing, Emmy-chan. You make it to the fifth floor with much leeway. You even handled three Gigantos at the same time easily.」

 

「Ahaha, even I was surprised at myself.」

 

Actually, I’m more worried about the fact that these two magicians would likely explore this dungeon with just the two of them if I hadn’t joined them.

But, I’m really glad that I could play an active role here.

 

「Oh whoops, the next ones are coming, Emmy-chan!」

 

「Please leave it to me! Eh…?」

 

I turned around… and the Gigante that I should’ve defeated earlier was coming from behind!

We’re going to get sandwiched!

 

As I panicked about how to protect Russell, he drew the sword at his waist.

 

「Sybilla」

 

「I know. The party ahead seems to be already on the next floor below, so I’ll allow it.」

 

「Alright. Well then… 《Enchant Dark》!」

 

The moment Russell shouted that… I can see his sword changing color.

It turned into a mysterious bluish color as if it had absorbed light. The color of the night.

So that’s… the power of the 【Twilight Sorcerer】.