The soldiers stood armed with their weapons, and behind them, a long line of mages, all dressed in identical robes and carrying identical staffs, was arranged in perfect formation.

Rendil's magic soldiers.

‘For such a small city-state to field this many…’

Peasant gaped beneath his helmet at the sight.

Although he had only been in this world for a few months and didn’t fully grasp how the size of a state correlated with the size of its military, he knew enough to understand that raising mages to the level of being used as soldiers wasn’t easy.

That was why nobles sent their children to academies for specialized training, and even among them, only a small number showed strong magical aptitude.

For a small country like Rendil to have this many mages solely for military use was no small feat.

The biggest problem, however, was this:

‘With a force like that, even Raphne…’

It was clear they had come prepared to apprehend her, and the reason didn’t need to be asked.

Standing behind the soldiers, glaring coldly at Peasant, was the woman who held his chains.

Eorite.

“How dare you kidnap my slave? I’ll make sure you live the rest of your days as a lowly prostitute in a brothel,” she hissed, pointing her staff toward Raphne with a sharp motion.

At that signal, the officer commanding the soldiers barked out orders.

“All units! Prepare enhancement magic!”

At once, the dozens of mages at the front chanted in unison, drawing in magic. Each mage took charge of a soldier, casting supportive magic to augment their physical capabilities.

“Tch…”

Raphne immediately drew her spear from her spatial pocket and assumed a ready stance.

The odds of defeating such a large number of mages and soldiers were slim, but she was prepared to fight.

She had sworn to crush anyone who stood in her way of finding him.

But before she could charge, someone stepped in front of her.

It was the man in the peculiar helmet—Peasant.

“Raphne! This is too reckless! I’ll buy you time; you need to run!”

“What? What are you talking about?! If I just take them all down—!”

“No matter how strong you are, fighting both soldiers and mages at the same time is impossible! Especially in these numbers!”

Peasant knew.

While Raphne was nearly invincible in one-on-one combat, individual strength had its limits.

When facing trained soldiers accustomed to group tactics, backed by a unit of mages, even she couldn’t win.

“All units! Prepare binding magic! Soldiers, delay her!”

As the officer’s orders echoed, Peasant stood firm, drawing his hefty iron sword. The crude weapon gleamed in the sunlight.

“I might be fine if I get caught, but if they capture you, Raphne, it’ll be disastrous… I might not even be able to help you then!”

The group-cast magic required coordination, which meant it took time to complete.

Thus, the soldiers advanced cautiously, buying the mages the time they needed to finish casting.

“Raphne, you have to escape,” Peasant said, holding his sword ready and glancing back at her.

Though his face was hidden behind his helmet, he gave her a smile she couldn’t see.

“Meeting you was truly a blessing. …I pray you find him.”

“You…”

Raphne gripped her spear tightly, her hands trembling.

She didn’t know if she could win without trying.

But against such a large force, she wasn’t sure even she could succeed.

If she wanted to find Ken, running was the logical choice.

She had no obligation to stay and risk her life for this man whose identity she didn’t even know.

And yet—

Boom!

“Ugh! Hurry! Go━now!”

“Tch! Hold her until the magic is complete! Peasant! Snap out of it and grab her already!”

For some reason, her feet wouldn’t move.

Something deep within her was screaming.

If she left now, she would regret it for the rest of her life.

And then, that instinct was confirmed.

“Hurry and run━!!”

It was Peasant’s voice, shouting her name with desperate urgency.

“RAPHNEEEE━!!”

The sound of her name, reverberating from within his helmet, pierced through her.

‘…Ah.’

Her body moved on its own, her instincts taking control before her mind could process the meaning behind his cry.

She charged.

Toward Peasant, who was blocking the soldiers.

His voice was entirely different, but the familiar undertone in that desperate shout compelled her forward.

Raphne swung her spear.

‘W-what is she doing?!’

Peasant froze as he watched Raphne leap into the air, soaring above him like a dancer in flight.

Her spear, an elegant conductor’s baton, carved beautiful arcs through the air.

The weapon extended and retracted unpredictably, slamming into the soldiers around her and pushing them back from Peasant.

Crash! Crash! Crash!

She hadn’t taken them down, but she had succeeded in creating a gap between them and Peasant.

In that brief moment, Raphne activated her heightened Instant Acceleration, slowing time to a crawl from her perspective.

“Whoa━!”

Before Peasant could react, she had scooped him into her arms and bolted.

The world around him blurred as he clung to her, disoriented by the sudden surge of speed.

It was even faster than the first time she had carried him.

The rush of air and shifting scenery felt almost as if time itself had reversed.

Oddly, it all seemed familiar to Peasant.

‘Why… does this feel like déjà vu?’

It wasn’t just because she had carried him earlier.

It felt as if, long before today, he had once been in her arms like this, fleeing at breakneck speed.

Raphne dashed past the northern gate where they had first met, her feet kicking up sand as she crossed into the desert.

Even as her lungs burned and her throat felt parched, she didn’t stop.

Eventually, they reached an abandoned ruin where she had rested before entering Rendil.

There, she released Peasant and collapsed to her knees, panting heavily.

“Hah… hah….”

“R-Raphne…”

It was clear she had overexerted herself.

Her Instant Acceleration wasn’t limitless—it drained her stamina rapidly.

The distance they had fled, from the city-state to this desolate place, was unimaginably taxing.

Still—

“Why… why did you bring me?”

Peasant’s voice trembled with disbelief.

Had she escaped alone, she wouldn’t have had to push herself so far.

Yet, she had chosen to bring him along.

And to his question, Raphne, her chest heaving, managed to whisper between gasps:

“I… I’m looking for someone.”

Peasant already knew this, but her words carried a weight he hadn’t felt before.

With trembling arms, she reached out and clutched the front of his clothes.

“The most important person in the world to me… more precious than anyone…”

She lifted her tear-streaked face to meet his helmeted gaze.

Sweat dripped from her face, but the droplets falling from her chin weren’t sweat.

“I… I miss him so much… I can’t…”

“Raphne….”

Peasant didn’t know what to say.

Why had she brought him along?

What did her words mean?

He couldn’t understand.

But one thing was certain—he wanted to stop her tears.

Gently, Raphne let go of his shirt and reached for her neck.

The small pendant hanging there was her last connection to the one she loved.

She unclasped it and held it tightly in her trembling hand.

The man before her, whose face was hidden behind a strange helmet, knew who she was. He resembled the person she was searching for far too closely.

And yet, he acted like a stranger.

But her instincts screamed at her.

With teary eyes, she lifted the pendant and placed it around Peasant’s neck.

“Please… I’ve waited so long… Don’t pretend not to know me…”

She leaned in, carefully securing the pendant, her hands trembling.

And then, looking into his hidden eyes, her own filled with desperate hope, she whispered:

“Please… tell me it’s you…”

She spoke, her voice filled with longing and determination.

“If you’ve really forgotten… I won’t ever let you go again…”

Her hands carefully fastened the chain of the pendant around his neck.

“This is all your fault, Ken!”

The pendant was something the man she once loved had crafted for her happiness.

Though the flow of time had erased that original pendant from existence, this one was undeniably another creation from his hands—a talisman of fortune made especially for her.

And now, that talisman, imbued with her heartfelt wishes, glowed faintly as it returned to the neck of the man who had once given it to her.

“…….”

Raphne clasped the chain with trembling hands, staring intently at the unmoving helmet.

She silently pleaded that her instincts weren’t wrong, that she wouldn’t have to endure any more days without him.

Her desperate hopes hung in the air.

“…I told you, that won’t work.”

The man in the helmet gently took her hands in his own.

His touch was soft as he moved her trembling fingers away from the pendant.

From behind the helmet’s unseen gaze, his eyes held warmth as they met hers.

Eyes that always looked at her with gentle understanding, even when she stared back with her fierce, possessive longing.

“I promised, didn’t I? That I’d always belong to you, Raphne. There’s no need to trap me.”

“…….”

The sadness clouding Raphne’s eyes dissipated, replaced by a glimmer of joy and relief.

Unable to hold back the flood of emotions, tears welled up, and her trembling hands reached for the crude helmet obscuring his face.

She pulled it off, finally revealing the person she had longed to see.

Then, burying her face into his chest, she let her tears flow, sobbing uncontrollably.

“Hic, no, no, no… I won’t let it happen again! This is all… hic, all Ken’s fault! You’re the one who left me!”

She looked up at him, her tear-streaked face fierce with desire, her eyes aflame with unshakable resolve.

“I’ll never let you go again!”

And Ken—…no, I—smiled softly, as if this was all too familiar, and stroked her hair.

Perhaps Raphne’s curse still hadn’t been lifted.

She carried the curse in her heart, its grasp extending to ensnare me as well.

“How did you even find me?” I asked, unable to suppress a rueful chuckle.

“Because you’re mine, Ken…. Hic… I’ll never give you to anyone…”

That curse, it wasn’t something a mere pendant with special powers could erase.

It was a bond strong enough to bind even souls together, a tenacious obsession.

One that would never loosen its grip on me, no matter what.

“Shall we go back? …To the place we’ve always been.”

And to me, that obsession—It was indescribably, endlessly lovable.

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