After kidnapping Lenis and forcing her to join our group, we headed east toward the Lavanium Mine, where Baron Vector’s territory was located.
Liberta, situated at the southernmost tip of the kingdom, was so isolated that there were no nearby cities.
Naturally, during our journey, we didn’t come across any towns where we could rest, so we had no choice but to camp out in the mountains like vagabonds.
Having camped with us for some time, Lavina Elfin silently prepared for the night, but Lenis, who had never done anything like this before, jumped up and threw a childish tantrum.
“Y-You’re saying we’re going to sleep here? Not in a city inn?”
“Which city? Even the closest one to Liberta would take at least a week to reach. Can you teleport all of us there instantly?”
“How do you expect me to sleep in a place like this? This is the middle of the wilderness! Maybe a lowly, uncouth person like you, Alvis, belongs on the roadside, but I certainly do not! I am an elite mage of this kingdom and my noble house! You dare expect me to sleep on the ground like this? Absolutely unacceptable!”
“Oh? You can’t sleep? That’s perfect. Then keep watch for us while the rest of us get some good sleep.”
“You…!”
Her reaction was priceless.
Watching her face turn red with anger was quite a spectacle.
Unable to swallow her pride, Lenis huffed and declared, “Fine! Do you think I’m going to grovel just because of that? I will show you what noblesse oblige truly means! A virtue that someone like you, Alvis, will never understand!”
As everyone prepared to sleep, the kind-hearted Ravi got up, offering her sleeping bag and volunteering to take the watch instead.
But I placed a hand on her shoulder, stopping her.
“Ravi, you should rest.”
“Huh? But Lenis has never slept in a place like this. It must be really hard for her—”
“And what about you?”
Ravi tilted her head slightly, her long rabbit ears drooping.
The sight was so reminiscent of an actual rabbit that I couldn’t help but feel an inner burst of excitement.
Why was she so ridiculously cute?
Of course, Ravi didn’t particularly like me either, so my mischievous fantasies would never become reality.
“You’re the one who’s exhausted. You carried Lenis on your back and sprinted at full speed for hours. Not only that, but you had to restrain her every time she resisted. No matter how strong and resilient the Bani race is, you used up a ton of energy. You must be tired.”
“I’m fine—”
“Oh really? Even though your ears have been drooping forward and you’ve been sticking your tongue out from time to time?”
“?!”
One of the defining traits of the Bani race, according to Loveholic and Holy Warrior Bryden NX, was that their ears would droop forward and they’d unconsciously stick their tongues out when exhausted.
In the Carat Dutchy, where most Bani people lived, everyone recognized this sign.
But outside their homeland, no one in the world had any knowledge of this trait.
Humans treated the Bani race like an oppressed minority—much like how Black people were discriminated against in the worst times of history.
Ravi was visibly startled when I caught on to her condition so accurately.
She hurriedly covered her rabbit ears with both hands.
“H-How do you know that?!”
“Haven’t I told you before? I like the Bani race. I know all about your traits. It’s obvious from the way you’re acting that you’re tired, so stop pretending and get some proper rest.”
“But…”
“No buts. You’re my travel partner, and if things go south, I might have to rely on you to cover my back. I can’t have you running on empty when that time comes.”
“My… back? You’re relying on me?”
Ravi tilted her head again, as if the concept was unfamiliar to her.
“What, did you think I saw you as some helpless kid who needed constant protection? You’re strong and capable. You don’t need anyone to coddle you. And I’m not some all-powerful guardian who can protect everyone either. That’s why, when things get rough, I’ll need you to have my back. So go rest.”
Ravi blinked, staring at me for a long moment before lowering her head slightly.
“…Alright. I’ll rest tonight. Thanks for looking out for me, Alvis.”
“Goodnight, Ravi.”
“Goodnight to you too.”
Snuggling into her sleeping bag, Ravi felt her heart pounding so hard it might burst.
Flustered, she turned away, pressing both hands against her cheeks.
She could feel the heat radiating from her face.
‘He… really meant it. He truly likes the Bani people. He sees us without a trace of prejudice. He even knew about our unique traits…’
No one outside her homeland had ever noticed—not even her closest friends from the academy, nor her first love, Bryden, nor Celine, Lenis, or Elfin.
Alvis, whom she had never cared about before—the notorious troublemaker and habitual sexual harasser of the academy—had somehow read her condition like a ghost.
Even though she hadn’t shown any signs of exhaustion, he noticed and advised her to rest.
But what truly shook Ravi’s heart was Alvis’s last words.
“You’re my travel partner, the one I need to rely on to have my back.”
“You’re capable and not some weakling who needs to be protected.”
“I’m not strong enough to be some all-powerful guardian anyway.”
For the Bani race, their deepest, most ingrained complex was how the world viewed them.
The Empire, which considered Carat Dutchy a mere vassal state, and every other nation treated the Bani people as inferior.
“You’re from a weak country, you’re beneath us, you’re not even human, just some peripheral race, a lesser species, weak and useless by nature, just rabbits.”
The reasons varied, but the entire continent looked down on the Bani people, treating them as weaklings who needed protection.
The Bani race despised such treatment with a passion.
They always proclaimed, “We are not weak! We can stand on our own!” But no one ever truly listened.
Far from treating them as equals, the Empire openly debated whether Carat Dutchy should be fully annexed into Andras because it was “too weak and incompetent to protect itself.”
Discrimination against the Bani race was as natural as breathing.
Even well-meaning gestures of “special treatment” repulsed the Bani people, but complaining about it would only bring backlash.
So they swallowed their anger.
Yet here was Alvis—an Andras noble from a country where Bani discrimination was practically written into their DNA. And not just any noble, but that notorious scoundrel, Alvis.
And he had not only acknowledged their greatest insecurity but also called her his equal and his travel partner who could have his back.
Ravi could hardly believe her ears.
As she replayed all of Alvis’s words and actions during their journey, she began attaching special meaning to them.
His past at the academy couldn’t be excused, but after that, Alvis had truly changed.
No matter how much of a scoundrel he had been, there was no doubt—he genuinely saw the Bani people as equals, without a shred of prejudice.
The moment Ravi realized that Alvis truly, wholeheartedly liked the Bani race and saw her without any bias, her heart pounded so hard she thought it might burst.
“W-Why am I feeling like this…? It’s Alvis… that Alvis… Not anyone else, but that perverted scoundrel… S-So why is he suddenly… why does he look… handsome…?”
She wanted to see his face.
Right now, she wanted to turn around and take in his eyes, his nose, his lips—the way he looked at her as an equal.
But at the same time, she was so embarrassed that she couldn’t bring herself to crawl out of her sleeping bag.
Just thinking about Alvis made her face turn red, and her chest trembled so uncontrollably that she couldn’t breathe.
She recognized this feeling.
This was exactly how she felt when she had a crush on Bryden back at the academy.
Ravi was horrified.
“Do I… like Alvis? Me…? No way, that’s impossible…”
She shook her head, trying to suppress the emotions rising inside her and forced herself to sleep.
But even after an hour, she couldn’t.
Meanwhile, Lenis, who had arrogantly declared that keeping watch was no big deal, suddenly realized she had fallen asleep inside a sleeping bag.
She jolted awake in shock.
“H-Huh?! Where am I—”
“You’re up?”
Looking around, she saw Ravi sleeping soundly in her bag, and nearby, Elfin was leaning against a tree stump, resting.
In front of the campfire—the same one Lenis had lit with magic—sat Alvis, keeping watch.
“Ugh… Did I fall asleep? Hmph, an élite like me making such a mistake…”
“The élite noble lady who said she couldn’t possibly sleep in a place like this ended up snoring like a baby. Just go back to sleep. I’ll keep watch until sunrise.”
“Wh-What gives you the right to order me around? And don’t think for a second that I’ll owe you any—”
“After you passed out, Elfin took the next shift, and I haven’t been awake for long. Both of them have sharp ears, so if you keep yapping, you’ll wake them up. Just sleep.”
“Ugh…”
Realizing she had already lost, Lenis huffed, pulled the sleeping bag over her head, and grumbled.
“J-Just for tonight! You’ll never see me in such a disgraceful state again! And tomorrow, I’ll show you what a true élite looks like—including keeping watch! And the moment we arrive at Baron Vector’s land, I’ll report your ridiculous accusations against me!”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just shut up and sleep.”
“Ugh…”
Feeling utterly humiliated, Lenis turned her back on Alvis, hiding her red face.
“That damn Alvis…”
She had always thought of him as less than garbage, but just for tonight…
She couldn’t deny that he had been a reliable presence.