“You’re scared of this?”
Julius looked at the trembling girl and raised an eyebrow. His jet-black eyes were filled with undisguised amusement, as if he had just seen the funniest thing in the world.
He really couldn’t help it. With a pfft, the black-haired youth turned away, his shoulders shaking violently as he let out a series of infuriating suppressed laughs.
“Hey! What are you laughing at!”
Helos bristled like an offended cat. She let go of Julius’s sleeve, hands on her hips, and glared at the ungrateful jerk.
“Sorry, sorry, I just think—”
Julius turned around, barely holding back his laughter, but the upward curl of his lips refused to go down. He looked Helos up and down, a teasing glint in his eyes.
“Our Helos, the Second Young Lady, is actually afraid of ghosts?”
“That’s the biggest joke of the year.”
He raised a finger, pointing at Helos, then at the pitch-black forest behind them, and began flipping through old memories in a leisurely tone.
“Not to mention what you said yourself—back in the underground workshop, you dissected that Chaos Demon Beast that looked uglier than any ghost without even flinching, and even complained that it wasn’t ugly enough.”
“Let’s talk about when we were kids.”
Julius took a step closer to Helos, leaning down until his eyes were level with hers.
“Back then, when we first got a mission, who was it that went to the Public Cemetery outside the city to dig up someone’s grave? I never heard you say you were scared then.”
“All around were Will-o’-the-wisps and tombs. I remember someone’s eyes were practically glowing with excitement, digging with a shovel more enthusiastically than anyone else.”
“How come now that you’ve grown up, your courage has shrunk?”
“Who—who’s scared?!”
Helos’s face flushed bright red at having her dark history exposed. Her bluster deflated like a pricked balloon, losing half its steam. But she couldn’t lose face.
Helos straightened her back forcefully, trying to look serious, attempting to use the light of reason to cover up her inner panic.
“How is that the same? That was to find the cause of the Will-o’-the-wisps! It was a noble spirit of exploration!”
She cleared her throat and began to spout nonsense with a straight face.
“And this is the Royal Magic Academy! The academic center of the Empire! For such a specific ghost story to circulate in an academy filled with rigorous scholarship—that itself defies common sense!”
“There’s no smoke without fire. Behind this abnormal phenomenon must be something unknown! This isn’t about being scared or not—it’s about reasonable respect for the unknown! Respect, do you understand!”
Helos finished her string of twisted logic in one breath, feeling like she had almost convinced herself.
“Yes, yes, respect, respect.”
Julius nodded perfunctorily, clearly not having heard a single word. He looked at Helos’s adorable demeanor of being scared to death but still stubbornly pretending to be tough, and his amusement grew.
‘This guy never mentioned respect when researching forbidden things.’
He shook his head helplessly, a reassuring smile appearing on his face.
“What’s there to be afraid of? I’m here.”
Julius smiled nonchalantly, then casually waved his hand into the air.
A crisp sword ring suddenly sounded.
A pure and warm golden radiance instantly blossomed in his palm. The light wasn’t blinding, but carried a sacred aura that dispelled all gloom.
The Holy Sword “Daybreak.”
This divine weapon born from the depths of his soul answered his call once again.
The golden light rippled like water, instantly driving away the surrounding stillness and chill that seemed to have solidified.
The withered trees and rose vines that had been menacing in the night became much gentler under this illumination.
What was even more surprising was that even though Julius was currently within the range of Helos’s “Curse of Silence,” the Holy Sword’s radiance was not suppressed nor diminished in the slightest.
It was like a lighthouse in the dark night, domineering yet gentle, illuminating the path beneath the girl’s feet.
“Let’s see which ghost is blind enough to come after us.”
Julius snorted lightly, flicking his wrist, the tip of the sword leaving an afterimage as if cutting through the air. Then, he naturally sheathed his stance, but didn’t disperse the light from the blade, instead holding it like a torch.
He turned around to look at Helos, who was still standing there dumbfounded.
“Let’s go.”
Julius didn’t think much. He simply felt that Helos’s trembling state was too pitiful. He just wanted to protect her safety, give her some courage, and make her less afraid.
So, like leading a little girl afraid of the dark who dared not walk the night road, he naturally extended his left hand.
That broad, warm, calloused palm gently but irresistibly took Helos’s cold little hand.
“Stay close to me.”
Julius said softly.
Then, holding her hand and shielding her, he took a step forward and walked into the eerie Rose Pavilion.
The young man probably didn’t think much of it.
But for the girl, it was a completely different story.
The moment that warm hand suddenly took hers—
Zzzt—
Helos felt as if an electric current had shot through her entire body from the point where their fingers touched. Her body visibly stiffened at that moment.
The string of “reason” in her brain snapped with a loud twang.
‘He… he held my hand?’
‘He actually held my hand?!’
Helos’s eyes widened as she stared at their interlocked hands. Her hand was small and pale, now completely encased in that masculine, broad palm. An endless stream of warmth poured from his palm, making her fingertips tremble.
‘Th-this… this is wrong, right?!’
‘Even though they were “close friends,” and she had been hugged by this guy before—that was a special emotional moment! That was a reunion after a long time!’
‘But now? It’s broad daylight! In plain sight! And Gavi is still watching from behind!’
‘How can he be so natural, so skilled, so unapologetic about holding hands?!’
Helos felt her face heating up at a terrifying speed, and her heart was pounding like a drum in her chest, so loud she was afraid Julius in front would hear it.
She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, wanting to pull her hand back to maintain her dignity as a noble young lady.
But when she saw Julius’s broad back and felt the reassuring steadiness transmitted through his palm—
Her hand, which had tried to resist, seemed to have a mind of its own. Instead of pulling away, it… instead, it went limp and let him hold it.
Her fingers even curled instinctively, lightly squeezing his in return.
Helos let out a wail in her heart.
‘It’s over. Helos, you’re hopeless.’
‘You’ve completely turned into a little girl who can’t walk properly when this idiot holds your hand!’
She looked down at her own toes, not daring to look around. Her body was as stiff as a puppet learning to walk for the first time. With her left hand held by Julius, she stepped out with her right foot… then her right arm swung forward with it.
She was walking in a strange, same-side gait!
Helos screamed internally, trying to adjust her steps, but the more she panicked, the more chaotic it became, almost tripping over her own feet.
‘No, no, wait, this doesn’t count…’
‘Don’t friends hold hands too?!’
‘It just shows they have a good relationship!’
‘It doesn’t mean anything else!’
‘I’m a tough guy, I’m a tough guy—no, wait! I’m a tough girl!’
Helos fell into a state of confusion.
Julius, walking ahead, sensed the strangeness behind him.
“Watch your step.”
He didn’t turn around, but tightened his grip slightly, steadying her.
“The path here is uneven. Look where you’re going.”
His voice was still so calm and natural, as if he hadn’t noticed the girl’s near-exploding embarrassment behind him.
“G-got it!”
Helos bit her lip, forcing out a few words through gritted teeth. She just wanted to get into that damn house as quickly as possible and find a crack to crawl into.
As for the ghosts, the gloom, and the terrifying legends—at this moment, they were all thrown to the winds.
Right now, in this world, there was nothing that made her more flustered—and also more at ease—than this “idiot” Julius.
Behind the two of them.
Gavi was following leisurely, arms crossed over her chest.
She watched the couple in front—one walking with head held high and spirited, the other walking in a same-side, awkward gait, hands clasped.
The blonde girl’s delicate face broke into an all-knowing, amused smile.
As she walked, she nodded repeatedly. Her gray eyes sparkled with a light that could only be described as “she’s shipping them.”
‘Mm-hmm.’
‘This is what youth is about.’
‘This is what life should be like.’
Compared to being in that dark underground workshop staring at rat corpses, compared to that master full of blood and madness, this master who blushes, gets shy, and becomes flustered when a boy holds her hand—she is too adorable, too lively.
‘Master Julius, well done.’
Gavi silently gave a thumbs-up to the black-haired youth in front.
‘Please keep it up, and strive to make our master completely fall for you soon.’
‘That way…’
Gavi glanced around the gloomy Rose Pavilion.
The blonde girl hummed an unknown tune, taking light steps, following the two figures into the wide-open door.
‘Even if there really are ghosts here, they’ll probably be chased away by the sour smell of love radiating from these two eventually.’
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