Ansu rushed out of the room with his guns, seeing the defensive line of the clergymen collapsing, pushed back almost to the crossroads in the center of the village.
Monsters flitted through the abandoned village like ghosts, and low growls echoed through the air from time to time.
Ansu happened to spot a clergyman whose face was filled with despair, cornered by two shadow wolves, one of which had its fangs bared, poised to pounce.
He did not hesitate for a second, racking the slide with a sharp click and pulling the trigger instantly.
A thunderous gunshot rang out.
A bowl-sized hole was blown through the shadow wolf's head, and the back of its skull exploded into a spray of shredded meat. Without even a chance to howl, the creature collapsed with only half its head remaining.
After casually firing to deal with the other one, the young clergyman looked at Ansu with a mix of nervousness and gratitude.
Ansu waved him off, "Your captain is over there, don't get separated."
"Right, right... thank you!"
After saving the clergyman, Celia happened to walk out.
Ansu turned back and saw her staring straight at him, a faint blush still lingering on her face.
"The captain has enough hands over there, we might as well take the initiative and clear the area outside the village." Ansu observed for a moment and found the largest creature among the pack, "That one must be the alpha. Celia, let's go kill it first!"
Celia subconsciously gave a soft "Mhm," but her burning gaze remained fixed on Ansu's face.
"Hmm?" Ansu felt a bit uneasy being watched like that, asking as he reloaded his gun, "What is it?"
What do you mean 'what is it'! Celia furrowed her brows slightly and gave Ansu a strangely resentful glare.
How can he act like he has amnesia... right after kissing me?
He isn't planning to play dumb, is he!
However, Ansu's figure had already charged toward the monsters outside the village ahead of her, the sound of gunfire echoing continuously as shadow wolves fell one after another.
"Hurry up, Celia! There are too many of them..."
"Oh, okay..." Celia pursed her lips and followed Ansu's lead, albeit a bit reluctantly.
Though her heart was full of complaints, her hands did not hesitate in the slightest. Celia raised her hand slightly, and dangerous mana fluctuations began to surge around her.
Shadow Bolt instantly condensed beside her, and with several whistling sounds, the shadow wolves pouncing on Ansu from the flanks were precisely pierced through.
The pack realized these two were clearly aiming for the wolf king and let out a series of high-pitched howls. Many shadow wolves that had charged into the village began to retreat, converging on their position instead.
Ansu and Celia stood back-to-back, one firing non-stop while the other cast various low-level but lethal spells. Despite the large number of shadow wolves surrounding them, the creatures could hardly get within ten meters of the pair.
"Ansu..."
Celia felt the warmth against her back. No matter how embarrassed she felt, she still turned her head slightly and asked the question she wanted to know most.
"Earlier, you..."
Large alchemical bullets hovered in the air. With the help of Mage's Hand, Ansu quickly reloaded, raised his gun, and fired another shot, shattering the head of a shadow wolf in front of him.
"Earlier?" Ansu blinked and turned his head, happening to lock eyes with the witch's beautiful deep purple gaze.
With their faces so close, Celia's cheeks grew even redder.
Her eyes flickered slightly, but she persisted with a nod, "Ansu... why did you kiss me earlier?"
"Is there a reason for everything?" Ansu answered matter-of-factly, "Aren't we a couple right now? What's wrong with a couple kissing? Is there something incorrect about that?"
"Ah? Oh..." Celia opened her mouth and nodded blankly.
While she quite liked that answer, for some reason...
She still felt a bit unsatisfied.
She knew they were 'pretending to be a couple,' but she had clearly seen something different in Ansu's eyes just now.
That serious and focused gaze, that gentle and sacred kiss... it was as if he were treating her like a supreme treasure...
Does he feel... toward me...
"Whoa! Look at those spiders!" Ansu looked upward as several giant magic spiders, hairy and with abdomens larger than humans, leaped toward them.
Interrupted, Celia looked at the magic spiders with annoyance, the magical aura around her twisting violently.
Searing fireballs exploded in mid-air, instantly charring the spiders into lumps of coal that fell at their feet, the air filling with a pungent, burnt stench.
Ansu looked at Celia with a smile and gave her an appreciative thumbs-up.
"As expected of the Miss Witch~"
Celia pursed her lips, let out a cold snort, and suddenly decided to ignore him.
Seeing Celia's cold, grumpy expression, the smile on Ansu's face widened. He suddenly felt that teasing the cute Miss Witch was quite interesting.
He gently took her hand and held it firmly.
Celia blinked in surprise.
"When I said I had a dream earlier, I wasn't lying to you." Ansu's gaze suddenly became serious.
"What kind of... dream was it?" Celia asked curiously.
"One where... we went through a lot together, but the ending was very unhappy." Ansu recalled the second ending again, where Celia had woken up from the dream with hollow eyes and chose to end her own life in despair.
A faint bitterness spread through his heart, and Ansu couldn't help but tighten his grip on her hand, interlocking their fingers.
"It was just a dream, don't be sad." Celia could feel his strength and gave a soft smile, "I don't know why you take a dream so seriously, but aren't we doing fine right now? Everything in front of you is reality!"
Even though he hadn't said what he dreamed about, Celia knew the dream must have been about her.
Did Ansu dream of her death? Or something even worse...
"Yes, this is reality." Ansu nodded and let out a smile as well.
"So... the best revelation I got from that dream might be..."
"Be what?" Celia asked.
"To cherish." Ansu's gaze fixed on her, his smile turning into determination.
To cherish the person in front of him, to cherish everything he had now.
There was nothing to run away from anymore. As for that 'Feign Death Escape Plan,' let it be postponed indefinitely...
That damned system would surely breathe a sigh of relief; the world could finally live a little longer...
Cherish... Celia repeated the word in her mind, and her heart grew warm.
She suddenly tasted a flavor... called happiness.
"So... you will stay by my side and keep walking with me, right?" Celia asked again with a beaming smile.
"Of course." Ansu pointed at his eyes with a laugh, "If you don't believe me, you can use hypnosis as a lie detector~"
Celia gave him a playful glare and crossed her arms, "Didn't you say you don't like me using Hypnosis on you?"
"This time is really fine." Ansu chuckled, "Because no matter how you test it, these are my true feelings."
"Alright, alright, I believe you!" Celia suppressed the smile at the corners of her mouth and snorted coldly, "But let's forget about the hypnosis... You still think I'm the same person as before, using Hypnosis whenever I feel like it... Am I really that unreasonable?"
Ansu looked at the Miss Witch who was trying hard to clear her name and muttered silently, "It's hard to say."
"Ansu!" Celia glared at him fiercely, "So you really think I'm unreasonable?"
Ansu aimed his gun at a charging shadow wolf, "Alright, alright, let's fight. Let's kill the monsters first..."
Celia narrowed her eyes dangerously, "Changing the subject is an indirect admission..."
"Hey! That wolf king is charging over, perfect timing! Celia, let's kill it quickly!"
"An! Su!"
...
Because Ansu and Celia had drawn most of the monsters away, the battle situation inside the village gradually eased.
The captain and the others hurried to treat the wounded, while Professor Duncan arrived with two students to provide support.
However, when they saw those two had already easily dealt with the shadow wolf king, yet for some reason were standing over the corpse holding hands and whispering to each other, occasionally breaking into a 'debate'...
Professor Duncan stopped helplessly and waved his hand, "Forget it, let's go back. We aren't needed..."
Tsk... honestly, are these two not even trying to hide it anymore?
He had no desire to go over and continue being a third wheel.
"Huh? What are Junior Ansu and Miss Hailey arguing about?" Eddie looked at Professor Duncan with concern, "Should we go over and check?"
Professor Duncan looked at his student with a sigh, "Eddie... have you never been in a relationship?"
Eddie was stunned for a moment, then nodded, "No, Professor."
Professor Duncan sighed silently, "Alright, alright. Don't worry about grown-up business, kid. Go back, go back!"
After shooing the two students away, Professor Duncan took one last look at the young couple.
"Sigh... it's good to be young..."
Rate on N.U.
