Xiandre walked down the stairs and headed to the counter.
"Hey, can I see the menu?" Xiandre asked.
"Yes, here it is," Faye offered with a smile.
Xiandre took it and looked through it as Faye glanced at him intently. His heavy and intimidating armor stood out—its plates were dark, yet gleamed with a polished shine.
He handed the menu back to her, and she took it, waiting for his order.
"Can I get a glass of water?" Xiandre requested.
"Eh... will that be all?" she asked.
"If possible, can I buy an entire gallon of water?" he added.
"An entire gallon...!?" she blurted out.
"Yes, and that will be all," Xiandre replied.
"That's all!? Don't you want to get some food as well? You're going to drown drinking all that water..." she replied, slightly exasperated.
"Well, I guess... Wild Boar Roast and Godleaf Wine," Xiandre responded.
"Eh!? A Godleaf Wine costs three gold coins, and a Wild Boar Roast is two silver... and the gallon of water would be one silver coin and eight bronze coins," she explained.
Xiandre dropped four gold coins onto the counter.
"Keep the change," he said as he turned to find a seat.
"Thank you for the order!" Faye exclaimed.
Xiandre found an empty seat in the corner and sat in silence. His presence was intimidating. Adventurers noticed him, and while some trembled, others put on prideful expressions to mask their unease.
"I wonder how big this world really is..." Xiandre thought to himself, when he heard footsteps approaching.
He turned his gaze toward the approaching footsteps, his expression calm and cold behind the helmet.
"You there. You're sitting in our usual seat," a voice said.
"Even if it is, I sat here first today," Xiandre replied, his voice calm.
"Huh!? Are you asking for a fight or something!?" the man snapped, pulling his sword from its sheath and pointing it at Xiandre.
Xiandre glanced at the man's party. It consisted of two others—one was a massive guy wielding a giant axe, clad in golden armor. The other held a staff, his cloak shimmering with light.
Immediately, all the adventurers' attention turned to the confrontation.
"A fight? You're the one pointing your sword at me," Xiandre said. "Are you showing off right now? Your ego is too high. You want people to look at you with fear and admiration. You want to be that person in every story—the so-called strongest of all. But truth be told, you're just a fool playing cool in a world that's nothing but a playground for idiots."
His tone sharpened, each word striking like a blade.
"Your shitty actions right now may flip your whole life upside down, and you don't even realize it. You think everything's going according to your expectations. But the truth? You have no idea what's coming next."
Xiandre's words cut deep.
"You think you're some kind of all-knowing prophet we're supposed to believe in!?" the man shouted.
"You think screaming makes you right? Why do you even need some guy with a beard and a broken back who'd probably die if he tripped?" Xiandre retorted. "Of course you do. Pride blinds people who don't even know who they're talking to."
"That's Tanga, the leader of his party. He's a platinum-ranked adventurer, and his teammates are all gold," one adventurer whispered.
"Yeah, he's strong, sure—but picking a fight without knowing if someone's stronger or weaker? That's just stupid," another muttered.
"To be honest, he looks like an idiot right now. Always picking fights because his ego's out of control," a third chimed in.
"Bro, his whole party might die because of him. What's the point of being strong if your head's full of air? He's dead meat at this rate," someone else added.
The tavern buzzed with murmurs and judgment. Tanga gritted his teeth, sword still pointed at Xiandre, his confidence cracking.
"You hear them?" Xiandre said coldly. "Don't be a fool trying to act tough."
"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Tanga roared, swinging his blade downward to strike.
Before the sword could reach Xiandre, Faye leapt between them.
"Shit," Xiandre muttered, catching her as the blade struck.
Gasps echoed through the tavern. Faye collapsed in Xiandre's arms, blood soaking through her clothes. Tanga froze, horrified.
"That's Faye! Didn't you say you had a crush on her!?" one of his party members yelled.
"You flirt with her every day trying to win her over—and now you did this!?" another adventurer shouted in disbelief.
The tavern erupted with angry voices. Faye was adored—she was the face of the tavern, loved by all.
"Are you okay?" Xiandre asked, holding her gently.
Faye coughed up blood, struggling to breathe. Her eyes dimmed, her voice fading.
"Your attack, Tanga… she won't last long. You cut her deep," Xiandre said, his tone grave.
Blood spilled onto the floor. Tanga dropped his sword, falling to his knees in shock and despair.
Healers and priestesses rushed over, casting spell after spell. But no matter how many they used, her wounds wouldn't close—they kept reopening.
"There's no way this wound can be healed with normal or even high-tier magic," Xiandre thought grimly. "That sword… it carried a dark aura. An execution spell? He must've used it to try and kill me. That wound—it's cursed."
"Healing won't work…" Tanga muttered aloud, shaking. "I… I used an execution spell… it prevents healing… Shit… shit… shit… WHAT HAVE I DONE!? This can't be real. I must be dreaming—"
One of his own party members punched him square in the face, knocking him to the ground.
"Get the fuck out of here! Don't act like you're the victim—you're a killer, bro!" he yelled, voice trembling with rage.
More adventurers entered, hearing about Faye's condition. Many tried to help, to heal her. But nothing worked.
Xiandre handed Faye over to the group of healers as Tanga was dragged out of the tavern, tears pouring down his face, unable to comprehend what he had done.
Everyone had turned on him. He couldn't deny it—he was completely in the wrong.
Xiandre stood back and watched the chaos with a sigh.
Outside, Tanga fell into the snow, punching it as the cold pierced through him. He sneezed and coughed, then crawled into a dark alley.
He curled up, knees to his chest, shivering from both the cold and the guilt.
"What the fuck am I doing..." he whispered.
Then Xiandre's words came back to him:
> "Your fucking shitty actions right now may cost your entire life to go upside down, and you don't know it—because you think everything is under your expectations of what is about to happen next."
The words hit him like a sledgehammer. He cried, helpless, as tears turned to ice on his cheeks. He punched the ground until his fists bled.
"Faye... How could I ever do that to you?" he sobbed.
Xiandre stood before the alleyway, his shadow looming over Tanga.
His heavy, intimidating footsteps echoed as he approached. Tanga noticed him and let out a grunt.
"It's all your fault!" he yelled, swinging a punch at Xiandre. His sword was still back in the tavern, lying on the floor and soaked with Faye's blood.
Xiandre easily dodged the attack and retaliated with a punch to Tanga's gut. The blow landed hard—Tanga spat blood and collapsed onto the ground.
"My fault? You're still acting like a fool," Xiandre said coldly.
Tanga looked up at him, trembling. The freezing wind bit into his skin, and the full weight of Xiandre's presence finally settled on him—immense, overwhelming. His sweat began to freeze in the bitter cold.
Xiandre crouched, grabbed him by the hair, and slammed him against the wall. The impact echoed through the narrow alley.
"What is happening…?" Tanga muttered in confusion, dazed.
"It looks like the overconfident, all-talk platinum adventurer has finally hit rock bottom," Xiandre replied, his tone sharp and calm.
"Why is this happening…?" Tanga murmured, tears freezing on his cheeks.
Xiandre looked up at the sky.
"Have you ever felt numb?" he asked quietly.
"I… I don't really get you..." Tanga responded, confused and broken.
"Do you ever get a little tired of life?" Xiandre continued. "Like you're not really happy, but you don't want to die. Like you're hanging by a thread, but you gotta survive—because you have to survive."
"...That's exactly how I feel right now," Tanga said, voice shaking.
"Your party left you because of your actions. Now, leave this place. Find a new path. Don't die here in the cold like a pathetic excuse of a man," Xiandre said calmly. The words cut deep, even more than the punch.
He turned and walked away, his gray mantle and cape swayed in the icy breeze.
Tanga laughed bitterly to himself. He looked down at his hands, covered in snow, then stood up. His breath fogged the air, his body freezing, yet somehow he kept walking forward.
Back inside the tavern, Xiandre stepped in and saw Faye still being tended to by a circle of adventurers.
He approached and saw she was still breathing—but her wound remained open, bleeding endlessly despite all their efforts.
"They're only making her suffer now... There's no way they can keep her alive like this," Xiandre thought grimly.
"That shitty bastard Tanga!" an adventurer yelled, kicking over a table. The tavern broke into chaos. One by one, adventurers began flipping tables, punching walls, and smashing furniture in frustration.
Xiandre remained silent, his thoughts drifting.
"Faye... she jumped in to protect me. Just like Amelia… just like the others. Her heart has fallen for me too. She… she loves me now."
His eyes drifted to his meal, now spilled on the floor. The roasted wild boar and Godleaf wine lay ruined, toppled during the incident. His eyes moved to the gallon of water, still untouched.
He walked over, crouched, and picked it up and turned to head upstairs.
Without a word, Xiandre opened his helmet just slightly and chugged the entire gallon before even reaching his room. When he finished, he dropped the empty container to the floor and shut his helmet.
He opened the door to his room and entered, locking it behind him.
Millie lay asleep with Amelia, both curled up together. The room was dim, and the night had fully fallen.
Fillia sat on the bed reading a book. Velmora was in a chair nearby, calmly knitting.
"Oh, Xiandre. Welcome back," Velmora greeted with a yawn. "Should we strike the castle now?"
"You seem tired, like Amelia and Millie. Let's wait until tomorrow night," Xiandre replied.
"The queen might arrive tomorrow," Fillia said as she closed her book.
"The queen?" Xiandre echoed.
"Yes, she'll be returning to the main castle," Fillia confirmed. "After we destroyed that city, she was recalled to the capital—where King Dula resides."
"But how do you know that?" Xiandre asked.
"You were inside this whole time."
"I used a spell—Goddess' Ears and Eyes. I observed everything below from here," Fillia explained. "Everything I saw and heard, I recorded in this book. That means everything happening in the tavern right now is written here."
"You know about Faye's condition then?" Xiandre asked.
"Yes. I saw it all. How she was sliced… how she's bleeding and slowly dying downstairs."
"Bleeding?" Velmora perked up. "What's going on down there?"
"It seems a platinum-ranked adventurer tried to attack Xiandre. Faye jumped in to protect him and ended up with a deep, cursed wound," Fillia said casually.
"I see. Then we probably won't be seeing her alive again," Velmora replied quietly, returning to her knitting.
Xiandre approached the bed and sat at its edge, gazing down at Amelia.
She was fast asleep, a faint smile on her lips, her mouth slightly open as she drooled.
Xiandre gently wiped her drool with his finger, then slowly stroked her hair, his touch soft and filled with care.
"I wouldn't want to take another girl—not because I can't, but because girls are not trophies to collect or prizes to display. They are hearts to cherish, partners to respect, and wives to love with honor."
—Xiandre's thoughts.
Fillia glanced over at him, a knowing smile spreading across her face.
"Tell me... out of all of us, she's your favorite, isn't she?" she asked quietly.
Xiandre didn't respond at first. Then, calmly, he said,
"Yes."
Velmora giggled softly as she continued knitting.
"Of course she is. She's the first one you ever slept with, and the first you ever loved. Amelia told us herself—she loves you more than she loves her own life. Her devotion to you, Xiandre, is immeasurable. If anyone deserves your love the most… it's her."
"She really said that?" Xiandre asked calmly.
"Fufu~ She did," Fillia chimed in with a soft laugh. "And we wouldn't blame you if you love her the most as well. She's earned that place in your heart."
A faint smile formed beneath Xiandre's helmet as he glanced toward the dark window, lost in thought.
"But just like the others… Faye has fallen deeply for me. And I know it's not my fault she's dying. She made that choice—she jumped in to protect me. But still..."
Just then, Amelia stirred. Her eyes fluttered open, and she turned to face him.
"If you want to help Faye… I won't stop you," she said softly. "As long as I'm still your favorite—or even if I'm not—as long as you love me, I'll follow you. I don't care what you do. I'll stay with you for the rest of my life."
Xiandre looked into her half-lidded eyes, full of warmth and fierce loyalty.
"That's the only permission I need," he thought.
Amelia sat up and leaned forward, pressing a gentle kiss to the forehead of Xiandre's helmet. Then she wrapped her arms around him in a tight embrace, her chest pressed against his head.
He closed his eyes inside the helmet, his body still, but his soul stirred with something rare peace.
"I don't really know Faye that much," he muttered coldly under his breath, lost in thought.