The village erupted into tears of joy. The cured children ran to their mothers, their laughter replacing the silence of death. The women bowed their heads to the ground, worshiping the armored figure standing in the center.
Lysander stood up, dusting off his gloves. 9,000 SP gone in a minute. But he looked at the reunited families, and he felt no regret.
Seraphina stood in the shadows, watching him. Slowly, her vision began to blur. Hot tears welled up in her violet eyes, spilling over her cheeks before she could stop them.
She had lived in a castle surrounded by "gentlemen" and "knights." They wore silk, drank fine wine, and spoke of honor. Yet, those same men sold their daughters, beat the weak, and trampled on the poor.
But this man?
He wore the mask of a monster. He spoke with the cold voice of a machine. He was covered in the blood of a Titan. Yet, he had just sacrificed a fortune to save nine strangers without asking for a single coin in return.
Thump. Thump.
Seraphina's hand flew to her chest. She could feel her heart hammering against her ribs—not from fear, but from something else entirely.
'I have never seen a man this kind,' she thought, her breath hitching. 'He is terrifying... but he is so gentle.
She walked up to him slowly, wiping her eyes, but the tears kept falling.
"Zero..." Seraphina said softly, her voice trembling.
Lysander turned his head, his red eye glowing in the dark. "What?"
Seraphina looked at the happy villagers, then back at the cold iron mask. Her heart beat faster, a flush of heat rising to her cheeks.
"You... you really are different," she whispered, a sad, beautiful smile touching her lips. "You spent a fortune on them. You could have used those fruits to become a King. You could have bought infinite power for yourself"
Lysander crossed his arms, looking at the families he had saved.
"Power is useless if you have nothing to protect," he stated simply.
BA-DUMP.
Seraphina felt her heart skip a beat so hard it almost hurt. She stared at him, her mind spinning in confusion.
'What is this?' she panicked internally, clutching her new cloak tight. 'Why is my face burning? Why can't I look away from him? Is this... is this what safety feels like?'
She took a deep breath, trying to calm the storm inside her chest.
"I see," she murmured, her voice barely audible.
She looked at the Demi-Humans. For the first time, the village didn't look like a muddy hole. It looked like a home.
"I think..." Seraphina said, clenching her fist with newfound resolve. "I think I'm going to like it here. It's much warmer than the castle"
Lysander nodded, unaware of the turmoil inside her.
"Good. Because we have work to do"
He turned to the women.
"Rest tonight. Tomorrow, we start rebuilding"
Then, he turned his gaze back to Seraphina.
"And you?"
"Y-Yes?" Seraphina stammered, standing up straighter.
"Tomorrow, your training begins. I didn't save you to be a spectator"
The golden glow of the healing fruits faded, leaving the village bathed in the soft, silver light of the moons. The crying had stopped, replaced by the exhausted relief of mothers holding their sleeping children.
Lysander let out a long breath. The adrenaline from the Boss fight was crashing, and fatigue was finally setting in.
"Alright, that's enough," Lysander announced, his voice cutting through the emotional atmosphere. "The sickness is gone. The danger is over for tonight. Everyone needs rest"
He looked at the women.
"Go to your tents. Sleep. We will talk about the future in the morning"
The villagers bowed deeply to him one last time before dispersing, carrying their little ones back to the safety of their shelters.
Elara stepped forward. Her orange tail was clean, and she looked stronger than before, but her eyes were still sharp as she glanced at Seraphina.
"Lord Zero," Elara said, bowing her head.
"Please, follow me"
She led him past the circle of dilapidated mud huts to the edge of the clearing. There, standing slightly apart from the rest, was a new structure. It wasn't just a mud hut; it was a small, sturdy cabin built from timber and woven branches. The roof was thatched neatly to keep the rain out.
Lysander blinked behind his mask.
"My house?" Lysander asked, surprised.
"When was this built?"
"While you were gone," Elara explained, a rare smile touching her lips"The twenty of us who were healed first... we worked together. We knew you would need a place to rest that wasn't the cold ground. It isn't much, but it is the best we could do"
Lysander touched the wooden doorframe. It was rough, but it was solid.
"It's perfect," he nodded. "Thank you"
He turned to look at Seraphina, who was standing awkwardly a few feet away, clutching her gray cloak. She looked out of place—a human noble in a village of demi-humans.
"Elara" Lysander said. "Find a spot for her in one of the communal tents"
Elara's expression hardened instantly. She looked at Seraphina with cold, slit eyes.
"I cannot do that, Lord Zero," Elara said firmly.
"Why not?"
"She is a human," Elara whispered, leaning closer so Seraphina wouldn't hear. "The women... they are terrified. They have been hunted by humans their whole lives. If I put her in their tent, no one will sleep. They will be watching her all night, waiting for her to pull out a knife"
Elara shook her head.
"We trust you, Lord Zero. But we do not trust her. Not yet"
Lysander sighed. He looked at the trembling villagers peeking out from their huts, staring at Seraphina with fear. He couldn't force them. Trauma didn't heal as fast as physical wounds.
"I understand" Lysander said.
He walked back to Seraphina. She looked up at him, her violet eyes heavy with exhaustion.
"There is no room for you in the village tents," Lysander stated bluntly. "They are still afraid of you"
Seraphina's shoulders slumped. "Oh... I understand. I can sleep outside. Under a tree is fine..."
"Don't be stupid," Lysander interrupted.
"You'll freeze to death, or a wolf will drag you off"
He opened the door to his new cabin.
"You're sleeping with me tonight"
"Huh?"
Seraphina froze. Her brain short-circuited.
"Come on, get inside," Lysander ordered, walking into the dark cabin.
"S-Sleep with... with you?"
Seraphina's face exploded into a bright, burning red. Steam practically poured out of her ears. Her heart, which had already been beating fast, started hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird.
'Sleep with him? In the same bed? Alone?'
Her mind raced with wild, noble romance novel scenarios. She looked at his broad back, then at the small, intimate cabin.
"B-But Zero!" she squeaked, fidgeting with her hands. "I... I mean, I know you saved me, and I am technically your follower now, but... isn't this moving too fast? I've never... I mean, I'm not prepared for..."
She covered her burning cheeks.
"Are we... are we going to..."
Lysander poked his head back out of the doorway. He saw her blushing furiously, twisting her cloak in her hands.
He stared at her for a second, the red eye of his mask unblinking.
"...What is wrong with your face?"
"You said sleep with you!" Seraphina whispered frantically.
Lysander groaned, realizing the misunderstanding.
"I meant inside the house, Seraphina"
He pointed to the floor.
"I am sleeping in the corner. You are sleeping in the other corner. We are sharing a roof, not a bed"
He shook his head, his voice dripping with robotic sarcasm.
"Do not flatter yourself. I am tired. I want to sleep, not do... whatever you are imagining"
"Oh"
The redness didn't leave Seraphina's face, but it changed from embarrassment to mortification.
'I'm an idiot,' she thought, wanting the ground to swallow her whole. 'Of course he didn't mean that. He's Zero.
"Are you coming?" Lysander asked impatiently. "Or do you want to sleep in the mud?"
"I'm coming!" Seraphina cried, rushing past him into the cabin to hide her face in the darkness.
"Good night, Elara," Lysander nodded to the fox-woman.
"Good night, Lord Zero," Elara bowed, hiding sad look as he walked away she watched the flustered human girl hurry inside.
Lysander closed the wooden door, shutting out the cold night.
The wooden latch clicked shut.
It was a small sound—a soft thud of timber against timber—but to Elara, it sounded like a heavy iron gate slamming down on her chest.
She stood there in the cold moonlight, staring at the cabin she had helped build with her own bleeding hands. She had woven the branches for the roof. She had packed the mud for the walls. Every time she placed a log, she had imagined him returning. She had imagined the moment she would welcome him home.
But tonight, the door was closed. And she was on the outside.
Inside, in the warmth, was the human girl.
Elara's ears flattened against her skull. Her tail, usually held high with the pride of a huntress, twitched agitatedly behind her, lashing at the air.
"Why..." Elara whispered, her voice barely a breath in the night wind. "Why does it hurt so much?"
She pressed a hand to her chest, right over her heart. It was squeezing painfully, a sharp, twisting ache that had nothing to do with physical injury. It was a cold, bitter poison called jealousy.
"He asked her," she thought, her slit pupils trembling. "He didn't ask me. I am the one who manages the village. I am the one who keeps order. I am the one who waited for him every single night, watching the treeline."
But he had chosen the soft-skinned human noble to share his roof.