CHAPTER 62: SHATTERED WORLD [1]

After washing himself up, Leon and Alice sat face-to-face. In between them, the bonfire crackled, illuminating the cave with its golden hue.

Although the moonlight coming from above could illuminate the entire cave, Alice and Leon chose to light a fire instead. Not for light, but to warm themselves.

"Achoo—!"

Alice sneezed again, covering herself with the cloak she borrowed from the swordmaiden.

"Did you catch a cold?" Leon asked, seeing her condition.

Alice simply nodded, wiping her lips with the piece of cloth she was holding.

"I’ll be fine by tomorrow; my body just needs to adjust to the sudden change of weather."

"Haah... fuck your stupid decision for choosing this book," she muttered, cursing again.

Leon didn’t even bother reacting this time. He already knew she wasn’t like the other noble girls; she never had been.

Maybe it was because of the way her parents forced her to act like porcelain, all etiquette and grace, when she was younger. Or maybe it was just her way of rebelling against it. Either way, everyone in her family despised her for it. Everyone except her grandfather.

In the game, Leon, back when he was still Haru, had never cared much for her or any of the other characters. If anything, he hated her.

There was even a time he seriously considered deleting her character profile altogether, if not for the fan base that adored her. And now, staring at Alice, Leon wondered why.

’What was it exactly that made me hate her so much? She was only a two-dimensional character on a screen, and yet I felt the urge to erase her.’

The answer came easily. It was her ego.

She never cared what others thought of her, never once tried to change herself to fit their eyes.

She lived loud, rebellious, and unrefined. The complete opposite of him. Haru had always sought glory, recognition, and the polished image shaped by how others saw him. And perhaps that was why he could not stand her back then.

"The fuck are you staring at?" Alice narrowed her eyes, voice sharp.

Leon exhaled slowly. "Why do you always have to start like that? Can’t you sit quietly for once?"

"I could, if you stopped staring," she shot back, hugging the cloak tighter.

"I never did," Leon muttered.

"Yes, you did."

Leon pinched the bridge of his nose. "What is this, your time of the month again?"

Alice scoffed, lips curling into a sneer. "At least I have one. What’s your excuse for being a bitch every day?"

Leon’s lips curved into a thin smile. "Sorry to break it to you, but a man doesn’t bleed."

"Cringe," Alice spat.

"Brat."

"Please die."

"Ladies first," Leon fired back.

Slam—!

A slam echoed at the cave’s entrance. Both of them stopped bickering and turned their heads.

The swordmaiden dragged a white bear inside and tossed it down.

"Alright, kids, food’s here. Phew~ I bagged us quite the catch today."

"..."

"..."

Alice spat, staring at the poor, dead white bear lying by the entrance.

"What is that?"

The swordmaiden blinked.

"Food."

"Excuse me?"

"Why? Never eaten white bear before? They taste juicy, especially the thighs. And when you squeeze their brain matter into your mouth—"

"Alright, alright, we got it," Alice quickly cut her off, as her face scrunched from all the details.

She stood, leaving the cloak near the bonfire, and walked over to the swordmaiden.

Without complaint, she helped carry the bear inside toward the fireplace. She even fetched a cloth and a bowl of water, offering them for the swordmaiden to wash her hands.

Leon, watching quietly from where he sat, found himself smiling without meaning to.

’Someone’s enjoying themselves.’

"Hey, Leon!" Alice called out; her tone was oddly polite, almost like a sing-song. "Are you just going to sit there, or help us? She carried the bear just for us."

Leon blinked.

’D-Damn. She’s acting ridiculously polite in front of her. Is it because I told her to behave? Either way... she’s doing excellent.’

A strange feeling of pride settled in his chest.

He stood and joined them, helping Alice drag the heavy bear closer to the flat rock bed on their right.

"So... who’s going to skin it?" Leon asked.

Alice looked at him. "Don’t look at me."

"Useless," Leon muttered.

"Step aside," the swordmaiden said calmly.

She drew her moonblade, its edge glimmering with an unnatural sheen beneath the moonlight from above.

"You’re going to butcher it using your sword?" Leon asked, raising his eyebrows.

The swordmaiden tilted her head. "Yes. Why? I can’t?"

"No, I mean... this weapon looks precious to you, so I thought—"

"—so you thought I’d only use it for battle?" she finished for him.

Leon nodded.

A smirk tugged her lips.

"Heh. While that’s true, kid, a blade is still a blade. It’s better used than gathering dust."

She spoke as though she were holding nothing more than an ordinary kitchen knife.

Leon and Alice stepped aside, letting her do the work.

The swordmaiden moved with ease, skinning and carving the white bear cleanly until slabs of raw meat were laid beside them one after another.

She dusted her hands and said.

"Here. Eat up."

Leon and Alice stared at the bloody meat in silence.

To Leon, it looked no different from a bloody horror scene.

Leon sighed. "Haah... fine. Let me do the cooking."

"We don’t have ingredients."

The swordmaiden reminded him, but he smirked and just said.

"It’s fine; we’ve had plenty of ingredients."

Alice and the swordmaiden didn’t understand until they saw Leon get to work.

He got to work, gathering salt by evaporating pond water inside the cave, and even managed to find a patch of honeycomb nearby.

Handing some to Alice, he told her to bring them back while he prepared the fire. With only those ingredients, Leon roasted the bear meat, letting the golden glaze of honey crisp along both edges.

When he finally presented the food, the scent filled the cave.

The Swordmaiden’s mouth watered.

Both Alice and the swordmaiden leaned forward together, "Ooo~! Neatly done."

"You’d make a perfect husband," the swordmaiden said through a mouthful, nodding with approval.

Leon deadpanned. "No thanks, I won’t marry."

Alice snorted, nearly choking on her bite. "Yeah, good decision. I worry about the girl you would end up with."

As they continued eating, the swordmaiden leaned back against the stone wall, studying them both with an unreadable gaze.

Then, casually, she asked, "So... what are your names?"

"Hm?" Alice was the first to react. Chewing the last bit of meat, she raised one hand lazily.

"Sorry for the late introduction, I’ll go first." She cleared her throat.

"The name’s Alice Nightson. And the idiot over here is Leon Valentine. Thanks for taking care of us, madam."

Leon almost spoke up, but stopped himself. Knowing Alice’s nature, she’d probably whisper something unhinged back at him if he tried to interfere. Instead, he gave a small nod.

"It’s nice to meet you. Hard to believe we’re only introducing ourselves this late, madam."

The swordmaiden returned the nod.

"Circumstances, dear. Sometimes one needs a quiet place and a peaceful mind before exchanging greetings."

Her gaze lingered on them.

"That said... Nightson, Valentine..." She tapped her chin. "I can’t recall those houses. So you two truly are foreigners. Huh."

Leon glanced at Alice, gesturing subtly to do her job.

Alice caught it and asked the swordmaiden.

"What can we call you, madam?"

The swordmaiden turned toward her.

At such a simple question, she paused, thinking, before answering, "Lumina."

"Lumina? Just that?" Alice tilted her head. "Your behaviour has etiquette... I thought you were a noble."

Lumina’s lips pressed together. For a long moment, she seemed to debate the answer with herself, then she spoke softly.

"Yes. You have a good eye, girl. I was indeed a noble once. I went by the name... Lumina Elizabeth Dare."

Alice’s eyes widened slightly at the name.

There was no doubt about it. She was the legendary Swordmaiden whom she had heard so much about.

It was quite exciting to chat with such a legendary figure face-to-face.

It was Leon who spoke next.

"Lady Lumina, is it fine if I ask you something?"

Lumina turned to him.

"Just Lumina is fine. I’m only a bit older than you two, after all. And yes, you may ask anything."

Both Leon and Alice twitched at her words.

’Just a bit... is too much, don’t you think, Swordmaiden?’ Leon thought, but he kept it to himself.

"Then... Miss Lumina, are you here alone?"

For a moment, Lumina’s expression dimmed. A shallow smile formed on her lips before she answered.

"I was not alone. My knights and maids, after I refused them so much... chose to follow me here... to help me search for someone."

Her words turned into a whisper.

Leon pressed a little further.

"Was? Where are they now?"

Lumina’s eyes met his. She simply asked.

"You remember those chimeras. Where do you think they all came from?"

Alice froze.

"W-What does that mean?"

"They all sacrificed themselves," Lumina said quietly, "to save me."

"..."

"..."

The cave went still.

To save her? Her of all people?

And the great and legendary Swordmaiden... unable to save her own people? Her knights? Her maids? Just what exactly happened here?

Leon leaned forward, lowering his voice. "My apologies... but could I ask, what exactly was happening here?"

Lumina’s gaze fell toward the fire. She replied.

"War."