“Haa… haa…”

Jerry was heavily breathing as he finally reached the topmost floor of the entire building.

Fortunately, he had managed to protect both himself and Ciara while ascending the numerous stairs and they finally got to the highest point.

‘We couldn’t explore more of the other floors because of the monsters. But…’

There really wasn’t any choice. The goal was to cause as little damage as possible, considering they had little to no information concerning this deserted place.

Once Jerry reached the top, he erected a Magical barrier, preventing the monsters from climbing up to reach them.

Ciara also assisted him, making the barrier much more powerful.

In the end, they were safe from the enemies.

“Haaa… such a relief.”

Jerry was genuinely relieved, though one could say Ciara was indifferent. Perhaps it was because only she was aware of the fact that there hadn’t been any real danger, to begin with.

If anything, she was sad to see it all end.

‘It was fun while it lasted…’ She shed a tiny tear.

Upon seeing this look of sadness on her face, the innocent Jerry misunderstood. He assumed she was still recoiling from the shock and fear.

“I’m sorry, Ciara. You must have been really scared, right?”

She nodded, and collapsed on his chest. Rather than resist her, Jerry stroked her hair… just like he used to in the past.

He whispered nice words to her, and his chest offered her comfort. Even if it was only for that moment, both of them felt like they had returned to their childhood…

… Back when they had been inseparable friends.

*

*

*

The top floor was completely bare, unlike the other ones beneath, which had various compartments and rooms.

The bare area was illuminated by Jerry’s bright flames, bringing everything into view.

The vast empty expanse resembled a simple hallway—though it’s size made it more akin to a large room.

The flat surfaces surrounding it seemed to belong to the buildings’ walls, and nothing worthy of note could be found.

“What now?” Ciara asked Jerry, who had already become the de-facto leader.

He had to think of what to do, and he was in charge of both himself and the woman in his arms.

“Y-you shouldn’t be scared now, Ciara. There aren’t any monsters around. Plus, it isn’t dark anymore…”

Jerry was well aware of how ferocious his dear friend could be in given circumstances.

She was the very person who had made short work of the Demon Army and easily defeated the Demon General during the war.

She was one of the strongest in their group, and most Mages wouldn’t stand a chance against her.

Thus, Jerry was convinced that she had to be fine now.

“I-it’s not like I’m enjoying this, you know! Am I that much of a burden to you?” Ciara’s outburst surprised the boy, causing him to rethink his position.

‘Was I being too rash? It could be that she’s still recovering from the trauma.𝑜𝓋𝑙xt.𝒞𝓞𝔪

No human was invincible, after all. Everyone had fears, and Ciara was no exception. Sure, she was strong… but even the strongest had their areas of weaknesses.

“N-no, it’s not like that. You’re not being a burden!” Jerry quickly responded with an apology.

Thinking logically, he was usually the burden between the two. He was weaker, after all. Just because Ciara was incapacitated now didn’t mean he had to rub it in or anything.

‘I was being too insensitive…’

Unfortunately for the lad, he was dead wrong.

‘Just look at his face. So cuuutteeeee!!!’

The girl whose emotions he was considering so carefully wasn’t at all in a delicate situation. Rather, she was reveling in the current situation.

‘I’m enjoying this so much!’ Ciara pressed herself to Jerry, sending his body into shivers.

His innocent reactions never ceased to amuse her. Though… she wondered when he would finally be honest about his feelings.

‘When will he confess?’

Unfortunately for the girl, even she was dead wrong.

Both of them were mistaken about each other on the most fundamental level.

“I believe we should try exploring this place. It looks empty, but… who knows?”

There was the possibility that Jared had simply been wrong about the existence of an Arcana in this location.

If that indeed was the case, then this would definitely suck.

“Alright. Let’s do this.” He, and the girl beside him nodded.

Together, hand in hand, they proceeded to search for whatever they could find.

However, as unfortunate as it seemed, there was nothing in sight. It felt frustrating that they had spent their entire time exploring the building, yet there was nothing to reward their efforts.

‘Is this really it?’ Jerry wondered.

“Why don’t we check the garden? We never explored it.”

Ciara’s suggestion surprised the boy. Neither of them had thought of exploring the exterior of the building considering what the obvious answer was.

Perhaps Ciara had a point. Still…

“A-are you sure you want to go through that, though?” The boy asked rather nervously.

“Y-yeah. No harm in trying, right?”

Upon receiving her consent, there wasn’t anything holding him back.

“Okay. Let’s do that.”

While the decision to return downstairs was unanimously reached by the two, there was something important to consider.

The grotesque monsters of darkness!

This was the very reason why Jerry had been hesitant on the idea, and why Ciara had recommended it.

‘I’ll have to protect her again. Am I up for the job?’ Jerry asked himself, after realizing that the monsters would have all piled up by the stairs.

They would be eagerly awaiting the descent of the pair.

If they had found the Arcana here, they could have used their Spell Cards to vanish from the entire vicinity. That had been Jerry’s thoughts when he chose to seal the stairs from the advance of the monsters.

Unfortunately, they had to return from whence they came.

‘I’ll do my best!’ He glanced at the girl he had to defend.

He saw her trembling, and his resolve tightened.

If only he knew the cause for her reaction. It wasn’t due to fear or anxiety. No… he wasn’t even close.

‘Hehehe… hehehehe… hehehehehe….Time for round two!’

The girl called Ciara was simply indulging in her obsessive imagination.