The Price of a Moment's Fear
I was dragged around by my manager all day long. I felt like a dress-up doll. I put on clothes, took them off, and put on more, testing countless combinations in front of the full-length mirror while my manager and the stylist whispered and exchanged opinions beside me.
Honestly, there was no need to go this far...
"It's our Haneul's first date. We can't let you go looking sloppy."
"Unni, I told you, it's not a date."
"Oh, please. If it's not a date, why are you making that face?"
"My... face?"
"Do you have any idea what kind of expression you had while changing?"
I rarely showed any facial expressions. I had always been that way, but it had gotten much worse after my awakening due to the physical chill of my S-class ice magic.
"You looked exactly like a girl head over heels in love."
"What?"
"'I hope he thinks I look pretty. What if he finds it burdensome because I dressed up too much? Will he like this outfit?' It was so obvious you were thinking things like that."
"...That's a lie. You know I'm expressionless."
"Wow, Han Haneul, are you calling me a liar now? Sigh. I should have recorded your face. Didn't you feel the stylist staring at you? She was completely smitten by how cute you were."
Did I really make a face like that...?
"I don't know who the lucky guy is, but don't you dare lose your confidence. You're Han Haneul, South Korea's most famous S-class hunter."
"I'm not the most famous."
"Then what, the prettiest S-class hunter?"
My manager chuckled, teasing me playfully.
"Our Haneul is finally dating... I can't believe I lived to see the day..."
"I-I told you, it's not like that!"
"But you like him, don't you?"
"...No, I don't."
"You want to see him again, you have fun when you're together, you smile just thinking about him, and sometimes your heart flutters out of nowhere... right?"
"That's..."
...Every single word was correct.
"Haneul. I know you're confused because it's your first time... but don't hide your feelings for no reason. Some other girl might snatch him away, you know? You'll regret it for the rest of your life."
"...I'm sleepy. I'm going to bed."
"Haha. Alright, alright. This nosy manager will take her leave now."
After my manager left, I lay on my bed, staring blankly up at the ceiling.
"...It's really not like that."
It wasn't romantic love.
I knew the Hero of my past life had loved the Porter. But that didn't mean I liked Siwoo-ssi to that extent. The past life was the past life... and my feelings in this life were separate.
In fact, that was precisely why I was certain this feeling wasn't 'love.' I didn't harbor the same devoted, self-sacrificing affection for him that the Hero had.
It was just, well, a sense of relief.
I had protected the person I wanted to protect. Seeing him alive brought me peace of mind. I felt comfortable around him. Being with him allowed me to recall the emotions of my past life.
There was a perfectly logical reason for every single emotion. The joy, the happiness, the comfort, the longing—all of it.
I want to see Siwoo-ssi soon...
Facing the Demon King wasn't difficult.
Bit by bit, utilizing the advantages of the terrain, I wore down the Demon King's strength. The Demon King fought by replacing his broken bones with others and regenerating them with Demonic Qi, but his power was not infinite.
It was likely because he hadn't fully recovered his strength yet.
Even so, we wouldn't have won if the Porter hadn't found the way. Our ability to hold off the Demon King was entirely thanks to him. My training with the sword fueled by the dream of becoming a Hero, my ability to endure the long journey—all of it was possible because the Porter was by my side.
In truth, the Porter was the one who was far more suited to be the Hero than I was.
"!@#$%^."
The Demon King, his limbs completely severed, shrieked.
However, his body was no longer capable of resistance. All that remained was his heart, which generated Demonic Qi. If I pierced that heart with the holy sword and sealed him once more, it would be over.
And.
I wanted to share that final moment with the Porter.
"Porter! You can come out now."
The Porter, who had been hiding in a corner of the labyrinthine corridor, slowly stepped out. He flinched upon seeing the collapsed Demon King, but let out a sigh of relief once he confirmed the monster was in no state to fight back.
"Pfft, coward."
"...You actually won. You really are the Hero chosen by the stars."
"I am pretty amazing, aren't I?"
"Now, it's finally over."
The Porter's dream had been to be a Hero.
To defeat the Demon King, save the world, and protect the people he loved. He had swung his sword since he was a young child for that very purpose. Even after he laid down his blade, he spared no effort to help me.
That was why we were two halves of a whole.
I wasn't the Hero because of the stars' choice; I was the Hero because the Porter was by my side.
"Porter. Let's finish this together."
"...Together?"
"Yes! Come on, over here. Hehe."
I placed the Porter's hand over mine as I gripped the holy sword.
Perhaps because he had been running so hard just moments ago, his hand was damp and warm. The dampness didn't feel unpleasant. Rather, the warmth passing between us made me feel deeply connected to him.
"Porter, did you know? They say nobles have a tradition of cutting a giant cake together at their weddings."
"Is that really something you should be talking about while stabbing a skeleton's heart...?"
"Hehe. So, do you hate it?"
"...No."
Since we were both Heroes, piercing the Demon King's heart suited us far better than cutting a cake. It was a bit grotesque for a confession of love... but dreams, no matter how grotesque, were always beautiful.
Achieving our dream together.
That was the final gift I could offer the Porter.
"Come on! Let's stab it quickly, Porter!"
"...Thank you, Hero."
"!@#$%^──!!!!"
And so, finally, the holy sword held by both of our hands plunged into the Demon King's heart.
And the moment it pierced the heart...
"Huh?"
A black energy exploded from the Demon King's heart... and flesh began to sprout from his broken bones. The flesh swelled, blood flowed, pus dripped, and bones grew into sharp, tumor-like spikes. The ceiling melted away, and the sun in the sky, the sun, the sun...
Turned black.
Someone was looking down at us.
"Ah, ah..."
The Demon... King...
The voice, which had sounded like mere noise, was gradually regaining its form. It was not a being of this world to begin with. It was merely an avatar sent by some entity existing outside the stars to consume this world. Neither the skeleton nor the body filled with Demonic Qi was the Demon King's true form.
What we thought was a seal...
Was actually just borrowing the power of the stars to sever the gravitational pull of another star.
Countless cursed voices echoed simultaneously.
I had to swing the holy sword. I had to scatter the starlight.
I had to cut through this curse, banish those eyes with the light of the Big Dipper, save the world, and seal the Demon King.
But my body wouldn't move. I was too exhausted from fighting the Demon King, my tension had dissolved because I had been laughing, and... I was just too terrified. I lacked the courage. I had to swing the sword.
Even though I was the Hero.
And that brief moment of hesitation brought about the worst possible outcome.
"W-What?"
The Porter, who was closest to me, was contaminated by the Demonic Qi. The light of the holy sword protected the Hero, but it did not extend its protection to a mere porter. Belatedly realizing what was happening, I swung the holy sword. The sword energy, resembling the Big Dipper, drove away the curse and restored the light.
The Demon King's final struggle collapsed helplessly before the destiny of the Hero.
"P-Porter! Are you okay?!"
"...*Cough.* Ah, ugh... I feel... a bit sick..."
A final struggle. Yes, that was all it was.
The Demon King had merely been bluffing. Unable to truly interfere with this world, he had simply spat out a desperate curse because he knew he was going to fail. It was a struggle that should have easily scattered before the power of the stars. Yet, I had been afraid. I had let myself get scared.
Of course, witnessing 'such an entity' made it somewhat unavoidable.
We had barely won against a weakened Demon King who threw everything he had at us, so it was only natural that my body froze upon witnessing the presence of the 'true Demon King.'
...But.
At the very least, I shouldn't have shown that weakness in front of the Porter.
"I'm sorry, because of, of, of me..."
"...No. It's, it's fine. If I go to the temple and get treated... I'll be fine... Just... I feel a bit... *urgh*..."
If only I hadn't asked the Porter to stab the Demon King's heart with me, if only I hadn't been terrified at the last second, if only I hadn't let my guard down and kept the sword energy wrapped around my blade... If I had done just that, the Porter wouldn't have been hurt.
I was so sorry.
Because of me, the Porter was bleeding...
"...Porter?"
"...*Ugh*, wait a moment, Hero. My head..."
The moment I woke up, I rushed to the bathroom.
"*Urgh—*"
I retched, throwing up everything inside me. Because my stomach was empty, nothing actually came out.
Yet, I kept dry-heaving.
It felt as if my stomach were filled with thick, black tar.
"Because of me... the Porter..."
The Porter... The Porter...? What... happened to the Porter?
"Ah, ah! My, my diary!"
My stomach churned.
Returning to the bedroom, I opened my diary with trembling hands and began to write. Dreams fade quickly upon waking. I had to engrave it onto the notebook with ink, in sentences. The black ink marked the paper.
We stabbed the Demon King's heart together. The Demon King made his final struggle. The Porter was hurt...
And then, and then, and then...
"—."
I couldn't remember.