I Will Not Fall For the Villain’s Flirtations - Chapter 4 Part 4

It was a well-known herb in general. There were even petty criminals who deliberately chewed it all day, abusing it for its hallucinogenic effects.

“What are you picking up?”

At that moment, Prim, who seemed to have finished her treatment meanwhile, approached me. She acted a little faster before I could ask about Peidos’s condition.

“This is…”

As she observed the pile of herbs, she started plucking other plants next to the Pentil, as if she had discovered something. Perplexed by her unexpected behavior, I asked.

“What is that?”

“They are herbs with anti-inflammatory effects.”

After hearing the explanation, I reflected for a moment and shouted.

“Great! We can use it together with Pentil!”

Could there be a perfect synergy between an analgesic and an anti-inflammatory? But Prim furrowed her eyebrows and asked.

“Pentil?”

“Yeah, this! Don’t you know?”

When I showed her a few already plucked herbs, she looked at the pentil with a face that seemed she was unfamiliar with it.

This made me wonder.

How could someone be so well-versed in herbs to immediately recognize a plant with anti-inflammatory effects but not know pentil? Even people who lack knowledge would recognize it as pentil, right?

“If you’re sure, keep plucking it.”

“Umm…”

Well, I suppose it’s possible for her not to know.

Brushing it off nonchalantly, I removed the dirt and dust from the pentil and chewed on one stem. The juice that came out with each chew tasted disgusting, but I endured it for the sake of the future.

My injury wasn’t comparable to Peidos or Prim’s, but my arm, which was scratched by a demon earlier, was quite itchy. The wound itself wasn’t deep, so I thought it would be fine to return and combine disinfection with treatment.

When I returned with the herbs, Peidos was drawing something on the cave floor. I hurriedly ran to him and examined his wound intensively.

“Sir Peidos, how are you feeling?”

“Ah, I’m fine.”

Since it was the same response he had been giving all this time, I didn’t fully trust it. But seeing that he wasn’t limping severely like before, it seemed that Prim’s treatment was indeed effective.

“You’re drawing a….”

“A barrier. It’s better to be sure. It’s advantageous even if we get caught during the search.”

“I see.”

It was fascinating to see him drawing on the empty floor. Judging by its simplified forms, it seemed to be a temporary barrier.

I suddenly remembered the training we had on creating a barrier. It was already quite challenging to draw a barrier on an existing formation, so wouldn’t it consume a lot of holy energy to create a barrier without the assistance of magical items?

“Aren’t you pushing yourself too hard?”

But before I could finish my sentence, Prim sharply pointed it out.

“Dune, Sir Peidos is the leader of the St. Gabriel Knights. It’s impolite for you to worry about him too much, so stop it.”

“Okay.”

I quickly withdrew my hand, since I had no intention of doubting or belittling his abilities.

“I wasn’t trying to do that, I was just…”

“I understand. It’s fine.”

Peidos smiled pleasantly and drew a final line. I scratched my forehead thoughtfully and watched Prim bustle about.

I wondered why she had so much to do all by herself. She kept going back and forth in the cave, which seemed a bit frightening.

Upon closer inspection, it seemed like she was gathering leaves to make something resembling a bed. Clearing my throat, I approached her.

“Can I help? Should I gather leaves too?”

She stopped piling up leaves and looked at me. After scanning the surroundings uncomfortably, she immediately spoke in a commanding tone.

“You should bring some branches since we need to make a fire.”

“…Alright.”

What a personality this guy has.

Was the female protagonist always this arrogant? It had been so long since I read it that I couldn’t remember well.

But despite her somewhat lacking manners, she was moving quite efficiently. She didn’t seem to be doing anything particularly remarkable, but in no time, a makeshift bed was formed.

I realized it back when she identified the herbs, but she had quite skillful hands. Even though she was a fallen noble, it was surprising to see her doing so much manual labor.

Once the barrier was set up and the sleeping arrangements were made, the camping preparations were mostly complete. But we couldn’t make a bonfire because no one had any ignition tools.

I didn’t realize it would be so difficult to start a fire. After struggling for over an hour, gathering and rubbing branches together, I was finally stopped by Peidos, who was more skilled than me.

“It’s better we don’t start a fire because we could attract wild animals.”

The barrier only keeps demons away and doesn’t prevent regular animals from coming near. My disappointment lessened a little after hearing that.

Luckily, it wasn’t a season with extreme temperature changes. If I could return safely tomorrow, I hoped that the experience of today would be enough to defend me against Senior Janice’s “back in my day” attacks.

Except for Peidos, who volunteered to be on guard, the rest of us completed our preparations. Feeling guilty about Peidos, I didn’t want to just sit or lie down by myself, so I stayed active in a position that was neither sitting nor lying down. Suddenly, I heard a faint moan from Prim’s direction.

“Prim? Are you okay?”

“Ugh…”

It hadn’t been long since she lay down, but either because her tension had eased or for some other reason, she was suffering again. When I touched her forehead out of concern, it felt like a burning coal. Surprised, Peidos looked at me and said with a face that seemed expected.

“It must be due to excessive use of her holy power.”

He clicked his tongue and placed his hand on her head, channeling his holy power.

Come to think of it, I had heard about it from Sister Elexi before. She mentioned that you could suffer if you used your holy power excessively. She said that the day after I got drunk.

Prim’s furrowed brow gradually loosened as he received Peidos’ holy power. I was glad to see the relief on her face because she was freed from pain, but at the same time, I was also worried about Peidos.

Just maintaining the barrier already consumed a lot of holy power.

Of course, I knew that exceptional holy knights like him could utilize their holy power much more efficiently compared to novitiates like us. But still, I couldn’t help but worry, and my gaze kept going to him.

After hesitating and contemplating for a long time, I finally spoke up.

“Um, your body… Well, of course, I know that you’re amazing, but still, just in case, I…”

He smiled faintly, though I was careful not to say anything that might offend him, as Prim had said.

“Thank you for worrying about me.”

“Huh?”

“It feels good to be worried about after so long. None of my subordinates ever worry about me.”

“That’s…”

Peidos threw a joke or maybe a sincere remark and patted my shoulder while chuckling.

“You went through a lot today. It must have been scary, but you held up well.”

“Oh no, I survived because of you.”

As the leader, it wouldn’t have been easy for a person who should be leading the knight in order to leave his ranks.

Of course, I didn’t have an overinflated sense of self and think it was because of me. I just guessed that I must have contributed to it since he followed after I was attacked by a bird.

“Just because of me, you got hurt for no reason…”

He looked at me with a sad expression and leaned against the wall. His faint voice continued as if he was confessing.

“For a moment today, I regret becoming a holy knight for the first time.”

“…What?”

I let out a slightly louder exclamation at his abrupt words. He, who was more suited to be a holy knight than anyone else, regretted becoming one.

“If I were a magician, I could have protected you more safely.”

“…….”

I was completely caught off guard, and I remained speechless as he pulled the corners of his lips and rested his hand on my head.

“Thank you for being alive.”

“…….”

“I don’t even want to imagine what would have happened if something went wrong.”

His voice sounded so exhausted, as if he didn’t want to think of it at all.

I suddenly remembered him in the chapel. Praying earnestly with a heavy burden on his slumped shoulders.

Perhaps what weighed on his shoulders back then weren’t the lives of people like us, but the numerous commoners in the kingdom that he, as a guardian, had to protect.

When I couldn’t find the right words to say, his finger nervously twitched, and he quickly withdrew his hand, apologizing.

“Sorry. I didn’t realize…”

“Oh, no.”

Before replying, I realized he was apologizing for patting my head. I guess he thought I might take offense. He’s such a gentleman.

A warm feeling swelled within me, and I flashed a smile.

He truly is an upright and honest person. Faithful and responsible.

It seemed like my crush was only getting deeper. There’s not much you can do when it comes to matters of the heart.

Still, the fact that I could like such an amazing person made me feel lucky rather than sad.

“Sir Peidos, how long have you wanted to become a holy knight?”

In response to my question, he hesitated for a moment before opening his mouth.

“Well, there wasn’t a particular trigger. Looking back now, I think I’ve always believed that I would become a holy knight since I learned about Stella.”

After all, he is someone from House Carmel.

The Ducal family of Carmel has produced holy knights for generations. Most of them served as priests, including the successors who inherited the title. At least one holy knight emerged per generation.

So, it wouldn’t be unreasonable for him to think that way if he had been wielding a sword since childhood.

“What about you?”

“What? Me?”

If I were to speak for myself, deep down, I was a human who harbored doubts about the existence of gods. Naturally, the idea of being subservient to a temple as a yellow novice never crossed the mind of someone who had even the tiniest bit of doubt about the existence of divinity.

But it was not appropriate for me to speak like that in front of the leader of the holy knights.

“Haha, I still don’t know yet. Just came in recently, so…”

“That’s understandable.”

He chuckled lightly, picking up a small pebble and playing with it in his hand.

“You can take your time in making a decision.”

The pebble he casually tossed settled gently on the ground where a protective barrier was drawn. Its subtly glowing spherical shape was unusually trustworthy.

Peidos adjusted his posture, taking a long breath. Judging from the way he unfolded and flexed his previously bent leg, there still seemed to be traces of pain.

I glanced at him, and asked him indirectly.

“Um, do you want me to share some holy power with you?”

“What?”

Although I had suggested it, I found it awkward to meet his gaze. I had been wondering whether to mention my already insignificant skills.

“I can’t perform healing magic like Prim, but… receiving holy power still has pain-relieving effects…”