My Strange Savior - Chapter 73

Chapter 73

The morning was simple. 

Those who had finished their meals quickly continued with the cleanup. 

Gia looked at Oscar and Kalion, who were engaged in a serious conversation in the distance while helping people.

What’s there to discuss so seriously? 

Looking at Kalion, Gia realized that having a high position doesn’t make everything good. 

Life must have its share of hardships.

There would be much more to observe and consider. The responsibility on one’s shoulders seemed suffocatingly heavy.

“Done for the day.” 

Kalion said as he approached.

“Yeah.” 

Gia replied. Standing next to Kalion as if it were a familiar routine, Gia wrapped her arms around his thick waist, as if urging him to put his hand on her shoulder.

“Gi…Gia.”

“Yeah?”

Gia, who had expected the journey down the mountain to be similar to the way they came, raised her head at Kalion’s awkward voice. 

Gia’s face near Kalion’s chest seemed unusually small.

“You don’t have to support me like this anymore.”

“Huh? Why? Your leg still hurts.”

Although he had told her not to strain herself. 

Did she forget in the meantime?

Gia blinked innocently, and Kalion grabbed her slumped shoulders and pulled her to her feet.

“The master provided a carriage.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes.”

“That’s great.”

Gia laughed broadly at the fact that Kalion no longer had to strain his ankles every time he walked.

“I was thinking of getting one anyway.”

Her voice sounded pleased, and Kalion blushed and looked at the hand still wrapped around his waist in confusion.

“Where is it? Where is it?”

“It’s over there.”

Gia turned her head quickly to find the carriage, seemingly oblivious to the attention of the people around them. 

Feeling the gaze, Kalion extended his hand to stand alone. However, Gia didn’t seem to mind, though, and slung his arm over her shoulder.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes.”

With Kalion almost giving up, he leaned on Gia and walked towards the carriage.

“Just lean on me; it’s okay.”

Looking at the slumped Kalion, Gia continued her nagging.

“It’s enough, it’s enough.” 

She didn’t mind the worried words, but she couldn’t avoid feeling awkward.

Gia adjusted her pace to match the carriage, not moving away from Kalion’s flushed side.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine.”

“What about Spencer?” 

Kalion looked up at the swiftly moving clouds and clear sky.

“He went up to the summit with the master, saying he’s retrieving Rockt’s body.”

Kalion’s calm voice sounded like an inner murmur to Gia. 

“I see.”

“Yes. Please… I hope they won’t encounter Morrison.” 

He’s worried Morrison might return to the cave.

“He probably won’t go back.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah……. Only a fool would crawl back in there, and I knew something was wrong.”

At Gia’s hopeful words, Kalion looked away. 

He knew he’d be a burden if he followed his mentor with a body that hadn’t yet recovered. He could only hope they didn’t run into each other.

Gia, who noticed the worry-filled expression on Kalion’s face, clicked her tongue.

“He probably moved elsewhere. Do you think I’ve been chasing Morrison for one or two years? I wasted a whopping ten years chasing him.”

Gia poked Kalion’s arm, assuring.

“He probably won’t go back. Do you doubt me? Do you doubt what I’m saying?”

“No.”

“Hey… Look at this, look at this. Can’t believe it, huh?”

Gia playfully rolled her eyes after giving one more gentle tap to Kalion’s arm without causing pain. 

“I know everything about Morrison. I’ve been passionately chasing after him all this time, and once a place is exposed, he never goes back.”

“I hope your words are true.”

“Hehe. They are.”

With widened eyes, Gia confidently declared. 

The playful expression on her face gradually softened Kalion’s stern countenance.

“We just need to go down carefully. Got it?”

“Yes, I understand.”

Gia’s face brightened as she successfully alleviated Kalion’s concerns.

“Let’s get down from this annoying mountain quickly.”

Even in winter, on a day not too cold, Gia expressed gratitude to the sky. 

The sturdy workers pulled the carriage, slowly rolling down towards the base of the mountain.

* * *

It had been four days since Gia parted ways with Oscar’s group. 

Finally setting foot on flat ground, Gia let out a gasp of breath.

“Phew… We’ve arrived, we’ve arrived.”

“Was it very difficult for you?”

Kalion’s voice, cautious and apologetic for sitting in the carriage the entire time, flowed gently. 

Gia wondered why he felt so sorry and apologetic, and she playfully rolled her eyes at Kalion.

“You’re having strange thoughts again.”

“It’s not like that.”

“No, it’s not. My eyes can’t deceive me.”

In response to Gia’s words, Kalion chuckled. 

Gia hadn’t expected their relationship to become so close until they climbed the mountain together.

After overcoming the time when they didn’t understand each other and fought together risking their lives, the two had become much more comfortable with each other. 

Gia couldn’t believe there had been a time when they doubted and mistrusted each other.

Kalion responded to Gia’s light-hearted joke without dismissing or looking down on her, as he might have done in the past. 

When did those eyes become so gentle, and when did his voice become so soft? Thinking about the time that had passed, Gia appreciated the progress in their relationship.

From a once strained relationship to becoming reliable comrades, the feeling was not unpleasant for Gia. 

Being able to trust someone and rely on them was romantic in its own way. It was a relationship that couldn’t exist in the world she used to live in.

Trusting and relying on someone would only lead to betrayal in the end, unless she had turned into an enhanced human. Without that transformation, she would have been betrayed and turned into zombie food by people claiming to be comrades several times. 

Gia was not included among those who had many expectations and gave up one by one.

At some point, after abandoning one expectation after another, she resigned herself to living a mandatory life dictated by orders.

After all, if she goes out, it’s her body that gets hurt, and if she’s abandoned, it’s her who gets thrown away. 

Having realized this bone-deep, she lived only doing just enough to say she had done what was required.

Excluding the pursuit of Morrison, Gia had lived her life in this manner. There was no point in risking her life to guard a shelter or save survivors, as it would be useless if she died.

Therefore, in all things, she chose ‘moderation’ over ‘doing her best.’ 

The pride of rescuing people was an emotion she could only feel if she were alive, and she needed to be alive to catch Morrison.

However, here, everyone risked their lives for tasks that went unnoticed by others. Wasn’t it romantic? Being excited about being part of that group thrilled Gia.

There were now only about twenty members left, but to Gia, they were comrades. When she saw members silently taking care of her, even without saying anything, she felt a genuine sense of belonging.

Sometimes, it was hard for her to believe that she belonged to a group. The trust that someone would protect her. The confidence that she wouldn’t be betrayed. 

Those vague feelings of emptiness excited Gia.

While the initial goal was to capture Morrison, this place had become quite meaningful to Gia. 

‘So, I must catch him no matter what.’

They endured and supported each other, and looking at her comrades exchanging words of appreciation and acknowledgment, Gia’s eyes sank.

To preserve this peaceful world, so it doesn’t fall apart. 

To maintain it in its original state even without her.

The cold wind stirred the forest and lifted the sand, but Gia couldn’t erase the feeling of becoming stronger. It was an emotion she would never have felt alone. 

She was grateful to Kalion, who had given her all of this. 

As Gia watched Kalion step down from the carriage and walk with a limp, her eyes softened.

“Commander, have you arrived?”

A person in front of the stable approached Kalion’s group and greeted them. 

This was probably Oscar’s doing. Oscar hastily built the stable for the returning members. They recognized the workers who quickly identified Kalion and the carriage.

After Kalion greeted them briefly, he mounted his horse. The horse brought for pulling the carriage seemed to be somewhat similar in size to the one Kalion usually rode. 

Kalion, who had mounted with his injured leg, rotated his wrist like oiling a squeaky joint, ensuring everything was okay. Kalion then reached out his hand to Gia.

Gia stared at his perfectly healed arm for a moment, as if he had some kind of monstrous resilience.

“Oh?”

“You can’t ride a horse, can you?”

“That’s right.”

His outstretched palm was rough as if proving the many hardships he had endured. 

Knowing that it had become so calloused for the sake of protecting something, Gia stared intently at Kalion’s large hand.

“Come on. The weather is getting cold.”

He endured colder weather than this. It was characteristic of Kalion. His words were as warm as the gentle spring sunlight.

With an uplifted corner of her mouth, Gia overlaid her hand on Kalion’s firm palm. The hand that had been injured by Morrison felt tougher and stronger than before. 

Kalion lightly lifted Gia with one arm.

“Uh… Won’t this be uncomfortable?”

“It’s okay.”

When she first rode with him, she sat behind him, holding onto his waist as if it were her rightful place. So she thought it would be the same on the way back. 

However, contrary to Gia’s expectations, without realizing it, her body was now sitting directly in front of Kalion, leaning against his chest.

Feeling the awkwardness, Gia straightened her back to avoid leaning against Kalion’s chest. Kalion’s soothing baritone flowed as if to comfort the awkwardness.

“Don’t move. The horse is startled.”

His soft breath tickled the nape of her neck. 

Kalion’s voice, heard up close, always carried a calming enchantment.

Gia stopped moving her body and straightened her back, trying not to lean against Kalion’s chest.

“Relax and lean comfortably.”

“Uh… Wouldn’t it be hard for you? You still have your leg…”

“If you keep tensing up, it makes riding uncomfortable. Horses are more sensitive than you think.”

Unable to resist Kalion’s calm voice, Gia gradually released the tension in her body. As her body sagged, the center of gravity shifted naturally towards Kalion.

Leaning against his firm chest, she wondered if this was right. Maybe she should have taken someone else’s horse. 

She turned her head to look for other members, but there were only Kalion and her left around.