An Extra's Rise in a Romance Fantasy Novel-Chapter 36: Leaving for Starhallow [2]

Testing Third Person POV

The air was cold when they left the cottage. Not freezing, but sharp enough to bite at Leon’s cheeks. Sylveon walked beside him, quiet for once, his soft steps barely touching the ground. The forest trees rose high around them like tall, dark guardians. Their branches stretched far overhead, blocking most of the sky, letting only thin lines of moonlight fall on the ground.

For a long time, they walked without speaking. Just the sound of leaves crunching, the distant hoot of some night bird, and the low hum of the wind moving between branches.

Sylveon was the first to break the silence.

[You are thinking too much again.]

Leon let out a slow breath. "I’m just planing our next move."

[Still doesn’t change anything.]

Leon looked down at him. "That’s called being responsible."

Sylveon flicked his tail. [If you say so.]

Leon’s lips twitched. "Is that your way of calling me stubborn?"

[You? Stubborn? Never.] Sylveon’s tone dripped with sarcasm, even through the mental link.

Leon shook his head, but his smile faded soon after. His eyes shifted past the trees. He couldn’t see it yet, but he knew the settlement wasn’t too far. Evergreen was scattered with small villages and towns. This one should be peaceful enough. Maybe.

He hoped.

He had no name to give them besides Haldrin. No money. No real skill yet, except swinging a sword with determination and no technique. And no proof he wasn’t some lost criminal wandering through the woods.

But he had to try.

He needed a map. Supplies. Information. A path to Starhallow.

He couldn’t stay hidden in the forest forever.

Sylveon stopped moving. Leon turned, confused, and then he saw it—Sylveon wasn’t looking at the path ahead but at him.

[You are worried.]

Leon shrugged. "A little."

[Why? Didn’t you say you already made a plan?]

"That’s why I’m worried," Leon said. "Plans can fail."

Sylveon blinked twice. [Then we make a new one.]

Leon breathed out and nodded. "Yeah. That’s one way."

They kept walking again, pushing through thick bushes. The branches scraped at Leon’s clothes, snagging here and there, but Sylveon moved through them like mist. The magical beast didn’t disturb a single leaf.

Leon still wasn’t used to that.

After another hour, the trees thinned enough that Leon could see a faint orange glow in the distance. Fires. Lamps. Human life.

They were close.

He slowed down and placed a hand on Sylveon’s back.

"Stop here."

Sylveon obeyed, but confusion swirled in his bright eyes. [Why?]

Leon turned to him and crouched, resting his arms on his knees.

"This is where we camp."

Sylveon tilted his head. [But the settlement is right there.]

"I know."

[Then why not walk in? You need help. They have food. Beds. Money. Tools. You need all of that. Why sleep out here like a lost rabbit?]

Leon sighed and looked up at the dim moon. "Because you can’t come with me."

Sylveon froze.

His tail lowered.

His ears flicked back a little.

[You are leaving me?]

Leon shook his head quickly. "No. Not like that. Listen."

He reached forward and placed his palm gently on Sylveon’s head. The beast leaned into the touch.

"You can’t walk into a human settlement," Leon said. " You’re a magical beast. Anyone who sees you will either scream, run, or try to kill you."

Sylveon already knew all this thing, but still he persisted, he was afraid that Leon might leave him.

[Kill me? Why? I am not hurting anyone.]

"Doesn’t matter," Leon said quietly. "Humans fear what they don’t understand. And they try to own anything rare. A magical beast with your look? They’ll want you. Your body. Your everything. Some may try to tame you. Some may try to sell you."

Sylveon let out a low, irritated sound. [How annoying.]

Leon let out a soft laugh. "Yeah. Welcome to human nature."

Sylveon’s gaze softened a little. [So what is the plan then?]

Leon pointed toward a thick cluster of trees. They were tall enough and close enough that someone could hide there easily without being spotted from the settlement walls.

"We stay here," Leon said. "Tonight, we camp. High up in the branches, away from wandering eyes. Tomorrow morning, when the gates open, I’ll go inside alone."

Sylveon didn’t say anything for a moment.

[And me?]

"You stay hidden in the forest," Leon said.

Sylveon’s tail flicked. [And then what?]

Leon took a slow breath and laid out the rest.

"I’ll enter the settlement. Find work. Earn some coin. Then I rent an inn room. A cheap one. Nothing fancy. Just something with a door that locks."

Sylveon listened carefully, ears twitching with each step of the explanation.

"Then," Leon continued, "when it’s late at night and the streets are empty, I’ll come back out to the woods. I’ll lead you to the inn. You’ll slip inside quietly. No one will see."

Sylveon blinked. [You want me to hide in your room.]

"For a few days," Leon said. "Long enough to gather what we need. After that, we’ll leave together. Starhallow is still far, and I’m not leaving without you."

[You care about me that much?]

Leon hesitated, but only for a second.

"Yes."

Sylveon lowered his head. For once, he didn’t look mischievous or sarcastic or overly confident. He looked... touched.

[Very well. Then I will trust your plan.]

Leon exhaled, relieved.

They walked toward a large tree with thick, twisting roots. The trunk stretched up wider than a cottage, with branches like long arms reaching toward the sky. Sylveon climbed first, his claws gripping the bark with ease. Leon followed slowly, using small footholds and roots that curled like natural steps.

They settled high above the forest floor, on a strong branch wide enough for both to sit comfortably.

Below them, the lights of the settlement flickered like fireflies behind a thin line of trees.

Leon leaned his back against the trunk. His body was tired, heavier than it should have been. Training in the Inverted Bead Realm still pulsed through his muscles, leaving a faint ache. His hands were rough. His knuckles still cracked when he flexed them.

But he felt steady.

Ready.

Sylveon curled beside him, warm and soft, like a living blanket.

For a while, neither spoke. The night carried on around them, the forest whispering with the sounds of insects and the soft rustle of leaves.

Then Sylveon finally asked the question he’d been holding.

[Why are you pushing yourself so hard? You could stay hidden here forever. Elijah would not stop you. No one knows where you are. The world would forget you.]

Leon stared at the settlement lights.

"My world wouldn’t," he said.

[Is it because of Marcella?]

Leon’s breath hitched a little.

"That’s part of it."

[And the other part?]

Leon looked down at his hands. They were shaking faintly. From exhaustion or resolve—he wasn’t sure.

"I don’t want to live like a man who’s controlled by fate," he said. "I’ve already tried that once. I won’t do it again without trying everything I can."

Sylveon watched him quietly.

Leon nodded to his thoughts, as he muttered in a very low voice, "I can reach."

[Reach what?] Sylveon asked, as he could hear what Leon muttered, due to his keen hearing.

Leon didn’t answer.

He couldn’t.

The memories of the Haldrin soul still lingered at the edge of his thoughts—fragmented moments of a life filled with war, pain, and devotion. The old Leon and the Leon he was now weren’t the same, but they weren’t separate either. Two lines crossing into one path.

The beast nudged his arm. [Then I will follow you.]

Leon smiled. "Thank you."

[But if humans attack you, I will bite them.]

Leon laughed under his breath. "No biting."

[Then clawing?]

"Preferably not."

Sylveon huffed.

They both settled in, letting the night deepen around them.

After some time, Leon spoke again, his voice quiet but steady.

"When morning comes, things will move fast. Don’t come down from the trees. Don’t get close to the walls. Don’t make any noise. I’ll return by evening or nightfall."

[If you don’t return, I will come looking.]

Leon shook his head. "No. If I don’t return, you run."

Sylveon’s eyes narrowed. [I won’t leave you behind.]

"You will," Leon said. "Because if I get caught or questioned, I can still talk my way out. You can’t. They’ll kill you before you open your mouth."

Sylveon fell silent.

Finally, he said, [Humans are unreasonable.]

"Yes," Leon said softly. "But they also have kindness. Not all of them are the same. Someone in that settlement will help me. I just need one chance."

He rested his head against the tree, feeling the rough bark press into his back. The wind brushed past them, cool and fresh, carrying the distant scent of smoke from the settlement fires.

He let his eyes close. Not to sleep, but to rest.

Sylveon leaned against him again.

[We will reach Starhallow.]

Leon nodded slowly. "We will."

[And then?]

Leon opened his eyes and looked out toward the settlement, toward the faint line of the road far beyond it, toward the thousands of miles he still had to cross.

"Then," he said, "the real journey starts."

They watched the settlement lights until they dimmed and flickered out, one by one, as the villages fell asleep. The forest grew quieter. The moon drifted higher.

And the two of them stayed awake, preparing for the day that would soon break.

Tomorrow, Leon would walk into the human world again, for the first time since he came to this world.

Tomorrow, everything would begin.