"Run."

"Huh?"

No, what's the point of going?

Ian shook his head vaguely.

"No, no. Forget what I said."

At that moment, Keith opened the door. Grabbing the unconscious elf by the back of the neck, he carried him outside.

"Take the wounded to the temple."

"Yes, sir!"

The door closed again. The noise of voices outside disappeared. Stunned, Ian looked up at Keith.

What the...

Keith lowered himself onto one knee. Ian's gaze followed him downward.

Looking at Ian as though he were an object of worship, Keith spoke calmly.

"There is no one in this room but us. Please speak freely."

"...?"

"What solution have you come up with? If you are refraining from speaking because you are concerned about your subordinates, that is unnecessary. I will carry it out."

"No."

Ian shook his head. Keith had completely misunderstood.

"No. That's not it. We're completely screwed. Everyone's going to die. What plan? There is no plan. This whole thing is..."

Suddenly stopping, Ian buried his face in his hands.

This whole thing.

If this were a game—

"End game."

The status window gave no response.

Heat surged through him. Veins stood out in Ian's neck.

"I'm ending the game. I'm ending it! I'm done! I quit!"

He swung his fist. Before he could hit anything, a knight's hand caught it.

"Ian."

Ding. Ding.

The notification sound ringing inside his head wouldn't stop.

"You bastard. It's working, isn't it?! Then why won't it shut off?!"

Ian wanted to smash his own head. But the arm firmly restrained by the knight would not move.

Part of him realized Keith would think he had gone insane, but even that rational thought only threw more fuel onto the fire.

So what?

They were all going to die anyway.

And if Keith died, it would be because of him.

God damn it...

It was disgusting.

"Ian."

Then Keith gripped his arm firmly and met his gaze.

A flawless face drew close enough to touch.

At a distance where they could have kissed, the white knight spoke.

Ian thought Keith might be frowning at him.

Looking at him with fear.

Or disgust.

No matter how blindly devoted he was, surely this was the point where he would realize Ian was insane...

But he didn't.

As devout as ever, Keith asked,

"What do you see?"

What do I see?

Ian blanked.

Did Keith know something?

No.

Keith simply believed Ian possessed some sort of prophetic ability.

But he didn't.

For the first time, Ian felt as though he had been deceiving Keith.

"The dungeon's location has been exposed. The demons are going to come. They'll keep coming until the dungeon collapses."

"I see."

Keith nodded calmly.

"Then what should we do?"

Did this bastard actually hear me?

Ian genuinely wondered.

"There is no strategy. We'll fight until we die."

"Are you saying we will be defeated?"

"Yes."

Even as he answered, it felt as though all the blood was draining from his body.

"The strategy you devised cannot possibly end that way."

"...?"

Ian was speechless.

The world felt as though it were spinning, yet his vision had somehow become clearer.

What filled Keith's eyes was absolute trust.

"Are you even listening to me?"

"Yes? Of course I am."

"The success rate for this defense is ten-something percent. No, not even ten percent."

"So you're saying we must accept risk in order to carry out your orders."

Ian became convinced this idiot simply wasn't understanding.

Yet Keith's blue eyes remained fixed on him.

Ian couldn't remember when those picture-perfect eyes had begun carrying such warmth.

Or maybe...

Maybe he was understanding.

Keith spoke gently.

"And even if the plan is reckless, that's fine."

"...?"

"Most of the plans you've made have been."

This bastard.

Ian finally came fully to his senses.

Strength returned to his fist.

But Keith's face was far too close.

He smiled.

"Isn't that why I'm here?"

"..."

"There is no possibility that I will fail to carry out the orders you give me."

His voice, full of certainty, brushed against Ian's lips.

Their bodies pressed together. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

Warmth flowed between them.

A solid chest pressed against Ian's body, and strong arms wrapped around him.

That warmth comforted him.

So did the soft kiss.

It gave him strength.

It had always been that way.

Ian relied on Keith.

More than anyone, he trusted Keith's strength.

The only thing he had never trusted was Keith's fanatical devotion.

Who knew when Keith might decide to abandon him?

And when that day came, it was obvious Ian's head would no longer be attached to his body.

But now he also knew Keith would not abandon him.

He believed it.

Believe ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) who?

A fragment of reason raised its head.

In a world where even parents abandoned their children, who could truly trust anyone?

Jeong Iwon had seen countless children in the orphanage who believed their parents would come back for them.

That faith was never rewarded.

Those who once spoke of dreams eventually learned to keep their mouths shut.

But this was a game, wasn't it?

This world wasn't built like that.

Kindness was repaid with kindness.

Favors were returned.

Loyalty and affection worked exactly as the visible numbers said they did.

A world that could be trusted.

That was the world Jeong Iwon had fallen into.

No matter how dark the setting was, no matter how much despair lay ahead, no one here abandoned you.

"Ian. Please grant me Purification. So that I may fulfill my role against the threat to come. Please... grant me your grace."

Keith's lips trailed down his neck.

Every place they touched seemed to burst into flame.

Shiver.

Purification.

Ian tried not to react too strongly.

Right.

There was still time before the event notification appeared and the large-scale battle began.

The game was giving them a preparation period.

Keith was their most important combat asset.

Purifying him beforehand was important...

A warm, ticklish sensation brushed against an oversensitive tip.

Ian hadn't even noticed when his trousers had been removed.

Everything simply felt endlessly soft.

His length disappeared into a dark cavern.

"Ah..."

A moan escaped before he could stop it.

Rubbing the back of his head against the wall, Ian struggled to endure the overwhelming sensation.

He could feel Keith laughing.

The absurdity of sensing someone else's laughter there made him unbearably embarrassed.

Ian covered his face.

The next moment, Keith released him.

Why?

It was disappointing to leave such a warm, pleasant place.

Looking down through the gaps between his fingers, Ian met Keith's upturned gaze.

"...!"

"Haha."

Keith's clear laughter rang out.

Ian turned scarlet all the way to the back of his neck and squeezed his eyes shut.

"You..."

"Does it feel good?"

"Mm..."

This was only an act of Purification.

A skill activation.

Nothing more than relieving each other's desires through intimate contact so that the Purification skill would take effect.

There was no deeper meaning.

It was simply...

"Mm..."

As if helping him pleasure himself, Keith stroked his shaft while burying his face between Ian's legs.

A sharp nose brushed against his sac.

A tongue swept across his perineum.

"Ah!"

Ian threw his head back.

In doing so, he failed to notice Keith's lips tracing along his exposed throat.

It felt too good.

Keith's technique had grown more skillful by the day.

Now he could instantly tell which touches would leave Ian unable to endure any longer.

Whether Swordsmanship granted bonuses for things like this was another question entirely.

Ian refused to think of this as foreplay.

Whenever the word surfaced in his mind, he erased it.

The tongue that had been tirelessly licking his perineum moved lower.

It touched the opening swollen with anticipation.

"Ah—!"

The stimulation was too intense.

The back of his head rubbed helplessly against the wall.

Mistaking that movement for rejection, Keith stopped.

"Keep going."

The order left Ian's mouth.

A moment later he realized what he had just said and wanted to bite off his tongue, but Keith had already heard it.

"Ah... ah..."

Each time the broad tongue spread and licked upward, the entrance softened further.

His rigid body responded to the stimulation, heating up and melting.

Then his ankle was seized.

Keith's large hand wrapped around it.

Looking up with blue eyes so reverent they almost seemed holy, he pleaded.

"Ian."

"Hm?"

"Please step on me."

"...?!"

Is he insane?

Ian doubted his own ears.

But Keith's meaning seemed perfectly clear.

His eyes didn't waver in the slightest.

And hadn't Keith just been doing all of that to him?

Not because Ian had asked.

Not because he thought he wanted it.

But still...

If the other person could do something like that without hesitation, wasn't it awkward for him to be the one holding back?

That wouldn't be fair.

Hoo...

Steeling himself, Ian pressed the sole of his foot between Keith's legs.

Press.

The erection already straining beneath Keith's trousers swelled frighteningly.

"...!?"