34. fall, isolation (4)

The color drained from Theodora’s face, and her lips trembled. Maxim pressed Theodora’s shoulders gently to prevent her from moving. Theodora exhaled with difficulty and laid down the upper body she was trying to raise. Maxim was looking down at Theodora, his eyebrows drooping.

“Your injuries are serious, Theodora. Calm down for now…”

“…What, what happened?”

Theodora frowned and asked Maxim. The pain in my leg seemed uncomfortable.

“During the confrontation with the monster, the cliff collapsed.”

“…Yeah, I can remember that much.”

Theodora could remember the splitting cliff and the feel of the sword piercing Fenrir’s nape.

“Where is this…?”

Was there a place like this in the no man’s land? Theodora looked around. Are we trapped together in the rubble? The smell of something rotting in the small cave, along with the smell of blood, was wafting around. The source of the bloody smell seemed to be a gap that looked like the entrance to a cracked cave.

“…No man’s land, inside the hole in the cliff at the end.”

“In a hole?”

Theodora asked curiously.

“How did you come here?”

“…Originally, I was going to hide in the rubble and wait for rescue.”

Maxim glanced at the back of the cave.

“Before I knew there was a Death Worm that was digging holes in the cliff.”

“…What are you talking about? A death worm that goes through cliffs?”

Maxim sighed.

“I don’t know how on earth such an entity could have been born, but there was a hole made by a very large Death Worm. The person who made the hole was getting closer and closer.”

Maxim returned his gaze to the entrance.

“I figured I wouldn’t be able to hold on until rescue came while protecting you. I came out of the collapsed cliff and found this small cave.”

Theodora hardened her face.

“…It’s a big deal.”

“It’s a big deal.”

Maxim shrugged his shoulders pretending to be calm. The entrance covered by the corpses of monsters, the light that leaked in was dim. It was gradually getting dark outside.

“sorry.”

Theodora immediately apologized.

“Suddenly, what kind of apology?”

“…If you were alone, you could have lived long enough.”

Maxim snorted and shook his head.

“No, that’s why I have to apologize.”

“I should have thrown it away.”

Maxim’s face hardened.

“Don’t even joke about it.”

“It wasn’t a joke.”

Theodora looked up at Maxim with sad eyes. Theodora’s eyes glowed gray in the slowly sinking twilight. Dark clouds swirled. Maxim looked into her eyes, closed them, and sighed.

“Theodora, don’t be fooled. Both of us will be rescued alive. Either get yourself out of the f*cking wilderness.”

Maxim spoke forcefully to Theodora.

“Don’t say things like being a burden. Instead, curse at me for not being able to take me out earlier.”

“Maxim.”

“I will tell you one thing.”

Theodora pursed her lips and looked at Maxim’s serious expression.

“If you can’t escape this place, I won’t either. If you die, I will die too.”

Theodora’s eyes twitched. Maxim leaned his head against the wall as if tired.

“…”

Theodora couldn’t answer and looked at the ceiling. Saying thank you would have been fine, but expressing gratitude was harder than apologizing. Maxim changed the atmosphere by removing the back of his head from the wall.

“First, let’s discuss how to get out of here and request help.”

“Won’t they think we’re dead up there?”

“…Maybe, but I don’t think so.”

“why?”

“Are you a very important force in the kingdom, and a promising player that the entire continent is paying attention to?”

Theodora laughed as she lay down.

“It’s been a long time since I heard that sound…”

Theodora let out a weak breath.

“Speaking of rescue, I don’t know if I still have a case hanging from my waist… Oh, there is.”

“You mean the signal flare?”

Theodora nodded, removed the small bag, and opened it. Maxim was watching the single flare fired by Theodora.

“Your?”

“…I think I lost it while falling.”

Only then did Maxim remember the existence of the flare, and he groped his waist, but there was no bag he could touch.

“You only get one chance.”

“right.”

Theodora tightened her arms and raised herself.

“You can’t overdo it.”

“It’s not too much. If you lie down, how are you going to respond when the monsters come in from over there?”

Theodora frowned and leaned her back against the wall. She was looking down at her right leg.

“It’s completely gone.”

“Don’t even think about walking around.”

At Maxim’s words, Theodora shook her head.

“If you use mana to suppress the pain and strengthen the body, it will be fine. There are some things you tied up well.”

Theodora carefully touched her shin. Maxim was looking at the bridge with concerned eyes.

“it’s okay. As long as you escape, you will be treated right away.”

It was completely dark outside now. It was when the demons’ predation began in earnest. Monsters appear more often and more often at night than during the day. I could hear the awakened monsters roaring and rustling as they roamed the wilderness. Hunting and fighting took place, and the fishy smell of blood and flesh began to intensify.

“Should we have started the search today?”

Theodora muttered as she turned her head toward the entrance.

“Even so, they would have withdrawn by now… It would be too dangerous for the search team if they stayed here even at night.”

Maxim changed his posture to a more comfortable position. This small cave was only wide enough for Maxim to lie down. Theodora and Maxim could stretch their legs at the same time. Maxim relaxed his body by using the trick to conserve his stamina.

“I’ll have to spend the night quietly here.”

Theodora looked at Maxim with her right leg drooping and only her left leg wrapped around it. Maxim said, looking at Theodora’s tired face.

“I’ll stay up all night first. Sleep when you’re tired.”

she stayed still Maxim slipped away from Theodora’s cloud-colored gaze, which was staring at him.

“…Maxim.”

Theodora hesitated. He felt like he would be an idiot if he talked to Maxim here now. On the border of life and death, she wondered what the importance of their relationship was, but even so, Theodora had a hard time talking to Maxim.

What should I say to the knight with that tired face?

I didn’t want to bring up the story of the past again, and I hated the story of the present even more. But she had to talk. If it wasn’t now, I don’t think that man would answer, and I wouldn’t think he would talk to Maxim like this.

It was such a stupid pride, and it was a deep and petty-looking hatred. Theodora was disgusted with herself. For now, Theodora decided not to think about anything. I just wanted to tell a story. Rather than breaking the chains that bind them together, I wanted to tell a story about how they got together.

Yes, perhaps since the day before yesterday, when he kicked Maxim out of the room for rejecting him, Theodora couldn’t help but think.

“Turn back the time for a moment.”

Maxim raised his head from the wall at the words that came out of Theodora’s mouth.

“Let’s go back to three years ago and talk about it.”

Maxim looked at Theodora. He seemed to have made a lot of decisions. The uneasy, trembling determination floated in those eyes. Maxim felt an unknown feeling. That feeling, like an impulse, stimulated Maxim from deep within.

“suddenly?”

“yes. suddenly.”

Maxim’s eyes trembled at Theodora’s determined attitude. However, he soon came to his senses and tried to cut off the conversation Theodora was trying to have.

“…It’s just a story that will hurt you.”

“yes. I will live with that wound forever and ever.”

Theodora took a deep breath, buried her head in her lap, and raised her up again.

“Your engagement. Is that what you wanted?”

Maxim closed his eyes after receiving Theodora’s question. Fearing that Theodora would think it was strange if she showed her wavering eyes, he was embarrassed, but Maxim avoided Theodora’s eyes.

“yes.”

“that’s…”

Maxim let out a sigh.

“It’s a family situation, nothing, I just took it.”

“…Maxim.”

Maxim denied it to the end. Then he pushed Theodora away. The emotion in Theodora’s eyes did not change.

“I didn’t want an answer like that, not an explanation.”

Theodora frowned slightly, as if her right leg was uncomfortable. Maxim could not hide his trembling heart at her words.

“Theodora, if you ask me that, I have no choice but to deny it. An explanation or something, I’m just telling the truth.”

Theodora looked at Maxim silently. Maxim did not have the confidence to endure this situation any longer. I thought it would be the end if I just got hated, but it wasn’t. Theodora was a much stronger, more resilient person than Maxim had thought, even more than her father had expected.

“Maxim.”

Theodora called for Maxim. It was a quiet voice.

“It snowed that day.”

She deliberately portrayed the scenery of the day they parted as if bringing up painful memories.

“Not many came. It wasn’t sleet, it was just snow falling slowly, little by little, like sugar. There was no wind, and it was my favorite weather, not cold for winter.”

Listening to Theodora’s words, Maxim recalled the scene of the day.

“I don’t remember after you said we should break up. What did I say, and what did you try to answer me? I would have just… cried, cursed, and fought.”

“Theodora.”

Maxim tried to stop Theodora, but Theodora didn’t care and continued her story.

“Maxim, there are still many things I do not understand. Why didn’t you use your aura, why did you become a fallen knight in such a knighthood, why… why are you so close to the vice-captain even though you have a fiancée?”

Maxim lowered his head when he saw Theodora, who was answering questions one by one.

“I don’t know, Maxim. I. I hate you, I hate you so much…”

Maxim did not answer Theodora’s words, with a shadow cast over his face. Theodora sighed as she watched Maxim remain silent until the end.

Time passed. One second was a heavy flow like one hour. Theodora bit her lip.

“Theodora.”

Then, Maxim opened his mouth. It was a look that contained so many things, and it was a voice. Theodora involuntarily fixed her eyes on that expression.

“Let’s get out alive.”

It was a very out of the blue, not even an answer. But Theodora opened her eyes wide and looked at Maxim. Maxim had a small smile. It was a very sad smile. Theodora couldn’t say anything more about Maxim’s answer.

Theodora put her forehead on her crouched knee. I thought it would clear my mind, but it turned out to be rather complicated. Since I set out to stay awake first, I’m sure you’ll understand.

Theodora closed her eyes. Maxim kept looking at Theodora like that.

“You must be tired.”

As Maxim said that, he smiled wryly at Theodora, who fell asleep. It was like a storm had come to my mind. Between truth and lies, past and present, Maxim’s memories and thoughts intersect.

The confession and truth that he couldn’t bear to put in his mouth were too bitter.

I didn’t know if I would survive right away or I might die right here, but it was a luxury to worry and think like that.

Maxim laughed.

Rather, it was at a point where life and death were at stake, so I didn’t even know that I was having these worries and thoughts. Maxim raised his hand over his breastplate. Below them, heartbeats and curses lurked.

‘Maxim, in the end, only he can bring someone out of the abyss of agony and despair.’

Well, Mr. Paola.

Maxim habitually reached out to stroke Theodora’s hair, but then stopped abruptly and lowered his arm back to the floor.

I don’t know how the words ‘Let’s go out alive’ must have sounded in Theodora’s ears.

Maxim saw the dimly moonlit entrance to the cave.

The cries of the monsters echoed forever, as if they would overturn this world. However, in Maxim’s eyes, rather than despair over the situation, only the will to survive was burning.