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Let's rewind a little.

The moment Cang Xiaoxi fell into the abyss alongside Fenrir, Jikuhir didn't even think. She spread her wings, dove after him, caught him, and fell with him into the seemingly endless chasm.

Probably because she was already injured and had kept casting magic, Jikuhir couldn't control her wings very well during the fall.

From time to time, falling rocks struck her along the way.

Even so, Jikuhir still didn't let go of the unconscious boy in her arms.

"Don't worry. I absolutely won't let you die. Even if it takes one life for another, I still won't let go."

She glanced at the boy in her arms, then at the cavern below, whose end was impossible to see, and at the dense shower of falling rocks around them.

If she were in perfect condition, it'd be one thing.

But in Jikuhir's current state, flying back up and escaping was obviously impossible.

That meant she only had one choice left.

"Alright, let's do this!"

She drew in her silver-white wings slightly. Her gaze turned firm. Then she suddenly accelerated downward, blasting away the surrounding rubble as she charged.

At last, after falling all the way down and knocking aside the debris around them, there came a loud splash-like boom.

The two of them had reached the very bottom of the abyss.

"Hey, Cang Xiaoxi, wake up! I know you're still alive, so wake up already!"

The moment her feet touched the ground, she pulled back her wings.

Jikuhir didn't even bother checking her own injuries. She put all her attention on Cang Xiaoxi instead.

"Mmh... mm..."

"Hm?! Cang Xiaoxi!"

In response to the girl's anxious calls, the boy let out a few faint murmurs.

But they were only murmurs. There was still no sign of him waking up.

The reason was the wound on his back.

It wasn't especially deep, but for someone like Cang Xiaoxi, who had never gone through anything like this before, it was still serious.

If she wanted him to wake up quickly, the first priority was to heal that wound.

Unfortunately, Jikuhir had no aptitude for healing magic.

After all, magic with healing power was classified under the water element. Ice was similar to water in some ways, but whether low-tier, mid-tier, high-tier, or even Divine Tier ice magic, none of it involved healing.

In other words, if she wanted to heal him, there was only...

"I can only use this on him."

She took out the half-bottle of potion she had gotten back from Cang Xiaoxi earlier.

Jikuhir hesitated.

In this era of constant wars and unrest, potions were already incredibly rare.

Not to mention medicine like this, which could almost instantly heal even a Divine Tier powerhouse.

It was only natural for her to waver.

More importantly, she and the boy had only known each other for a single day. They really weren't that close.

But...

"I have to save him. No matter the cost."

There was no special reason. Her heart simply told her she had to do it.

So she stopped hesitating and used the very last of the medicine she had on Cang Xiaoxi.

...

"And then my wound got healed..."

After hearing Jikuhir's explanation, Cang Xiaoxi fell into thoughtful silence. Jikuhir answered with silence of her own.

Now that he knew he was the one who had been helped again, Cang Xiaoxi's feelings were a little complicated.

Still, no matter how complicated they were, he thanked her first for everything she had done.

"Anyway, thanks for taking care of me. Thank you, Dragon Sovereign."

"N-no need to thank me. You saved me too, so this... this was only right..."

Jikuhir answered haltingly, and she didn't look at him.

Cang Xiaoxi guessed she was conflicted. After all, the relationship between the Dragonkin and the human race, which was close to his own, wasn't exactly friendly. Even if she was only repaying a debt, accepting it emotionally was probably still difficult.

So he changed the subject.

"But... why were you holding me while we slept... slept together?"

The boy sounded a little awkward.

At this point, Cang Xiaoxi understood everything that had happened while he was unconscious.

Everything except the part where this girl, who looked like a child, had held him while sleeping.

Sharing a bed with a girl, even if nothing happened, still wasn't exactly something he could proudly talk about.

After spending this time together, Cang Xiaoxi didn't dislike Jikuhir, but that didn't mean he liked her either.

If this had really turned into the morning after, then that would be...

"So what exactly happened?"

Cang Xiaoxi didn't dare let his imagination keep going, so he asked again.

"Um... well... that's because..."

She squeezed her little hands against her knees, and her tail swayed back and forth in a cute, restless motion.

Jikuhir's stammering startled him.

This couldn't seriously be the morning after, right? But our clothes are still on properly. And with a body like mine, I shouldn't even be capable of that kind of reaction.

The boy's mind raced.

In the end, based on the fact that a child's body like this couldn't possibly have that kind of physiological response, he concluded that he was still innocent.

Yeah. That's right. Definitely innocent!

"Ahem. Well, if there's some hidden reason and it's hard to talk about, then I won't ask. Anyway, let's look for a way out first."

"..."

After calming himself down, Cang Xiaoxi took the initiative to end the topic and began exploring the unknown area.

Jikuhir, meanwhile, silently nodded and followed behind him like a little attendant.

Using the glowing stones embedded in the cavern walls for light, the two of them headed deeper into the cave, toward an unknown distance.

At the same time, they talked about where Fenrir, who had fallen down with them while frozen in ice, might have ended up.

The conclusion was that even Jikuhir had no idea where exactly it had fallen.

Still, since it was frozen solid, even if it was alive, it wouldn't pose any threat to them for the time being.

The two of them reached that conclusion almost in sync, then agreed to stop worrying about it.

And so, with the topic of Fenrir over, neither of them said much after that. The rest of the time was spent traveling, staying alert to their surroundings, and Jikuhir quietly watching Cang Xiaoxi from one side.

In truth, there was still one thing Jikuhir hadn't told him about what happened after he lost consciousness.

And that was exactly what led to the two of them sleeping while holding each other.

"'Xiaoxue... why... why did you leave me...?'"

That was the sentence Cang Xiaoxi had repeated over and over after falling unconscious.

Naturally, she didn't know who this Xiaoxue person was.

But at the same time, it wasn't like she knew nothing.

It had already been mentioned before. At the moment Cang Xiaoxi did that incomprehensible thing and somehow poured more magic power into a spell that had already taken shape, memories that did not belong to Jikuhir flowed into her mind.

They were memories from when Cang Xiaoxi had still been on Earth.

Through those memories, Jikuhir learned that although Cang Xiaoxi hadn't come here through the Sage summoning ritual, there was no doubt that he came from the same world as the Sages.

In that world, the boy in those memories had smiled so happily all the way until the age of fifteen that it was impossible to connect him with how he was now.

He had been an ordinary boy in the truest sense. The kind you could find anywhere.

But as time passed, his smile gradually disappeared.

And the trigger for all of it was two women.

One was his mother.

The other was the person he called Xiaoxue.

They must have hurt him deeply. Otherwise, he wouldn't have become like this.

As Jikuhir recalled those fragments of the boy's memories, all the dissatisfaction she had felt toward Cang Xiaoxi's smug personality vanished after she finished treating him.

What remained was only tenderness and anger on his behalf.

She was angry for him, angry at those two women who broke their promises and abandoned him. She felt indignant for him, for having given his feelings to women like that. And she worried for him too, worried about the future he'd face if he kept going on like this...

Since Cang Xiaoxi's current state was practically a second life, then he shouldn't keep being trapped by the past.

In this new second life, he not only had to let it all go, he had to find a place where he truly belonged again.

As she kept thinking, Jikuhir gradually realized why she hadn't disliked Cang Xiaoxi from the very beginning.

And the resolve she had made after receiving those memories from him became even firmer.

"Alright, I've decided. Cang Xiaoxi, there's something I want to—"

"Shh. There's movement up ahead."

At the exact moment Jikuhir spoke, Cang Xiaoxi raised a finger to stop her and pointed forward.

"What is it? Is there something up ahead?"

Her cheeks puffed up. Being interrupted clearly made the little girl unhappy.

But when she followed his gesture and looked in that direction, veins instantly bulged on her forehead. The overwhelming fury worthy of the strongest Dragon Sovereign appeared on her face.

"Those bastards... why are they here?!"

The unified armor made it obvious they were a squad. Heavy, luxurious, and gleaming under the light of the glowing stones in the cave.

The emblem on their right arms clearly marked them as belonging to the Empire.

One glance was enough to tell who they served.

The Dragonkin's mortal enemies. The imperial soldiers who had kept provoking war after war. The very existence the Dragon Sovereign dreamed of wiping out in one sweep.

And now, without a doubt, they were standing right in front of her.

"Those bastards, I'm going to kill them!"

Thinking of the Dragonkin children abducted by the imperial soldiers before, several of whom had already been confirmed dead, Jikuhir's rage burst out like a volcano.

Her nails lengthened at once. She was ready to charge out immediately, catch them off guard, and make them pay.

However...

"Wait a second!"

Cang Xiaoxi grabbed Jikuhir and stopped her.

"Why are you—"

Jikuhir was just about to ask why he was stopping her, but Cang Xiaoxi said nothing. He only pointed toward the area where the imperial soldiers were most concentrated and signaled with his eyes for her to look there.

Following his gaze, Jikuhir looked.

And there, standing among them, was a girl completely different from the imperial soldiers in dress, age, and status...