The night was deep.

After the sun of the 23rd dungeon floor disappeared, stars would appear in the sky. It was exactly like the world on the surface.

The bonfire crackled, a sound that was very reassuring.

Although there were no magical beasts nearby, they still couldn't let their guard down. Felyn and Zervanie took turns keeping watch to prevent any accidents.

"Fe-Felyn..."

Zervanie, who had crawled into the sleeping bag next to him, softly called Felyn's name. The frown on her face gradually eased.

It seemed like she was dreaming.

Felyn sat on a rock, mending clothes with a needle and thread.

His own clothes were a bit too big for Zervanie to wear. Felyn planned to alter the pant legs and waist, at least so they wouldn't hinder Zervanie's movements. Since there was nothing else to do right now, he might as well use it to pass the time.

"Felyn..."

However, having a beautiful girl constantly calling his name in her sleep next to him made it really difficult to calm down.

A few strands of hair stuck to the corner of Zervanie's mouth, accentuating the perfect curve of her cheek.

Felyn looked at Zervanie like this and stopped the work in his hands.

Whether in reality or in the illusion, Felyn had thoroughly felt Zervanie's feelings for him.

"Nnngh~" Zervanie stretched, her feet lifting slightly.

Then she rubbed her eyes and slowly opened them.

Seeing this scene, Felyn suddenly felt that Zervanie's sky-blue eyes shouldn't exist in the human world; they were a stunning beauty that belonged to the heavens.

"Felyn, is it time?" She turned on her side, hooking a strand of hair from the corner of her mouth with her little finger.

"Not yet. You can sleep a little longer."

Perhaps because Felyn was by her side, Zervanie slept exceptionally sweetly, as if she had returned to the days of the contract when she could rely on Felyn without restraint.

And so, she dreamed. She dreamed of Felyn's illusion and knew what role she played by Felyn's side in that illusion.

That feeling was very strange, like a dream she never wanted to wake up from.

But she couldn't kiss Felyn in the dream, so Zervanie still wanted to return to reality.

The firelight reflected on her face. When Zervanie saw clearly that Felyn was altering the size of the clothes for her, her sleepiness vanished.

Just like in the old days, Felyn was taking care of her, thinking for her.

"Felyn, actually I..."

Halfway through her sentence, Zervanie's stomach rumbled.

The unexpected sound made Zervanie quickly cover her stomach and lower her head in embarrassment.

"Are you hungry?"

"N-no, it wasn't me. I would never make that kind of sound."

Felyn put down the clothes and rummaged through his backpack, pulling out a bento box he had made himself.

"Here, for you. I ate dinner before I came. You probably haven't eaten, right?"

Felyn knew Zervanie must have rushed over in a hurry and definitely hadn't eaten dinner.

"Eh? But if I eat your portion, Felyn, then you..."

Zervanie hesitated. It had been a long time since she had eaten Felyn's home-cooked food, but she was also afraid of truly becoming a burden to him, a burden who couldn't help with anything and only knew how to gobble down food.

"I brought a portion for two." Felyn handed the bento box to Zervanie. "I had a feeling you would follow me, so I prepared an extra one."

Zervanie took the bento box from Felyn, brought her knees together, and placed it on her lap.

The heating sigil activated, and warmth spread from the bento box to Zervanie's skin.

"Felyn... you're still the same as before... always so considerate." She clutched the bento box tightly, wanting to hold onto this hard-won warmth.

"Why does that sound like something an ex-girlfriend would say?" Felyn didn't look up at Zervanie; he was focused on his needlework at the moment.

When the words "ex-girlfriend" reached Zervanie's mind, her sky-blue eyes widened.

An ex-girlfriend, at least she would have had a romantic history with Felyn, right?

Oh no, why do I feel a little happy?

Zervanie didn't say this thought out loud, but instead said the opposite. "No way. I haven't even been your current girlfriend, how did I suddenly become an ex-girlfriend?"

That's right. Instead of reminiscing about the past, it's better to take the initiative and seize the present.

This sentence was like a stone dropped into an abyss, receiving no response.

Zervanie wasn't in a hurry. She hugged her knees and, while waiting for the food to heat up, she looked up at the stars with her mouth open like a child.

Felyn needed time to process the relationship between them; Zervanie knew this very well.

"Felyn, look, the stars here are the same as on the surface. There are even constellations." She pointed to the sky, sharing with Felyn.

"Those are all fake stars."

Felyn also followed Zervanie's hand and looked at the sky.

How could there be stars in the dungeon? They were just some very bright crystals.

"I know they're fake, too." Zervanie's hand rested on the lawn, very close to Felyn's feet.

"He is not a star, but he can still shine in the night. I like him like that."

Felyn turned his head to glance at Zervanie, looking at her side profile as she gazed at the starry sky.

Is that so.

Can still shine in the night?

For these young ladies, whether it was a star or not didn't matter, and whether it was fake or not didn't matter either.

What mattered was that it still emitted light in the darkness, illuminating the path ahead for them.

Felyn gradually began to understand such things.

Felyn looked at the stars in the sky and was about to say something, but he saw three bright lines appear in the dark night.

God Chains.

That was the name Felyn had given these lines.

One end of the line was connected to a sigil or a caster, and the other end was connected to the sky.

If there was anyone in the sky, it could only be a god.

Casters, through divine art rituals, hoped to receive a response from the gods, asking the gods to share their power with them.

After the god received the request, the God Chain would appear, connecting the god and the caster, transmitting the god's power to him.

This was still just Felyn's guess.

Now, three God Chains had appeared nearby, which at least proved that someone was about to launch a sigil or divine art attack.

The God Chains were very close to Felyn, right in the woods behind them, clearly aimed at the two of them.

There was no time to explain. Felyn reached out, wrapped his arm around Zervanie's soft waist, lifted her directly onto his shoulder, and lunged forward.

Faced with Felyn's sudden action, Zervanie didn't scream in panic. Instead, she hugged Felyn's body tightly, trying her best to protect him with her own body.

"Boom!"

The spot where Felyn and Zervanie had just been was hit by three sigils.

If Felyn had been a second slower, they would have been injured by now.

Zervanie's sigil pouch was still on her. She quickly drew out a fourth-tier sigil to strengthen herself and Felyn.

"Run!"

Felyn pulled Zervanie up. With the enhancement of the sigil, the two of them immediately ran into the distance.

The sigil's attack disturbed the peace and also woke up the beautiful girl sleeping against a tree.

Miss Eltanie, the one Felyn was looking for, was not far from them.

Eltanie frowned, thinking to herself that there were annoying adventurers everywhere.

Just as she was about to get up and leave, she noticed two rapidly moving figures in the distance.

She would never forget that person's figure.

Felyn.

(End of Chapter)