74 Living & Dying (2/2)

Thom raised his hands and mimed firing an imaginary bow. ”Fired it at just the right angle to shoot one through the neck. Arrow passed through his jugular and hit the she-elf behind him in her right eye. Instant death for them both, I'm afraid.”

While Xanthor clapped in amazement, Edo blew air out of his nose in a disbelieving grunt just like a bull might have done.

”Leprechaun for your thoughts?” whispered a honeyed voice that, thankfully, distracted me away from the inconsiderate fairies boasting their battle prowess while surrounded by their wounded teammates.

My gaze shifted to Aura's hooded face, who despite the glaring crack on her golden half mask, seemed to me as radiant as ever.

”Berrian fixed you up yet?” I asked.

Aura shook her head. ”More people need aid than I do... may I sit?”

I moved over to give her room on my cot, and I watched as it took her some effort to sit beside me. Her hand rested lightly on her side in support.

”You're not okay...” I realized.

”It's just a bruise, Dean,” Aura assured me. ”Unfortunately, I found myself on the other end of a troll's fist... Edo was furious. Tore the troll's esophagus out of its throat... it was very disturbing to watch…”

As I watched Aura shudder visibly, I couldn't help but experience a tightening in my chest. And not even the verification that Edo's boasting was actually true could stop me from feeling sad. My foolhardy plan had put her in danger. Enough to make Edo go a little berserk to defend her.

”A-aura… I—”

”—you have nothing to apologize for, Dean,” she interrupted. Her face was stern. Her eyes were like the blue sky before the storm arrived. ”We all chose to follow you despite the risks… and I watched you defeat someone who by all rights should have been stronger than you in every way—”

”B-but I—”

”—You made us all proud, Dean!” Aura's emotions burst out of her, and for a second, I thought that her golden hair had flared into flames. ”So don't wallow in your regret any longer. It's a disservice to those who fought and died so we could succeed in our mission.”

It was a while before I spoke again. After all, she had a good point. Everyone made their own choice, and regardless of how dangerous the mission was, they still followed.

”Thanks,” I said.

My voice was barely more than a whisper.

”That's not the only thing making you sad, is it?” she asked concernedly. Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click for visiting.

It took another few minutes for me to explain why I felt the way I did. It really wasn't just the loss of my soldiers. It was also the guilt I felt for killing a good man. Someone who could have, maybe in a few years, helped steer both the Magesong clan and Starlight city onto a better path if he was given the chance. But he wasn't. I snuffed his light before it could truly shine. And I even broke my rule about not killing humans.

”Then fight for him as well,” Aura stated like it was the easiest thing in the world to do. ”If you believed in his cause, then just make it your own.”

”Are you serious?” I looked skeptically at her. ”You realize his goals weren't any smaller than ours, right?”

”So?” she shrugged. ”It's not like our task will get any less difficult, Dean. We're already aiming for the very top, aren't we?”

Hearing her declaration, for the first time, I thought that Aura was a little too greedy. A little too selfless. Maybe even a little crazy. The thought, strangely enough, didn't bother me. Just made me smile. I didn't mind a bit of imperfection in an almost perfect girl.

”Alright, princess, let's—”

”—Dean!” Qwipps yelled.

I watched him saunter over to us with a skip in his step.

”W-what?” I asked while feeling annoyed at how he ruined our moment.

”Great General Darah wants to see you two,” he said happily.

”W-why would that make you happy? There's nothing happy about getting summoned by her, you know,” I insisted.

”Well, I think she's about to reward you,” he grinned. ”Don't forget the rest of us when you split the spoils, alright? By my count, we bagged eight officer heads. Including that of a general!”