* * *

It was too dark to search further. Reassembled at the castle, they informed each other that they had not found any clues.

Everyone was devastated by the news of their futility. Even Garuel and Lydon, who had gone into the sea, hadn’t found anything related to the air bubble. They weren’t sure how to proceed with tomorrow’s search.

“There are plenty of rooms, let’s each pick one. You must be tired, let’s get some rest tonight.”

After gently coaxing Lydon away from sleeping with him, Cadel picked a small room on the highest floor. It had a balcony outside, which he thought would be perfect for clearing his head.

‘There’s no way I’m going to sleep when I’m this restless.’

He knew himself best. There was no way he could sleep comfortably in this situation, in this mood, so he slipped out onto the balcony and leaned his arms on the railing.

In the distance, he could see the dark, sunken night sea. If he looked up, he could see countless stars and a vivid full moon. Everywhere he looked, there was nothing but peace and beauty.

‘If everything works out and I stay in this world…….’

He wanted to live in a place like this, with everyone, immersed in beautiful scenery every day, eating delicious food, chatting, and occasionally indulging their desires.

‘Is this a made-up place, or has it transported us to a place somewhere else in the world?’

It wasn’t the kind of thing to think about in a crisis like this, but he wanted it to be as real as possible. Cadel stared out at the sea in thought and then frowned. A flash of light from below caught his eye.

Covering his eyes with one hand, he looked down to see the identity of the light and saw a figure waving a sword in greeting.

“Garuel……?”

Wondering why he was shining a light on him from outside the castle, Garuel lowered his shielded hand, and the light mana was withdrawn. It was too late to call him out loud, everyone would be fast asleep.

As if he knew of Cadel’s hesitation, Garuel grinned with a mirthful smile that could be seen from a distance, and with a brisk stride, he disappeared from view. He must have gone inside the castle.

Cadel waited a moment, then heard a knock on the door. Perhaps Garuel hadn’t been able to sleep either and had come with a flask of unknown origin, inviting Cadel to join him for a drink. With that thought, he opened the door.

“Garu…… Oof……!”

Garuel pushed roughly through the gap in the door, which wasn’t even open fully, and came kissing him in one breath. Startled by the sudden lunge, Cadel grabbed Garuel by the shoulders and tried to push him off, but the solid body didn’t budge. Even as he twisted his head to thrust his tongue deeper, Garuel’s eyes twinkled as he locked eyes with Cadel in an unrelenting gaze.

Wrapping one arm around Cadel’s back to keep him from falling, Garuel pushed in hard enough to bend his back.

“Wait, wait……!”

Cadel shifted his head, trying to catch the moment when their lips parted, but Garuel seemed in no mood to listen, his kiss tasting of strong alcohol. He had already been drinking himself into a stupor. How could he be so drunk that he would kiss another man as soon as he entered his room?

Despite Cadel’s protests, there was no way to escape. Cadel felt a cool breeze ruffle his hair as Garuel pushed him forward, and he realized he’d been pushed all the way to the balcony.

No matter what, he didn’t want to kiss Garuel while leaning against the railing. With that thought in mind, he pushed Garuel down in earnest.

“……!”

Garuel lifted Cadel up with one arm and sat him on the railing. There was nowhere to support his back, and the height meant death if he fell.

Frightened, Cadel hastily pulled his head away and parted his lips. Garuel stopped pushing him, too. Garuel’s collar crumpled as Cadel clutched it for dear life. His eyes filled with Cadel, who stared down at him with a terrified expression.

“……Knight Commander.”

The small gasp, the red lips, the panic in the eyes, the flickering eyelids, the flushed cheeks, the hair blowing in the wind, the strength of the grip on his collar. Each and every one of these elements excited Garuel. It had to be him. He couldn’t lust for anyone but him.

“Why are you calling me, you drunkard?”

Garuel’s expression softened at the mildly disgruntled, cute retort, and he gently stroked the back of Cadel’s hand as it came to rest on his shoulder, kissing the bony wrist.

He held his gaze for a long moment, savoring everything about Cadel, etching it into his retina. Cadel was uncomfortable with his uneasy position, but he held his gaze. Garuel stroked the nape of Cadel’s neck affectionately and kissed him briefly on the forehead.

“If I thought this was a pretty nice place, are you going to be disappointed?”

“……This is not where we should be.”

“Of course I know, it’s just that I know it too well.”

The eyes that filled his field of vision calmed. There was no wavering in the pair of gazes of different colors.

“And yet, I love this place…… where I don’t care what anyone thinks of me, where only the people I care about are here.”

“…….”

“So much so that I feel like I’d spend the rest of my life here if I could. ……I’m mistaken, of course; I didn’t realize I was so weak to happiness.”

Cadel’s lips tightened. Garuel was serious. He had this dream place in his mind, where he didn’t have to hide who he was, where he didn’t have to worry about being persecuted, where he didn’t have to deny his existence. Just like Cadel a moment ago, when he had dreamed of spending the rest of his life in a place like this.

He was right. This was the place he and his subordinates needed. After a long day of battle, they could not have asked for a more perfect resting place.

So Cadel wordlessly pulled Garuel into a hug. If they were to lose the war, if he were to fail to destroy the influence of the system that controlled this world, his subordinates would suffer great despair.

‘If that’s going to happen, I’d rather…….’

It would be better to wait for the destruction of the world together, in this dreamlike place, to hold on to happiness until the very end, and close their eyes in joy.

It became harder and harder to discern what was truly the right path.

* * *

One day, two days, three days, four days…….

After exploring their surroundings day after day for over ten days, the Knight Order was able to determine a few things. This was an island. It was so large that they thought it was a beach attached to a continent, but it was an island floating in the sea.

Also, the only intelligent beings on the island were the Knight Order. There were no more demons or knights coming to the island, but that didn’t mean they had to worry about shelter. The castle was visited daily by the ‘ghosts’ who helped with cleaning and cooking, and brought them whatever they needed without being asked.

This was the conclusion of several days of searching. Not everyone had given up hope of escape, but as the days passed, the search became less motivating.

‘……It’s nice.’

Sitting on the sandy beach, drying off, Cadel stared out at the distant horizon, the warmth of the sun warming his damp body.

Moving his gaze slightly, he spotted Lydon, still swimming. No matter how one looked at it, searching was an excuse. Cadel smirked, remembering the time he and Lydon had frolicked in the water earlier.

“Lydon, stop playing and come out! We need to eat.”

Lydon, recognizing Cadel’s call even from underwater, took flight. Droplets of water rained down from the sky in his wake. Cadel shook his head in disbelief as he brushed off the droplets that landed on his head.

Descending from the air, Lydon pulled Cadel into a tight embrace, soaking wet before Cadel could dry himself, and kissed his head. Their fingers interlocked casually, they walked across the sand together.

“So what’s the ghost got in store for us today?”

“Well, I hope it’s something spicy because I ate too many sweets yesterday. Some fairy kept asking for nothing but sweets.”

“Wasn’t it delicious? The sweeter the food, the better!”

“It’s a problem because it’s full of sweets.”

As they made their way back to the castle, they met up with the subordinates who had arrived earlier, and after hearing about the search and the free time they’d gotten to use as an excuse, they made their way to the dining hall in good spirits.

The dining hall was lined with spicy-smelling food, just as Cadel had hoped. There were, of course, some honeyed fruits in the middle that seemed to be Lydon’s share.

“When you’re all done eating, why don’t we head over to the east side of the island? I found a new cave there, and the point is, there’s a blue coconut growing near it. Wonder what it tastes like?”

“Blue coconut, that sounds poisonous.”

“Commander, you’ll have to wait until I try it, okay?”

“If you mean the cave hidden by the bushes, I didn’t feel much energy in there, so I think we should just go see the coconut.”

After shoving as much of the delicious food as they could into their bellies, they packed up and headed east. As they made their way through the overgrown grass, bushes, and trees, they joked and bantered. Laughter, pranks, funny stories, and a few words of affection mingled in the calm noon air.

“……There really is a blue coconut, even though it looks like a demon fruit.”

“Don’t say that. You’re making me reluctant to try it.”

With a sharp condensation of wind mana, Cadel cut the stem off the coconut. A thin flash of light carved through the fallen fruit. Lumen tossed the neatly cut coconut to Van.

“You eat it first.”

“Thank Commander, because if it weren’t for him, it wouldn’t be any of your business whether I ate this or not.”

Van didn’t seem to like the idea that his sacrifice might be responsible for the lives of all but Cadel. He clicked his tongue briefly and took a cool gulp of coconut water.

“You okay, Van……?”

Van swallowed a few times, looking nervous. He shook his head as if something was wrong, then gulped down the rest, causing Cadel to snatch the coconut out of his hand in surprise.

“What the hell are you doing drinking all that?!”

Van was momentarily taken aback by Cadel’s reaction, but then he chuckled heartily.

“It’s all right, Commander. I don’t think there’s anything weird in it, but…….”

“But?”

“It tastes suspiciously delicious, and the sugar level is different from normal coconut water.”

“Sweet? Then I’ll drink it too! Lumen, cut the coconut!”

Lydon was the first to jump in, scared to let Van’s appreciation of the sweet flavor end. One by one, they were given coconuts, which they gulped down with suspicion, and soon emptied the fruit with wide eyes. Van was right: the coconut was honeyed and sweet, but refreshing without being overwhelming.

Everyone quickly fell in love with the flavor, but Lydon was the worst offender. Cadel was finally able to escape the area after having to knock down a dozen coconut trees under Lydon’s wrath.

“I don’t think we’ve been around long, and it’s already getting dark.”

“Shall we eat dinner outside tonight? We can grill some meat on the beach, and if we ask the ghost, it’ll bring the equipment.”

“Meat sounds good, and if we’re lucky, Lydon will catch some fish.”

Exploring unknown places, sharing new experiences with everyone, and feeling nothing but joyful emotions gave Cadel a rich sense of satisfaction. He enjoyed everything about his experience here.

It was late evening when they returned to the castle. Garuel told the ghost, who was preparing a meal, of their plans for the evening, and it stopped cooking and moved to the beach.

The ghost quickly found a good spot, set up a table and chairs, built a bonfire, and began roasting the trimmed meat in a barrel. Cadel marveled at the ghost’s impeccable preparation and joined it in grilling the meat.

As they sat at the prepared table and engaged in a contest to see who could grill the meat the best, the sensible ghost disappeared, leaving a few chunks of raw meat and a bottle of wine.

They spent a fine night at sea, playing and drinking. Their boisterous laughter filled the still waters. After a big meal, the game of forced diving began, with Lydon targeting Van.

Watching his subordinates busy trying to push each other into the sea, Cadel took a seat by the still-burning bonfire.

The bustle of their movements, their boisterous laughter, and their bright faces were a sight to behold. He could watch them for the rest of his life and never tire of them.

After watching his subordinates for a long time, Cadel slowly rose to his feet, not to join in on their fun.

“Leader, where are you going?”

“I forgot to fetch something. I’ll stop by the castle.”

“Shall I take you there?”

“No, thanks, I’ll be right back.”

Reassuring his subordinates, who were nervous about his behavior, Cadel headed toward the castle at a leisurely pace. There was no haste in his steps, and his eyes often looked up at the sky.

When Cadel arrived at the castle, he remembered what he had to bring, but he didn’t go inside, instead pausing at the main gate to survey the towering structure. He stroked the rough exterior walls and ran his fingers along them. And the next moment.

“……It’s okay.”

Cadel’s fingertips sparked. He moved the flame over the door and stuck it, then backed up a little. Following the increasing mana, the flames that were as small as fingernails began to spread fiercely.

“It’s done.”

His flames raged through the castle, the mana-laden flames penetrating to the very core, burning everything inside. Bright lights flickered above his trembling eyes.

“I…….”

His fists shook, and his face contorted slightly. Tears welled up in the corners of his eyes as he stood in front of the hot flames.

The first night Garuel had come to him, Cadel had realized that this was the ‘Happy Dream’, and that his subordinates were dreaming the same thing he was. Everyone must have felt it vaguely. And yet they didn’t try to wake up.

They were happy here, full of peace and love, something they couldn’t feel in the fierce battle outside. The happiness he wanted to give them was right here.

“I’m sorry…….”

The castle was crumbling. In the distance, he could hear the muffled voices of his subordinates, who had rushed to the burning castle.

He had destroyed their happiness with his own hands. He tried to drag them back to the hard realities of life, just because this place wasn’t real. Could he give them the same happiness in the real world?

He wasn’t sure. He wasn’t sure that the hard reality would be better than the happy dream, that the reality would be more beautiful than this dream.

Nevertheless, he wanted to wake them up, because he didn’t want to end their miserable lives with a fantasy. He wanted to give them a real life that they had worked so hard to build, one that would end in true happiness.

Their hard life could not be rewarded in a fantasy created by someone else. And the commander they trusted and followed shouldn’t make the choice to lull them into a happy dream and drag them down. The commander they chose was not one who would turn a blind eye to the hardships in front of them.

“Knight Commander!”

“Cadel!”

Cadel blinked, tears rolling down his cheeks. Slowly, Cadel’s head turned, and the figures of his subordinates came into view. Cadel looked at their worried faces and cautiously reached out to them.

But just as they reached him, everything around him changed. Everything around him dissolved and sank.