The Return Of The Exiled Villain

[Ding! The Phantom Loop Earrings have entered a cooldown of six months!]

”...Wait, what? Six months?” Gray stared in shock at the notification right in front of his eyes.

The artifact’s cooldown was supposed to be a single month, like it had been shown in the status window.

[Mhm... It’s probably because, although the artifact has unlimited uses, it still needs divinity to operate. So, the cooldown probably increases, so in the meantime, it recovers the divinity that has been used.]

”Tsk,” Gray clicked his tongue at her words.

After all, this was one of his most important trump cards, and now instead of waiting for a month, he needs to wait for half a year...

And that time will probably increase even more.

”It seems that I’ll need to be careful about using it,” he mumbled, scratching his head.

He looked up at the dead worm’s bodies and instantly activated his Ring of Gluttony, making them disappear into his dimensional storage.

”...At least that’s dealt with.”

With that done, his attention moved to the shaft above.

A quiet sigh left him.

”Back up, then.”

He bent down, picking up a small rock from the ground, weighing it briefly in his hand before tossing it straight upward into the shaft.

”[✧Swap✧]”

His position changed instantly.

The moment he appeared in mid-air, he unsheathed his rapier and drove it into the wall beside him, the blade biting in just enough to halt his momentum.

He steadied himself with a small adjustment of his footing against the surface.

”Mhm...”

The shaft wasn’t as simple as it had seemed earlier.

There were more openings than he had first noticed, small branching passages cutting into the sides at uneven intervals.

Gray narrowed his eyes slightly.

”Finding her like this might take longer than I thought.”

Instead, he closed his eyes and felt the small waves caused by Seraph’s mana, instantly getting her location.

Grasp!

He reached out again, breaking another small piece of rock from the wall.

”...Let’s see.”

He tossed it into one of the side passages.

”[✧Swap✧]”

He switched positions once again, arriving at the wider section where he had left Seraph, and she was there, exactly where she had said she would be, standing with her back against the wall and her sword drawn.

Her eyes were strangely fixed on the passage entrance, unblinking, as if she had been staring at that same point for a very long time.

The moment she saw him, something in her face changed; her whole face contorted in deep relief.

Fwish!

She crossed the distance between them in an instant.

Gray opened his mouth.

”Sera, wait, I’m—”

Thud!

She rushed straight into him, her arms wrapping tightly around him as her face pressed into his shoulder. The force pushed him back half a step before he steadied himself.

”Sera—”

”I don’t care,” she said immediately, into his shoulder, before he had finished the word.

”I’ve been inside a worm. I smell terrible. I’m covered in—”

”I don’t care,” she repeated once again, her arms tightening around him.

”Seraph. I went inside the worm... literally inside! The smell alone should be enough to—”

”Gray.” Her voice was muffled against his coat, but the word came out with an undertone of sadness that made him shut up.

”I don’t care.”

He looked at the top of her head... her shoulders were shaking slightly, as if she were holding back her tears.

”Sera...”

”I-I—” her voice caught, uneven and strained.

”I was s-so—”

She stopped, her fingers tightening against his coat.

”I was s-so w-worried,” she forced out, the words stumbling over each other.

”Y-you were g-gone for so long, and I c-couldn’t feel anything, and I didn’t know where you were, and I-I...”

Her breath hitched sharply.

Gray didn’t interrupt.

”I kept thinking something happened,” she went on, her voice breaking again. ”I k-kept thinking maybe you were hurt, or trapped, o-or...”

She shook her head against him, unable to finish.

”...or you weren’t coming back.”

The last part came out in a near whisper.

Gray’s expression changed slighly, the usual dryness fading as his hand slowly came up to rest against her back.

”...It took longer than I expected,” he exhaled quietly.

”That’s all.”

”That’s not...” she pulled back slightly, just enough to look at him, her eyes unfocused and damp.

”That’s not the point.”

Her hands didn’t leave him.

”You didn’t say anything,” she continued, her voice trembling despite her effort to steady it.

”You didn’t warn me. You just went down there, and then you were gone.”

”I told you to stay here.”

”That’s not the same,” she said immediately, her voice cracking at the end. ”You didn’t say you might not come back.”

Gray paused.

”...I don’t usually plan for that.”

”I did... and I really couldn’t stop thinking about it,” she replied quietly.

Her grip loosened slightly, though she still didn’t step away.

”I couldn’t go after you either,” she added.

”I didn’t know where you were, I couldn’t feel your mana because of the anti-mana field, I didn’t know if you were fighting or if you were already...”

She stopped again, her jaw tightening.

”...gone.”

Gray gently brushed her luscious, long hair, adjusting her hairstyle lightly before giving her a small smile.

”I’ll be more careful.”

”En.”

His hand pressed slightly more firmly against her back before easing again. His words weren’t certainly a promise, but it more than enough.

She stayed like that for a few seconds longer before finally pulling back, one hand still holding onto his sleeve.

”...You smell awful,” she then muttered

Gray raised an eyebrow.

”I told you that already.”

”I know,” she said, wiping at her eyes.

”...I just didn’t care.”

”...And now?”

She looked at him for a moment, then shook her head slightly.

”...I still don’t. Not much.”

Her nostrils quivered slighly.

”...But you should still do something about it.”

”Ah...” Gray let out a faint breath.

”Yeah. I will... but first, let’s get out of this damned rabbit hole.”

He looked upwards at the giant hole that had made them fall before. Then, he grabbed a rock, gripped it strongly, and shot it towards the sky.

”...Excuse me.”

”H-huh?”

He gently embraced Seraph and looked at the rock, awaiting for it to arrive at the perfect spot to change positions.

And once it did...

”[✧Swap✧]”

He changed positions with it, causing him to stay mid-air, and quickly adjusting his position, spinning lightly before landing softly on the ground.

”There we go.”

He let go of Seraph before directly expanding his mana sense to feel if there was any creature nearby.

”Sera.”

He turned towards her, who surprisingly still had her face flushed.

”...There are a dozen beasts to the northern side,” he continued, as if he hadn’t noticed. ”You should head there and get enough points to move on to the second phase.”

She blinked once, as though pulling herself out of her thoughts.

”What about you?” she asked, a small frown forming as she looked at him more carefully.

”Me...?” Gray shrugged lightly, though the motion made his shoulder ache slighly. ”I only came here to get you out. I don’t care whether I pass or not.”

The words were said in the same calm, indifferent tone he used for everything else.

But to her, they didn’t land that way.

Seraph froze for half a second, her eyes widening just slightly as something warm rose up into her chest, catching her completely off guard.

He... came here for her.

Only her.

She opened her mouth to respond, but nothing came out at first.

”...I-I...” She stopped, then shook her head quickly, as if trying to push the feeling down.

Before he could say anything else, she stepped forward.

Gray didn’t react in time.

”Chuu~”

She leaned in and quickly pressed her soft lips against his cheek.

It lasted less than a second.

Then she pulled back just as fast, her face turning even redder than before.

”Th-thank you, Gray!” she blurted out, her voice louder than usual as she turned away almost immediately.

And then she hurriedly ran straight toward the northern passage, as if she didn’t trust herself to stay any longer.

Gray stood there, completely still.

”...Mhm.”

He suddenly hummed thoughtfully, turning his head just to notice that she was already gone from his view.

The silence that followed felt oddly heavy.

Gray remained like that for another second before lifting his hand and pressing his fingers lightly against the spot on his cheek where she had kissed him.

”...Perfect.”

He didn’t linger on it for long.

With a small exhale, he lowered his hand and wiped his cheek once, as if brushing the moment away along with it.

”...Anyway.”

His focus shifted immediately as he glanced around briefly before his eyes settled on a point in the distance.

A familiar one.

”[✧Swap✧]”

In an instant, his position changed.

The next moment, he stood at the edge of a small lake, the surface of the water still and clear, reflecting the dim light from above.

It was the same place he had passed earlier on his way to find her.

Gray rolled his shoulder slightly and winced.

”...This smell is really awful, ugh...”

He stepped closer to the water and started taking off his clothes as he was ready to take a clean bath in the lake.

The smell on him was really disgusting... so disgusting that he didn’t know how Seraph was able to hug him despite being a princess.

After all, as a princess, she probably was accustomed to sweet smells, and things like that... an awful stench like the one currently on his body, probably would have made her vomit directly.