Lord Demon is behind you

"Ah, I'm just reminiscing about the past. You don't need to answer," the elf said with a smile when the hero reacted and wanted to speak, "After all, I already knew your answer. I— I heard it as early as the first confession."

"……sorry."

Confession and rejection, and then an apology... It seems that everyone has to act like this.The strange feeling that came to mind made the brave man feel a little self-loathing for a while.

At the end of the day, there's nothing but endless apologies—the kind of behavior that's most useless.Apologizing doesn't change anything, and it doesn't relieve someone else's pain.

"No...don't talk about that."

The elf turned around and walked to the lake first.

"...Don't look at me like this, after all, I am much older than you. It is impossible to follow one's own wishes in everything, and it is even more difficult to force one's feelings - I understand these basic principles very well. Now it is just Just so you don’t regret it.”

Is that right……?

The brave man followed her silently.

The same lake in the forest seems to have a few pieces in the forest of elves.The topography of the sixth floor is indeed completely modeled after the forest of elves.

This kind of location with water has always been an excellent place for rest.

The two of them had been trekking through the forest for about half a day, and it was almost time for them to take a break—even so, as long as they sat down quietly, the brave man would feel restless for no reason.

On the one hand, it was because of the matter just now, on the other hand, it was because of worrying about the comrades who fell into the hands of the enemy, and in the end... I always felt that there was something uncomfortable.

Walking with a woman who just rejected a confession... I always feel that everything is weird.Embarrassment... It doesn't really count, after all, the other party has a calm expression.It's just that there is no way to be calm about it anyway.

That being said, didn't the Demon King also become a companion after confessing his confession?But when I teamed up with that guy, the atmosphere was far less strange than it is now. Even if I feel a little awkward and uncomfortable occasionally, it will always be diluted quickly.

This is really strange.Shouldn't being confessed by the same sex be more awkward than being confessed by the opposite sex?

"Speaking of which, Your Excellency the Brave," the elf said as if to ease the atmosphere, "Aside from the past, don't you have any plans for your future? You should be... 25 years old this year."

"Ah, um, almost."

The brave man was a little absent-minded.

"25...25 years is nothing to us elves, but according to human standards, it is equivalent to one-third or more of a lifetime, right? At this time, we should also think about getting married and having children It’s the right thing to do with your life in the future.”

The elves educated them earnestly.Only then did the brave man realize the subtlety of the topic.

"Wait, Miss Wilka," he interrupted hastily, "you can't say such things at this time—"

Hurrying to discuss the future life before fighting the BOSS, this is simply planting a flag for yourself.

"It doesn't matter, right? Anyway, Your Excellency Brave, you should have no specific goals, just discuss in general the type you like, the way you want to live, etc. It doesn't matter."

However, Wilka seemed to be very persistent about it.

"Or, do you actually have someone you like now? Because you don't want to say his name—"

The brave man felt deeply helpless.

"But..." There was a feeling of being asked to gossip.

"Anyway, I have more experience in life. If we talk now, I can give some advice. After leaving the Demon King City,..." She breathed out, "At that time... I'm afraid I won't Will see you again."

Hearing this, the brave man suddenly felt complicated.Indeed, even if this incident can be resolved smoothly and the companion is safe and sound, in order to avoid further embarrassment, they should not see each other again in the future.

"The way of life I've longed for... ah."

He thought carefully and said.

"I think it would be great if I could go back to my hometown and live a quiet life. I was born in a coastal village, and the surrounding land was barren, so everyone lived off the sea. Said, if possible... I hope to go back to open up wasteland, rely on the technology I learned during my travels, and strive to be a good farmer."

"Is that so..."

If it was the eldest lady or the princess who was listening, they would probably express their disgust for such a simple ideal, but the elf immediately conveyed his understanding.

"Food is very important. No matter what kind of creature it is, it cannot survive without it; when I was in the clan, although I was not the person in charge of the food reserve work, I also had a little understanding of this work. Compared with our kind Unlike elves who rely on picking and hunting, planting crops is a unique skill of the human race. The work of farming may seem ordinary, but it is actually great. It is very remarkable for you to have such an awareness.”

Is... is it that powerful?Being overly praised, the brave man was rather at a loss.

"No, I didn't think that much..."

It can't be said that he doesn't have any desire to improve the food for everyone in his hometown, but in the final analysis, he just thinks that farming life is more stable.Now that the world has ushered in peace, the brave should retire obediently and find a place to live in peace—this is his true idea.

"I understand, this is your most precious place." The elf asked casually while wiping the longbow, "Then, what about the next life? After you settle down, you can't live on your own forever. It’s right to get married and have children to form a family.”

"No, it's really impossible, absolutely impossible," the brave man shook his head continuously, "It's impossible for me to..." It's absolutely impossible to give birth to the next generation.

"Why, don't you really have a favorite type?"

Speaking of this step, the elf really became suspicious, and his eyes wandered up and down on the brave man.The brave thinks that if this continues, she probably thinks that she is suffering from a hidden disease.

"The type I like... probably, uh."

He desperately searched for plausible explanations in his mind.

"It can be equal..."

"equality?"

This statement should have been completely unexpected by the other party.

"Yes, equality."

The brave man tried his best to describe his thoughts, "Because, getting married is different from anything else. If you don't put the other party on the same height, there is no way to maintain a long-term relationship. If I really get married, I hope to be able to Stay with your partner until you die, and the two sides can always understand and trust."

"This..." I don't know if the elf understands it, at least what she showed is definitely not an attitude of approval, "Your Excellency, as long as you live in this world, it is impossible to be equal. Between races, between classes and Between classes, between regions—this is a fact of life."

"yes……"

The brave man has no intention of persuading the other party.At this moment, another face appeared in his mind.

"If you have someone you like, you must stand on the most equal position with him, and don't have any relationship with dominance and obedience." At that time, that guy was indeed right.Although he is regarded as a vested interest in the unequal system, he is always eager for a breakthrough that can be achieved.

Is it because I am influenced by him that I have the same thoughts in my heart, or because I have the same thoughts, I can resonate with him.

"Then try to change."

The brave put away the water bag, stood up and patted the soil.

"—I'll keep trying to find it."

"Even if you say so, after all..." The elf was still frowning when she got up, but when she raised her head, her face suddenly changed.

"That is……!"

"How--"

A strange feeling like an electric shock crept up his spine.

There was a sudden violent wave in the center of the lake.Accompanied by this loud sound, an overly huge fish-shaped monster poked its head out of the lake.

I also encountered a giant fish on the second floor before, but this time this one is much more fierce than the previous one.The head is covered with scales similar to reptiles, and the big bloody mouth is full of neat and sharp white teeth, and the water vapor formed by the collection of magic power is dense on the top of the head——

It should be a fairly advanced monster.

"—here first..."

The brave did not lose his composure.No matter how strong this fish is, after all, it can only rely on the waters to survive. As long as it retreats quickly, it should be able to avoid fighting.

Of course, relying on the previous "Thor's Hammer", it is not difficult to defeat it, but if it can be avoided, it is still...

"Your Excellency the Brave!" the elf shouted, "Get out of the way!"

The hero instinctively jumped to one side.A fierce jet of water protruded from the original position of his feet, and the outer stream of water converged into the shape of a water knife, as long as it got a little bit wet, his skin would be torn apart.

This is, the advanced water spell, Blue Pillar Water Knife...?

This fish-shaped boss has the ability to easily release such high-level spells, so it really is not something to be taken lightly.

"In short, retreat first!"

He yelled at Wilka, but the other person's expression became more anxious for some reason.

"Watch out behind—"

The brave evaded again relying on intuition.A thicker jet of water shot out from the bottom of the foot, but it was accidentally wiped to the side, and the amount of blood immediately dropped down by hundreds of points.

This is far from over.While he was dodging, more water jets emerged from the ground one after another, just like a fountain with injectors installed in advance, one after another more powerful than the other.The entire land by the lake was muddy and fluffy, and it seemed that it might collapse into the water anytime soon.

The brave man avoided most of the attacks, but was caught by a few.

I don't know how far this monster's attack range is, but as long as it hides in the forest, it will be able to escape successfully. With this in mind, the brave man hides behind.

Just when it was only a dozen steps away from the forest——

A translucent water wall rose from the ground, blocking the brave man.

"...Tsk."

For a moment, the brave man couldn't help but let out an unpleasant twitching sound.

This monster...does he want to force himself to fight against it no matter what?

I don't know if it is aware of the predicament that the prey can't advance or retreat. The fish-shaped monster made an unpleasant sharp whistle, and then countless water jets rushed towards the brave man as if ordered.

The brave man reached into his backpack with one hand and held the "Thor's Hammer".at this time--

"Your Excellency the Brave!"

Several feathered arrows with magic power pierced the bottom of the water column, disrupting the flow of magic power that supports the operation of magic.The elf accurately drilled out from the formed gap, and rushed over and grabbed the brave man's waist.

The brave man was shocked to be hit by the opponent suddenly.

"Wait, Miss Wilka..."

"You don't move!" She swung her cloak to cover the two of them, and at the same time she bent her bow and fired seven or eight arrows, opening a gap in the water wall.

The water wall is no more than a water column, and the internal magic flow is much more perfect, enough to fill the gap by itself.

"Okay, let's go!"

Before the brave man could speak, she tore open the magic scroll of the wind element first.

The impact of the explosion accurately lifted the two of them, and they rushed out in time before the gap recovered.

The two fell into the range of the forest, broke many branches and leaves along the way, and finally fell on the thick fallen leaves.

Even with the cloak to cover it, the brave man still had many small wounds.When he finally landed, he adjusted his posture as much as possible so that the elves with relatively low defenses could avoid direct contact with the ground, but that was all he could do——

To be honest, he had no psychological expectations for this escape method, and he was still a little dazed until now.

"Miss Wilka?"

"Ugh..."

The elf then fell to the ground beside him.

She frowned, covering her waist with her hands, and a bloodstain smeared under the light leather armor.