Fighting you is like being in jail.

Leng Chang looked up, his eyes filled with confusion, not understanding why he was apologizing.

Simmel continued, "I was thinking, if it weren't for me... maybe everyone would be alright..."

"Are you kidding me?" Leng Chang said, tilting his head back as if he had heard a joke.

"But I've never encountered anything like this before... I'm only now realizing that all those adventures I went through were like a dream. Everyone ended up alive and well..."

He lowered his head, his lips moving, his blue eyes filled with guilt.

"This has nothing to do with you. In fact, we should thank you; at least you gave us hope of defeating the Demon King, didn't you?"

Leng Chang's eyes flashed with understanding; he had already grasped Simmel's guilt.

He continued...

“No need to feel guilty, Simmel.”

“We all knew the outcome from the beginning, whether it was Homura, Pochi, or Celia… we all knew from the start.”

"Even someone as socially awkward as Pochi, who was afraid to even speak, embarked on the path forward after learning the truth. From the moment he took that first step, everyone was already prepared."

Before the fire, Leng Chang gazed at Simmel, who sat on a thick tree trunk with his head bowed. A gentle breeze stirred in the forest, rustling the leaves around them.

The air is so fresh, it feels like it's cleansing your soul.

I couldn't help but take another deep breath.

Simmel, head bowed, fell silent, his fingers clenching tightly. He wanted to do something, but after carefully reviewing what had happened, he had no idea where to begin.

Seeing Simmel remain silent, Leng Chang looked up at the sky and said earnestly:

"No need to worry, Simmel. As long as the result is the destruction of the Demon King, all sacrifices will be worthwhile."

Simmel raised her head, looked at Leng Chang staring at the sky ahead, opened her mouth as if to say something, but felt the sound stuck in her throat, unable to utter a word.

Leng Chang, slowly lowering his head, grinned and asked gossipily, "Let's not talk about us, tell me how things are going between you and Frillie?"

"Huh?" Simmel was a little taken aback.

"That's it! Having been given a second chance at life, don't you want to make some different choices? Like confessing your feelings or something?" Leng Chang asked with amusement, his eyes practically brimming with anticipation.

"This...that can't be, right?" Simmel scratched his head and smiled a little embarrassedly.

"Nothing is impossible! I believe in you guys!"

"only……"

"No problem! You know what? Sometimes insects are more intelligent than us humans. There's an insect's corpse hidden inside every fig. Even if it ruptures its internal organs, the cysticercosis will still get into the fig to lay its eggs... Do you think it's worth it?"

"I don't know, but it must be necessary."

"Yes, everything is necessary."

Leng Chang's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and he spoke in a powerful and resounding voice.

......

Beside the stream.

Kazuma Sato and Iori Kitahara were trying to catch fish in the water with Shutark, but their catch wasn't great.

"Damn it, Iori! The fish I just caught has a toothy bite!"

"I was the one who caught him!"

"It's obviously me!"

"it's me!"

Crackling, crackling, crackling...

"Stop fighting!"

Wow!

He was instantly soaked by the splashing water.

Then there is no more...

Shutark lay on the white stones, his head resting on his pillow, gazing at the white clouds drifting across the sky, lost in thought.

"Hey, Iori, Kazuma. Aren't you sad?"

"what?"

"Sad for what?"

The two of them lay on their pillows, watching the white clouds slowly drift across the sky.

"Your teammates have left. Why aren't you sad at all?" Shutark voiced his doubts, which he had never understood.

“…”

""

Kitahara Iori and Sato Kazuma tensed up, pursed their lips, and stared at each other with wide eyes.

He fucking forgot that!

What to do?! We need to expose our presence!!

But it doesn't matter!

Kitahara Iori's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and with a carefree smile, he said with a sigh.

"Because we knew that from the very beginning."

Nice! Iori

Upon hearing this, Kazuma Sato couldn't help but give him a thumbs up in his heart. The tension on his face gradually disappeared, replaced by the same carefree attitude.

"Yes, when we embarked on this path... we guessed it, and we were already prepared."

He reached out to the sky, spread his five fingers, and let the drifting white clouds pass through his fingers.

Chapter 116 Feelings, aren't they amazing?

"The wind is quite noisy today."

Feel the wind sweeping past the stream, feel the swaying of my bangs as the wind blows, feel the rustling of the leaves in the wind.

Kazuma Sato slowly lowered his raised hand, a slight smile playing on his lips, and said casually:

"So there's no need to be sad or care. This is the path we chose ourselves, and it's the only path to victory."

"The idea that no one dies in a punitive expedition is a fairy tale."

His words made Shutark's pupils shrink, completely at a loss for words. He clearly sensed that something was wrong, but couldn't quite put his finger on it.

People shouldn't act this way, but why isn't there any other way?

Shutark was unwilling to give up and wanted to say what he wanted to do, but he found that he could only say what was wrong, but he couldn't do anything about it.

Kazuma Sato laughed nonchalantly, completely unconcerned about it.

But... he decided that if he woke up in the middle of the night, he would definitely slap himself hard, because he was a fucking bastard.

Kitahara Iori took a deep breath, closed his eyes to enjoy the sunlight, and said casually.

"Yes, why make such a choice? We all know the answer to this question, but if we don't do it, then the sacrifice will be made by others, or even more people."

"Meteors are unaware that their burning begins with their fall. However, when a meteor illuminates the sky, it shines brighter than any other star high above."

"If I could, I really want to escape. But where can I escape to? When disaster strikes, no one can escape."

"So don't feel anything about our departure. You just need to know that victory is just around the corner."

His words drifted along the stream, but upon hearing them, Shutark felt resentful. He sat up abruptly, feeling the roughness of the rocks beneath his buttocks. He clenched his fists, speechless at that moment.

Kitahara Iori decided that she would definitely slap herself hard when she woke up that night.

in the forest.

boom-!

With a magic cannon shot piercing the head of the massive boar, it crashed to the ground, and Philon, holding his magic staff, slowly exhaled.

She turned to look at Madoka Kaname and Frillien sitting on the rock and said simply...

"This pig should be enough for everyone to eat."

"Thank you for your hard work, Philon."

"Great!"

Frillie and Madoka Kaname laughed happily upon seeing this and quickly called Philon to come and sit down with them to rest.

Philon walked up and sat down next to Frilian, and the three of them sat side by side on the rock to rest.

At this moment, Kaname Madoka looked at Frilian with a gossipy expression and asked expectantly, "Frilian, how far have you and Simmel progressed?"

Upon hearing this, Frilian paused, a look of confusion in her eyes, while Philon stared at her with wide, expectant eyes.

Anyone who sees the situation between Frillie and Simmel knows, but neither of them will say anything.

It's so frustrating for everyone around them.

Now that Madoka Kaname had asked why Feren wasn't excited, she didn't dare show it too obviously, only casting a cautious glance at him with obvious suspicion.

"What do you mean, what stage have we reached?" Frilian blinked slowly, completely clueless.

"That's the one... You like Simmel, right!" Madoka Kaname said with a grin, turning her head to look at him expectantly.

"Like it? I don't know..." Frilian didn't have many thoughts, she just stared blankly.

This scene made Philon frantically clench her fists and frantically wink at Madoka Kaname, urging her to cheer up.

Madoka Kaname continued, "If Simmel leaves again..."

"No, I don't want to see that kind of thing..." Frilian's fingers tightened, gripping the hem of her skirt tightly, as the image of Simmel's burial twenty-eight years ago flashed through her mind.

My heart ached terribly, and an indescribable emotion raged within me.

The thought of going through it all again terrifies me so much I tremble.

But thinking about it carefully, isn't Madoka Kaname herself just going through the same kind of pain?

Homura Akemi, who always stood by her side, was gone and would never be seen again.

"Madoka."

"what?"

Frillie called out to Madoka Kaname, her voice trembling slightly.

"Actually, you're the same, aren't you?"

"I have no idea.

... "

“I don’t want to see Simmel leave again, but I know… he will leave someday.” Frilian looked up at the sky, her pupils trembling slightly.

Upon hearing this, the initially excited Philon fell silent, thinking of Homura Akemi's sudden departure.

"Don't you want to do something? At least so you won't have any regrets," Kaname Madoka said, puffing out her cheeks and resting her hands on her knees, cupping her face in her hands.

"Should we do something? I don't know... I just feel that Simmel... understands too, right? It's probably impossible for the two of us."

"Don't you ever think about it? Standing in front of Simmel in a white wedding dress, holding flowers? Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

Madoka Kaname spoke earnestly, her brows furrowed as if she were thinking about something, while the corners of her mouth couldn't help but turn up, and her brows relaxed.

"A white wedding dress..."

Frillian muttered something, then tried to imagine it, and the corners of her mouth involuntarily curled up.

"Perhaps," she said wistfully, her voice filled with a sense of bewilderment.

"And what about you, Xiaoyuan?"

Suddenly, Frilian asked Madoka Kaname...

“I like Leng Chang.” Madoka Kaname didn’t hide it and said it out loud with courage.

"oh?'