The Saint Wants to Rest - vanish into fiction

Even setting his personality aside, Vermouth was a formidable force in his current state. It was far more efficient to let him be than to interfere with him. Consequently, Ian focused his own frantic energy elsewhere.

“Stand up!”

Whenever a soldier fell, Ian treated them and forced them back onto their feet. As expected of a Saint, he possessed wide-area healing abilities. However, restoring the very source of one’s power required physical contact. This applied to a Mage’s mana or a swordsman’s aura.

One might ask what the difference was between that and simply healing the physical body, but the distinction existed. To use gaming terminology, HP could be healed without contact, but MP could not.

“I can still fight!”

“P-please, stop. I want to rest.”

The soldier shed hot tears, but Ian showed no mercy. After being forced up for the seventh time, the soldier writhed in agony before screaming and charging toward the monsters.

“Aaaaaagh!”

Even if it was exhausting, Ian believed they would understand, as it was all to protect their own world.

“Next!”

He treated people like items rotating on a conveyor belt. To be honest, his behavior was hardly saintly. Yet, the more he acted this way, the more Vermouth grew fond of him.

It was just like a man with such a peculiar way of thinking.

“I have never seen a Saint as unique as you.”

“Why don’t you just insult me?”

“I did not mean it in a negative sense. The Saintess in my previous unit was weak-hearted; she would cry while healing wounded soldiers. She even suffered when sending them back to the battlefield. However, that is not efficient at all.”

Vermouth blinked slowly. The way his long eyelashes fluttered was like the flapping of a butterfly’s wings.

“I support your methods.”

Do you know the exact moment a person truly falls in love? Ian had never witnessed it before, but looking at Vermouth, he felt he finally understood. A light interest was gradually deepening. No, of all things, he was falling for this selfish behavior?

Goosebumps ran down Ian’s spine at the sight of Vermouth smiling with fox-like eyes. He began to doubt whether this man would actually let him go peacefully when it was time to return.

Ian moved his aching body, worrying about the impending future. In the meantime, Vermouth had evolved from a guardian into a stalker. Unlike the days when he simply followed Ian to protect him, he now wanted to read Ian’s thoughts at every single moment.

If they were apart for even a moment, Vermouth would ask about everything that had happened. If Ian didn’t answer, he would find out even if it meant interrogating the people nearby. Vermouth’s love had turned into an obsession.

“You stalker bastard.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means you’re fighting well.”

“That is a compliment, then.”

Vermouth smiled beautifully while looking at Ian. He was beautiful to look at, but that man was poisonous. If Ian stayed with him, he would never be able to return to his original world. As that certainty took root, Ian began to hide his true feelings from Vermouth more often. This caused Vermouth to act even more erratically, but there was no other way.

Ian wanted to see his older brother, Choi Jae-heon.

After their parents passed away, they were the only family left in the world. He couldn’t leave his brother all alone. Though Jae-heon appeared strong on the outside, Ian knew that in reality, he possessed a fragile heart.

‘I have to go back.’

Ian was willing to do anything to see his brother again. Thus, after five long years, they finally succeeded in decapitating the Demon King .

“Finally!”

He had achieved something that no previous Saintess or Saint had ever accomplished.

On the day Vermouth returned carrying the Demon King’s head, Ian unconsciously clasped both hands over his chest. It was to suppress his wildly racing heart.

Now, he could finally go back!

They had achieved the great feat of killing the Demon King, but not everything was resolved yet. By killing him, they had stopped the demons from congregating, but there was a next step.

‘Still, that part can be handled by the people living here.’

There were four Great Demons serving under the Demon King. They had killed half of them, but the other half had escaped. This was possible because those demons possessed no sense of loyalty. It didn’t seem necessary for Ian to remain just to resolve that.

Ian had fulfilled the duty commanded by the Goddess Regnasia.

Upon confirming the Demon King’s death, the Emperor immediately threw a celebratory party. Ian intended to participate at least this far. It was to show Vermouth that he didn’t yet have any intention of returning to his original world.

Ian tried his best to remain calm while dealing with those offering words of congratulations. He even drank wine, which he usually never touched. He couldn’t afford to let his guard down until the magic circle that opened the passage to Earth was fully operational.