Lydia and I had only known each other for a week. There was no way that our relationship could be put to this kind of test. How could anyone, let alone a cute girl like Lydia, have any kind of feelings for a fat loser like me?

“Please… just kill me,” Lydia spoke, my eyes snapping to hers. “Just cast your spells until I fall. Please…”

Tears fell down her cheeks, yet her steps kept coming forward. In this world, she was a slave. She had almost no value, and certainly not more value than a hero. If she died, no one would care. Her master certainly wouldn’t care. He already thought she was dead. No, that wasn’t true. I would care. She mattered to me! I wouldn’t go so far as to say I loved her. I had made that mistake a hundred times in the past, giving my heart to someone. I wasn’t doing this out of some misguided desire to love anyone who was even a little nice to me. I did this… specifically, because it was Lydia.

“I don’t know how I feel about you,” I spoke honestly, causing Lydia to blink. “But I regret that we’ll never have the chance to find out.”

“W-wait… no, kill me! Please… don’t!” Lydia’s eyes began to panic.

“History repeats itself, huh?” I leaped forward.

Her blade was raised towards me. She was way too fast. There was just no way, but I wasn’t going to go without trying.

“No! I love…” Lydia’s words stopped as the sword slid into my gut.

“Ah…” I let out a groan, putting my hand on her cheek. “Really… painful… Remove… Curse.”

There was a glow around her body, but she let go of the sword, and I collapsed to the ground.

“N-n-no!” She screamed, collapsing with me as my body fell to the ground. “No. Please…”

She grabbed my chest, “I love you! I love you! Please… I love you! You’re the best Master I ever had. Please… don’t leave me… I’ll be good. I’ll be good. Just don’t leave me.”

The necromancer looked down at the scene with a grimace. “Skeletons… finish her off.”

“Hehehe…” I chuckled, “I knew he was a liar.”

“M-master?” Lydia’s eyes widened as she realized I was still awake.

“Can you pull the sword out of my stomach, it’s really painful.”

“Ah!” She grabbed the sword and yanked it out.

“Ahhhhh…. Damn…” I let out a moan. “Weak Heal.”

I pulled out the last mana bottle and Lydia helped pull it to my lips. “Weak Heal! Weak Heal!”

White magic quickly covered me and the wound closed very quickly. With that, I worked my way up to my feet with Lydia’s help. The Necromancer was staring at us with his mouth open. As for the skeletons, they didn’t seem to move at all.

“You… really love me.” I asked.

Lydia blushed, lowering her head. “Of course. I aimed low… didn’t I? It’s okay that you don’t know how you feel about me…”

“Ah… actually, I was just trying to sound cool,” I said sheepishly. “I love you too.”

Lydia’s eyes widened and she looked up at me. “You do?”

Forget all my bold talk as I thought I was going to die. I really was a sap who fell in love too easily. However, Lydia was the first girl to ever reciprocate that love.

“What’s going on here?” The Necromancer demanded.

“She was supposed to aim for my heart,” I explained. “Not my stomach. I’m a White Mage. I can pretty much heal from anything that isn’t an instant death. You may have guided Lydia’s hand, but at the last moment when it counted the most, she wouldn’t kill me.”

“That…” The Necromancer shook his head. “He…”

“I love you,” I said. “Please… be mine.”

“Mm! I love you! You’ll always be my Master.”

Actually, I meant to be mine like a valentine. My only understanding of romance came from Valentine’s Day memes. I was still uneasy about the master-slave thing, but it seemed like a bad time to bring it up. Our lips met, and the two of us kissed.

“Enough of this!” The Necromancer snapped. “This isn’t… no… just kill… kill them!”

The skeletons finally moved forward this time, but a second later a bright light exploded from the ceiling. The skeletons were reduced to ash. A glowing orb floated down from the ceiling.

“Y-you…” The necromancer backed up. “They can’t be… this was…”

“Brother…” A voice came from the lore, causing the skeleton to shake. “It’s time for you to realize the truth.”

“No… you can’t… slaves are just owned by their masters. They’re tools!”

“Can someone not love a tool?” Her voice asked gently. “Can an animal not love its master?”

The Necromancer’s face was twisted. “You’re not a tool, nor an animal!”

“That’s right… I was his beloved party member who chose to give my life for him. Look at the pair of them. Know the truth.”

The skeleton looked back at us, still in each other’s arms, and then a strange sense of peace fell over him. “I see… so that’s how it is.”

“Come with me, brother. It’s time.”

“I suppose so…” The Necromancer sighed and then shot me a look. “Take care of her! Rather, I’ll hold you to it!”

“Y-yes!” I declared, nodding.

With that, the white glow spread out from the orb and then surrounded the skeleton. A moment later, he was no longer there. With that, the boss was defeated. After all, the story was now finished.