The rays of dawn were breaking.

The admiral, a man who was once a proud sailor was defeated by a horned monster.

That horned monster that gave him nightmares at night was destroyed.

Now, only a white-colored copy remains on the dock.

The admiral used the megaphone to communicate with all his allies.

"Comrades. We have experienced this year many tragedies related to the Knight of the Kingdom."

"But this time is different. We have the guardian and the priestess on our side. For that reason, we have luck on our side."

"Do not fear!"

"Do not hesitate!"

"On this day, Aster will be reborn as the strong and powerful land it always was!"

"We will put an end to those plagues of the Kingdom and return victorious to our homes with our families!"

The sailors, soldiers and knights who were in the airships, armed units and those on the ground with rifles, shouted in joy at those words.

"The time has come! They are still here!"

"It doesn't matter if they are women or children! Kill them all!"

"Long live Aster!"

"Long live the sacred tree that protects us!"

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

With that war cry. Aster's fleet stationed at the dock advanced fearlessly to the Kingdom's embassy.

They were only two hundred meters away. It would be a piece of cake they thought.

Then, the airship that was anchored at the dock began to rise along with other airships.

They moved into attack position.

Aurora aimed its cannon at the flagship.

"Fire! Do not hesitate!"

The admiral shouted. A hail of cannon fire was sent at Aurora which in seconds was covered by a black cloud.

"Yes! We won!"

Shouted the sailors at the sight of the black cloud, the admiral touched his war in joy.

"What's the matter!"

An ensign shouted. The admiral grabbed the binoculars and observed that Aurora was still intact.

On deck stood a spiky-haired young man with a white sphere at his side.

The cannon was moving and the captain could only curse.

"... You miserable, horned monster number two."

Those were his final words as a cannonball flew into the cockpit shattering everything, succeeding in sinking the flagship.

◇◇◇

Seeing the destroyed flagship, Frey said.

"Go all of you!"

"Understood!"

Chlust and Warren accompanied by other armor went on the attack.

They jumped out of the nearby ships and with their weapons marched towards the enemy.

Frey was speaking to them through a Bell communicator.

"Chlust, finish off the enemies in front."

"Warren, cover Chlust. The others take cover and finish them all off."

"I'll cover them from the rear so they fight without hesitation."

Frey aimed his rifle with magic bullets at an armor approaching the embassy.

"I will not let you near Erselica or anyone else. That's an order from the count."

After firing, the armor flew into pieces.

Seeing that, the warriors of the kingdom were glad to be able to fight without restraint.

Warren had several swords with him, he drew one and began to cut enemies.

Chlust at his side used spears. He grabbed two and cut several enemies in half.

While Clovis on Aurora, he used binoculars to observe the battlefield.

"Over there. They're approaching through the neighboring embassy."

"Roger that."

Bell said and sent the order to some robots with rifles to go.

The number was limited as many of them perished at Schwert.

"I'd like to help more, but this is all I can do."

"Rudecchi entrusted this to us. We mustn't disappoint him, once this is over, we're going home."

Bell rated Erselica's five boyfriends as useless, but they had very useful qualities depending on what the situation meant.

◇◇◇

The soldiers managed to enter the embassy, no one was there.

They went through every place and room looking for the people of the Kingdom.

They heard voices down the hallway.

As one of them approached, the barrel of a rifle was placed over his head and his life ended.

The soldiers behind him became alarmed.

Emerging from the corridor was Jude, aiming at them.

They were surprised to see him, for they were vassals of Banfield Household.

Jude recognized them, but he didn't care.

For right now, he was an ally of the Kingdom.

Just before Rudel left, Jude wanted to leave, but Rudel stopped him.

Jude knew he shouldn't be here after what he did, but Rudel told him.

"If you want to see Lucy safe and healthy. Help us, she will praise you when she returns."

Jude wanted to mend his relationship with Lucy. Even if she could never love him, at least they could be acquaintances or friends if given the chance.

Added to what his father and the other great nobles are doing.

He understood who the enemies were.

Jude fired and his former vassals were dying for his rifle.

They returned fire.

Felicia appeared as well and began firing.

Behind her were Cana and Allen with ammunition to reload and even grenades.

In the background were Alisa, Sara and Erselica.

Alisa commented after hearing the gunfire.

"If the situation calls for it. I will use my magic to burn them all."

"As much as it pains me to say it, I will do the same."

Sara supported Alisa in the decision to kill her compatriots if the situation arose.

Erselica trembled in fear as she heard the explosions and bombs go off.

The docks where many international ships were arriving became a war zone.

◇◇◇

-An hour ago-

Bram and Ada were returning to Erselica's mansion.

Why were they returning so late?

Because of what happened in some parts of the country, they had to stay waiting inside the restaurant they went to since they only knew that there were riots of crazy people.

Bram tried all day to show Ada that he was a serious and reliable man. That's why he took her to different places that Rudel recommended the night before.

He even lent her a suit and gave her a gift.

Ada wore a beautiful dress that matched her eyes.

A perfect day for them was ruined, in the end they both came back tired.

Bram sent a glance at Ada and she seemed to be in a bad mood.

Bram asked her as they approached the door.

"Emm, Ada-san. I'm sorry yesterday wasn't the best day of your life."

"I'm really sorry."

Ada in a friendly tone, but without showing it on her face answered him.

"Don't worry, Bram-san, it wasn't your fault. It's just that I didn't expect that I was really going to be away from Allen-kun for so long."

"... Does it bother you that much to be away from him?"

"He's my little brother. After our parents left, I had to take care of both of them from an early age."

"I'd like him to study and get another job. Ah, I'm not saying that being a servant is wrong, but he's a very young boy still so I consider it better for him to study."

Bram wanted to tell her that he understood her. But growing up with Rudel and Lyle was not an experience where he could understand that sibling affection.

Lyle was the oldest and Rudel was the youngest.

Bram was in the middle. So, Bram was an older brother as a younger brother.

He never received support from Lyle and therefore he treated Rudel the same way.

After the war he understood that a family is to support each other in the good and bad times of life.

Therefore, they want to improve as a family.

Bram sighed as this was his last chance to show Ada the reliable man he was.

She opened the door and then they both walked in.

Bram wanted to thank Rudel for the suit and the gift he didn't use, but there was no one in that house.

Moreover, even many things were missing.

"What's going on here?"

"Allen-kun! Rudel-san! Alicelotte-sama!"

Ada called out to different people while Bram inspected the place.

As she opened a door she was surprised.

"...... Huh?"

Next moment, she shouted.

"Kyah!"

Bram went running towards her. There he saw something that also surprised him.

"Who are you?"

A man was in the bathroom.

The man upon seeing Ada immediately put on his pants and ran out.

Bram wanted behind him, but the man was running too fast.

He went out the back door.

Bram followed him, as he opened the door. Cold sweat ran down his forehead.

"... It can't be."

A group of sleek, gun-toting men were camping in the garden.

They all noticed Bram, he slowly backed away and locked the door and then moved the cooler closer to the door.

He immediately shouted to Ada.

"Ada-san! Let's get out now!"

Bram grabbed her hand and they ran to the front door to get out.

As they opened it, they were both horrified.

This time it was a group of larger mystery men.

They all had mafia-style machine guns in their hands.

One man in a hat and scarf was lighting a cigarette.

The man exhaled the smoke and addressed them.

"Good evening─ no, I'm bad. Good morning, my dear bastards of the Kingdom."

The man was Warrick who smiled at them.

Bram whispered to Ada.

"Back away slowly."

Warrick and everyone present watched them backing away.

He burst out laughing a little at how obvious they were.

After entering the house, Bram used magical reinforcement to gain strength and place some furniture in the doorway.

Warrick used a megaphone to speak to them.

"I'll say it again. Good morning my dear bastards of the Kingdom."

"My name is Warrick and I am a colonel of the Ereboreas Republic."

"Of the republic?"

Bram commented as he tried to think what was going on here.

"We arrived hours ago, we were looking for people from the Kingdom to use as hostages, you see we have two objectives."

"The first was to take over this country, thanks to a certain fool, our nation will gain ground here without needing to waste ammunition."

"The second is this, to use as a bargaining chip important people of Count Bradford to obtain his lost item!"

"Last year our nation tried to invade your country due to a political matter, we failed, so we will now try to obtain something better after kidnapping colleagues of the Count."

"We've been secretly investigating you guys for days now, everything was perfect today... but it looks like something happened and you guys left. It's a pity~."

"Or so I thought until we observed you guys coming in."

"According to recently obtained data, we know that you are Bram van Bradford, the Count's older brother."

Bram felt his stomach twist at what he was about to finish saying.

"We are only interested in you, that's why we don't want to use violence, but the woman with you is no one important. That's why both yours truly and my men have been very stressed and no doubt the company of a good woman like the one with you will be good company."

"Surrender in good form and we will give you VIP service while you wait. You have one minute."

Warrick finished speaking, the man next to him said.

"Colonel, was it all right to tell them all that?"

"It's more exciting this way major. Besides, it's a good thing he thinks we won't do anything to him, we know methods to torture without leaving signs on the body."

Warrick looked around the mansion with his wicked gaze.

"I thought it was going to be a betrayal from them, but we got something better. No doubt the General Captain will be pleased with this victory."

◇◇◇

"Rudel! Where are you! Rudel!"

Bram was screaming desperately calling for his little brother due to fear.

Ada was clinging to herself due to fear. She heard that they would do things to her when they came in.

Bram was running around the house screaming as much as he could.

After a while he stopped.

"Damn iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!"

He yelled as he pounded on the wall.

"Why is this happening?"

"This shouldn't be happening."

"I just wanted a chance and it was ruined, now not only my life is in danger. Ada-san's safety is too."

"Damn, damn indeed my bad luck."

Bram was crying.

"This is the moment where I'm sure you would do something to make everything in your favor. I am not strong nor do I have a lost item. I'm just a peasant..."

He raised his gaze and there he observed his fist... which was sunk into the wall.

"Huh?"

He didn't understand why this was happening. But he remembered what Rudel told him.

He put a strange bracelet in his hands, he told him.

"If some goons show up on you or if you want to show off a bit, use it. It's activated, basically it's a shield which protects you and gives super strength. I used it in the past to defeat a guy."

Bram didn't understand those words, but now it was different. He looked at the artifact that looked like a clock.

There it was in numbers marking its durability.

Bram took a knife and stuck it in his hand.

According to Rudel's words, nothing should happen to him.

And so it did. Bram's hand was intact, a transparent membrane covered his body.

The number was still 100%.

Bram stopped crying and approached Ada taking her by the shoulders.

"Listen to me carefully Ada-san!"

"I want you to go upstairs and hide. At the highest part if possible."

"Huh? But what about you..."

"I'll be fine! Right now, your safety is more important than mine."

"That's why... I'll protect you. I'm not doing it to impress you, I want to protect you because you're someone important to me."

"Bram-san..."

Ada looked at Bram with an expression she had never managed.

Bram led her to the stairs to go upstairs.

He grabbed some items from the kitchen and put them away.

As he grabbed them, his hand trembled.

He compiled that nothing bad would happen to her as long as the membrane was active.

But he thought this...

(What if it didn't work?)

Bram thought that, he was afraid to die. He wanted to live, to go home, eat with his family and sleep after a long day.

But... there was someone who was more important than that.

"I won't let them touch a single hair of Ada-san's! I'll finish off everyone who tries to harm her!"

Just like Rudel, Bram showed the same determination when it was time for justice.

◇◇◇

As the minute passed, Warrick told his men in the front and rear to open fire.

It was the only way in since it was protected.

No one was going to come to see what was going on or call the military. This area was a ghost.

The soldiers opened fire, the entire front of the 1st floor was flooded with bullets.

Warrick and the others walked calmly. They knew that if they hadn't come out it was because he was hiding and it wouldn't be on the second floor.

In the back they were entering one by one, one of them touched something with his foot.

It was the grave of Lucy the rabbit, Rudel's pet. The man stomped hard on the grave destroying the cross on top of it.

They all went inside and began to investigate the place.

Warrick said.

"Remember, the man is important. The woman don't touch her until you have a room, you can shoot in the air."

"Understood."

Warrick and the others went upstairs.

Some lingered, after a while a few went up.

One approached the bathroom, as he opened the door, Bram came out.

In his hand he held the toaster, as he stepped outside, because he waited for this one to happen and decrease his number.

Bram grabbed the soldier by the collar of his shirt and after a moment's thought, hit him over the head.

It wasn't once or twice, it was several times.

The toaster was flattening from the heavy blows.

His breathing quickened as he flattened the head of a human being.

Red liquid covered the toaster and his pants.

In less than thirty seconds it killed him.

He threw down the toaster and ran screaming as he ran at two soldiers.

He jumped on one and with a soup spoon used it like knuckles to punch him in the face.

"Hey you fucker, don't think you'll get away with this!"

The soldier seeing his friend in danger went to his aid.

Using the back of his weapon he delivered a heavy blow to Bram.

The rear end bruised a little.

He gave him another blow, and another.

Bram felt nothing.

The soldier seeing that his gun was ruined, he couldn't shoot, his friend was already dead.

Bram got up and looked at his watch, it read 99%.

He understood that with a certain amount of damage he would subtract points.

He quickly lunged at the soldier, who pulled out a knife.

His knife buried itself in Bram's torso, but due to the membrane covering his body, there was no damage.

Bram grabbed the man and dragged him into the kitchen, previously he had placed a pot of boiling oil left over from the ramen Liam prepared.

"No, please! Hold on!"

Said the man with all his might preventing Bram from sticking his head in there. But it was useless.

Bram was stronger because of the membrane, for him, an experienced soldier with more strength was a child next to him.

The soldier screamed as his face burned in that pot full of oil.

◇◇◇

"What's that? Go find out!"

Warrick heard his subordinate's shout, he sent a few men downstairs.

The first one down found his comrades dead.

Bram, who was bloodshot eyes due to the adrenaline his body was experiencing, applied the self-defense his father had him train.

Among all the brothers, he was the strongest and with the best physique.

Bram punched the man several times, stole his gun and shot him at point-blank range.

The soldiers coming down the stairs saw him and quickly went upstairs, pointed their guns at him.

Bram went upstairs as they shot him.

The soldiers screamed as they saw the bullets being flattened against his body.

"What the fuck is going on here?"

One of them asked as he watched Bram pull a knife out of his pants and stab the soldier mercilessly.

"Kill him at all costs!"

The soldiers shouted. They opened fire and Bram fire hit by a hail of bullets.

He could feel as if fierce, large bees were flying at his body.

The pain was evident, but to Bram, in his current state he was invincible.

Grabbing hold of the stair rail he thought.

(Unbelievable.)

(I should be dead, but it's not happening.)

(So this is what Rudel feels like using his lost item?)

(It's awesome. Now I get it, I feel like I'm invincible and could do miracles.)

(That's why that guy stopped being a chicken! Understanding that you're superior in front of this kind of people fills you with unimaginable confidence!)

Bram marched against the soldiers, proceeded to beat them all.

One of them he grabbed and using the power of Ixion's science with his magic power, he sent several meters up the man.

"Don't think you're a big deal!"

One of the soldiers pointed his hand at him. It sent a fireball at him.

Due to the explosion, Bram was sent to the 1st floor.

The soldier didn't stop and released grenade like fireballs at Bram.

This caused the second floor to catch fire.

Within seconds the place was burning.

The mansion where Rudel and the others spent memorable moments in this this year was burning like garbage.

The soldiers upstairs tried to go down and put out the fire, but Bram got up and grabbed the machine gun of one and everyone who came down was killed in a split second.

"...Here's my chance. As long as I have this strange thing, I can defeat them... I'll apologize to Rudel later."

Bram went up as the flames were rising to the second floor.

◇◇◇

Ada was hiding in the room that was her turn to sleep while she was in this mansion.

She heard footsteps while she was hiding in the closet.

The door opened and the men came in.

Warrick walked over to where she was and as he opened the door...

"Bingo."

Ada was at his mercy.

He grabbed her by the hair and dragged her away.

Warrick said to his men. "We're done here, downstairs they must be having fun, but the fun I want is something else."

The men smiled as they dragged Ada away.

Almost as they reached the stairs, a hand reached across the floor and pulled one of them to the bottom where the flames were not yet reaching.

Warrick and the others through the windows began to see smoke billowing out of the mansion.

"This place is on fire!"

They shouted. They wanted to go down to get out, but Bram broke through the floor.

He had finished off the remaining soldiers below.

He shouted to Warrick and his men his last words.

"Get out of here with both of them! Break his legs if necessary, but let's get out of here alive!"

The men approached Bram. They tried to take him by force, but he proceeded to fight back.

He used punches and kicks, one of them flew out the window.

Bram wanted to grab the sword of one who was on the ground, the major was approaching, Warrick's right hand man with a sword.

Bram blocked the attack with his hands.

The major couldn't understand how an ordinary person could stop a sword.

He didn't care, he stepped back and attacked again, Bram used his arms to repel the sword cuts.

The elder was a skilled swordsman from his country, Bram didn't even have an apprentice title of knight or adventurer to wield the sword.

He was just a peasant... who was blessed with a brother who had a tricky item.

Bram quickly took up a combat stance.

He quickly approached him and began to deliver a series of blows to his face.

The man's face distorted.

It flew through the window falling to the ground.

Warrick was getting angry.

"I don't care anymore! Kill him now!"

Ada took that opportunity to escape, Warrick saw her and took off after her.

The soldiers approached Bram and began to attack him in that tight space.

The flames began to rise and they were almost at the floor they were on.

Soldiers were also going up and others were staying to fight.

Bram grabbed one of them and threw him into the flames, but he didn't notice that the man grabbed him and added to the force with which he threw him made Bram himself go flying down as well.

"Uwoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh!"

Bram screamed as he destroyed the burning floors of the mansion.

The mansion had seven floors and a terrace.

Five of those floors were on fire.

The rooms of all its former occupants were gone,

The place was a danger to any living thing.

Bram stood up. Because of the membrane, the smoke he breathed in did not harm him.

The membrane absorbed the harmful particles so that Bram could breathe.

Because the stairs burned, Bram chose to climb in an unimaginable way.

He dug his fingers into the walls and began to climb.

The flames touched his body, but because of the membrane the damage was reduced to zero for him... but not for the membrane.

◇◇◇

Ada went up to the terrace.

She had no escape. She checked every nook and cranny looking for an emergency ladder or something to help her get out of here.

"You took a nice walk, didn't you?"

Ada turned to see Warrick and his remaining men behind her.

In all there were six of them. Out of nearly thirty men only six remained.

Warrick approached with his knife, the men stood guard.

Warrick said to Ada.

"It really didn't take much work to catch you. But don't worry, I'll be sure to play with you long enough before I kill you.

"Uwaah!"

There were shouts from behind him, as he turned to look, his men flew straight to the ground.

Now only he was left of the spies sent from the republic.

He quickly approached Ada to take her hostage.

"Don't move! I'll kill her if you come any closer!"

Warrick pointed his knife at her throat.

Bram was wary. But he marched towards Warrick anyway.

He knew that if he hurt Ada, it would be the end for Warrick.

That's why Bram knew that nothing should happen to Ada.

Warrick was perplexed at what he saw, with his free hand he pulled out a gun and fired.

"Damn!"

"That won't work─"

Next act, Bram was wounded in the shoulder.

Blood was pouring out.

Bram was screaming as blood from his shoulder was pouring out in piles.

"It hurts! It hurts so much! Why did this happen!"

He checked the watch and his eyes widened in surprise.

The reason for it was because the clock read 0%. It meant that the defensive membrane ended the moment he reached the rooftop.

Bram tried to stand up, but the pain was too much.

Warrick saw him crying as he bled out.

He tossed Ada aside and laughingly approached the hurting Bram.

"Are you serious?"

"After you did that to all my subordinates. You're acting like a bitch?"

"You're fucking kidding me asshole!"

Warrick was kicking him in the belly and face.

He enjoyed doing it.

"It makes me so angry to remember that a miserable maggot like you killed all my men."

"This is a disgrace!"

"When I return I will say that all my men died against an army. I will not let the shame caused by you take away my promotion!"

"You miserable son of a bitch!"

Warrick was giving Bram more and more of a thrashing.

One of his teeth even flew out.

Ada at the sight of it cried.

"... Stop. Please stop."

"Don't hurt him anymore please."

She pleaded for Bram's safety. Warrick stopped and sniffed as the flames were already down below, soon they would reach the rooftop.

"Shit. I gotta get out of here as soon as possible."

"If only I hadn't played because it was two people, I'd be safe right now."

Warrick approached the end of the rooftop, he thought about jumping, but there's nothing nearby to cushion his fall.

Or so he thought...

He saw Ada with a sinister look.

He grabbed her by the neck.

"I've been hearing airship engines coming from the dock for a while now. It means the plan must already be going ahead."

None of them understood what he was referring to.

But Bram didn't care. With all his strength... with all the pain he felt over his shoulder. He rose to his feet.

"W-Wait a minute!"

Warrick turned to look at Bram. He had Ada's neck tight and was about to use her as a cushion after falling from that great height.

He would use magic reinforcement so he could get her body to not hurt so badly.

Bram walked right up to him.

"I-If you want to use as an impact shield on someone... let it be me."

"...!"

Both Ada and Warrick were surprised to hear that.

Warrick asked.

"Why would you sacrifice yourself for this woman? She's no one important. She's just a commoner. If she died in your country or here no one would care."

"I care!"

From the depths of his being, Bram revealed his feelings.

"Ever since I was a child, I've loved her more than anything in the world."

"I always loved her kindness, her awkwardness, her sweet and friendly heart."

"For that reason I wanted to make her fall in love with me, but I realized that won't happen!"

"... I can only live my life and wish for her to be happy."

"That's why I'd rather sacrifice my life to save her. Anyway, I am only the second son."

"The eldest is the heir and the youngest of us has a promising future."

Bram flashed his blood-filled smile.

"My life isn't worth anything to a political marriage anyway. So I can do with it as I please."

"That's why I'd a thousand times rather use her to shield her than let her suffer a single pain!"

"Reverend stupidity you say."

Warrick left Ada and approaches Bram. He had a knife in his hand.

"You're right. You're just a non-heir."

"I'll kill you and use you as a bargaining chip, no one will ever know. That woman will be my mattress whether you want her or not."

But he wasn't the only one to smile.

"You're right."

For some reason, Bram was confident as if he were Rudel.

"That's why I prepared a countermeasure."

At that instant, Bram crouched his upper body.

According to the position they were in, the first rays of the sun were rising.

Warrick's eyes were exposed.

In a split second, his corneas burned from the light.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

"My eyes! My eyes!"

"I'm bliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiind!"

Warrick screamed as he wailed.

Bram explained as he sent him close to the edge by pushing him over.

"Just like a peasant. I know better than anyone how long until the sun rises and where it will rise."

"Seeing my position. I just had to buy time."

"You claim to be a soldier, right?"

"You guys get up after the sun rises. We peasants get up before the sun rises!"

Those were the final words to Warrick from Bram. Just before pushing him off in a delicate manner.

Warrick felt his feet no longer touching the surface.

"Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!"

He shouted as he fell. Just like the soldier who stepped on Lucy rabbit's grave, Warrick who was thrown fell over the fence that looked like stakes.

The soldier's life ended by a simple peasant.

◇◇◇

The ground where they stood was beginning to heat up.

Bram approached Ada and commented.

"Ada-san. Please hold on to me."

"Huh? ... Don't tell me. You'll jump!"

"It's the only option."

"There must be another─!"

Bram looked at Ada with a smile. He entwined his arms around her waist tightly.

And before the ground collapsed, he took a leap towards the grass.

The fall was over forty meters high.

As they fell, the sun's rays hit Bram's face.

He knew it was the end of him, but he didn't care.

They seemed to be falling in slow motion.

Bram said his last words to Ada.

"Ada-san... Ada, I was so glad I loved you, even if it was never reciprocated. Thank you for being my first and last love."

"Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!"

Ada screamed as she cried.

They were almost to the ground, in less than five seconds Bram would die... but something happened.

On the back of Ada's right hand an incomplete emblem manifested... it was the emblem of the priestess.

Ada possessed the distant blood of the founding priestess. Therefore, she had the aptitude to be the priestess.

What Diana did not know, was that like the saint, the aptitude to obtain the awakening of her powers was based on her feelings.

By activating the feelings of not wanting to let Bram die. Ada activated those powers.

From the ground sprouted roots with giant leaves which caught both of them and little by little brought them very carefully on the ground.

They reached the ground intact.

The roots like Ada's emblem disappeared.

Bram opened his eyes after a while and noticed that he was still alive.

He was even being hugged by Ada.

His face turned red as he finally felt the sensation of her breasts on him.

"A-A-Ada-san... we're on the ground. We're safe. You can let go of me now."

Lifting her head, Ada proceeded to kiss Bram.

It was his first kiss... and hers.

That kiss that lasted only an instant. To him it felt as if time had stopped.

Ada looked at Bram with a very loving look.

"Bram-san finally got it."

"He managed to really make me fall in love."

"... Huh?"

She helped him up and hugged him tightly.

"From the very beginning. I was attracted to you."

"But deep down I was more interested in Allen-kun's well-being than in myself."

"That's why I could never accept your feelings."

"Just as you say, you are only the second son. For that reason, I consider that we can be together, no one wants to make a connection with you from what I heard from the Madame."

"I'm sorry to be a horrible woman. But I always wanted to hear it from your own mouth. I wanted to hear what you liked about me and not empty flattery."

Hearing that, Bram thought.

(Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh!)

(All this time I've been wasting my time for that simple reason!)

(Damn you Lyle! You said women like men who mark their status with gifts!)

(Even father told me the same thing. Seeing how Rudel also gives gifts to those two made me think the same thing.)

(Coming back home, I'm going to hit you Lyle, so hard I'll deform your face.)

Bram was embarrassed. He just had to say his feelings and he couldn't have wasted many years on empty gifts.

In a way, he was dense like Rudel.

Ada pulled away and looked at him tenderly.

"I'm still worried about Allen-kun. I can't leave him alone."

Bram nodded.

"I-If you wish! I can become an adventurer and go out to a nearby dungeon, earn money and get my own island. I'll give Allen a job there."

"I don't want that. I want that boy to study."

"In that case I'll tell Rudel to help me make him an honorary knight. They get a certain status."

"Emm, we should worry about that later. Your injuries."

"Ah."

"It hurts!"

Bram remembered that he was wounded in the shoulder. He lost a lot of blood.

Ada tore off part of her dress, revealing her legs and a bit of her white underwear to cover the wound and make a tourniquet.

Bram looked at the underwear and was embarrassed.

(This is for real. Did I really come out on top in love?)

(If this is a dream. No one please wake me up.)

As they were healing their wounds, they heard someone's voice approaching.

"Hey! Are you all right?"

That person was approaching.

They saw who it was and were surprised to see him.

" Y-Y-Y-You!"