they stood up, and soon they were all standing up straight on their feet.

With Lisa in the lead, they were walking towards the end of the endless plain. Their backs looked very big as they stepped out into the unknown wilderness. But there was no sign of Nozomu. The faces of his companions were all those of people he did not know. Still, Nozomu felt somewhat satisfied.

He was surprised at how calm he felt in front of Ken and the others, but he called out to Lisa in an indifferent tone, but with a voice that somehow echoed in his ears.

"Lisa, I have something to ask you."

"Hey, Nozomu. Talk to me..."

Ken's eyebrows furrowed, and in a rough tone of voice, he closed in on Nozomu. He was probably unhappy that he had been momentarily distracted by Nozomu's anger that he had just felt.

But Nozomu took one look at Ken and gave him a slightly pitying expression. And it offended Ken's pride.

"~... What's with that look...?"

Ken was now looking at Nozomu with nothing but hostility in his eyes.

Ken's hostility, even murderous intent. Nozomu's face, which had been taking it head-on, showed an even more pitying expression.

But still, Nozomu turned his attention to Lisa once again. When Nozomu stared at her, Lisa slumped her shoulders in fright.

The symbol of his own sin, the result of all the times he ran away. He'll confront her head-on this time.

Feeling the warmth of Irisdina's hand on his hand, Nozomu slowly opened his mouth.

"Lisa, you told me before that you wanted to be an adventurer like your father. Do you remember that?"

"~!!"

Hearing Nozomu's words, Lisa's face distorted at once. Her complexion turned pale as if she were a sick person, and the cold air and an ice arrow piercing her chest assaulted Lisa's entire body again.

Lisa's lips began to tremble as the coldness returned to her body.

"Lisa, can you answer me? Are you still pursuing that dream?"

The memories of the last two years since she had left Nozomu flowed through Lisa's mind like a muddy stream. When she was betrayed and fell into despair, she felt cold, as if she was trapped in a cage of ice.

The cold that pierced her whole body froze her mind and body, and in the end, she couldn't even feel the voice of her best friend who had been calling out to her all the time.

With the support of Ken and Camilla, she managed to get back on her feet, but even so, the icy arrow that had pierced the inside of her mind would not melt, and would occasionally freeze her whole body like an impulse. And the moment she heard Nozomu's words, the ice arrow gouged out Lisa's chest at once.

"Shut up! It has nothing to do with you! It's none of your business anymore!"

Words of rejection came out of her mouth. She looked down and said the words that echoed around her.

The next moment, for some reason, an indescribable regret hit Lisa's chest.

(Ah.....)

Reflexively Lisa raised her face.

She looked up and saw Nozomu with a sad expression as if he was repenting for his sins.

"Yes, I know. I've been averting my eyes away from you. But could you trust me on this? I'm..."

"That's enough!"

Ken, whose face had turned red, tried to grab Nozomu, who tried to continue speaking even though Lisa rejected him.

But in the meantime, Irisdina intervened. She grabbed Ken's outstretched hand and pulled him away from Nozomu.

She even used her immediate deployment of body-strengthening magic to hold Ken down. Ken also immediately used his body-strengthening magic, but Iris was able to open a distance between him and Nozomu before it was activated.

"Do not ...... get in the way!"

"Kuh!"

But Ken didn't lose either and immediately tried to dislodge Irissina's arm and run past her.

"I'm sorry, but I can't let you through right now."

But this time, Feo stood in front of Ken, and even Ken could not break through when it was two against one.

Ken was interrupted by Nozomu, who opened his mouth again. Lisa's complexion had gone pale, and she could barely keep her footing.

At the sight of such Lisa, Nozomu felt a stabbing pain in his chest. However, Nozomu still did not turn away from Lisa. He took one more step toward her.

But then, a voice called out her name echoed between Nozomu and Lisa.

"Lisa!"

When she heard her name called, her rigidity broke and she turned on her heel and ran at once.

Lisa tried to get away from this place as fast as possible. In the blink of an eye, her figure disappeared into the darkness of the night.

Ken also followed Lisa while Irisdina and the others were distracted by the scene in front of them.

Nozomu also rushed to run, but Camilla, the owner of the voice, stood in front of him.

"Nozomu, what the hell have you done?"

"Camilla ......"

Camilla raised her voice and snapped at Nozomu.

She also knew that Lisa can no longer fall in love with him, and she remembers the apologetic look on Lisa's face when Lisa told her about her inability to get closer to Ken because of her own deep-seated fears.

She remembered the apologetic look on Lisa's face. That was why she had continued to see Nozomu as an enemy until now.

"You, how long do you think you can keep hurting her? Do you have any idea how much pain she's been through since then!?"

A rough voice rang in Nozomu's ears.

But Nozomu turned his attention to the direction Lisa had run and gave Camilla a serious expression.

"Camilla, we're going to chase after Lisa..."

"....Huh?"

Unlike Camilla who was furious, Nozomu's voice was calm. In the depths of his eyes, Camilla could see that he was worried about Lisa.

It was the same expression that she had seen in Nozomu's eyes when they used to be together. And when Camilla heard the words that seemed to appeal to something deep in her heart, she was momentarily at a loss for words. In the meantime, Nozomu started to run.

"What are you doing, hurry up!"

Nozomu's voice echoed throughout the area.

As if driven by his voice, Camilla, Irisdina, and Feo also rushed off in pursuit of Lisa.

Only an old man was left behind.