Khazak and Mylia, having finally regained their strength, were seated at their usual round table, waiting for Gladius to bring something from inside. After a while, Gladius appeared, carrying a huge basket—normally used for gathering tobacco—and two shovels. He tossed them in front of Mylia and Khazak and said:
"Well, you've fought enough. Now it's work time—go clean up that mess."
Mylia and Khazak stared at Gladius, visibly shocked and annoyed. But when they saw the smug grin on his face, they had no choice but to pick up the shovels and start collecting the bodies. As they shoveled the shriveled corpses of the soul-drained demons into the basket, Mylia, with a self-satisfied grin on her face, said:
"In the end, I killed more demons than you," Mylia said, her grin growing wider.
Khazak, feeling as if he'd just been hit by an arrow, quickly retorted, "Come on, the aragar should count for more points—so I won!"
Mylia, sharing the same sense of indignation, snapped back:
"As if I couldn't have killed it without you."
"But in the end, I clearly beat you in terms of speed right there."
Khazak countered smugly.
Puffing her cheeks and trying to look angry, Mylia spoke in an adorably irritated tone:
"I saved your ass 50 times, but also, what do you mean by 'beat you'? If you want, let's race."
Mylia challenged with a smirk.
Khazak, his ego soaring, replied confidently:
"Alright, let's see, but don't think you'll win. I should be as fast as you now."
Mylia tossed her shovel aside and said:
"Let's race from the front of the house to the aragar's corpse. First one there wins."
Khazak suddenly threw his shovel to the side, wearing a smug grin as he took his position at the front of the house. Mylia mirrored his stance beside him, starting a countdown from three. The moment she said "Go," both of them burst forward from the house.
The distance between the house and the aragar's corpse was about 20 meters, but Mylia reached the finish line with ease, running at nearly double Khazak's speed. As she reached the aragar's side, she turned her face slightly and gave Khazak a mocking smile.
The sight shattered Khazak's fleeting confidence. His ego deflated so quickly that he tripped over his own feet, crashing to the ground halfway to the finish.
Seeing Khazak faceplant, Mylia let out a loud, uncontrollable laugh, collapsing to the ground and rolling around in hysterics. Khazak, however, didn't move, keeping his face buried in the dirt and offering no reaction.
After about 20 seconds of stillness, Mylia's laughter trailed off as she noticed Khazak hadn't budged. Concern replaced her amusement as she hurried over to him. She knelt down and gently shook his shoulder, whispering nervously, "Khazak? Hey, are you okay?"
There was no response. Panic started to set in as she continued trying to rouse him. Just as she was about to shout for help, Khazak suddenly sprang to life, flipping her onto the ground and pinning her down by her wrists.
With a triumphant grin, he declared:
"You may be faster than me, but I'm sure you're not stronger, right?"
Mylia struggled to free herself after Khazak's sudden move, but it was no use. It was true—Khazak had become stronger than her thanks to his grueling training over the past month. Realizing she couldn't escape, Mylia stopped resisting and turned her face toward Khazak. Her cheeks were flushed bright red with embarrassment, and her crimson eyes seemed to shimmer as if reflecting her emotions.
As Khazak noticed her expression, he suddenly became aware of the situation. His own face turned scarlet with embarrassment, and he awkwardly tried to get up.
Just then, Gladius stepped out of the house, a cigarette hanging lazily from his lips, and yelled in a voice filled with mock outrage:
"I TOLD YOU TO GATHER THE CORPSES, NOT CLIMB ON TOP OF EACH OTHER!"
After Gladius's sharp outburst, Khazak and Mylia froze in place, trembling. Both let out soft, startled yelps before pretending as if nothing had happened. Avoiding Gladius's gaze entirely, they quickly returned to the task of gathering the corpses.
Once they finished piling the bodies into the large basket, they set it aside and returned to their routine. Khazak sat at the table, waiting, while Mylia headed into the house and disappeared into the kitchen.
The peculiar silence that lingered between Gladius and Khazak as they sat at the table was finally broken when Gladius spoke in his usual gruff tone:
"What do you plan to do, Khazak?"
You're right. Here's the exact translation without modifications:
Khazak, after stumbling for a second or two following the broken silence, replied:
"Most likely, I'll return to my master, Reagon, and from there..."
"No, no, that's not what I meant. What are you planning to do about Mylia?"
Khazak, visibly surprised by this question, stared blankly at Gladius for a while before responding with a strange feeling welling up inside him:
"I don't know. I don't want to be separated from her. But there's nothing definite between us yet."
"Give me the kind of answer I'm asking for. Do you want her?"
"...In what way...?"
Gladius sighed and continued:
"You know exactly what I'm asking, so I won't push you. Answer me with one word: do you want her?"
Khazak lowered his head, his black hair falling over his face as he stared at the table for a while. He wanted her—without a doubt, he wanted her. In every sense, he desired her, and he was certain Mylia felt the same. Anyone who wasn't an idiot could see that. Yet he couldn't take even a single step forward. Until now, it had always been Mylia who made the moves.
He knew she wanted this too, but he couldn't put it into words. All he could do was follow Mylia's lead. These thoughts churned in his mind a little longer before he lifted his head. He had made a decision. From now on, he would take action as well. For what he wanted, for what they both wanted, he would move forward.
And with determination, a single word left his mouth:
"Yes."
Gladius, after hearing the response, took another drag from his cigarette and said, with a satisfied tone:
"Clearly. But it seems someone needed to be verbally pushed into action, didn't they?"
Just as Khazak was about to say something, the door opened, and Mylia entered with a tray and three plates of roasted rabbit, setting them down on the table. Upon seeing Mylia, Khazak felt something different, an unfamiliar sensation. However, he kept it to himself and took a plate for himself from the tray.
Once everyone was seated, Gladius spoke up:
"Well, kids, today is our last day. It's time for you to leave, isn't it?"
Gladius took one last drag from his cigarette, pressing it into the table, and continued:
"It was nice having a woman in the house, there was always food around. You're really lucky, Khazak. Mylia's hands are truly skilled."
Upon hearing this, Mylia blushed slightly and said:
"Thank you, but what I did doesn't even come close to repaying what you've done for us."
Gladius then continued:
"You really gave me some fun times, kids. I'll hang around here a bit longer, but I might consider taking on an apprentice soon. This work is way more entertaining than I thought."
Khazak, trying not to show it, quietly said:
"You probably enjoyed pushing me in lessons just to satisfy your ego, old man."
He had said it louder than he intended. Upon hearing this, Gladius slapped Khazak on the head with a smile still on his face and said:
"Trust me, if it were you, you'd enjoy it too."
After this, Mylia let out a soft laugh. Khazak noticed something—Mylia had been laughing much more than usual lately. The shy girl from the old days seemed to have been replaced by the sweetest, most genuine girl in the world. Khazak couldn't help but gaze at Mylia's smiling face. Due to his intense training, Khazak hadn't had much time to look at Mylia, but Mylia had plenty of time to look at Khazak. Because of this, Mylia had warmed up to him in a way she never had before. Although Khazak didn't know it, Mylia had grown fond of him, enjoying every second he unknowingly looked at her, observing his face, body, and mannerisms.
After finishing their meals, Mylia and Khazak were now ready to leave, waiting for Gladius at the door. Gladius came with the sword Khazak had used in training and a small white lily-shaped hairpin. As he handed the sword to Khazak, he leaned in and whispered into his ear:
"The sword bears the soul of its wielder."
After receiving their gifts, both Khazak and Mylia's eyes welled up slightly as they took them. Khazak strapped the sword to his belt, while Mylia put the hairpin in her pocket, their eyes full of emotion as they looked at Gladius. Seeing this, Gladius' eyes also began to fill with tears, and he lowered his head, hiding his face with his hand as he lit a cigarette. When he looked up, it seemed like he was about to cry. He took a puff from the cigarette and, looking at them, said:
"Make sure to stop by sometime, alright?"
Khazak and Mylia, in unison, said with a tearful tone:
"Of course, we'll stop by. Don't ever forget us."
They said, then, to avoid feeling embarrassed any longer, they turned around and started walking. Before they disappeared into the depths of the forest, Gladius shouted one last time:
"I will never forget."
And Khazak and Mylia vanished into the depths of the forest.