Trying to Save my Favorite Character from His Tragic Fate

"Oh! Do you know me? But master blacksmith? Hehe… Not yet though..."

[A genius master blacksmith that we read in our textbooks at the academy. Who will question his work? Although it seems that the illusion is playing at the time before he becomes very famous.]

The dwarf blushes. They are compliments to those in his industry. If a traveler like Kyrie hears their name, their fame must have risen. Their hard work and faith towards the earth god Udarr are not in vain.

"Is the person that you are giving a ring the same as I am thinking?" asks the dwarf while covering his smile that has spread way too wide.

Kyrie looks at the dwarf with a shy smile while he takes the ring into his hands. He grasps the ring in his hands while releasing his mana. A gentle gold light that surrounds his body gets accumulated into his hands. Then, he releases his grasp, opening his palm. The jewel on the ring has turned gold from the gray color. 

"Where is he now?"

"Ah… He is getting food for me…"

"Eh?"

The blacksmith flusters but immediately returns back to his composure. Nonetheless, the quick change gets caught by Kyrie. 

"I will do some finishing touches to the swords as you wait." 

The dwarf rapidly takes the swords and runs back to his smithy.

---

Ian looks around at the stalls to decide what to buy. Thinking back at what Kyrie would usually reach for at the dinner table, Ian decides to buy some skewers since Kyrie usually likes fragrant and savory dishes. 

"Hello, madam… May I have some chicken skewers?"

However, there is no answer.

Ian takes his eyes off the chicken skewers sizzling on the grill and looks at the woman who has not taken off her eyes from them.

"Madam?" Ian raises his voice higher.

The woman's empty eyes set on the grilling but never burning skewers. He is still waiting for her response. 

Then, as if something has crashed into her, she jolts. The life of her eyes returns to her like a rebirth - like a black and white canvas suddenly getting back all the colors that got drained away.

The woman lifts her head and looks stunned at Ian in front of her.

"Oh! Young man! I did not see you there! What do you want?"

"Five chicken skewers, please."

"Okay! Just a moment! I will get them ready for you. The skewers are still raw."

Ian nods and walks away to inspect the tent and his surroundings. 

The streets are still filled with people, and the merchants are still doing their own thing. Everyone is still in their mundane lives. However, everything looks awkward.

He looks closer at every person, and he notices that these people's actions are looping. Although they all are repeating their actions, they don't repeat them at the same time. Everyone repeats their action at different times. That is why Erebus and he did not find anything unusual on their first inspection.

Plus, those chicken skewers are more than cooked based on the amount of time she was grilling them. However, when the madam notices that he is in front, the skewers, as if time has turned back, look raw once again, as if they have never touched the fire.

He has forgotten that this place is under an illusion. The people are also the illusion. However, now, the madam does not feel like one. She hums as she happily grills the skewers, unlike moments before. Her actions don't loop like all the other beings inside the city.

"It's ready now, young man!"

The steaming chicken skewers deliciously plated on a cartoon dish are getting handed towards Ian.

"Thank you… How much?"

"25 coppers."

Ian leaves the tent after paying. However, he turns back his head one more time to look. His eyes spread in shock. The woman returns back to her usual actions of how he first saw her. With her head down, grilling skewers that are almost done but never burning. Her eyes are still as empty as the first time he saw.

Ian quickly runs back to the weapon shop to look for Kyrie. Once there, Ian can not find even his shadow. He quickens his pace and looks around. Then, he turns his head towards the door that leads to the smithy. An unsettling hunch sets in. He quickly places the food on the display table.

He jogs towards the door, opening it to see a shadow sprint past him. His eyes follow the shadow to see that the old man, again defying his old age, running away from the weapon shop so fast like a gust of wind passing by,

He gets into the smithy to see Kyrie on the ground groaning in pain. 

"Kyrie!" 

He quickly kneels on the dirty ground and looks at Kyrie, who is down on the ground.

With tears on his eyes and a deep frown, Kyrie squeezes his annoyance, "That relic!!! Cunning and underhanded, can't find a better place to hit than a man's pride and joy."

Dense as Ian is, he does not understand Kyrie's meaning of 'a man's pride and joy.' He searches for cuts and bruises on Kyrie's body. 

Kyrie, finding Ian cute, drops his head in defeat while chuckling. 

Ian lifts Kyrie's arms and turns his body side to side searching. Finding it amusing, Kyrie lets Ian search around his body. 

"Ian… What are you going to do if you find the injury?" Kyrie asks while trying to hold his smile from spreading.

"Take a look and treat it!" says Ian, whose eyes are still scanning around.

Unable to find anything wrong, Ian finally meets Kyrie's eyes, which are already waiting for him. He deeply worries about Kyrie since he looked like he was in a lot of pain. 

"Where are you hurt?" asks Ian, worried.

Kyrie cannot hold it anymore, and his smile spreads. He puts a hand to cover his mouth.

"It's not funny! Tell me where, so I can treat it!"

Kyrie lowers his eyes towards his pride and joy. Ian follows Kyrie's line of sight, and his eyes also land in the same place. His face slowly reddens brightly. He falls back to sit on the dirty floor stunned but also stupefied. 

Ian lets go of a few cuffs. His reddened face slowly subsides. His eyes stare back at Kyrie. Kyrie, taken out by surprise, feels a chill running down his spine when his eyes meet with Ian's current eyes - a bit of annoyance with a willingness, almost playful in the mix.

"I see… Then... you want me to treat you?"

Ian takes Kyrie's wrists, pulling him without noticing his strength. Kyrie lands on his knees to the floor in between Ian's legs. Instinctively, his body shields itself from the impact by extending his arms to stop his unintended jerk to the front. 

His hands land on Ian - one on the knee while the other on Ian's chest. 

"Do you always have fun scaring me like this?" 

His blue eyes search for answers in Kyrie's stunned expression.