| IF Luna | Chapter 3: Being Vulnerable

 Their walk in the park ended as the evening came. Luna felt relaxed and had a great time. She didn't know it could be so enjoyable to have company from another person outside of her family by her side.

 But when they came back to the base, they split up. She thought the halls were a little emptier than when she left, But it isn't uncommon around this time.

 When she arrived at Rigeld's office to report, she stumbled upon Alver, who seemed to have been waiting for someone.

 "…Princess Luna, I was about to head out to get you," he politely said, lightly bowing down his head.

"…why for?" Luna asked.

 She had a bad feeling about it. And when Alver was done with the formalities, he began to speak.

 "As you can assumably tell, Sir Rigeld isn't in the office. Thus left a message," Alver calmly said.

 Luna's gaze turned cold again as she waited for him to speak. She thought it was strangely quiet, and now her uncle isn't here?

 (I thought it was strange. He's a workaholic who rarely leaves the office—it's like he lives here. That means…)

 "As Princess might've already concluded, The Selges beast has fully woken up. And…there are issues as of now. Resealing it doesn't seem possible anymore. Hence, it's going to get subjugated."

 "When did he leave?"

 "…This morning, Princess. A little after you left the base."

 (…That geezer…!)

 "In other words, it is a massive crisis," Alver said. "Therefore, Sir Rigeld went along with The Saint. The hero had already left a little earlier, but they're all there."

 "Meaning that the responsibility has been transferred over to me…"

 "As you said, Princess."

 Luna sighed, saying, "Maximise the output of all the physical and magical barriers."

 Having witnessed what happened in Minoth, Luna wouldn't want a tragedy like that to occur. Especially when many of the troops were out, as well as the Hero, Saint, and even the commander himself, isn't present. Whilst there were other elites from the royal family and church. Their numbers were lacking, and if Ilifel was under attack. There would be too many casualties.

 All her gears had shifted, and the calm and soothing feeling she had today when she was out with Alum was almost forgotten.

 "Yes, Princess. Shall I call for The Sages as well?" Alver asked with concern in his voice.

 "Calling them back would be challenging. There is still a massive breakout with those pesky oceanic creatures."

 "Right… Ever since the ancient Leviathan moved to the western waters, it has chased away many of the competitors. Thus, they ended up in Lesich's waters…"

 "That's why we won't call them back. We have The Hero and The Saint. All we can do is aid them from here. Therefore, prepare the EAC, use precision mode, and lock the coordinate on the beast."

 "…Are you sure?" Alver queried.

 Luna was sure, but…it was still risky, nevertheless, as it was one of the empire's greatest weapons. Suppose it was known that the Lesiens fired powerful long-range artillery with the capabilities to wipe out any nation worldwide within a few seconds. They would want to have a version of their own.

 "…Prepare it just in case; don't set the output higher than 10% and turn off the space rail; use atmospheric acceleration instead."

 "Understood, but… Princess, you're not planning to head over as well? Are you?"

 "It depends on the situation, as I'm unable to use flashy destruction magic like my uncle, use incinerating light like The Saint or The Hero's eclipse flames. I am rather good at speed and defence."

 "But…! Sir Rig—"

 "You're dismissed," Luna coldly said.

 "Understood," Alver replied.

 He expressed defeat and felt guilty that he might've not been able to keep the promise to his friend: to keep his niece safe…

 …

 …..

 …

 A day has passed, and yesterday's event was rather hectic. As it turned out, they didn't have to use the EAC. Because when The Saint arrived with Rigeld. She could resonate her light with everyone and successfully subjugate the beast.

  Luna leaned back on the chair, feeling relieved after having received the report. She was exhausted from doing all sorts of work yesterday—she hadn't even rested ever since she was sent on that mission in Minoth.

—Rather… she did relax a little when she was with Alum. But she lacked sleep, nevertheless.

 Even if she wanted to sleep, she couldn't, for whatever reason. Feeling frustrated by her insomnia, she headed out for some fresh air.

 However, what she didn't expect was to meet Alum out in the garden. He sat on a bench and watched the ocean as the sun was setting.

 (He seems awfully relaxed…)

 Luna walked up to him. He sensed that someone was approaching, thus turning around.

 "Hm? Luna…? You…seem tired."

 "…I am. I haven't slept since yesterday," Luna replied.

—Even though she said that it wasn't really accurate. In fact. Ever since she came back to Ilifel from her mission, she hasn't had a wink of sleep.

 "You can't sleep?" Alum asked.

 "…Well, that too, and I've been quite busy with the tasks that Uncle left me."

 "Mmm."

 "It's all finished."

 Luna exhaustedly sighed and seated herself beside Alum. She looked at the ocean waves as they hit the shore. She felt more relaxed as she breathed in the cold fresh air.

 Beside her, Alum took out a treat. Luna glanced at him, and he handed her a sandwich.

 "Want one?" he asked.

 Despite lacking a facial expression, Luna could tell that he worried for her. But even so.

 "…I'm too tired to eat," Luna replied.

 "I see," Alum replied.

 He looked a little disheartened somehow but searched for something else in the bag.

 "How about this?" he asked. "It's easier to eat, and it's sweet. I don't know what it's called, though."

 "..."

 "I've never seen that before. Where is it from?" Luna curiously asked.

 "Form Jemesol?" Alum replied.

 "Is that so? In that case, I think I've heard of it. Is it perchance called Shima?" Luna asked while leaning on Alum's shoulder.

"…You know of it?"

 "I think there was some talk in town about it. At least if it was from Jemesol."

 "I see."

 Not being able to move anymore, something suddenly crossed Luna's mind. (Have I shown this side to anyone before?) she wondered. (But…it should be fine, he's a friend. Perhaps I can afford to be a little vulnerable?)

 "I can't move," Luna suddenly said. "Hence…can you feed me?" she shyly asked.

"…Sure," Alum said.

 He broke it into smaller pieces so that it was easier to chew and fed it to her. And as he fed her, Luna felt her heart throbbing. Her heartbeats felt heavy, but at the same time, she felt relaxed.

 "By the way… Aren't you supposed to be with the other wanderers?" Luna inquired.

 "I…spoke to them a little earlier this noon, but they need some time alone, besides… This is how I usually spend my time."

 "I…see."

 Luna felt drowsiness overwhelm her; even though she felt tired before, she wasn't able to close her eyes. However, now that she felt more relaxed and comfortable and about to fall asleep, Alum covered her with his coat.

 "….."

 Having a fuzzy feeling in her chest, she held his coat close to her, clinging onto it before lying down on his lap.

 "…You don't mind, right?" Luna sheepishly asked.

 "…I don't," Alum gently replied.

 He broke off another bite-size of Shima and fed it to her.

 "…Thank you…it's very sweet," Luna said before her consciousness drifted into sleep.

 "Hey…Luna, it's evening. Are you sure you don't want to…she's asleep."

 Alum chuckled and let her stay like that for a while. He wanted to tell her to get proper rest but felt it to be difficult to wake her up.

 (It's strange, I don't even know her that well, but…I feel relaxed, even letting my guard down—despite knowing her job is to observe me…but looking at her… Does she feel the same?)

 …

 …..

 …

 When the sun had completely set, Luna wouldn't wake up, no matter how much Alum pestered her to do so. Thus, he carried her in his arms and walked down the empty corridors. At first, he planned to drop her off in her room, but…

 (Where could that even be?)

 Left with no other choice, he walked toward his room, using the quietest corridors so that they wouldn't be found out. After all, he was carrying an unconscious princess in his arms. So, who knows how things would end were that to come to light?

 That… That was the plan, at least. Alum isn't the luckiest guy; in front of him was Rigeld Ilifel—her uncle.

 It was silent, and Rigeld inspected Alum and Luna. The atmosphere felt rather awkward than threatening. And unexpectedly, Rigeld faintly smiled.

 "Don't cause an incident," he teasingly said while grinning.

 "…a…what?"

 While Alum was processing what he meant, he walked past and patted him on the shoulder before saying, "It's just an old-timers joke."

 (…He's not going to say anything about the situation?)

 Rigeld glanced at Luna again, seeing how she peacefully slept while clinging onto Alum.

 "…I don't know what happened between you two. But considering how Luna normally is, her guard is tight. Despite her allies guarding her during missions, she has never fallen asleep. Yet she peacefully sleeps in your arms."

 "…Huh?"

"Anyhow, she left some paperwork for me, so… Do take good care of her."

 Rigeld gently smiled as he looked at Alum. He glanced at Luna one last time before heading to his office.

 Meanwhile, Alum wasn't sure how to react and stood there dumbfounded. Before he realised it, it was too late to ask where Luna's room was.

 When he arrived back in his room, the words Rigeld left him with still lingered in his mind.

 ("Do take good care of her," huh…?

 He glanced at the innocent-looking girl he'd just put down in bed. Seeing how she was so defenceless, he sighed. But… At the same time, he felt quite happy that she trusted him this much.

 He wasn't sure yet if he could trust her after all the backstabbing he had been through.

 (…I've become a fool…but… because of that, the world has colours.)

 Thinking along those lines, he, too, was hit by drowsiness, as Luna wasn't the only one who lacked sleep. With a small yawn, he fell asleep on the edge of the.