Reincarnated as a failed hero?! Watch me Defy Fate! - Chapter 130

Chapter 130: Waiting for Me?

Chapter 130: Waiting for Me?

Lyra clung to me tightly, her sobs muffled against my chest.

I smiled gently and returned her embrace, feeling the warmth of her body against my torn inner shirt-my armor had been completely wrecked.

She was warm.

The morning sunlight bathed everything in a golden glow, making both the scenery and Lyra herself look breathtaking.

My heart pounded uncontrollably.

Suddenly, Envi’s voice echoed loudly in my mind, completely ruining the moment.

“Hey, Nao, come on!

It’s not fair if only you get hugged!

Let me have a turn too!” Envi, the ever-shameless system, whined dramatically.

I mentally snapped at him.

“Ugh, you damn idiot!

There’s no way I’m letting you take control right now!

This is an emotional moment-Lyra’s even crying!

If I gave you control, you’d definitely pull some perverted stunt on her!!

So shut up, you lousy system!” My words made Envi go silent for a moment.

“Hmm… I guess you have a point… But hey!

Next time, you better let me have a chance, okay?

I WAS WORRIED ABOUT LYRA TOO!!!

And the other girls, hehe… So I’ll wait for my turn!” he declared confidently.

I had expected him to sulk like usual, but surprisingly, he sounded genuinely concerned.

Hah… What a dishonest system.

Slowly but surely, he was developing emotions-just like a human.

I let out a small smile.

Once Lyra had calmed down, I gently placed my hands on her shoulders, trying to get a better look at her face.

More than anything, I needed to make sure she wasn’t hurt.

The final exam at the academy had been brutal, and I knew Lyra had used a lot of her magic.

As I examined her carefully, I noticed her face gradually turning bright red.

She looked flustered-extremely so.

Then, all of a sudden, she squeezed her eyes shut… looking completely defenseless.

Wait.

Hold on a second.

This… this isn’t what I think it is… right?

Lyra… wants me to kiss her?!

“Naoki-sama… I missed you…” Her voice was barely above a whisper as she leaned in closer, her face now only inches from mine.

My heart pounded wildly.

The atmosphere felt dangerously intimate.

I was embarrassed, but I had to resist!

I couldn’t let Lyra fall for me even more.

I didn’t want to hurt her.

“You coward!

Just kiss her already, Nao!” Envi shouted in my mind, egging me on.

I knew that once-back when we were in Grand Kingdom Solara-we had kissed by accident.

Our boat had rocked violently on the magic river, and we had ended up locking lips.

But despite it being an accident, Lyra had cherished that moment deeply.

And now… here we were again.

This wasn’t the right time.

No… I had to hold back.

Because… I love Serena.

If I kept getting closer to Lyra, I would only end up hurting Serena.

But at the same time… I didn’t want to hurt Lyra either.

Damn it… What am I supposed to do?

As Lyra’s face drew dangerously close to mine, I made my decision.

Right before our lips could touch, I gently cupped her cheeks in my hands.

Her eyes widened in surprise.

Then, with my thumb, I wiped away the lingering tears on her face.

“I missed you too, Lyra… I’m so glad you found me here,” I whispered, my voice filled with sincerity.

Lyra’s breath hitched, and instead of pushing away, she hugged me once more-this time, even tighter.

I let her hold on for as long as she wanted.

…

After a moment, I turned to Lyra and asked the question that had been gnawing at me.

“Lyra… how long have I been missing?” To me, it felt like I had only fought Vaelgorath for a single day, but time here seemed to be moving much faster.

A sudden, ridiculous thought crossed my mind-probably thanks to Envi’s earlier nonsense.

“…Wait.

Has it been years?!

You haven’t had kids yet, have you?!” I blurted out in panic.

Lyra blinked in confusion before bursting into laughter.

“Kids?

Hahaha, what are you even saying, Naoki-sama?

You’ve only been gone for a week!

Not years,” she said, amused by my reaction.

I could hear Envi cackling in my mind, mocking me for falling for his lies.

Damn system.

If he had a physical body, I’d punch him right now.

Still, before I could start arguing with Envi again, Lyra’s expression darkened.

The atmosphere shifted in an instant.

I braced myself for what she was about to say.

Lyra took a deep breath before speaking.

Cain, Freya, and the Academy Headmistress Arsene had managed to defeat Zorx, who had gone berserk, along with the thousands of monsters that had poured out from the dungeon break.

Zorx had been incredibly strong.

His wide-range black fire magic had made it nearly impossible for anyone to fight him.

Only Cain, Freya, and Arsene had been able to stand against him.

Even so, the battle had been brutal.

Cain-the hero from the prestigious Flamemore family-had ended up severely wounded.

And the cost of victory had been immense.

Dozens of professors had fallen.

Hundreds of royal knights had perished.

Several knight commanders had also been slain.

And worst of all… Several academy students had lost their lives.

Kael was among them.

Along with Greg and Val, members of Erin’s team.

“No way…” I muttered in disbelief.

As if losing Professor Alden to the dungeon boss wasn’t enough, there had been even more casualties outside the dungeon.

“Kael… that big, bald-headed guy… he’s dead?” My voice trembled.

“I can’t believe it… I thought he would survive.

He was from the Flamemore family-his fire resistance should’ve been strong enough to endure anything…” I lowered my head, my hands clenching into fists.

A suffocating guilt settled in my chest.

If only I had been stronger… If only I hadn’t split our team… If only I hadn’t taken on the role of leader for this dungeon raid… Then maybe… maybe they would still be alive.

Tears began to stream down my face.

“This… this is my fault…” Lyra shook her head firmly, her hands clenching at her sides.

“No, Naoki-sama.

This wasn’t your fault,” she said, her voice filled with conviction.

“We were up against an overwhelmingly powerful enemy.

Zorx was a monster beyond imagination.

But Vaelgorath, combined with Vorx… they were even stronger.

“We knew that if we had stayed with you to fight Vaelgorath, we all would have died.

That’s why we’re grateful you sent us out of the dungeon first.” I looked at her, still overwhelmed with guilt, but Lyra’s golden eyes held a fierce determination.

“Even Cain, the Hero, and Arsene, the headmaster of Braveheart Academy, struggled to defeat Zorx.

If you hadn’t split our forces, and Cain’s team hadn’t fought Zorx outside the dungeon, who knows what would’ve happened to the kingdom?

Zorx and the dungeon break monsters might have destroyed everything.” She stepped closer, her voice softening.

“We fought with everything we had.

But you… you had to fight Vaelgorath alone.

The fact that you made it back alive is already a miracle, Naoki-sama.” With that, Lyra gently rested her head against my chest.

Her words… eased my heart, if only a little.

Then, as if sensing my lingering sorrow, she continued.

“As for Kael… He fell protecting everyone.

He sacrificed his body to take Zorx’s fatal attack.

Before he died, he entrusted his sword to Freya-a treasured blade of the Flamemore family, imbued with immense power.

“Inheriting it awakened Freya’s true strength.

With that power, she was able to help Cain and Arsene finish off Zorx.” I was speechless.

“Kael… protecting others?” I muttered in disbelief.

“And… he gave his sword to Freya?

That doesn’t sound like him at all…” Lyra let out a bittersweet smile.

“It surprised everyone,” she admitted.

“But Kael changed.

He was no longer the arrogant fighter he used to be.

After you defeated him, he started to strive to be stronger… to be like you, Naoki-sama.

“He died as a true knight-an honorable warrior.” I closed my eyes, taking in her words.

Kael… That fool… He really changed, didn’t he?

Slowly, a small smile crept onto my face.

“…I see.” I exhaled, the weight on my heart still there, but a little lighter now.

“I’ll visit their graves… Kael’s included.” Lyra nodded, her eyes filled with understanding.

…

I glanced at Lyra and furrowed my brows.

“By the way… why are you here this early in the morning?” I asked, noticing the basket of food and fruit she had dropped in shock when she first saw me.

She hesitated for a moment before answering.

“Every day… Freya, Amelia, Milly, Marius, Julius, and the rest of your team have been coming here to check if you would return from that collapsed dungeon,” Lyra said softly.

“We were terrified that you… that you might have fallen while fighting Vaelgorath.” Her voice wavered slightly.

“When three days passed and you still hadn’t shown up, we started to panic.

The academy and the Braveheart Kingdom officially declared your status as ‘missing in action.'” I tensed at her words.

“Even Mark, your younger brother from the Blackmore family, came here with his maids to search for you.

But no matter how hard we looked… there was nothing.

The dungeon had been reduced to rubble.

We had no idea where you had gone.” Lyra placed a hand over her chest, lost in the painful memory.

“By the sixth day… most of the search parties had lost hope.

Many of them fell into despair.

“In the end, only Freya, Amelia-sama, and I continued searching for you from morning till noon.” I reached out and took Lyra’s hand, squeezing it gently to reassure her.

“And today… I was the only one who could come.” She looked down.

“Amelia-sama had royal duties to attend to at the Braveheart palace.” She hesitated.

“And Freya…” Lyra suddenly stopped speaking.

“Freya?

What about her?” I asked, confused.

Then, something clicked in my mind.

“Oh, right!

I won my bet with Cain!

I defeated the dungeon boss, which means Freya doesn’t have to be with him.

She’s free!

You don’t have to worry about that anymore!” I declared confidently.

But instead of relief, Lyra’s expression darkened.

“That’s the problem, Naoki-sama…” she said hesitantly.

“Because you disappeared for an entire week, Cain decided that he won the bet by default.

The academy and the kingdom assumed you had lost to the dungeon boss and never returned.

“So…” She hesitated, her face filled with distress.

A bad feeling settled in my gut.

“Lyra.

Say it.” She took a deep breath before blurting out, “Please, Naoki-sama!

You have to save Freya!

Today at noon, Cain will officially propose to her-he’s forcing her to become his wife!

I don’t want this to happen, and neither does Freya!

She’s still waiting for you!” I felt something snap inside me.

Cain… that bastard.

I fought with everything I had against Vaelgorath, and in the meantime, he just declared Freya as his like a damn prize?!

I clenched my fists, my anger boiling over.

“Cain, you son of a-” Even Envi was fuming inside my mind.

“That damn Cain!

We’re not letting this happen, Nao!

We’re stopping this engagement RIGHT NOW!” I agreed with him-until he added, “Freya is mine!!

No way I’ll let her be taken by Cain!!” I immediately snapped at Envi.

“She’s not yours!

She’s not anyone’s!

Freya should be able to choose her own path without being forced by anyone!” Envi grumbled in frustration but didn’t argue.

Taking a deep breath, I turned to Lyra and grasped her hand firmly.

“Lyra, show me where the ceremony is being held.” Determination surged through me.

I will free Freya from Cain.

Just wait!

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