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Chapter Text

I feel like I'm going to die.

This was the last thought that crossed the mind of the knight in bloody armour before he lost his consciousness.

Forever or not? The sensations were so intense that it seemed like these were truly his last moments.

The last few days had been cloudy. But today the sun was so bright that its rays pierced his barely open eyes. It had almost set behind the horizon.

A fresh, clean wind was blowing, slightly cool, stirring the grass and flowers in this beautiful, flowery field.

Such a beautiful, bright sunset. Such soft, cool grass. Such a gentle wind.

 

It seemed that this was it, peace.

But no, it was still too early.

Bleeding profusely after numerous battles in the cave, with a broken arm, having broken through a stone wall, and with both mental and physical trauma to his head, DerLord passed out.

After receiving infinite knowledge and seeing the King, people usually died.

The human brain is not capable of withstanding all knowledge.

Derlord was no exception: he too went mad.
And even at that moment, when he was bleeding to death on the field and should have seen his whole life before his eyes, or rather the kingdom where he was an honoured knight and which awaited his return and protection, his parents, perhaps his former friends, he saw and heard nothing but the wind and the relaxing breeze.

Instead, endless knowledge rushed through his head.

Painful, tormenting, disgusting knowledge that made his head spin. It was absolutely unbearable.

He vaguely remembered leaving that book in the chest, knowing that a guy named Avery would come and find it. It was the only thought and knowledge he had about the future: and even though he was reluctant to admit it, the knight understood that he regretted that he might die and would not be able to completely protect him from the same curse and end.

But he no longer had the strength to do anything, so in agony and suffering, having practically resigned himself to his fate, Derlord fell asleep.

____

The sun had almost set below the horizon, but there was still about an hour left before nightfall, and the lad, or rather, half-human, half-slime creature named Avery decided to go for a short walk.

He was a short, thin, young man with greenish, sticky-slimy skin and short, tousled hair with bangs, braided into a short ponytail at the back.

As an accessory, he wore a flower that perfectly matched his outfit: long, loose-fitting trousers, fairly heavy boots, a white satin shirt that was partially tucked into his belt, and a sleeveless vest with the same flower pattern as the one in his hair.

Previously, he had worn a regular T-shirt, shorts, and a Hawaiian shirt, but it was August and it had gotten a little colder, so he changed his look.

Besides, he had to visit the nearest village or even the city too often to earn some money and make a living.

Walking along a path he had never taken before, humming a song he had probably heard from street musicians in the city, he had already walked quite a distance from his home.

And then, after pausing for a moment and calmly looking at the sun setting on the horizon, Avery was about to turn back, but then he smelled something unpleasant...

The smell of blood.

He turned around instantly, first feeling for a small knife in his pocket, just in case it was a zombie.

But he saw no one in front of him.

More precisely, he did see someone, but 10 metres away from him.

A human figure in golden armour, covered in blood, lying motionless and silent.

Avery froze instantly, his face showing fear and even shock, anxiety and incomprehension at what was happening.

He ran up to the human figure, pushed his helmet slightly upwards and felt for a pulse on his neck.
"Hey, mate, um, I don't know who you are, but I'll be sad if you leave me! Come on, let's go..."

There was a pulse. Slow, but there.

Avery grabbed a regeneration potion from his leather bag, which he had prepared a few days ago, and gave it to the stranger he had just met.

"Thank God you're alive! But I still can't leave you in this condition..."
He said with a slight smile on his lips.

His gentle and rather high-pitched, sweet voice trembled slightly, as did his hands, realising that the life of this knight, or simply a traveller in armour, might depend on him, even if only temporarily or partially.

Looking around and realising that it was getting very dark and monsters would soon appear, Avery acted quickly: he crouched down, put the knight on his back and, holding him tightly, carried him to his house.

"Wow, you're heavy! And tall... But it's okay, we'll be there soon... It's only, um... 400 metres..."

Avery muttered intermittently and with pauses, knowing that his "find" couldn't hear him anyway.

____

Derlord woke up five days later.
He was in a warm house, under a blanket in a warm bed.
But he had absolutely no idea where he was or who he was.

As soon as Derlord opened his eyes, everything was blurry, and only after a couple of minutes was he able to get up with severe pain in his back and assess his surroundings.

The walls were made of planks, and the ceiling beams were oak. The floor was unclear, either oak or spruce. However, it did not matter.

There was no hallway, just the front door and the bedroom. There was access to a small kitchen lit by lanterns. Behind it was another door, probably to the living room or bathroom.

There were few things: a couple of chests, a workbench, two stoves. A kitchen table, wooden chairs, a white carpet, cosy lanterns.

Very simple, but atmospheric.

Suddenly, unexpectedly, and with terrible pain, his head began to spin. Everything around him blurred. Derlord sat down and clutched his head, clutching his ash-black, unkempt, long hair.

His hands were tightly bandaged, which definitely hadn't been there before, so he couldn't pull his hair out in pain or harm himself in any way.

Endless knowledge rushed through his head: useless but very detailed thoughts began to envelop Derlord's mind. He didn't need to know 90% of it all.

He didn't need to see what happened ten years ago, twenty years ago, thirty years ago, knowing every day, every hour, and every minute of this planet.

He didn't need to remember and know everything: all people, all dreams, all goals, all desires, all losses, all lives, and even all deaths.

It was driving him mad.

Slowly, painfully, and very effectively. Eerie whispers and frightening voices echoed in his head.

His lips parted, and a sharp, rough, desperate roar came from his throat, after which the front door burst open and Avery appeared: the guy who had saved him and was in complete shock at what had happened.

He immediately threw down the basket of apples and his woven panama hat and rushed to the knight, whose name he did not yet know.

"Hey, are you okay? Ehh...well...umm... Here, drink this, quickly!"

Avery shouted, frantically gesturing between the table and the bed where his sick guest was sitting. He quickly took a flask of some kind of potion from the bedside table, possibly with a calming and pain-relieving effect, and just as quickly, in one movement, tilted the knight's head back and poured it down his throat until the last drop was gone.

After that, Avery heavily, placed the empty flask on the table, and sat down on a stool a short distance from the bed.

It was getting dark outside, and inside the house too, because the owner of the house, Avery, had not yet lit the torches or turned on the lanterns.

Instead, Avery stared at the knight.

He didn't know what to do, whether to ask him how he was or wait a little longer.
Should he give him some other medicine that might also help? It worked effectively and instantly. But would something else work as well?

Without even realising it, Avery looked the knight up and down: long ash-coloured hair, dark grey skin. Why dark grey? Okay, that was a stupid question, he himself is half slime, half human, what nonsense!
Strong build, strong arms, well-toned and muscular torso.
White scars and burns on his face and neck: many scars on his arms.
Slightly worn dark trousers and light grey socks.
Tense posture, head bowed, elbows folded on his knees.
Avery didn't know what to do with himself or what to say.

"Um, mate, sorry for taking off your helmet and giving you potions without your permission, but honestly, it was for your own good..."

Avery said, looking away and nervously scratching the back of his head. The flower in his hair suddenly fell out and dropped to the floor.

Derlord picked it up as if programmed to do so. His hand reached out on its own, and before the knight even realised it, he was already handing the flower to his saviour.

Avery froze: it was too unexpected. But the knight remained silent and sat tensely, his head bowed towards the floor.

"Oh, oops, thank you! However, if I hadn't given you the regeneration potion, in your condition you probably wouldn't have woken up in five days, but in a month."

The green slime got up from the stool and began to pace around the room in large circles, keeping his hands behind his back. Another awkward pause.

But DeLord was a polite knight, so he tried to find the strength to respond.

"Thank you."

Avery stayed still. He smiled at him, still keeping his hands behind his back, but decided to leave him alone for now, picking up the apples that had fallen out of the basket and going into the next room, closing the door behind him.

Derlord's mind became a little clearer, his thoughts slowed down, and his nervous system seemed to relax a little. Wow, he could even move his arms and legs!

At the moment when he felt panic and Avery quickly gave him the potion, he felt completely paralysed or something like that.
It turned out that this was not the case.

But gradually, slowly, he began to see what had happened during the five days he had been unconscious.

It still seemed impossible, how could a person see what was happening in the world while he was literally asleep?

But Derlord was no longer an ordinary person: you couldn't even say that the definition of "human" applied to him now.

And he knew it.

The knight was still sitting in the same position, while various moments flashed through his mind: for example, how Avery had carefully carried him and laid him on the bed, and then went to shoot monsters from the roof of the house because he couldn't sleep because of the noise.

He saw Avery carefully removing his armour and shirt so he could bandage his torso and arms afterwards.

He saw Avery's surprise when he took off his helmet, the shock that flashed across his face.

He even saw what Avery was thinking, but that wasn't so interesting anymore.

He saw Avery carefully wash his bloodstained shirt and armour, placing them in a separate chest, with the intention of returning them when the knight awoke.

He even saw how this green slime tried to dig a couple of ridiculous and sloppy furrows to plant seeds, thinking that when his guest woke up, he would need to cook pumpkin soup.
What did pumpkin soup have to do with anything, and why?

That remained a mystery.
But in any case, it was strange.
That was exactly what DeLord thought.
More precisely, not strange, but rather... surprising and unusual.

Why did this green slime care so much about a person he had just found and didn't even know?

It was also strange that his infinite knowledge no longer tormented him as much as it had before, like, it did, but the headache stopped.

Really strange. Unusual.

After a while, Avery returned to the room, already changed into his pyjamas, which consisted of a short-sleeved shirt and loose, soft, light-coloured knee-length shorts.

He awkwardly approached the knight with slow steps, who, thank God, was no longer sitting in the same position, but was lying on the bed with his arms crossed over his stomach.

His gaze wandered over the floor, then over the knight's bandaged torso, then over his face and scars.

Finally, the green slime decided to strike up a little conversation.
"Hey, are you okay? Does your head hurt less now?"

Derlord did not answer the question. He asked a counter question, opening his dark, deep eyes and meeting the boy's gaze.

"Did you read the book?"

You should have seen the look of surprise on Avery's face! *What the fuck does some book have to do with anything!? Doesn't this man know how to talk and think straight? I already gave him a bunch of stuff, didn't the potions help!?*
Avery thought, crossing his arms over his chest, before sighing wearily and putting his hands on his belt to ask:

"What book, sorry?"

"The book in the cave. Oh, right, I remember. You didn't go there."
Thoughts out loud. It just slipped out.

"Listen, mate, I don't know who you are or where you're from, but in theory, I can try to brew you a potion for delirium."

"I'm not delirious."

Avery looked at him with an even more tense and suspicious, even irritated gaze. His eye began to twitch incessantly.

Derlord got up from the bed and looked him in the eyes. The moonlight from the back window reflected off his ashen, scarred skin. He was tall and strong, and Avery even swallowed hard as he looked up at him.

"Never, ever go into that cave. No matter what you do at the crossroads, never turn left."

Derlord spoke almost incoherently, grabbing him sharply and rather roughly by the shoulders. Avery jerked, beginning to shake slightly as his gaze darted from the knight's face to the rest of the room, his hands tightly at his sides.

"Never turn left at crossroads, do you hear me? That's what was written in that book you didn't take."

"Hey, hey, hey, take it easy! I don't know what you're talking about, but okay, okay, just calm down!"

The green slime shouted, breaking away from his new, rabid roommate and shaking his arm, taking a long step back.

"Dude, you really should get some sleep, don't worry, I can give you a sleeping potion if you have trouble sleeping."
*And troubles with your mental health also...*
Avery thought, sighing and rummaging for the potion in the chest closest to the kitchen.

Derlord had already sat down on the bed and assumed that same tense and static posture again.

Finding the potion, Avery handed it to Derlord, who already looked quite tired and exhausted.

"Thank you."

Avery yawned as he headed to another room to sleep.

"You may be delirious, but at least you're polite."

"I'm not delirious."

"Yeah, yeah, I heard you the first time. Good night."

The door slammed shut.

Derlord looked first at the door, then at the flask of potion that Avery, the owner of the house, had given him.

He caught himself thinking that Avery would be sleeping on the floor or on a wooden bench that night.

Looking at the bottle again, its glass beautifully reflecting the moonlight, the knight drank it all.

____

Chapter Text

Usually, Avery woke up between ten and eleven in the morning.
It was a habit, and he didn't care about his sleep or routine because he usually didn't have much to do.

Usually. But not now.

Not now, when there was a half-dead knight lying in his house who had suddenly started choking, and you could hear it through the wall!

Avery got out of bed at six at the morning, because he heard Derlord coughing incessantly behind the door.

It was still dark outside, with only the torches outside the house lit, and no light coming in.

The whole house was colder and darker than usual, but the moonlight coming through the windows allowed him to see something in front of him.

He got out of bed quickly but not aggressively, and when he opened the door, he saw his new roommate, who couldn't take off his slippers. Why, God, why did he wear them to bed?

"Hey, you... what did you do!?"

In a hurry and even in a panic, Avery, still terribly sleepy, rushed to Derlord, standing next to him, or rather his bed.
He desperately tried to take off his helmet, but his hands were slippery and he couldn't do it.

Slime took it off with one strong movement and threw it on the floor, examined the knight and realised that he had a high fever.

"My God, how did you get so carried away... I didn't even get some sleep!"

Avery said as he headed for the door with a bucket, putting on his slippers as he went and slamming the door loudly behind him.

In fact, Avery wasn't angry with him at all.
Not one bit.
Not for having to crawl in front of him for five days to wake him up, and now having to get up early in the morning to realise that he was sick.

He just couldn't be angry with a man who was in trouble. Avery wasn't like that.

He didn't even know his name, let alone who he was or what he was like, but he still wanted to help.

Nevertheless, Avery quickly made his way to a nearby well and filled a bucket with water.
Then, just as quickly, he ran into the house, placed the bucket next to the bed, wet a towel in cold water, wrung it out and placed it on Derlord's forehead.

His gaze was worried and sad, and with his hands at his sides, Derlord looked into his eyes with slightly furrowed brows.

His face was burning, there was a red, unhealthy blush on his cheeks, and sweat was dripping from his face.

Heavy breathing and the inability to move were truly torture.

Avery carefully placed a cold towel on the knight's forehead, kneeling beside the bed, then wet another towel and gently wiped DerLord's body, which lay motionless from pain, in places where there were no bandages.

"Don't think I'm angry with you for anything, I'm not. I just don't understand how you got yourself into this mess!"
Avery said, leaving the boy alone for the time being. He headed upstairs to his alchemy lab.

Derlord could hear him, but not very clearly: everything was blurry before his eyes, the voices in his head were rushing even more, flowing through his mind, devouring him to the bone.
He wanted to cover his head, cover it with a helmet, cover his face burning from the heat, he wanted to shut himself off from the world.

Just not to see anyone, not to hear anyone, to sleep.

To sleep soundly. Perhaps he even wanted to fall asleep forever.

But even with his mind clouded, not understanding anything, not realising his situation, and on top of all that, seeing the events of this world thanks to the King's gift, the infinite knowledge that he did not yet know how to control, DerLord understood one thing, and the seen one thing too:

If Avery weren't here now, he would be worse off.

____

In the end, Avery gave the knight another potion he had concocted on the fly, which helped him recover surprisingly quickly.

Naturally, after that, the lad couldn't sleep.

He watched over Derlord until noon, and then, when the knight's fever had broken, he went about his usual household chores, such as making breakfast, patrolling his territory, repairing things, and gathering stone and wood, which was very difficult.

After 4 p.m., Avery stood at the stove preparing dinner, occasionally glancing over his shoulder at the half-asleep knight on the floor.

"You know, you've been here for a week, but I still don't know your name. Not that it's strange, I mean, you were feeling terrible, and you probably still are... although I don't know what happened.

Derlord was already in a more or less normal state and could talk or open his eyes.
He looked at Avery's back near the kitchen counter in the well-lit, attractive kitchen.

But his words made something tighten in his chest.

Still, he decided to answer. Although it was strange, Derlord didn't know how to respond.

"My name is Derlord."

"M? Derlord? I've never heard that name before. You know, it suits a knight."

He remained silent. He continued to watch Avery at the stove, but his thoughts turned to his past.

The knight's past...

Before he gained infinite knowledge, before he had headaches every day, before his life turned into a nightmare, Derlord was an excellent knight, the best in his vast, influential kingdom.

He found and entered that cursed mine only because the kingdom had sent him on a research expedition, and, unable to resist his curiosity, he stopped by the mine on his way there.

Now Derlord doesn't even remember where he was actually going, but he understood that most likely, they were waiting for him "at home."

But in fact, he didn't really have a home.

"Here, this is for you. Should I cut it?"

His thoughts were interrupted by Avery, who was standing next to the bed, looking down at him and holding out a plate of fried potatoes and a piece of fried meat.

"Thanks... No, thanks."

The knight muttered in a thoughtful, even detached, quiet voice as he took the plate.

After a short pause, he added:
"Your name is also suitable for a medic."

Avery was surprised. Very surprised. And you could see it on his face.

After his companion's words, he smoothed his hair and replied with a smile:

"Oh, mate, you're really weird. I'm not a medic."

After these words, Derlord was in quite shock.

Not a medic? Then what had he been giving him all this time?

But he remained silent.

"I'm just into alchemy, and knowing a couple of properties, I make potions. This is the first time I've treated anyone, well, except myself....But I'm glad my potions are helping you."

Well, Derlord was already beginning to doubt whether they had really helped him.
But self-hypnosis was completely irrelevant here.

The potions really worked, that was... impressive.

The knight was suddenly struck by the thought that an alchemist like this was exactly what his kingdom needed.
But he quickly dismissed the idea.

"Thank you for them. I feel better now."

Derlord said awkwardly, poking at his plate of food with a fork.
Avery sat down opposite him, placing a small table between the bed and the chair where they could share their lunch.

The knight couldn't help but admit that the food was... delicious.
Especially after several days of starvation.

Munching and eating at the same time, Avery began to speak incoherently:

"Mmm, you're welcome. By the way, the potatoes are delicious. I bought them in the village. Mine don't grow anyways. And this meat, the lamb, I hunted it myself. By the way, I'm the winner of numerous sword fighting tournaments in the city, it's called Skywars, so, well, getting meat is no problem for me, and also..."

After that, DerLord stopped listening to him.

No, of course he knew that he was very... talkative.

More precisely, sociable, and the topics of conversation never end.
But he talks even when he eats!

True, now to himself, and not to DerLord...

____

The next day, knight no longer had a fever, all thanks to the potion Avery had brewed for him before bed.

He really didn't understand how it worked, and didn't even know what Avery put in it.

But he drank every last drop of every flask.

This was REALLY strange for DerLord's usual behaviour.

He was stubborn, distrustful and always cautious, and he knew it.

Maybe he drank these medicines just because he wanted to feel at least a little better.

So that the incessant thoughts in his head would be silenced for at least a little while.
Even if only for a moment.

Or maybe it was because, thanks to his infinite knowledge, he understood and knew that there was no point in Avery poisoning him.
And he wasn't such a... bad person.

Nevertheless, when the knight woke up and got out of bed, Avery was no longer at home.

Derlord began to polish his armour and wash it. The alchemist had already done this when he first arrived at his house, but armour is very important, so the knight did it again.

Well, Avery probably washed them quickly. Most likely.

After washing his armour and hands, DerLord got out of bed and tried to stretch his limbs: his arms and legs.

His fingers hurt terribly, the skin still hadn't tightened and healed.

However, it was not surprising, since he had used his hands to break through the stone on his way back to the chest to get out, and the pickaxe had broken.

Naturally, there was not much left of the armour either, so new ones had to be made.

The scratches on his torso and biceps, which had been bandaged and treated by Avery, had already healed.

This brought a smile to Derlord's face.

He slowly put on all his armour and tied his dark, silky hair, then put on his helmet and went outside, opening the front door.

Yes, the helmet in which he had almost suffocated a day ago.

The bright sun immediately hit his eyes: how long had it been since he had seen sunlight? The last time was when he almost died and Avery saved him.

The bright blue sky... Such white clouds, fresh air. But at the same time, it wasn't very hot.

Avery's house was on a hill. It overlooked a lake, or a river...

Nearby, on a high mountain, there was a small forest and a path.

On the other side was a continuation of the field.

A field of flowers. Avery's house was in a field of flowers.

There were an enormous number of yellow flowers.

An hour later, not a single one remained.

Derlord had pulled them all out, every last one.

The mere thought that the King in Yellow might approach this house became unbearably repulsive.

____

"Derlord! You can walk now?"

Avery shouted to the man who was digging in his small, worthless garden beds, trying to plant something.

He was wearing a knitted panama hat, most likely woven by himself.
His white shirt and black trousers were stained with dirt. Apparently, he was trying very hard.

"Yes. I could before."
Derlord came closer to him and looked down.

"I'm just messing with you, bro. But I'm glad your body is finally functioning a little."

Avery turned his head back.

The knight looked at the sight and knelt down to take the seeds from Avery's hands and plant the beds for him, nudging him to go home.

It was the first time their hands had touched.

The slime's palms were gloved, but after DerLord's action, he tried to take the seeds back.

"Hey, no! You can't plant the beds for me. I want to do it."

"You're not very good at it."

"Listen, shut up, do I need to remind you who almost suffocated in his own helmet the day before yesterday?"

Derlord fell silent. And Avery laughed.

 

They knew practically nothing about each other.
To be more precise, DerLord knew everything about Avery, while Avery knew absolutely nothing about his new friend.

But they couldn't help but admit that with each other, they were at least less lonely than they were alone.

____

Chapter Text

For the next few days, Avery mainly tended to the garden beds.

Or rather, he tried to.

Now there were two people living there, albeit temporarily: himself and Derlord, and there wasn't enough food.

Derlord tried to help him every single day, but he either refused and yelled at him, saying he could manage on his own, or pushed him away altogether.

The knight did not accept this, but left him alone for the time being.

But still, why did Derlord care about some pathetic vegetable beds near someone's house?

This question would not leave his mind.

Avery also continued to regularly cook and give him some kind of medicine or potion every day...

Derlord knew that it was not a serious potion, but simply a sedative mixed with all kinds of herbs, with regenerative and analgesic effects.

And yet, thoughts and knowledge began to overwhelm him again. He could no longer sleep soundly, and Avery did not know about it.

There were no panic attacks or anything like that, but fatigue was building up, his head was aching badly every minute and hour, and sometimes it was spinning.

Derlord knew that he would soon feel worse again and would once more be unable to control the flow of knowledge.

But he didn't have the strength to tell Avery about it.

He lacked the courage.

But that wouldn't lead to anything good.

____

 

Climbing out of that damn cave where he had encountered the nightmare of his life, Derlord dug at the stone with his hands, badly injuring them in the process.

But they had almost completely healed.

Every day he woke up and could calmly move his fingers. The feeling was so unfamiliar, but pleasant at the same time.

It was as if it was supposed to be that way, but it felt so strange.

Avery no longer dressed Derlord's wounds: they had almost completely closed and healed, and he could treat the scratches on his palms himself.

Thanks to this, the knight could function fully again, and sitting idle was very... unusual. He felt out of place.

____

 

"Is something wrong?"
Avery said, looking over his shoulder at the tense guy at the table while washing two apples in the sink.

He threw one to the other, who caught it deftly.

There was a short pause, then Derlord said:

"I feel a little out of place."

"Huh? Why?"

Asked the slime, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest, taking a bite of an apple.

Derlord felt even more tense and uncomfortable, his hands clenched into fists on the table.
"Maybe you have some work for me?"

 

"Work? What do you mean?"
Avery really didn't understand. Although at that moment, Derlord thought his interlocutor was as dumb as a brick.

"I don't know. I'm not used to being healthy and sitting around doing nothing. Maybe... I'll go to the mine to get some ore."

"Yo, yo, dude, wait a minute. You've obviously had a VERY bad experience with mines, so no, forget about it."

Avery said, stepping forward and throwing the apple core he had just finished eating into the rubbish bin, hitting it perfectly.

"If you have nothing to do, then collect some sand for me on the beach."
The lad approached him almost close enough to touch, but did not sit down at the same table.
Instead, he handed him a bag.

Derlord took the bag in surprise, then looked at the man in front of him with incomprehension.

"All right, let me explain. I've run out of flasks for potions. I need to make some glass.

Now Its clear.

"I think the sea will help you relax. Do you know the way there?"

Avery asked, looking up and watching as the knight got up from the table, put the apple in the bag, and prepared to leave the house.

"Yes, I know the way."

Avery was surprised, but fell silent abruptly. He watched him leave, and just before the door closed, he said:

"That's strange. You've never been here before."

 

Derlord set off on his journey. He didn't hear what Avery said, but he was haunted by the feeling that he was doing something wrong.

Not even in relation to Avery, but in principle.

All his life he had served the kingdom, a loyal and honourable knight. His life consisted of protection: and now, he was simply living with some alchemist and following him to the beach for sand.

It was strange.

But DerLord didn't feel that it was wrong. Just... not the way it had always been.

After gaining infinite knowledge, the knight became extremely organised: Avery would come home after fishing, for example, and see that everything was perfectly clean and all his things were neatly stacked.

This was not surprising, because he knew where everything should be placed for convenience.
So that the product would not spoil, or so that Avery could easily find it.

 

Derlord began to wonder how things were going in the kingdom.

He knew that no one was looking for him yet, but the king was very concerned about the delay of his most honourable and best knight.

Nevertheless, the lad continued on his way: he walked along a small path through an oak forest, examining every stone and flower.

The weather outside was sunny and pleasant again.

Soft blue clouds allowed the sunlight to pass through and illuminate the earth.

The wind blew, picking up leaves, and a few even landed in the red yarn of the knight's helmet.

But that did not bother him.

After walking another 500 metres, Derlord finally saw the exit to the sea. T
he forest ended, and now there was another flower field with sparse but beautiful trees.

He had only a little way left to go along the path leading to the water, and his little mission would be complete.

But... he didn't want it to end so quickly.

Walking along the last path and seeing a huge sandy beach and the clear, sparkling sea in front of him, reflecting the clouds and sunbeams, DerLord froze.

*How long has it been since I last saw the sea?*

This question lingered in his mind.

The knight continued to stand motionless, clutching the bag in his hand, simply enjoying the view and the atmosphere.

Enjoyment... of such simple things, really.
It's just the wind, just the water, the sun, the sky. Things that people see and feel every day.

But that was exactly why he wanted to stay here as long as possible.

A thought about Avery crossed Derlord's mind: he knew he didn't want to go back, not because he didn't like Avery's company, although, to be honest, he couldn't accept the fact that he enjoyed it.

*I don't enjoy Avery's company. He mumbles a lot and is too frivolous.*

Looking at the water in front of him again and lowering his head to see his reflection, he remembered his main task: to collect sand for Avery.

The knight bent down and gathered a large, full bag of sand, slung it over his shoulder, and stood back up to look at the sea for a few more moments.

By that time, the sun was already setting behind the horizon, gradually, slowly, but beautifully, giving him goosebumps.

The clouds dissolved into the colourful sky like cotton candy on the tongue.

 

*It's beautiful here. I could have brought Avery with me...*

*Wait, what?*

____

 

Returning home along the same path, DerLord began to think and pay attention to even more things.

For example, how leaves fall, or how clouds are illuminated in the sky.

Of course, he knew what was happening and how.

Every process of the appearance of every cloud or every leaf. How fast the leaf fell to the ground.

How many leaves lay under each tree.

And he began to think, think, and think again.

The sunset was becoming even brighter, already bright red. It was a rare sight.

But by that time, the knight was already approaching Avery's house.
He looked at the ground and still held the large bag of sand on his shoulder.

But then Avery's voice finally pushed all his thoughts out of his head.

 

"Hey, Derlord! You finally came!"

 

Slime waved at him cheerfully and kindly, covering his eyes with a warm smile.

Avery's face and his soft green skin were illuminated by the sun, and his hair and white shirt fluttered in the wind.

At that moment, the knight raised his head and looked at him.

A slight smile appeared on his lips, which was not visible because of his helmet, and after standing still for a couple of moments, he walked closer to the house.

 

"You took so long, Mr. Mysterious Knight. Did you organize the swim?"

 

Avery asked, clearly laughing at his own joke, raising his head and trying to stifle his laughter.

In his hands he held a couple of planks and some wool, as well as a hammer.

It seemed he was making himself a second bed.

 

Derlord remained silent, but not for long.

"Your hair is covered in leaves. Did you decide to fall into a ditch or something?"

 

"Hey, that's rude. But I didn't think you knew how to joke."

"I'm not joking, you really did fall into a ditch today."

 

Oops, he let it slip.

 

You should have seen the look of surprise on Avery's face. He abruptly stopped hammering on the workbench and looked at him with wide eyes.

"HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT?"

The knight fell silent... Thank God his face was hidden behind his helmet. It was red and burning with embarrassment!

"It's... just my intuition..."

Derlord muttered, looking away.

"Let's say I believe you. Anyway, I'm finishing the bed. Did you bring the sand? Thank you!"

Avery smiled brightly again and stood up to take the bag from Derlord's shoulder. He even had to stand on his tiptoes to reach it.

Slime, taking the bag onto his shoulder, almost fell over!

 

"Wow, it's heavy... HOW DID YOU EVEN CARRY IT HERE!?"

 

The knight immediately took the sand back, supporting him by the shoulder so he wouldn't fall.

For a moment, his hand lingered on the shoulder a little longer than necessary.

Derlord took the bag without any problems, casually brushing the leaves off Avery's hair, and said in a monotonous voice:

"Be careful. I know you can fall."

The sun had finally set behind the horizon, leaving behind only a few rays of light and soft clouds.

The wind picked up slightly, and after standing in silence for a few seconds, Avery finally spoke in a calm voice, but with his eyes closed in dissatisfaction and his arms crossed over his chest:

-"Oh, come on... All right, let's go inside."

As soon as they entered the house, DerLord realised how tired he really was.

Watching Avery close the door and then go further into the house, taking off his shoes and putting on slippers, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his head.

It wasn't because of anything bad, it was just that today the lad had clearly thought TOO much, and it had played a nasty trick on him, as always.

Slime bent down and started to light the stove, throwing a couple of pieces of chopped wood into it, then dragged the sand closer to him and began to melt it.

In the process, without looking up from his work, he asked:

 

"So, how did you like the sea, by the way? Did it help you relax?"

 

The knight did not answer.

For some reason, he continued to stand in the middle of the room, without taking off his shoes, and remained silent, staring into space.

Avery had already decided to turn his head away from the sand remelting to look at him, and when he saw this picture, he came closer.

Close enough for Derlord to notice, and with surprised eyes, he began waving his arms in front of his face and speaking loudly:

 

"Hey, Earth calling Derlord, Earth calling Derlord!"

 

"Huh? What?"

 

Finally, he stopped standing in a daze. But as soon as the knight realised how close Avery was to him, he took a step back.

"You're awake! What are you standing there for? Come in."

Avery smiled again.

That smile... that green hair braided into a ponytail behind her head.

Those big, pleasant eyes and pale skin looked even more pleasant in the dim light from the stove at the back of the room.

Derlord said nothing, but followed his instructions, entering the room, sitting down on the bed, and slowly but purposefully removing his armour.

"I asked you about the sea. How do you like it?"

 

The sea...

 

"I liked it very much. I haven't seen the sea in a long time."

"Really? I didn't know that."

Avery said casually, continuing to go about his business while occasionally glancing at Derlord.

 

"It was very beautiful there. That's why I stayed so long."

 

The lad had already taken off his helmet. He twirled it a couple of times in front of him before placing it on the pedestal nearby.

 

"Yes, I agree, it's really beautiful there. Next time we'll go together, Derlord!"

 

Together?

 

He looked up and gazed at Avery.
Derlord's ash-coloured skin was even more beautiful in the light of the fire from the stove, and his dark eyes continued to examine the guy in front of him from head to toe.

Avery felt uncomfortable.

A pink blush appeared on his cheeks. Blush, to be more precise. A soft pink, with a slight green tint.

He took an awkward step back, waved his arms and looked around with surprised eyes.

"Um, no, well, yes, let's go there together, just to have a look! Yes... DON'T LOOK AT ME LIKE THAT!

The last words were no longer excuses but a clear WARNING.

But this did not bother DerLord.

 

A slight but amused smile appeared on his lips.

 

At that moment, the alchemist saw for the first time the smile of the knight he had found bleeding on the field a week and a half ago.

 

"Yes. Let's go together next time."

____

After this rather pleasant conversation, Avery finished making his bed and placed it in the other half of the bedroom, and the boys went to sleep.

The first half of the night passed quietly: a gentle breeze outside the window, dim moonlight. The perfect atmosphere for falling asleep.

Derlord also fell asleep. A little later than Avery, and before falling asleep, he lay there and looked at Avery's back.

But around 2 a.m., the peaceful night came to an end.

 

Outside the window, they could hear the sounds of spiders, skeletons, and zombies. The particularly brazen mobs even began to bang on the walls and doors.

Naturally, they both woke up.

Only Avery began to sigh heavily and whine throughout the room, while Derlord got out of bed.

Slime tried to cover his ears with pillows, continuing to make sleepy and discontented sounds.

"Aah... my God... I just want to sleep..."

But the clear and ringing footsteps across the room tore Avery away from his whining.

He sat down on the bed and rubbed his eyes with his hand, also slightly adjusting his hair, before seeing that DerLord had already gotten out of bed, put on his shoes and helmet, taken his sword, and gone outside.

At first, he didn't understand what his roommate was doing.

But then, two minutes later, a sudden realisation dawned on him.

Just after Avery heard the clanging of swords and the heavy breathing of zombies and skeletons.

The lad immediately lifted his sleepy arse off the bed and, stumbling, ran out into the street without thinking.

He almost tripped on the porch, but still managed to reach the front door and open it.
Avery saw the following scene:

Derlord, a knight with only an old, rusty sword in his hands, was skilfully fighting and defeating every mob.

His technique was honed to perfection, his strong, powerful and incredibly forceful movements killing and terrifying the monsters.

He knocked bows out of the skeletons' hands in a matter of seconds, without even getting close to them, and simply cut the zombies and spiders to pieces until they evaporated into the night air.

Such refined movements, such strength, yet such steadfastness and calm in this small battle.

Avery's eyes lit up. And yet, there was no light. Yes, only the beautiful and bright light of the moon, but that was clearly not so important.

The boy stood frozen and just kept watching as the knight defeated everyone, completely blocking the area from new monsters.

He moved and fought as if he knew every outcome, every move.

Avery opened his mouth slightly and clenched his fists.

 

It was... an incredibly beautiful and mesmerising sight, even though there was nothing special about it.

 

When all the monsters were defeated, DerLord, without panic or anxiety, clearly and quickly sheathed his sword, standing with his back to Avery and looking up at the moon.

Only after a couple of moments did he feel someone's gaze on him.

That moment lasted what seemed like an eternity.

 

"Avery? Why aren't you sleeping?"

 

The young man turned to face him. More precisely, his helmet turned forward.

"Me? I came to see your little victory."

"That's not funny. I came out because they were keeping me awake."

 

Derlord came closer and, leaning on the fence near the doorstep, lowered his head to look at Avery, who was standing nearby and continuing to stare ahead.

 

"No, actually, you defeated them very coolly. I woke up, didn't really understand what was going on, started to realise that the monsters were out hunting, and before I could blink, you had already defeated them all! Unbelievable.!"

 

Slime spoke with pure and proud admiration, spreading his arms and making improvised sword swings, parrying his night-time hero.

His eyes sometimes lingered on Derlord's helmet. He was very curious to know what his face looked like right now.

Tired of improvising, Avery also leaned against the wall as Derlord had done and fell silent, simply staring at the moon.

"I didn't think you'd like watching me beat up zombies."

He said with a slight smirk, which made the alchemist laugh quite loudly, scratching the back of his head afterwards.

 

"And anyway, you know, I froze, you moved like that and felt your sword as if you knew every move and attack they made!"

 

Avery said admiringly and joyfully, spreading his arms and continuing to glance at Derlord from time to time.

 

But Derlord froze and did not move.

 

The knight did not even look at the moon. He did not look at the tree, just straight ahead.

It was as if Avery had said something terrible that he did not know about.

More precisely, that was the case, and Avery really did not know.

He did not know what had happened, why the knight had frozen.

He didn't know he had said something wrong, and so he turned to face him, his eyes surprised and even sad, and stopped.

The boy swallowed.

He wanted to touch the knight, to feel if his glove was cold. He thought he had said something terrible.

If not, then why did he react that way? Why was he so... distant?

 

"Did I... say something wrong?"

 

Hearing that voice... gentle, calm and sad, filled with unspoken words and misunderstanding, Derlord swallowed hard.

A terrible, disgusting feeling froze in his chest: it was a mixture of guilt, responsibility and duty.

What made the situation even worse was that Avery really was NOT to blame for anything, but the knight froze and fell silent again, bringing discomfort and awkwardness back into the warm house.

Guilt gnawed at Derlord. He felt grateful that this man had taken him in, healed his wounds, and gave him potions to drink every day, hoping that he would be at least a little less sad, distant, apathetic, and... strange.

And at that very moment, at that very second, turning his head and seeing that face illuminated by the moonlight, that white nightshirt, the fabric billowing in the cold night wind, Derlord realised:

 

He has to tell him everything.

____

Chapter Text

I must tell him everything.

 

Derlord froze in place, not understanding why he had actually come to this conclusion.

He knew everything that was happening and had happened on this planet, he knew the workings of every mechanism, he knew every puzzle, every code.

He no longer needed anyone.

He had survived, and that seemed to be the main thing.

*Since I know and can do everything, I can manage on my own.*

No, he couldn't. And he knew that too.

But Avery...
He literally pulled him out of this deep moral pit with the most insignificant and small actions.

He was able to show him that something was waiting for him, someone was waiting for him, and he had somewhere to go and end up, not the golden gates.

The golden gates still appeared in his nightmares every night. The knight still had dreams every night with the King in yellow.

But when he woke up and felt normal again, feeling great, able to function, and his brain and head working at least a little, no longer spinning and aching, it felt like happiness.

And then, every morning, Avery would come in, inevitably stumbling over something, yawning discontentedly and stretching out on the floor where he had been sleeping all this time while Derlord was healing, and then he would cook something to eat and go about his business, inevitably throwing in a couple of jokes about Derlord and his seriousness and mysteriousness.

This small, oak house...

 

Can it be called home?

 

*No, I can't. Avery only helped me out of kindness, I have no right to stay too long.*

 

*I have to leave.*

 

Why did such thoughts come into Derlord's head?

Why did he feel this way?

Perhaps it was because, after acquiring infinite knowledge, trying or feeling something new was uninteresting and useless: he already knew everything.

Why was Derlord everywhere and nowhere at the same time?

But here, in this place, he felt his... usefulness.
At least he tried to feel it, and it worked, helping Avery with some tasks and responsibilities.

The two lads were still standing on the porch of the house at night, looking at the moon high in the sky, which was occasionally covered by clouds.

A cold wind caressed their skin as the leaves swayed quietly in the trees.

Derlord realised something very important to himself before finally making up his mind:

 

He was not a trusting person. But it was very unlikely that he would ever find someone like Avery in his life.

 

Someone as kind and silly.

Someone who would take care of him for weeks so that he could simply get out of bed and walk.

Someone who would cook for him and ask for nothing in return.

Someone who would prepare potions for him without asking for anything in return.

Someone who genuinely wanted to help him cope with all his experiences.

And then, something clicked in his chest.

 

Avery continued to look at the knight with a sad and uncomprehending gaze.

Slime held his white shirt in his hands, shifting it slightly in his palms.

He felt like shit.
Feelings of guilt and unspoken words were deeply engraved in Avery's subconscious.

Not only was he lonely, but Derlord was the first person to ever live with him, even if only for a short time — and even then, he didn't talk much, didn't take much interest in his life, and didn't often strike up conversations.

He was a weird, weird guy. He is still wierd though.

Avery always knew that he himself was too trusting, too sociable, and that he shouldn't expect the same from others: they didn't like him anyway.

But at least there was someone who could understand him, ask him about something, help him with something.

And even despite all this, he still can't fully help Derlord.

He still sees the exhaustion in his movements, his gaze, and his voice every day.

Avery still hears him struggling to get out of bed every night to get some fresh air, and how he holds his head every day.

 

Guilt was eating him alive.

And the knight knew it. That made it even worse.

_____

 

"Avery, I'm very sorry, but I have to tell you something."

Finally, quietly, to the sound of rustling leaves, Derlord muttered these words with a heavy sigh. He continued to stand motionless for a while before sinking down and sitting on the steps of the doorway.

Avery followed his example and, continuing to look at his helmet, folded his arms on his knees and asked:

"Did I really say something wrong?"

"No, not at all. It's just..."

Pause. The knight lowered his head, his voice beginning to tremble slightly.

"I'm not very good at expressing my thoughts and feelings, especially after what happened, but I know I have to tell you about this, for many reasons."

Slime was surprised, his gaze was no longer so sad and pitiful, and that calmed Derlord a little.

He sat in complete anticipation.

He had a terrible urge to make some stupid joke, like, "Oh, yes! Mr. Mysterious Knight finally decides to talk to me." Or "Traumatised teenager steps over his personal boundaries, how touching."

But even a guy like Avery knew that now was not the time.

"I'm going to share an important part of my life with you, and I hope you won't take it the wrong way."

"OF COURSE I WON'T!"

Avery didn't even wait for him to finish before shouting it out from the steps.

The knight turned to him, and he sat down awkwardly.

 

"I'm not quite sure how to start this. But please, never turn left at the crossroads."

"Why?"

"Because I already did it for you. And I regretted it."

 

Derlord had a lump in his throat, and Avery could feel the terrible tension between them.

"That cave where you found me - never go there. I left that book with warnings for you there, and I almost died there."

"But how did you know I would go there?"

Said the slime, looking at Derlord's helmet.

It was surprising that he almost never looked at Avery when he spoke.
During conversations, he always turned his head away, preferring to stand with his back or side to Avery, but when he wasn't talking, he stared intently.

Avery was already trying to get used to it.

"Now, I basically know everything. Unfortunately, this is not a silly joke. In that cave..."

He swallowed before continuing and lowered his head.

 

"I met the King.
It was disgusting.
It's still disgusting.
He gave me the ability to see and hear and know everything that happened and is happening right now. I know the workings of every mechanism, every process, every result, every movement.
I have nightmares about The King In Yellow every night, and it's agonising."

 

Avery... froze. He was in complete shock.

His eyes suddenly became empty, and his eyebrows furrowed.

He couldn't believe his ears.

How was this possible? Was this what his friend was suffering so much from?

He didn't want to believe it. Not at all.

"I'm telling you this because you've helped me so much. Your potions and medicines have had a positive effect on my condition, and it's thanks to you that I survived, Avery."

 

Derlord looked at Avery.
Their eyes met, but the slime continued to stare at him in complete surprise and shock.

The lad didn't even notice right away that the knight was actually smiling at him! However, it wasn't noticeable through the helmet.

"Stop, stop, STOP!!! Wait, you mean... You REALLY know EVERYTHING? How is that even possible!?

The boy stood up and began waving his arms quickly and in surprise, looking around and showing his deep distress and incomprehension of the whole situation.

"Yes."

"I don't believe you, prove it! That can't be..."

Derlord reacted normally and with understanding: no one would believe him. And yet he knew that Avery believed him, but just wanted to be sure.

"That tree in front of your house only grew after you fertilised it with bone meal exactly 20 times."

Slime stood frozen in place.

"As a child, you hated carrots. And just the other day, when I was lying at home, you trampled your own carrot patch, remembered your childhood, and laughed at yourself."

He continued to stand frozen, but his cheeks suddenly became... pink and flushed, and his face became covered in sweat.

"And also..."

"STOP..., that's enough... I believe you..."

Avery collapsed back onto the steps and, looking at the moon, stopped talking or asking questions for exactly two minutes, trying to understand the seriousness of the situation and digest the information.

The knight continued to look at his face.

The moonlight beautifully reflected all of Avery's soft features, and he couldn't help but notice it.

The boy's silky hair blew slightly in the wind, and a delicate flower was tightly tied into his hair.

"But... still... how is this possible?"

The slime finally turned his head towards his interlocutor and their eyes met.

There was still a slight look of incomprehension and sadness on his face.

"I don't know about that. I don't know the king's origins, so I can't answer that question. But... it's painful for me."

Avery couldn't do anything, but he really wanted to put his hand on DerLord's shoulder or side to show that he was there for him.

And... he dared to do it.

After a moment's hesitation, and pulling his hand back at first, Avery finally placed it on Derlord's shoulder, looking him in the eyes.

Gently, carefully.

His hand was warm. It was a pity that Derlord couldn't feel it through his icy armour.

The slime's gaze conveyed pure, friendly and benevolent concern, which the knight picked up on almost immediately.

Those eyes in the moonlight... are amazingly alluring.

 

"Could you... tell me more about how you feel, Derlord?"

 

The lad asked shyly, but with extreme confidence and insistence.

The other, in turn, definitely did not want to smile, but he couldn't help it, and a slight smile touched his lips anyway.

 

"Alright, Avery."

_____

 

The rest of the night was filled with heartfelt and candid conversations, in which Derlord felt extremely cautious, while Avery helped him to describe his feelings more specifically.

They talked on the porch until dawn, until the sun was high in the sky, and only at 6 a.m., having discussed everything they wanted to, did they go to bed.

Avery asked him to tell him everything, every thought, feeling and emotion that troubled his friend's soul.

 

He wondered if it was too much.

 

But Avery couldn't help feeling a terrible sense of sympathy.

He also felt an incredibly strong pang of guilt for having joked about it before, not even suspecting what might be hidden behind the knight's seriousness and silence and what he was really feeling.

 

Avery really wanted to help him, and as he returned to the house, covered himself with his blanket in bed, and slowly fell asleep, hearing Derlord wiping his helmet while sitting on his bed, he vowed to help the knight.

 

No matter what it cost him.

 

Derlord, for his part, could safely say that he felt relieved after this conversation.

He didn't force himself to talk: the words just came out, and that was surprising because he had never felt that way before.

That night, he felt that perhaps the slime had understood him correctly and would definitely not go to the cave.

Explaining the whole situation and the nightmare of his life, Derlord's most important goal and task, in his opinion, was to protect and shield Avery from the cave and the King.

He would not even share what was on his mind, would not talk about his thoughts, would not share his physical sensations.

 

He would not seek support or help, but would protect Avery.

 

Wiping his helmet, sitting in bed under the warm light of a lamp and watching Avery's relaxed back wrapped in a blanket, he knew and understood perfectly well:

 

He would do everything to achieve this.

 

He would even endure a lifetime of suffering, but he would not allow the King to lay a finger on Avery.

 

No matter what it cost him.

_____

 

The next morning, they both woke up much later than usual.

In any case, it was clear why, and it didn't really matter: there were no important matters to attend to anyway.

 

Getting out of bed towards the end of lunch time, the slime stretched, rubbed his eyes, and took a bath.

After that, wearing slightly crumpled but clean and comfortable pyjamas, Avery put on his slippers and went outside to see where the knight might be, since he wasn't in the house.

Remembering yesterday's conversation, the young man was tormented by thoughts and deep sympathy.

He knew he was a fool, but he still understood how terrible a gift it was, which is why he deeply empathised with Derlord's condition.

 

Going outside, the slime first felt the warmth of the sun's rays and noticed the special colourfulness of the flowers in the field.

Today was especially calm and beautiful.

The cool wind ruffled his uncombed, unbraided hair, and the sleepy Avery spent a couple of minutes just standing in the sun and enjoying the morning.

 

"Good morning."

The knight who approached him from behind greeted him in his usual low voice.

He couldn't have imagined that he would scare him.

"FUCK! YOU'RE DERLORD!! You scared me..."

Avery shouted, quickly taking a few steps back, hastily grabbing his nightshirt and looking at him in surprise, even slightly aggressively.

Catching his breath and rubbing his eyes again, the slime looked at his friend.

The golden armour shimmered so beautifully in the sunlight, it was like a spell. He wanted to look at this armour much longer than necessary.

Derlord polished it a lot. Probably worth it.

In any case, why does this guy have a pickaxe in his hands first thing in the morning?

"Um... dude, what are you doing with a pickaxe first thing in the morning?"

"It's already noon, Avery."

"Oh, really?"

The boy scratched the back of his head awkwardly, laughing nervously, while the knight sighed and put down the pickaxe to fold his arms across his chest.

"Anyway, I was going to get a lot of cobblestones today."

Avery was surprised by his statement and turned his head to one side.

"What? Why do you need cobblestones?"

After a short pause, the tall, imposing figure of the knight turned away again, sweetly and foolishly, so as not to look him in the eye.

Slime was gradually getting used to this peculiarity of his.

But now he knew why Derlord was afraid to look at something for too long and directly...

 

"I want to mine the entrance to the cave and camouflage it. Completely."

 

What?

Wait, what?

 

His sleepiness and morning fatigue vanished after this unexpected statement. Avery immediately panicked:

"Wait... what, wait, what? Ah... how are you going to do that?"

"It's simple, I'll go down there again and block every passage, then come back and block the tunnel, completely filling it with cobblestones, just like the mine itself.
Well, and then I'll come back."

"No, but wait, isn't that very difficult and time-consuming?

 

"According to my calculations, it will take me three days.

 

Avery couldn't believe his ears...

Why? Why?

Three days...

No, actually, he understood why. And he understood what for.

Surely, after Derlord did this, he would feel more... calm and peaceful.

At least he would feel that he had done everything he could, and that it was the right thing to do.

But while the slime stood in a daze, he was tormented by feelings of anxiety that something very bad might happen.

And he became really nervous, very nervous.

 

"Can I go with you?"

"No way."

 

The knight didn't even let him finish before interrupting and refusing.

Avery really, really wanted to argue.

 

He was already prepared to shout at him about how dangerous it was and that something bad could happen, but then he remembered their conversation that night, all his friend's worries and torment, and he didn't feel like shouting anymore...

The lad continued to stand there in a daze, with a look of deep incomprehension and sadness on his face.

He had to accept Darlord's decision and just pray that nothing bad would happen to him.

 

Wait, when did he start caring so much about him?

 

This question hung in his head before the slime pushed it out and asked:

"When are you going to leave?"

The knight paused, even touched his chin with his hand, and began to think.
He still did not look his interlocutor in the face.

"I think, once I get the right amount of cobblestones, in a day? I don't know."

"I have a lot. You can take them."

At these words, DerLord finally turned around.

"What?"

He didn't quite understand why Avery had decided to give him cobblestones, even though he knew perfectly well that Avery was categorically against the idea.

"I said I have cobblestones, you can go now, just come back quickly, for fuck's sake!"

He shouted, aggressively entering the house with the knight and pointing to one of the chests.

They exchanged awkward glances. Silence hung in the air...

Avery didn't want to yell at him, but he did!

"Well, thank you very much, Avery, that's enough. I'll be going."

But he didn't move. He just watched as Derlord's back slowly receded towards the front door until he stopped.

Turning his head to the side so that the upset and bewildered slime could see at least part of the knight's helmet, he finally said with a touching chuckle.

 

"I promise I'll try to come back as soon as possible."

 

The man left, leaving his friend standing in an embarrassed stupor.

And damn it, he knew perfectly well what he was doing to this guy!

A pink blush spread unexpectedly and unpredictably across Avery's cheeks, and he unconsciously covered them with his hands. Although it didn't even make sense anymore, because the knight was gone and wouldn't see it anyway.

 

*What an asshole...*

 

____

 

Night. It had been exactly one day since DerLord left.

Not forever, of course, but still.

All day after that, Avery felt a pang of loneliness: not a strong one, because he had always lived alone before, and it had become a habit.

Besides, he couldn't have imagined that such a strange and eccentric guy like Derlord would ever appear in his life.

And yet, it happened, so now he had to get used to something completely new.

 

And to someone new, too.

 

Nevertheless, even while doing his daily and natural activities, namely gardening, hunting, cooking, cleaning, and simply relaxing and enjoying himself, the slime couldn't escape the one thought that was stuck in his head:

 

He wants to heal the knight.

He wanted it desperately.

And he knew for sure that he would try to do it.

 

But in this situation, desire and ability alone were not enough. This is infinite knowledge, not bleeding or a small wound, Avery!

And yet... even if it's impossible, the effect can be reduced, right?

That's why, right now, late at night, the lad was sitting at his alchemy table with a pile of books, studying some information about the so-called "infinite knowledge" and "The King In Yellow".

But there was simply no such information anywhere!

Slime leaned back in his chair, covered his face with his hands, arched his back and almost fell off the chair, and began to shout loudly and discontentedly throughout the house:

"FUCK, you idiot Derlord, how could YOU get into this mess?!?"

Having calmed down a little from his failures, Avery lay down on the tabletop and, resting on his arm, stared out the window nearby, watching the sky gradually darken and the wind grow stronger.

*And yet, it's not your fault. But while you're not home... I can scold you as much as I want.*

He began to laugh at his own words. A playful grin spread across his satisfied face, and the alchemist caught himself thinking that if the knight saw him with that expression now, he would surely regret ever meeting Avery.

 

This thought made it even funnier.

 

As he continued to lie on the tabletop and laugh at his own thought, more and more ideas about how to heal Derlord or help him came to mind.

It was getting darker outside, and it was time to go to bed, but Avery knew he had a lot of work and study ahead of him.

 

Finally sitting down at his workstation, taking his books, solutions, flasks, knowledge, and hope into his hands, he was fully prepared to begin this long journey.

____

Chapter Text

Avery was worried about how Derlord was doing.

And Derlord was worried about how Avery was doing.

But everything was fine for both of them.

 

When the knight reached the cave on the first day of his plan, where the whole nightmare had begun, he felt surprisingly calm.

He didn't know where the King in Yellow was, and he didn't know what he had in mind, but he knew perfectly well that it was unlikely to end in failure or something terrible...

At least, that's how it seemed.

When he approached the mine, he first looked down and saw the chest in the distance, then turned his head towards Avery's house.

He sighed heavily, closed his eyes, gripped his pickaxe tightly, and decided to go deep inside.

Slowly, calmly, and unwaveringly, the knight descended the stone stairs with steady steps.

After briefly looking around, glancing at the torch, and taking a couple with him, as well as a bag of cobblestones, he moved on.

But he did not go where it all began.

He turned immediately to where it all ended.

Namely, to the last crossroads from which he had so desperately escaped three weeks ago.

He climbed into the hole he had knocked out with his hand, injuring it in the process, and moved forward.

The cave was not lit, but after walking a short distance, he saw the very tunnel made of copper blocks that he would surely continue to see in his nightmares.

And he did not turn there either.

He went forward, straight to where the stone began to dissolve into the black darkness.

Where the disgusting, horrible, gold-devouring gates were.

Derlord didn't understand when he had become so brave.

 

It seemed like he had almost died there, lost his mind and gone mad, and now he was consciously and confidently going back there?

 

Maybe he had gone mad after all?

 

No. He was fine. Even despite his shaking knees and elbows.

But he knew it was the only way out.

He had to return to that cursed place once and for all, for the last time.

He hoped it would be the last time.

To find peace, to find tranquillity, to find confidence in his future.

And in Avery's future, too.

To start life with a clean slate.

 

Stopping in front of the complete darkness, before going any further, the knight took a bottle of potion that Avery had given him out of his bag.

 

*I feel lousy again. This place is just killing me.*

 

He thought to himself before bringing the flask to his mouth with trembling hands and drinking every last drop.

He carefully put the empty bottle back in his bag, exhaled heavily, and took another step forward.

His breathing became irregular, his head began to ache, his anxiety grew, and everything slowly blurred before his eyes.

But Derlord was more confident than ever, and he had to do it.
There would be no second chance.

 

And finally, having reached the end of the road, he saw it — the golden gates.

So large, so bright, towering above him.

He felt nauseous, his breathing faltered again, but he paid no attention to it.

 

"I know you're here, and I know you can hear me. I don't care if you answer me, I don't care what you're thinking."

 

Derlord said loudly, confidently and authoritatively, clutching the pickaxe in his hands and staring straight at the golden gates without breaking eye contact.

"I'm not afraid of you. I'm not afraid of your disgusting gift. I will learn to control it and, unfortunately for you, I will start my life over."

There was no reply. But he felt that he was being listened to intently.

"You will not get what you want. I am not an idiot, stop right now."

 

What?

And then, finally, he heard that disgusting, quiet, distant whisper that made him want to run away from this place as fast as he could.

And then He answered.

"𝙈𝙮 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙠𝙣𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩, 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙫𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙢𝙮 𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙜𝙞𝙛𝙩... 𝙄 𝙝𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙚𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙛𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙘𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠."

The golden gates began to flicker slightly, as if mocking and taunting Derlord.

The voice repeated:

"𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙣'𝙩, 𝙞𝙩 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨𝙣'𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧. 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙪𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙖𝙪𝙣𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙣𝙤 𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩... 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙣𝙤 𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙧𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙬𝙖𝙨𝙝 𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙜𝙤𝙡𝙙𝙚𝙣 𝙜𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙚𝙮𝙚𝙨, 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙨𝙪𝙘𝙘𝙚𝙚𝙙."

"You're only saying that because you still think this is a nightmare for me."

"𝙄 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙄'𝙢 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙣𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙚. 𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙄'𝙡𝙡 𝙠𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙬𝙖𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪, 𝙢𝙮 𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙠𝙣𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩."

These words echoed in Derlord's head.

 

He knew that if the King really wanted to, he would kill him right now, and he would never return to Avery or his kingdom.

He would never see the sunlight again, remaining forever in the darkness of the cave.

 

But the King did not do that.

 

He mocked, taunted, and tormented Derlord.

 

The boy realised that this pitiful but powerful creature simply enjoyed torturing people.

He simply enjoyed coming when he wasn't asked, and he simply enjoyed watching people go mad, unable to bear it.

And then someone survived. It would be foolish to kill him, right?

Much better to torment and mock him even more than the others.

 

The cave suddenly became windy.
Perhaps the King laughed at him so hard that his silent laughter created a whole wind for a relatively small man.

Derlord's bright burgundy cloak and ponytail fluttered and flew up from these waves.

 

It couldn't help but be annoying.

 

But before finally leaving, leaving this disgusting creature alone, the knight said:

 

"You won't get what you want."

 

The man turned back, walking away from the golden gates, which continued to shimmer behind him, with clear, confident and relatively quick steps.

He paid no more attention to it and safely emerged from the darkness.

However, it was not entirely safely, because immediately after this dialogue, DerLord fell to his knees, clutched his chest and began to breathe heavily.

Thoughts and voices invaded his head again, and this time it was much more difficult than usual to stop or control them.

Unconsciously, quickly and as if on command, he took another potion from Avery's bag and, without spilling a single drop, drank it all again.

The knight sat down, trying to catch his breath, still clutching his chest, and remembered how the slime, with a serious but funny expression on his face, had put it in his bag, saying:

«If you feel sick, drink this.»

I wonder what he put in there? Maybe a secret ingredient, or even two? Derlord could find out just by thinking about it, but now was not the time. Not at all.

____

 

Without even realising it, Derlord fell asleep on the cold cobblestones, passing out right in front of the darkness from which he had emerged a couple of hours ago.

To his surprise, he came to his senses very quickly.

He got to his feet, brushed the dirt and stones off his burgundy cloak, assessed the situation, and realised:

It was time to begin.

The man quickly, confidently, and persistently pulled out chunks and blocks of cobblestone, beginning to build a large, sturdy wall of stone with the aim of completely blocking the passage to the darkness.

The amount of cobblestones was limited, so it was necessary to act rationally and logically.

But it wasn't just cobblestones that were limited.

Time was limited too.

Not the time until DerLord was completely exhausted or tired, but the time until his mind was completely consumed and infected by the King in Yellow again.

Yes, he was already infected, and that remains true no matter what.

But this guy is literally one of the few who managed to survive after receiving infinite knowledge, and he stubbornly tried to cope with it and control it.

And Avery's potions also helped a lot, to be honest.

So now he had a little time before he started going crazy again and curiosity consumed his mind, soul and body once more.

 

And it would be wise to use this time wisely, for example, by quickly and clearly laying out new fragments of cobblestone one after another.

____

 

It had been exactly three days since DerLord had been away from home.

Avery continued to live and go about his business as he had before he met DerLord. And just as he had with him.

But he noticed an interesting detail: without the knight, his life was no longer the same.

 

There was no one to say "good morning" and "good night" to, no one to share the dinner table with, no one to brush his teeth with in front of the mirror.

It was slightly exhausting.

 

Of course, Avery had always lived alone before this guy came into his life, but now he couldn't lie to himself that he wasn't lonely without Derlord.

His presence had become a habit, and to distract himself, the slime returned to his favourite hobby:

Sword fighting.

No, of course, he also spent the whole two days working out formulas for Derlord's potions, but he wanted to play too!

Especially since, very soon, in a few weeks, there would be a new fighting tournament in the city, and he had to be there!

 

"Well, it looks pretty good..."

 

said Avery, folding his arms across his chest and looking down at the homemade bat made of heavy cotton wool, rope and old fabric.

In principle, it will do for training.

The lad picked it up, limped over to a tree, and tried to reach a branch, holding the bat in one hand, but he couldn't do it and fell over.

"Bloody hell, this isn't going to be easy..."

After 5, 10, 15 attempts, and while he was trying different ways to hang the bat on the tree, several branches broke, Avery fell several times, and in the end, he realised that he wouldn't be able to do it.

Later, he remembered Derlord, who was a head taller than him and would probably have been able to do it.

 

Wait, did that mean Avery needed his help?

 

*No, no, no, no, lol, he's definitely not stronger than me, and besides, height doesn't matter here, so it's just a bad bat, not me being weak.*

Avery thought with a bright grin on his face, standing proudly with his arms crossed near that very tree and giggling loudly, tilting his head back and closing his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, right, he wouldn't have hung it either. No big deal, I can practise later!"

The slime shouted into the void, still with his eyes closed, turning towards the house and waving his arms as he returned inside.

Of course, he didn't think to look where he was going and crashed into his own house, but that's a different story.

 

For the rest of the day, Avery, to put it mildly, engaged in utter nonsense, and only in the evening, as always, did he sit down AGAIN to work out formulas and try to concoct some good potion.

Finally, it got dark. The lad sat on the top floor of his house, where he had his workplace, namely a small laboratory where he was actively engaged in alchemy.

There was also a white lamp, a window, a couple of beautiful candlesticks and lots and lots of plants.

 

He loved plants very much.

 

In principle, this could be understood by looking at Avery's house: it is located on a huge flower field surrounded by a forest, winding paths, trails, and mushrooms.

He had flower beds, indoor plants, a garden, and even his own favourite stone on the roof.

 

Initially, the alchemist planned to work out a good medicine for Derlord during the three days of his absence.

But in the process, he realised that this was unrealistic.

Even though the knight had given him a detailed and thorough explanation and account of his feelings and thoughts, as well as his physical sensations, it was not enough.

At least because there was no one to test the formulas he had already created and had at his disposal...

Besides, he couldn't use Derlord as a guinea pig, could he? He couldn't just shove everything that came to mind into his body, even if it was for his own future good.

Once again crossing out another formula and theory, Avery began to wonder if he had set himself an impossible task.

 

But he didn't want to give up.

He didn't want to leave his friend alone.

He wanted to take care of him and use his limited knowledge in at least one way to benefit him.

To benefit Darlord, specifically.

 

Avery didn't even understand why he had such an inexplicably strong desire to help him.

He didn't understand why tears were streaming down his cheeks that night when the knight told him the whole truth.

 

Or did he understand after all?

____

 

"Right, so these three should work. When DerLord returns, I'll let him try them."

The alchemist said to himself, sitting at his work table in the evening after four days of the knight's absence.

He got up from the table, tired, stretched upwards, trying to loosen his joints, and then looked at the time:

Midnight. Exactly.

 

Four days had passed since DerLord left.

 

Avery looked tired and sad again as he gazed out the window. His hair was loose, and he was ready to go to bed.

But there was an unpleasant feeling in his chest...

 

«According to my calculations, it should take me three days.»

 

*Derlord is smart... could he really have made a mistake in his calculations?*

 

This thought stuck in the slime's head, and as he continued to stare out the window overlooking the backyard and the path from that very forest, he clenched his fists tightly.

 

*Why am I nervous about him again?*

 

This thought was no longer so important, because Avery's hands reached for the hair tie to braid her hair into a ponytail, and her feet led her to the door.

It was early September, and it was starting to get cold, so he quickly put on his leather coat and warmer shoes, grabbed a bag with a couple of potions, a sword and bow on his back, a torch, and closed the door of his house.

The light from inside continued to burn, the area remained illuminated, and the house looked as if someone was relaxing and enjoying themselves there at that very moment.

But no, its owner was already making his way through the forest with a torch in his hands, trying to find his way in the dark and locate the very place from which he had dragged Derlord that day.

To say that it was scary would be an understatement.

At any moment, he could be attacked by a skeleton, a zombie, or a spider, which the lad would not even see in the darkness, nor hear because of his own loud, heavy breathing.

Avery began to run at full speed, his heart pounding wildly.

He couldn't help thinking that something terrible had happened to his friend; these thoughts literally consumed his mind.

 

When had knight's absence become so unbearable?

He didn't know the answer to that question.

 

But he knew for sure that now, in the pitch darkness, in an unknown place, when he stumbled over rocks, his head hurt, sweat dripped from his forehead, and his hands shook,
Derlord was all that mattered.

That's why, after ten minutes of running, Avery found that very place.

The flowery meadow where he had found him.

And the descent into the cave where he must be now.

 

"I'm sorry, Derlord, but I'm going down."

 

Those were his last words before Avery took his first quick and confident step into the depths of the cave, where he could see the light of the torches and the chest.

He descended the long staircase, his mind racing with the most terrible scenarios.

He shook his head a couple of times and tapped his forehead to knock all the nonsense out of his head.

But his hands were sweaty, and he was gripping the hilt of his sword much tighter than usual.

 

And then, reaching the bottom, Avery saw a dark, fairly large space illuminated by a couple of torches and a single chest.

He looked around: strange, old, rotten doors leading nowhere... cobblestones overgrown with moss, and a hole...

 

A hole, beyond which a further passage was visible.

It was quite large, but there were traces of blood on the stone.

 

Avery realised that this was most likely the very passage through which Derlord had escaped, which he had broken through with his hands.

 

His heart ached, but without even realising it, the slime slowly and quietly made his way towards it, but stopped right in front of the passage down.

He looked inside: a dark, quiet and rather frightening cave.

It looked natural, and any ordinary person would have thought it was just a normal cave.

But the alchemist knew: this was ABSOLUTELY not the most ordinary cave.

That was precisely why he couldn't find the strength to go inside.

It was strange. Avery loved adventure and exploration, and he had come here to find the knight.

 

But his chest was tight with an inexplicably strong and gnawing feeling of real fear.

Fear not only for his friend, but also for himself.

 

He remembered how Derlord had literally begged Avery never, under any circumstances, to enter this cave.

 

And now, here he was.

 

His lungs were filled not only with heavy breathing that was impossible to control or exhale, but also with a feeling of guilt that actively spread throughout his body.

His eyebrows were furrowed, everything before his eyes was blurry and unreal, and his trembling hand remained on the cold, solid stone nearby.

 

Avery did not dare to step inside.

 

But he spoke. At first quietly, then he began to shout:

"Derlord?"

In response, he heard only his own loud echo.

"Derlord, are you here?"

His voice trembled, but it didn't matter.

"DerLord, I've come for you! Are you here?"

Again, there was no answer.

 

Avery trembled, he was truly afraid!

 

The lad was already prepared to go forward, to dare to break his promise and the word he had given to the knight, but then he heard sounds coming from right there.

 

His heart froze, and he felt MUCH more afraid than before.

They were footsteps, quick, clear, confident, and with incredibly powerful energy.

The alchemist immediately remembered all the stories about the King in Yellow, all of Derlord's warnings, all the horror that could await him here, and he literally lost access to oxygen.

The footsteps were getting closer, his eyes darkened with fear, his palms sweated, his legs stopped obeying him, and in the end, Avery tried to take a couple of steps back, thinking it would help, but he fell loudly onto the cold cobblestones.

He unconsciously closed his eyes and covered his head with his hands, expecting the worst, because whatever was moving towards him was getting closer and closer and closer.

 

In that moment, he was so scared that his whole life flashed before his eyes, and he thought he was about to die.

 

That was until someone's strong, warm hands touched his trembling shoulders, and someone's heavy, ragged breathing was just a few centimetres away.

 

"Avery, you bloody idiot, what the hell are you doing here?!"

 

It was the angry, fiercely angry voice of DerLord.
He was gasping for breath as he rushed towards Avery.

 

But for the alchemist, that angry voice was a salvation and a release from his own disturbing thoughts, and hearing it was like a blessing.

 

He slowly and uncertainly opened his eyes, his hands stopped covering his head, and there, in front of him, he saw the knight's helmet.

Slightly damaged, scratched and dirty, but so familiar and dear to him.

 

Avery couldn't help but smile, and immediately cried out the man's name with relief, but he saw no joy or happiness in response.

Instead, strong hands squeezed his shoulders harder, so hard that it hurt, and then he heard a low, angry voice:

 

"Avery, I told you NEVER to come near this place. What the hell are you doing here!?"

The smile and joy in the alchemist's eyes quickly disappeared. Instead, they became empty, and his mouth remained slightly open.

 

Derlord knelt in front of him, looking down, and he could say with certainty that he had never seen him so angry and rude.

 

"I... you've been gone for four days! You said you'd be back sooner..."

"So what? I was delayed, yes! It's only one bloody day, and you seriously came here? What the hell, Avery?"

 

The atmosphere became sickeningly tense and oppressive, making it impossible to breathe, not only because the lad was facing a heavily breathing knight who was yelling at him so loudly that he could probably be heard a kilometre away, but also because they had never had this kind of conversation before.

 

"I asked you never, ever to come to this place, and you seriously came looking for me? Avery, I'm not stupid, I know everything, I wouldn't get lost or die from a bloody skeleton, I'm not a child, why did you come here?"

 

He moved even closer, even angrier, squeezing the other's skin even harder.

It became scary, very scary.

 

But it was still DerLord.

His DerLord.

 

Slime didn't know what to do, how to respond, how to react. Instead, he continued to stare at the golden helmet illuminated by the dim light of the torches behind him and said nothing.

And then, uncharacteristically, uncharacteristically for the situation, with a trembling voice and looking straight into the eyes of his interlocutor, Avery said:

 

"I... was worried about you."

 

Derlord's hands weakened, his lips parted, and his head began to ache sharply.

His eyes blurred, not from fatigue or anxiety, but from the tears welling up inside them.

 

This idiot, God, he...it's just a nightmare.

 

The knight could do nothing, but his hand would not rise to strike the boy in front of him, and his lips would not open to yell at him again.

Instead, his whole body relaxed, becoming cotton-woolly and weak, but the man felt a pang of acceptance and relief.

 

Without even realising it, he crawled closer to Avery and, without thinking about his actions, slowly, uncertainly, but gently and tenderly embraced him.

 

"Please, just let's go home."

____

Chapter Text

After the hug, Avery felt slightly... shaken.

This was not surprising, since DerLord had never hugged him before.

But his embrace was unexpectedly gentle, and the lad even closed his eyes in pleasure.

He was just happy that his friend was alive and seemed to be in good shape.

 

Nevertheless, after a couple of seconds, the knight got up from his knees, stood confidently on his feet, picked up the pickaxe from the floor, turned his head back, and then looked at Avery sitting on the floor and coldly said:

"Go home, and I'll be back later, I'm not done yet."

Slime froze, looking at him in surprise, but then he also stood up confidently, folded his arms across his chest, and replied:

"No! You've already delayed me ENOUGH for me to just turn around and go home."

The knight no longer had the strength to tolerate this stupid idiot.

He often wondered how HE could create such amazing potions and medicines.

 

So Derlord took off his burgundy, long, slightly torn and tattered cloak, threw it at the alchemist, turned around and walked back into the cave, saying:

"Well, it's nighttime, and since you want it so much, sleep on the cold cobblestones."

Avery was furious. But he caught the cloak and, although dissatisfied, wrapped himself in it from head to toe and lay down on the cold cobblestones.

This was done more out of spite towards the knight than out of a desire to sleep.

 

But the alchemist found it amusing.

 

Avery did not know how much time had passed, but he woke up outside the cave at dawn, lying on a flowery meadow in the exact same place where Darlord had been bleeding before they met.

The wind was still cold after the night, but the lad wasn't cold at all.

The bright morning rays of the sun reflected off his skin, and when he opened his eyes, because the knight was waking him up, his gaze was filled with the morning light.

It was still quite dark outside, but incredibly atmospheric.

The birds were singing their morning melody, and it seemed like complete idyll, waking up like this, especially to the voice of DerLord, but this beautiful and relaxed moment was interrupted by an arrow.

An arrow from a skeleton, which was just a little bit away from hitting the slime.

Realising this, he crouched down on the ground, quickly regaining full consciousness and shaking his head. Derlord was no longer there, and before he could figure out where he had gone, he heard the crack of bones.

The knight killed the skeleton with a single blow, also protecting Avery from the arrow.

 

"Oh, Derlord, where are we? And how long have I been asleep?"

 

The alchemist asked in a sleepy voice, sighing discontentedly and yawning, rubbing his eyes with his hands.

Only then did he realise that he was holding his friend's red cloak, but surprisingly, this did not bother him in the slightest.

 

"We're going home now."

"Wow, bro, you're awesome, you just replied ignoring both of my questions."

Calmly, but with a sarcastic tone, Avery joked, already getting up from the clearing and taking off the long "blanket".

"But thanks for the cloak!"

A bright, confident smile appeared on the slime's face, and Derlord, in turn, couldn't help but smile back.

Of course, the helmet covered everything, so the other couldn't even guess, and thank God for that.

At that moment, they both simultaneously turned their heads towards the cave exit, or rather... what was now just a wall of cobblestones.

The knight had mined it thoroughly, reliably, and conscientiously.

"Wow... now no one will be able to get in there."

"That was my goal."

"I know, and how do you feel now that it's finally been accomplished?"

Avery said, looking up at his companion's face, already slowly starting to walk towards his house.

"Peaceful."

 

____

 

The knight awoke later than noon, or rather, even after afternoon tea.

The first thing he did after waking up was to clutch his head, because it was splitting again.

In principle, the man was already used to the fact that when he woke up or fell asleep, thoughts and knowledge suddenly crept into his head and began to torment him.

But it wasn't so bad, because the rest of the time, that is, during the day, he was busy, and Avery's medicine helped keep everything more or less in order. Even if only for a short time.

Meanwhile, Avery sat in the kitchen chewing bread, staring out the window with a bored look, and when he heard dissatisfied sighs, he turned his head back.

 

"Oh, the sleeping beauty is awake. I thought you were dead."

"Avery, that's not funny. Give me the painkiller potion, please."

"Wow, I can't believe this is the first time you've asked me for a potion! I thought you didn't appreciate my efforts at all until I checked your bag and found four empty flasks."

 

There was no response, and the alchemist rolled his eyes and sighed discontentedly, but, albeit with a delay, he still quickly approached him and handed him the vial in question.

 

"All right, all right. Here, drink up."

"Thank you."

 

Derlord replied politely, taking the bottle in his hand and drinking it all.

"Still, you slept for a really long time, mate. I didn't know you were capable of that."

"What time is it now?"

The knight asked without looking at his friend, getting out of bed and shaking off the blanket.

"Mmm... almost 5 p.m."

 

This statement was followed by a pause.

It was very... awkward.

 

Derlord always woke up at 7 or 8 in the morning, but never in the evening.

 

Noticing how he stood motionless, not knowing how to react, Avery took matters into his own hands and, patting him on the shoulder, said with a smile:

"Don't worry about it, you mined the mine, and now no one will go there, right?"

He winked as soon as he realised the knight was looking at him, then turned around and said intriguingly:

"And yet... I have an interesting offer for you."

 

The man raised an eyebrow under his helmet and followed the slime, who was already walking out the front door.

They approached a tree that was far enough away from the hut. Underneath it lay a homemade, battered pear for beating.

The alchemist... or would it be more accurate to call him a fighter? He exhaled heavily and looked at the other man sadly, wearily.

"Anyway, there's going to be a sword fighting tournament in town soon, and I wanted to practise with this punching bag..."

But then his gaze became much more confident, and a satisfied smile spread across his face.

"But I think I have a better opponent who wouldn't mind training with me..."

Only now did Derlord notice that Avery had been carrying a scabbard with a blade inside it on his belt all this time.

 

He suddenly drew the blade and rushed to attack the knight!

 

It was very unexpected. Not only because he had never seen Avery fight, although he knew that he liked to fight with swords, but also because an alchemist was capable of such techniques.

Derlord realised that the sword was, fortunately or unfortunately, wooden only when it struck his armour with a clang.

Avery's goal was not to harm or defeat his friend, but rather to make an impressive attack.

But he turned out to be much stronger than he thought, and thanks to his infinite knowledge and knightly strength, he immediately drew his sword from its sheath, which was already made of iron, and threw the attacker's pitiful blade 20 metres away.

The alchemist, in turn, slid backwards along the ground, holding onto the soil with his hands, before standing up and wiping the sweat from his forehead.

 

"Phew... you're much stronger than I thought. To throw my sword so far, and with such a sharp attack..."

"And you seriously call that a sword? It looks pathetic."

Avery ran to pick up the wooden blade from the floor, then returned with a smirk on his face and asked:

"So, Mr Know-It-All, will you help me train for the tournament?"

 

"Mr Know-it-all" crossed his arms over his chest, turned his head away and snorted in displeasure.

The wind lifted and scattered his red curls, which were attached to his knight's helmet.

 

"I just woke up. I'm not ready to fight you right now."

"DUDE, ARE YOU SERIOUS? You just woke up, and in a second you reacted to my blow and threw my sword away! God, does that mean I, the two-time champion, have no chance of winning this year?!"

 

Avery shouted in dissatisfaction and frustration, spreading his arms to the sides and clutching his head, taking a couple of steps first in one direction, then in the other, pacing back and forth on the soft, green grass and thinking about his actions.

Darlord raised his sword to face level and began to examine it for any damage or broken fragments.

"Why do you think you have no chance of winning? I know everyone who will be participating in the city tournament this year. You stand out the most among them."

His sword was not just iron, but definitely very special. It had gold inlays that looked very expensive, beautiful decorations and details, and a handle decorated in royal style.

Even to the untrained eye, it was clear that the sword came straight from his kingdom. And not just any sword, but a very special one.

"Aren't you going to participate?"

 

Avery looked at him with surprised, shocked eyes, then immediately fell silent, standing in a daze, holding his pathetic wooden sword in his hand.

His white shirt was stained, as was his floral-print waistcoat, and his boots were completely ruined.

Just yesterday, when he ran to the knight, all his boots were ruined from constantly stumbling and falling over and over again.

 

"No. What makes you think I'm going to participate?"

"Bro, you're crazy. You have SUCH skills and you SERIOUSLY don't want to participate in the tournament!?"

The guy came closer and closer, starting to chase after Derlord and interrogate him rather than just asking him a friendly question.

Derlord, in turn, sighed and turned away, as he always did, and began to back away.

 

"I'm not interested."

"Pff, you're not interested. Well then, block my blows, it'll be interesting!"

 

He said with a smirk and attacked again!

 

The other reacted instantly, protecting his armour, but did not push him back.

The knight knew Avery's every move and action: this was one of the few occasions when his infinite knowledge came in handy.

But the guy didn't stop attacking: he put Derlord in a situation where all he could do, at least as far as he himself could tell, was defend himself.

The attacks were fast, fairly accurate and sharp, but definitely ill-considered.

The knight could see perfectly well and knew that the alchemist was not thinking about where to strike him, or where to hit him, or what technique would be best to use; he was thinking about how to strike harder, faster, to overwhelm him with strength rather than skill.

This was what distinguished them: despite the fact that Avery was a very skilled swordsman, he rarely thought about his strikes, while Darlord, on the contrary, thought too much and did not make strong and sharp movements.

Their swords clashed, clanged, and touched countless times. The clanging and sparks echoed in both their heads.

Derlord was glad that his face was covered by his helmet right now, because his expression showed not only surprise, but also obvious astonishment!

 

He didn't know Avery could do THAT.

 

Meanwhile, he felt quite confident until one blow turned out to be extremely inaccurate, his breathing faltered, and now he had to defend himself...

Not that it was a problem, but the sight of the knight actively approaching and also attacking with some force, but at the same time with excellent technique and intelligence, was frightening.

Especially when he remembered his dissatisfied and angry look yesterday in the cave.

 

Still, Avery didn't think he was very angry or offended by him. He had always been sarcastic, and the lad was already used to it.

 

In the end, the slime ran out of steam and could no longer resist, and when it weakened its defence, Derlord saw a weak spot and knocked out the wooden blade, throwing it far away again.

 

Avery spat on the soft, green grass, pressing several flowers against his body.

He had been squeezed dry like a damn lemon.

He was breathing heavily and closed his eyes. His face was red and sweaty.

His arms and legs were spread out to the sides.

 

Derlord, on the other hand, continued to stand firmly on his feet, as if the situation did not bother him at all.

But he couldn't help but admit that he was pleasantly surprised and was also breathing heavily under his helmet.

 

"I can't believe that an honourable knight, and a know-it-all at that, almost lost to a slime like me..."

Gasping for breath, barely able to make out his own words, Avery said proudly.

"Pff, what makes you think I almost lost to you?"

"Oh, relax, you heavy teenager. I'm just kidding."

 

The alchemist said jokingly, not even bothering to get up from the grass.

The knight didn't want to admit that he smiled.

He smiled for real.

____

 

After a long training session, the two boys had dinner at the same table and took a shower.

Avery finally washed all his clothes and hung them outside.

A beautiful, bright sunset was approaching, and after finishing hanging up his clothes, the slime stopped just to look at it.

He really liked the location of his house: it was always quiet and pleasant here, except at night. During the day, the atmosphere was amazing!

 

And he hoped that Derlord liked it here too.

Yes, Derlord!

"Derlord! I need to give you something."

 

The alchemist shouted as he entered the house. He was wearing slippers, a white nightshirt and matching white shorts. It was a set, probably sewn by himself.

The knight was sitting at the dining table finishing an apple, but when the boy called his name, he unconsciously turned his head in his direction.

 

"What?"

"Let's go upstairs."

 

He obeyed and followed Avery up the wooden staircase to the second floor.

For a moment, he froze again in his thoughts, not understanding where he was going or moving. He just stared at the green hair in front of him and walked straight behind it, although, to tell the truth, everything was blurry again and the man could hardly see anything.

"Hey, Earth calling Derlord!"

"Oh, I apologise."

The knight responded with a delay, flinching when the alchemist began waving his arms in front of his face, realising that he had frozen again.

 

There was a surprising amount of stuff in the laboratory: there were more books, flasks and some potions too.

The dim, warm light made the scene quite pleasant, but nevertheless, DerLord felt a twinge of... subtle excitement.

 

"Don't worry about it! Anyway, while you were in the cave, I tried to do something, and I have three samples. You need to try all three on different days, okay? And then I'll ask you how you feel."

Avery said with a satisfied, confident smile, trying to catch his friend's eye.

The latter, in turn, listened carefully to the instructions and finally just nodded.

 

The nod was enough.

 

Even despite yesterday's incident in the cave, they communicated with each other completely normally.

Even a little closer than usual.

It was surprising, because Avery had really messed up, and Darlord had every right to be angry with him.

 

But he didn't.

 

He couldn't be angry with Avery... it was strange.

 

For some reason, it was always in situations like this, and in cases that were somehow connected to Avery, that the knight felt "strange."

 

Not in a bad way, but rather in a good way, and yet, as he stood in the alchemy room watching this man descend, he couldn't quite figure out why he felt this way.

 

But then, after a couple of dozen minutes, it got dark, the moon rose in the sky and lit up everything around, as it did every night, and they both went outside, even though they hadn't planned to.

The slime sat on the stone porch, while the knight kept his sword close and watched for monsters nearby.

As soon as they began to appear and approach the house, he quickly dealt with them all: his sharp blade cut them to pieces with incredible precision and force.

Avery just watched. He had seen similar movements today and could even feel those blows.

 

But Derlord was more ruthless with the monsters than he was with him.

*God, what a stupid thought. OF COURSE he's more cruel to them than to me... I'm a human, not a mob.*

 

The lad thought, hitting himself on the forehead.

 

But he couldn't help but continue to watch the light and fleeting battles of the knight, who was right now defending this house from monsters, as he had done several times before.

It was too mesmerising a sight.

At least for Avery.

 

Having finished the battles and made sure that at least for the time being none of the monsters would dare to stick their noses where they didn't belong, the knight sheathed his sword, held his belt, sighed heavily and lowered his head.

The alchemist noticed this sudden change and, still sitting on the porch, hugging his knees and looking at his strong back, asked:

 

"Is something wrong?"

 

And, surprisingly, the answer came, though not immediately.

 

"I think I need to return to my kingdom."

 

What? Avery couldn't believe his ears.

Return... to the kingdom?

He had long since realised that Derlord was an honourable knight, because he had mentioned it once, but...

 

But the joy and happiness in his eyes vanished abruptly, as did the smile from his face. His hands fell limply to the floor.

 

Why such a reaction, if he had apparently already made up his mind?

 

Still, it hurt to hear.

Avery didn't understand why he felt so bad now.

Was it because of loneliness? Because his only friend wanted to leave? Because his efforts would be in vain?

 

He couldn't understand, even though he tried.

 

But the lad didn't want to look lost.

 

He knew that the knight was going through a very difficult period, and it was normal not to talk about his thoughts or feelings and to make decisions on his own. After all, they weren't close enough yet for Avery to make decisions for him.

This made him very sad, because he wanted to. He really wanted to.

 

To be closer to Derlord.

 

But now... now, when both of them were silent, and the man in front of him couldn't take his eyes off the moon, the feeling of loss was eating away at the alchemist from the inside.

 

"Do you have a lover in the kingdom?"

 

Slime got up from the doorway and slowly, calmly, walked barefoot across the grass towards the lad and also stood and looked at the moon.

"No. What does that have to do with anything?"

"Well... fuck, I don't know why I asked that question. Nevermind."

 

An awkward pause ensued. Silence.
Until Avery spoke again:

 

"Nevertheless, if not, why don't you just stay?"

 

«Why don't you just stay?»

 

This question stuck very, very firmly in the knight's mind, causing him to close his eyes again and lower his head.

 

Stay here?

 

This house was beautiful, Avery was a good guy, he could really just stay with him and live peacefully.

 

A calm, peaceful life.

 

It wasn't even that Derlord was a fan of serving in the kingdom and working for the king.

 

It was that he didn't think he deserved this calm and peaceful life.

 

Especially next to Avery.

 

But now, when he looked at his face, at those green strands of hair, at those big, bright but sad eyes, at that flower woven into his hair...

 

He really wanted to stay.

 

And this guy knew how Avery was feeling right now.

He knew he was sad, shocked and confused.

But he didn't know what to say or what would be the right thing to say.

Even if you know the answers to all the questions, you can't always answer them.

 

"I just mean that you're my friend. I don't know if you consider me one, and to be honest, I never knew what you really thought, but..."

 

The wind blew sharply, causing the flower in Avery's hair to fly away.

The leaves began to rustle loudly, moving and swaying in the wind.

It became less calm and less quiet, as if the wind perfectly understood the tension between them and was trying to make the situation even less calm.

 

"But I do care about you."

These were very warm, sincere, and tender words, after which the knight looked into the distance.

 

He knew that he would be thinking about this for a very, very long time.

And now, when he saw how sad the alchemist was, how lost he was, and how he could find the right words, Darlord decided that it would be better to say nothing and come to his own conclusion.

 

To make a decision.

 

But Avery considered him a friend.

Was he a friend to Derlord?

And as soon as this thought appeared in the knight's mind, he already knew the answer.

 

For some reason, it was this person he wanted to protect.

For some reason, it was with him he wanted to share his dinner table.

For some reason, it was him he decided to help with training and the farming.

 

And now, standing together, looking at the moon in the distance, listening to the sound of the wind and paying attention to nothing but Avery on his right, Darlord accepted the fact that he no longer wanted to leave.

 

He didn't want to, but he felt differently.

 

What would come of this in the end?

_____

Chapter Text

After their conversation under the moon, the night no longer seemed as peaceful as usual.

 

Even when monsters broke down doors and Derlord's head split again at night, Avery felt calmer than he did now.

 

Slime couldn't fall asleep for a long time, lying completely wrapped in a blanket.

 

Derlord's breathing at the end of the room was so tense for the first time.

 

What's more, they didn't even have any kind of quarrel or misunderstanding that would make him so anxious.

Even if there had been a quarrel, like in the cave, everything had immediately returned to normal afterwards.

 

So, after drinking the sleeping potion, Avery closed his eyes and put all his energy into falling asleep, assuring himself that everything would be normal the next day.

 

But everything was not as usual.

 

Because of the sleeping potion he had drunk, Avery woke up very late, at noon.

The sun was already shining fully into the house through the windows, and no curtains could save him from this light.

The singing of birds and the sounds of animals could be heard from the street.

A light breeze tickled the flowers in the field as usual, the garden beds were planted, everything was in its place, everything was intact and safe.

 

But, sitting on the bed and looking at the bed at the other end of the room, which was neatly made as always, Avery realised:

 

Something was wrong.

 

Everything was wrong.

 

But why? Everything was as usual.

 

Such a warm house, a warm place, a beautiful flower field, a mountainside, the wind.

 

Everything was as usual, nothing had changed.

 

But something was wrong.

 

That's why, without even brushing his teeth or washing his face, Avery ran out into the street without his shoes, still wearing his pyjamas.

"Derlord!"

 

There was no answer.

 

"Derlord, where are you?"

 

Still no answer.

 

"Der..."

After his last hopeful cry, the alchemist heard only his own hollow echo and the whisper of leaves.

 

And so, standing barefoot on the cool grass, looking into the distance and feeling the gentle breeze ruffle his hair, Avery finally understood:

 

He was gone after all.

 

*No... it can't be... Derlord, why?*

 

That was the slime's first and last thought before tears began to flow incessantly down his cheeks.

 

Everything was wrong.

 

Why? Everything was as usual.

 

But no, everything was terrible, just disgusting.

 

Even though it was his home, his native field, his place, the forest, the sky, the flowers, none of it mattered anymore.

 

It all looked disgusting. Repulsive.

 

Avery sank to his knees, the wind suddenly grew stronger, but the sun continued to shine with terrifying brightness.

 

He covered his face with his hands, unable to stop the flow of his tears.

His body trembled, shook, hugged itself, and finally gave up and fell to the grass, continuing to cry.

 

The alchemist didn't even know why he was so hysterical.

 

Maybe because Derlord was the only one who had spent so much time with him?

 

Maybe because he had always helped him as much as he could?

 

Maybe because Derlord was the first person he could care for?

 

Maybe because Derlord was his first friend?

 

Or more than a friend?

 

Now that the knight was gone, leaving only a few yellow flowers in the field, it no longer mattered.

 

The rest of the day passed in utter emotional emptiness, and even as evening approached, Avery continued to cry from time to time.

He knew that he would soon come to terms with it, knew that he would continue to live as he had before.

And now, standing upright, clenching his fists and staring with tired, tear-filled eyes at his alchemy table, where only empty flasks and a notebook with notes remained, he felt truly sick.

And very hurt.

 

Meanwhile, DerLord, who had no idea what had been happening to his friend all day, was calmly strolling through the evening streets of the city.

This city was quite large, at least for the Middle Ages, and was not far from Avery's house: the knight knew that he also often sold potions here and that tournaments were held here.

The sky was already dark blue, and everything around was sparkling with lanterns, torches, and garlands.

The streets of the city were bustling with life in the evenings. There were many merchants, fighters, girls, ordinary people.

 

Everyone was rushing somewhere, walking, searching.

 

This made him feel uneasy.

 

The knight caught himself thinking that he hadn't been around a large number of people in a very long time.
First, he had spent a long time in a cave, mining it with cobblestones, and then he had lived for a month in Avery's almost isolated house, which was located on a high hill.

Nevertheless, the knight continued to stroll calmly and unhurriedly through the night streets, enjoying the passing breeze, the bright lanterns, and the noise of the crowd.

He examined the wooden stalls of merchants selling bows, arrows, and wool.
Some even sold ore and stone, while others sold delicious street food.

 

And all the people looked at Derlord with great surprise.

 

In principle, it was understandable why.

Although the city was of normal size, everyone knew each other more or less, and here, out of nowhere, appeared a tall knight in pure gold armour and a bright red cloak.

 

It was not often that one saw such a knight.

 

Mothers whispered to their children not to point, because it was not polite.

But the man knew that everyone was paying attention to him, and he knew why. And it did not bother him.

Instead of focusing on the attractive shops or people, he was looking for only one place:

 

The city post office.

 

Derlord knew that other wars, people, and the king of his kingdom were looking for him and worrying whether he was alive at all.

So he went to the city to send a letter saying that he was fine, but that he did not plan to return yet, because he had not finished one more thing.

 

He himself did not know what he had not finished. It was just an excuse.

 

Had he not finished the battle with the King in Yellow?

Had he not finished his treatment?

Or... had he not finished something with Avery?

 

The last thought felt more acute and weighed on him the most.

Although he did not know why.

Now, Darlord basically didn't understand anything: he didn't understand why he had yelled at Avery so much in the cave, upsetting him, he didn't understand why he was now sending a letter saying that he was not going to return to the kingdom in the near future, but would stay with the alchemist, he didn't understand why he felt that he had left something unfinished.

 

And the knight did not like questions without answers...

 

Therefore, walking past the street lamps, looking at the modest city trees, foliage and architecture, heading towards the entrance to the large, beautifully decorated post office, DerLord set himself the goal of understanding both himself and Avery.

 

The people around him and the staff in the post office building looked at him with great surprise, looking around and whispering.

Well, yes, it's not often you meet a tall, royal knight in a post office building, modestly and even slightly uncertainly holding a pitiful letter in his hands.

Derlord approached one of the registration desks and, after negotiating with a pleasant and friendly young woman, finally concluded the contract and sent the letter straight to the kingdom.

After spending an hour at the post office, which was located above all the other buildings, that is, on a small hill, DerLord stepped outside and saw a view of a beautiful, medieval city.

A cold wind blew in his face, the clock showed that it was late, but there were still many people on the streets.

He slowly descended the stairs, walking straight to where he had entered the city, but then, unexpectedly, he was stopped by a touch on his shoulder:

"Hey, man! This is the first time I've seen you here. Looking for a place to stay? Come to my hotel, only one gold coin per night, and you'll get a whole room!"

Derlord was stopped by a middle-aged man who was very actively and enthusiastically talking about his hotel, pointing at it with his finger.

The building didn't look bad, and a gold coin was nothing to Derlord.

 

But he wasn't going to stay there.

"No, thanks, I have a place to stay."

 

He replied politely, removing the man's hand from his shoulder and continuing towards the city exit, because he knew:

 

It would be better at Avery's house.

 

____

 

Derlord knew the way back, so it didn't take very long.

Only another hour and a half of walking.

This was despite the fact that he was walking very quickly, because zombies, spiders and skeletons were waiting for him behind various bushes.

*Well... you can't get through this forest without armour and a torch.*

But it wasn't far now, and when he came out of the forest, the knight raised his head:

 

Avery's house.

 

Made of oak, with a lantern nearby. And the tree with the pear still hanging from it.

A soft, dim light came from the window. Most likely it was a dim lantern that Avery sometimes placed on his bedside table when he couldn't sleep.

Slime had never told Derlord about this, but Derlord, unsurprisingly, knew about it.

 

The man began to climb the hill with quick, precise, calculated steps, trying not to fall or slip.

And so, after another five minutes, Derlord finally stood a few metres away from that place.

 

He held a torch in his hand, his long red cloak fluttering beautifully in the raging wind, his body remaining motionless.

 

As if waiting for someone to meet him.

 

Although he did not know that Avery was awake.

 

The alchemist, in turn, was simply lying in bed under the covers after a long day of hysterics, and was already almost asleep when he heard noises outside and, turning his head, noticed an unusually bright light coming from the window.

The boy slowly and unhurriedly got up, shook his hair, sniffed, and limped sleepily and sadly closer to the window.

 

Derlord. It was indeed Derlord.

 

This idiot was standing in front of his house, motionless as a statue, but with a fucking torch in his hand!

 

Avery rubbed his eyes and pinched himself, more than once.

*What... is he doing here?*

 

It took a couple of seconds to realise that it really was DerLord.

 

His D'Lord, who had returned when he thought he would never come back.

 

The alchemist immediately rushed to the front door and opened it instantly, freezing in place and staring at him with eyes full of confusion and betrayal.

 

Avery's hair and pyjamas fluttered in the wind, his eyebrows were lowered and furrowed, and his lips were slightly parted.

 

The knight, who had not moved before, noticed how tearful and swollen Avery's eyelids were, and suddenly felt uneasy.

 

The already cool weather became even colder, and his head began to ache slightly.

But then he saw something that broke him unexpectedly, and much more strongly:

 

Avery began to cry.

 

Tears flowed quickly, bitterly and in great abundance down his cheeks, his lips began to tremble, but his body remained motionless, standing near the open front door.

"Avery? What's wrong?"

Derlord extinguished the torch, threw it back, and quickly walked over to him, but did not touch him.

 

He just looked...

 

With such an indecisive, uncertain, and uncomprehending look that it made the alchemist want to cry even harder.

"What happened!? I thought you had left for the kingdom and would never return!"

 

*Never return?*

"No, Avery, listen, that's not true. I was going to the city to send a letter to the kingdom."

The knight was not panicking, but he was clearly concerned. He walked slowly and deliberately towards the young man and placed his cold hands on his shoulders, trying to calm him down.

 

But that didn't calm him down. He shook the man's hands off his shoulders and simply rubbed his nose silently, crossing his arms over his chest.

 

A minute of silence...

 

For Derlord, it was not a minute, but an eternity.

 

In this situation, he REALLY did not know what to do. Because he could not know how Avery would view this situation. And it turned out to be very negative.

 

But he did not want to upset him at all. No, not at all.

 

Everything should have been different.

 

For the first time, Derlord felt so stupid and foolish.

 

How could he not have thought that Avery, who considered him his best friend, would be upset?

He felt very ashamed.

 

"Avery... I'm sorry. I... I really didn't mean to."

His hands no longer dared to reach out to him. His eyes just looked at the white shirt, the collar of which was wet with tears.

The alchemist wanted to remain silent longer, to ignore him, to make him understand how guilty he was.

 

But... he couldn't.

 

*Yes, he did something very ugly, but I forgive him almost immediately! Avery, what the hell is wrong with you?*

 

The slime's ears turned a delicate shade of pink.

 

The knight didn't notice, but somehow he sensed that Avery was angry with him and hurt, but not as much anymore.

 

And then... The hands that had previously been unable to reach out and touch him stretched out on their own and touched his body.

And the legs, which had been numb with fear and shame, moved forward.

 

And so, DerLord gently, carefully, and rather clumsily hugged Avery.

 

But with such warmth and regret that the alchemist's heart fluttered in his chest, and the blush spread from his ears to his cheeks.

 

The lad did not hug him back, but damn it, he wanted to!

 

He wanted even more not to show that these modest and pitiful but strong embraces were actually pleasantly thrilling.

The alchemist abruptly tried to pull away or take a step back to make it clear that they would not reconcile so easily.

 

But DerLord did not loosen his grip and continued to stand like a wall, silent and motionless.

It was pitch black outside, but the torch and lantern helped them see at least something.

Derlord's dark figure blended in with the surroundings, but his golden armour sparkled and helped them find him, even in the pitch darkness of that cave, for example.

 

Avery also caught himself thinking that hugging him was very cold.

The armour was cold.

 

"Enough, I'm cold, bro."

 

The knight did not answer, instead he picked Avery up with one hand!

 

Deftly, effortlessly, as if he weighed nothing at all.

 

The slime was surprised, or rather, shocked, and immediately began to kick and try to break free, saying to let him go.

 

But now it was impossible to hide his face.

 

Their eyes met, making his ears even redder and his cheeks even rosier, and in Derlord's gaze there was deep regret, sadness, longing, kindness...

 

And something very much like love.

 

Avery shut his mouth and just kept looking at the knight's face, noticing his rare, gentle smile as he carried him inside.

The knight closed the door with his other free hand and set the alchemist on his feet, holding him by the back.

Again, there was a brief moment of silence, without words, but with glances full of meaning.

 

"So what was that?"

 

Avery involuntarily crossed his arms over his chest and AGAIN gave him a disgruntled look.

 

"You said you were cold. It's warmer inside."

"I was cold because of your armour, you idiot."

 

Oops. He hadn't thought of that.

Well, now that they were looking at each other, not angry, and under the same roof again, it didn't matter anymore.

But Slime still wasn't happy with what had happened and what was happening now, so he took a step back, shook his hair, looked away, and began thoughtfully:

"Derlord, I still don't like what happened, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't hurt."

"I know, I'm very sorry, Avery. I don't know why I did that."

The man did not try to get closer. Although he wanted to, and he did not want to admit it.

 

"Um... still, you know how I felt. You just took the potions I made and left without saying anything. Mate, I thought you were really gone."

 

Their eyes met again. The knight was still terribly ashamed because he felt really stupid.

He couldn't explain to himself why he felt ashamed in front of Avery, because if it had been someone else, he wouldn't have given a shit.

 

Okay, he answered his own question.
Because it's fucking Avery. That's why I'm embarrassed.

 

"I... I don't know why I didn't think of that."

"I thought you knew everything."

 

Avery could barely keep himself from laughing out loud.

God, this guy is a nightmare.

 

Derlord felt like a nightmare too! His face was burning, his gloved palms were sweating, but he continued to stand frozen until he remembered something:

"I have something for you. Consider it an apology."

 

The alchemist looked surprised, but went to sit on a bed nearby, waiting for his friend to take something out of his bag.

 

The knight carefully took a diamond-encrusted, shining, enchanted sword out of his bag and handed it to the other.

 

Avery was simply shocked. He carefully and slowly took it in his hands, not even believing it, examined it from all sides, and then looked at him with wide eyes and parted lips.

 

"DUDE... HOW. HOW DID YOU GET IT... WHERE DID YOU GET IT..."

"Well, when I was in the cave and mining it, I knew the location of a couple of diamonds, so it wasn't difficult for me to get them. Then I found a man in the city who could forge and enchant the sword."

"Yes... but I never knew that... even though I visit the city relatively often. And besides, it's terribly expensive."

"Money doesn't matter to me anymore."

 

Avery wanted to laugh, because he thought it was a stupid joke. But then, after a couple of seconds, it dawned on him that with his infinite knowledge, money really did no longer have any value for Derlord.

Unlike Avery, who lived modestly and rarely allowed himself to buy anything instead of making it himself.

 

And now, not only was Derlord returning, but he was bringing such an expensive gift...

It was very touching, even for a guy like Avery.

 

He continued to examine and turn the sword over in his hands without stopping, occasionally glancing at Derlord, who crossed his arms over his chest and watched his actions.

 

"Never seen a diamond sword before?"

The knight asked with a smirk and sarcasm.

"Shut up... first you give me a gift like this, and then you get upset that I'm looking at it non-stop."

 

He just grinned, and couldn't help but smile. But he didn't want to admit that he really wanted to smile.

But he did.

The alchemist smiled back at him, got out of bed, and looked him sincerely in the eyes and said:

 

"Derlord, thank you. And... I'm glad you're back."

 

"I wasn't going to leave."

 

____

Chapter Text

The days spent together turned into weeks, and both stopped noticing how long they had been living together.

Every day was pretty much the same: waking up, breakfast, gardening, lunch, training, walking, dinner, and alchemy.

 

Avery continued to test different formulas every day that might help Derlord feel better.

 

Yes, this guy didn't give up! It was worthy of a good result, and of course, the alchemist deeply hoped that he would be able to heal the knight.

He still did not know what caused such an inexplicably strong desire to take care of him, to save him.

Derloard knew that Avery would never be able to heal and cure him.

But he didn't want to tell him that, because he could see how hard he was trying.

And also, DerLord was really getting better, slowly but surely, with each passing day: and now, after a sufficient amount of time, he had almost forgotten about the pain in his head or the terrible fatigue.

Yes, of course, sometimes he continued to wake up at night with heavy breathing, or he needed extra rest to recover and stop his thoughts from crowding his mind.

 

But when Avery was nearby and he had a home, it didn't matter so much.

 

The knight, looking at the moon at night and hearing Avery's quiet snoring, began to think often about what he called home.

 

Maybe he called Avery home?

He didn't know yet, but he wanted to find out.

 

And so, late one evening, the alchemist was sitting in the laboratory on the second floor again, trying to do something, until the knight went to send him to bed.

"Avery, go to bed."

"OH FU—, DERLORD, STOP. APPEARING. SO. UNEXPECTEDLY. RIGHT. BEHIND. MY. BACK!"

Slime jumped up from his workstation, turned around and yelled at him, crossing his arms over his chest.

As soon as he caught his breath, he looked again at the guy, who, by the way, had taken off his helmet.

 

"Wow, you're not wearing your helmet today, how nice."

"What do you mean by nice?"

 

The guy asked with incomprehension and a sarcastic tone, leaning against the wall behind him.

"It doesn't matter. Better look at the new formulas I've come up with!"

Avery grabbed his notes and, with his arms outstretched and his eyes satisfied but tired, showed them to his friend.

Derlord carefully took one thick book and began to read.

 

He knew the meaning of every formula and every effect thanks to his infinite knowledge, but God, it was a complete mess. How could he understand anything in these notes?

 

"So, basically, I decided to combine the formula of the potion you're drinking now with one of the new ones, and as a result... I ended up with a substance without sediment, but with a fairly high percentage of acid, which is obviously dangerous to drink, so after that, I tried to reduce the dose of acid, and as a result..."

The guy picked up the flask with the pale blue liquid and, taking his wrist in his hand, placed it in his palm.

"And in the end, this is what came out. It should help better! Anyway, drink it tomorrow morning and then tell me how you feel."

 

Said the slime, already starting to descend the stairs and turning off the dim light. It seemed he was going to bed.

 

Derlord followed him, and half an hour later he was in bed, looking again at Avery's slightly rising chest as he slept peacefully, as he did every night.

Usually, the knight went to bed later, about an hour after Avery fell asleep.

This routine allowed him to make sure there were no monsters nearby before going to sleep, and if there were, to destroy them.

 

He never stopped protecting Avery and tried to do so even in his sleep.

_____

 

This night flew by even faster than usual.

Perhaps because there was less than a week left before the sword fighting tournament that Avery had been preparing for so diligently!

At exactly 8 o'clock in the morning, the alchemist began to wake Derlord.

 

"Derlord! Get up."

Reluctantly, but quickly, he opened his eyes, sat up and asked:

"Wha...What's the matter?"

"I'm about to go into town, are you staying at home?"

 

Wait, what? To town? Avery had never mentioned that he was going to town today.

But judging by his appearance, namely his neatly combed hair, new leather boots, ironed white shirt and warm leather coat with fur trim, it was clear that he was not going to stay at home today.

 

"To town? No, I'll go with you."

"Wow, I didn't think you'd want to come with me, okay, get ready!"

 

Yes, DerLord himself could not have imagined that the next day he would be going with him to that very town.

 

But again, he couldn't let him go alone.

His feelings wouldn't allow him to do so.

 

So, the knight quickly gathered himself, drank the potion he had been instructed to drink yesterday, and half an hour later, dressed in golden armour and with a sword at his belt, he stood waiting for Slime to pack all the necessary items into a bag.

 

"All right, we can go now,"

 

Avery said, wheezing slightly as he tried to throw his bag over his shoulder, because it was quite heavy. They went out through the front door, and the owner of the house, Avery, locked the front door.

Derlord, without even asking, almost immediately took the bag from him and put it on himself.

 

"Oh, I can carry it myself, bro. I'm not a princess for you to carry my stuff."

He didn't answer, but smiled.

"Fine, whatever you want, then walk around with scoliosis later."

"Do you seriously think that 3 kilograms on my shoulder will give me scoliosis? You underestimate the strength of knights."

"Bro, you're probably the only knight like that in your kingdom, don't speak for everyone."

Avery said sarcastically and acrimoniously, with a smirk, already starting to descend the path, glancing at Derlord at the same time.

 

The sun was not shining as brightly as usual today.

 

It was cloudier, the birds weren't singing, and mid-autumn was approaching.

There wasn't even much wind, but the grass and leaves had lost their former bright green hue.

 

But that didn't spoil the mood at all.

 

"My kingdom is full of good fighters."

Man replied after a short pause.

 

They continued along the forest path, Avery keeping his hands behind his back, occasionally adjusting his hair, and Derlord walking beside him, sometimes looking down at him.

It wasn't a particularly long walk, just over an hour and a half, and the road was more or less even, but he would have to stand behind the counter all day and sell potions just to earn a little money...

 

At this thought, the alchemist sighed heavily and closed his eyes.

But then the knight became interested:

 

"Why are we going to the city anyway?"

Avery turned his attention to him, opening his mouth slightly and looking in his direction without slowing down.

"Funny that you're asking that now. I need to sell potions, earn money."

Sell potions?

Oh, yes, of course, that was his only source of income.

"Money? You could have just asked me for it."

 

Darlord said with incomprehension, but with absolute calm, looking down at Avery.

 

The other, in turn, was surprised by this statement and even looked away.

Avery's ears involuntarily turned red, and his eyes remained wide open.

 

He didn't know how to react to such a statement.

 

"Come on, how can I ask you for money for anything?"

 

"Calm down. I don't pay you rent anyway.

 

"DUDE, WHAT THE HELL RENT..."

 

The alchemist laughed out loud, so loudly that even the last birds on the branches flew away, and the knight looked at him with dissatisfied eyes, crossing his arms over his chest.

____

 

And now, they were approaching the city gates.

Outside, there were cobblestone walls, which served as protection, but it was unclear from whom.

Inside, stepping through the huge gates, Avery saw familiar stone houses, streets, shops, and people.

 

"Wow, it's been so long since I've been here, there was too much fuss with you."

 

He joked sarcastically, already walking down the street, exchanging glances with some people who looked at him with particular surprise today.

 

Derlord remained silent, but he could feel HOW strongly people were looking at them.

 

He knew that Avery was not very popular with the people in the city.

He had some acquaintances and connections, but his potions were rarely bought because no one wanted to risk buying anything from a humanoid slime, especially one who lived several kilometres outside the city.

But now, as he walked with a knight in golden armour, who also carried all his belongings and guarded him, the curiosity of the people was palpable.

 

Therefore, continuing to walk down the main street, Avery smiled at passers-by and politely greeted some of them, trying not to pay attention to the surprised looks of everyone around him.

 

Finally, after 10 minutes, they reached the alchemist's shop, which was located among the central shops and next to a couple of other shops.

The location for selling was clearly a good one.

He lit the garland that he had hung there a long time ago as a decoration, hung up a sign and price tags, and Derlord helped him arrange the potions. Then, exhaling deeply, he stood quietly and waited for customers.

 

However, he didn't have to wait long...

 

Within 10 minutes, Avery had a whole queue of customers!

 

The knight reacted calmly, even though his friend next to him was looking at everyone in surprise and was clearly worried about such demand.

 

"Avery, how many years has it been since you've been trading again?"

Asked one quite average man, one of Avery's regular customers, who was first in line.

"Yes! I also have new potions in my assortment, would you like to see them?"

 

The slime replied politely, already picking up one of the flasks and beginning to describe its effects.

Surprisingly, the rest of the queue was also listening intently.

But with each new customer who actively looked at them both, the alchemist became more and more nervous.

At least because, firstly, people were looking at him very often, and secondly, they were actively buying his potions, although this had never happened before.

 

Derlord, without even realising it, stared at him standing next to him for too long.

He watched his actions, how he talked, and naturally noticed how nervous he was.

 

So, in front of another customer, he leaned carefully towards his ear, put his hand on his shoulder, and whispered:

 

"Don't be nervous. I'm here with you."

 

At these words, not only Avery's ears but also his cheeks turned pink, and his eyes widened.

He didn't even notice that the woman in front of them was standing and waiting for the alchemist to serve her.

The young man shook his head, looked at the knight with eyes full of gratitude, nodded, and returned to the customers:

 

"Good afternoon! Are you interested in a specific potion, or can I recommend something for you?"

"Um... no, Avery, I'm not particularly interested in anything except where you got this..."

 

The woman rudely pointed her finger at the figure of Derlord standing nearby with his arms crossed over his chest, who began to look at her with a displeased expression.

"I saw you a couple of weeks ago in town. I never would have thought you were acquainted with... this one."

By "this one," she naturally meant Avery.

Slime didn't like the way she called him, and of course he didn't like the fact that she was holding up the queue.

Although the people in the queue were very interested to see how this dialogue would unfold, and also to find out what this knight had forgotten here.

 

"Nevertheless, I don't think you're being paid to... guard this eccentric alchemist's shop. Would you like to come with me to my shop? My products are stolen too often, I could use some security! I would pay you sooo well."

 

The woman's tone changed to a pitiful and feigned sadness, she was clearly pretending to be poor and unhappy, trying to lure DerLord to her.

Avery's eyes were no longer filled with surprise and slight sadness, but with complete incomprehension and fatigue.

 

He glanced involuntarily at the knight, waiting to see how he would react.

 

"I'm not interested, I don't work as a security guard. Don't hold up the queue."

"Then why is a knight from the kingdom standing near an alchemy shop selling potions!?"

Shouted a curious, but impatient man from the queue.

 

Some kind of commotion began... a crowd of eyes fell on the alchemy shop because of the noise near it.

Derlord sighed heavily. He really wanted to go and punch a few people in the queue who had started making noise, but the woman quickly disappeared from view as soon as she realised she had started a circus.

But he couldn't, because he knew that if he hit someone, it would damage not only his reputation, but also the reputation of Avery, who traded in this city and also participated in tournaments.

 

Trying to put up with the sidelong and surprised glances, the crowd of curious people, and the huge demand, Avery and Derlord continued to sell potions until late in the evening.

____

 

The working day was finally over.

Well, it had to end because they had run out of potions!

Collecting the signs and closing the shop, Avery looked tired but satisfied at his knight guard, as the people had nicknamed him:

 

"I never thought I'd sell all my potions in one day! We've earned so much!"

 

Derlord understood that the alchemist had actually earned mere pennies, but he didn't want to spoil his mood, so he kept quiet.

How does he even live on this money!?

 

And yet, the alchemist had already turned away from the counter and looked up at the city lights, the soft yellow glow from the windows, the horses and ponies pulling the carriages. Light drops dripped from the roofs of the houses, puddles on the dark road reflected the rays of light and people walking tirelessly along the main street.

So beautiful... and atmospheric.

 

"How long has it been since I've been here...
Okay, shall we go home?"

 

The alchemist whispered thoughtfully, even dreamily, but quickly distracted himself from this thought and turned to face the knight.

Derlord, in turn, also raised his head and looked around: it was truly incredibly beautiful.

 

"Hmm, you're hungry. Let's go eat at the tavern."

"Bro, what tavern..."

 

Avery scratched the back of his head and looked away, but he was still facing Derlord.

He wanted to say that he could make something tastier at home than in any tavern, but he imagined how Darlord would laugh at those words and changed his mind.

Besides, he didn't have enough money for such a treat.

 

"I'll pay."

 

The knight looked insistently at the younger man, and in any case, he had already made up his mind, so even if Avery objected, he would still take him out to eat.

 

"Oh, alright, rich boy."

 

And so, ten minutes later, they were sitting at a table in the establishment, menus in hand.

The alchemist had never been to a place like this before, so he looked around in surprise, noticing the beautiful, ancient interior.

Wooden floors and stone walls made of cobblestones, round tables and tall chairs, lots of wooden columns... a large wooden cash register, atmospheric iron hanging lamps radiating golden light.

On the shelves were some figurines, books and crystal shards, probably artificial and just for decoration.

On the wall near the entrance hung an iron sword and axe, also for decoration.

While Avery looked around in surprise, as if trying to commit the moment to memory, Derlord had already looked through the entire menu and made his choice.

"What will you have?"

Asked the knight, leaning back in his chair and stretching his neck, his hands on his chest.

"Ah... I haven't decided yet, I'll take a look."

 

In the end, they both agreed on the same thing: baked potatoes and beef. It seemed like a safe bet.

And a bottle of red wine for variety.

 

The waitress served them politely, and the knight immediately asked for the one bill.

 

While the lads were waiting for their order, the alchemist said:

 

"Actually, I still don't understand why you stayed with me. I mean, I'm very happy about it, but you have a kingdom, and you still chose to stay."

Slime scratched the back of his head and glanced awkwardly at his companion.

 

"Well, the kingdom is very important to me, but while I have the opportunity, I need to watch over you."

"What do you mean?"

 

Derlord lowered his head and thought.

Indeed, what did he mean?

 

"I'm still not sure that the King in Yellow will just let this go. I don't know what he's thinking, but I doubt he won't try to get to you if I leave for the kingdom."

 

After a short pause, and again avoiding eye contact, he continued:

 

"Besides, I know what happened in the kingdom yesterday, for example. Everything is under control there, there are no problems, so there is no need for me to be there. Of course, the King misses me, as funny as it may sound, but the search party has already been called off. "

 

"I'm glad everything is fine in your homeland... but it's strange that the whole search party couldn't find you. I mean, my house is the only one on the hill, it would be silly not to check it."

 

Derlord looked at the thoughtful and judicious Avery, who was scratching his chin and squinting his eyes as he pondered.

 

"The squad didn't even see your house. My kingdom is about 50 kilometres from your house."

"It's THAT far away!?"

 

The alchemist said indecently loudly, so much so that he even stood up from the table. The hood of his coat bounced along with his body.

After that, he sat back down at the table with a look of embarrassment on his face, feeling a bunch of people turn to look at him.

 

"But how did you even get into the cave if your kingdom is so far away?"

 

Derlord looked away, seriously pondering the question.

 

"I don't remember anymore. I only remember that I was sent on an expedition, but I don't remember what kind of expedition it was or what my duties were. It's as if, after reaching a certain distance from the cave, my mind became infected and I couldn't go back. At least, that sounds logical."

 

"Yes, logical..."

Avery muttered after he lay down on the tabletop and rested his head on his elbows, using them as a pillow.

 

After a few more moments, the lads got their order, and they both dug in like hungry beasts.

The wine was sweet, but with a bit of a kick and a hint of sourness, and the food was warm, fresh, and really juicy.

They enjoyed their dinner to the fullest, took the remaining wine with them, and left the tavern.

 

Meanwhile, while they were eating, the sky had grown even darker, the stars were visible, and a light rain had begun to fall.

 

"Oops, looks like it's starting to rain..."

 

Said Avery, stating the fact.

 

Derlord, in turn, took off his burgundy cloak and, descending a couple of steps to be able to see Avery's face, wrapped the alchemist in it with a grand, dramatic flourish.

Avery's eyes widened in surprise, and his lips remained parted as warm hands wrapped him in the long red fabric.

In the end, the knight's cloak was now a real hooded cape, not just a simple cloak.

 

"Oh, Derlord, you don't have to, I have a hood..."

Said the alchemist, looking away in embarrassment and nervously fixing his hair, already preparing to take off the cloak.

 

"So what? Your coat won't save you from the rain, it'll just get ruined, and I'm still in armour. Don't waste time, let's go home."

 

Said the knight, waving his hand dismissively, with complete indifference in his voice, as if it were a mere trifle to him.

 

But in fact, it was not a trifle: he really did not want Avery to get wet, and wanted him to stay warm.

 

The slime's ears and cheeks turned a light pink again, but with a smile on his face, he followed Derlord, who was already descending the stairs, and they went home.

 

_____

 

The journey home took longer than expected due to the slush, monsters, and other problems: a whole two hours.

The rain didn't really affect them, except for the constant puddles on the roads that they had to walk around.

But the monsters in the dark were really scary and unnerving, even though Derlord quickly and deftly destroyed each one while Avery stood behind him.

Because of this, they returned home wet, exhausted and tired.

Very quickly, the alchemist took a shower, changed into his pyjamas, said good night to the knight, went to bed and fell asleep just as quickly.

 

But DerLord remained alone with his thoughts.

 

Thoughts that were uncharacteristic of him.

 

These were not thoughts born of infinite knowledge. Not about the king in yellow, not about the kingdom.

 

They were about Avery...

 

The lad even had to go outside and look at the moon again, standing on the porch, because Avery's quiet, sleeping breath was making him feel even worse.

 

And so, standing there on the porch, DerLord began to remember everything that connected them.

 

He remembered how Avery had just found him and struggled with him for the first week and a half, and then saved him from the heat.

He remembered how he helped him with the garden beds, how he saved him from monsters, how he watched him brew potions.

He remembered how he went to mine the cave, and Avery came looking for him.

He remembered how he left to send a letter, the reply to which he never picked up at the post office.

 

The man also realised that he had begun to notice literally everything about Avery:

 

How he ate, how he slept, how he moved, how he thought. How he cooked, prepared and sold potions, even how he put on his outer clothes and boots.

 

It was driving him crazy.

 

He knew he had started calling Avery and his house his home.

 

He knew that he had begun to protect him every day, and he was already doing so not because he was healing him from endless knowledge and caring for him, but because he was REALLY worried about Avery.

 

From all this flood of thoughts and feelings, Derlord's face lit up under his helmet, and his cheeks turned pink.

 

He no longer even wanted to return to the kingdom if it meant saying goodbye to Avery...

He no longer wanted to wake up if it meant not seeing Avery sleeping in the other corner of the room when he woke up.

 

Or maybe he wanted to see him sleeping not only in the other corner of the room, but also next to him?

 

*No, God, what am I thinking? This is too much.*

 

The knight took off his helmet and placed it on the grass, then sat down on the ground and looked down wearily, rubbing his nose.

 

He still didn't understand anything, but he knew one thing: he couldn't let Avery go, he wanted to be with him, he wanted to live his life with him, he wanted to protect him, buy him things...

 

And it couldn't be just like that.

 

Even though Darlord had set himself the goal a few weeks ago to figure out how he felt about this guy, the only thought and feeling that came to mind now was:

 

*Have I fallen in love with Avery?*.....

 

.....

 

_____

Chapter Text

After realising that he was in love with Avery, Derlord couldn't sleep peacefully.

And for several days in a row, too.

Instead, he walked around the perimeter of the house at night, looked at the sky, and sometimes went a little further into the forest. He enjoyed the wind and the night atmosphere.

 

Anything to distract himself.

 

But during the day, Avery still woke up, and all thoughts of him continued.

It was like a real fever that now tormented him more than endless knowledge.

It was quite understandable that this was what tormented Derlord more now, because he drank various sedatives and numbing potions from Avery to cope with the endless knowledge.

 

But... Still, feeling in love was so... extraordinary.

 

During the day, when they spent time together, the knight enjoyed his alchemist, watching his actions in the sunlight, or how he listened to the birds singing.

And at night, he remembered this and guarded his sleep.

Avery was better than any princess in the kingdom.

Not that Derlord had ever cared about princesses or girls, but now Avery was all he could think about.

 

Every time he smiled, after the knight realised he was in love, his ears and face would turn red and burn.

Every time he told a story or talked about his new potions, the knight could only think about his voice.

 

It was... indescribable.

 

But his greatest fear was that Avery might not love him back.

Pondering this as he stood on the edge of the hill on yet another night watching the stars and the moon, Derlord caught himself thinking that it wouldn't really change anything.

For him.

Regardless of the answer, the knight would continue to protect him, even if he had to do it under the pretext of "I'm protecting you from The Kng in Yellow" and not out of his own concern.

 

But it was scary that their relationship would be ruined.

That Avery would no longer look at him with that sparkle in her eyes, with that smile.

But with disgust, with incomprehension.

That Avery would stop making potions for him, and his endless knowledge would weigh on him much more than before.

That their friendship would end.

 

*God, I'm screwed.*

Thought Derlord, covering his face with his palms, lowering his head, standing next to a tree.

 

_____

 

The sword fighting tournament is TOMORROW.

 

Avery was completely stressed out, so he woke up several hours earlier than usual for the last few days and trained, even without Derlord.

Of course, after a month of training, he had become much, much stronger than he was before, thanks to his knight's help.

Besides, he was a two-time champion, so why worry at all? His victory was already a foregone conclusion!

 

But that was not the case.

 

Since Derlord knew everything, he told Avery who would be participating in the competition: the opponents were strong, and this made the lad even more anxious.

 

Today, the day before the tournament, at 9 o'clock in the morning, the alchemist was already swinging his sword in the street.

He repeated all the techniques, trying to use different speeds, different stances, and different sword positions over and over again to repeat everything completely.

By 10 a.m., Avery was completely exhausted and lay exhausted on the cool grass, breathing heavily as he watched the morning clouds float by.

"It's getting cold..."

Whispered the tired alchemist, lying on the grass with his arms outstretched.

Every day, the sun became smaller and smaller, but fortunately, it appeared at least once a day.

The wind grew colder and colder with each passing day, but Avery had already started wearing his leather coat on a regular basis, so for now, it didn't prevent him from spending a lot of time outside.

"Yes, you're right, it's getting colder."

"FUCK!"

Derlord apparently loved to suddenly appear within his friend's radius and abruptly start a conversation.

And every single time it scared the hell out of him!

This time he was leaning against the wall of the house, his arms crossed over his chest, while his red cloak fluttered beautifully in the wind.

 

"Well, I think that in another universe, you might not scare me so much every time."

With a heavy sigh, the slime said, slowly getting up from the grass and walking towards his current interlocutor.

Approaching so that there was only a metre between them, Derlord suddenly asked, looking away:

 

"I made breakfast. Eat, and then you can go back to your battles with the air."

 

He seemed to have completely missed the second part of the sentence.

 

Derlord... made him breakfast!?

 

-YOU KNOW HOW TO COOK?

 

Avery's eyes lit up immediately, he grabbed his hair and looked as if he had just made a great discovery.

The knight had never cooked for him before!

"Yes."

Derlord looked down at him, raising an eyebrow, though it was not visible under his helmet.

Come to think of it, he had never cooked for him... Avery was always at the stove, it had become natural.

It occurred to the man that if the alchemist's eyes lit up just at the thought of something being cooked for him, without even tasting the food, then it was definitely worth cooking for him.

As they entered the house, a smile touched Derlord's lips.

 

Sitting down at the wooden table, the tired alchemist leaned on the tabletop, resting on his elbows, and waited for his breakfast with a smile on his face and mischievous eyes.

It was scrambled eggs with smoked meat and vegetables, and it looked very appetising, so he began to quickly devour his breakfast as soon as the knight carefully placed the plate on the table.

Cutting and devouring one piece after another, Avery's eyes grew wider and wider.

 

"DUDE, are you a restaurant chef!? How the hell can ordinary scrambled eggs taste so good?"

 

He exclaimed, quickly devouring all the food on his plate, smacking his lips and swallowing the pieces.

 

The sight of Avery sitting at the breakfast table, still sleepy, devouring everything he saw on the table, not even afraid of choking or gagging, caused Derlord not only to sigh heavily, but also to feel a sense of satisfaction in his chest.

 

After swallowing the last bite, the alchemist thanked him and was about to go back outside, but the knight stopped him.

"Wait."

 

The distance between them was less than half a metre, and the surprise in Avery's eyes was plain to see.

Derlord held him firmly by the wrist as he slowly and deliberately wiped the traces of breakfast from his soft cheek with his finger, looking him straight in the eye.

It was not only unexpected, but also terribly embarrassing, and the slime's cheeks turned a delicate pink almost instantly.

"Um... thank you, Derlord. I think I'll go back to training, the tournament is tomorrow."

 

He said, turning quickly to his friend once more, but instantly running out of the house.

*Oh my God, what was that...*

 

It was incredibly unexpected, but Avery tried to pull himself together as quickly as possible, picking up his sword and continuing his training after a hearty breakfast.

 

Everything was repeated again: strike, defence, strike, defence, jump, rebound, and so on.

Technique with a jump strike, somersault in the air.

Repeat after repeat.

Again and again.

 

But... as he swung his sword tirelessly, he could no longer think so much about the tournament.

Thoughts about DerLord's behaviour became much stronger and more frequent, at the most inopportune moment.

So the lad stopped swinging his sword for a couple of minutes, putting it on the ground and sitting down next to it.

 

Resting his head on his knees, hugging them with his arms, focusing on the sounds of the leaves, the nearby stream and the animals, the alchemist realised that he needed to take a short break and just think.

His eyes closed of their own accord, his eyebrows furrowed, and certain moments that were incomprehensible to him suddenly appeared in his mind.

 

For example, how Derlord hugged him in the cave, how he hugged him after leaving for the city without saying a word, how he gave him a diamond sword with which he would defeat everyone tomorrow.

How Derlord helped him with his training, constantly correcting his technique or telling him how to spot his opponent's weak spot.

How he made him breakfast and then touched his cheek.

How he guarded his house, even at night when he couldn't sleep.

Every gesture this lad made was incredibly gentle, cautious, and even...

 

Loving.

 

And this gave him a strange, incomprehensible feeling in his chest.

 

Avery tried to switch off, to run away, but he couldn't, so he covered his face with his hands.

 

Memory was definitely playing a cruel joke on this guy...

 

All these months they had been living together, the alchemist had caught himself thinking too often that he really cared about the knight.

He really cared about how he felt, how regularly he drank potions and medicine, how often he ate.

 

This had become especially important lately.

 

He still couldn't understand why he was so worried and upset when Derlord left for the city.

Yes, that shameless man didn't warn him and didn't even leave a note, even though the night before, he had said he was thinking of going to the kingdom.

But it was as if the reason was no longer that Avery was lonely in principle.

He was lonely without Derlord. And that finally became clear.

 

But could it all be for nothing?

 

Could such strong feelings be caused by ordinary friendship?

He didn't know. He couldn't know because he had no friends.

 

But Avery knew one thing for sure: if Derlord wanted to go somewhere, he would leave everything behind and go with him.

Because without him, it would be unbearable.

Unbearably lonely, unbearably empty, and just plain awful.

 

As strands of green hair flew in the strong wind, and minutes turned into hours of contemplation that passed quickly, Avery found himself thinking more and more that perhaps he was being very selfish.

Was he doing all this simply because he felt lonely without the knight by his side?

But no. He wasn't helping him for that reason, and he wasn't worried about him for that reason either.

It was because he was genuinely concerned.

*If Derlord had left, I would have gone with him. But for what? Just so I wouldn't be alone?*

The alchemist's head and body did not move, but his shoulders trembled slightly.

Perhaps from the cold, or perhaps from the heavy feelings in his chest, the unspoken words and his own lack of understanding.

 

*No... I just... want to be with DerLord.*

 

Wait, what?

How did it all come to this?

 

More precisely, it was quite natural, there was nothing out of the ordinary in this thought.

 

But... it was really a lot.

 

It meant a lot to Avery, even if he just thought about it.

 

After all, he had never felt anything like this in his entire life.

 

The lad would probably have continued sitting there, having already forgotten about training and the tournament, just looking at the cloudy weather and not noticing how the day turned into afternoon, and noon into early evening, but a familiar, cold hand touched his shoulder.

"Avery."

This time, he wasn't scared. He just turned his head and looked his friend in the eyes without changing position.

"What is it?"

"You've been sitting like that for a long time. Do you want to train together?"

The offer sounded extremely tempting, especially in this situation.

The alchemist smiled brightly, closed his eyes, and of course agreed.

_____

 

The clanging of swords was maddening, and sparks flew right in front of his face.

The knight's blows became faster and faster, as if he were entering a frenzy, even though a long time had passed since the start of their training.

The blows were precise, fast, sharp, honed to perfection, but the alchemist did not give an inch.

He used his defence to the fullest, managing to land a couple of unexpected blows.

Crack after crack, spark after spark.

They no longer talked during training as they had before, because now was not the time for that.

This was the hardest and most intense fight ever.

Not only because the tournament was tomorrow and they needed to prepare, but also because they were truly caught up in the excitement.

That's why both of them seemed to be giving it their all.

Avery's heavy breathing echoed in D'Lord's head, everything began to blur before his eyes, but he still knew every move he would make, how he would move, how he would attack, and that was his advantage.

But he didn't want to beat Avery. It didn't matter now.

Avery, on the other hand, really wanted to defeat Darlord, which is why he remembered every piece of advice, every example, and followed them like a well-trodden path.

But he wasn't the type of guy who liked everything to be prepared, and naturally, he added his own unexpected tricks.

For example, right now, instead of simply dodging, the alchemist did a backflip and retreated for a moment, which not only slowed down the knight and surprised him, but also gave him a little time to catch his breath, grip his sword tighter, and wipe the sweat from his forehead.

"Derlord, I've found your weak spot,"

Avery shouted, lunging forward sharply and, completely unexpectedly, striking his blade with such force that it flew off in the other direction, while his own blade was now near the knight's neck.

It was a shock, but an expected one; it was as if he had sensed that he would lose today.

Derlord was not offended at all; he lost more often than he won, and now, when Avery fell to his knees and stood over him, gasping for breath but pointing his blade at his throat, he was even less offended.

"Yes. You won. I think you're ready."

"Ha, funny how you say that after four hours of training with almost no breaks."

The alchemist threw his iron sword far away, falling to the ground as he had done earlier that morning, and began to breathe heavily.

 

They both definitely needed to catch their breath and rest.

 

_____

 

The noise coming from the city could be heard even before entering it.

Avery and Derlord finally stood right next to the city gates, and, glancing at each other and nodding, entered together.

There were too many people. So many that they were almost knocked off their feet several times as they tried to reach at least the main street, let alone the stadium.

A couple of people greeted the alchemist warmly and politely, asking if he was going to participate, and of course he replied with a bright smile that yes, he was, and he was going to win today.

 

Surprisingly, it was very sunny today.

 

The closer they got to the stadium, the more decorated and lively the city and its people seemed:

The stalls were decorated, with various garlands and paper decorations hanging, symbolising the long-awaited battles.

Colourful balloons hung near almost every house.

 

People were also dressed up: some simply took a sword and an iron belt in their hands, while others were completely clad in copper armour.

 

"Pff, look, now you don't stand out so much, Derlord."

Avery joked, a clearly satisfied smirk on his face, before he stumbled and almost fell.

Derlord just looked away and snorted:

"Shut up."

 

But while they were bickering with each other, they had already approached the large iron gates of the stadium.

The stadium was a fairly large, round structure, slightly above the centre of the city, on a small hill.

There were stands, seats for the jury, and, of course, the arena itself, where the battles took place.

A crowd gathered near the gates, pushing and shoving, not letting anyone get close to the entrance, because everyone wanted to buy a ticket as soon as possible and watch the battles live, but thank God there was a separate queue for participants.

But then Derlord and Avery had to part ways, because one was participating in the tournament and the other was not.

They exchanged glances and moved aside, standing in the shade under the roof of a small shop.

 

The knight caught himself thinking that he was more nervous and worried about his friend than the friend was about himself.

 

The alchemist looked TOO calm!

 

"I thought you were very afraid of this day."

Derlord said with a slight chuckle, leaning against the wall as usual, folding his arms across his chest and looking down at him with narrowed eyes.

Avery followed his example and also stood in a similar pose. But he held the scabbard with the diamond sword inside tightly in his hands.

 

"I can't say I'm not nervous at all. But so far, everything is fine."

 

There was a hint of a smile on his face, but unfortunately, Derlord did not notice it.

There was a slight impasse in their dialogue, as both of them felt a little uncomfortable.

The day they had been preparing for so diligently had finally arrived, and now, standing in the shadows and watching the stadium boil with people, the streets of the city saturated with this atmosphere, and the sun shining brightly in the sky, as if it too wanted to watch this moment, his feelings were very uncertain.

Time was limited, however, so after nodding to Derlord one last time and exhaling, Avery moved a little closer and looked him in the eyes.

 

"I think it's time for me to go."

 

He stood on tiptoe and, looking away, moved a little closer, finally wrapping his arms around the knight's neck and hugging him.

The embrace did not last long, so he could not even react to it.

His heart beat faster, and his head stopped thinking for those five seconds of physical contact.

But his face burned with a flame that Derlord had never been able to extinguish.

"I'm going. See you after my victory bro! Don't cry when you see me defeat one after another!"

Avery shouted proudly, turning towards the line of participants, and with a bright, confident smile, he ran straight there.

 

That confident smile would remain in the knight's memory for a very long time.

 

_____

 

"Ladies and gentlemen! Are you ready for this event?" Today is 1 October, which means we are once again holding a grand sword fighting tournament! Hold on tight!"

The loud voice of the presenter could be heard from every seat in the stands.

Derlord personally took a seat in the corner: not the very edge, from where he could see what was happening well, but from an extreme angle.

However, he didn't care much about that, the main thing was that Avery was clearly visible.

 

It was truly a great celebration for the city, and the knight would have understood this even without the gift of The King in Yellow, because, in addition to the decorations on the main street and the people's costumes, the ceremony was opened by musicians, a horse show and a speech by the mayor.

The music helped to cheer people up and made their blood boil even more.

The noise and commotion filled the stands, which did not annoy Derlord, but he did not like it either.

 

However, he clearly did not expect SUCH activity.

 

There was nothing special about the mayor's speech or the horse show, and then it was time to announce the participants:

 

"So! Dear viewers, let's see who is participating in the tournament this year!"

 

A total of eight participants were approved, and Derlord safely ignored each one because he already knew who they were.

 

Except for Avery.

"Avery, two-time tournament champion! Applause!"

 

The crowd roared with cheers and applause, and many began shouting good luck wishes and the young man's name.

The alchemist, two-time champion, in turn, jumped joyfully right in the stadium and waved his arms at everyone, a smile from ear to ear on his face.

This sight brought a bright sparkle to the knight's eyes and a smile to his face, and he couldn't help but admit that he was glad that the crowd was so enthusiastically welcoming the man he was in love with.

 

A few moments later, the tournament finally began.

 

Since there were eight participants, there were three stages in total: the first, the semi-final, and the last: the final.

In fact, the tournament was not particularly varied, and it did not involve any difficult challenges or a variety of weapons. Everyone took what they had, but armour could not be used.

All four stages of the competition were the same: the participants simply fought with swords. However, because each participant was unique, with their own techniques, vision of the situation, and sword, this created a certain atmosphere that further tempered the people.

And so, the first stage was almost over, with only Avery's competition with the city's well-known owner of various weapons remaining.

The crowd shouted their names, some voting for our alchemist, others for his opponent.

 

Derlord finally changed his posture and began to look much more tense than before.

Why? It was only the first stage, the opponents were weak, he knew his friend would prevail.

And yet, there was excitement in the air, especially among the crowd, the jury, and within the confines of the huge, slightly eerie stadium.

Avery, however, did not look tense. He looked at his opponent with confidence and charisma, not wary or afraid of him at all, already in a fighting stance.

 

"And so! The last fight of the first stage! Are you ready?"

 

As usual, the announcer's voice drowned out all the others.

 

"3, 2, 1, go!"

 

The fight began with Avery's attack.

The rules were simple: if your blade was knocked out of your hands, you lost. Well, or until you were cut to pieces. That was also possible.

Everything was just like they had practised, right?

Yes.

 

That's why the alchemist rushed forward at tremendous speed, so fast that the audience didn't even have time to react, and neither did his opponent. With one precise, quick, measured movement, his blade was knocked out of his hands and thrown far away.

 

Everyone was simply shocked! The stands were speechless for a moment, but after a short pause, the noise and commotion began, and most of the crowd rose from their seats and shouted Avery's name.

 

The knight, in turn, couldn't help but clench his fists and hold back a smile.

*Keep it up, Avery.*

 

The second stage was much more serious.

Before it, of course, the participants were given some time to rest, but after 15 minutes, all four were back in the stadium.

The alchemist became a little more nervous, which is why he looked at the floor and glanced at his opponents standing in a row.

One of them was a young man who, as he knew, was training with some famous coach who had won these tournaments many times.

The second was a burly man whom the young man had never seen before. Perhaps he had been accepted simply because he was strong and knew how to wield a weapon. But he clearly looked too serious.

Avery wasn't scared at all, and he almost laughed at the serious look on his face.

The third opponent was the toughest.

He was a young, strong, and sturdy lad from a rich family, whom he had fought in the final last time.

 

And Avery almost lost to him.

 

He could safely say that he had won only thanks to luck and the fact that his sword had miraculously remained in his hand, while the young man had exhausted himself to such an extent that he had fallen to the ground.

But looking at him again, the alchemist realised that this time it would most likely be even more difficult...

 

They were randomly paired up again, and Avery was matched with a young lad who was training with the coach.

However, he did not think that he would cause any problems.

Their fight was the first in the second stage, and the audience was shouting and waiting for the start again, while the participants had already taken their positions.

 

"I've heard a lot about you, Avery. It's an honour to fight you."

The young man said confidently and sincerely, nodding to him.

"Oh, don't suck up, boy. Better try not to upset your old mentor."

 

They both laughed, coming together on a good note before the competition, and the host began the countdown again:

 

"3, 2, 1!"

 

The young man attacked first, and Avery took up a defensive stance, beginning to assess and analyse his strikes and technique, while simultaneously dodging and holding his sword close to him.

The boy turned out to be more skilled and persistent than the alchemist had expected, so his blows were quite strong. But they could be withstood.

The audience marvelled at every manoeuvre, the clang of swords and the accuracy of the blows.

 

But this boy couldn't attack forever.

 

With a single movement, namely a long retreat using a somersault, Avery gained some time and caught his breath, just as he had done in training with DerLord.

 

Derlord, in turn, continued to sit in the stands, motionless, watching the fight closely.

He saw familiar movements.

 

Avery, leaning on his right leg, lunged forward at tremendous speed, closing the distance between him and his opponent.

The young man was shocked by this manoeuvre and barely managed to parry his blow. Another second, and his sword would have been knocked out of his hand!

 

But the slime did not stop attacking! Each blow became even stronger, more persistent and accurate, so fast that it was impossible to keep up, and the young man decided to retreat a few metres to catch his breath.

 

But he underestimated its endurance. This did not stop the alchemist at all; on the contrary, it played into his hands: after a couple of seconds, he rushed towards him again, finally closing the distance, catching him off guard and shocking him, and with a couple of quick blows, he finally knocked the blade out of his hands.

 

The crowd shouted Avery's name again, jumping to their feet.

Some were very upset and some even left, apparently they were rooting for this guy.

 

Derlord continued to sit in his pose, but breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Avery was standing firmly on his feet and holding his sword.

The host declared Avery the winner of the second stage, and the young man fell to his knees in exhaustion.

 

The alchemist's gaze was no longer directed at the proud audience, but at this boy.

After the result was announced, Or approached him, bent down on one knee, and said quietly:

 

"You did well. I'm sure your teacher is proud of you."

 

He said nothing in response, but looked him in the eyes with hope in his eyes, smiled and nodded.

______

 

The final of the tournament.

The last two participants, namely Avery and the young finalist, were given an hour's rest.

Of course, they went inside the stadium and sat in the shade while the crowd calmed down a little, but eagerly awaited the final stage.

Derlord knew the way to get to Avery, and of course he did so.

The man got up from his seat and walked down the stadium steps with measured steps, then went straight inside, where the jury and participants could prepare and rest.

The guards did not even have time to tell him that he was not allowed inside, because their gaze lingered too long on his golden armour and red silk cloak, and his figure had long been searching for someone specific.

 

"Avery."

"Oh, D'Lord! Hey!"

 

The alchemist shouted cheerfully and waved when he saw him, then patted the seat next to him, inviting him to sit down.

 

The knight accepted his invitation and sat down next to him, crossing his legs and leaning against the wall behind him, his arms crossed over his chest.

His gaze fell on the silent Avery, who was clearly too tired even to talk. He was holding a cold bottle of water in his hands and slowly drinking its contents.

 

"You won both stages, and your opponents didn't seem too difficult. Is everything okay?"

Raising one eyebrow, but without turning his head towards the slime, the man asked.

"Yes... But the final will be much harder. I know what to expect, but he has become much stronger."

The alchemist's gaze fell sharply to the other side, where his next opponent was sitting in the same resting place, a dozen metres away from him.

 

The knight thought about what to say to Avery now.

That he was doing well and shouldn't give up?

Or that he would definitely win?

He didn't know what to choose, but the words came out of his mouth:

 

"I believe in you."

 

It was a small, quiet phrase, but a very important one, because Avery understood perfectly well that Derlord truly believed in him more than anyone else.

He turned his head towards the knight, his eyes tired but surprised, his lips slightly parted.

 

However, his expression quickly changed to a smiling and joyful one.

 

The hour passed faster than expected, and after saying goodbye to Avery, Derlord returned to his seat, and Avery returned to his.

As soon as the presenter came out and solemnly announced the final challenge, namely the final of the annual tournament, the crowd began to shout even louder, even more actively, with even greater passion, which was frightening, especially for the participants.

But Avery stood still and firm at the very bottom of the stadium, in the arena, and looked at his opponent, ignoring the crowd.

Finally, after announcing the last two participants and playing with the crowd's enthusiasm for a while, the host stepped back and began the countdown:

 

Everyone fell silent. Even the birds on the branches.

The atmosphere was incredible; you could feel it even without going up to the stands.

Passion and fear were stuck in Avery's veins at the same time, and his hands were shaking slightly, but he knew exactly what his opponent might do and what tricks he might have up his sleeve, so the best option now was to calm down.

But he couldn't.

The heavy air was stuck in his lungs, and a normal breath didn't help to get it out.

 

-3, 2, 1!

 

The crowd shouted, but no one moved. The finalists continued to stand still as the weather suddenly turned cloudy and the wind picked up considerably.

Avery's hair and the young man's hair blew in the wind, and their eyes were locked on each other.

Everyone reacted rather strangely to the fact that they were in no hurry to fight with swords, because everyone was waiting for action.

But here, strategy was needed, not strength.

The young man, sword in hand, began to slowly approach Avery, but Avery did not back away, and when the young man finally made a clear, quick strike, Avery dodged it with a backward somersault, landing on his feet.

After a few moments, the alchemist lunged forward and tried to attack him in mid-air, but his defence was too strong, so he was only thrown back with enough force to fall and hurt himself, but he remained standing.

This was followed by another strong attack, and then another, and another, and Avery was now in a defensive position rather than an offensive one.

But he knew that the other man couldn't attack indefinitely, and he had honed his defence very well, so he changed his expression from anxious to a satisfied smirk, defended himself, and waited for the other man to tire.

And that's exactly what happened, and Avery took advantage of the moment and launched a sharp, unexpected attack.

But the bastard quickly deflected it and almost knocked Avery's blade out of his hand!

The alchemist realised that the situation was much more serious than it seemed, and the crowd also sensed the tension and fell silent.

 

For the next half hour, the two fought and held their ground, keeping their distance, but it was very difficult to tell who would win.

Both Avery and his opponent had become much stronger during this time, and last year's tournament seemed like child's play in comparison.

Now they were actively using jumps, reading body language, employing strategy and unexpected attacks, which made it much more interesting to watch.

But DerLord, sitting in his seat, was more concerned about Avery's health than his victory.

And yet, after a few more moments, both were already at their limits, and it was a great moment to go beyond the possible.

The Alchemist was thrown back again by a powerful blow, and he landed on the ground not as softly as at the beginning, but the main thing was that he landed at all.

Noticing that the young man was distracted and at the limit of his strength, he couldn't help but take a risk.

He gathered all his strength into his fist and lunged forward again, but this time it was not the usual attack that was expected.

Naturally, the other began to defend himself when he thought Avery was using his usual form of attack, but it was not a blade strike that needed to be defended against.

The alchemist turned slightly in mid-air, thus distracting his opponent, and then delivered an extremely powerful blow with his elbow to the back of the head, causing the sword to fall from his opponent's hands.

 

After this unexpected move, the crowd fell completely silent, and when they realised what had happened, they stood up and cheered like never before.

 

"The winner is Avery! Congratulations to the three-time champion!"

 

_____

 

The award ceremony finally ended, and after Avery was presented with the gold medal and the grand prize of a hundred gold coins, he was sent to the medical centre to have his battle wounds treated.

Derlord waited patiently for him near the stadium exit, watching as more and more people left, the sky grew darker, and the streetlights gradually came on, illuminating the street.

Some were ecstatic, some deeply offended by the loss of their favourite, but most people looked very satisfied.

And then, the three-time champion finally left the stadium.

The last one.

 

"You won."

The knight stated the fact, coming up close to him and looking down at him.

 

Avery looked so exhausted that he sighed heavily and said nothing in reply. He walked and limped so slowly that it would take them all night to get home.

So Darlord came up with a smarter solution, namely to put Avery on his back and carry him that way the whole way.

 

Avery didn't even object when he was easily lifted up and carried like that, and he didn't care at all that all the people in the city were staring at them with wide eyes.

 

The knight was full of strength, so they reached the house very quickly, in just over an hour, and as soon as Avery saw the outline of his house, he whimpered:

"Home sweet home... come on, carry me there, hurry, I'm so tired."

"I believe you are tired, it won't be long now."

"All right, put me down."

 

After these words, DerLord stopped carrying him, stood up and put him down on the ground, and looked at the hill that still had to be crossed to get home.

The alchemist and the knight's eyes met, their eyes saying more than their lips, and they decided to take a short break before finally getting home.

 

They looked at each other, then at the moon rising in the sky and the stars, which were especially bright tonight.

The light from the lantern near Avery's house created an even more mysterious atmosphere, as if they were close to true victory.

 

Avery didn't notice DerLord taking something out of his bag, because he was too focused on the weather and the atmosphere around him.

 

But the slime turned its head towards him just as the knight was weaving a beautiful flower into the alchemist's green hair.

His touch on the hair was extremely careful and gentle, as if one wrong move would shatter the boy like crystal.

The knight was nervous and wove the flower extremely slowly, trying not to look at Avery's surprised and confused face, because he knew that if he met his gaze, his ears would burn.

 

"M? What's this?"

"A flower. Yours fell out a long time ago, and I tried to find a similar one."

 

Avery looked in surprise at Derlord, who was trying to look away, turning his head to the left and standing extremely awkwardly.

 

A silence fell between them, but it was a meaningful one.

A silence that spoke for itself.

 

The alchemist chuckled, turned his head to the side, and, standing in a more comfortable position, looked at the moon, and then a thought that he had been trying to come up with for so long popped into his head:

 

*I love you, DerLord*

 

_____

Chapter Text

After returning home from the tournament, Avery and Derlord talked with each other for a long time.

To be more precise, Avery talked about what he had experienced and how he felt, while Derlord listened attentively, even though he could imagine the whole picture and didn't really need any explanations.

It was surprising, because Avery was terribly tired after the tournament, but apparently, telling Derlord something and talking non-stop was more important than a good night's sleep.

 

So they went to bed only in the early hours of the morning and woke up at noon.

 

The knight got up much earlier, around eleven in the morning, and the alchemist got up after two in the afternoon.

But while Avery was asleep, Derlord did not particularly engage in household chores such as tending the garden, the grounds, or cleaning the house.

 

He admired Avery as he slept.

 

The knight had already accepted the fact that he was in love and was going to tell him everything about his deep feelings, although in reality, he did not know how to express it properly and could only hope that Avery would understand him correctly.

And yet, he was only doing this because he wanted to be honest with the alchemist.

 

With the man who tried to lessen the effect of his endless knowledge every day and kept his mind under control, preventing him from going mad with the help of medicine and his own assistance.

With the man who had allowed him to live with him.

With the man who has always been honest with him.

 

And, of course, because DerLord sincerely wanted to be with Avery, to be close to him, no matter what and no matter where.

 

That was why, now, leaning against the oak wall with his arms crossed over his chest, as he always did, the knight watched the alchemist's sleeping body until he woke up.

Daylight streamed brightly through the windows, and even the silk curtains and drapes did not help.

 

Derlord knew that he needed to think carefully about what he was going to do.

When, how, where? Perhaps he should give Avery a gift?

He had money for a gift, and money had never been a problem for him, but the thing was...

 

What kind of gift would Avery like?

 

Leaving the house and looking at the nature around him, the knight fell deep into thought and began to ponder:

 

Maybe some jewellery, or earrings? No, earrings are useless, he doesn't have pierced ears.

Maybe some beautiful flasks for potions?
That doesn't make much sense, because glass is glass...

In the end, he decided that he would make up his mind when he saw what was for sale in town.

 

The knight went back into the house and this time left a note for the alchemist saying that he was going into town for a short while, trying not to repeat the mistake he had made earlier by leaving for town without saying anything, and also drank the medicine that Avery had instructed him to take every day.

Nodding one last time and making sure that everything was written clearly and that Avery would understand his handwriting, Derlord turned his head one last time and looked at his sleeping face, enjoying the sight and catching himself thinking that it was hard to say goodbye to such a «sleeping beauty».

 

_____

 

On his way to the city centre, the knight continued to ponder.

 

But he still walked very quickly, because he understood that he could not afford to be late, and by about two o'clock in the afternoon he was already approaching the city gates.

 

The weather was cloudy but very pleasant. The wind was not as strong as usual, the leaves on the trees had already changed colour from green to bright orange and red shades, and the grass was gradually losing its softness.

 

Derlord stopped to take a better look at nature: lately, he had begun to enjoy his surroundings very often, and this could not but please him.

 

It was as if the taste of life was gradually returning.

 

The city gates remained decorated after yesterday's tournament, and these decorations would not be removed for another week or so, leaving a part of the event behind.

And, entering the city walls, DerLord immediately caught the attention of many.

Especially from children.

"Mummy, look, it's that very knight who was with Avery, the one who won the tournament yesterday!"

Said a little boy, pointing his finger at "that very knight".

A little further away, a voice approached rapidly, and it turned out to be a very curious, short man who touched DerLord's shoulder and struck up a conversation:

"Oh, you're Avery's friend, aren't you? You accompanied him yesterday and watched him win! You're lucky, but why didn't you participate in the tournament yourself?"

This man spoke incoherently and was clearly in a hurry, as if he imagined himself to be a journalist, and at this thought, the knight sighed heavily and nervously, trying to step aside.

But it was too late, a whole crowd had already surrounded the knight, asking him all sorts of questions: from how the alchemist had become so strong in a year to why the knight was accompanying him.

All this noise and endless questioning gave Derlord a headache, and he knew for sure that if he didn't get away from these people as soon as possible, he wouldn't have time to buy a gift.

 

And of course, he caught himself thinking that Avery DEFINITELY should not visit the city anytime soon.

 

In the end, this whole awkward situation with the crowd ended with the city guards literally having to pull people away and push them away from the knight, who politely thanked everyone he could and, taking advantage of the opportunity, quickly disappeared from view.

*Well, I never thought I'd be running away from people one day*

This amusing thought came to him as he entered the jewellery shop, whose location and assortment he already knew.

Time was short, so he had to choose quickly.

 

This cute little shop was as cute on the inside as it was on the outside, although there were no customers, only the salesperson at the cash register.

There was a fairly large selection: from rings and key chains to various belts with expensive diamonds.

The interior was permeated with a slight smell of dampness, but also freshness, and the dim light from the lamps reflected off the surface of the jewellery.

"Good afternoon! Can I help you?"

Asked the lovely woman who sold jewellery, watching as DerLord searched for something he didn't know what. She approached him, smiling, ready to help.

"Good afternoon. Yes, I'm looking for a gift."

"Are you looking for a gift for your beloved?"

The knight thought about how to answer this question, so he looked at her without looking away and remained silent.
As soon as he noticed that the woman was very uncomfortable with the knight's helmet staring at her for several long seconds without moving, he immediately turned his head away and replied:

 

"I apologise. Yes, for my beloved."

 

"Okay, what does your beloved prefer? Maybe certain types of crystals, or a certain type of jewellery?"

 

And then DerLord seriously thought about it...what does Avery like?

 

Well, of course he knew what he liked. He liked alchemy, swords, messing around, talking a lot. But when it came to jewellery?

 

The knight only knew that he wore a metal bracelet on his wrist, shaped like a chain.

 

Turning his head towards the woman and lowering his hands, he replied:

"He likes bracelets and the colour green."

In response, she smiled and replied politely:

"I think we can find something with an emerald."

_____

 

An hour later, the knight thanked the saleswoman and left the shop with a beautiful box and a piece of jewellery inside it in his hands.

He put the white box in his bag, stopped by the city post office on the way to pick up the reply to a letter he had sent quite a long time ago, and decided to leave the city and go home.

He looked around a couple of times to make sure there weren't many people around, and then quickly headed for the city exit.

Taking one last look at the now less crowded streets of the city, which were gradually beginning to light up with soft evening lighting, the knight turned around and finally set off for home.

 

Even despite the relaxed, pleasant and incredibly enjoyable weather and atmosphere around him, namely the orange leaves falling quietly from the trees, the sun soon to set below the horizon, and the clouds finally beginning to move with the wind, revealing the autumn sky, he was still nervous.

 

Very nervous.

 

Perhaps that was why his breathing became so uneven as he thought about the moment that was about to happen?

And his heart began to beat faster, his face grew hotter?

He couldn't know for sure, but DerLord knew one thing:

 

He wanted to get home as soon as possible.

 

And then dawn broke as the knight approached his and Avery's house.

 

The bright sun set below the horizon, leaving behind an incredible orange hue in the sky.

Soft, multicoloured clouds softened the whole picture, continuing to drift in the wind.

 

And DerLord, whose bright red cloak fluttered in the wind and whose golden armour sparkled in the rays of light, stopped a few metres from the entrance to the house, as if waiting to be greeted.

 

And he was not mistaken. A few seconds later, Avery ran out of the house, as if sensing that the knight was about to return.

 

His green curls were slightly wavy, awkward and blowing in the wind, while that very flower was tightly woven into his hair.

His eyes were filled with that same sincere, beloved spark that Derlord longed to see every day of his life, and his white shirt and neatly ironed trousers fit him perfectly.

 

The alchemist quickly ran up to the knight, stopping a metre away, as he always did.

 

"Hey, Derlord! You're finally back. The sky is so beautiful today."

"Yes."

 

The knight replied with a smile on his face, which was hidden by his helmet.

 

"Dude, you finally learned how to write notes. You should have done that last time too. But, okay, it doesn't matter, let's go inside, I'm already cooking..."

 

Avery didn't have time to finish his sentence, didn't have time to turn around and walk towards the house, because a strong, cold hand grabbed him by the wrist.

 

"Avery. Stop."

 

The alchemist turned his head in confusion, and their eyes met. He turned back to face him, but kept his eyes fixed on the knight's powerful figure.

"Yes?"

 

"I have something for you. But I want to tell you something first."

 

Said DerLord, letting go of his wrist and taking the white box out of his bag.

 

He didn't open it at first, but the alchemist's attention was already on it. Still, with a heavy, nervous sigh, Avery's gaze fell back on Derlord's face.

 

The knight moved a little closer. More precisely, not a little — as close as they had ever been to each other — and slowly, carefully, placed both hands on the young man's waist, still holding the box with the jewellery inside in one of them.

 

Avery instantly felt this soft, warm touch, painfully familiar, but also unfamiliar at the same time — and his head turned slightly to the side, his cheeks and ears turning pink, but D'Lord pulled him so close, holding him so tightly that it was impossible to break free.

And then, before the alchemist could even say anything, the knight spoke:

 

"I don't quite know how to express my feelings fully. But, you know, Avery, I... I'm very glad we met."

He paused briefly before continuing shyly but sincerely:

"I will never regret staying with you, and I will always be grateful for every potion and attempt to heal me, and yet I have made it clear to myself that I want to spend the rest of my days with you."

 

The grip on his waist tightened slightly, causing the alchemist to swallow. He continued to study Derlord's face, searching his eyes and lips for any sign of deception, but found none.

 

His breathing quickened, his heart began to beat faster and harder than it ever had before.

Avery's hands gently rested on D'Lord's collarbones, stroking them lightly.

"And I know that I will never want to be with anyone more than you in this life. I would like to always protect you for saving me, and... I want to not just exist, but truly live... with you."

 

Before saying the last words, the knight swallowed hard, and then noticed tears welling up in his beloved's eyes and his lower lip trembling slightly.

 

"And I love you, Avery. Please let me be with you forever."

 

Hearing these words, Avery's heart fluttered, his hands trembled, and his legs gave way beneath him.

 

But it didn't matter, because now it was Derlord who was holding him — his beloved Derlord.

 

The knight he would protect for the rest of his life, for trying to save him from the King in Yellow with all his might, and for always wanting to be by his side.

 

The alchemist sniffed, but didn't allow himself to cry, thinking that he wasn't a child. And yet, there were far more words in his eyes than he could say.

He even wanted to joke about it, but his tongue simply couldn't say anything.

It wasn't a shock, but it was a clear surprise. He couldn't, couldn't believe that his own feelings were mutual, and that he no longer needed to be afraid of them, afraid of his emotions, and that he had the right to be with whomever he wanted, because it was mutual.

 

Avery laughed nervously, looking away, but a second later he looked back at his beloved. And yet, seeing how desperately the knight was waiting for him, waiting for his answer, waiting for his words, he replied:

 

"I... I love you too, Derlord. And I too have always, always wanted to spend my whole life with you."

After a little, nervous pause, he continued:

"I... I don't want to be anywhere or with anyone if it doesn't mean being with you..."

 

His voice trembled, he stuttered, but when he finished speaking, he heard a slight chuckle before seeing, unable to believe his eyes, how the knight took off his helmet with one hand and threw it onto the grass.

 

His other hand continued to hold her tightly around the waist, but now that most beautiful, beloved, familiar face was approaching Avery's, and before their lips touched, DerLord said:

 

"I appreciate that."

 

And in exactly one moment, he grabbed him even tighter, their lips meeting in a tender, soft, incredible, and magical kiss that they had both dreamed of for so long.

 

His arms continued to pull him closer and closer, and the kiss deepened, and as this happened, Avery was practically hanging in the air, because DerLord wanted to hold him as tightly and carefully as possible, as if at any moment he might shatter into tiny pieces like crystal.

 

His eyes closed, and Avery's hands reached for Derlord's neck and the back of his head: one arm wrapped tightly around his shoulders and neck, while the other penetrated his coal-black, shiny hair.

The alchemist's white shirt had long since been crumpled, and part of his back was exposed, for the knight's grip had significantly creased it. And yet, it was complete nonsense, especially compared to what they were both experiencing at that moment.

 

When their lips finally parted and their eyes instantly met in a loving, familiar gaze, DerLord continued to hold his beloved close for a few more moments before finally letting go.

 

Both were breathing heavily, their faces red but joyful and happy.

 

"I have a gift for you to celebrate this."

"I THOUGHT YOU ALREADY GAVE ME A GIFT!?"

"Well, there's still a physical gift. Here, open it."

 

The knight handed him the white box, and Avery accepted it with a satisfied, shy smile on his face.

Thin fingers opened it, and finally it was clear what the gift was:

 

It was an expensive, neat and beautiful silver bracelet with a shining, precious emerald in the middle.

 

The jewellery was elegant, exquisite and incredibly charming. So much so that the alchemist could not believe his eyes, so he closed and opened the box several times in a row, then took a step back and covered his mouth with his hand.

 

"You... it's very expensive."

"So what? I dont care, let me help you."

 

After that, Derlord came closer, took the jewellery and pulled Avery's right wrist towards him, carefully, with gentle movements and barely touching his skin, he fastened it.

 

The alchemist couldn't contain his joy. He continued to twirl his hand in front of his face and examine the perfectly matched jewellery. His eyes shone with happiness, and after a few moments, they shifted to the face of his beloved, and his lips quietly uttered:

 

"So, that means we're together now?"

The knight wanted to laugh, but he restrained himself, instead a gentle, slight smile appeared on his face.

"I suppose so."

 

He didn't have time to react, but the alchemist immediately pressed himself against him, his hands sliding down his strong back, hugging him, and standing on tiptoe, Avery closed his eyes and kissed his knight.

 

Even softer, stronger, and more sincere than before, as if completely trusting him and loving him with every fibre of his being.

Derlord, in turn, hugged him again, completely enjoying and literally melting into his kiss.

 

The love they deserve.

Chapter Text

WHAT IS EXTRA - An Extra is an EXTRA chapter that is OUTSIDE the plot and concerns a specific event. That is, it's an extra chapter tied to a specific event and does NOT affect the rest of the story. It's simply additional content

____

 

It had been quite some time since Derlord and Avery had started living together, and not just living in the same house, but truly living their lives side by side.

So much time had passed that neither of them noticed how close that cherished date was approaching—1 January, New Year's Day.

There was more and more snow and ice on the streets, the wind was getting harsher, and the leaves had completely fallen from the trees and bushes.

The entire forest, which once separated Avery's house from the rest of the world and had always been one of the reasons why this house felt so special, now looked incomplete and bare.

The temperature had dropped so low that Avery could no longer even train outside, even in warm boots and a leather coat.

 

But that was never a reason to be upset, because now that Derlord was by his side, he had completely different plans.

 

Waking up in a warm bed, lying on the knight's equally warm chest, while he gently stroked and ran his hands through his green hair, as he did every morning, the alchemist felt good.

The knight was holding some book in his hand and reading it with a surprisingly bored look on his face, but as soon as his beloved woke up, he immediately put it down on the bedside table and fixed his gaze on him.

 

"Good morning."

 

Avery did not respond immediately; he needed time to make a dissatisfied face, then open his eyes, then yawn heavily and discontentedly, then sit up slightly to stretch, and then lie back down on DerLord's chest and cover them both with a blanket, as if it were still night.

"Avery, it's already noon, time to wake up. We have plans for today."

"And what are our plans for the day, my grumpy knight?"

The alchemist whispered in a dissatisfied voice, quickly threw the blanket off them both, dramatically got out of bed, and walked to the bathroom without looking back, knowing that he would get up and follow him.

However, he was right, and the other one did indeed get up, sighed heavily, and followed him.

Standing in the doorway, watching as the slime rinsed his face with cold water and then brushed his teeth, the knight said:

"Today is 30 December, and we still don't have a Christmas tree."

Avery seemed to have a sudden realisation. At these words, he staggered, then spat out the toothpaste from his mouth, rinsed it hastily, and turned to his beloved behind him with wide eyes.

"Today is the 30th? Bro, I completely lost track of the days..."

And indeed, when you live every day with your loved one, do household chores and pursue your hobbies, occasionally visiting the city, it seems unnecessary to know the date.

The days simply merged together, and there was nothing wrong with that.

At least, not now.

"But yes, you're right, we need to find a Christmas tree..."

Derlord was without his helmet, his long black hair still slightly tousled from sleep, and he glanced at his reflection a couple of times before speaking to Avery.

"The city?"

"I thought you were smart. How are we going to carry a heavy tree with needles all the way home if it takes an hour and a half to walk there?"

"Well, I could carry it, no problem."

"Pff, dream on. Get ready, we're going to the forest."

 

And so, at the alchemist's command, half an hour later he was locking the door of his house so that the two of them could go and look for a Christmas tree in the forest.

Yes, the forest didn't look very promising right now, at least that's what Avery thought as he climbed a small slope and assessed the situation, but after walking with Derlord, who had already put on his armour a little further on, he noticed that there were quite a lot of fir and pine trees there.

The layer of snow was thick enough that the slime had to lift its legs high to avoid falling, and the snowdrifts only made the path deeper into the forest more difficult.

Sometimes, the boy would grab the knight's arm to keep from falling, and the knight was only too happy to support him. In fact, he was even ready to carry him in his arms, but they saw the fir trees before that idea occurred to him.

"Oh, look, Derlord, there are a lot of fir trees here. We should choose one and cut it down."

The alchemist said cheerfully, running slightly ahead of the knight, looking around and admiring these large, neat fir trees.

"We need to choose carefully. By size and height."

"You're right, but where will we put it? We don't have much space."

 

Walking alongside Avery, who continued to trudge through the snow, looking around, DerLord fell into thought.

 

Indeed, what kind of tree did they want?

 

But before he had time to think, the knight saw the perfect option before him:

Not big but not too small, perfectly symmetrical, relatively dense fir tree. It was ideal for them and did not look too heavy.

He wanted to take it and cut it down, but before that, he needed to consult with his beloved.

The man turned his head to look at Avery — his cheeks were rosy from the cold, and his lips were slightly parted as he examined the tree in front of him.

Darlord's hand "on its own" slipped under Avery's arm and hugged him around the waist, pulling him close.

"Yes, I think that would be a great option."

said the alchemist, smiling and looking up at his beloved before accepting a light and soft kiss on the top of his head with a chuckle.

"Okay, I'll cut it down right now."

 

Well, an hour later, the tree was already at their porch, neatly placed next to the wall of the house so that it wouldn't fall.

Derlord carried it all the way and cut it down too. However, DerLord would also carry it into the house and put it up, but Avery looked more tired than he did.

Nevertheless, now was definitely not the time for a lazy afternoon nap; they had to secure it, fix it up, and then decorate it.

 

But there was one problem...

 

"Derlord, I forgot to tell you..."

The alchemist looked terribly upset and dissatisfied with his own mistake, and with sad eyes looked at the knight next to him, then at the tree, not daring to enter the house.

 

"What is it? Speak."

"I've never had any decorations for the tree, and I haven't bought any."

 

But instead of a heavy, dissatisfied sigh, Avery heard only a quiet laugh, after which his ears turned red.

The knight was laughing! And quite loudly. At least, for him.

"Pff, don't worry, I know you don't have any decorations. I bought them when I was in town last time."

The alchemist breathed a sigh of relief, dramatically clutching his chest and even crouching down.

"God, WHAT A RELIEF. Okay, let's go put up the tree."

Derlord followed his words, doing exactly what was required of him — bringing the fir tree inside the house and putting it up.

 

_____

 

The day flew by very quickly, and Avery didn't even notice that it was already the evening of the 31st, and the fir tree they had found only yesterday was already decorated.

They had worked all evening and night yesterday to decorate the New Year's tree as beautifully and neatly as possible.

The decorations that Derlord had bought were, of course, charming, but for some reason, almost all of them had broken attachments, and they had to make new attachments for each bauble, as well as attach string so that the baubles could be hung on the tree.

 

They managed, of course, but it was almost morning by the time they finished.

 

Today, all that remained was to hang the garland, which Derlord managed to do on his own, and the final touch - the star on top of the fir tree.

But more on that later. Now, while Avery stood at the stove in a white wool sweater with beautiful stars painted on it and tried to bake something, Derlord sat on the floor near the nightstand and silently looked at the tree they had decorated.

The decorations he had bought were gold, red and white. Neat, elegant and refined, tastefully chosen. And they looked great on the tree.

The garland, which gave off a warm, nostalgic white light, complemented the Christmas tree so beautifully that one could look at it for a very long time.

The tree glowed, twinkled and shone, and the dim lighting in the house created even more of this cosy New Year's atmosphere.

 

But the knight wondered, had he ever decorated a Christmas tree before?

 

No. It was the first time in his entire life.

 

All his life, he had no time, no reason, or no opportunity, because there was so much work to do in the kingdom.

 

But now he was living a quiet life with Avery, and that was all that mattered.

 

Now, decorating the tree was not a waste of time for him.

 

Looking back at the past and looking at the picture now, especially focusing on how his beloved was humming something to himself while moulding another creation out of dough, Darlord finally understood:

 

He was very grateful to be here.

 

Meanwhile, the alchemist had already put the dough in the oven and heated it with charcoal, then washed his hands, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and with a satisfied grin, headed towards the knight.

He sat down next to the New Year's tree and, with a smile on his face, patted the spot next to him, inviting the knight to sit down.

The knight obeyed and walked over to him, then sat down next to him, but remained silent.

 

"Well, let's exchange gifts!"

Avery said with satisfaction and anticipation in his eyes.

That's right, exchanging gifts.

 

They had agreed to give each other something long before New Year's Eve, and now the moment had finally arrived.

They were both wearing matching sweaters, which Avery had persuaded Derlord to buy when they were at the fair. Avery had a white jumper with yellow stars on it, and Derlord had a red jumper with white bows.

 

The alchemist found it so cute that every time he put on the jumper, he could barely contain not only a smile but also laughter.

"You're laughing at me again."

the knight said discontentedly. He hadn't taken off his helmet yet, but you could still tell from his expression that he didn't like it very much.

 

"Okay, bro, no, no, I'm not laughing, not at all. Let's move on to the gifts, that's the best part."

 

Avery calmed down, stood up, opened one of the chests in which he had hidden a beautifully decorated burgundy box, and handed it to his beloved.

 

The light from the garland fell beautifully on the box and the bow in the middle of it, making the design even more beautiful and touching.

Derlord looked at it first, and then, under the satisfied gaze of his boyfriend, began to carefully unwrap it.

 

Finally, it was time to open the lid, and at first the knight hesitated.

"Come on, open it. I tried my best."

He exhaled heavily, closed his eyes for a second, but then opened them again.

 

At first, all he could see was red and burgundy.

 

But then he looked closer and realised it was a large, hand-knitted, warm, red wool scarf.

 

Derlord took it in his hands and examined it more closely, seeing all of Avery's efforts and corrected mistakes, but the scarf looked simply beautiful.

 

Warm. That was all that mattered.

 

The knight put it on immediately, even though the house was warm enough.

"Hahaha, well, I thought you could use a scarf, your neck is always exposed. But that's not all. Look at the bottom of the box."

He said, pointing with his finger, and DerLord reached into the box again.

Touching the bottom, he realised that there was something made of thick silk material, and when he pulled it out completely, he saw a huge piece of burgundy fabric.

 

But it wasn't just a piece of burgundy fabric.

 

It was a new knight's cloak.

 

"Avery, this is..."

"Your cloak is quite worn out, isn't it? I decided to make you a new one."

 

The knight couldn't believe his eyes and even stood up to pick it up and make sure it was really a cloak.

It was neatly embroidered, made of high-quality material, large and beautiful.

 

But the truth remained with the alchemist - the knight's cloak was very worn out. It was torn, so a piece was even missing, and in general, it had too many scratches and small cuts.

And the new cloak turned out to be very useful... Considering that Derlord loved his red cloak very much, it was a wonderful gift.

 

He couldn't help but rejoice, immediately placing it on his armour rack to see how it would look on him.

The colour looked even better than his previous cloak.

 

Derlord fastened the new cloak to the armour stand and turned to look at his beloved with a pure, sincere and terribly grateful smile.

 

"Thank you, Avery."

 

He paused for a moment, but his eyes flashed with that same beautiful, intense spark that spoke for itself. And yet, he added:

"I love you."

 

After that, the knight sat back down, leaned over, hugged his beloved tightly, and kissed him on the top of his head.

Warm hands touched his shoulders and back, as always gently, with strong tenderness, so as not to hurt him.

 

In response, he heard only quiet laughter, but that was enough.

 

The alchemist's soft hands touched his shoulders and neck, hugging him back and continuing to laugh quietly at his actions and how happy his beloved was.

 

That was all that mattered now.

 

However, the knight also had a gift, so reluctantly, he left the embrace, stood up and went to get the box, which he also hid in his chest.

Returning, Derlord sat down next to him and hesitated for a moment, focusing his attention on the beautiful Christmas tree garland, but then he handed his large box to his boyfriend, looking at his face and admiring how the warm light reflected his features.

Avery accepted the gift and immediately began to tear off the wrapping with obvious pleasure, as if he were some kind of hungry beast, and it was time to open the lid.

 

He placed the gift on the floor, slowly pulled the lid up, and saw what he had actually wanted for a very long time.

 

A new, incredibly beautiful and high-quality, expensive winter coat in a delicate, cool light brown shade, with white and warm fur around the sleeves, hood and edges of the coat. It also featured neat fasteners and buttons made in the form of precious stones.

It was getting cold outside, and Avery couldn't afford such an expensive and elegant coat, even though he wanted one. And now, Derlord had given him exactly what he really wanted.

 

Of course, he knew about it!

 

"Derlord!"

Avery hissed, already putting the coat aside and throwing himself back into his lover's strong embrace. His eyebrows were lowered, and his gaze showed deep gratitude and love.

"Yes? Is this what you wanted?"

"YES! Dude, you knew about this!"

"Yes, I did."

He said, closing his eyes and not letting go of the alchemist.

 

There was very little time left, about 10 minutes before the clock struck midnight and 1 January, the New Year, began.

 

The knight had thought through what he planned to do, and now was the perfect moment.

"But that's not all, let's go."

With a hint and a turn of his head, the knight said, getting up from his knees and heading for the exit of the house.

The alchemist looked puzzled, but despite this, he followed him with a smile on his face, leaving his gift alone for now, but promising to try it on later.

Leaving the house, DerLord immediately took the second surprise he had prepared from the chest near the porch, and Avery finally realised what it was.

 

Fireworks!

 

"ARE WE GOING TO SET ON FIREWORKS?"

The slime shouted, waving his arms with joy. His face was nothing but a bright smile and obvious anticipation.

"Well, according to the plan, yes."

_____

 

After fiddling with the fireworks for a few more moments, he finally managed to launch a couple into the sky, then another couple, and another couple.

Of course, it was the knight who launched the fireworks, because the alchemist didn't know how, but that wasn't so important.

The sky was dark, snow continued to fall lightly, slowly, like small feathers, onto the plain, and from the windows of their shared home came the sound of the stove and a soft, warm light.

 

Finally, the fireworks began to explode, and the sky was lit up with multicoloured sparks that exploded one after another, giving them both an incredible feeling.

Avery was genuinely very happy. Standing here now, in the snow with Derlord, his beloved, and watching the fireworks he had always loved so much was simply incredible.

 

So incredible that he couldn't even speak for happiness.

 

He wanted to wave his arms, jump for joy and throw snowballs at his knight, shouting jokes and teasing him, but at the same time he just wanted to watch this beautiful spectacle with him, without moving or talking, just in silence.

 

As soon as the clock struck midnight, it became immediately clear, because Avery's wall clock made a very loud sound.

And still holding his head up, continuing to watch the bright explosions and sparks in the sky, he did not move.

 

Instead, Derlord's hand possessively and tightly squeezed Avery's waist until he turned completely to face him and quickly, purposefully captured his lips in a kiss.

 

No words, no unnecessary movements, not even a promising glance, just action.

A strong embrace and a bunch, a bunch of kisses until they were breathless.

 

Avery's arms wrapped around his lover's neck, trying to get under his helmet and grab his hair between his fingers, but so far he had not succeeded.

And yet, in order to kiss the knight passionately, he always had to stand on his tiptoes, and this time, on the slippery snow, it ended with the alchemist slipping and...

 

And they both ended up in the snow, holding each other as tightly as possible.

 

However, it didn't matter at all, because DerLord, lying on top of Avery, continued to kiss him, sometimes on the lips, sometimes on the nose, cheeks and forehead.

The fireworks continued to explode and make loud noises, but now it was just background noise.

Nevertheless, at one point, the slime stopped, raised his head slightly, pushed his boyfriend aside, and muttered:

"Happy New Year, DerLord."

Avery's eyes were full of love, promises, and the desire to continue celebrating this holiday with the person in front of him.

 

And of course, it was absolutely mutual.

 

So, unfortunately or fortunately, instead of an answer, the alchemist received another firm squeeze around his waist and even more greedy, merciless, but loving kisses.

Chapter Text

It would be a lie if any of them said that after confessing their love, they did NOT kiss and talk until morning.

 

Immediately after Avery's tender kiss ended, they looked at each other for a long time, not letting go, as if if their hands fell, they would both disappear forever.

 

Of course, neither of them was going to disappear, especially when their long-awaited dream of being together had finally come true.

 

Avery looked into his knight's eyes for a long time, trying to find the feelings and emotions that he so desperately wanted to hide from him.

Their cheeks were red, and both of them were breathing heavily. Derlord's heart was ready to jump out of his chest at any second, because right now, Avery, the love of his life, was standing close to him, hugging him around the neck, looking into his eyes, and even kissing him.

 

And yet, in the end, the alchemist lowered himself to his feet and finally dared to stop holding on to the knight, allowing him to catch his breath.

Taking a step back, he just realised what had actually happened. No, he still didn't understand. He would not be able to comprehend it for a very long time, because it all seemed like a dream, a sweet, magical dream.

And yet, from the small realisation of what was happening, his cheeks instantly turned red, so much so that he had to cover his face with both hands and lower his head.

 

Words wanted to burst out of both of them, but no one could break the long and painful pause.

 

After a couple of long seconds, DerLord took responsibility, approaching Avery and putting his arm around his shoulder, leading him into the house.

"Don't worry, Avery. We'd better go to bed."

Avery was even more embarrassed, of course, but he tried not to show it. Still, he followed Darlord completely, allowing himself to be led while his eyes remained fixed on the floor.

 

They entered the house, quietly closing the wooden front door, and the knight took his arm from his lover's shoulder, as he had something new in mind.

 

Namely, a small rearrangement of the furniture.

 

Derlord first briefly surveyed the room, enjoying its dim, yellow light, which always created warmth and comfort here, and then approached one of the bedside tables.

He moved it to the centre of the room without any extra effort, as it was small and not heavy for him. Then he did the same with the second bedside table, which always stood at the other end of the room near Avery's bed.

 

Only a few moments later did it dawn on the alchemist what he was about to do.

By then, he had already begun.

He started moving their beds!

 

Avery stood there in a state of mild shock, still reeling from what had happened a few minutes ago, and now THIS was happening...

 

So he just stood there silently. Not because he didn't like the idea, but because he still couldn't believe it.

 

The knight finally finished, placing them side by side, making sure there were no gaps and that it looked like one complete bed, and then DerLord placed one of the bedside tables next to this new bed.

 

"Well. I don't know what to do with the second bedside table. But let it be for now."

 

He said, completely without nerves or embarrassment, and then turned his head to his beloved.

Meanwhile, Avery looked surprised but definitely happy, not saying a word, but smiling awkwardly and crookedly.

 

"Um, yes... I think that was the right decision."

 

Derlord couldn't help but laugh when he saw that ridiculous expression on his face.

 

And so, a few moments later, after both of them had taken separate baths and changed into their nightclothes, it was time to go to bed.

Derlord lay on his side of the bed, holding a book in one hand and reading it, his black, unkempt hair lying on the pillow.

Avery sat in the kitchen, staring out the window for a while and drinking a glass of water before bed.

 

He finished quickly, turned off all the dim lights in the house, and headed for their shared bed, the only source of light being the moonlight streaming through the panoramic window of their home.

The alchemist stopped a step away from the bed, slightly nervous, while DerLord put his book aside, not wanting to pick it up again until morning.

But a few seconds later, there was a pat on the spot next to him and a warm look from dark eyes, which Avery noticed and made him feel warmer and more secure.

 

That's why he accepted the peculiar invitation and first sat down on the bed next to him, and then lay down properly.

 

The knight's arm found its way under his head, as if it were meant to be Avery's pillow, while Avery curled up next to his beloved.

 

Another quiet moment fell between them, but this time it was not painful, awkward or shameful, but understanding, reliable, full of words and silence at the same time.

And it was wonderful.

Now, when Avery's eyes were closing of their own accord and he couldn't stop it, it was all he needed.

 

And yet, his lips parted, and he asked the very question that had been hanging in his head all evening:

 

"Derlord, how did you realise that you loved me?"

 

It shouldn't have been anything out of the ordinary, but it completely threw Derlord off balance.

 

His heart began to beat faster, his eyes stopped looking at the green strands of hair and darted to the ceiling, and his hand suddenly went numb and sweaty.

He was silent, thinking about it and feeling very nervous.

 

"Derlord?"

"Yes. I heard you. I'm thinking about how to describe it."

 

The alchemist did not look at him; he just lay there with his eyes closed, beginning to breathe evenly and slowly and fall asleep.

Noticing this, the knight thought, well, since he's falling asleep, I can tell him and not be afraid of anything.

 

Right?

 

"I don't know, Avery. I think love at first sight is hard to describe."

 

But he heard it and immediately laughed, covering his face with both tired hands.

"My God, how could you say something like that? It's too funny."

"I'm telling the truth, I don't see anything funny about it."

 

Derlord was serious, but his tone was not harsh or sharp, rather simply explanatory.

And yet, he knew that Avery would react this way if he heard it, and yet he took the risk.

 

"It's just that when I saw you, I thought I needed to protect you. And then I lost the line between duty and genuine empathy, and realised I felt something more."

 

After these words, the alchemist stopped laughing.

He even opened his sleepy, tired eyes and raised them to his beloved.

His eyes sparkled in the darkness, and a slight but incredibly bright and charming smile appeared on his face.

 

Avery's hands reached for Derlord's hand from under his head and hugged it tightly, very tightly and securely, almost longingly, after which Avery's head lay on his shoulder.

It was a gesture that he had wanted to make a reality for so long, and now, as they both lay on the shared bed, with complete silence outside the window, the moonlight falling on the floor, and sleep quickly taking over their minds, there was no room for shame or embarrassment.

 

Now, the only thing that mattered was whether you did what you wanted or didn't do it at all.

 

But since the desire to snuggle up, hug, and lie down with Derlord had always been present and boiling in Avery's veins, he did it without even thinking.

 

Before finally falling asleep and losing touch with reality, the alchemist muttered sleepily but sincerely:

"Okay." Good night."

And the answer followed instantly...

"Good night, Avery."

 

Their sleep was so peaceful and calm that it seemed as if the whole world had stopped just to give the two of them a chance for privacy and intimacy.

 

That was all that mattered, and all that would ever matter.

 

Probably.

 

_______

 

Several days had passed since they began their relationship.

In fact, a lot has happened over these few days.

There were awkward moments, such as meeting each other's gaze, misunderstanding each other, incomprehensible gestures, such as accidental touches of the hands, which both helped and pleased both of us, and at the same time raised the question, «Why can't we just hold hands?».

But there were also very comfortable and loving moments, such as resting one's head on the other's shoulder, or the slow dance they danced in the kitchen one evening.

All of this was what they had dreamed of, and both Avery and Derlord understood perfectly well that sooner or later the awkwardness and unspoken words would completely disappear, because every evening they continued to get to know each other better and better, living under the same roof, sleeping in the same bed and eating at the same table.

 

But unfortunately, things cannot always be so calm and peaceful.

It couldn't be that good.

Not in this life, unfortunately.

 

One morning, Avery was simply digging in his garden, picking new plants, while his woven panama hat swayed slightly in the wind.

Derlord sat nearby, handing him tools, watching, and basically just being there.

It was already very cool outside, autumn after all. The weather was cloudy, the sky covered with clouds, and the wind was quite strong.

There was no point in planting new plants, because they were unlikely to grow. But there was definitely a point in gathering an extensive and delicious harvest.

In fact, that's what they were doing, until the knight said:

 

"It's going to rain soon."

Avery didn't even look at him, but reacted immediately, without stopping what he was doing:

"Oh, yes, the whisper said so too."

 

What?

What whisper?

 

Only a second later did the alchemist realise what he had said, and he stopped gathering plants.

His eyes widened, but he didn't dare look at the knight, so he froze completely and stared at the floor with a surprised look.

Derlord, of course, didn't understand what he was talking about, but he understood one thing.

He understood that what Avery had said was not an accident, and most likely it had slipped out because he had been holding something inside himself for a long time, not daring to let it out.

 

After all, it was perfectly clear from his reaction.

 

"What? What whisper, Avery?"

"Nothing, I just... misspoke."

 

For some reason, he abruptly stood up and stopped harvesting altogether, and quickly headed for the house, leaving him behind, but DerLord would not accept this.

That is why he quickly caught up with him, grabbed him by the shoulder and prevented him from leaving.

The grip was not rough or heavy, not at all. It was just firm and strong enough to stop him.

 

"Explain yourself."

 

The alchemist already realised he was in trouble.

Derlord would not let it go so easily, especially when he had reacted so strangely.

Finally, Avery turned to face him, still looking at the ground but remaining silent.

 

The knight was completely baffled. The most incomprehensible and terrible thoughts began to appear in his head, which he wanted to ignore with all his might.

Standing in this position, not talking to each other, Derlord let go of his hand and moved even closer to him, trying not to stare.

 

Despite his efforts, his gaze was piercing and burning, even with his helmet on.

His fists clenched, his palms slightly sweaty.

 

The wind blew stronger, and the sound of dry, loud leaves drowned out all other sounds.

Meanwhile, the clouds continued to move as if nothing had happened, as if they had a schedule.

The world did not stop, everything moved on, as did time.

 

That was what was frightening.

 

Watching Avery's slightly sad, awkward, and even guilty face, who was clearly feeling the tension, something tightened inside Derlord.

 

But he needed to know the answer.

 

"Avery, have you started hearing whispers?"

 

He didn't dare answer right away. He turned his head away, but gritting his teeth and gathering his willpower, he realised that Derlord was now not just a person who lived with him, but his beloved, so he needed to be honest with him.

 

"Yes. At first it was just a little, but now it's often... I'm sorry... I didn't know how to tell you about it. I was afraid it was that King or something like that and you would worry."

Hearing the words "That King," Derlord's fists clenched even tighter, leaving calluses.

 

He was silent, but watching.

 

Avery's gaze finally met his. His eyes were full of incomprehension, confusion and hope, and it sent shivers down the knight's spine.

 

All sorts of thoughts began to run through his head.

Had completely mining the cave with cobblestones not helped?

Had he not finished off the king?

What should he do now?

Was Avery's mind already infected, or could it still be prevented?

 

Since Derlord knew nothing about The King in Yellow, neither his origins, nor his true appearance, nor where he was now, nor his train of thought, he could not predict his actions.

 

He couldn't know what would happen next.

And that was what made his body tremble.

 

The only sane, but harsh and incredibly horrible, unwanted thought appeared and stuck in his head as his eyes continued to dart across the features of his beloved's face.

 

«We need to move out of here as soon as possible.»