After four years, in a house meticulously decorated to Salvia’s tastes, Dalin—or rather, Salvia—abruptly opened her eyes. The first words out of her mouth were:
“Ah, XX.”
At that moment, Aquila knew without a shadow of a doubt that the person lying before him wasn’t Dalin—it was Salvia.
The ritual had succeeded.
“...What the hell?” Salvia muttered, squinting as she scanned her unfamiliar surroundings, clearly struggling to piece together the situation.
“Salvia,” Aquila called softly.
“Yeah? My memory’s a bit fuzzy. Where am I?”
“Salvia.”
“I said, where am I?”
“...Salvia.”
“Why do you keep saying my name? XX, you’re driving me crazy!”
Suddenly, Aquila grabbed her hands, tears glistening in his eyes as he smiled with overwhelming relief. He sank to his knees, still holding her hands tightly, and his entire body trembled as though he might collapse.
It was Salvia. Truly, it was her.
“Hey, what’s going on? Can you stop being so cryptic and explain already?” Salvia asked, her voice a mix of irritation and confusion.
Aquila adored that voice—the sweet tone combined with her blunt, rough manner of speaking. He had missed it so much.
“Do you remember... what happened to you at the end?” he asked cautiously.
“...Oh, right. I thought I died. But I’m alive now. Is this... a hospital? It doesn’t look like the base.”
“...You did die.”
“...What?”
“And I... I brought you back.”
Aquila didn’t finish the sentence. Instead, he pulled her into a tight embrace, burying his face in her shoulder.
Salvia, startled, shoved him off and stood abruptly, marching toward the nearby mirror.
“Hey, move aside. Something feels off,” she said, brushing past him with determined strides.
“Salvia, don’t be too shocked. It was the best body I could find,” Aquila warned, his voice almost pleading.
Salvia stopped in front of the mirror, staring at her reflection in silence.
Then, her voice erupted in a deafening scream.
“YOU CRAZY XX!”
Her shout echoed throughout the house.
***
After explaining everything to Salvia, Aquila sat quietly, waiting for her response. Just in case she tried to escape, he casually kept her hands clasped in his.
Surprisingly, Salvia accepted the situation with remarkable composure, as Aquila had somewhat anticipated. She often reacted unpredictably to even the strangest circumstances.
“Yeah, okay. I get it,” Salvia said, leaning back in her chair and speaking in an unaffected tone.
“Well, I guess waking up to find out four years have passed and I’m discharged is a win. Speaking of which, what about Karon? He must’ve had a rough time after I died.”
“...I took good care of him. He’s set to be discharged in two months.”
“Good to hear he’s alive. But you, taking care of Karon? Really?”
“...Consider it practice for raising a child.”
“Well, good job,” Salvia replied with a slight nod, though Aquila couldn’t tell if she was genuinely unaware of his true intentions or simply playing along. That was just how Salvia was.
“Thinking about it now, it’s kind of annoying I went through all that crap and never got my 3,000 Marknes.”
“What’s mine is yours anyway.”
“Fair point.”
Perhaps it was the side effect of inhabiting another person’s body, but Salvia seemed a little more absent-minded than usual today.
Without missing a beat, Aquila slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her into his embrace. Salvia raised an eyebrow but soon relaxed as warmth spread through her body, her resistance melting away.
“Hey,” she said softly, nestled in his arms.
“Yeah? What is it?”
“It still feels weird not having a gun.”
“You don’t need one anymore. There’s no one to fight.”
“Thanks to that damn Border Defense Army, I’ve got a temper now. And when I get pissed, I act before I think.”
“That’s fine. I’ll make sure nothing ever makes you mad again.”
“Yeah, right. Anyway, I feel like having a shotgun at home would help me feel more at ease. They sell hunting guns at weapon shops, don’t they?”
“You stay here. I’ll go get it for you.”
“What, we’re not going together?”
“No, you stay here.”
Aquila rose from his seat, ready to head out and buy the shotgun. He could somewhat understand how Salvia felt. Even though he was discharged, he still kept his sword at home.
Occasionally, monsters wandered down to the village, so having a weapon at home wasn’t a bad idea. Not that Salvia would ever need to use it, but if it gave her peace of mind, so be it.
“Salvia, I’ll be back. Don’t go anywhere.”
“Where would I even go?”
Click.
The door shut behind him, leaving the house quiet with only Salvia inside.
With her usual detached expression, Salvia began inspecting the house, moving from room to room.
The doors, the windows... Oh, there’s even a back door here.
After thoroughly checking every possible exit in Aquila’s absence, Salvia confirmed what she had suspected from the start.
“...Oh, Aquila, you bastard.”
Every exit was locked—from the outside.
“That XX locked me in,” she muttered, her voice dripping with irritation.
***
When Aquila returned home, he found Salvia lounging on the sofa, looking as if she’d fully adapted to her new environment.
“How’s your body feeling? Does it still feel strange?”
“Everything’s fine, except I get pissed every time I see myself in the mirror.”
Aquila placed a long shotgun on the table in front of her.
“It’s the same model you used before. Check it out. If it’s good, I’ll store it in the cabinet.”
“Huh, I could’ve sworn I was holding a gun right before I died...”
Salvia picked up the shotgun and loaded it with smooth, practiced movements.
Click-clack.
“Why does it feel like it’s been forever since I last held one?”
“Well, there has been a four-year gap,” Aquila said matter-of-factly.
Salvia grumbled as she examined the shotgun.
“What’s with this body? There’s not a single callus on these hands. Shooting this thing feels awkward.”
“You’re not going to need to shoot anymore, so don’t worry about it,” Aquila reassured her.
Salvia gestured for him to sit down. “Come here. I need to talk to you.”
Curious, Aquila took the seat across from her, meeting her gaze directly.
Salvia’s question was blunt and to the point.
“So, am I ever going to have some alone time, or am I stuck being locked up all the time?”
Aquila choked, letting out an uncontrollable bout of coughing. “W-what?”
“Living with you is fine, but being with you 24/7 sounds exhausting, don’t you think?”
“Wait a minute—hold on,” Aquila interrupted, raising a hand to stop her.
“...You figured out I locked you in, didn’t you?” he said, his amber eyes narrowing as he stared at her.
Salvia shrugged, her expression nonchalant. “It’s not like you’re doing this on your own. I’m okay with most things, but you could’ve at least talked to me about it first.”
Aquila froze. Once again, he realized he had underestimated Salvia’s way of thinking. Even when he thought he’d adjusted to her eccentricity, she always managed to surprise him.
“I locked you in because... I was scared you’d leave me. It wasn’t some kind of—impure motive.”
“Come on, be realistic. If I left, where could I even go? Live on the streets? Stay locked up here, and you’ll pamper me anyway. Might as well stay put.”
Aquila was momentarily speechless at her practical response but soon found his composure.
“So... you’re saying you’ll stay here willingly?”
“Didn’t you plan on marrying me anyway?”
“...What makes you think that?”
“You said earlier that taking care of Karon was like practice for raising a child. Did you think I wouldn’t pick up on that? Just admit it—you want to XX me and XX with me.”
“Okay, stop talking.”
Aquila placed his hand over her mouth, silencing her. The warmth of his palm quieted her instantly.
When he pulled his hand away, Salvia smiled sweetly.
“I can do anything with you,” she said, reaching out to hold his hand.
“If you want to keep me locked up, go ahead. I can handle anything with you.” Her tone was calm yet firm, her words deliberate and unyielding.
“I’ll give myself to you. I’ve only ever had you, and it’s the same for you, isn’t it? I’m yours, so do whatever you want.”
Aquila’s lips curled into a smile. This was the Salvia he loved.
But then, click-clack—the sound of the shotgun being loaded echoed in the room.
Startled, Aquila looked up to see Salvia standing before him, holding the gun in a familiar stance.
“Hey, why do you seem so comfortable touching this body? There must’ve been an original owner, right? So why does it look so natural to you?”
Ah. Aquila realized he had made a critical miscalculation.
He had expected her to be annoyed about having a new body, perhaps complain along the lines of, “Why are you so awkward about me being in this body?”
But instead, her frustration had taken a completely different direction: “What kind of relationship did you have with this body’s owner?”
“XX, babe, are you trying to piss me off? Who the hell owned this body before you stuck me in it?”
Aquila wasn’t sure if he should be happy that she was calling him “babe” or disappointed that it seemed to only surface when she was angry.
“I adapted because I didn’t want you to feel uncomfortable,” he explained carefully.
“XX, adapted to what? Where’s the original soul of this body? And what exactly did you do to adapt to it? Explain yourself, right now.”
“Wait, I think you’re misunderstanding something—let me clarify.” Aquila raised both hands in a gesture of surrender.
“For starters, the original owner agreed to this arrangement.”
“What?”
“They consented. The original soul willingly gave up their body to bring you back.”
“What kind of lunatic would agree to that?” Salvia’s sharp glare bore into him as Aquila retrieved a letter from his pocket.
“This is a letter the original owner left. It’s addressed to you.”
Still suspicious, Salvia snatched the letter and tore open the envelope.
“Who the hell...?” she muttered, skimming through its contents.
Her expression hardened as she read. She went back to the beginning and read it again, this time more slowly.
“...Hey, Aquila.”
“Yeah?” he replied, his voice tense.
“This won’t work. We need to put the original soul back and find me a new body.”
“...A new body?”
“Yeah. The original owner of this body was definitely crazy, but I’ll explain later. For now, is getting a new body possible?”
“It’s not completely impossible... just difficult. We’d need to hunt several dragons and use dark magic to create a new vessel—”
“So there’s a way. Let’s do it.”
Aquila didn’t argue. If Salvia wanted it, he would do it, no matter the difficulty.
“...Fine. We’ll take it slow.”
Salvia raised the shotgun with a mischievous grin. “By the way, I’m not over the fact that you said you ‘adapted’ to this body.”
“Salvia, let me explain—”
“No need. Take your time or go fast—I don’t care. But until I’m in my proper body, forget about marriage, and don’t even think about touching me.”
“...I’ll contact a dark sorcerer first thing tomorrow,” Aquila said, resigned.
Even with the gun aimed at him, Aquila couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed with love.
Salvia was jealous.
“Salvia, are you sure you’re okay being locked up?”
“...Seriously, you’re just using the whole ‘you might run away’ thing as an excuse, aren’t you?”
“Maybe.”
“Fine, do what you want. But if you so much as act like you’re too comfortable with this body, expect a bullet.”
Even her threats filled Aquila with joy. It was strange, but no matter what Salvia did, he felt like he could accept it all.
***
“Ishina, it seems Aquila succeeded with that ritual,” Winter said as he stepped into Ishina’s peaceful post-discharge home.
“Ah,” Ishina nodded, his expression calm as if he had anticipated this.
“Would you like to go visit them together?” Winter suggested.
“Haha, Winter... no, just Winter.” Ishina corrected himself, remembering that there were no ranks to adhere to anymore. A gentle smile appeared on his face.
“You’re busy preparing for ‘that thing,’ aren’t you?”
“If you mean that, it’s nearing success. I thought visiting Salvia before it’s complete might give me a boost of energy.”
“Well... I did go through a lot of effort to help Aquila bring Salvia back,” Ishina admitted, his eyes misting slightly as he reflected on those difficult days.
“Even so, I think I’ll postpone visiting them for a while. They’ve only just been reunited, so I’m not in a hurry to see them right now.”
“Why not?” Winter asked, tilting his head in curiosity.
“Because those two are insane...” Ishina muttered, shaking his head as if trying to rid himself of unpleasant memories.
Though he prided himself on his mental fortitude, those two had a knack for twisting logic in ways that left him mentally exhausted.
“They’re both completely mad. I’m sure their combined craziness is at its peak right now. Honestly, I just hope those lunatics live peacefully together without dragging anyone else into their chaos...” Ishina trailed off, his voice carrying a mix of exasperation and relief.
This content is taken from fгeewebnovёl.com.