Chapter 11: Plot Armor, Where Art Thou?

【Eksu PoV】

“Eksu-san… I mean… Eksu… your mother is calling you…”

Elizabeth appeared, looking for me.

Siegfried, when he saw her, froze.

What could have happened to him?

He stared at Elizabeth like a war veteran watching their grandson play Call of Duty—eyes filled with a mix of terror and resignation.

It was that haunted look, the kind where a person relives every battle, every fight, every moment they’d rather forget.

I don’t know what happened between those two, but whatever it was… it must’ve been horrible.

For him, at least.

Elizabeth? She didn’t even flinch.

She looked at him like he was air.

Completely ignored his existence.

It was as if he wasn’t even worthy of being acknowledged, and she didn’t even try to hide it.

“Eksu… and unknown-san…”

She tilted her head, frowning slightly.

“Ah… Eksu said friends don’t use ‘san’… but… this unknown is not friend… well… anyway… Eksu… let’s get back…”

…Unknown-san?

Did she really just call him that?

She looked him dead in the eyes and labeled him unknown.

Siegfried. The capital’s hero. Unknown.

Wow.

And yet, Siegfried stood there, silent. Frozen. Like he’d just been slapped.

Did he really know her?

Or was this some misunderstanding?

I mean, Elizabeth seems like the type who only acknowledges people she deems “worthy.”

Since I “defeated” her, that kind of forced me into her circle of acknowledgment.

Kind of.

Actually, no. That was literally it.

She said it herself: I was only worthy of being her friend because I was strong.

That made me wonder…

If I had lost that fight, would she have ignored me too?

Would she have just walked away and vanished into god knows where, leaving me to live my peaceful life in blissful obscurity?

That thought made me regret having 【Absolute Defense】.

Just a little.

But then again… if I didn’t have 【Absolute Defense】, I probably would’ve ended up dead.

And I’m pretty sure dying is still worse than dealing with Elizabeth.

At least… I think so.

Still undecided on that.

“Eksu… you seem to be thinking about something… what’s wrong?”

“Nothing… it’s just…”

I hesitated, glancing at Siegfried, who still hadn’t moved.

“…You don’t know him?”

I pointed at Siegfried.

It was a stupid move.

A really stupid move.

Especially after seeing the look on Siegfried’s face.

Yeah, no excuses here. That was my mistake.

But my curiosity got the better of me.

I needed to know what kind of relationship they had.

Husband? Childhood friend? Ex-fiance?

Whatever the connection, I needed answers.

Elizabeth looked at Siegfried. Her gaze was blank.

“No… I’ve never seen him in my entire life…”

She answered with absolute apathy, like she couldn’t care less if he dropped dead right there.

I saw Siegfried flinch.

“She didn’t see me… good…”

Siegfried mumbled, his voice barely audible.

He looked… defeated.

Crushed.

Like he had just watched his entire life’s work be erased with a single shrug.

But I didn’t have time to dwell on his reaction.

Because Elizabeth had already taken a step forward.

“How about testing if he’s strong?”

What.

No.

No, no, no, no.

She started rolling up her sleeves.

Stretching her neck.

Getting into a stance.

She was serious.

She was going to hit him.

In the middle of the city.

In broad daylight.

“What the hell, Elizabeth?!”

But she was already stepping in, her arm pulling back for a punch.

There was only one thing I could do.

I threw myself between them and activated my 【Absolute Defense】.

A shimmering barrier flared to life, cutting off her attack mid-swing.

Her fist hit the shield with a dull thud, ripples of energy spreading out like waves on water.

She blinked in surprise.

Siegfried stood frozen, eyes wide, his mouth slightly open as if he wanted to say something but had completely forgotten how words worked.

Seriously, if I wasn’t there, that punch would’ve landed.

And knowing Elizabeth… that would have ended badly.

“T… Thanks, Eksu-kun.”

Siegfried’s voice came out shaky.

Like a man who had just stared death in the face.

I turned to him, trying to calm the tension.

“I know you probably want to fight her… who knows how much anger you have toward her…”

I threw a glance at Elizabeth, who was already gearing up for another round.

“But this isn’t the place for it.”

“You’re right…”

His voice was quiet. Hesitant. Like he wasn’t sure if it was really over.

But it wasn’t.

Because Elizabeth wasn’t done.

Not by a long shot.

Before I could even take a breath, she stepped forward again.

This time with more force.

I barely had time to react before her fist came flying.

Once again, my 【Absolute Defense】 flickered to life, blocking her punch with a sharp flash of light.

The impact rippled through the barrier, but I stood firm.

Elizabeth stepped back, a frown tugging at her lips.

“Tsk… fine. But next time, I’ll land a hit.”

I didn’t respond.

Mostly because I wasn’t sure what to say.

How do you even answer that?

“Elizabeth, come on… isn’t my mother calling me?”

I shot her a look, hoping to distract her before she could try a third time.

“Yes…”

She backed off, but not before giving Siegfried one last look—like she was memorizing his face so she could hunt him down later.

I didn’t give her the chance to rethink it.

I grabbed her arm.

“Let’s go.”

And I dragged her away, ignoring her pout.

Siegfried didn’t say anything.

He just stood there, motionless.

Frozen.

Like a man who had just survived a brush with death… and wasn’t entirely sure how he managed to make it out alive.

【Siegfried PoV】

I almost died…

I was one step away from biting the dust. 

Seriously… that girl… she… she almost finished me off during what was supposed to be a harmless encounter. She’s absolutely insane.

She shouldn’t be allowed to roam free in society. 

She needs to be locked up somewhere—treated like the wild animal she is. 

Who tests someone’s strength just to check their worth?

If it weren’t for Eksu, I would’ve been done for. 

Damn… I couldn’t even hand him the perfume like I planned. 

But that hardly matters now. 

The most important thing is that I escaped death, all thanks to my shield—er, I mean, my friend.

And you know what else? 

This whole near-death experience proved something to me: as long as Eksu sees me as a friend, he’ll protect me. That’s a good deal.

In my past life, he saw it happen and walked right by. 

We were strangers then… but this time… I’m going to make sure things are different.

I will live a happy life.