But after thinking it over, Brandon Jenkins realized that this plan was actually quite feasible. Even if it failed, he could still retreat unscathed.

So Brandon Jenkins found another bush near the edge of the cliff to hide in, waiting for nightfall.

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Chapter 14 Melina

Night fell, and the enormous moon gradually hung in the sky as the golden tree’s radiance slowly faded.

Waiting, Brandon Jenkins gazed at the moon from within the bushes, his thoughts beginning to wander.

“This doesn’t make sense. The moon clearly exists, so why isn’t there a sun during the day?”

“No, wait—Sunshade City, and the legendary weapon, the Eclipse Hookblade, are both related to the sun.”

“So why did the sun disappear?”

Very soon, Brandon Jenkins gave up on thinking further. These matters were still far beyond his reach.

The golden tree’s radiance was cast over this land at all times. Even at night, it only made visibility drop a little.

But for Brandon Jenkins, that was enough.

Brandon Jenkins emerged from the bushes and flexed his left hand. The wound had completely stopped bleeding.

Brandon Jenkins carefully approached the ruins in front of the checkpoint, arriving at the spot he’d chosen in advance, where no soldiers were standing guard nearby.

He took out the kukri from his bag and threw it high in the direction away from the checkpoint.

The blade traced a huge arc through the air, crossing most of the camp before crashing down.

“Clang~”

The crisp sound startled the nearby soldiers. They all drew their weapons, raised their torches, and gathered toward the source of the noise.

Brandon Jenkins quickly ran toward the checkpoint gate.

He needed to use the cover of night to dash past the entrance in one go, minimizing the time his figure would appear in the sightlines of the soldiers behind the wall.

Brandon Jenkins kept his movements quiet, running as fast as possible from the left side of the gate to the right.

The soldier inside, holding a crossbow, only saw a blurry figure flash past the city gate.

His body instinctively raised the crossbow, but by the time he did, the target had vanished.

He stared blankly at the spot where the shadow had last appeared, then slowly lowered his crossbow and continued his aimless watch.

At this moment, Brandon Jenkins had already reached the site of grace.

This site of grace was at the junction of the city wall and the cliff face, with two walls at his back, giving Brandon Jenkins a strong sense of security.

“Plan complete.”

“Sigh, wisdom is the reason for kingship. These soldiers could never understand my world-shaking intelligence.”

Brandon Jenkins muttered to himself, full of pride.

After boasting, Brandon Jenkins didn’t forget his main goal for coming here. He reached out to touch the site of grace.

A warm sensation enveloped Brandon Jenkins.

Brandon Jenkins felt the grace inviting him, inviting him to accept it more deeply.

Not knowing what to do, Brandon Jenkins thought for a moment, then imitated the action from the game and sat down beside the site of grace.

Immediately, the light of grace spread out, enveloping the surrounding space as well.

Brandon Jenkins’s vision blurred, and he felt as if everything in the distance was fading, as though he were in another realm.

Warm light washed over Brandon Jenkins’s body, and the wound on his left hand began to tingle pleasantly.

Brandon Jenkins took off his bracer and unwrapped the rag he’d used as a bandage. The wound had already healed completely, not even leaving a scar.

He removed his helmet and shook his head. The exhaustion from a day of running around vanished, and his spirits were fully restored.

Brandon Jenkins quickly opened the Wind Spirit Moon Shadow panel, but unfortunately, the number of uses hadn’t been restored by the grace.

Brandon Jenkins chuckled at his own wishful thinking. Wind Spirit Moon Shadow was something from another dimension—how could it be recharged so easily?

Next, Brandon Jenkins thought that he’d probably get to meet Melina soon, and couldn’t help but feel excited.

But then he started to feel embarrassed, thinking:

I’m all dirty, and even my helmet and bracer are cobbled together from random pieces. Will she look down on me?

How should I talk to her when we meet? Should I be enthusiastic and try to touch the shy little heart inside her? Or should I act cool and mysterious to pique her curiosity?

Brandon Jenkins was amused by his own thoughts.

Ah, in my last life I barely talked to girls. If I stutter and can’t get a word out, that’ll be so embarrassing.

Come to think of it, I haven’t even looked in a mirror yet. Is this my own face, or the default game face?

Eh, what if I just go crazy and confess to her on the spot—what kind of expression would she make? I really want to see it...

What Brandon Jenkins didn’t know was that Melina was currently sitting nearby in spirit form, secretly observing him.

Watching him sometimes grin foolishly and sometimes cover his face and shake his head, Melina was a bit speechless.

While stroking the spirit steed’s mane, she asked:

“...Torrent, is it really this person?”

The spirit steed named Torrent snorted, as if to say, “You don’t trust my judgment?”

Seeing that Torrent was set on this person, Melina could only sigh in resignation.

After all, when she chose him on the beach, Melina had also acknowledged that this person had the qualifications to become a king.

The powerful, ancient soul quietly residing in him was the best proof.

Melina stood up and pulled the wide hood of her cloak over her head.

As she walked toward Brandon Jenkins, her body gradually began to take shape.

Brandon Jenkins was still lost in thought when he suddenly saw a beautiful figure slowly materializing beside him.