"At first, Sword Princess and I were just comrades in arms on adventures together. Since her talent was swordsmanship, I learned swordsmanship from her as well. I didn't have the opportunity to receive training as a magician. She learned all the knowledge from school and then taught me..."

"I also forgot whether there was a confession part, but if she said it was me, then it was me."

"Our relationship hasn't been smooth sailing, and the main problem is because of me. To put it more artistically, my heart is broken into pieces, and each piece only likes one person... I feel like I'd be dead if I dared to say this in front of her."

Without hiding or avoiding anything, Ash told Nia about the emotional story he and Sonia had been through. Sometimes he would laugh unconsciously, and sometimes he would talk about some impressive details, completely ignoring whether the only listener wanted to listen or not.

"The Sword Princess and the Witch are waiting for me in another world. They are fighting to save me in a place I don't know." Ash said, "The reason why I am fighting so hard is just to go back and reunite with them as soon as possible."

"This is the story of me and Jian Ji."

In the silence, Ash's hand could clearly feel Nia's heartbeat quickening. He tried to pull his hand out, but Nia held his hand tightly and insisted that he keep his hand on the soft elastic, as if asking him to feel her heartbeat every moment.

"...Does she look like me?" Niya answered herself as soon as she asked: "She must look like me, otherwise how could you recognize me at first sight... No."

She reacted: "The beautiful girl you just mentioned, is she Sword Princess?"

Ash: "Yes."

"So she has no scars on her face, wears all kinds of nice clothes every day, keeps her hair smooth and fresh, and has time to put on nice makeup." Nia said softly, "Completely different from me... She must be much prettier than me, right?"

"She's still in school, so her life must be very interesting. She won't be full of negative energy, and she doesn't need to hide from others..."

"You like her, and she likes you, congratulations on both of you meeting someone you like." She whispered, "That's great."

Ash didn't know what to say here, "Sorry."

"Why do you want to apologize? Is it because in that white fog, Sword Princess used my body to meet you secretly?"

"You know?"

"I just figured it out." Nia said calmly, "I lost my memory of that period. When I opened my eyes, I saw us kissing, but you didn't kiss me... Although it feels a little unbelievable, this is the only possibility."

"Since there is another me in another world, what is impossible to happen?"

"Tell me honestly, do I secretly meet you when I am sleeping? Have we done a lot of things? Does she often 'borrow' my body? I don't mind others using my body to fall in love, I don't mind at all - tell me!" Niya's voice became higher and higher, and finally broke.

Ash hugged Nia, who was struggling hysterically, without saying a word. When Nia gasped for breath, he said, "It happened that one time from the beginning to the end. Although I can't guarantee that it will not happen again in the future, I will definitely tell you. I am really sorry."

Niya took a deep breath and suddenly asked: "I just want to ask one question - why do you want to protect me?"

"I don't believe that just because I look alike, what on earth is the reason that makes you want to protect me at all costs? You will obviously leave this world sooner or later. Do you just want a replacement in the meantime?"

After a moment of silence, Ash said slowly: "If you die, it will have a bad impact on Sword Princess."

"Ah, it all makes sense now."

Nia murmured, "No wonder you were willing to protect me in front of the police when we first met, no wonder you wanted me to live under your protection, no wonder you flew over to save me without hesitation when you saw me in danger..."

"From the beginning, you approached me just for her."

"No wonder you are so nice to me, it turns out it's because you love her."

Niya's voice gradually became silent, as if she was waiting for Ash's reply, but Ash just held her quietly, as quiet as a ball of warm darkness, silently feeling her beating heartbeat.

He couldn't say anything, and anything he said would only tear Nia's wounds.

From the very beginning, he protected Nia in order to protect Sword Lady. If it weren't for the mechanism of emotional backflow, he might not have even looked for Sword Lady's shadow in the Kingdom of Stars.

If he still had some truth to tell Fili, then he had only wanted to get close to Nia through deception from the beginning, and he didn't dare to tell Nia the truth at all - I will do my best to protect you from now on, just because you are the shadow of my lover? For the person I like, so you can't die?

Now Niya just tears off his hypocritical mask and slaps his ugly face hard.

After an unknown amount of time, Ash suddenly felt that his hand was finally taken out by Nia. Then there was a rustling sound in the darkness, and the stone slab above suddenly creaked and collapsed.

"Niya, don't move—"

"I want to go."

"ah."

"I want to leave!" Niya said in a low voice, "I won't do what you want, and I won't live for anyone... I want to leave!"

"Where do you want to go? Once we get through this hunt—"

"I don't want to stay with you for even a second now!" Nia let out a long breath, but still couldn't suppress the crying in her voice: "Ash Hiss, you make me feel sick and want to vomit. I want to kill you, I want to kill you! I actually thought... I should have killed you a long time ago, why didn't I kill you!? I want to leave you, I feel sick and want to vomit just breathing the same air as you!"

"There are demigod gunners and the Six Nations Army outside. You will die if you leave alone!"

"I don't care!" Nia punched Ash's chest fiercely, "My death will affect Sword Princess? What does it have to do with me? It's better to say that if my death can make you regret for the rest of your life, I will be very happy!"

Ash took a deep breath and tried to ease the situation: "Niya, calm down--"

"Call me Servi!" Nia grabbed Ash's collar and said, "And don't talk to me in that tone. I'm not Sword Princess. I won't listen to your orders!"

"Even if it's just to survive, can't we cooperate?"

"I'm not a sword princess. I don't have anyone to worry about. I don't want to live anymore!"

"I never thought of you as a sword princess, you don't have to be like this-"

"So who did you say 'I like Miss Servi' to when we first met?"

Ash's voice stopped abruptly, but Nia seemed to be empty after saying this. She took several deep breaths and tried to move the rubble again, but soon she found herself being hugged again.

"you--"

"Don't leave, I'll leave." Ash said softly, "I'll leave your sight, you stay here quietly, okay?"

After a brief silence, Nia hummed softly.

"After I meet up with Vichy and the others, we will find a way to lure away the Six Nations Legion and the Demigod Gunners. I can't guarantee that there won't be further collapse here, but this corner is still safe for now. You have to adapt to the situation and escape after we leave. Try to protect yourself, okay?"

Niya's voice trembled a little: "Don't bother me."

Ash raised his hands to prop up the stone slab a little. The Six Nations Army seemed to have dug a lot outside, so Ash could barely hold it up. He straightened his waist, groaned, pulled his body out of the broken steel bars, and then carefully moved and placed Nia in the corner. In this corner where Ash could only lie half-lying, Nia could actually curl up and squat in it.

Ash first patted himself with a "Sword of Joy", and then used the Heart Sword to dig out a place to barely place himself. When he was about to continue digging, he suddenly took a deep breath and looked back at the darkness behind him: "Although it may not make sense, I still want to say sorry to you."

"I have always regretted that I told you 'I like Miss Servi' in order to gain your trust, but the result was that I not only despised you, but also insulted Sword Lady. Maybe you won't believe it, but since then, I have separated you and Sword Lady."

"You are not someone's shadow, nor are you someone's substitute. You are the one who heroically killed the golden fish in Canaan City to save me, fought side by side with me through three streets, had a handsome cross scar on your face, and wore socks that you haven't changed for several days. You are Nia Servi, full of violent beauty."

"I flew over to save you just now only because you are Nia Servi, there is no other reason."

After saying this, Ash felt a little relieved and continued, "Since you hate me, I will no longer chase you, let alone appear in your sight. I know you will doubt my intentions, but I sincerely hope that you cherish yourself. You deserve happiness."

There was no reply in the darkness. Niya seemed to have shut herself off and didn't want to listen to Ash's nonsense anymore. Ash sighed, stretched out his hand and carefully dug the rubble, paying attention to the movement above, and dug out little by little without affecting Niya's area.

Click...

Click...

Click. When Ash moved a stone, a tiny ray of light coincidentally penetrated through the numerous obstacles, and the dust danced wildly in the light. The voice of the Six Nations Army suddenly became clear. Although it sounded a long way away, if they continued to dig, a battle might break out in the next second.

Just as Ash was about to dig out, he suddenly found that something seemed to have caught the back of his clothes and he could not move forward.

Could it be ** steel bars or some spikes?

Ash looked back and was stunned.

Under the weak light, he saw Nia squatting in the corner with her legs hugged, like a curled up hedgehog. She stared at the ground, but stretched out her right hand, tightly grasping the corner of his clothes with her thumb, index finger, and middle finger. Ash pulled it, and she refused to let go even when it was about to tear. The light just happened to shine on her fingers, allowing Ash to see how tightly she was holding on.

He stared at the scene blankly and asked cautiously, "You don't want me to leave?"

In the dim light, Ash saw Nia turn her head slightly to look at him, then turned back to look at the ground, opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but no words came out, only her right hand was still tightly grasping the corner of Ash's clothes.

Ash slowly stepped back and sat next to her. During the whole process, Nia neither spoke nor moved. Although there was no connection, Ash always remembered the image of the little hedgehog showing its belly.

Until this time, Niya was still holding the corner of his clothes tightly.