The Great Kosiran Bridge took 3 days to be rebuilt.

Instead of the 3 months that it would’ve taken, Nikolay managed to speed up the process by an unprecedented amount.

Despite this monumental achievement, however, the ‘saviour’ in question seemed the furthest thing from proud. Leaning against a larger tree, Nikolay intently watched the drove of civilians walking through the bridge.

Although, his solitary post was about to be interrupted. A figure, clad in iron armour and emblematic cloth, marched towards the tree. His shadow merged with the expanses of the leafy shade, joining Nikolay in the quiet domain underneath.

When his footsteps grew close enough, Nikolay finally averted his eyes from the bridge. He recognised the head guard who’d greeted Nikolay and Raine when they first arrived.

“You look down. What’s wrong?” the guard asked Nikolay.

“There’s nothing wrong. I’m making sure the bridge stays,” was the terse response. “If it fails again, I can hold it together temporarily.”

“What about your companion? Shouldn’t he be looking for you right about now? Your job here is done, after all.”

Nikolay scoffed lightly. “I’m sure he’s busy as well. Besides, the bridge is more important. I’d rather not have to pay the hefty fine for plunging several hundred civilians to their deaths.”

“Sometimes you have to let go. Things are often much more capable than you think.”

Nikolay let the words sink in for a few seconds before resolutely turning his head back to the bridge. “Better to prepare for the worst.”

“If you keep lowering your eyes to the ground, then you’ll be blind to the beauty above.”

Even though Nikolay didn’t honour him with a response, the guard lingered beside him without any signs of leaving.

At first, Nikolay tried to ignore his presence. He squinted at the wires and bolts holding the bridge in place, monitoring every miniscule movement that resulted from a new passenger stepping on. His quiet concentration didn’t last long, because Nikolay could hear the breathing and slight shuffling of the guard beside him. It was painfully obvious when everything else around them was completely silent, which only accentuated Nikolay’s irritation even more.

“Your presence is preventing me from concentrating,” Nikolay said, trying his best to sound unbothered.

His efforts clearly weren’t very effective, because the guard merely hummed knowingly.

“Then why don’t we have a conversation instead? I’m sure it’ll be more beneficial to your mood compared to watching others be happy while you sit here alone.”

“Shouldn’t you have better things to do than engage in meaningless conversation?” Nikolay retorted. “Surely the Head Guard would be more needed at the bridge.”

“There are many ways to protect someone. You can perform most of them from afar. Wouldn’t you agree?”

“I wouldn’t know the first thing about it.”

After all, fate had cursed him with the power to destroy since the beginning. If mercy came so easily to Nikolay, then he wouldn’t have to feel guilty every time he looked at Raine.

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The guard patted him on the shoulder. “From my eyes, I already see a protector. Perhaps the problem lies in the way you perceive yourself.”

Leaving these heavy words in the air, the head guard then sauntered his way back towards the bridge. This left Nikolay still standing under the single tree, without a soul nearby.

Even though Nikolay had gotten the silence he’d wished for, it somehow felt even more lonely now that the guard had departed.

He supposed the guard was right; Raine was going to start searching for Nikolay soon enough. It would be better to locate him first — only in the interest of efficiency, of course.

—

Nikolay found Raine amidst the chaos of tents being bundled up, and the associated civilians getting ready to head across the bridge. Rather than being wedged between the crowds of people, Nikolay felt a sense of pride as he saw Raine at the centre of it all, directing the people towards the bridge. He looked like a natural-born leader, handling everybody’s questions and concerns with ease.

Not wanting to interrupt Raine, Nikolay blended himself with the masses of people surging past him. Yet, despite the myriad of colours flashing between them, Raine somehow spotted him. Their eyes locked briefly, before another rush of people broke their line of sight.

Nikolay was left stranded again, blinded by the waves of human bodies crashing around him. Suddenly, a pair of arms wrapped around his waist from behind, drawing them together so that the crowd wouldn’t pull them apart again.

“You’re here,” Raine murmured in his ear.

As he talked, his warm breath brushed against the side of Nikolay’s neck. A shiver ran down his spine, running all the way down like an electrical charge.

Ignoring his subconscious response, Nikolay muttered back, “What of it?”

“Do I need a reason for being happy when finally seeing you after so long?”

Raine was… happy to see him?

“It’s only been a few days,” Nikolay quickly replied. “Not that long.”

“Well, it felt like an eternity to me,” Raine whined.

He could almost picture the fake pout on Raine’s face behind him.

A familiar face popped out from the moving walls of people around them, shouting Raine’s name. She held a baby in her arms, and a toddler tightly clutched the hems of her long skirt to avoid being pulled away by the tide.

“Hello! It’s you who helped me set up my tent!” she called. “I heard that you helped with the bridge’s reconstruction!”

Both of them noticed that she only looked at Raine, and she held her hand out for him to shake. She seemed to actively avoid meeting Nikolay’s gaze, pretending that he didn’t exist.

Raine untangled himself from Nikolay and stepped out to greet the mother properly. “Hello again! Now you can visit your sick sister in Marque, right?”

“Thank you so, so much for fixing the bridge! You’re my saviour, you really are!”

Raine gave her a small smile but shook his head. “Actually, I wasn’t the one who-”

Before he could correct her mistake, Nikolay put a firm hand on his shoulder. Raine turned to his side, and Nikolay shot him a meaningful look.

Brushing off the small mishap, Raine quickly said farewell to the mother. After a few more expressions of gratitude, she took her two children and headed in the direction of the rebuilt bridge.

Once the crowd had swept away the mother far enough, Raine grabbed Nikolay’s wrist, and they waded their way to a more quiet area.

They ended up in the area where the tents were previously situated — though, almost all of them were gone already, leaving behind small patches of dead grass where the tarp would’ve blocked sunlight from the plants. Thus, there weren’t many people here either, other than a few late stragglers who’d received the news a little late.

Raine turned to Nikolay with a questioning gaze. “How come you didn’t want her to know that you were the one responsible?”

“Because she most likely already knew.”

This puzzled him even more. “Then why didn’t she thank you, and not me?”

“She must’ve learned from somewhere that I was a sorcerer. It wasn’t a secret, considering I had it on full display at the construction site.”

“But-”

Nikoly let out a resigned sigh. “Humans just don’t like sorcerers. I don’t blame them. It’s much easier to owe your life to a human than a sorcerer.”

“But you literally helped all of them get to their destination! That’s just rude, and- and unfair!” Raine protested.

“This entire world is unfair. It’s how the world is.”

Noticing that the mood of their conversation had gotten too heavy, Nikolay added lightly, “It would be more convenient if more humans liked me, though. Maybe not as much as you do, but it would be nice.”

Raine whipped his head towards him and spluttered, “Hey! What does that mean?”

“Whatever you want it to.”