Chapter 1617 - 227 - Love and War (5)
"You’re trying to do two incredibly difficult things at the same time, and honestly, I’m starting to worry about whether you can really keep doing all of this by yourself."
Alice honestly sounded just like my mom.
Then again, I guessed that wasn’t really surprising when I actually thought about it for a second. Back when we were living together, she practically acted like one anyway. She was always reminding me to eat properly, telling me to get enough rest, or nagging me whenever I pushed myself too hard. Looking back on it now, she really did spend a ridiculous amount of time worrying about me. Honestly, she probably would’ve fit right into the role without anyone questioning it.
"Well, if nobody’s willing to step up and do what I’m doing, then this Kingdom and every nation that’s allied with it won’t be able to survive what’s coming either," I replied. "The people living here won’t have anyone left who can protect them if I don’t move." I let out a quiet breath before continuing. "So I think it’s only natural for me to act the way I am right now, even if it ends up being difficult."
Alice frowned just a little after hearing my answer.
"But aren’t you pushing yourself way too hard?" she asked with genuine concern written across her face. "Can you really handle all of this at the same time? It honestly doesn’t matter how incredible you are, Leon. At the end of the day, you’re still only one person. Having overwhelming power doesn’t suddenly mean you’re capable of doing absolutely everything by yourself. If you keep forcing yourself to carry every burden alone, you’re eventually going to break."
After hearing those words, I couldn’t think of anything meaningful to say back to her.
I simply remained quiet while staring at the ground for a brief moment, trying to sort through my thoughts.
The reason was painfully obvious.
Everything she had just said was completely right.
Trying to shoulder everything at the same time had never really been a smart decision. Sure, people looking from the outside might think it was impressive. They might even admire someone who kept taking on impossible responsibilities without ever complaining. Still, appearances didn’t really change reality. Even if my body could endure an unbelievable amount of strain without collapsing immediately, it was still only one body carrying all of that pressure.
Eventually, there had to be a limit somewhere.
If I kept stacking responsibility on top of responsibility without ever slowing down, then eventually something was bound to give, whether I wanted to admit it or not.
Maybe it wouldn’t happen today.
Maybe it wouldn’t even happen tomorrow either.
Still, someday it probably would.
Although this body barely needed sleep anymore, it was still capable of resting whenever I actually gave myself the chance. Whenever I properly took a day to recover, I’d wake up feeling refreshed, almost as if all the exhaustion had disappeared overnight.
Unfortunately, I hadn’t really been giving myself that opportunity lately.
Everything had become so unbelievably hectic that I barely had enough time to catch my breath before another problem showed up waiting for me. It honestly felt like the world had looked at my schedule and decided it wasn’t busy enough already. Whoever was in charge of that deserved a very sarcastic round of applause.
"Hey, Leon," Alice suddenly said, pulling me away from my thoughts. "Do you remember when we were still kids?"
I looked over at her.
"I wanted to become a priestess back then. You probably forgot all about that already, didn’t you?"
A small smile naturally found its way onto my face before I slowly shook my head.
"I remember it perfectly," I replied with a quiet chuckle. "Please don’t start treating me like some old man whose memory disappeared years ago just because we’ve both grown older."
"Hehe."
A soft laugh escaped from her lips before she smiled warmly at me.
"Alright, alright. At least you still remember something that important."
She glanced down at herself.
"Well, I’m actually training to become one now. As you can probably tell, I’ll likely be promoted before too long." She smiled with quiet pride. "Even though being a priestess isn’t all that different from being a priest, I still believe it’s an incredibly important role for the community. I’ll also be learning stronger holy magic, so maybe I’ll be able to help protect people a little more while healing those who get injured."
Honestly, I had absolutely no idea where she was trying to take this conversation.
Everything she was saying made perfect sense.
I agreed with all of it without any hesitation.
At the same time, I couldn’t figure out why she had suddenly decided to bring all of this up right now.
"You probably have absolutely no idea where I’m trying to go with this," she continued after noticing the confused look on my face. "Priestesses are usually placed at the very back of the battlefield during wars. They’re responsible for healing wounded soldiers alongside doctors while supporting everyone fighting on the front lines."
She paused for just a moment before taking another breath.
"Since a war is coming..."
Her expression softened noticeably.
"And since you’re going to be standing right in the middle of it..."
She looked directly into my eyes.
"I’ve decided that I want to enlist too."
Hearing those words honestly caught me completely off guard.
For several seconds, I simply stared at her while trying to process what she’d just said.
"You really came to that conclusion?" I finally asked after gathering my thoughts. "When did you decide something like that?"
Alice slowly shook her head before answering.
"It wasn’t a sudden decision," she replied gently. "I’ve actually been thinking about it for quite a while now."
Her eyes never left mine.
"You’re tired, Leon."
Her voice wasn’t criticizing me.
It was filled with concern instead.
"I can tell just by looking."
She gave me a small, bittersweet smile.
"You probably don’t need much sleep anymore, just like I don’t. That still doesn’t mean you aren’t getting tired."
She lowered her gaze for a brief moment before looking back at me again.
"Being exhausted isn’t always about losing sleep. Sometimes it’s because you’re carrying too much all by yourself."
Those words hit me much harder than I expected.
"So if you’re going to keep doing all of this alone," she continued softly, "then I can’t honestly sleep peacefully while pretending everything’s going to be fine."
She smiled once more.
Her smile was gentle and reassuring.
It carried a quiet determination that didn’t need loud words to make itself understood.
"So I’m going to help you however I can."
She slowly placed one hand over her chest while speaking with complete sincerity.
"Even if what I can do is only a tiny fraction of everything you’re carrying... even if my help seems insignificant compared to yours... I still want to stand beside you."
She smiled just a little wider.
"And I’ll do everything I can, even if all I manage to do is make things a little easier for you."