Haruto pulled his sword, ready to tackle the beast. Haruto moved closer to the beast. the beast came closer until they were close enough.

  Now is my chance!

  Haruto struck with his sword and—Huh! It didn’t even make a cut. The monster attacked, but slowly, with one hand.

  Haruto saw the hand, I have to dodge.

  He ran to make some distance. Good, at this rate I have an advantage with speed. I have to go again. This time I will cut his leg.

  He rushed toward the monster, struck its legs, and ran back to create distance. What is happening? Why doesn’t it bleed? I believe I cut it multiple times. This time I will see it with my own eyes. First I have to dodge, then attack.

  Haruto rushed near the monster. The monster attacked with a right-hand slash, then a left. He dodged to the left.

  Now, here I come!

  He pierced his blade into the shoulder of the monster. The monster swung its left hand and struck Haruto, throwing him away. Haruto was hurt badly; blood started coming from his mouth, and his left hand was completely injured, blood covering his body.

  Suddenly, the environment became dark and gloomy. Meena’s bunny ears dropped quickly, her smile faded, her face darkened, her voice shaky, and her eyes teary.

  "You said this will be safe and Master will be fine."

  "Master, I assure you that Sir Haruto is fine," D's voice replied. "I replaced the poison of the monster with healing magic—and 8-star healing magic at that. That means even if Sir Haruto faces a near-death situation, he will be completely fine... Huh! What?"

  Meena looked at the screen. Haruto stood up, and the environment started glowing again. Meena’s eyes widened.

  "Now this will be fun." She started taking this more seriously.

  According to Meena, Haruto was not hurt since he was getting healed quickly just after the attack. However, it was actually hurting him. But according to D, that is the most basic step to awaken someone’s true warrior potential or powers.

  Haruto stood up and started attacking again, rushing towards the monster. But this time, Meena was taking it seriously; she was pressing the buttons faster and more aggressively. She dodged his first strike and attacked him, tearing him apart, but he healed quickly. The monster then slashed him again and threw him away.

  His body restored again. He woke up. Huh! I can still stand. Did my body heal again? Ugh! Damn! I can stand, but it hurts like hell. It feels like my whole body is crushing under a giant rock. Wait, what is happening? It suddenly became faster and stronger. Why? At this rate, I can't defeat it.

  But I have to do it. I have to defeat it.

  The monster was approaching. Haruto stood his ground, held his sword, and whispered, "But I need more power."

  The sword started vibrating. Haruto noticed, and suddenly everything changed.

  Huh! Where am I? Wait, this place... I know this place, isn’t it...

  "Yes, you guessed it right. This is the Spirit Realm."

  Albedo’s soul appeared in front of Haruto, large and majestic. Haruto was scared. "Wha... what do you want from me?"

  "Well, let me introduce myself. I am Albedo, the previous Demon Lord and the strongest demon to ever live in this world. Till now I was sleeping inside your sword, but you woke me up." His eyes glowed, and he increased his size just to show dominance in front of Haruto. "I was awakened by hearing you want power. Is that true?"

  Well, I know this is a Demon Lord and those species are up to no good, but... "Yes, I need more power."

  "Then join me." He held out his hand.

  "But I refuse to work with you."

  "Yes, you need powers and support at present, but you still refuse to accept my offer?" The Demon Lord was stunned. "Why?"

  "Because I know there might be very negative consequences to using your powers. You might take my life or control my body, so I refuse to accept your offer."

  Demon Lord: "Jeez, what a complex individual."

  By rejecting the offer, the contract wasn't established, and they returned to the world. The monster was approaching. Haruto was sweating, thinking about what to do.

  The Demon Lord's spirit spoke in the back of his mind. Boy, there is a way you can use my powers forcefully without a contract, but to do this, your spirit must be stronger than mine.

  What! Is that even possible?

  The monster reached near Haruto and attacked. It slashed, but he healed quickly, and the monster attacked Haruto again.

  Demon Lord Spirit: I heard if you hold the sword and use it for the sole purpose to protect someone from the bottom of your heart...

  What are you saying...

  The monster attacked him before he could complete his sentence.

  Blade: Well, I said what I had to say. It moved back inside the sword.

  What! Is he serious? Well, I have no option. I have to defeat it.

  The monster was approaching. Meena was aggressively using the controller.

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  I have to defeat it. I have to protect Meena.

  "I, Haruto Kagame, today pledge my sword to do whatever is in my power to defeat you here, and from now on I will use my blade to do whatever I can to protect Meena at any cost!"

  As soon as she heard it, she stopped, stunned, her heart racing. But suddenly, the controller burst.

  "Huh! Oh no! Master!" she screamed, teary-eyed, her smile faded.

  Haruto’s spirit strength increased. The monster suddenly growled, showing bloodlust, and rushed towards Haruto. Haruto sensed the danger but focused. He took position, sword in his hand, and channeled his spirit into the sword, tightening his grip. He rushed at the monster, slashed through it, and finished it.

  With a sigh, he fell to the ground.

  He woke up after a nap.

  It's not time to rest. Meena is probably waiting in the house. I have to go, and also inform the Guild Master about this.

  He informed the Guild Master and walked home. Haruto, in dirty clothes covered in sand and dust, reached home.

  Haruto stood in front of the door. He raised his hand to knock. Hahaha, looks like I did it. Today it’s already night. I can still guess her reaction. He imagined it: Master, humph, you are late! I was hungry. Meena will never forgive you.

  He knocked on the door. Meena opened it.

  "Master, welcome back!" she welcomed him. "Here, let me take your things for you."

  He was astonished, jaw dropped, almost stunned frozen in place looking at Meena’s behavior. "Haha, no need, I can take them." He reached his hand to pet Meena.

  Meena stopped his hand. "No, Master, I will carry the things, or you shall not enter."

  Huh! Haruto thought. Just what is happening?

  Meena showed her palms. "Hmm! Don’t just stand there, give them to me."

  "Hmm, okay." He gave her the things.

  "Master, look, I made hot water and a surprise for you."

  Haruto thought while looking at Meena, I am sure she definitely did something crazy for this much favorability. I just hope I am mentally prepared for that.

  He finished his bath and went to dinner.

  "Look, Master, Meena has already prepared dinner for you."

  He sat at the table.

  "Look, I made a special blue apple salad for you."

  "What? If you made them for me... then you haven’t eaten any lunch, have you?"

  "No, I ate one apple."

  He sighed. "Now, Meena, tell me what happened. Why are you suddenly behaving like this?" he said with a heavy voice, looking into her eyes.

  Her face dropped. "Well, Master, I realized how you work hard, go on missions to earn money. And even though I am your guide in this journey, I am not helping you at all." She clenched her fist. "And even though you are helping—you work for me, teach me things, and make delicious food—all I am doing is being a nuisance to you. I kept demanding, kept asking you for more and all. That’s why I decided, since you told me to avoid using my powers, I will help however I can."

  Haruto stood up, reached for her hand, and petted her. "Well, it really is amazing that you think like that, but in reality, you already helped a lot. When you realized... for example, my journey would have ended the day I met you if I hadn't met you, or it would have ended from that mutant goblin. So," Haruto leaned close to her face, "be confident and smile a little."

  That’s when she saw and felt warmth for the first time in her life. It was as if someone was always there to protect her. She found a reason for existence in her life. For the first time, her loneliness felt completed, as if for an instant she saw colors in the same environment she was living in.

  "Aww! Look at yourself. It's late. I will make something delicious tomorrow. How about I feed you as a reward for all this tonight?"

  Meena suddenly snapped out of it. "Huh! No! This food is for you. Eat by yourself, and Meena will eat the veg salad by herself."

  Well, I feel bad for her. "How about we trade? I feel like that will be more delicious."

  Meena puffed her face. "You eat your fill or Meena will be mad."

  "Okay, hands up, I am eating. But I really want to try yours too." He saw her looking at the dish and drooling. "Looks like you also want to taste some of mine."

  "What!" She made a shocked face and wiped the drool from her mouth. "I don’t want to! I am sure those are not as tasty as they look."

  Haruto thought, And she just admitted this looks tasty.

  "How about we share our food?"

  "But Master..." Meena replied.

  Haruto interrupted, "Because that’s how family works."

  "Huh! Family? We are family?"

  Everything changed into colorful sparkles. Her hands came together like a fist against her chest, her face down.

  "Huh! Meena!" he called for her.

  "Huh!" She was shocked and embarrassed, red-faced at the same time. She calmed her composure with a sigh and sat at the table. They had dinner and went to sleep.

  While Meena lay with open eyes, she thought about what she actually felt, and why the world suddenly felt so warm and beautiful, while looking at the moon from the wall using her powers.