Chapter 345: Back to the Real World

When that dreamlike day came to an end, so did Mark’s time inside the dream world.

He’d spent an entire week there, between the level farming, the revelations about the past, and that last day lived beside Mary as if they were truly husband and wife.

But he couldn’t put it off any longer.

The time had come to return to reality, to his kingdom, to his wives, and to everything he’d left waiting outside.

Mary, of course, didn’t make it easy.

"Do you really have to go already?" Mary asked, clinging to his arm with a little pout. "Come on, stay one more day. After all this time, what’s twenty-four more hours? It won’t even be noticeable."

"Mary..."

"Or two," she added, as if she’d just come up with a better solution. "Two days and then I’ll let you go, I promise."

"Mary, we already talked about this," Mark said, letting out a sigh. "I’ve been missing for a week and I can’t afford to stay even one more day. The others must be going crazy looking for me."

Mary kept the pout going for a few seconds, still hugging his arm as if searching for one last way to convince him.

But in the end, she sighed and let go.

"Fine..." she murmured, resigned.

Hearing that, Mark looked at her, a little thrown.

He’d expected tears, threats, emotional blackmail, or, knowing Mary, some completely absurd scheme to keep him from leaving. But she was just standing there, accepting it like it was nothing.

"...You sure?"

"Sure."

"You’re not going to try to keep me here?"

Mary looked thoughtful.

"Well, honestly, I did think about cutting off your arms and legs."

"..."

"Think about it," Mary went on, completely casual. "You wouldn’t be able to leave, and I’d have the perfect excuse to take care of you for all eternity. Pretty romantic, if you ask me."

A chill ran down Mark’s spine.

Mary let him squirm for only a few seconds before shrugging.

"But I dropped the idea pretty quickly. First, because without my summons, and with just the two of us here, I’d most likely end up losing the fight. And second..."

Her expression softened.

"Because I could never hurt you."

"Funnily enough, that doesn’t reassure me as much as you’d think..." Mark admitted, looking away.

Mary burst out laughing and gave him a little tap on the shoulder.

"I was kidding, sweetheart! Oh my god, you should’ve seen the look on your face."

"Yeah, sure... a joke."

From Mark’s tone, it was pretty clear he didn’t fully buy it.

After all, Mary had just explained in unsettling detail how she could incapacitate him and keep him there forever, all while smiling as if she were talking about something perfectly normal.

Probably better not to dig any deeper.

Before he could end up regretting some answer, Mark decided to change the subject and return to a much more important matter that had been circling in his head for a while.

"Mary, about those reincarnated ones still left in this world. How are you planning to take them out?"

Mary shrugged.

"Same as last time," she answered with a smile. "As soon as I get all my summons back, I’ll go out and hunt them down one by one. And if anything or anyone gets in my way, I’ll just wipe everything out."

That was the last thing Mark wanted to hear.

Another war like the one that had drenched the continent in blood three hundred years ago.

Cities destroyed, entire towns caught in the middle, and millions of people dying with nothing to do with the reincarnated ones Mary was actually after.

Just imagining it turned his stomach.

"No... leave it to me."

"What?"

"I can go after them individually. Find them, eliminate them, and keep everything around them from turning into collateral damage."

Mary made a small face, clearly unconvinced by his proposal.

"Besides, I need that experience to reach level 100," Mark continued. "If I go after them, I level up, and at the same time we keep thousands of people from getting caught in the crossfire. We both come out ahead."

That tipped the scales a little.

Although Mary was still convinced her method was more effective, there was something that mattered to her a lot more than efficiency. And that was how Mark saw her.

She didn’t want to become, in his eyes, the same ruthless creature who had sown death during the great war.

And if letting him try it his way served to prevent that, then she could swallow her impatience and wait a little.

"Fine," she finally said. "You do it."

"Really?"

"Yep... I’ll give you until I get all my summons back. During that time you can take care of as many reincarnated ones as you’re able to."

Mary raised a finger.

"But if I see it’s not working, or that you get hurt, I’m stepping in. No arguments."

"Deal."

Mary raised a hand and immediately, a small shadow detached itself from the ground. It took the shape of that tiny demon Mark already knew.

The creature floated over to him and landed on his palm.

"Here. Keep it," Mary said. "With it we’ll be able to talk whenever you want, and if I ever need to bring you back here, it can serve for that too."

Then she winked at him.

"So try not to lose it, okay?"

Mark nodded and let the little creature climb up and settle onto his shoulder.

"I won’t."

After that, there was nothing left to delay.

The time had come to say goodbye.

Mark felt the energy of the dream world begin to wrap around him, preparing to send him back to reality.

He looked at Mary one last time, and she held his gaze, with a smile that tried to be cheerful but couldn’t quite hide the sadness beneath it.

"Take care, sweetheart," she said quietly. "And come back soon."

"I will," Mark answered. "I promise."

And with that, Mark began to fade away.

Mary watched until his figure vanished completely, leaving her alone in the middle of the world she’d created for the two of them.

For a few seconds she didn’t move.

The valley was still bathed in the eternal light of sunset, and the house still waited at the foot of the hill.

Nothing had changed.

Only he was missing.

And that was more than enough to make everything feel empty, cold, and meaningless.

She stood for a long while staring at the spot where he’d been, her smile slowly fading from her face.

"I should have trapped him when I had the chance..."

Mary let out a sigh, but the sadness didn’t last long.

Little by little, a calmer smile appeared on her face. After all, she had no reason to worry.

Mark would come back.

She knew it.

Not because of a promise, nor because of the little shadow demon’s connection, but because of something far more personal.

Carefully, Mary brought a hand to her belly and stroked it gently, a huge smile on her face.

"You’ve got nothing to worry about" she whispered, looking down at her belly. "Daddy’s going to come back to us sooner or later... I promise you."