Several days past before Jeongin finally deemed Erin well enough to walk and interact with people outside of her tent. However, the soldiers and townspeople still remained camped outside the field, no one willing to head to Masan with one Guardian still in recovery.

Scouting around the area, Erin made sure to count how many soldiers and townspeople they had left. There weren't many casualties for the townspeople but the Busan Army had fallen to a bit for than a third than their original number. Jeongin walked by her side, eyes set on the ground while his mind seemed to be far away. 

"You alright?" Erin questioned, noting down the number of soldiers remaining and the current proportion of male and female in the crowd. 

He shrugged, "I guess... it's just... we've lost so many people and, well, we could have lost you and Seungmin too. It just got me thinking about what we would do if anything was to happen to you two and if we lose any more people."

"As long as we have the prince, we are already ahead of the Royal Army. That being said, where is the prince?"

"Last I checked, he went to check on Seungmin or something. By the way, what happened between you and him the other day? He left your tent dazed and he barely got any sleep that night. What did you say to him? Or do?"

"We were just talking," she lied. "Do you know anything about how the King plans to get him back?"

He shook his head 'no', "I tried to get information from some of the Royal Army soldiers we captured but I got nothing. They won't say a word."

"What good are they then? We should have killed them with the rest."

"Yeah, we should have. Any plans for going to Masan?"

"I was planning to leave tomorrow morning with a few of the Busan soldiers and just scout out the area, you know? Look for any threats to prepare for."

"Can I come along?"

She sighed, "look, I want you to come too but we need someone to look after this place while I am gone."

"Of course," he rolled his eyes. "Be the servant. Heck, I feel like I am doing everything around here!"

"Now you know half of the responsibilities of a Guardian."

"Argh! This job is exhausting."

"Isn't it? And you still want to be a Guardian?"

"Well duh. I'll get to do more than just babysitting an area. Besides, the title would mean people would listen to me for once."

She chuckled, "people don't listen to you?"

"No. They say 'look it is the Guardian wannabe' and then proceed to go and on about how stubborn I am for not giving up already. Then when I ask them to do things, they always bring up the fact I am not a Guardian and will never be. Which I know but I mean, it still hurts when other people say it and I try not to take what they say to heart but do you know how exhausting it is when you do so much to help and yet everyone still discredits you and claims you don't deserve to be in the position you are-" his rambling instantly came to a halt as he turned to her with a sheepish grin, realising that was literally her whole experience as a Guardian explained. "Oh, I see."

"Being the Guardians' assistant has really brought you a lot of hate, huh?"

"You have no idea... well, you probably do."

"How about this, Jeongin," Erin sighed. "When I go out to Masan but until when I return, you will be a temporary Guardian. I'll announce it to everyone. If everything is still intact when I return, I will consider making you a real Guardian. I think you might be about ready now."

His eyes widened, "seriously? Please tell me you aren't joking around because I need this. I really do. I... I want this so badly."

"I wouldn't joke about such," she admitted. "I am a hundred per cent serious right now. I need you to prove to me that you have what it takes to be a Guardian, Jeongin. And this is your chance."