Chapter 82
A surge of disgust welled up instead.
A monster who is immortal, disregards life for its own amusement, and yet wears the guise of a human while pretending to feel emotions…
“Disgusting.”
A monster that can act human is more dangerous than any ordinary enemy.
I needed to get Wilhelmina out of here immediately.
“…It’s been a while since I’ve met a human with this much hostility.”
Whether she had given up on pretending or not, the fairy’s face instantly returned to its expressionless state.
“Was I clumsy? As expected, it’s hard to converse without reading memories.”
The barrier seemed like it could break at any moment.
She sighed and reached a hand toward Rohan.
“Can’t be helped. Shall I put a leash on you so we can have a proper conversation?”
No sooner had she finished speaking than dozens of tree roots surged toward Rohan from her fingertips.
Each root, as thick as a man’s forearm, flew at him like arrows.
But Rohan calmly avoided them.
The fact that she had begun attacking meant she was no longer maintaining her cumbersome barrier.
He crouched like a wolf stalking its prey, preparing to leap.
“Guess I had to change my face, huh? This mask is for Wilhelmina… but it won’t work on you. Right… for you…”
The fairy, having read Rohan’s thoughts, smiled innocently and continued.
“Maybe it would have been better to greet you as Wilhelmina.”
“Shut up.”
The tree roots, flying straight at him, whipped as if to strike like a whip.
It was a trick to stop Rohan’s attack, but it wasn’t enough.
Rohan slowly approached the fairy.
“Why? I can show dreams. I can mimic the appearance of anyone you want. For example… Wilhelmina who remembers you.”
“….”
“You secretly hope to be able to talk with her, just like before, right? If you accept my deal, I can show you that dream as a bonus.”
No matter how skilled one is in magic, there’s no blocking a fairy king from reading your mind.
Yet despite the unpleasant feeling of having his inner thoughts revealed, Rohan’s movements were precise and deliberate.
The fairy, unable to provoke him, involuntarily exhaled.
“Not easy, huh? You don’t believe a word I’m saying. I wanted to show you a romantic-comedy-like scene with Wilhelmina.”
She raised her other hand toward Rohan.
“In that case, let’s go a bit more action-movie style.”
Just as she was about to cast a new spell…
BANG—!
From behind the fairy came a dull thud.
“…?”
The fairy turned back with a puzzled expression.
Rohan also glanced toward the source of the sound while dodging roots.
Then the sound came again.
BOOM—!
This time, it didn’t stop with a single strike. Twice, thrice—the sounds kept coming.
It was as if something hard was hitting a thick wall repeatedly.
“No way…”
Shock spread across the fairy’s face, genuine for once, not part of her act.
“Are you… punching it with your fists?”
No need for the question of what or who.
Rohan had realized the source.
The fairy hurriedly withdrew her hands as she was about to cast magic.
Suddenly, from beside a large rock at the edge of the sandy area, Wilhelmina appeared.
…Her knuckles were soaked bright red with blood.
“My goodness.”
Rohan and the fairy both groaned.
The noise they had been hearing was the sound of Wilhelmina smashing the barrier with her bare fists.
Why are you two fighting?
Her voice was faint and fragmented, so I couldn’t make out much of the conversation after the beginning.
It seemed like Rohan was looking for me, and Ob tried to make a deal with him but got rejected.
One side could have just given up, but suddenly, a fight had started.
Of course, Rohan initiated the attack, but I assumed he would lower his sword once they talked.
Ob could talk reasonably, and Rohan was a gentleman.
Yet the situation only worsened.
“Someone’s going to die if this keeps up.”
Ob’s attacks were as fierce as in a monster manga, and Rohan’s movements were so fast and sharp they were hard to follow with the eyes.
It seemed this fight would not end until one of them fell.
“Ob… that guy…”
The fight’s cause was obvious: Ob’s scheme.
Although he promised to return me to the surface, he used me as leverage to coerce Rohan: “I’ll help you find Wilhelmina if you make a deal with me.”
From Rohan’s perspective, unaware of my agreement with Ob, it must have felt like I was being used as a hostage to demand something.
And Ob probably wanted him to think that way.
“He wants something from Rohan.”
Whatever it was, it was important enough for them to fight.
If this continued, Rohan, who came to rescue me, would only get hurt.
No matter what Ob wanted, I couldn’t stand by and watch Rohan get injured.
“Ob—! Rohan!”
My voice seemed blocked by a transparent wall.
Sounds from outside could be heard, but the voices inside couldn’t get out.
And from the outside, it seemed the interior was invisible.
I slowly reached out my hand, trying to gauge the shape of the wall.
‘Cylindrical shape. Tapping it, the thickness seems decent. Material… close to plastic?’
Though the sounds inside were blocked, the wall would vibrate from the impacts.
No matter how soundproof, it couldn’t withstand repeated hammering.
“I don’t want to use my foot…”
I often twisted my ankle, and it would be difficult to exert strength.
The only option left was my hand, like a hammer.
‘Let’s see… how did they do it?’
I remembered middle school boys playing a punching machine in an arcade.
Holding my right wrist with my left hand, pulling my shoulder back—then swinging with force.
BANG—!
“Oh…”
It sounded decent. My fingers hurt a bit, but my wrist was okay.
But a single punch wouldn’t be enough; the fight between Rohan and Ob still raged on.
I clenched my fist again and continued swinging at the wall.
‘This… is kind of fun.’
Since the wall was like plastic, once I got my stance right, it didn’t hurt as much.
Now I understood why students loved arcade punching machines; it was stress-relieving.
BANG! BANG!
The repeated strikes grew louder.
Finally, both their gazes turned toward me.
‘Alright, just one more…!’
…Except I shouldn’t have overexerted.
Excited from sweating, my stance faltered on the last punch.
The punch, now loaded with body weight, hit harder…
“Ugh.”
The impact scraped and cut my fingers against the wall.
With my skin already delicate, blood began to flow from the torn skin.
The last punch seemed effective, as Ob finally deactivated the barrier.
Rohan and Ob’s eyes lowered toward me.
“My goodness.”
Ob saw my hands drenched in blood and squeezed her eyes shut.
“Um… you do know that she’s a noble, right?”
“Well….”
I felt embarrassed to say something like, “No law says a duchess can’t punch walls…”
I covered the wound on my left hand.
“Goodness, a heroine trapped and punching walls like this…”
Saying it made me seem like a person addicted to violence, but I stayed silent.
Ob healed my hand.
She made a show of it, saying, “Do you know how incredible it is to cast healing magic without asking for anything?”
I replied, “Just leave it. It’ll be fine soon.”
She sighed and cast the spell.
Though some pain lingered, my hand was completely healed without a scar.
Since my skin was weakened, she wrapped a bandage around my hand she had brought from somewhere.
“Thanks, Ob.”
“You’re polite, but why did you do that?”
“I don’t know.”
Ob still shook her head, incredulous.
Rohan, now beside me, muttered with a mix of embarrassment and confusion.
“…Ob?”
“Yes, that’s her name.”
After all, they had been fighting without even introductions, so he wouldn’t know.
Rohan looked at Ob and trailed off.
“Ob… could it be…”
“Shh. If I tell my real name, I’ll be cursed. Not joking.”
She warned him and plopped down on a small rock.
“I didn’t expect it to turn out this way. It should have been a more sweet and lighthearted scene.”
