CHAPTER 70…………………………………………
The warm sunlight tapped gently on Sierra’s shoulders.
“Mm…”
She opened her eyes to the comforting, nutty aroma that stirred her senses.
Somehow, her body felt much lighter than usual.
“Uh…”
A fleeting memory of the last moment before she fell asleep brushed across her mind.
The warm touch, the floating, weightless feeling in the water—it was so soothing.
“…Did I just fall asleep like that?”
Startled, she pressed her palm to her forehead.
Ashur had carefully tended to her for so long… and at the edge of her memory, she recalled his lips, pressing down with gentle warmth.
“…Sierra. Can I keep going?”
Even his subtle, low voice lingered in her mind.
“Ah… no way…”
It had been such a natural chance to grow closer, and she had ruined it.
What was she to do?
“Are you awake, Sierra?”
As she panicked over the shocking realization, a gentle voice came from the kitchen.
“Ashur!”
Sierra dashed over and hugged him tightly.
“Sorry… I ended up falling asleep on my own.”
She buried her face in his back, murmuring in frustration.
But he replied softly.
“It’s fine. You must have been really tired. Now that you’re rested, come sit at the table.”
Sierra felt too guilty to continue the conversation about last night.
“Mmm… it smells delicious.”
“Eat a lot.”
For some reason, the dishes in front of Sierra looked far more plentiful than usual.
“Thanks, I’ll enjoy it.”
For a while, the only sounds at the table were the quiet clinks of utensils.
After finishing his meal first, Ashur spoke with a serious expression.
“Sierra. I think I may have overestimated your stamina.”
The memory of last night made her blush, and she subtly averted her gaze.
“Mmm… I guess it’s different from people in the Sanctuary…”
Even Kadiya must have been exhausted from several consecutive days of intense activity, yet she recovered energy after just a short sleep yesterday—Sierra had been surprised at that.
“That’s right. I’ll be more careful from now on.”
“Hmm, careful about what?”
Sierra asked, scraping her bowl clean.
“Building your stamina.”
Ashur nodded firmly, as if making a resolute decision.
“Stamina?”
Sierra felt troubled.
Even when she was absorbed in research, she would lose track of time, and afterward, she had to rest as if she had fainted.
Thinking about it, her stamina was clearly not great.
She had thought she had improved a lot during her time in the Sanctuary forest, but even Ashur might not fully understand.
“Mmm… can’t we just use magic circles during battle?”
“That’s temporary. Once the effect ends, you’ll be even more exhausted.”
“I see…”
“Building stamina steadily is important.”
“Mm, right…”
Even if she wanted to refuse, Ashur was so reasonable that she couldn’t argue.
“I’ll help you.”
“Mm, okay.”
She didn’t like strenuous physical activity… unless it involved riding something.
She had been fairly good at horseback riding as a child, but apart from that, she hadn’t consistently exercised.
Yet she couldn’t stop him from enthusiastically laying out plans already.
“Just don’t overdo it…”
“Of course. You don’t need to worry.”
As they finished the conversation and cleaned the table, someone knocked on the door.
Knock knock
“Ah!”
Sierra froze, startled.
“Uh, what should I do?”
Ashur, clearing the dishes, replied nonchalantly, as usual.
“Everyone already knows we’re a couple, right? No need to worry.”
“Oh… is that so?”
Living together without being married would have been a serious scandal in the kingdom.
Though it seemed separate from hiding their faces at parties.
Trusting Ashur, she cautiously opened the door.
“[Sierra! I just had a great idea. Are you busy right now?]”
Kadiya stood there, her expression excited.
“[Uh, no… not really. What is it?]”
Ashur said it was fine, but Sierra couldn’t help worrying.
What if this damaged her reputation?
Kadiya probably wouldn’t, but intrusive thoughts lingered.
“[Remember the research we were doing before?]”
While Sierra hesitated, Ashur, finishing up in the kitchen, added a comment.
“[I’ll leave first. I just remembered something I need to do.]”
Finally noticing him, Kadiya playfully rolled her eyes.
“[Oh, Ashur. So you’re here? What’s with you two? Should I go back out?]”
“[N-No need! Come in, Kadiya.]”
Sierra, blushing, hurried her inside.
Ashur had already prepared to leave.
“Sierra. See you later.”
Just before stepping out, Ashur cupped the back of her head and lightly pressed his lips to her forehead.
“Ah! What if Kadiya sees!”
Sierra panicked, stealing glances.
But Kadiya was casually flipping through the research documents.
“Huh? …Should I be careful from now on?”
He seemed puzzled by her reaction.
So it wasn’t even that embarrassing.
She had always known the Sanctuary people were very honest, but she hadn’t expected such open displays of affection.
It felt awkward and strange, yet not unpleasant.
“Mmm… let’s talk later.”
“Right. Have a good discussion.”
Tap
After he left, Sierra finally cooled her flushed face and approached Kadiya.
“[Whoa. You two really look good together.]”
Pretending not to look, Kadiya had clearly noticed everything.
“[Ah, no… By the way, what idea did you come up with?]”
Kadiya giggled, humorously steering the topic.
Sierra brought up the data from their previous research on hot spring water.
The research had been abruptly paused due to a newly discovered ruins site.
“[The hot spring water already had healing and purification properties, right? So it might have mitigated the curse’s effects. Healthy people weren’t affected, were they?]”
“[Oh, yeah?]”
“[If we study it carefully, maybe just drinking it could heal people—without us having to go through hardships!]”
“[Exactly! That’s a great idea!]”
Sierra’s eyes sparkled at the new discovery.
Pure hot spring water already had excellent healing effects, and combining it with magic or rituals could enhance it further.
Of course, more research was needed to make it stable enough for practical use.
“[Let’s try it right away!]”
Sierra immersed herself in research, and her cabin stayed lit for days without pause.
“They’ve started again. No wonder her stamina…”
Ashur would stop by occasionally to prepare hearty meals for them.
After four days of concentrated experiments, they produced a promising result.
“[Got it! With this, we won’t have to worry about curse resistance!]”
“[Great work, Kadiya!]”
“[You did most of it! I was just a useful assistant.]”
Kadiya, eyes darkened from effort, laughed and tousled Sierra’s hair.
“[We made this holy water together! Now all that’s left is to distribute it.]”
“[Perfect!]”
“[Ugh, let’s rest first. I’m exhausted!]”
“[Yeah, good idea. Me too.]”
After the leaders’ meeting, a new conclusion was reached.
“[The Sanctuary will no longer initiate attacks. Warriors, prepare yourselves.]”
With new training underway, Ashur became busy.
He planned systematic training to raise basic stamina, including battle exercises with the divine beast.
“Haah! Hyaah!”
The forest behind the village echoed with the grunts of strong warriors.
Sweat dripped from their muscular bodies, some groaning in exhaustion.
Sierra and Kadiya passed by after finishing research.
They were distributing holy water after getting the leaders’ approval.
“[Kadiya, you don’t have to go there, right?]”
“[I’m exempt from intense stuff like that. Main mages can’t get injured! Hehe.]”
But Kadiya’s smile vanished when Ashur approached.
“[Kadiya, Sierra. You’ll participate in basic stamina training.]”
“[Huh?]”
“[This is something you both can handle.]”
“[Ah, no! At our age, basic stamina training?]”
Kadiya stepped back, but Ashur was firm.
“[The villagers all do it too.]”
“[Ugh!]”
Sierra also didn’t want to, but she couldn’t escape.
