Chapter 18
“What are you doing?”
“Huh?”
When I turned my head, Isarel had come up to me at some point and was staring closely at my face.
“Did you have a nightmare?”
“Ah…”
Well… maybe you could call it a nightmare.
“No, I just woke up because it was hot.”
Not wanting to make him worry, I smiled at him.
“…Hot?”
Isarel frowned.
“Your face is way too pale for that.”
He came even closer and peered into my face, muttering.
Uh—this is way too close…
But before I could get flustered for long, I suddenly noticed his face was wet with sweat.
“You trained again already?”
Get some sleep, dude. This is full-on training addiction.
When I glared sharply, Isarel stepped back and avoided my eyes.
“The sword’s appearance changed, so I was checking it.”
“If you’re sweating like that, it wasn’t ‘just checking.’”
This time, he stepped back a whole three steps.
Oh? Flustered at my sharp questioning, are we?
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“…It’s not that I’m running away.”
“Training is fine, but you need to sleep.”
Keep this up and you’ll become nothing but a swordmaster!
I grabbed his sleeve and pulled, telling him to lie down already.
Normally he would’ve followed easily, but this time he planted his feet on the ground and didn’t budge.
“Lie down already.”
He stared at me with a bewildered face, then bit his lower lip.
What? Why is he acting like this?
“Why all of a sudden? Are you sick?”
“No.”
He opened and closed his mouth as if he wanted to say something but couldn’t get it out, until finally—
“…I might smell.”
That was the last thing I expected. My mouth fell open.
Seriously? He’s this… delicate?
More importantly—what smell?
Is this some protagonist buff? He doesn’t even smell like sweat.
I stared at him in disbelief, and then noticed the tips of his ears turning red.
Seeing him suddenly get shy like that made me embarrassed for some reason.
“W-well, we can’t help it. There’s nowhere to wash here.”
“Exactly.”
He took another step back.
His expression was like a cat warily watching to make sure no one gets too close.
“Oh, come on. You don’t smell. Don’t worry about it and rest.”
One of his eyebrows shot up.
“Lies.”
“It’s not a lie.”
“…”
“I’m serious!”
After that, we kept our distance.
Not for any deep reason, but simply because—
It was too hot.
Isarel was one thing, but I was sweating a lot too.
Now I fully understood why he was so worried about getting close.
I sat a good distance away from him while listening to the report of the wandering spirit that had already finished scouting.
— There is nothing here. Nothing at all.
The island was exactly as it appeared—just endless sand.
We either needed to get off this floor quickly, or send spirits ahead before moving to the next island to find something useful.
The second option was obviously better.
If we rushed to the next island only to find nothing again, we’d just waste strength.
The problem was—
My mana was extremely low.
And I still didn’t know if I could control a spirit far away from me.
Fourteen beans left.
And at least four more battles with beasts.
If I gambled on scouting now and failed, that would be the worst possible outcome.
I couldn’t just eat all these beans myself; they were basically all-purpose potions.
I couldn’t waste an irreplaceable resource on an uncertain gamble.
What’s the safest way to get out of the 5th floor…?
I stared at the second island in the distance—the one we had already passed.
Leonard’s group had just arrived and were recovering from exhaustion.
Looking closer, Jade was pretty badly injured.
Well, Lewis is with them. He’ll heal him.
Lewis had far more mana than I could even compare to.
But he didn’t use even a single drop to heal me—and left me behind.
The reason was simple.
Leonard had told him not to.
“Why waste mana healing someone with no hope left?”
“Your mana is valuable. Don’t waste your resources. Just leave Miss Rosette.”
Leonard’s words were still carved into my memory.
The moment I heard them, I wondered if he really was the protagonist.
He was practically a demon.
Just because I’m from a different country…
They still could’ve healed me once. Even a single bean would’ve healed everything instantly—but they didn’t give me even half a bean.
They didn’t want to share even the tiniest bit of what they had.
Bastards.
The more I thought, the angrier I got.
Maybe because of that, I felt even hotter.
I took off my outer coat.
Why is the climate so extreme…
What would the next island be like? I was scared to imagine it.
“What are you doing? What are you taking off?!”
A sharp voice burst out.
I turned to see Isarel walking toward me with a horrified expression.
Anyone would think I was stripping naked.
“I just took off my coat. It’s hot.”
“…”
He stopped right in front of me and stared quietly.
Where did the guy insisting on ‘keeping distance’ go?
After staring at me for a bit, he rubbed his face with both hands and then—thump—sat down right next to me.
He let out a deep sigh.
“You should be more careful. Do you not realize you’re the only girl on this island?”
“I know, but it’s just an outer coat.”
“Still. Be careful.”
I took off one layer and got this kind of lecture?
Am I the weird one, or is he just sensitive about strange things?
“Be careful, okay?”
“Yes, Dad.”
I answered carelessly.
He looked at me like I was insane, but I ignored that and leaned my head on his shoulder.
“I’m already overheated… and stressed in every possible way. Don’t add to it.”
“…”
Maybe because of that, he didn’t move away or push me.
After I kept my eyes closed for a while, he finally spoke.
“Why?”
“Hm?”
“Why does your head hurt?”
He didn’t sound like he was asking lightly—his voice was serious.
Since he had long since finished puberty, his voice was normally low, but right now it felt even softer… almost ticklish.
Maybe because my eyes were closed.
“They’re probably going to wait for us to move and follow. Like last time.”
“…”
“They’ll use the same method—using us as bait. So I’m trying to figure out the safest way to move to the next island. And it’s giving me a headache.”
Anyone with half a brain would’ve realized we had used them.
From now on, it would be a battle of wits.
Which meant testing the limits of my spirit-controlling ability now was a terrible idea.
If I exhaust my mana or stamina, we’ll be in even more danger.
There would be plenty of chances to test my limits on the lower floors.
We just had to escape the 5th floor.
Who knew it would be so hard and take so long.
“Sleep.”
“Huh?”
“You said your head hurts. Sleep a bit more.”
“…”
“Think after you wake up. Don’t rush.”
Then—tap—Isarel’s hand touched my head.
I opened my eyes in surprise.
Is he… comforting me?
“You’re doing well. You’ve been doing well. Thanks to you, we made it this far.”
“…”
I was stunned.
It felt like I had fallen into an unexpected trap.
“I know you’re trying harder than anyone. So…”
“So…?”
“Rest. For now.”
His awkward patting moved from my head to my face and covered my eyes.
It was already hot, and his hand was warm, making it even hotter.
I bit my lower lip.
No one had ever said anything like that to me.
That they knew I was trying.
That I should rest.
I’d scraped and struggled for every item so far, but I’d never heard anything like this before.
Who let this villain suddenly become touching like this?
