Chapter 86
I let out a small groan and tossed in my sleep. The fabric beneath me rustled as I shifted. With a deep breath to shake off the drowsiness, I snapped my eyes open and sat up. My vision filled with the familiar cave interior. Outside the dry, cozy cave, the early morning sun sparkled. I gazed at the sunlit forest scenery for a moment, stretched, and got to my feet.
I must've dozed off yesterday without realizing.
I'd been holding Rainer, trying to soothe his precarious state, and ended up falling asleep in his arms. Even after a short nap beforehand, my body had been craving urgent rest from the lingering fatigue.
Now I feel perfectly recovered.
I let out a brief yawn and swung my arms in a stretch. My quick recovery was one of the best perks of my trained stamina. Just a short sleep had lightened my body, purged of that deadly poison.
Did Rainer go for a walk or something?
I'd vaguely sensed him leaving the cave of his own accord even in my sleep, so his absence wasn't surprising. I sharpened my senses briefly, confirming he wasn't far, then started packing my gear to head out.
"...Kashmir?"
"Ah, you're back?"
I replied casually without turning, folding the blanket halfway, when a familiar voice came from behind. I smoothed out the wrinkles on the shirt of his I was wearing and whipped my head around.
There stood Rainer, frozen mid-motion—upper body bare, towel-drying his wet hair.
...Damn.
Face-to-face with his body, I froze too. It was like the gods had stitched together the face of a strict archangel and the body of a lustful demon when they made Rainer. Honestly, I'd anticipated his body would be impressive from hugging him yesterday, but expectation and reality were worlds apart.
Skin like café au lait, heavily laced with milk—not bronze, not milky white. Perfectly defined lines. Broad shoulders. Solid muscles at a glance. Chiseled abs like they'd been carved with a knife. Scars across his body hinting at how he'd earned Sword Expert status the hard way. And the tiny water droplets trailing down that frame.
That face with that body... Isn't it the prime evidence of divine unfairness?
I stared blankly at Rainer's body, lost in thought. As a mercenary, I'd seen plenty of muscular builds just by looking in the mirror, but I'd never seen a physique so perfectly sculpted. It felt like admiring a work of art. As I slowly raised my gaze along his torso, I locked eyes with those golden ones filled with embarrassment.
Our gazes met. A moment of silence.
"Th-that wasn't my intention—"
"I didn't think you'd be up yet, Kashmir!"
We both jumped back and blurted excuses at the same time.
"I mean, I wasn't teasing you or anything—it just popped into view, and I couldn't help looking!"
"I couldn't let you see me dirty, so I got up early to wash in the lake and was coming back. It was so early, I didn't expect you to be awake!"
"B-but honestly, it's your body's fault! As a fellow human, how could my eyes not go there?"
"I've never had any irreverent thoughts of seducing you with my body! ...Well, maybe once or twice, but I swear on the sun, this time it was an accident!"
With us both just spouting our sides, the conversation went nowhere. Caught off guard, we stood in this weird standoff.
This is driving me crazy.
Watching the flush creep up Rainer's neck to his ears made my own face heat up. Feeling my cheeks burn, I ruffled my hair roughly.
As a mercenary, seeing men's bodies wasn't new. Mercs strip at the slightest heat. Even handling solo jobs as Mir, I'd done group ones too—lived with burly guys, thought male nudity was no big deal.
So why...?
It felt awkward fumbling over just a bare torso. Rainer's excessive fluster was rubbing off on me.
"Y-your body—wipe off the water first! What's with the lewd display?!"
I yelled, my brain a bit overheated. Honestly, those water droplets trickling between his defined muscles were too sensual; my eyes had wandered involuntarily. Forcing my gaze up to his eyes, I saw him flushed head to toe, hastily wiping himself with the towel.
Calm down, Kashmir Crisis.
I reined in my runaway thoughts with deep breaths. Rainer seemed to be regaining his composure too, his burning body cooling.
"And put on some clothes."
"Understood."
"Want me to take it off for you?"
"Yes... Yes?"
Rainer, who seemed dazed in his response, froze and blinked wide-eyed. I'd answered thoughtlessly while cooling my hot neck.
"I'm wearing your shirt right now, aren't I? If you need clothes, I can just—"
"What the hell are you saying?!"
I thought we'd both snapped out of it, but apparently not. Rainer's face flushed anew in an instant, and for the first time, I heard him curse.
Stunned by his foul language, I blurted nonsense without thinking.
"No, I mean... what's wrong with taking off a shirt? You think you're the only one with muscles? I've got abs, biceps, triceps! My traps are rock-hard too! I won't lose to you!"
"I know! I've already seen your body!"
Huh?
Rainer shouted, face red, and I trailed off mid-ramble.
It sounded really off.
"W-what do you mean...?"
I asked blankly, dazed. Rainer flinched at my expression, then realized what he'd said and gaped.
He tossed the towel aside and rushed over.
"That's not what I meant!"
"No—"
"Yesterday, I had no choice but to see you while washing you in the lake! I kept my eyes open only to avoid groping while undressing you, and closed them while actually washing! Don't misunderstand!"
Oh, that.
It was already settled yesterday. My brain had short-circuited at "saw your body," but reality hit, and I recovered quickly.
"Ah, got it. First things first—put on some clothes."
More exhausted than after hunting Harabana, I swept back my bangs and noted the cause of this ridiculous standoff.
Rainer, fidgeting before me, finally seemed to regain sense. He turned quickly, pulled a spare shirt from his pack, and started dressing.
God... why did I say that?
Flustered and rambling together—what a sight. That wasn't like me at all. Shame and self-reproach burned my face; I covered it with both hands.
"All dressed now."
It had taken long enough to dress ten times over—time he clearly needed to calm down. Fully composed now, I brushed off the embarrassment from our earlier nonsense and lowered my hands.
Freshly washed and in a clean new shirt, Rainer practically glowed, but his ears still blazed red.
"Rainer. I said some foolish things just now."
"...Me too."
An awkward apology passed between us. I broke the ensuing silence first.
"...So, shall we head to that spot with the purple barrier? We should find the camp soon."
"Ah, yes. We should."
Rainer nodded briskly and packed his gear. While waiting, I headed to the lake he'd washed in and freshened up.
...Why was it so embarrassing? It wasn't even that big a deal.
My neck still felt a bit warm.
"This is the place."
Following Rainer, we arrived at a path a short distance from where we'd battled Harabana. On the way, I'd checked that site too, just in case, but as expected, the massive corpse had vanished without a trace.
Magic beasts controlled by black magic are cursed in their very existence—their bodies oxidize and disappear within an hour of death.
A cursed beast meeting the king of cursed magic, black magic? Even Sun God Ra couldn't save such an abomination.
But parts severed from it don't vanish over time.
That let Rainer and me eat the Harabana meat without issue. After briefly explaining to the confused Rainer why the huge carcass had disappeared tracelessly, I'd led him here to the barrier.
The barrier from the original story.
As expected, no surprise. I narrowed my eyes at the sinister, shimmering translucent purple barrier and briefly touched it.
No electric jolt, but even that short contact carried a foul magic that turned my stomach.
"A powerful barrier."
"Yes. Even my aura couldn't break it. I've never seen this type before, and just looking at it—"
"Feels utterly repulsive, right."
Rainer, his usual stoic face subtly twisted in disgust, nodded. As aura users, Rainer and I were swordsmen attuned to mana. Aura converted mana to waves but retained its pure form, letting us commune with mana most purely.
Mana was the flow moving great nature. Thus, Sword Masters stood closest to nature, alongside dragons and fairies.
But black magic warped mana into cursed form. The easiest path to power for humans, it corroded the caster's soul with use.
Aura and black magic are polar opposites.
Our revulsion was natural.
But I have to endure it.
I pressed my hand to the barrier again, ignoring the nauseating itch. It felt cold and rigid, like a corpse in rigor mortis.
Tsssk.
I infused my mana, reading the flow inside. New to deciphering black magic, I struggled at first, but once I grasped the pattern, it was easy.
"This blocks internal presences from leaking out and prevents exiting from inside. Entering from outside is free. Since Rainer couldn't damage it, you'd need Sword Master level to break it. A high-caliber mage cast this."
I pulled my hand away quickly, repulsed, and explained. Just like the original.
Father and Sir Noah Ainheart must be hunting near the forest entrance. Father seemed dragged into it by the emperor... and Ainheart isn't the hunting type.
The barrier spanned deep in the woods. If they'd neared it, they'd have sensed something off, but with no commotion, they were clearly just formally hunting at the edge, oblivious.
Rainer listened quietly, pondered, then spoke gravely.
"If what you say is true—"
"This is like a trap. Easy to enter, impossible for even a Sword Expert to leave. Outsiders can't know what's happening inside. A meticulously crafted snare."
"Exactly one problem, then."
I murmured calmly and turned toward the ominous northern vibe. Rainer, sensing it too, hardened his face and looked the same way.
Not far. About 3 km away. Two people. And... one magic beast steeped in black magic.
"Who is the victim of this trap."
It was a foretold tale. I knew.
This trap's victim was my friend.
Rainer and I bolted without a word. Who started first didn't matter.