Chapter 11
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A person who was absolutely necessary.
And so Isael himself had to become such a person to Rosette.
Yet Isael could not shake the feeling that, at present, he was utterly useless.
If only I were a swordsman who could wield aura.
Then, dealing with those lowly demonic beasts would have been easy, and they could have reached the island without trouble.
This was the second time he had felt such helplessness, to the point that he even found himself loathsome.
The first time was, without question, when he saw Beatrice thrown onto the altar.
Isael clenched both fists tightly.
He had to become someone who could use aura.
Even if it was impossible in the short term, somehow, no matter what, he had to make it possible.
Only then could he become someone Rosette truly needed.
“Ha…”
Letting out a low sigh, Isael lifted his head.
The demonic beasts outside the island were still attacking each other like mad, fighting to the death, and making a lot of noise.
But perhaps some kind of magic had been cast over the island, because the howling of the beasts and the sounds of battle could no longer be heard.
Only the sounds coming from within the island reached them.
All noise from outside the island was completely cut off.
“Gasp, Your Highness! Are you hurt?!”
That was why Felix’s shocked shout rang out so clearly.
Isael looked back at Felix indifferently and snapped coldly, “Mind your own business.”
At that moment, Rosette frowned as if she were coming to her senses and let out a small groan.
“Ugh…”
In response, Isael issued a firm warning to Felix once more.
“If you dare run your mouth carelessly in front of her, I won’t let it slide.”
“Ah, yes. Understood…”
Felix sullenly went under the tree and slumped down.
Whether he did or not, Isael kept his gaze fixed on Rosette as she regained consciousness.
Rosette gasped and abruptly sat up, then immediately began fumbling through her bag with her hands.
She pulled out a pouch, checked with her own eyes that its contents were still there, and muttered, “Phew… Thank goodness.”
Then she quickly took out a bean and ate it.
There was no other way to describe her actions than downright ravenous.
“…Seriously, what are you stuffing into your mouth the moment you wake up?”
Watching her, Isael finally let out a hollow laugh.
It was a laugh that escaped him out of sheer disbelief, but even so, it was the first time Isael had laughed since entering this tower.
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“What do you think I’m doing? Replenishing my stamina, of course. You should hurry and eat too.”
I whipped around toward Isael and held out a bean.
Isael accepted it and ate it, even though his expression was clearly reluctant.
…It kind of feels like he’s started listening to me unusually well.
Or maybe not?
Even if it was just my imagination, it didn’t really matter.
As soon as I ate the bean, I felt my physical condition improve and looked around.
Demonic beasts locked in fights to the death filled the area around the island.
Yet they showed no interest in the island at all.
There was not even a sound.
As long as I did not deliberately look outside the island, it seemed like we could rest fairly comfortably and get enough rest.
While resting, I should prepare to cross to the next island.
More than anything, I needed to steel myself mentally.
After all, just getting to this island had been exhausting beyond measure…
And now, having to cross that river full of beasts again to reach the next island was horrifying just to think about.
But I have to go. I have to do it.
I have to make it.
I was firming up my resolve when—
“Rosette, are you feeling a bit better?”
Felix, who had been squatting in a corner far away, crept over and asked.
I could not be bothered to answer him.
Still, unlike before, it felt a little wrong to ignore him outright.
After all, it was a fact that he had pulled me up onto this island.
“It feels kind of gross, but I’m fine.”
“Ah, then maybe I should wipe you down or something… Oh, right, there’s nothing to wipe with. Everything’s soaked.”
Having to listen to that idiotic nonsense still felt just as miserable as ever, though.
I checked how many beans I had left in my pouch.
When I counted them properly, there were exactly eighteen left.
Eighteen… I cannot use all of these on this floor.
Anyway, eighteen of them.
It was a number that seemed to perfectly sum up my current situation[1].
In any case, if I could safely reach the final island even if it meant using all eighteen, that would be a relief.
That was how much harsher the trial on this fifth floor was compared to what I had expected.
On top of that, in preparation for the moment when the beans ran out, I needed to start securing food that could stave off hunger.
I cannot starve to death.
Fortunately, the seven islands on this floor each had different terrain and environments.
If I searched carefully, there would definitely be something edible.
…But why is it so cold here?
It had been freezing for a while now.
I slowly shifted closer and closer until I was right next to Isael.
At that, Isael, who had been fiddling with his sword, flinched and turned to look at me.
“…What?”
“No, it’s just cold.”
“……”
“Aren’t you cold?”
“Not really.”
Having moved so close that I was practically glued to his side, Isael stared at me as if I were some kind of bizarre creature.
That gaze felt rather pitiful, but there was nothing I could do.
Maybe because my clothes were wet, it felt even colder.
But it is not like I could take my clothes off here.
Perhaps I looked quite pitiful, shivering and even chattering my teeth, because Isael did not push me away.
He merely let out a small sigh and tried to take off his coat again.
“Ah, do not take your clothes off. It’s not that bad.”
“What do you mean ‘not that bad’?”
“I’m really fine, I mean it.”
As I tried to stop Isael from taking off his coat, I belatedly noticed that the garment was torn.
There was blood on it, and through the ripped fabric I could see wounds that were slowly healing.
My eyes widened as I asked, “What is this? You’re hurt?”
“Maybe because I ate what you gave me, it’s healing.”
“That’s not the point. Why didn’t you say anything about being hurt?”
“……”
I hurriedly examined the injured areas.
There were minor cuts scattered across his upper body, but his lower back was especially bad.
That was also where the coat was torn the most.
“If you’re hurt, you have to say so right away! You can’t hide it!”
“……”
“From now on, never hide it! There shouldn’t be anything you hide from me. Got it?”
When I snapped at him, Isael, who had been looking at me strangely, asked back, “And what about you. Will you hide nothing from me either?”
I answered immediately, “Of course!”
In truth, there were already plenty of things I was hiding even now, but I was confident.
There was no way Isael could find out what I was hiding, nor would he even suspect it.
What mattered was making sure Isael did not keep secrets from me.
It was best to eliminate as many variables as possible that could interfere with surviving and getting out of the tower alive.
There could never be a situation where Isael kept secrets, leading to circumstances I could not prepare for.
“There must never be secrets between us. Understand?”
“Fine, then.”
I thought I would have to say more, maybe even force him to accept it, but unexpectedly, Isael nodded readily.
“You and me. We promise not to hide anything from each other.”
“That’s exactly what I mean.”
“Alright.”
“Promise.”
I quickly held out my little finger.
Isael looked as if he were thinking, ‘What is this supposed to be?’ but soon hooked his finger with mine.
“Promised.”
“Yeah.”
“Never keep secrets from each other.”
“Alright, I get it.”
It did feel a bit like he was just humoring me…
But still, we made a promise.
I would just have to trust that he would keep it. What else could I do?
I squeezed Isael’s finger tightly one more time before letting go.
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I tightened the straps of my bag and stood up.
Isael went over to where Felix had been sitting far off, shook his shoulder to wake him, and dragged him over.
That’s right. All this time, Felix had been sprawled out comfortably, just sleeping.
Anyway, we decided not to linger on the first island and to move straight on to the next one.
Judging from our previous experience, it seemed that if I opened the way together with Isael, we could reach the next island more quickly.
That was because I could handle resentful spirits.
Including the spirits, it was no exaggeration to say that I alone could do the work of two people.
On top of that, the resentful spirit was stronger than I expected.
The spirit tore demonic beasts apart with its bare hands.
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TL Note:
1. It was a number that seemed to perfectly sum up my current situation - In Korean, 18 (십팔) is commonly used as a euphemistic swear. It is a softened, indirect way of invoking a strong curse, often standing in for “씨발” (F*ck) or “좆같다” (This sucks / This is f*cking bullshit) in tone without saying it outright.
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