Chapter 14
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Because of the distance, I could not clearly see their expressions.
Still, I could roughly tell what they were doing.
Ariana seemed unable to believe that I was alive, covering her mouth with both hands.
The ones surrounding her, as if protecting her, were gesturing in this direction while talking among themselves.
Then Leonard suddenly cupped his hands around his mouth. He looked like he was shouting something toward us.
I have no idea what he’s saying.
One thing was clear, though. They seemed to have something they wanted to say to me.
But I could not hear it.
Every island on this floor had measures in place to block sound between the interior and exterior.
Because of that, sounds from over there could not be heard here, and no matter how loud it got on this side, it would not carry over there.
People on different islands could not communicate with each other.
Maybe it’s better that I can’t hear anything.
Whatever it was they still wanted to say to me, I had no desire to hear it.
I was not curious either.
“Wh-what is he saying?”
On the other hand, Felix looked genuinely curious about what Leonard was trying to say.
“He’s probably just shocked that I’m alive.”
“…Huh?”
“Isn’t he wondering how I managed to survive and make it all the way down here?”
Or maybe he was wondering why Felix was with me.
Either way, they probably never even imagined that they would see me again.
They probably could not see my expression clearly, but I deliberately twisted my face into a blatant sneer in their direction.
No matter how lucky Leonard was, there was no way he could have obtained items as easily as he did when I was part of his group.
You could tell just by looking at how Felix had fallen into hallucinations on the fourth floor and ended up separated from them.
They were all starving and utterly exhausted by now.
And yet, they still had not realized how valuable the thing they abandoned really was.
Leaving them behind, I turned my body away.
My steps as I headed back toward the lakeside felt inexplicably light.
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* * *
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While I was busy picking mushrooms, I ran into Isael, who had just come up from the lake.
“What are you doing there?”
Isael walked closer, tilting his head slightly as he looked down at me.
I stayed crouched and only lifted my head to look up at him.
“Oh, you’re back?”
At that moment, a droplet clinging to Isael’s pitch-black hair fell with a plop.
I casually wiped the water that landed near my eye with the back of my hand.
“You’re already done washing?”
“Yeah.”
After nodding, Isael crouched down beside me.
I forgot all about gathering mushrooms and quietly stared at his profile.
Maybe because his hair and face were still damp with water, Isael looked far more melancholy than usual.
He’s really handsome.
The fact that he had an undeniably handsome face had not changed, but somehow, there was a different kind of charm about him compared to usual.
As expected, the appearance of a main character is anything but ordinary.
“Were you picking these mushrooms?”
“Ah, yeah. I heard they’re edible.”
When I showed him the mushrooms I had just picked, Isael said, “I see.”
Looking closely, today he seemed unusually… gentle?
Come to think of it, it wasn’t just today. Lately, there had been no sign at all in Isael’s attitude that he was doubting me.
Since when did that start…?
I could not pinpoint an exact moment.
It was probably because I had been far too preoccupied with fighting to survive.
I did not know the reason, but if Isael was no longer wary of me, then that was a good thing regardless.
“Are you planning to take all of them?”
“Yeah.”
Of course, I was taking everything. Who was I supposed to leave them for?
“I’m taking them all.”
I said that while looking down at the cluster of mushrooms gathered around the base of the tree.
“It would be better if we could cook them, but given the situation, we’ll have to eat them raw… Still, they look edible enough.”
Isael glanced at me, then quickly started harvesting the mushrooms.
“Uh, you don’t have to help.”
“It’s fine. Hand me the bag.”
Before I knew it, he had picked all the mushrooms nearby and stuffed them into my bag.
“I don’t know whether I should be relieved that at least you know the difference between what’s edible and what’s not…”
“Excuse me. I can hear everything, you know?”
Who mutters to themselves that loudly?
I let out a hollow laugh at the absurdity, and Isael immediately shot back.
“I meant for you to hear it.”
“……”
At a loss for words, I watched as Isael held out the bag.
I snatched it back and slung it over my shoulder, then glared at him.
“I’m not eating things that aren’t edible. I’m eating them because they’re all necessary.”
“Yeah, sure.”
Isael nodded vaguely, clearly letting my words go in one ear and out the other.
It felt terribly unfair, but I kept my mouth shut.
Sigh, what’s the point of saying anything…
I staggered to my feet.
Because I had been crouched for quite a while, I thumped my aching lower back a couple of times and did a light stretch.
Isael, who stood up after me, spoke, “It’s not that I don’t trust your judgment.”
…Huh?
“I do trust you. Your instructions so far have been reasonable, and they probably will be going forward, too. I trust you.”
Why was he suddenly saying something this embarrassing?
When I looked at Isael in surprise, he continued speaking while keeping his gaze fixed on my bag.
“I’m just worried that you might accidentally eat something wrong and get sick.”
“Oh… I see.”
This guy was worried about me.
Watching Isael speak without even being able to look me straight in the eye, I felt my own face grow a little warm.
“This place is far more dangerous than the outside world.”
“…Mm. That’s true.”
Well, it was not unreasonable for Isael to worry like that.
If our positions were reversed and someone kept picking up and eating strange things right in front of me, I’d probably wonder why they were doing that so fearlessly, too.
I awkwardly tugged the corners of my mouth up into a smile.
“Th-thanks for worrying about me…?”
Only then did Isael lift his head slightly, meet my gaze, and give a small, awkward cough.
“It’s not something to thank me for… It’s only natural.”
“Hey, still, gratitude is gratitude.”
I lightly jabbed Isael in the side with my elbow.
In response, Isael cleared his throat again and turned his head away.
So shy.
Looking at him like this, he really did seem to have a somewhat cute side.
“By the way, are you really okay?”
It had only been a few hours since Isael had been poisoned and regained consciousness.
I could not help but worry that there might be some lingering aftereffects.
“I’m fine. Really.”
Isael answered while looking straight into my eyes.
“It’s thanks to you. If it weren’t for you, I might have died. No, I would have died.”
“……”
In an instant, the atmosphere grew a bit heavy.
Isael truly seemed to believe that without me, he would have died.
It was natural for him to think that way, but I knew that belief was wrong.
You’re an incredible person who succeeds in leaving this tower on your own.
No matter what kind of adversity struck inside this place, Isael overcame it all by himself. Or rather, he was going to.
Knowing that, seeing Isael look somewhat dispirited made my chest ache.
I deliberately fixed a firm look in my eyes and looked up at Isael.
“Who said anything about dying?”
“……”
“Don’t say things like dying, not even as a joke. Words have power.”
“…Got it.”
Isael nodded obediently.
“Anyway, I didn’t expect there to be a beast with poison. There might be others with special abilities besides poison, so we need to be careful.”
From now on, we would have to be more cautious when dealing with the demonic beasts.
As I resolved that and took a step forward, thinking it was about time to head back, Isael grabbed me.
“Since it’s just the two of us, there’s something I want to ask.”
“Huh? What is it?”
“You handle the dagger pretty well. Did you learn swordsmanship?”
“Ah… Yeah. I did.”
There was someone who had taught me swordsmanship, since I had no talent for magic.
“Well, I guess it’d be more accurate to say I learned self-defense rather than swordsmanship?”
The person who said that a long sword disperses power, making a dagger more advantageous and convenient in many ways, placed a dagger in my young hands.
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“When this older brother isn’t around, shouldn’t you at least learn one way to protect yourself?”
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I should have realized something was off back then.
Giving a weapon to a child, especially a noble young lady, was not a normal situation.
But at the time, I was young and naive, and I loved my family far too much to judge it properly.
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