Chapter 17
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Felix came to his senses only after quite a long time had passed.
“Mmm, is it morning…?”
As if there was such a thing as morning here.
I could not even tell when the sun set or when a day passed.
“Feeling better?”
Even so, he was someone who had collapsed after pushing himself hard while fighting demonic beasts.
I could not bring myself to scold him coldly like I usually did.
When Felix nodded, saying he was fine, I handed him a mushroom.
“You must be hungry. Eat.”
“Thanks. As expected of Rosette…”
Felix looked at me, visibly moved, but only for a moment before he quickly devoured the mushrooms.
Seeing how well he ate, his body really did seem to be recovering.
Once his stomach was full, he had the leisure to look around. Felix glanced about, then his eyes widened.
“What, they still haven’t reached the next island?”
“You didn’t sleep that long.”
“No, even so…”
He seemed surprised that Leonard and the others were still fighting in the river.
Felix had his mouth hanging open, unable to take his eyes off Leonard and his companions as they struggled desperately.
Did he still have a lingering attachment?
That thought crossed my mind briefly, but I simply stood up without a word.
I intended to let Isael know that Felix had woken up safely.
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This island had terrain much like a desert.
Because of that, even from quite a distance away, I could see Isael swinging his sword far off in the distance.
I headed toward him, stepping across the dry, crumbly sand.
With every step, my feet sank deeply, making it far from easy to move.
“Isael, were you training hard?”
“Ah.”
Isael flinched when he saw me, then threw his sword down onto the ground.
Then he picked up the shirt that had been casually tossed near his feet and put it on.
“Why are you here?”
“…You make it sound like I came somewhere I shouldn’t?”
“That’s not it. No, it’s nothing.”
Isael ran a hand roughly through his hair, then suddenly cast his gaze far away, like someone staring at distant mountains.
Almost as if he were avoiding my eyes…
As I quietly watched his profile, a thought suddenly popped into my head.
Does he think I’m some kind of pervert?
To be fair, it was good eye candy.
While waiting for Felix to wake up, I had watched Isael from afar and nodded to myself in satisfaction more than once.
But I’m not a pervert.
I was just watching because I found his dedication to training admirable.
“Ahem. Aren’t you hot?”
I asked as I handed Isael a leather pouch filled with water.
It was water I had drawn from the lake on the previous island.
Isael accepted the pouch readily, took only a tiny sip to wet his mouth, then handed it back to me.
“Why? Drink more.”
“No. I’m fine.”
He spoke nonchalantly and began stretching.
Isael’s effort to conserve our limited resources as much as possible was quite admirable.
I bent down to pick up Isael’s sword, which was still lying discarded on the ground.
Then I realized one thing I had completely failed to notice until now.
“The sword… It’s changed?”
The appearance of the Holy Sword had changed so drastically that anyone could tell at a glance.
When had its exterior transformed?
At the very least, on the previous island, it still looked like the old, worn-out sword I knew.
After examining it closely, I handed the sword to Isael.
“It changed while we were on the way to this island.”
“Really? It just changed on its own?”
“…I think I heard some kind of voice, too.”
Isael said after thinking intently.
“I heard it while fighting demonic beasts, so maybe I just misheard something. I don’t know.”
“…Hmm. Is that so?”
Perhaps Isael, like me, was gradually becoming accustomed to handling the power of the Holy Sword.
At this rate, he might truly become the sword’s rightful owner.
Thinking that made me feel refreshed.
If the Holy Sword could be fully awakened, Exolid would unquestionably belong to Isael.
Then Leonard would have no chance to snatch it away later.
An item that was originally destined to fall into Leonard’s hands becoming Isael’s instead.
Just thinking about it was exhilarating.
“Anyway, stop training now and let's go. Felix woke up too.”
“Alright.”
I led Isael away from the sandy shore.
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* * *
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When we returned, Felix looked exactly the same as before.
That is to say, he was still sitting there blankly, staring outside the island.
“Are you still watching to see what those guys are doing?”
“…Leonard safely arrived at the second island a little while ago.”
“Took longer than I expected.”
Since Leonard was the protagonist, I had assumed they would reach the island without much trouble.
But they only managed to cross over after fighting demonic beasts for far longer than I had anticipated.
“No one died. It looks like someone was seriously injured, though…”
Felix, now that I look at you, you’re strangely good at live commentary. Uselessly so.
It seemed he still could not completely let go of his lingering attachment to the other side.
Leaving the foolishly sentimental Felix alone, I took out a mushroom and handed it to Isael.
After making sure Isael was chewing the mushroom thoroughly, I summoned the spirit.
“Could you look around and see if there’s anything special here or something useful?”
The spirit slowly nodded, then immediately turned around and walked off to carry out my command.
I watched its retreating figure, then closed my eyes.
I should rest a bit now.
It is a bit hot, though…
Still, it was not unbearable.
Thinking that being hot was better than being cold, I drifted into a light sleep.
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* * *
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“Rosette.”
Someone was calling my name.
But I could not see anything.
I was certain my eyes were open, yet for some reason, my vision was pitch-black.
“Rosette, can you hear my voice?”
I felt that the voice was very familiar.
Who is it?
I was sure I had heard it before…
As I thought carefully, I soon realized it.
“Louis?”
Yes, Louis.
It was his voice.
The mage bastard who had been close with Leonard since childhood, the one who swore he would definitely take Leonard out of this tower with him.
“Yes. It’s me, Louis.”
Hearing him admit it straightforwardly left me stunned.
“…What kind of shitty dream is this?”
I muttered without realizing it, and Louis immediately refuted my words.
“It’s not a dream. It’s magic.”
“……”
“Even if I cannot go meet you physically, this seems to work. I tried it just in case.”
“What the hell…”
“There was something I wanted to propose to you in person, but the magic that exists between the islands interfered.”
…So you came into my dream instead?
I was so dumbfounded that I simply shut my mouth.
I did not even want to talk to him.
Whether he sensed my feelings or not, Louis calmly stated the purpose of his visit.
“I have a proposal.”
His attitude was exceedingly confident.
“We will compensate you for Leonard’s past mistake in the form you desire, so how about joining us again?”
Bullshit…
I snorted.
Does he really have no idea what I would say to make an offer like this?
Then he’s truly an idiot.
Ah, how do I wake up from this? How am I supposed to kick myself out of this dream?
“I’ll give you some time, so think it over. I’ll come back.”
“Ah, no!”
At the words that he would return, I could no longer keep silent.
Gnashing my teeth, I snapped at him.
“I said no, so just get lost.”
“…What?”
“Didn’t you hear me? I said ‘Get lost’.”
“Huh…?”
“You don’t need to give me time.”
I continued quickly.
“Don’t ever think about talking to me again. And don’t come looking for me like this.”
“…Rosette. It’s not a bad offer for you either. At least think it over before deciding. I’m a capable mage, and Leonard too―”
“Ah, enough. I said no. Just get lost already?”
At that moment, I woke up from the dream.
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“…What was that?”
Was that some kind of shitty dream?
Or did Louis really come to see me through a dream?
I couldn’t figure it out at all. I was just completely bewildered.
Forcing my sleepy eyes open, I looked toward the island across from us.
Just then, I saw a man looking this way.
Short silver hair cut sharply along his jawline, and a face so pale it almost looked bloodless.
It was Louis.
I could not see his expression clearly, but I could tell he was not wearing a pleasant one.
Looks like that earlier thing wasn’t just a shitty dream after all.
Was he really planning to come again?
Maybe I should have refused more clearly, spelling out exactly why I hated it.
…No, forget it. Whatever. They cannot even come here anyway.
They cannot even get off that island right now, and given the circumstances, there is no way he can come over personally to bother me.
I should just ignore it.
Just pretend I heard some nonsense and move on.
“…Huh?”
No, wait a second.
Could I also send just the resentful spirit to another island?
It would definitely consume a lot of mana, but maybe it is possible, at least?
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