Chapter 6
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Until we go down to the fifth floor, how well will I be able to handle this ability?
I was more than a little worried, but what else can I do? I just have to try my best.
After trying this and that, by the time I felt like I was about to collapse from exhaustion, I sank down on the spot. Then Isael, who had been staring at the wall the whole time, suddenly snapped his head in my direction.
"...What?"
Why was he looking at me with such scary eyes again?
"No, it's nothing."
Saying that, Isael subtly shifted to the side.
Seriously.
I was dumbfounded, but decided to ignore him.
But... wasn't it getting a bit cold?
It wasn’t because Isael glared at me. It genuinely felt like the air had suddenly turned chilly.
As I rubbed my arms with my hands, Isael frowned sharply before speaking.
"I knew it from the moment you kept standing there doing pointless crap."
"What?"
"Your body's not even in good condition."
"…..."
Was he mocking me right now?
Or was he... worried?
I didn’t know, so I just stared at him silently.
"...?"
Isael took off his coat and threw it at me.
The fairly thick garment hit my head and slid down to the floor.
"Put it on."
"…..."
"If you start coughing and wheezing, it'll just get annoying."
His tone was quite curt, but he was still being considerate toward me. I decided not to refuse and quickly picked up the coat and put it on.
"Thanks."
"...Whatever."
After confirming that I had properly put on his coat, Isael returned to his original position.
Meaning, he went back to glaring at the innocent wall.
"Hey."
"What now?"
"Do you know how to use aura?"
Isael slowly turned to look at me. His eyes asked why I was suddenly bringing that up.
I glanced at the sword sheath hanging at his waist and continued.
"If you can use aura, even an old, worn-out sword can become a pretty threatening weapon."
"So you do know how to say something sensible."
"…When have I ever been not sensible?"
"It’s amazing how little self-awareness you have."
It’s certain.
He’s definitely been messing with me since earlier.
"...Anyway, do you know how to use aura or not?"
"I don’t. I’ve kept trying, though. Since I was five."
Huh?
Five years old?
That was an unexpected answer.
That means he was training even back when he was in the Empire.
What was I doing at that age again?
Thinking about it made me a bit solemn.
As expected, extras and main characters really are different. Our dear main character was training to use sword energy from a young age. How truly exceptional.
"Then practice here too. Starting from the fifth floor, we won’t have time to rest like this."
At my words, Isael gave me another suspicious look.
Then, after thinking about something on his own, he nodded obediently. After that, he glanced to the side again.
And resumed staring at the poor wall.
I was speechless.
"Hey."
"What?"
"Why aren’t you practicing?"
"…..."
"I meant start practicing now."
Isael turned to me with a look of utter bewilderment.
Seeing that expression made me even more baffled.
Seriously, where did he think we had the luxury of slacking off?
"Didn’t you see me training just now?"
We had to use every spare moment we got, doing the best we could with whatever abilities we had. That was the only way we’d get out of here alive or anything else.
"You train too. Hurry up."
At my words, Isael let out a small sigh and stood up.
He took quite some time stretching before finally drawing his sword from his waist.
Even to my inexperienced eyes, his stance looked impressive.
Oh, that’s cool.
As expected, the leading figure of this world really is different.
As I thought that and watched Isael train, I was just about to drift off to sleep when—
"...Nooo!"
From somewhere in the distance came heavy footsteps pounding wildly toward us, along with a scream sharp enough to tear my eardrums.
Isael immediately pointed his sword toward the direction of the sound.
My drowsiness vanished in an instant.
I reached into the bag I had been carrying so carefully and took out a dagger to use as a weapon.
"I didn’t do it, it wasn’t me!"
As the screaming man running toward us got close enough, I could finally make out his figure.
Was the groaning Isael heard earlier actually made by this guy?
So, Isael wasn’t hearing things?
...Ah, then I wasted the stimulant for nothing.
"Spare me! It wasn’t me! Spare me!"
Isael struck the man running at us squarely in the head.
With his fist.
The man who had been charging toward us was hit by Isael’s fist and collapsed on the spot.
"Uh…"
What did I just see?
I stared at Isael with my mouth hanging open.
Why the hell did he use his fist when he had a perfectly good sword…?
“He was rushing toward where you were. I reacted in a hurry.”
"…..."
"He isn’t dead. Just unconscious for a bit."
For some reason, Isael muttered this defensively, as if trying to explain himself.
I could tell he wasn’t dead just by looking…
I shook my head and examined the fallen man.
So Leonard’s group also hadn’t made it to the fifth floor yet.
This guy was one of Leonard’s companions.
Felix Buiheim.
The one who first suggested abandoning me.
What did he say again?
Something about not wasting supplies on treating my wounds, and that it would be better to leave me behind instead.
I think it was something along those lines.
Anyway, this guy now looked like he had fallen into hallucinations.
Was that why Leonard and the others abandoned him?
Or maybe they fell into hallucinations, and the whole group ended up scattered.
Well, that’s not the important part.
I turned to Isael.
For some reason, he was watching my reaction.
I wondered why, but only for a moment.
I made a suggestion to him.
"Let’s strip this guy’s clothes first."
You gave me your coat, so you must be cold. You should wear something warm too.
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Good items practically rolled into my hands on their own.
My bag grew even heavier.
A satisfied smile formed on my face.
I felt no guilt about taking the belongings of the unconscious Felix.
They were originally things I had helped the group get in the first place.
I was only taking back what was mine, so why should I feel guilty?
Isael, who had been staring at me as I quietly smiled, murmured in a low voice.
"So this guy is one of the ones who left you behind while you were unconscious?"
"Yeah."
I answered while rummaging through the pockets of the shirt I stripped from Felix.
"This wound was from me falling into a trap trying to get this stuff. But they coldly left me behind."
Sure enough, I found a small cloth pouch in the pocket.
Inside, there were tiny beans packed tight.
I got caught in a trap while trying to get these.
Arrows shot out from the wall and hit me.
Leaving my injured self behind, those bastards were busy marveling at the effects of the beans I had brought back.
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"It’s true. After eating this, my mana started recovering quickly."
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They counted the beans, put them all into a single cloth pouch, and gave them to Felix to hold.
They were worse than demons...
Even thinking about it again, it was nothing short of outrageous.
Well, whatever. It was all in the past. Thinking about it would only ruin my mood.
I checked how many beans were inside the pouch, then picked one up and popped it into my mouth.
The moment I did, Isael grabbed my wrist.
"You don’t even know what that is. Why would you just eat it!"
Didn’t he dislike being near me?
I looked at Isael with a puzzled expression.
"Ha… Seriously."
Isael spoke with a shudder of exasperation.
"You’re not a child. What’s with the habit of sticking random things into your mouth?"
Finally understanding what he was upset about, I snapped back in disbelief.
“This is good stuff. Do you think I just pick up and eat anything? No. I only pick up good things to eat, okay?"
“That is what you have to say… Ha. Forget it.”
He seemed to give up, since he couldn’t exactly force me to throw up what I already ate.
He looked at me like I was a kid who had eaten dirt.
I felt wronged.
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