Chapter 8
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Ha, I’m really glad it wasn’t Felix who caught me.
Becoming someone Felix could rely on was something I hated more than death.
But for Isael to grab me first was unexpected.
Until now, I was always the one who reached out first, as if to confirm the other’s presence in the darkness.
"…Looks like even your clairvoyance is useless in this darkness."
"Ah, yeah. I think it doesn’t work because this place is created with magic."
Whew. Good thing I already had an excuse prepared, otherwise I might have panicked.
If only I could quickly get better at handling this ability, clairvoyance won’t feel enviable anymore.
Tsk.
Clicking my tongue, I tightened my grip on Isael’s hand.
He flinched for a moment, but that was all. He no longer tried to sit as far away from me as possible like before.
Meanwhile, Felix kept talking without reading the room.
"Rosette, you’re next to me, right? I’m not sitting here alone, right?"
His voice trembled with anxiety as he called out again and again, but both Isael and I ignored him completely.
We stayed that way until the long darkness finally receded.
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The flower was slowly starting to wilt.
It was still holding on for now, thankfully, but I couldn’t relax.
There was no telling when it would wither completely and lose all effect.
To keep this flower alive, I needed blood.
And maybe because I had eaten two beans earlier, the wound in my abdomen had healed cleanly.
Not even a scar remained.
Which meant I had to draw blood artificially…
I hate pain.
Naturally, my gaze drifted toward Felix.
Wearing a short-sleeved shirt and shorts, he was curled up and shivering, hugging himself tightly.
I quietly moved on my knees toward Isael.
Just a moment ago, Isael had been swinging his sword around, training on his own.
Now he was glaring at the empty air, displeased that his training wasn’t going the way he wanted.
"Hey, so—"
The moment I leaned close to him and whispered into his ear, he covered one ear with his hand and shuddered as he glared at me.
"What now, all of a sudden?"
“……”
Is it really something to hate that much?
Isael. I am a little hurt, you know…
After all I’ve done to raise you.
With a cold stare, I gestured to Isael.
Come closer.
He looked reluctant, but he nonetheless obediently offered me his ear.
Even in the dim light, I could see that it had turned slightly red.
I whispered quietly.
"I think the flower needs some nutrients. It needs human blood."
"Ah."
Understanding immediately, Isael drew his sword again.
"A finger should be enough, right?"
And without hesitation, he tried to slash his own hand.
I grabbed his arm, horrified.
"What do you think you’re doing with that chipped, dull sword? Do you have a death wish?"
You might not know, but in this world, there’s such a thing called tetanus.
Hurriedly stopping Isael, I gestured toward where Felix was sitting.
"Since he’s here, you don’t have to be the one bleeding, right? We should at least make use of him in situations like this."
Thankfully, Isael immediately understood what I meant.
After calmly sheathing his sword again, Isael asked me, "A few drops are enough?"
"Yeah."
I nodded, and Isael went straight to Felix.
Then in an instant, he pounced on Felix from behind.
“What the—!”
Felix screamed.
As soon as I confirmed Isael had grabbed both of Felix’s arms and subdued him, I rushed at Felix with a dagger in hand.
"Ro-Rosette. Rosette! Why do you have that look in your eyes? What are you going to do to me?!"
“Stay still if you don’t want to get hurt any more than this.”
"Rosette!"
I lightly cut the little finger of the struggling Felix and stepped back.
Only then did Felix realize all I had done was make a tiny cut and draw a little blood, and he looked embarrassed for screaming.
“A-ahem.”
Isael pulled Felix’s hand over the flower and squeezed out a few drops of blood.
Then, as if he had no more business with him, he shoved Felix aside without care.
“…Ahem, if you needed a bit of blood, you could have just told me.”
Yeah, right. As if you’d have just given it.
I took out the handkerchief I’d taken from Felix and wiped his filthy blood off my precious dagger.
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“Grrrhhh…”
“……”
“Hrrrk!”
While Felix slept, snoring like a beast, I practiced handling my ability.
When Isael first saw the scene, he looked at me with a strange expression, as if he couldn’t begin to understand what I was doing.
But now, maybe because he had formed his own guesses, he didn’t say anything.
He simply watched me quietly.
That look doesn’t mean he’s suspicious of me, right?
He’s just silently cheering me on, right?
I really want to believe that.
I focused intently on channeling my mana.
And maybe all my practice hadn’t been useless after all, because—
“I… I did it!”
At last, I managed to form a complete human-shaped figure.
“I did it!”
I sprang to my feet and turned toward Isael.
Isael was staring at me with wide, surprised eyes.
“What is that? A summoned creature?”
“Uh, something like that. Anyway, isn’t it amazing!”
“…Amazing? No, before that. That thing looks way too gloomy to be called a summoned creature.”
I let his muttering slide out the other ear.
I had done it.
I could finally use the power of the fruit!
Overflowing with joy, I stared at the human-shaped black smoke that had appeared… then my legs suddenly gave out, and I sat down.
It seemed that for now, being able to create just one was my limit.
“Haa, ha…”
Maybe it was from wringing out every last drop of mana, but I could feel my stamina plummeting.
I hurriedly took a bean from my pouch and ate it.
Even as I did, the resentful spirit I had created did not disperse and remained in place.
I couldn’t hide the smile that kept slipping out.
Even one was enough for now.
Anyway, I could finally use this ability.
“Could you go check where the door is?”
At my question, the spirit slowly nodded.
Then, without hesitation, it parted the pitch-black smoke and walked into the darkness.
I watched its retreating figure with deep satisfaction.
When it finally disappeared from sight, I took out another bean and ate it.
I have to maintain the ability until the spirit returns.
I needed the beans to keep drawing out mana.
Without them, scouting with the resentful spirit would have been impossible.
Since I was born with little mana.
Thinking that, maybe running into Felix here really had been lucky…
After all, he had the pouch full of these beans.
Felix himself was useless, but the items I reclaimed from him were very useful.
Thinking that, I glanced toward where Felix was lying.
“Grrkkk! Hrrrmm…”
This noise is killing me.
Should I kill him or let him live?
While I was debating, Isael approached.
“So what exactly is that ability?”
“Hm?”
“You have another ability besides clairvoyance?”
His gaze was deeply suspicious.
After thinking for a moment, I decided to just tell the truth.
“I ate a fruit I found in the tower. This ability came from that.”
“Why would you eat something you just picked up?”
“It was about this big. After I ate it, I was able to summon spirits made of smoke like that.”
“……”
“It seems I still need a bit more practice to handle this ability skillfully.”
I gestured with my hands to show the fruit’s size.
Isael closed his mouth with a look like he was at a loss for words.
“What? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“…No. Never mind.”
“What? What is it? Say it.”
When I kept pressing, Isael let out a deep sigh as if making sure I heard him and said, “Even if I tell you, it’s not like you’ll fix your habit of eating random things you find.”
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