CH 127

Chapter 24. Reward vacation

“Your Eminence! Are you awake?!”

“Ellet, can you see me?”

The voices of Captain Rex and Cardinal Cattleya buzzed in my head.

The sound was distant as if both ears were submerged in a viscous fluid. My vision was opaque as if someone had put frosted glass in front of me.

I always woke up refreshed and full of energy after suffering from the fever penalty, but this time it was different.

[‘The World-building God’ mutters in a melancholic voice that you can be relieved because you will be fine soon.]

[‘The Scales that Judges the Soul’ pats ‘The World-building God’ on the shoulder.]

It was just as World God said.

I could feel my vision slowly returning to focus and static noise dissipating.

I checked the location first. It was the dwelling of the Holy One provided by The Vatican.

People from the church surrounded almost the whole bed I was lying on.

Could it be that the weakness of getting a fever for two days when I use Descent was revealed?

When I was holding my breath, Clovis said something strange.

“I was worried because you didn’t open your eyes for half a day.”

“……Half a day?”

“Yes. That’s how long it’s been since the battle at the border. It’s night now. It was frustrating because every doctor and priest who visited could only tell us that there was nothing wrong with your body, but I am glad that you opened your eyes like this. Perhaps it was due to battle fatigue.”

Do you mean it’s only been 6 hours?

Besides, they diagnosed that there was nothing wrong with my body?

If you’ve seen symptoms of high fever, there is no way you could say that.

While questioning inside without making an expression, Rex opened his mouth as if he had been waiting. It was a somewhat disgruntled tone.

“I looked for Your Eminence for a long time on the battlefield. Do you know how worried I was because you were nowhere to be seen and the gate was gone? I thought you had been tied up with that suspicious demon at the garbage dump in the Demon World.”

“……”

“It wasn’t until three hours later that I heard the news that Sir Thesilid had returned to The Vatican with Your Eminence. Back then, I really…… I felt the strength in my legs loosen up.”

Thesilid brought me here directly.

Only then did the situation become clear.

He must have done something during that three-hour gap that he disappeared with me.

Maybe……

<Thesilid took you into some strange dungeon. He spent two days there, but in reality, three hours had passed.>

……Ah.

The partial explanations finally made sense and I raised my upper body as if bouncing.

Still half-conscious, I hurriedly pulled back the blanket and looked down at my chest.

A pure gold cross studded with amethysts was in its original place. The pendant I had thrown away, was threaded back into a chain and hung around my neck.

“Your Eminence?”

“Are you having any difficulties?”

“……Excuse me, can everyone please leave for a moment?”

When everyone hesitated at my request, a low-pitched voice encouraged them instead of me.

“I will keep guard.”

Only then did people move into the parlor.

After the door was closed, the bedroom was filled with a quiet air.

A halo of light shone in front of my eyes and before I knew it, Agnes was embodied, sat down on the bedside, and looked at me.

<You.>

It was the first gaze I had ever seen her make. It was resentment disguised as anger.

<How……can you throw me away?>

“……”

<How much do I… … .>

“……”

<Bye? What the hell do you mean by BYE…!>

I caught my breath and the hand holding the blanket was strong.

“I’m sorry, Agnes.”

<……>

“Really……sorry.”

<……>

“Sorry.”

<……Promise me you won’t do that again.>

“Sorry.”

I said with an embarrassed smile.

“I can’t promise.”

Agnes’ expression, which seemed to have loosened up a little, hardened again. She spoke in a voice that suppressed her emotions as if conversation further was difficult.

<Call me if you change your mind.>

“……”

The image of Agnes was scattered.

It must mean that she wanted to be alone, so don’t call me for a while.

[‘The Critic who adjusts the balance’ sighs, saying that you should have talked better.]

[‘The Eyes that watch over the chaos of all things’ rub his eyes, wondering if he heard something wrong.]

I was left alone with Thesilid in the bedroom.

Sitting on a stool by the bed, he was as motionless as a plaster statue. Silent, with an expressionless face. However, the gaze, which must have been reaching me for a long time, was so intense that it seemed to pierce my heart.

I stared carefully at his face, which seemed to have forgotten to even blink.

“Pendant, did you find it for me?”

“Yes.”

“It must have been hard to find, but thank you.”

“Yes.”

“Uh, um, Agnes says I passed the time in the dungeon for two days because of the fever……”

“Yes.”

“Thank you. It was a witty decision.”

“Yes.”

“……”

No matter what I said, only one answer came back. There seems to be no will to talk.

But it didn’t seem to be a protest in anger against me as Agnes did. It was as if his mind was half blown away.

I lowered my gaze slightly and looked at the area around his chest, in the place where he was pierced by Reed’s three Aura Blades.

As long as he’s sitting on a stool chair without a backrest, he’s probably fine. I couldn’t take off his clothes to check, so I could only guess.

Then Thesilid slowly opened his mouth.

“I thought the same thing as Sir Rex.”

“……”

“I thought you were leaving with that guy.”

His voice trembled as he said ‘that guy’.

Reed, the Last Boss endowed with overwhelming power.

Did Thesilid recognize that he was the person who tried to kill him in the ‘Sculptor’s Atelier’ dungeon?

I felt his trauma in the trembling that seemed to come from his lost composure. I felt like I had to calm him down first.

“It was like that at first.”

“……”

After uttering just one word, Thesilid stopped breathing. His shallow blue eyes were like glass on the verge of breaking.

I hastily added.

“Listen to the end. I quickly changed my mind.”

“You changed it?”

“Because when I started thinking, I thought that I needed to heal you. You were seriously injured then. So in the end, I shook off that guy’s hand with all my might. You know, I became a healer to heal you.”

“……”

I thought that this would make him feel better, but it seems to be a mistake.

Thesilid’s expression collapsed silently in front of his nose as if he had been subjected to severe torture.

Soon, he dropped his head. Through his spilled silver hair, the image of his right-hand covering and pressing down on his eyelids was reflected.

“Yes, to heal……”

“……”

“In a state where God’s fever was rampant……why, why go so far… … .”

“……”

Ah.

At that time, you were conscious.

I thought he had lost his mind because his chest had been completely pierced.

How did my figure as I approached him, resisting God’s fever, reflect in his eyes?

Why on earth is he suffering so much?

Before I knew it, he lowered his hand from covering his face and grabbed his left arm as if tearing it apart.

“Sorry.”

“Calm down. Don’t beat yourself up.”

I grabbed his right wrist and pulled it off.

“I’m just healing, because I’m a healer. It’s not your fault that you got hurt.”

“No, it’s my fault.”

For chasing me and Reed where we’re fighting one-on-one and getting injured?

It was definitely an act that hadn’t been properly looked at. However, considering the results, it was not without help.

Thanks to him holding Reed’s attention for a moment, I was able to push Reed through the gate faster with the bondage skill.

In other words, I got a favorable result in exchange for his serious injury, which I neither intended nor wanted.

Then he spoke as if pouring out.

“Because I am weak, because this is the 17th episode, because I have sinned……so it’s my fault, all my fault……”

“Terry, calm down.”

“……ah.”

The focus returned to his empty eyes.

Every time I see his unstable mental state, which is revealed from time to time, a corner of my heart is chilled.

“There is nothing to blame you for. As a result, everything worked out well, and you and I both survived.”

“……”

“He was an abnormal being to the extent of twisting the laws of the world. Just by going against a guy like that, you’ve done a good job.”

“……”

Fortunately, the gentle persuasion seemed to work. Thesilid gradually showed a stable appearance.

So I laughed and added words from a more positive point of view.

“Coming to think of it, I guess I was lucky. The dungeon closing sped up at the end. Thanks to that, I was able to get rid of him much easier.”

“Yes, lucky……”

Thesilid lowered his gaze and replied.

His tone was a little rusky, perhaps because he said a word that had a great sense of distance from his life.

‘Come to think of it, I really don’t know what kind of phenomenon that was.’

Acceleration of a dungeon’s closing. There was nothing like this in RUWS.

Is it because the difficulty level going up to the SS level made bugs rampant? In that case…

‘I acknowledge this nice bug.’

Still, I reported the bug like a model transmigrator.

[‘The Spoiler Inspector’ wounders.]

[‘The Spoiler Inspector’ asks the ‘The World-building God’ to talk separately for a while.]

[‘The World-building God’ is watching you with gloomy eyes and unwillingly ignores you.]

Well, they’ll take care of the rest and I also hope they will take care of the bug report reward later.

Around that time, Thesilid’s voice evoked my mind.

“I think I am too weak.”

He’s still depressed, but there was no sign of mental instability like before.

So I answered with ease.

“Ah, I thought that too.”

“……”

His eyes darkened as if he had been hurt. I hurriedly corrected the misunderstanding.

“No, no! I am weak, not you. I think I need to get stronger, but I’m at a loss what to do.”

I sighed and let my shoulders down.

[‘The World-building God’ is distressed to see your drooping figure.]

[‘The World-building God’ goes to work listlessly.]

[‘The Spoiler Inspector’ snatches the back of the ‘The World-building God’ and drags him into the conference room.]