Two days had passed since Krumo’s shadow attacked the village.
I still hadn’t gotten out of bed, and in front of me was Da-eun, beaming with a spoon in hand.
“Kana, aaang~”
“…”
“My arm’s gonna fall off! Hurry, aaah~”
“I can eat, you know.”
“The patient… is talking back…?!”
“…Sigh.”
“Oh no, I’m going to spill! If you don’t eat it quickly, you’ll spill the bright red stew on the white blanket, and the poor person who washes it will have a horrible time, so you wouldn’t just ignore that, right? Oh, that can’t be! Kana is so sweet—”
“Aah—”
… At this rate, I’m going to bleed from my ears.
Finally, I opened my mouth, and only then did Da-eun close hers.
She hummed a tune, clearly pleased that her objective was achieved.
I chewed the stew filled with chopped meat and swallowed before speaking.
“I think Da-eun would be better as a bard than a warrior.”
“Eh? Really? Well, I do have a way with words. I also think my singing skills aren’t too shabby…”
“Hmm…”
That’s not what I meant, but if she’s satisfied, I suppose that’s good enough.
‘…How did things end up like this?’
Here I was, being fed like a baby bird.
As I reluctantly accepted the stew offered by Da-eun, I sighed internally.
Yeah. Honestly, my condition still wasn’t great.
I had improved since two days ago, but the occasional dull pain still made me frown.
Still, I didn’t think I was in the condition to be pampered, yet my companions looked at me as if I were a fallen bird with broken wings.
Just yesterday, I thought about going for a short walk, and when I stepped out the door…
“Wait! Kana, where are you going?”
“I’m feeling stifled. I’m going to get some fresh air.”
“You can barely walk, and you want fresh air? I’ll open the window, so deal with it, okay?”
“I don’t want to.”
“…Well, I have no choice. Selin, please.”
“Leave it to me.”
“?!”
…They went so far as to use fortress magic to stop me.
I felt like I could push through if I really wanted to, but the absurdity of it all made me retreat quietly into my room.
That wasn’t what fortress magic was meant for.
And that wasn’t the only thing tormenting me.
“Hmmm… Hoh… I see…”
‘…Could you please keep your mumblings to yourself?’
“I don’t want to.”
“You woke me up from a nice sleep. Telling me to leave as soon as you’re done? That’s just too much.”
I had a pestering lizard who starts prying as soon as I began to heal.
This was another reason I didn’t want to activate the blessing.
A dragon should be at least somewhat serious, right?
The dragon I know doesn’t act like that.
‘-That’s prejudice.’
“Yeah, seeing you like this, I’m convinced.”
‘-That’s also prejudice. Do you think I show this side to just anyone? I’m being kind because I like your soul.’
‘…Ugh.’
…That’s disturbing.
Does it think I’d go “Oh, how flattering!” and be happy about it?
It was a massive miscalculation to think I’d be thrilled that a lizard was showing me kindness.
Well… that’s how it was; I was being tormented both inside and out.
If I said I was thirsty, water would be brought to me, and if I said I was hungry, I’d get not a feast but still delicious food.
Most of all, I appreciated that there weren’t any green sprouts around.
“Indeed, cutting it up so it’s out of sight is the best for picky eaters.”
“Eh?”
“…I didn’t say anything!”
Anyway, if you asked whether I was uncomfortable or comfortable, I was indeed comfortable…
It’s hard to be uncomfortable when everything was brought to me with no effort.
But the distinction between convenience and constraint was another story.
“Phew…”
Lying quietly must have been somewhat effective, as my recovery was quicker than expected.
So just one more day.
I can hold out for another two days at most.
Determined, I quietly accepted the food Da-eun offered.
*
Da-eun looked nervously at Selin.
“…How is it?”
“It’s delicious.”
“Hehe, right?”
Only when the word delicious came from Selin’s mouth did Da-eun let out a triumphant smile.
For the past few days, Da-eun had taken charge of preparing meals for the party.
Since the ingredients and food had mana infused by the demon race, it was only natural.
‘-Well, that’s just an excuse.’
It wasn’t only the demon race that could cook, and Selin was right there beside Da-eun.
Selin could certainly manage simple dishes.
Knowing that, the reason Da-eun took on the troublesome task was.
‘So cute…!’
It was because she wanted to see Kana munching on the food she made.
Every time Kana chewed, those chubby cheeks moved in the cutest way.
Despite her grumpy expression, just watching her eat made all of Da-eun’s fatigue dissolve away.
As she reminisced, Da-eun’s expression suddenly grew gloomy.
“But that’s ending today…”
Of course, it was great that Kana was regaining her health.
Da-eun, who knew better than anyone how painful it was to be sick, earnestly hoped that Kana would recover quickly and get out of bed.
Still, the thought of not being able to feed her herself was a bit disappointing.
Wouldn’t it have been nice if she could do that every day?
‘While Kana may not look it, she’s actually very shy, you know…’
If she were to pull off something like “aaang~”, it would definitely end in an “ack!”
In reality, it was a miracle that Kana had put up with Da-eun’s insistence this long.
‘That must be it.’
The day they dealt with Krumo’s shadow and cleared out the mob of monsters drawn by the dragon’s mana.
Da-eun and Kana got to talk about what hadn’t been said.
Da-eun apologized for forcing her way and making things awkward.
Kana also apologized for abandoning Da-eun and putting her in danger, explaining that she misunderstood the situation.
Even if asked what the misunderstanding was, Kana would simply keep quiet, leaving no hint.
Watching how Da-eun had indulged her stubbornness over the past few days, it seemed to weigh on her mind.
“What kind of misunderstanding could it be?”
Da-eun was curious but didn’t ask Kana about it.
It hadn’t been long since she’d apologized for making things awkward. She couldn’t make the same mistake again.
So she quietly suppressed her small question.
“Tomorrow is finally the day.”
Selin remarked as she helped Da-eun prepare the dishes.
“Yeah? …Oh, are you talking about going to Raxia?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Ah, right…
I had completely forgotten about Raxia. I remembered Kana talking with Atysha about the boat and their schedule.
And that they were set to leave tomorrow.
“Are you still really nervous?”
“No, not at all.”
Da-eun shook her head.
When she first heard they were going to the notoriously dangerous Mad Continent, Raxia, she felt nervous.
However, after spending a few days among the demon’s village, known as the “garbage dump,” she realized that the common image of demons was completely different from reality.
Demons weren’t nasty beasts that controlled ferocious monsters and ate humans alive.
They were just ordinary people with horns and different skin colors.
In fact, she thought that in some ways, they seemed more innocent.
Not everything heard is the full truth.
Da-eun felt the lesson that to truly understand something, one must see it for themselves, thus she no longer feared Raxia.
“Raxia is just a place where people live, after all.”
Da-eun gazed happily at a flower placed in one corner of the kitchen.
Though the flower wilted from the mana, it had once radiated a stunning beauty.
Recalling the face of the child who cheerfully smiled while offering her the flower, Da-eun’s mood naturally lightened.
“But can I endure it?”
Nevertheless, her anxiety remained.
After the recent attack, Da-eun couldn’t easily shake off that feeling.
Even though countless demons praised her…
“Don’t worry. I’m sure everything will be fine.”
“Ugh, um…”
In any case, Da-eun had no choice.
Having come this far, there was no option but to follow.
Moreover—
‘I promised I wouldn’t leave. I can’t run away just because I’m scared after confidently making that promise.’
With the magical tools and Selin, they should be able to manage somehow.
With somewhat optimistic thoughts, Da-eun ladled stew into a bowl.
Heading to Raxia was a given, but she had to eat well, too.
Da-eun skillfully prepared a stew filled with finely chopped vegetables and headed to Kana’s room.
‘Oh, speaking of which…’
If we were leaving tomorrow, I’d have to return to my main job.
It was almost time for Da-eun to resume her streaming, which she had abandoned while taking care of Kana.
‘…Maybe I should rest a bit longer?’
Knowing how the fans would react when she switched the stream back on after abruptly stopping and not streaming for days, Da-eun hesitated.
They must be in an uproar.
A devil in her heart whispered.
‘Honestly, you’ve worked hard until now. It wouldn’t hurt to rest just a little longer.’
A counter-voice, an angel, chimed in.
‘Since you’re taking a break, it wouldn’t be bad to come back when the fire has completely died down.’
…Is that really an angel?
Looking closely, her wings seemed a bit blackened…
The sweet temptation wavered Da-eun, but in the end, she managed to resist.
“First, I’ll explain the situation…”
Why on earth did the past me do that?
‘But I didn’t want to show that I was hurting.’
That was absolutely not something to be taken lightly.
Foolish girl, irresponsible girl…
Da-eun chewed her lips with all the negative things she could think of to soothe her troubled heart.
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