“Hmm….”
As I opened my eyes, I felt the hard wooden floor beneath me.
‘Did I fall asleep…?’
Before waking up, my head had been fuzzy and I felt a burning heat, but now all that remained was the haziness of having just woken up.
It seemed like my condition had improved quite a bit.
‘…Where’s Emily?’
Noticing Emily, who had been caring for me just moments ago, was nowhere to be seen, I instinctively searched for her.
As I turned to my side, I saw…
“……”
Emily was sleeping right next to me.
Her gentle breathing and the peaceful look on her face caught my attention as I turned to face her.
Usually, she has a sassy expression, but now that she’s asleep, she looks soft and cute.
Of course, she does seem kind when she smiles, but this defenseless face evokes a different feeling.
I couldn’t help but reach out to gently push back the hair covering her face.
Her fair complexion was clearly revealed.
‘What was she trying to say last night…?’
Looking at her brought back memories of that tense night.
Although our conversation had been interrupted by insect-like monsters, her flushed face and desperate gaze directed at me were definitely not a figment of my imagination.
‘Emily likes me…?’
The possibility had never crossed my mind.
Certainly, even before my transformation, we had been close friends and she had been kind to me.
But that didn’t mean she wasn’t kind to others either.
Besides, I had been a chubby, unattractive guy back then.
‘She bullied me to some extent.’
I didn’t particularly resent the bullying from the beginning.
I could certainly feel the malice directed at me from someone.
That someone was Enzo, to be specific.
He would smile and chat with me when he faced me directly, but there was always a clear malice lurking beneath.
But Emily was different.
When she bullied and hit me, I didn’t feel an ounce of malice.
There was a strange excitement, but for that reason, I held no negative feelings toward her.
However.
Even so, for her to like me…
‘Could it be that my looks changed? Or was it because of the event?’
It might be the event effect from the Monkey Stone.
After all, I found my heart racing every time I looked at Emily.
‘I wonder if what she was going to say at that time was a confession…’
While I gazed at Emily’s beautiful face, reminiscing about that night, I suddenly felt dizzy.
‘Is the cold still lingering…?’
I bent my head, holding it as a sudden dizziness struck me.
At that moment, my sight caught a glimpse of Emily’s figure in her swimsuit.
“……”
I immediately sat up.
Sure, seeing her face was one thing.
It was uncomfortable, but I wouldn’t feel guilty about it.
But even so, I couldn’t forgive myself for secretly looking at a sleeping girl in such a manner.
“…Hmm, …Oh? Ken? You’re awake?”
It seemed my movements had woken her up, as Emily raised her body from her lounging position.
With a dazed look on her face, she immediately asked me:
“Um… Has the fever gone down?”
She placed her hand on my forehead to check my temperature.
‘She’s still half-asleep.’
How sweet of her to worry about me when she herself hasn’t fully woken up.
At that thought, my face turned hot, and I could hear my heart racing.
I felt like a middle school girl with her first crush.
“…Hmm, you still have a slight fever. But after sleeping a bit, you feel a little better, right?”
Emily smiled sweetly at me, noticing my improved condition.
“Thanks, sorry for making you stick around, Emily.”
I scratched my cheek and expressed my gratitude.
After all, there was no reason for Emily to nurse me, even if I was sick.
To my thanks, Emily just stared blankly at me.
And then.
“If you’re thankful, you should lie down a bit more.”
She took my hand and pushed me back down.
“Uh, but I’m okay now!”
“Still, you have a fever. Rest a little longer.”
“Well, …and about the hand…”
“What about the hand…?”
Emily lay down beside me, holding my hand.
Her warm hand enveloped mine, holding on tight like she wouldn’t let go.
I could feel her strong will in not wanting to release it.
“You grabbed my hand first…”
In response to my question, Emily blushed and glared at me.
“Did I…?”
“Yeah, before falling asleep, you grabbed my hand and wouldn’t let go.”
Thinking back, that did seem to ring a bell.
Lost in thoughts about Emily’s memory gaps, I had unconsciously grasped her hand.
‘So I had fallen asleep holding her hand…’
“So this is all Ken’s doing. You understand what I mean, right?”
“……”
I understood all too well.
I realized I couldn’t let go of her hand.
‘This is dangerous…’
And I understood I couldn’t escape from her proactive behavior either.
With my heart still racing, I couldn’t help but notice Emily.
‘If it comes to this, I…’
I already had feelings for two different girls in my heart.
If I also developed feelings for Emily…
“……”
I had thought that far, but I didn’t want to reject her.
Maybe I had been captivated by a fox.
Caught up in this nervous yet delightful excitement, I gazed into Emily’s eyes.
Her face was flushed too, her strange gaze fixed on me.
Just as it felt like something was about to happen between us in that small cabin…
“Ken! Emily!”
The yell of a girl outside broke the tension.
We both, as if we had made a pact, jumped apart in surprise, unraveling our hands.
Emily quickly got up to greet the girl.
“Oh, what brings you here? Ken is still sick…”
Of course, I was nearly better, but it seemed Emily had automatically made an excuse.
However, the girl’s atmosphere felt serious.
“It’s bad! En… Enzo is gone!”
At her words, even I, who had been lying down, shot up to look at her.
‘Enzo is missing…?’
It was clear we were in a dangerous situation.
“Enzo━!”
“Enzo! Where are you!”
Our party decided to scatter and search for that guy.
Of course, I warned everyone not to go too deep into the dangerous night forest.
And so, I too began to search, torch in hand, through the woods.
“What could possibly be happening…?”
It seemed natural for Emily to stick by my side.
“It’s so dark like this… I don’t think we’ll find him.”
The dark, eerie night forest had Emily clinging to my arm, fear etched on her face as she scanned our surroundings.
Of course, from my perspective, I couldn’t care less what happened to Enzo.
But that didn’t mean I was going to leave a missing person behind.
It was my moral duty to search at least a little.
The problem was…
“E-Emily, you’re kind of too close.”
“But if I let go, it’s too dark…”
With Emilys arms wrapped around me, her figure in a swimsuit made her ample assets inescapably apparent.
‘In a situation like this… I’m such trash…’
Someone was missing, yet I couldn’t help but be conscious of Emily right now.
Emily surely felt fear and was full of concern for the missing person.
“……”
Suddenly, as I looked at Emily, I noticed she was also blushing and subtly leaning her head on my shoulder.
…Could it be she was having similar thoughts?
With that thought, I felt oddly at ease.
Well, Emily didn’t seem all that enamored with Enzo anyway.
“We’ve gone pretty deep.”
“Be careful; we don’t know what monsters might be inside the woods, Emily. Stay close to me.”
“Y-Yes.”
With that, Emily tightened her grip on my arm.
Of course, that wasn’t her intention.
I genuinely warned her about the dangers inside the forest.
‘This island has boss-level monsters lurking too…’
A gigantic, bear-like monster.
[ Raoulushi ]
Of course, with my bodily abilities enhanced by the special effect, taking it down wouldn’t be impossible.
However, Emily was beside me.
Without magic, and being a support-type, her physical abilities were average.
Should we fall prey to an ambush at night, I might not be able to protect her.
To avoid such misfortunes, I made it clear she shouldn’t let go of me.
After walking for quite a while deeper into the woods, we suddenly came to a stop.
“Wait, Emily… Something’s caught on my foot.”
I felt something soft, distinctly different from wood, dirt, or stone, tangled around my leg.
We directed the light of the torch carefully downward, filled with tension.
And what came into view was a human leg.
“…Ugh.”
Emily, startled by the revelation, covered her mouth and trembled.
There was no denying it—a corpse.
A dead body, for the upper half didn’t exist.
And the swimming trunks worn by the corpse looked familiar.
The identity of the corpse was none other than the missing Enzo.
He had been torn in half and killed by something here.
“Emily, we need to get to the beach….”
This was clearly a dangerous situation, and I wrapped my arm around Emily’s shoulder, trying to return to safety.
Emily, though shocked, moved as I led her.
But…
[ GRRRR…. ]
We were abruptly halted by the sound of a beast’s roar.
Something enormous and shadowy began to become clear in the torchlight.
And its eyes reflected the flame, glinting bright.
Those sharp eyes were unmistakably locked onto us, seemingly ready to pounce.
“Emily, stay back!”
“…Be careful, Ken.”
Emily had once been saved from the Albino One-Eyed Giant, so she was well aware of my abilities.
So she worried, but she also stepped back and put her faith in me.
‘Quick Production, Bone Sword.’
I used a familiar skill to conjure a sword made of bone in my hand.
At that moment when I finished my combat stance.
[ GRROAAR!!! ]
The massive creature charged at me with surprising speed for its size.
BOOM!
I barely deflected its swing with my sword.
‘It’s too dark to see!’
Even though the beast was large, it was incredibly difficult to determine its position and aggression in the pitch-black forest illuminated only by the torch.
‘…I’ll end it with one strike.’
If it continued like this, I might not be able to react in time if it targeted Emily.
With that thought, I took my stance.
The technique I was about to use was the Siegfried-Style Swordsmanship, not yet named.
One of its techniques, One Stroke.
It was a technique to take down an enemy in a split second.
[ GRAAAAAAH! ]
The agitated creature let out a deafening roar.
It sounded like a warning of an immediate attack.
To that sound, I wouldn’t give the beast a chance to strike first.
SWISH!
I swiftly drew my sword, mimicking the motion of pulling it out.
Flick…
The torch flickered, and my body quickly lunged forward.
And with the unique Siegfried blade technique, my blade gracefully skimmed the creature’s neck.
It felt like a sharp attack barely brushed by, almost as if nothing had touched it, as I passed cleanly by the creature’s throat.
THUD!
The head that had been roaring in pain fell quietly to the ground.
THUMP!
Simultaneously, the hefty body of the creature collapsed to the ground, headless.
“Phew… It’s over now, Emily.”
As the tense moment dissipated, I wiped the cold sweat off my brow and picked up the fallen torch, approaching Emily.
She looked back at me with a relieved smile on her face.
Then, her expression abruptly stiffened.
“Ken—! Behind you—!”
Startled by her shout, I immediately turned my head.
What I saw was a giant bear, its neck severed, yet its body still standing upright.
It raised its massive paw toward me.
‘Oh no…!!’
Caught off guard, I couldn’t think to respond with my sword.
“Emily—!”
I rushed to her to shield her with my body.
WHOOSH!
I heard the sound of its massive paw cutting through the air.
In a panic, I wrapped my arms around her, rolling us both on the ground.
In this position, Emily would also be in the creature’s strike zone.
To escape that threat, both of us rolled on the ground.
At the end of that tumble was a cliff with no ground beneath it.
“AAAAAH—!”
“Ugh!”
SWISH…
Fortunately, it wasn’t a completely vertical drop, but rather a steep hillside resembling a cliff covered in grass.
I fell holding onto Emily, brushing against the grass as we crashed down.
THUD!
“Ow…”
“Ken! Are you okay—?!”
When we landed, luckily I fell on my back, so Emily was unharmed.
As she sat on top of me, she looked down with a worried expression, finally regaining her senses.
“Emily… what about the monster?”
“It seems it’s not chasing us… It looked like it was its last struggle…”
At my words, Emily looked up to see the top of the cliff we had just fallen from.
The bear monster that had attacked us seemed to have finally extinguished its last flicker of life, as everything above us had fallen silent.
“Ken, you’re not hurt?”
“Yeah, no major injuries… but.”
I had to admit, I wasn’t entirely unscathed.
Whether it was just mischief from the Monkey Stone or not.
I twisted my ankle when I rolled down the cliff.
Moreover, I had forgotten to bring the torch back up with me.
It was now too dangerous to walk through the night forest in this condition.
‘This is bad…’
We had ended up stranded here until morning broke.
