Chapter 1068 – Overcome?

000

The smell of death.

It is the unpleasant yet thick smell of regret that can be felt when life ends.

It is a warning that anyone can reach that result, and at the same time, it makes you want to run away from it.

Remember that you can die.

It would be the death nearby that would imprint that fact more clearly than the whispers of living humans.

While the expedition led by Attis spent their first night on the new mountain, Cleon was also freed from his guardians and returned to the cave with a trophy called a blanket.

And the moment he entered the cave, Cleon felt the smell of death and turned his gaze toward Nemeia.

Weakened breathing and discoloration of the skin.

At the area where the wound was, the blood that flowed out could be seen coagulating and sticking together.

And Yuni, who is next to her, cannot hide her anxiety and nervousness.

As she waited sleepily for Cleon to return, she did not ask him much about what had happened.

Instead, he took the blanket he gave her and wrapped Nemeia warmly, helping to prevent the warmth from disappearing from her body.

Instead of Uni, ask Cleon the truth about her ─

It was a bat hanging upside down, opening its mouth in a humorous voice, as if it was intentional.

“Did you meet with the guardian of this mountain and make a deal? Hehe… What price did you pay?”

In this situation, his voice can only be heard as an irritating noise.

However, after Cleon was silent for a moment, she turned to him and answered.

“It’s as if she was expecting me to meet her.”

“Ah. She expected it. There’s no way she would ignore a human like you—the most interesting being to ever enter this mountain.”

He speaks as if he knew everything, spreads one of his wings and points to the blanket that covered Nemeia.

“And she understands that it was her gift when you brought her the stick in exchange for her branch. So, what kind of deal did she have with her?”

As if he was curious about the content of the conversation between Cleon and the guardian, he asked again.

But Cleon didn’t want to tell him anything, so he kept quiet.

As silence passed between the two, Laplace just smiled as if he was amused by Cleon’s resistance.

“Well, that’s good. The fact that you came back alive means that the Guardian at least has no intention of harming us. Consultation with her is very important. Just in case, we attack the Returner’s mansion in her own territory. If you don’t watch what happens…”

“That’s not going to happen, so let’s take a break. I’m tired too.”

In reality, Cleon suffered injuries from what happened throughout the day, and accumulated fatigue from the battle he had to endure without any magic power.

And—

When I try to remember, the vision of the red hair of a woman ‘resembling my beloved’ seems to pass by at the edge of my vision.

I shake my head and try to shake it off, but the intense scene of the two people’s intense ‘game’ doesn’t easily leave my head.

Maybe today.

That may be the cause of Cleon’s deepest fatigue right now.

Claon sits down, leaning against the wall of the cave, and begins to relax his body.

Apparently, being knocked out by the guardian didn’t seem to help him recover from his fatigue.

Nevertheless, as you work as an adventurer, your body naturally learns efficient sleeping techniques.

Even with his head pressed against the hard, uneven stone wall, Cleon was ready to fall asleep as soon as he closed his eyes.

However, Cleon did not fall asleep right away.

No, it would be more correct to say that he didn’t.

What caught Cleon’s eyes was Uni, who still couldn’t shake off her worried expression and couldn’t leave her family’s side.

“Yuni, you too, take a break.”

I can’t look at her like that anymore, and Cleon will stop her like that.

However, despite Cleon’s call, Yuni could not take her eyes off Nemeia.

“Yes… But, Nemeia is still…”

“I know she’s not in a good condition. Just by having you by her side, I can control the poison spreading from her wound. In other words, there’s no need for you to be awake.”

Although she may sound a bit cold, Cleon deliberately spoke in a somewhat simple tone as if he was explaining something to her.

“Tomorrow morning, I will head to the Returner’s coffin. If possible, I would wait until she joins her companions, but I cannot afford to waste Nemeia’s time.”

“…”

Uni doesn’t respond to Cleon’s words for a moment.

“So, what you need is to rest for tomorrow. Now that I can’t fully use my magic, I wish at least one more person had more power.”

Uni could understand what that meant without Cleon having to explain it.

The story was that in order to save Nemeia, Yuni’s own strength was needed.

That’s why Uni will nod his head while still keeping his mouth shut.

“… And don’t worry. Caliburn by your side – she is the Holy Sword.”

Cleon speaks, pointing to Kali Burn, who was quietly using her healing magic on Nemeia.

The blonde girl would smile her smile at Uni.

“Yes. I am neither a human nor a living being, so I don’t need her to sleep~ So, it is possible to watch her while she sleeps on your behalf~”

Her relaxed tone of voice seemed somewhat sleepy.

… Well, right after she was reborn by Galatea, she was quite a sleepyhead, and she still sleeps whenever she gets the chance.

Basically, it’s just ‘no need’, although it’s clear that Caliburn likes to sleep.

However, Caliburn also had the patience to endure her sleep for the sake of others.

Only after hearing Cali Byrne’s words did Yuni relax her shoulders.

“Thank you, everyone…”

After saying that, Yuni lightly leaned her body against Nemeia’s body and then closed her eyes.

The unicorn’s divine magical power will gently embrace her family.

In order not to disturb her sleep, Cleon and Caliban – and even Laplace – would just keep their mouths shut for a moment.

Soon, Uni’s breathing became more regular, and it was clear that she was in a deep sleep.

If you think about it, she also went on today’s journey with Cleon.

Sometimes, she moved even more violently than Cleon.

It seems that she was also tired.

“As expected, a being called a holy beast. Even without concentrating one’s mind, that level of holy magic can be maintained in a small area.”

Galatea, who had been silent while looking at Uni, appears in human form next to Cleon.

And then, he will rest his head on Cleon’s shoulder.

“… You want to rest like that too?”

Cleon asked in surprise, as she often took on the form of a sword rather than her human form when she was sleeping.

Then Galatea would say.

“I thought it would be a good idea to erase the smell of another woman from Cleon.”

“…”

At her words, Cleon took her hand with his arm and tried to nuzzle her.

“I don’t know.”

After saying that to Cleon, who tilted her head, Galatea leaned in and pushed her long, wavy hair over the shoulder next to Cleon’s head.

“Go, Galatea. It’s frustrating…”

Cleon says so, but—

“Well, since I haven’t slept with anyone in a while today, I guess I can monopolize it, right?”

Caliburn just shrugged and moved her shoulder, as if he knew who Galatea was referring to without having to say her name.

001

And as time passes, Cleon, who had fallen asleep, opens his eyes to a warm sensation.

The tickling sensation that brushed her cheek belonged to Galatea, who had closed her eyes next to her last night.

What Cleon felt as her eyes slowly opened was that the smell of ‘death’ that she had felt until yesterday had almost disappeared.

And when I look next to her with her hazy mind-

“…”

She could see the face of a huge beast staring right into her own face.

“!?”

Naturally, Cleon’s heart would jump in surprise and his half-closed eyes would widen.

The face of a wild beast with vertically slit pupils, golden eyes, and no mane.

‘Lion.’

It was Nemeia, Yuni’s family and the lion’s demon beast.

If she was close to her face, she could hear a regular ‘grrr…’ Breathing coming from her neck.

If you quietly look into her eyes as if you were having a snowball fight with her for a moment.

She quietly moved her front paw and awkwardly rubbed Cleon’s head two or three times.

No matter how much Cleon is, when he is defenseless and the front legs of a wild beast – that is, the front legs of something larger than him – approach him, he flinches and trembles.

However, Cleon, who was very nervous, froze for a moment at the movement of her feet, and then saw her remove her head and move around her body as if she was satisfied.

“W-what…?”

Cleon could not hide his embarrassment at her incomprehensible actions, but-

Soon, she noticed that her own body was covered with the blanket she had covered herself with last night.

“Oh, this…”

“She covered it.”

At that time, Cleon, hearing Caliban’s voice, turned his eyes towards the entrance of the cave.

Then, there, I could see her returning with the mountain fruit in her arms.

“Caliburn. That’s…”

“We don’t need to eat, but Cleon, Uni, and her need it. It’s not that much, but I went with Uni.”

Cleon bows his head once in gratitude at Caliban’s words.

“… Uni?”

“Her hair felt strange when she fell asleep last night, and she said she would straighten it at the nearby river and then come back.”

Even if it’s a demonic beast, does it even care about that?

No, if you think about it, animals also care quite a bit about their appearance.

Cleon nods his head, answering his own question.

“─No, now that I think about it.”

And finally, with his thoughts gradually awakening, Cleon urgently turned his gaze towards Nemeia.

Then, Nemeia could be seen there quietly grooming her fur.

Even the injured leg had returned to its original state.

“You look healthy… Is the poison gone?”

When Cleon said that, Caliburn tilted her head.

“Well…? I don’t know exactly what happened, but I suddenly became able to move around this morning.”

“Thank goodness…”

I don’t know what’s going on with her, but if she can move…

“Kkkk…”

At that time.

The annoying sound of laughter echoes as if piercing Cleon’s ears.

It was the kind of laughter that made you feel the crooked nature of not being able to sit still and watch others be happy.

Damn, I almost forgot.

Cleon thinks so-

She was looking at the guy hanging upside down from the ceiling with cold, salty eyes.

“That can’t be possible, Cleon. In fact, you must be thinking somewhere in your head that Darwin’s medicine can’t be deciphered so easily.”

“If you’re thinking of forcing your twisted thoughts on me, you’re wrong.”

Of course, Cleon answered that way, and Laplace continued to ask Cleon.

“Oh, really? That’s a pity. Rather than holding on to vain hope, it would be better to prepare your mind as if you were preparing for despair.”

“Don’t waste time with unnecessary words. Tell me the conclusion first. You know that’s why you’re reacting like that, right?”

Cleon’s hand goes to the handle of the ‘slash’ on his waist.

The jet-black blade of the sword, which slipped out of the scabbard with a clanking sound, was receiving and reflecting the light streaming in from outside the cave.

“Kkkk… Be patient, young man. To conclude, that guy’s suit ‘failed’.”

“… Failure? But if it fails, the whole body collapses and disappears?”

When Cleon objects to the reality that is completely opposite to what he said, Laplace flaps his wings and covers his mouth as he continues.

“Ah, that’s right. According to my knowledge, that lion’s vitality is much stronger than that of other demon beasts, so even after the medicine spread throughout the body from where it was injected, it was able to endure.”

In other words. Originally, she would not have been able to overcome the poison of the medicine and her body would have dissolved and disappeared from the wound area, but she held on until the poison spread throughout her body.

And the amount of medicine injected into her body is fixed.

The concentration of the drug that has spread throughout the body through the blood vessels has become much lighter compared to the beginning.

In other words, the drug still remains in her body, but the pain has become bearable, so she can move-

“What a quack-like diagnosis. Isn’t that just because you want to think that way?”

Cleon could not bear Laplace’s conclusion and quietly uttered a word.

Then, Laplace once again dismisses Cleon’s rebuttal with an unpleasant laugh.

“Ah. Well, if you want to think that way, go ahead. But between you and me, who is more versed in Darwin’s medicine and knows about the ecology of demonic beasts?”

“…”

There was no guarantee that he was telling the truth.

“And… Crucially, I know what happens when the drug ‘succeeds’. If she had succeeded in adapting to the drug, she wouldn’t be like that now – imperfect.”

Nevertheless, there was no intention in his voice to ‘hide’ something or convey ‘lies’.

That’s why Cleon shut her mouth for a moment and then-

“… In the end, to resolve the situation.”

“Yes. There is no change in having to hurry to the Returner’s Coffin.”

Cleon must have let out a small sigh at his words.

Of course, there were no complaints about that, but I knew very well that this guy was never saying that out of concern for Nemeia.

It was because he needed Cleon’s hand solely for his own purpose.

That moment when silence flows between two people.

“Sorry! I’m back!”

With that, Yuni walked in from the entrance of the cave and made eye contact with Cleon, who was standing up.

“Ah, Cleon is up too! Nemeia seemed to be feeling better in the early morning yesterday…”

[Tell them I’ve caused you trouble, Uni. And thank you.]

When Nemeia cried out to Uni, Uni would convey her words to Cleon.

“Uni said thank you.”

“Ah… But I don’t think I can stay at ease.”

Cleon tells Yuni, who seems to have relaxed somewhat, the story he heard from Laplace.

“… In other words, Nemeia’s body isn’t completely healed yet?”

“Yes. She is now able to move, but the medicine remains in her body. To be completely cured, she must also go to the Returner’s coffin.”

Uni then closed her mouth for a moment.

He took a deep breath and nodded.

“Okay! The reason I went to bed early yesterday was because I was originally planning to go there!”

Strengthening her will once again, she clenched her fists and assumed her fighting pose.

And then, Nemeia trudged to Yuni’s side.

[Now that I can walk with my own legs, I won’t be a burden.]

“Are you really okay? If it’s hard, come back again…”

[Ah. No problem. It’s not right for this Nemeia to be carried around on a human’s back.]

Despite Yuni’s concerns, Nemeia shook her head.

As expected, she feels that her mind and body are stronger than hers, and Uni will nod her head.

“Let’s go, Cleon!”

And looking at her energetic response, Cleon nods his head.

When Caliburn and Galatea return to their original form and naturally fall into his belt.

Cleon and Yuni were leaving the cave, leading Nemeia.

The rain that had been falling all night had stopped before we knew it, and the morning sun was appearing between the clouds.