The moment she thought that she had been seen, Ilaria immediately covered half of her face with her right hand and turned her head down.

　Of course, the fact that she was "seen" does not disappear when she did so.

　The fact that he or she was "seen" does not disappear, of course, but the fact that he or she was "seen" does not disappear.

　When I thought about it, my body was burning with shame and humiliation.


　If he had just covered his face with a cloth from the beginning, or even better, a mask, he would not have had to experience these feelings.

　But Ilaria didn't dare to do that and faced Sora.

　It was a kind of toughness towards someone with whom she had a relationship that was never good.

　It doesn't matter if you see my ugly face, I'm not weak enough to hang on to the antidote you brought me - it was a silent statement of intent.


　But the moment Sora actually - the moment the opposite s*x saw her face, Ilaria's strength melted and disappeared as easily as the ice she placed in the sun.

　What on earth is she doing, she mocked herself.

　At the bottom of this self-mockery was an insecurity that could not be eradicated.


　After years of working as an adventurer and priest-warrior, it was not unusual for Iria to suffer from conditions such as poisoning, paralysis, and curses. She has tasted them many times in her own body and has overcome them each time (and every time).

　However, even Ilaria was very worried about the poisoning this time.

　High fever, coughing, nausea, pain in the joints, those kinds of things were still good. What frightened Ilia was the numbness spreading gently in her hands, in her feet, and on her face.

　With the use of medicine and magic, the other symptoms could be dismissed. Even if it would come back soon, the symptoms could be temporarily erased.

　But this numbness was the only thing that would never go away. Slowly but surely, it invades my body.


　For now, she can still move her hands and feet. I can stand and walk, talk to my mother, Lars, and my children, but eventually I won't be able to do that. But sooner or later I won't be able to do those things - a certainty that hangs in the back of my mind and never leaves me.

　As if to affirm that certainty, the right half of her numbed face crumbled into an ugly mess.

　There was no pain associated with it. In fact, Ilaria hadn't noticed the transformation of her face until her mother, whose face had gone pale, had pointed it out to her. That fact frightened Ilaria even more.


　Pain is the body's alarm that signals the erosion of an abnormality. Without the alarm sounding, humans would not even be able to determine where the abnormality was. Even if a limb rots off, he cannot recognize it. What a horrible thing it is to realize this.

　The numbness eating away at her body was the arm of the god of death. When this numbness grabs you, you will surely die. That's what I thought - a little while ago.



　But after being poisoned for days, Ilaria's thoughts are slowly changing.

　Now, Ilaria is thinking this. It's not too late to die, she thinks.

　If the disease continues to progress, she will continue to watch herself crumble, unable to move or speak. A painless hell, where you are not allowed to go crazy, is about to begin.

　If that's the case, it's better to just--




Hey, Ilaria!


　A strong tone was called out in my ear, and Ilia came to herself with a huff.

　If you look, Sora is staring at you with serious eyes.


''What, what...?''

How long has this been going on?


　It's a good thing that you're not going to be able to get a good idea of what you're looking for.


The first time I saw him, he was in a state of shock.

Three days. Three days.


　After doing so, Sora was mumbling something in her mouth as she looked up at the ceiling.

　To Ilaria's ears, it sounded as if she had to hurry.

　And then Sora's gaze is directed at Ilaria again. As soon as she felt the other's gaze on her face, Ilaria's body jumped on the bunk.

　Without seeming to notice such a reaction, Sora speaks quickly.


''Ilaria, you heard about the antidote I brought with me from the Priestess, right?''

'Yes, yes, I've heard of it... but isn't it the eyebrow-raising stuff about mixing dragon's blood?　A bit more realistic for a made-up story--

I'm not kidding. So drink. Gulp.

What?


　Ilaria screams in protest as Sora pushes the medicine bottle she took out from somewhere to her mouth.

　She glared at Sora with a snap as she pushed the bottle away with her right hand.


'What are you doing all of a sudden!

Don't worry. Miroslav will make sure it's safe. So do I.

'I have nothing but disbelief in the name of the person who did the safety checks!　I mean, why are you more upset than I am?

Three days ago, I was in a village on the Upper Kale River. I heard about a poisoning outbreak in the guild that the antidote hadn't worked. I saw a man there who looked just like you. The progression was much more advanced in that person, and he was no longer able to stand up on his own, let alone speak.

........what?

'I left the village soon after, so I don't know the details. But I heard that it didn't take ten days from the time he collapsed until he couldn't move. If you don't do something soon, it will be too late.


　Looking at Sora's eyes, which were quietly said, he could understand that it wasn't a falsehood.

　It might happen sooner or later - Ilaria was aware of that, but the specific number of ten days was given, and the frustration in the back of her chest increased without question.

　The next time she opened her mouth, Iria's voice was trembling unintentionally.　


''Was........that person in pain?''

I didn't hear a single moan.

'Well I guess it's true after all...'


　Muttering in a stifled voice, Ilaria stared at the medicine bottle Sora offered her.


'If you take this and it doesn't work--'

Tweak it to make it more potent.

It works, but if it comes back soon enough...

'You can have it as often as you like. Fortunately, there are plenty of ingredients to go around.

'If you keep taking them, they'll stop working for you, okay?　So was the antidote, and so was my mother's magic.

What? Then we just need to adjust the effect to make it work again. If you want, you can drink the dragon's blood directly from it.


　Hearing that, Ilaria shrugged her shoulders as if in a daze.

　It's not the words and actions of the young man in front of her, but her own inability to stop being forceful even at a time like this.


'You say that so easily. It's a rare item on the level of God's Steel (Orihalcon) that is a dragon's blood, right?

''Didn't a person who was level one just recently experience a rare (rare) event (event) that raised him to dragon knight?


　Ilaria blew out a little at that line.


'Oh, come to think of it, that's right. Indeed, compared to your scarcity, dragon's blood is rare, isn't it - hey, Sora?

What?

'I couldn't ask my mother or Lars to do this, but I can feel free to ask you to do it. If the poisoning doesn't go away and I end up like a lump of meat while I'm still alive, if that happens...............!


　Ilaria tried to get her thoughts out, which she had never been able to reveal to anyone before, but here she was, and she hesitated.

　She was afraid that if she spoke out, she would lose the strength to resist the poison, and that it might actually lead to its consequences.

　Sora crushed Ilaria's complicated mind without a second glance.


It's not a problem. If that happens, I will kill you with a single thought.


　Ilaria looks up as if she was bursting at the seams as her secret thoughts are read easily.


''Really?　Would you really do that?

It's true. Do you think I came to you out of pure goodness in the first place?　If I succeed, I can ingratiate myself with you and make you like me. If I fail, I can kill you before I poison you and avenge my grudge. So either way, it's a win-win for me.


　Ilaria gazed at the light-heartedly smiling Sora with a different gaze than before.

　The fact that this frivolousness is an act, no matter how sickly he is, is obvious.

　It's because he (Sora) has a grudge against Ilaria that he (Sora) won't hesitate to kill her, so don't worry - he's showing us that.

　If there were another person here, I might have condemned Sora's attitude.

　But for Ilaria, who had been fearing this way and painless hell since her face began to crumble, Sora's attitude was more gratifying than any encouragement.

　Even if you can't resist the poison, you won't experience only the worst of it - a painless hell. That assurance was exactly what Ilaria had been desperate for.