CHAPTER 28 p2
Nelly turned her head away with a complicated mix of feelings, and then she felt Kal’s gaze fall on her again.
I really want to pull down his cloak hood and grab the mage and ask him clearly! Nelly grew irritated and simply took two steps away, saying to Melissa, “I’m going to step away for a bit. Don’t go far, okay?”
She carefully paid attention to her surroundings, walked behind a thick oak tree, opened the system interface, and connected to the interactive port to ask, “I want to know what’s going on with that mage named Kal.”
After a moment of silence, a pleasant, emotionless female voice sounded. “After assessment, it is a normal event. No abnormality.”
Nelly let out a breath and leaned back against the tree, rubbing her brow. For now, she could only trust the system and treat this as a coincidence. But this also meant that she had to pay double attention to her surroundings.
It wasn’t enough to have a worrisome hero; now she had a mage she had to keep an eye on at all times. Nelly felt that the difficulty of this mission was a bit high. But on second thought, she was relieved and didn’t worry too much, deciding to focus on the current task first. She slowly walked through the field back to Melissa’s side, checked the mission progress, and encouraged her, “We’re already halfway there.”
“Let’s finish the mission today in one go!”
Nelly responded to Melissa’s grand statement with an encouraging smile, but inwardly, she was on the verge of a breakdown. The monsters ahead would only get stronger. It was uncertain if they could even finish the mission tomorrow. She glanced at Kal unintentionally and saw that he also had a look of doubt on his face.
Nelly raised an eyebrow and conveyed with her eyes: Since Mr. Mage is in such a hurry, why don’t you just take care of all the monsters along the way?
He was clearly strongly suppressing the urge to retreat back into his hood. His lips moved stiffly, and he uttered a few almost inaudible words: “I refuse.”
Nelly glanced at him, a strange feeling creeping up on her. A closer look revealed, to her surprise, that Kal’s face was much paler than when they had left the novice village. She had been so focused on his suspicious behavior that she hadn’t noticed his abnormality.
“Are you alright?” Nelly couldn’t help but frown.
Kal covered his mouth with the back of his hand and said coolly, “I’m…” He had only said one word before he started coughing.
Melissa also noticed the abnormality. Disregarding the safe distance, she walked up to Kal, her expression unusually serious. “Of course you’re not alright.”
Nelly’s sharp eyes caught a glimpse of red between the young man’s slender fingers. She felt as if a huge stone had fallen heavily in her chest, a hollow ache. She said drily, “Don’t hide it.” She took a handkerchief and a bottle of healing potion from her storage space and held them out at arm’s length.
Kal’s fingers, covering his mouth, curled, but Melissa had already taken the items. She pushed his fingers aside without taking no for an answer, carefully wiped the blood from the corner of the young man’s lips, and unscrewed the potion bottle, holding it to his mouth and ordering succinctly, “Drink.”
The white-haired young man’s brow furrowed. He endured the discomfort and slight sense of humiliation and drank the potion down.
But Melissa wasn’t going to let him off the hook just like that. Like a child, she took his blood-stained hand and began to wipe it carefully.
Kal struggled weakly, to no avail.
Nelly stood to the side, at a loss.
Melissa was very good at taking care of people. The way she lowered her lashes and focused on cleaning the blood was quiet and peaceful. Paired with her deep, beautiful features and silver hair, she had a delicate air that was completely opposite to her usual boisterousness in battle.
The silver-haired girl and the white-haired boy, the caregiver and the one being cared for—they looked like a very well-matched pair.
Nelly rubbed her brow, suppressing the strange, uncontrollable feeling in her heart, and repeated as if hypnotizing herself: Female heroes also have romance side quests… and I should be happy about this, right?
She took two steps away and turned to look at the scenery.
It was early spring, and the tender green grass was poking its head out from the abandoned fields, thriving in the setting sun, enjoying the freedom of the undisturbed land and the gentle breeze. Nelly’s mood gradually calmed with the gentle wind. She lowered her eyes and smiled, and when she turned back, there was no longer anything unusual about her. She saw that Kal had immediately retreated from Melissa after she had finished cleaning, the safe distance even greater than before.
Melissa didn’t seem to mind.
It seemed they couldn’t count on the mage who coughed up blood after casting one spell. Nelly walked up to her. “It’s going to be tough on you from now on, Melissa.”
“Leave it to me!” Melissa gave a carefree smile, all traces of her previous quietness gone.
As they set off on the path between the fields again, the atmosphere was a little strange.
Melissa soon engaged in a fight with a pea sprite. Nelly stood in the shadow of the overgrown grass and watched.
A rustle of robes. Nelly didn’t have to turn her head to know it was Kal.
“Thanks, for before.” Even when he was thanking her, his voice was low and coy.
Nelly almost suspected she had misheard. She turned her head to look at him in a daze and bit her lip. “You didn’t have to do that. I’m the one who should be thanking you.”
Kal lowered his head deeply, his fingers resting on the edge of his hood, hesitating whether to pull it down or not.
“I’m Melissa’s guide spirit. I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me.” For some reason, Nelly added another explanation. As soon as she said it, she regretted it. Maybe he was worried about Melissa? Or rather, that was the normal course of events. What was she being so self-indulgent for?
The mage didn’t answer for a moment, and Nelly grew even more embarrassed. She gave a dry laugh and turned her gaze back to the struggling Melissa, muttering to herself as she walked away, “She’s a hardworking, good kid.”
But no matter how hard she worked, a rookie swordswoman and a sickly mage—the journey ahead was long, and there was no telling when it would end.
But Nelly was also a little glad. This was fine too. They wouldn’t have to reach the Demon’s Lair so quickly, and she would have some time to prepare herself mentally. She wondered what the new Demon King would be like… An uncontrollable emotion welled up with those two simple words. She forced herself not to turn around and look at that familiar face, and just quickened her pace in a flustered escape.
The path between the fields was full of potholes. Distracted, Nelly stepped into a small one and instantly lost her balance.
A pair of hands reached out from the side and quickly and accurately steadied her.
A cool, familiar temperature. Nelly couldn’t help but shiver. Kal’s hands paused stiffly on her shoulders for a moment, then pulled back. He seemed even more embarrassed than she was, silently pulling his hood lower and turning to walk in the opposite direction.
At that moment, Melissa suddenly screamed.
Nelly immediately ran toward the sound and saw a huge beetle blocking Melissa’s path, its body as wide as two country roads!
The giant insect’s two reddish, cloudy compound eyes were fixed on Melissa. A viscous liquid dripped from its mouth, and its two front legs suddenly shot out toward Melissa.
Melissa had already recovered from her shock. She gritted her teeth and smiled. “Hey, big guy, interested in a fight with me?”
Nelly quickly opened the system interface to monitor Melissa’s stats and couldn’t help but feel a headache coming on. This giant beetle was supposed to be the first mini-boss the hero faced, but it had appeared much earlier than expected. With Melissa’s current abilities, it would be a good outcome if she could escape with her life.
She made a split-second decision. “Melissa, don’t get entangled in a fight. You can’t handle this monster right now.”
The silver-haired girl in the pure white hero’s attire ducked to avoid the insect’s slashing limb and shouted back without turning her head, “Let me try first! You take Kal and get away!”
Nelly stomped her foot. “What kind of spirit abandons their hero?” She turned her head to Kal, who had come over at the sound of her voice, and lowered her voice. “You should go first.”
The white-haired mage took a step back wordlessly, but he had no intention of leaving, his red eyes focused on the battle.
Melissa had already been hit by the beetle’s front legs a few times. She swayed slightly, barely managing to hold on without retreating, but she was clearly unable to switch from defense to offense.
“Meli…” Before Nelly could finish her words of persuasion, a short phrase came from beside her.
“This is bad.” Before Kal could finish, before Melissa’s raised sword could fall, the beetle suddenly spewed a liquid. She couldn’t dodge in time and was doused in a paralyzing poison, instantly unable to move.
Just as the sharp insect mandibles were about to pierce Melissa’s body, a bright white light suddenly erupted. Dazzling runes flowed out from the grimoire in Kal’s hand, turning into chains that surrounded the giant insect from all sides, tightly binding its limbs.
The giant insect was furious. Its blood-red eyes fixed on Kal, and with a screech, it rolled over, actually breaking the rune chains, and charged straight at the white-haired mage.
Without thinking, Nelly pulled Kal back, but he shrugged her off. He grabbed a quill that was flying in the air and fluently wrote a long string of runes on a piece of paper. A blinding orb of light shot out and accurately hit the beetle between its two eyes. The giant insect let out a wail, stumbled forward a few steps, and swayed as if it were about to flip over.
Kal’s face was pale after casting two spells in a row. He pressed his lips together tightly, as if suppressing another violent cough.
Nelly supported him, but before she could retreat, the beetle, which had been at the end of its rope, made a desperate last-ditch attack. It let out a strange cry and charged at them, spewing a poisonous liquid with black smoke.
Kal’s left hand tightened around Nelly’s wrist. He leaned against her, using her as a support, while his right hand once again wrote three runes without any hesitation.
By the end, Nelly could even feel Kal’s whole body trembling, as if he were about to collapse from exhaustion at any moment. She unconsciously turned to the side to provide him with more support.
Three runes: one turned into a barrier to block the poison, one stretched into a silver chain to cut off the beetle’s front legs, and the last was still that scorching, dazzling orb of light.
But the last stroke was weak, and the orb of light veered off, barely landing beside the monster.
Without its front legs, the beetle immediately flipped over, but it still waved its mandibles and charged toward Kal and Nelly down the gentle slope of the path.
It all happened in an instant.
Kal’s five fingers tightened around Nelly’s wrist. He pushed her back and turned to stand in front of her.
Pushed by him, Nelly stumbled back half a step and sat down in a hollow in the field. He was on top of her, his back to the attacking monster, in a protective posture.
With a loud roar, a flash of a sword split the beetle in two.
The giant insect’s corpse dissolved into particles of light.
Melissa walked over unsteadily, her longsword covered in sticky insect blood. “Are you alright?”
Nelly answered in a hoarse voice, “I’m fine.” She lowered her gaze to the white-haired young man who was close by. He was leaning on her shoulder, his left hand still tightly gripping her wrist, but he didn’t answer.
A wave of panic hit her. She raised her hand to Kal’s shoulder and pushed him back slightly. The large hood fell back, revealing a bloodless face, his eyes tightly shut, his lips blue. He had passed out.
Melissa quickly recovered from her panic, laid Kal flat, and checked his breathing, her expression calming slightly.
Nelly’s face was stiff as she quickly took out a high-grade healing potion, unscrewed the cap, and brought it to Kal’s lips. She paused, then looked up at Melissa. “You do it.”
The silver-haired girl once again entered her caregiver mode. She calmly shook her head, tilted Kal’s chin up, and pried open his mouth. She skillfully cleaned the blood he hadn’t spit out with a handkerchief, then took the healing potion and slowly poured it in.
After one bottle was empty, Kal coughed a few times and spit up more blood. The bloody foam splattered on Melissa’s face, but she didn’t even blink, taking another bottle of potion from Nelly’s hand.
At that moment, the white-haired mage slowly opened his eyes. His gaze was vacant for a moment, then he closed his eyes again, raised his right hand, and snatched the healing potion from Melissa’s palm, drinking it down in one go.
Nelly was half-kneeling beside Kal. Because his left hand was still holding her tight, she had to maintain this awkward and uncomfortable position. Seeing that he had regained consciousness, she tentatively moved her wrist, and he immediately tightened his grip subconsciously.
The force was great, and Nelly pressed her lips together to keep from letting out a muffled grunt.
But at that moment, Kal glanced at her and suddenly let go.
“I’m sorry,” Melissa broke the silence, her head bowed low.
Before Nelly could comfort her, Kal snorted.
Melissa felt even more guilty and apologized again. “It was my own decision. I’m sorry!”
Nelly glanced at Kal cautiously and tried to ease the atmosphere. “At least we’re safe.” Her voice dropped. “Mr. Kal, thank you.”
The mage glanced at her, still not answering, and instead struggled to stand up.
Melissa immediately helped him up, in a posture of atonement. “Are you really alright, Kal?”
The proud white-haired mage tried to push her away in dissatisfaction, but he was too weak to succeed.
Nelly turned her face away and simply walked to the spot where the beetle had disappeared, picked up two bags, and handed them to Melissa. “Experience crystals and loot.”
Melissa shook her head decisively. “Give them to Kal.”
Kal glanced at the bulging leather bag, but he looked down on it. “I don’t need it.”