PMEVBO 21

“How do you know that name…?”

“It’s embroidered right here.”

The words ‘Tirovis Merchant Guild Abel’ were embroidered on the fabric, now wrinkled and crumpled from the knot. Now that I thought about it, Seriha acting skills were lacking, but he’d been dead serious about that alias.

“I met him this afternoon. He was more shocked than I was when he saw my injury and wrapped it up for me.”

Recalling Seriha, who had done his best even with clumsy hands, a small chuckle escaped my lips. Then, suddenly, I noticed Iser’s hand, unwrapping the handkerchief, freeze mid-motion.

“What’s wrong?”

“……Nothing.”

Iser began unwinding the rest of the handkerchief. The middle finger that emerged looked so perfectly fine, it was hard to believe it had ever been injured.

After a moment of curiously observing the finger, which seemed to have returned to its pre-injury state, I picked up the handkerchief that had been wrapped around my middle finger. It was quite funny, so I thought keeping it as a memento might be nice.

Then, Iser’s gloved hand gently wrapped around mine, the one holding the handkerchief.

“I’ll throw this away for you.”

“…Uh, yes, thanks.”

Before I knew it, I’d handed it over. Iser, who had gone to throw the handkerchief away without a second thought, returned and handed me the glove.

It is a bit of a waste… but well, he threw away my trash for me. He’s kind.

Stirring the now-cold wild asparagus pasta, I finally spoke up.

“Iser.”

“What?”

Iser, who had been twirling the pasta noodles that were starting to stick together with a fork, looked up. With my nose practically buried in the pasta plate, I struggled to get the words out.

“…It looks like sending you outside the castle might be delayed a bit. I’m sorry.”

“How long?”

“About a fortnight.”

I’d expected him to get angry, just like he did on the first day of the possession. Not a fiery outburst, but a cold interrogation about why the schedule changed.

“It’s fine.”

……No, this was too unexpected?

“……You’re okay with it?”

“Yes.”

Iser nodded with a clear expression, he seemed unfazed. He didn’t even look curious.

I’d been agonizing over how to placate him if he got angry, so this was a relief. ……But is it really okay to just let it slide like this?

I propped my chin on my hand, and quietly watched Iser eating with perfect posture. Finally, unable to hold back, I asked.

“You don’t have any questions? Aren’t you curious how I’m going to get you out of here?”

With just the Guidance skill, I could send him not only outside the castle but even to the capital mansion where Isabelle was. So please, ask me something, you brat.

Iser, who had been silently listening to my leading question, gently set down his fork. 

Only after wiping his mouth with a napkin did he finally speak seriously.

“There is something I’m more curious about than that.”

“…What are you curious about?”

Honestly, I was a bit nervous now that I was in this situation.

Iser hesitated for a moment, then blurted it out, his gaze fixed on his fork.

“Can we sleep together again tonight?”

The question was so out of the blue, I couldn’t help but ask back.

“…Sleep together? Like yesterday?”

“Yes….”

The usually aloof boy nodded obediently for some reason. The skin under Iser’s eyes flushed a peachy pink, matching his hair color.

What? Is he blushing? He was so confident just a moment ago? He used to blush about his voice changing, but Iser’s blush triggers were impossible to predict.

When I didn’t answer, Iser, who had been staring down his fork, bit his lip and spoke again.

“Well, if you don’t want to, then don’t. …But I don’t think I can sleep alone.”

His tone was curt, but the area under his eyes, which glanced up at me, was still flushed. Watching the blush that had spread all the way to his neck, I thought.

…This is bad.

My mind went completely blank. I had more to say about the escape plan, but I’d forgotten it all. In the end, I could only respond as if spellbound.

“I don’t mind. Let’s sleep together.”

***

Night had fallen before I knew it.

Yet our conversation about escape was still going nowhere.

This won’t do. I’ll just have to be blunt. Otherwise, we’ll keep going round in circles.

Determined, I approached Iser, who was sitting on the sofa reading a book. After turning over three pages without saying a word, I took a deep breath and brought up the subject.

“Iser, that… actually, I have a special ability too.”

Technically, mine wasn’t a special ability but a skill, but I just called it an ‘ability’ to make it easier for Iser, who wields life-related powers, to understand.

“What? What kind of ability?”

Iser closed the book he was reading and met my gaze.

…..Ah, this is so cringey I could die.

You know those scenes in superhero movies where the heroes show off their powers in a group? I never noticed it before, but now that I was the one doing it, I felt so awkward I thought they might disappear.

I closed my eyes and answered.

“Teleportation…”

“…What is that? Like, you’re good at running?”

Iser asked, looking baffled.

I couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh. Truth be told, I’d timed myself once in Lucariel’s body, 3 seconds for 100 meters. …Sometimes I couldn’t tell if I possessed a romance novel villain or Hong Gil-dong.¹

But that’s just a villain passive skill.

Teleportation. No, how should I explain that? I chose the word ‘teleportation’ thinking it would be easier to understand than ‘Guidance,’ but what a bummer.

“…It’s just… skipping all the steps and moving instantly, in the blink of an eye.”

Being tongue-tied, I ended up giving a long-winded explanation of teleportation. I thought it was a crappy explanation, but strangely, Iser seemed to understand it perfectly. He tilted his head for a moment, then nodded and asked.

“So, you can go through a door without opening it. Am I understanding this right?”

“Uh, yes… ”

What a smart kid.

Meanwhile, Iser murmured softly.

“……That’s amazing.”

But no matter what, it couldn’t compare to his ability to bring back someone who was dying. Anyway, it was a relief that he seemed to have understood it more or less. As I quietly watched the two flickering flames, Iser suddenly asked.

“So you used your ability to come that day too?”

He seemed to be referring to the first day of the possession, when I’d broken into the top spire room, knocked the duke out, and kidnapped Iser.

“No, that day I just ran like a racehorse.”

To be precise, I’d used the Discernment skill to get there, but there was no need to explain that complicated detail.

“Just as the Power of Life requires physical contact, the ability I possess also needs certain conditions.”

“…And those conditions will be met in half a month?”

“Yes.”

He really is a smart kid.

Hair that had fallen over his bowed head was covering Iser’s face. I naturally tucked it behind his ear. At that moment, Iser’s shoulders trembled slightly.

Is he cold?

I picked up the blanket beside me and handed it to him.

“I heard your sister is staying at the capital mansion. I could use my power to take you to her… What do you think?”

Iser seemed lost in thought, staring at the flickering firelight dancing on the wall.

His answer came only after a long pause.

“Just getting me out of the castle would be enough. …Thanks.”

With that, Iser smiled. Unlike the bright smile I’d seen during the day, this one was like early spring snow, a smile that seemed to fade away instantly.

Why that kind of smile…

But before I could ask anything, Iser blew out the candle. As both candles went out one after the other, the surroundings darkened.

Was it just a trick of the light?’

Unlike during the day, only two candles had been lit just now, so it was understandable.

“Let’s sleep now.”

Iser gently took my fingertips and led me to the bedroom.

After lying down on the bed, I absentmindedly patted Iser’s shoulder. He pushed my hand away like a kitten rejecting an annoying display of affection.

“…That’s enough.”

“Isn’t this why you wanted to sleep together?”

“No, I didn’t.”

Iser pouted, he was flustered.

Even if you grit your teeth and pretend you don’t, I know you love this. You love this so much, and thanks to that, I even got my last praise achievement.

But if he insists he doesn’t like it, forcing him to do it feels a bit wrong too…

“Then should I hug you?”

“What?”

Iser’s eyes widened, and he sat upright. His eyes were so wide that even in the darkness, his pure white sclera stood out clearly.

I sat up following him and replied.

“Hugs are effective for insomnia too. Things like body heat and heartbeats help calm people down.”

“……”

“You said you didn’t want patting. So I’m saying I’ll hug you.”

Iser, who had been glaring at me with a sulky face, suddenly poked the tip of my nose.

Pain shot through the tip of my nose in that instant.

“Ow.”

Iser snorted as he watched me clutching my nose and groaning.

“How are you going to hug me when even that hurts?”

Right, come to think of it, my face and neck were completely unprotected.

“Wait a moment.”

After lighting a candle and leaving the bedroom, I returned shortly with ten towels. Then, sitting with my back turned to Iser, I began wrapping the towels tightly around my face and neck. After using up all ten towels, my eyes and nose were completely covered, only my ears barely visible.

“Is that enough?”

When I finally revealed my face, completely sealed off, to Iser as I lay on the bed, his laughter came through the thick towels.

He’s laughing…?

Just as I was about to tear off the carefully wrapped towels in frustration, a cold body burrowed into my embrace.

I instinctively wrapped my arms around Iser’s shoulders. Burying his face in my shoulder, Iser laughed for a long while before asking.

“Are you really the person exiled for assaulting a cardinal?”

1. a 2008 South Korean television series Hong Gil-dong, a street-smart thief, sets out to fight against injustice by using his martial arts skills to steal wealth from the rich and distribute it among the needy. ↩︎