HEO 88

“Listen carefully. There is no proper doctor on this island. You must know this from seeing the state of things here. But I can get you some medicine that will probably help you get through the hardest part. You’ll get some restful sleep for a while.”

Silver paused for a moment.

“It’s a drug. You understand what I’m saying, right?”

Suffy-Nosed Mouse stared at Silver. His pitch-black pupils, enveloped in amber light, repeatedly dilated and constricted. There was no sign of understanding in those eyes.

Suffy-Nosed Mouse’s lips moved slowly.

“A nice…… scent…….”

“It’s sandalwood incense. You lit it.”

“Iris… Iris scent…”

“It’s sandalwood incense.”

Silver took a deep breath. There was no iris scent.

“It really is sandalwood incense. Where did you get such fine incense powder? Did you steal it from a senior…”

Silver could not finish his sentence. Suffy-Nosed Mouse wasn’t listening to anything. He simply stared at Silver. Despite his vacant gaze characteristic of a dying person, his eyes ensnared Silver.

It felt as if the words he was about to speak had dried up somewhere in his chest. Silver could not open his mouth again.

The sound of rain passed by. The brazier crackled. As the flames surged, a bright light flooded the room, albeit briefly. The sandalwood scent grew stronger and stronger, filling Silver’s body. Gradually, his consciousness became clouded by that intoxicating fragrance.

Before he even realized it, his sensations became distorted, the kind one experiences when high on drugs. Everything around him twisted and warped. The colors became blindingly vivid. A single moment lasted forever.

The room was as narrow as a birdcage. The man was too close. He couldn’t distinguish between the heat of the fireplace and the man’s body temperature.

Silver stared at the man. He knew. The object in his gaze was undoubtedly a sick man. The flush on his cheeks, his unfocused eyes, and his slightly parted lips were not due to lust, but symptoms of a fever. The beads of sweat rolling smoothly along the curves of his firm muscles were physiological signs. The man was desperately fighting against the heat burning his own body. He knew it all. Yet, somewhere deep inside Silver’s body, a throbbing pain pulsed. Anxiety, which he hadn’t felt even when a target deviated from his expected path, struck him belatedly.

Did drugs get mixed into the sandalwood incense?

It’s because of the scent. Or perhaps it was because of the sound of the heavy rain.

He should have turned his head away. However, Silver maintained his gaze on the man. The man, too, did not take his eyes off Silver.

Suddenly, the man raised a hand. That slow movement made his arm look so heavy that it was almost impossible to lift. The man’s fingers traced Silver’s wrist and soon grasped it.

Silver flinched. The man’s grip was weak. Yet, the heat radiating from his hand was as hot as a furnace. Each finger felt like a branding iron heated in a fire. Held captive, Silver felt his own pulse beating anxiously. It felt as if the man’s body heat was spreading through his pulse.

Let go.

Silver said this only to himself. The man did not release Silver’s wrist.

The sound of rain surrounded the room on all sides like a fortress wall. It felt as though this room was isolated from the outside world. The scent of sandalwood became intense, to the point where Silver could taste it with the tip of his tongue. The brazier crackled intermittently. The man’s fingers tightened their grip on Silver’s wrist a little more.

Suddenly, another hand grabbed Silver’s nape. It moved so fast that it was hard to believe this was a man suffering from a severe fever. The fingers pressed firmly against Silver’s neck. Without a moment to react, without a single breath, Silver’s head was pulled downward. The distance between the two crumbled like a sail with its ropes cut.

Lips met lips. The touch of the man’s lips was dry, rough, and hot. Silver’s entire body froze completely. Thoughts in his mind were like a bottomless abyss; nothing came to mind. Only his five senses became excessively heightened. The scent of sandalwood. The heat seeping into his lips. The sound of rain.

Suddenly, everything became clear. His hazy consciousness cleared instantly, and the surrounding colors became dull and muddy. Silver abruptly stood up. He roughly pushed the man away and stepped back.

“You.”

Silver swallowed before speaking again.

“What do you think you are you doing?”

The man did not answer. His eyes were closed. The hand that had been pressing on his neck just moments ago lay limply on the blanket. Only his breathing escaped his lips like a low whistle.

Silver took a deep breath and looked down at the man. The residual heat on his lips slowly cooled. A sudden urge to kill that bastard surged through him.

No, that would be a waste of energy. If I wait, the fever will finish him off.

A few hours from now. Maybe even sooner.

Silver wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He pulled the blanket up to his shoulders and lay back down. Even as time passed, the sound of the rain did not subside. It felt as if thousands of fists were pounding the roof at once.

Despite the noise, the man’s breathing was clearly audible to Silver.

Ragged gasps. And the heat radiating from his body.

Even though they lay apart, the heat felt intense enough to melt his side.

‘It’s proof he’s dying.’

Silver repeated this to himself like a mantra. That young, solid, muscular body wouldn’t last long and would eventually collapse. He would leave behind nothing but a blanket soaked in profuse sweat as his memento.

‘Just a few hours.’

At some point, Silver rose. He snatched the robe sprawled on the floor and draped it over himself. He opened the door without looking back.

Heavy rain poured in. The raindrops were thick enough to obscure his vision. The outside world was pitch black.

He closed the door. Silver walked into the cold darkness.

***

〔Reward Activated.〕

A voice pierced through his ears. Wolf, who had unconsciously lifted his head, flinched.

The stinging smell of salt and tar. Boisterous laughter from the deck, and footsteps. A lamp hanging from the ceiling of the narrow corridor spun around. Everything was exactly the same as before. Except for one thing.

Something glowed dimly in the air. It was a sight that resembled a well-polished window emitting a pale light of its own. Letters bloomed one by one in the center of the window.

〔Target: You〕

:: Reward: 〔Right to Self-Defense〕

:: Remaining Uses: Unlimited

The letters stopped moving, as if someone had put down their quill pen, contemplating whether to add a note at this point.

‘Wolf? What are you doing?’

Someone leaned their face close to Wolf. Their figure wavered and distorted, like a rippling river blocking his view. The other person snapped his fingers right in front of Wolf’s eyes.

‘Hey, do you see a giant spider or something? What are you staring at?’

A brief silence. The other person suddenly raised his voice.

‘Wol–!’

Only then did Wolf stiffly raise a finger.

‘You can’t see that…?’

The moment the other person’s name left his lips, it vanished like a blank space. Wolf stared at the window in the void.

‘What? Well… I don’t see any bugs…’

‘Something like a window… a small door… You can’t see that?’

The text began to move again. Wolf followed the words with his eyes. The surroundings become chaotic. The other person shook Wolf’s shoulder and shouted.

‘Wolf! Come back to your senses! Don’t just stand there, wave your left hand! If you do that, the evil spirit.… !’

Another voice cut through all surrounding noise and burrowed into his ears.

〔Confirmation of ‎ ‎ ‘s murderous intent toward < you >.〕

〔Conditions for activating < Right to Self-Defense > are met.〕

〔You choose to execute the activation.〕

〔You are given only one chance to refuse support.〕

Wolf’s inner voice whispered hurriedly.

Refuse. It’s a temptation from the evil spirit.

You know it. That’s like a lucky quill from a fairy tale. It’s like a doll you must never touch on a full moon night.

〔If you want to refuse, just say ‘I refuse.’〕

〔If you want support, just say ‘I will not refuse.’〕

In a very brief moment, countless fragments of thought collided.

Have you forgotten? You vowed you wouldn’t accept any reward from the evil spirit, even if they offered it.

No, I have to accept it. He saved him first. Even though he knew the man was going to torture and kill me.

No! You could be in danger! Don’t accept it!

No, I absolutely have to take it. Danger? I can handle it.

Children will only be happy when bad adults disappear. I only grew close to the prince after my mother died. If that man dies, I’ll become the first in his eyes.