HPV 48

Yurichen did not look particularly pleased.

It wasn’t simply because we were delayed by another day.

‘It’s a day of rest for everyone else, but not for Yurichen…’

He officially belonged to the capital, not here.

He had already fulfilled his duty by assisting with the purification rituals for another High Priest, but he had no obligation to stay and help with the aftermath.

Yet he was now stuck here for another day, and knowing how chaotic the temple was, how could he, as a High Priest, just sit idly by?

As soon as morning broke, Yurichen began preparing to return to the temple.

I probably wouldn’t see him for the rest of the day.

My head throbbed with fever. Even lying still, my breathing was quick and shallow.

Sweat soaked my body, yet I felt chills. Every inch of flesh ached and throbbed.

I thought I’d be fine as long as I wasn’t getting kicked in the stomach or slapped across the face—but this was unexpectedly hard to endure.

As I gasped for air, I could feel a persistent gaze from the man sitting on the edge of the next bed.

He often kept an eye on me, but today he was staring without looking away for even a moment.

Every time our eyes met, I felt strangely uneasy.

Whenever I caught a glimpse of the red glow in his irises, it felt like that light was wrapping itself around me—an odd mix of suffocation and comfort.

I turned my head to the side and closed my eyes.

More than anything, I was worried whether it was really okay to delay our schedule like this.

Obviously, the original game didn’t have a weakling like me, so situations like this had never happened before.

“Can’t we just leave on schedule, please?”

Yurichen’s mind must have been full of thoughts about how much he didn’t want to go back to the temple.

Taking advantage of that opening, I tried to tempt him, just a little.

“I believe that discussion is already settled.”

The patience of a High Priest, impervious even to the temptations of a demon, was truly something else.

Even when he didn’t need to be, he was always strict.

I had said it many times already: I was fine, so we should just leave the duchy.

Even if I couldn’t walk, I could just get carried on Banwes’s back.

But Yurichen remained immovable.

Was it because he made the decision without even asking Banwes’s opinion?

Regardless, Yurichen hadn’t even given me a chance to negotiate.

He simply and firmly refused.

With no other choice, I gave up and began estimating what unexpected events might occur if we stayed another day in the duchy.

The duchy had just been purged of a demon-worshipping cult.

Thanks to us, not a single civilian had died—unlike in the original story—so the atmosphere was better, but still…

‘Setting everything else aside, let’s just think about it this way:

What’s the probability that Penzey and Paronai, feeling bored, will go out and cause some kind of trouble?’

Paronai, despite how he looked, was the protagonist—the very center of every incident and disaster.

And Penzey…

With his free-spirited nature, he liked to collect research materials whenever he had the chance during our travels, conducting bizarre experiments.

There was no need to explain the dangers of a mage.

“Yuri, you don’t really think a vigorous young man like me is going to stay cooped up indoors, do you?”

The Mage had a talent for making even an innocent request to sightsee sound like scandal.

He even seemed to enjoy the way Yuri’s golden eyes gleamed ominously.

“Just kidding. I’m not planning to use the High Priest’s blessing to go seduce another beauty.”

“Do you think you can say anything just because you have a mouth? Should I make it so you can never chant a spell again?”

I had thought Paronai would be the first to rush out, but somehow, he had already claimed a seat next to my bed.

He glanced at the others who had stayed with me: the man who had smashed both a room and a door yesterday—probably capable of crushing my forehead with a cold towel if he tried—and the quiet boy (who was nowhere to be seen).

“Ria. Do you need me? Should I stay here?”

My mind whirred instantly.

If I said yes, would Paronai really stay?

If he stayed, the likelihood of the Hero going out and causing trouble would drop significantly, wouldn’t it?

But it would be a bit much to fake it.

After all, even Yurichen, the healer, thought it safe enough to leave me and return to the temple.

This wasn’t a critical condition. It was just a bad case of body aches.

I wouldn’t suddenly deteriorate.

‘Or would I…? Who knows what could happen…’

I glanced at Banwes.

I didn’t even get to meet his eyes—just seeing his languidly drooping eyes made my heart lurch, so I quickly looked away.

At that moment, Penzey jumped in, perhaps to escape Yurichen’s wrath.

“Come on, Pao, leave those two alone. Trust Ria’s guard dog a little, will you? I vouch for him—he’s a master of selective strength control.”

It was unclear whether the mage was sincerely endorsing Banwes or subtly mocking him.

Paronai soon spread out a map of the duchy.

This place, had it not been for the demons, would’ve been a land so beautiful that tourists would line up to visit.

Fountains, rose gardens, and the famous statue park were marked on the map.

I peeked at them sideways as he muttered:

“Must be nice.”

Paronai’s expression changed.

It seemed I had somehow stirred his sense of pity.

He clung to the side of my bed, eager to do something for me.

“Should I carry you around? How about a stretcher?

If we bundle you up thickly in a blanket, it might be fine!

I’ll make sure you’re comfortable.

The weather’s nice and warm — getting some fresh air might help you recover faster.”

“If that were allowed, we would’ve resumed our journey today.”

I turned him down gently.

Honestly, I also wanted to see the big city.

But after the recent incident, I was now keenly aware that I needed to keep my face hidden.

If it were just a town we were passing through briefly, it might be fine —but in a place where we were staying for several days, it was better to lay low.

Finally, the mage and the hero left the room, and silence settled in.

“……”

Still awkward around Banwes, I closed my eyes before it could get any more uncomfortable.

As the quiet deepened, sleep crept up on me.

—

A faint, steady noise, like wood being scraped, echoed softly.

It wasn’t irritating — rather, it was soothing.

Listening to it, I slowly woke up.

Bzhan came into view.

And… he was very close.

He was sitting cross-legged in the empty space on my bed where I hadn’t stretched out my legs.

It felt like a wild animal had quietly settled at my feet — a fresh, startling feeling.

Bzhan noticed I was awake, but only glanced at me briefly before silently continuing his work.

With a small knife, he was whittling wood to make arrow shafts.

That was the source of the faint scraping sound.

‘Right. He used up all his arrows yesterday while fighting the demon worshippers.’

But when I sat up, Bzhan immediately put the knife down and pulled out a different set of tools.

A long stick and a slightly flattened clamp.

Using them, he carefully gripped a small stone and struck it precisely with the stick.

Tap, tap — the corners of the stone chipped away, gradually forming a sharp point.

It was fascinating how he wasn’t grinding the stone down but breaking it into a neat, pointed shape.

Forgetting about being sick, I shuffled closer to watch.

Bzhan stopped moving when I approached.

“Stones can fly off,” he said — a blunt warning coming from a boy who clearly looked much too young for that tone.

While I sat there, awkwardly frozen, my nape was suddenly yanked back.

“I can move on my own,”

I grumbled at Banwes’s action.

Then I realized — snapping back like that instantly cleared the lingering awkwardness.

Not a bad result.

The sound of Bzhan chipping stone continued.

It sounded like flint being struck — harsher and less peaceful than the earlier wood-carving noise.

‘Wait…Was he carving wood until now just so it wouldn’t disturb me?’

Could Bzhan be that considerate?

I thought about it — but it wasn’t exactly convincing.

Bzhan always made arrows when he had spare time —replacing what he had used, sharpening what he had made, carefully maintaining his bow in top condition.

His combat and survival skills were all learned from the elves.

After the episode where he reappeared before the group in the Shif Forest, tears streaming down his face, he gave up chasing after the elves and returned to the party by his own choice.

Since then, he still remained cold toward humans —but he no longer obsessed over the elves.

Still, he must miss them sometimes.

Over time, the memories would fade little by little, but he could keep their skills with him forever.

It wasn’t just my ignorance of the world that made me find his skills amazing —any human would find Bzhan’s craftsmanship extraordinary. Truly.

To match the agility of an elf — to imitate their footwork and leaping techniques with a human body —he must have trained to the point of death.

Thinking about that, it was clear that Bzhan hadn’t exactly had a comfortable childhood either.

“Can I try too?”

I pointed at the wood and the small knife with my finger.

Bzhan gave me a look of mild surprise.

Through his black hair, I caught a brief glimpse of his pupils.

Making arrows was actually one of the jobs I had once dreamed of trying if I ever managed to escape.

Though deep down, a cynical voice mocked me: What’s the point of career dreams when you don’t even know if you’ll live long enough?