PMEVBO 65

The wooden tray holding my dinner was collected, and shortly after, the cell door opened. With a metallic sound, Iser entered first. He exchanged a brief glance with me before standing against the cell wall. Behind him, the apothecary entered.

The apothecary took a seat in front of me and pulled instruments from a large bag. The light seeping through the open iron door seemed dimmer than usual today. Perhaps because of that, she was tilting her head, examining the back of my hand.

Then, Iser approached silently and shone the lamp over the apothecary’s shoulder.

In that instant, I flinched. Iser’s face, illuminated by the lamp, was beautiful. Perhaps she thought the same thing, because the apothecary cleared her throat twice before speaking.

“…T-thank you.”

The apothecary’s hand trembled noticeably today. Perhaps because of that, the needle prick felt unusually painful.

“Well, I’ll be going now. Take care.”

It was the kind of formal greeting often exchanged between shift workers. Yet Iser didn’t respond. An unnatural smile appeared on the woman’s face. It was an awkward situation even for me to watch. And so, the apothecary left the cell.

I stared at the closed iron door until the apothecary’s footsteps faded down the hallway. Then Iser asked.

“…… What are you thinking about?”

“Nothing, just… I felt bad for her. She must have been embarrassed.”

“Ah, sorry for making you uncomfortable. But I couldn’t help it.”

Iser plopped down next to me. Then, casually tucking my hair behind my ear, he whispered.

“I’m doing this because I want to, not because it’s a chore.”

I didn’t know why he kept saying things like that. Ever since we reunited after six years, Iser had often acted like this toward me. Each time, it unsettled me.

The Iser from six years ago definitely wasn’t the kind of person who let others get close like this. He did occasionally make a tiny space for me at unexpected moments.

‘It must have been hard.’

‘……Hard? What was?’

‘You did something that wasn’t like you. You did something out of character, so it must have been hard. Whether it was the trigger, the process, the outcome.’

But that was… because there was nowhere else for him to put his heart but me.

Originally, I planned to send Iser to Isabelle via Tykvana. But when ████ locked Iser’s location on the Babet Plains, I ended up begging Iser to bring him back to Hayut Castle. Good-natured Iser didn’t get particularly angry with me, but after returning to the castle, things got pretty awkward between us.

About five days passed in that state when I accepted the main quest, and because of that, Iser…that was everything. So there was absolutely no reason for Iser, whom I’d reunited with after six years, to act like this toward me.

Come to think of it, how is Iser even alive…?

That was the first question that came to mind when I saw him again.

But I hadn’t voiced it until now. …Strangely, it felt like I shouldn’t ask. That feeling remained unchanged. Eventually, I even began to think resolving that question wasn’t particularly important.

As the words I tried to say scattered like ashes, I naturally closed my mouth. Not that Iser had spoken to me either, so only the regular sound of the medication dripping remained in the cell.

I clenched and opened the hand with the needle fixed in it, my gaze fixed on the status window.

Vaccine Generation Rate: 0% (0/100)

It’s already been over 12 hours… What if there’s still no progress…

…Does this thing even progress at some point?

“Lucariel.”

Startled by the sudden call of my name, I turned my head a beat late.

“…What?”

“Your hand hurts right now.”

…How did he know that?

Iser silently held out his hand before me. His gaze lingered on the hand pierced by the needle, he was asking for that hand to be given to him. Reluctantly, I offered the problematic hand to him like an obedient dog. He guided my hand toward the lamp.

Ah, as expected… the needle missed.

My hand, resting on Iser’s large palm and illuminated by the lamp, looked worse than I’d imagined. The area around the needle, which had pierced flesh rather than a vein, was swollen and bulging.

“…Why didn’t you say anything? It must have hurt a lot while this was happening.”

“It doesn’t hurt much.”

Staring at Iser, who was examining the back of my hand with a pained expression, as if he were looking at a wound on his own hand, I muttered without thinking.

“It’s just that the medicine pooled in the flesh instead of the vein, so it turned out like this. It’ll absorb after a while. This happens sometimes.”

Iser’s gaze slowly shifted to my face.

“I thought this was your first time breaking the restraints… You seem to know quite a lot about it?”

It wasn’t because I’d read the original story. That information had never appeared in the book. When a burning pain began to surge at the spot where the needle was inserted, I could roughly estimate what was happening. I must have picked it up somewhere, that this sometimes happens when you’re hooked up to an IV. 

But I couldn’t just said it like that. In the end, I decided to change the subject.

“Anyway. It’ll be fine soon enough. So don’t worry about it.”

Just as I was about to withdraw the hand I’d given to Iser, he gripped my wrist.

“…But this will make it better faster.”

A refreshing, soothing energy seeped through the skin where we touched. It was the Power of Life.

The swelling on the back of my hand, caused by the unabsorbed medication, quickly subsided. But Iser didn’t let go of my wrist. He pulled my hand toward him, rubbed his cheek against my palm and murmured.

“I’m here. Why endure the pain?”

My fingers curled at the smooth sensation under my fingertips. My insides churned again. Just as I was confused by this indescribable feeling,

Ping!

A familiar electronic sound rang out.

───【 Sub Quest 】───

Praise ‘???’!

(0/?)

D-?

Reward: Vaccine Generation Rate ?%

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What?

…The reward is vaccine generation?

No wonder it had been stubbornly stagnant…

This was the first time a sub-quest reward wasn’t a skill draw ticket. If they were going to give a reward, wouldn’t it be better to give both vaccine production and a skill draw ticket? Anyway, I don’t like anything about this.

But seriously.

…How the hell am I supposed to do a praise quest inside a cell?

It’d be a problem if the praise target happened to be someone outside the prison…

If I stepped outside the prison with even one restraint attached, I’d be as good as dead. But breaking all these restraints was impossible. I’d have to risk my life just to break the one around my neck.

Please, at least let it be someone inside the prison…

I bit my lip, anxiously waiting for the question marks in the status window to disappear.

That was when it happened. Suddenly, I felt an unfamiliar sensation on my fingertips. It felt damp and hard, yet soft…

“……!”

Startled, I turned my head around to see Iser gently nibbling my fingertips. He grinned mischievously and said.

“You should focus on me.”

Every time his red lips moved, the touch of his warm, damp breath and soft lips brushed against my fingertips. Goosebumps rose on the back of my neck.

“What’s over there?”

“……Nothing. What could possibly be there?”

Iser smiled contentedly at my answer. The mole on his right cheek, faintly blurred, was illuminated by the soft lamp light. Even in the dim cell, his vivid blue eyes held my gaze, refusing to let go.

Ping!

An electronic beep sounded before I could even check the quest window where the question marks had vanished. I knew exactly what it meant. My gaze instinctively shifted toward the status window. Iser said nothing more to me.

───【 Sub Quest 】───

‘XXX Hayut’ has appeared!

Praise ‘XXX Hayut’ to complete the mission.

────────────

… This time too, my target for praise was Iser.

───【 Sub Quest 】───

Praise ‘XXX Hayut’!

(0/3)

D-6 (144h)

Reward: Vaccine Generation Rate ?%

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