Chapter 358: An Easy Elf, an Easy Elena (5)
“Will the others be okay?”
“They will be okay. There was no other trace except for the one who fell with us. They must be heading where we are right now.”
“Yes.”
“There is a high probability that this monster is the Dungeon Boss from the Twisted Pond. He is also the one who has caused the World Tree rot. I don’t know why the dungeon boss, which should be at the end, suddenly appeared, but if there is no other problem, the expedition members will also be able to reach this place within 15 days.”
Though I said that I didn’t know why, that did not mean that I couldn’t predict why the dungeon boss suddenly popped out.
This was just a guess, but he was probably settled somewhere in the center of the Twisted Pond.
It was said that this place was a dungeon, but it looked like it took enormous magic power to keep the demons within the dungeon.
The visa that allowed the demons who could not stay on the continent to stay here was the magic power emanating from the Twisted Pond, or the World Tree.
Salit, the named monster, was likely located closest to the Twisted Pond.
There was no way that such a guy would suddenly go for a walk at the dungeon’s beginning without harboring any plans.
It was correct to think that we were being aimed at right from the beginning, rather than accidentally being discovered.
‘Because it doesn’t seem like there was a battle after that.’
It meant that he had just swallowed the kiln and pulled out immediately.
That was the reason that Kim Hyunsung and other guild members could not react to it, and the elves who were guarding the rear did not respond properly.
Of course, considering that it was a semi-mythic-grade monster, it could not be helped, but it was undeniable that the rear was not able to respond.
In the midst of this, doubts arose as to why he was aiming at me.
Of course, there was an expected answer that arose. Belial, the demon lord, said that he coveted me, so I must have been coveted by Salit as well.
This posed another problem here.
‘Why the h.e.l.l did this b.a.s.t.a.r.d swallow me up?’
Belial clearly expressed that he was not willing to kill me, and he actually didn’t.
For demons, a contract would be needed. He even showed himself to be friendly, saying that he wished to meet me again.
The fact that Salit swallowed me to kill me was far from the devil’s way of thinking that I knew.
‘Is he incapable of thinking?’
It could be the kind that moved by instinct.
Not everyone who was cla.s.sified as a demon would think and act like the 72nd Lord.
It would be nice to check his information a little more, but the information given to me was only this much. It was regrettable that there were parts that could not be seen with the Mind’s Eyes, which was still a legendary grade attribute.
The only reason why I could see fragmentary information about him was also because of the influence of my cla.s.s.
“More importantly… I-I think it’s really fortunate.”
“I’m sorry?”
“If it weren’t for Lee Kiyoung, I would probably still be there…”
“You don’t have to think that way. I was able to get here because of you.”
“It’s not. It was you who found out that we were inside a monster… I did nothing… Yes. I was only scared. In fact, I still am. It’s amazing how the Honorary Cardinal can be so calm. I’m just sorry for not being able to help you as much.”
“Haha. I am not that courageous as you think. In fact, I’m just the same as Elena-nim.”
“What?”
“I am saying that I am an equally timid person.”
“But how can you…?”
“I don’t know. I’m not sure, but I’m already quite used to this situation.”
“…”
“Elena-nim’s presence also has an impact. If I were alone, it would have been difficult to hold on. It’s just as helpful to have someone to rely on.”
“Ah… t-thank you for saying so.”
“I’m not just saying, I mean it. Maybe if Elena hadn’t held my hand now, I would have already pa.s.sed out. Thank you very much for that alone.”
“Oh.”
As we walked, I noticed that Elena’s legs were shaking, so she must have reached the limit. It was understandable. We had been walking for two days without proper rest.
I was also in a situation where my physical strength was at its limit.
It was not unreasonable that she is struggling without her experience of marching like this. She has high basic stats, so she may have some spare stamina, but her feet would definitely not be okay.
“I think it would be better to take a break and go.”
“No. I can’t…”
“I was getting tired, too. We’ve been walking for two days without sleeping properly.”
“…”
‘You don’t have to feel so guilty because I’m also exhausted.’
In the meantime, I kept looking around, but I still couldn’t find anything weird.
I thought that there might be other monsters in his body, but so far, I hadn’t found anything special.
If we wanted to take a break, now was the right time. It was inside the pa.s.sage to the next organ, and it had the proper terrain to be able to hide our bodies.
‘Well, I’m not sure if that’ll help…’
Still, this was better than nothing.
As I sat down, she also sat when I gestured for her to sit next to me. She frowned as if doing this was already painful.
There was no need to explain that this was what I thought it was.
“Can I take a look at your feet?”
“What? No. I’m fine…”
When I took off her boots carefully without listening to her reply, I could see that the blisters had burst and had gotten all tangled.
Although it seemed painful because of the blood sticking to the boots, the shame was greater than the pain. Once again, I saw her face blushing.
“T-That’s okay. I can recover myself.”
“You should’ve told me…”
“I thought you would be worried. But I’m fine now, Lee Kiyoung.”
“No. I think it would be better to save your divine power. Since we don’t know what will happen, you need to fill your stamina. I have a potion, so I think it would be faster to treat it with this.”
“What?”
‘Not a chance I would let this go.’
Of course, the top priority is to get out of here alive, but I did not neglect my job.
There was a feeling that the goal was just around the corner, and she wasn’t as resistant as I thought.
I didn’t know if it was because we were inside the demon, or because she had already gotten used to it, but she refused to get nauseous or frown around me anymore.
The same was true now. There was no other rejection while I was slowly touching her feet. Rather, she had her head lowered, almost as if she felt embarra.s.sed.
As I took out the potion and slowly poured it over her feet, I saw Elena’s face twitching along with her ears with the unfamiliar sensation.
‘It’s a little bit concentrated, but this would be better.’
After slowly pouring the potion on her wound, she slowly began to touch her feet, and her ears were clearly flapping.
She held her breath as much as possible, but she looked to be ashamed of it. Seeing her overreacting, showing one’s feet must have been embarra.s.sing for an elf.
‘They’re very small.’
It felt like her feet were a little small for her body. I didn’t know how it would be considered, but I had to do my best to heal her feet for now.
I put my hand on her calves while I was at it, but she wasn’t too embarra.s.sed or resistant. Rather, she nodded, wanting to express that it was okay.
“I think it would be good to work on the muscles, too.”
“Yes? Ah… Okay. You don’t need to…”
“Maybe it works great for relieving muscle fatigue. I’m not showing off, but the potion I made has many benefits. It will be okay if you stay like that a little, so it would be better to have a quick meal while you wait.”
“Okay.”
“Please take it, Elena-nim.”
“No. This is not necessary. You should eat it instead of me…”
“I’m used to it. Rather, I don’t eat a lot at times like this. I am full enough with what I ate before. Take it, quickly. It’s an insignificant meal, but it will satiate you for the time being.”
“T-Thank you.”
“You don’t have to say that.”
I finished with a little smile. I saw Elena reluctantly receiving what I handed over.
She also looked to be feeling guilty about receiving help alone, but she also seemed strangely happy.
‘This is working better than I thought.’
I wondered if the improvement was faster than expected, but I didn’t have to think that this was a weird occurrence.
Couples in action movies and horror movies didn’t kiss for a climax for no reason. The more desperate and dangerous the situation was, the easier it was to feel likable.
Of course, if she were to get a good feeling about me paying attention to her a little here, it was definitely beneficial.
After the expedition arrived at the place where Salit was, the event to restore my body would begin immediately after the fight, so it was good to pay attention in advance.
‘They must be coming, right?’
It was only natural for me to feel anxious while chewing the beef jerky that I had eaten earlier.
I was currently heading to his heart in case the expedition got into an accident, but it was unclear if things were going well.
Not only his outside, but also his inside felt solid. I couldn’t even be sure that I could do damage with the Dragon Breath potion.
‘This woman also doesn’t look like she has a high attack power…’
Whatever it was, it remained true that if we settled down, we would surely die.
We had gotten out of his stomach right now, but there was no guarantee that we would not be disa.s.sembled even if we placed ourselves in another organ.
It was then that Elena’s body, holding my hand, trembled.
‘What’s up with her?’
She looked a little nervous. I was worried if something happened, but it didn’t look like that.
She was rubbing her lips as if she wanted to ask something very much, but it felt as if she couldn’t speak easily. I waited to see if she would say she wanted to go to the bathroom again, but what I heard was completely unexpected.
“Er… Honorary Cardinal.”
“Yes.”
“M… Maybe…”
“Yes, Elena-nim?”
“Uh, what kind of relationship… do you have with Jung Hayan…?”
‘Now, would you look at her?’
She was looking at me, biting her lips tight as if she had finally asked. Her face went as red as a beetroot.
‘Look at how upset she was.’
It felt cute how she said what I had been waiting for.
On one side, things got tangled up, but on the other, things seemed to be working out well.
Seeing Elena, who also seemed a little anxious, I opened my mouth with a bright smile.
“I love her.”