After offering a gentle invitation with a faint smile, he returned to the spot where he had laid his seat.
Whoosh—
I picked up the coat and threw it at Samuel with a hint of irritation. To me it was a sudden attack, yet Samuel didn't even flinch as he caught the coat flying toward him.
He really doesn't sit right with me, in so many ways.
"I understand your proposal. I'll think about it."
I replied curtly without even looking at him, then briskly smoothed out the wrinkled cloak.
"I'm a bit tired. Mind if I sleep?"
What an annoying guy, seriously. We don't get along.
Before he could even respond, I hurriedly closed my eyes.
* * *
'Asking how I tracked her.'
Samuel wanted to know that more than anyone. For him, there was nothing he could offer except the reason that 'she is a resurrected one.'
'Still, it's fortunate I caught her before it was too late.'
Samuel chewed on his countless sigh of relief as he gauged the size of the flame he was maintaining.
Having watched over the fire all night so it wouldn't go out, Samuel hadn't slept a wink. Anyway, going without sleep for days was something he often experienced while tracking criminals.
However, continuously releasing divine power for several hours required more effort than he had anticipated.
It was only when one corner of the sky began to brighten with dawn that Samuel finally cut off his divine power.
"……."
Anelli's face, deep in sleep, was still pale. She hadn't tossed and turned in her sleep—the coat he had covered her with again last night remained exactly as it was. Her complexion was pale, her face the only thing visible, nearly buried in the oversized garment.
Once in the temple, he remembered having similar thoughts while looking at a transparent glass statue.
'It looks like it could break.'
Was she originally such a fragile-looking woman?
Samuel, who had been staring at her face blankly, unconsciously reached out his hand.
The cold sweat slightly beading on her disheveled bangs transferred to his fingertips. Only after feeling the faint moisture did he snap to his senses.
Yet he didn't withdraw his hand; instead, he moved forward. Between the damp strands of hair, the back of his hand touched her moist forehead.
'Does she have a fever?'
Even if nothing was broken, she had fallen from a running horse. She should have properly rested in bed for at least a few days.
'I'll need to get something to fill her stomach while I'm at it.'
He didn't know if she would eat even if he brought something, but Samuel quietly rose to his feet.
With Durahan standing guard, they would be able to fend off any wild animal attacks.
"Your master needs sufficient rest. Watch over her well."
At his low words, Durahan showed some wariness but didn't protest strongly.
Samuel suppressed his footsteps as he quietly exited the cave. Having kept watch all night, he had confirmed that no search party was coming toward the cave, but there was no harm in being careful.
Samuel concealed his presence and carefully surveyed the surroundings. He had to check again for any signs of someone passing through, and he needed to move some distance from the cave to find some herbs and small animals.
Even so, it was a short time—less than half the morning sun had risen.
Samuel returned to the cave with both hands full.
However, what greeted him upon his return was only his coat, discarded on the floor.
* * *
My head was slightly groggy from not sleeping at all. Yet I forced my eyes wide open with sheer willpower and gripped the reins.
He probably didn't expect that I would have been pretending to sleep all night!
Thinking of Samuel returning to find the empty cave and feeling empty, I smiled with rare pleasure.
Anyway, the thought that I had won filled my heart. Since being resurrected, it had been a while since I'd had such a satisfying time screwing someone over, so in a way, it felt refreshing.
"Nadev, run faster."
Since there was no horse for Samuel, he wouldn't catch up immediately, but I needed to put as much distance between us as possible.
Also, he would track the trace of divine power left on my neck, so I couldn't stay in the same place for more than a day. I had no choice but to keep moving constantly.
"Xenon should have purchased the items in advance."
Honestly, I was doubtful.
More precisely, I thought it was more likely that Xenon wouldn't wait for me.
Even if he took the money or had his own circumstances, I didn't think he would have followed my instructions to keep a promise with someone who might or might not show up, even if he didn't directly report me.
"You've escaped safely."
That's why I was even more surprised. To think he would actually be waiting for me at the real Gelvan entrance!
"Is there really a need to be that openly surprised?"
Xenon made a sour expression as he looked at me stopping in place with rounded eyes. He greeted me at the entrance leading into the city's frontier village.
Beside him, the majestic Nethy stood with his head held high, offering me a greeting.
[You are strong, so I thought you would keep your word.]
"Thank you for waiting, Nethy."
"What about me?"
"A greeting to Nethy is a greeting to you. You're the wolf protecting him, after all."
"That seems a bit different……."
Ignoring Xenon who couldn't quite accept it, I glanced at the mountain birds perched on Nadev's head. These cooperators had served as my faithful scouts on the way here.
"It's time to part ways. Goodbye."
[It's a shame, it was fun!]
[Right, you're the first human who could communicate with us!]
[Come play in the forest again!]
As I waved to the birds chirping and flying up one by one, Xenon let out an exclamation of wonder.
"I had sensed it from how you treated Nethy, but you really do seem to converse with animals."
"When you die and come back to life, you learn to treat all things with an open heart."
"Wow, that's truly a sacred saying. If the sermon is over, shall we pray?"
When I didn't answer and just stared at him, Xenon cleared his throat and awkwardly averted his eyes.
"Come on, can't even take a joke."
"Not funny."
"I've never been told I'm not funny anywhere I've gone."
"The items?"
When I changed the subject entirely, Xenon pursed his lips. If only he were half as mature as Nethy, he would have been much better.
I could understand why Nethy always worried about calling him a weak male. I don't know who paired Nethy with that innocent Xenon, but it was truly an excellent judgment.
To think he would so readily follow a request from someone he met on the road, even after receiving money.
It was amazing that he had carried out the trial's task without any problems until now.
Without Nethy, he would have been scammed by someone and buried who knows where long ago.
Taking the magical device Xenon handed me, I offered some advice with rare generosity.
"Don't blindly grant requests like this from strangers in the future. You'll get stabbed in the back."
For me, it was an expression of gratitude for waiting. But to Xenon, it seemed to have a completely different meaning. He looked at me with disbelief.
"Is that something the person who hired me should say?"
"You were lucky to meet someone like me. If it were anyone else, they would have tried to exploit you long ago."
Whether he was swayed by money or my clumsy attempt to evoke sympathy.
Either way, these are means that all people in the world frequently use. If he easily falls for such things, it's natural that he could become endangered.
"I don't know what kind of life you've lived, but not everyone in the world is a fraud."
"Not everyone is a fraud, but the majority are."
"Truly, I can't find even a trace of love for humanity in you, Anelli."
I let Xenon's lament go in one ear and out the other as I fiddled with the magical device.
It was a necklace, so I thought it might activate just by wearing it, similar to the temple treasure I had used before, but that didn't seem to be the case. It looked like I needed to manipulate something on the pendant.
"But Nethy is a trustworthy wolf. Animals tend to be that way in general, but Nethy seems especially righteous. There's nothing lacking in him as a leader."
[As expected, you have an eye for these things. Better than this male!]
As I praised Nethy and fiddled with the pendant, a hand suddenly interrupted my field of vision.
Xenon took the magical device necklace from my hand and placed it around my neck. Then he grasped the gem embedded in the center of the pendant and turned it half a rotation.
"You use it like this. When you turn the center, magical power is supplied and the imbued magic activates. It's rechargeable, so you need to periodically fill the central gem with magical power. Probably up to ten consecutive uses are possible. The number of uses may decrease depending on the magic maintenance time."
He placed my hand on the gem and explained everything one by one, from the direction to turn it to the intensity of force to apply when turning.
Surprisingly, this magical device could change appearance into two types. To have such a fine magical device!
"The change range is limited to the face and hair color. Body shape doesn't change. But that alone should be sufficient for traveling."
Actually, it would have been even better if body shape changed too. I smacked my lips with regret but soon let go of the lingering attachment. With two fake faces, this was enough.
"What kind of face did it change to now?"
"It changed to an ordinary one. Lower your hood."
When I pulled down the hood I had tied tightly to hide my hair color, my hair tumbled down in disarray.
"Your hair is brown, and overall you have a very common appearance. Your eyes are ordinary brown too."
Just being able to naturally hide the outstanding silver hair and violet eyes was a significant achievement.
I wouldn't have to waste time trying some shoddy dye job.
And I had been worried that even such dyeing wouldn't last long and the color would quickly fade. I breathed a sigh of relief, and Xenon quietly added.
"The scar on your neck is still there as is, so you'll need to fasten your collar tightly."
Ah, right, the neck scar.