Chapter 38: Bonfire Spot

Self-harm?

Cas immediately pounced on Siloque.

“What are you doing! Listen to me, ugh!….”

I was just about to ask you the same thing!

Cas pulled out the Antitoxin Mask from his ring device—a tool that can partially block out magical fluctuations—and pressed it against Siloque’s face.

Enemy attack.

Cas suspected that Siloque might be under some form of mental control skill.

His deep blue eyes anxiously scanned the surroundings, searching for the enemy.

He didn’t want to see Siloque vomiting blood and on the verge of death again…

“Get off me.”

“Ugh!”

Siloque elbowed Cas hard, sending him flying, then tossed the Antitoxin Mask back.

“Oww… that hurts. I thought you were being controlled by a monster…”

Cas held his waist, struggling to get up.

Siloque recalled the sensation of Cas lying on top of him—why was this guy’s butt so hot and bouncy…

Too little muscle.

“I’m fine, not controlled or attacked, don’t just touch me. Also, I don’t like men.”

“No need to emphasize that so much… sorry…”

Cas looked honest but a little hurt.

Though he understood Cas was only acting out of kindness, getting so worked up over a little bleeding was a bit PTSD-inducing.

He’d bled much more before.

“Stop worrying about that. I’ll show you something interesting.”

Siloque didn’t bother with Cas’s protest and walked straight to the lake, calling Cas over.

He dunked his bloodstained left hand into the water—

Suddenly, a gentle golden light of healing wrapped around the wound in his palm, restoring his hand as if time had reversed.

“!! Wh-what is this?”

Cas exclaimed in amazement.

“In Dungeon Legend, this is the Goddess Birthplace. The magical lake here retains divine miracles.”

That’s how the game lore described it.

It was like a campfire point, and fortunately, it worked as expected.

After testing, Siloque confirmed the healing effect was normal.

Now they could move on to the next step.

“I see. You really know a lot, Siloque… I’ve heard all sorts of crazy things about Dungeons, like that you can heal completely just by touching something… way faster than casting a skill.”

“Not everything here is perfect. The lake only grants Complete Healing and removes debuffs for those below Lv15. For higher levels, the effect is negligible.”

“That’s still good. If we sell it as a healing potion, buy a water extractor, and hire some Explorers as guards, we could sell bottles at half the market price of potions…”

Cas’s family background sparked his business instincts.

Siloque scooped up a basin of cold water and splashed it over Cas.

“Wah! So cold! Huh? It’s a bit sweet.”

“Unfortunately, I’ve thought about becoming a beverage giant selling health water too. But the effect only works when the water is from the lake itself. Once removed, it’s just normal natural water.”

“Uh, okay then… By the way, Siloque, you brought me here to level grind, but I haven’t seen any monsters.”

Cas dropped his business dreams and looked around.

All he saw was the clear lake framed by maple trees glowing orange-red.

If he hadn’t been told this was a Dungeon, he’d think it was some nature reserve.

Since entering Maple Court Garden… there were hardly any monsters—not just few, but none at all.

Cas expected some mimics of Withered Tree Demons like outside, but actually, not a single monster appeared.

It was as if the monsters consciously avoided this place.

“Cas, I need to tell you something first. The upcoming monster grinding will hurt like hell, but I believe as long as we work together, we’ll be fine.”

Siloque’s words interrupted Cas’s thoughts.

At the same time, Cas noticed two coils of Safety Rope lying by Siloque’s feet.

“I trust you, Siloque. What are those ropes for?”

“You’ll find out soon enough. Lastly, I want you to remember this phrase whenever you’re in a desperate situation or feel like giving up. It will give you infinite strength.”

“… Given your past behavior, I’m not holding my breath.”

“There’s never been a savior. To create happiness for humanity, we have to rely on ourselves.”

“Feels… pretty true, actually, quite profound.”

“Of course. Now, say it with me!”

“Uh, okay!”

“There’s never been a savior. To create happiness for humanity, we have to rely on ourselves!”

“Sounds powerful, Cas. Remember this phrase and you can defeat all the Veil Minotaurs.”

“What?… Minotaurs?”

Suddenly, Siloque started undressing.

The sudden exposure of large swaths of pale skin caught Cas off guard, and he covered his face with his hands.

“W-what are you doing? We’re supposed to grind monsters. Wearing so little armor is too dangerous.”

“… If you really don’t want to see, just turn away. Don’t peek through your fingers.”

“I’m not peeking! What does grinding have to do with undressing!”

Cas—who was actually Cassia—had never seen a naked man before.

Although her previous all-girls school had a large communal bathhouse, Cassia found it troublesome and never went, so she never saw any nudity, even among girls.

Siloque undressing made Cassia’s blood boil; this was way beyond anything related to boys and girls.

Wait, she had bathed with Mom before, so she’d seen it?

No!

That’s totally different!

“Don’t get so worked up. I meant I’m going to demonstrate something.”

Demonstrate? Could it be…

Cassia had seen something like this in manga before.

The male lead used training as an excuse—starting with finger touches, then moving to thighs, under skirts, kissing cheeks, escalating gradually…

“I’m talking about demonstrating monster grinding.”

Siloque responded precisely, as if he anticipated Cassia’s thoughts.

“Ahem, got it. I wasn’t thinking anything. Siloque, how do I cooperate?”

Cassia—the real Cas—regained composure.

Siloque’s expression remained unreadable as he said:

“Take off your jacket.”

“I… understand.”

Even though the Enchantment Ring let him walk around without clothes and no one would think anything of it, that didn’t mean he wasn’t embarrassed.

Cas’s face flushed red as he bit his lip, starting with his jacket, belt, shoes, and socks…

At this point, he was still wearing a blue T-shirt, a plain white shock-absorbing sports bra underneath, and just a white triangular underwear on his lower half.

Cas flushed and panted, hesitating as he grabbed the hem of his T-shirt, lifting it up then putting it back down…

Changing clothes in front of a guy—was he some kind of pervert?

In Siloque’s eyes, this was just a man in white briefs stalling.

“… You’re taking off so much. Just the sports bra and underwear are enough.”

“You should’ve said so earlier!”

And stop staring at me silently while I change!

“When guys say ‘take off your clothes,’ they usually don’t mean get completely naked… Cas, what are you thinking?”

Siloque’s deadpan lecture left Cas speechless.

Looking closely, Siloque was wearing a loose black tank top and square-cut gray underwear—more like pajamas, definitely not fully undressed.

Cas—Cassia—wanted to cry but had no tears.

Boohoo…

I’ll never get married now…

***

Compromise reached, Cas wore his T-shirt on top and beige capri pants from his ring’s storage on the bottom.

“Monster blood stains clothes easily. Wearing clothes in the water means you’d have to wear wet clothes back, which is uncomfortable and affects combat. Besides, the lake’s healing only works when it touches bare skin, so it’s best to remove outerwear and expose more skin.”

“You should’ve said so earlier… I have plenty of spare clothes in my ring…”

Cas stood waist-deep in the cool lake water, gripping the Safety Rope tied around his waist.

The other end was fastened to Siloque’s waist.

Siloque stood on the shore, already skillfully tying his ponytail.

“Siloque! Are you sure this is safe?”

“No problem. Just pull the rope at the right moment.”

Having heard Siloque’s monster grinding plan, Cas couldn’t help but wonder:

Was Siloque’s brain really okay?

Siloque gripped his Greatsword, took a deep breath, and headed toward one of the maple trees on the shore, its trunk etched with a Rune.

“Watch closely, Cas. I’ll only demonstrate once.”