“……”
“Haven’t you recovered yet, Vivian?”
“Sorry, Little Knight, I…”
Vivian was very distressed.
The condition she had originally promised Arlett was to help him move quickly using teleportation magic to save time. Originally, she should have sent him back by around eight o’clock in the evening. However, after seeing that experimental report, something seemed to go wrong with Vivian’s state of mind.
Her mind was in disarray, and even concentrating her mana had become difficult, let alone constructing a standard magic circle. At this moment, Vivian’s mind was filled with things concerning Arlett and her own memories.
As more and more time was delayed, Vivian became increasingly anxious. But the more anxious she grew, the harder it was to succeed. In such a continuous cycle, she was merely wasting her mana over and over again.
“Damn it… Why am I…”
It was already two o’clock in the morning, and Vivian had yet to construct a decent teleportation circle. This was supposed to be a fairly simple spell for her.
“Why, why can’t I just use it!”
For a moment, with no place to vent her anger, Vivian tried to gather her mana once more to construct the circle, as if trying to use magic to release her frustration. However, at that very moment, her trembling hand was suddenly grabbed by Arlett.
“Stop.”
Arlett, who had been watching from the side until now, stepped in to stop Vivian.
Vivian froze.
“Is the Little Knight… getting impatient from waiting?”
“I, I…”
A sense of panic climbed up from the base of Vivian’s spine. She was terrified that Arlett would drop a line like “I don’t need you anymore, I’ll go back myself” and turn to leave in the next moment.
To avoid that situation, Vivian spoke up immediately: “Little Knight, wait for me a moment, just a moment! I can definitely construct the teleportation magic, definitely!”
However, Arlett’s next words were beyond Vivian’s expectations.
“Don’t push yourself. Take a rest. I felt your state was off back in the study.”
Even though Arlett still used that cold and flat tone, it somehow carried a bit more concern when it fell into Vivian’s ears.
“Aren’t you worried that I’m wasting your time?”
“Not really.”
Arlett shook his head.
“Without you, I probably wouldn’t even have reached the Vampire Territory by now. You’ve already been a great help to me. I have no reason to criticize you.”
Then, he released a bit of nature magic, causing a nearby bush to grow an oversized leaf. He then tore it off to serve as a seat cushion for Vivian.
“Here, sit. It’s not dirty.”
Vivian followed Arlett’s suggestion and rested for a while. During that time, the two chatted casually. Arlett didn’t speak much, and the things he said weren’t particularly interesting, but Vivian couldn’t help but feel a bit happy just being with him.
Gradually, the distracting thoughts that had been lingering in her mind slowly receded.
“I… I’m mostly rested. Let me try one more time.”
“Mhm.”
Finally, in another attempt, the teleportation circle successfully opened. Only then did the heavy stone in Vivian’s heart finally drop.
“It worked!”
A flash of joy appeared in her eyes. She turned her head immediately and called out to Arlett behind her.
“Little Knight, let’s go. I’ll take you back.”
***
After a wave of somewhat dizzying mana fluctuations, the surrounding scenery began to warp and shift rapidly. When Arlett regained consciousness, he had already returned to the base of the Crystal Thorn Adventure Team—in front of that cabin in the woods.
“We’re here, Little Knight.”
It wasn’t until Vivian lightly tapped his shoulder armor, making two muffled “thud” sounds, that Arlett came back to his senses.
“Ah, I see. Thank you for the trouble.”
After confirming he had arrived at his destination, a sense of relaxation began to wash over Arlett’s body. Along with it came an intense feeling of exhaustion. It was true; since surviving the sixth floor of the dungeon, he hadn’t had a proper rest for several days. Most of the time, he had been unconscious.
Even though it was late, he should be able to get some good rest now.
“Little Knight, what do you want to do after you go back?”
“Give the Blood Brew to the Miss, and then… get a good night’s sleep.”
“Is that so? Well, sweet dreams then.”
After saying goodbye to Vivian, Arlett carried the Blood Brew in his hands and walked slowly to the front door of the base. Logically, at this time, the three teammates, including the Miss, should have all been asleep. But at this moment, the base was still brightly lit.
“The Miss and the others… aren’t they asleep?”
With a hint of doubt, Arlett lightly knocked on the door. Sure enough, after a few seconds, he received a response from inside.
“Come in.”
It was Melo’s voice.
Only after receiving permission did Arlett push the door open and enter the base. As expected, Melo was currently writing something with a pen and paper at the dining table. Upon seeing that it was Arlett who had returned, a flash of pleasure appeared in her blood-red eyes.
“Not bad. You’re back so early; it took much less time than I thought. I don’t care what means you used to speed up, though. If you had delayed too much on the road, I would have had to go pick you up myself.”
Unexpectedly, Melo seemed to be in a good mood and even praised Arlett. This was a fairly rare state since they had begun their adventure. However, Arlett keenly sensed something strange in Melo’s words.
“Pick me up if I delayed too long? Miss, do you have some urgent matter that requires me?”
Hearing Arlett ask such a question, Melo immediately put down the quill she was writing with and propped up her cheek with the back of her hand.
“That’s right. Our Crystal Thorn Adventure Team has signed up for the ‘Dragon Slaying Competition.’ The competition is set for tomorrow evening. I was afraid you’d spend two or three days on the road, so I was originally planning to go pick you up personally.”
The two people in the dining room didn’t know that at this moment, within the wall beside the table, a pair of eyes was secretly watching them.
Indeed, it was Vivian, who had supposedly separated from Arlett earlier. After saying goodbye, Vivian had not only stayed behind but had also spiritualized her body to sneak into the Crystal Thorn base.
“Dragon Slaying Competition…”
Originally, she was just worried that Arlett would be mistreated by Melo again and couldn’t rest easy, so she followed them in. But now, she seemed to have inadvertently obtained a piece of information that was very important to her.
Back in the Vampire Territory, she had been thinking about how to use the clues she had found to snatch Arlett away from Melo. Now, after obtaining this intelligence, a plan began to take shape in her mind…