“If you’re here, that means— Gah?!” I grunted.
I tried to sit up, but I writhed at the excruciating pain that assaulted my left side. I thought I was used to pain after dying hundreds of thousands of times, but I wasn’t immune to it. My body hurt and refused to move. But I’ve got to! If Lunamaar is here, it means she’s nearby...
“Gah... Gr...” I groaned.
As I tried my best to endure the pain, the blanket—though this fur pelt was too dirty to be called one—wrapped around me began to wriggle and move. When the blanket was removed, a girl who practically wore nothing at all appeared before my eyes. She looked exhausted, but when she saw me, she was visibly relieved.
“You’re awake...” she said.
My eyes grew wider than ever before as I was taken aback by this girl—I knew this wench’s face very well. This was three years before the start of the tale, so she looked a touch younger, but her golden hair and jade eyes were striking and difficult to forget. The most decisive factor was that she was traveling with the water spirit Lunamaar.
She was one of the heroines in the story, and the woman who hated me more than anyone. With Lunamaar as her partner, she was the female sailor possessed by a spirit.
“Faltiana Roguebert...” I gasped.
I instinctively sat up and tried to create a Dark Ball in my hands, but no spell came out and I coughed up blood.
“Gah...” I groaned.
Dammit! Is this because of my mana exhaustion? I didn’t have enough mana to cast any spells, and my body rejected my command. I can’t believe I haven’t recovered enough to use a simple, basic spell. My mana must be recovering at a much slower rate than usual. Gah! Where’s Fol?! If I’m left alone with this dangerous woman, I won’t escape in one piece. She’s gonna kill me!
“Huh?! You all right?!” Faltiana cried.
She looked shocked that I’d coughed up blood, and started to rub my back. What is she thinking? Why does she look so worried? You’re the crazy woman who showered me with unreasonable insults! Why’re you even here? Is this the continuation of my dream where I die over and over again?
“Stay away!” I spat through my pain. “You’re planning on killing me, aren’t you?”
“Wh-What?!” Faltiana cried. “Oh, you mean when I choked you? Were you conscious then? Dude, I’m really sorry about that. I had this weird dream... I’m the type that moves around in my sleep, y’know.”
She averted her gaze and tried to come up with excuses. She didn’t seem to pay any mind to the fact that she was also completely naked. First of all, cover yourself up! Have you no shame? And did she just say that she tried to choke me out while I was asleep? I knew it. She’s putting on an act to get my guard down. But then why didn’t she kill me? She had the opportunity when I was knocked out. Does she know that I’m suffering from mana exhaustion? She knows that I can’t fight back with magic. Does she want to torture me before she finishes me off? Someone as brutal and merciless as Faltiana was certainly capable of that. I quickly checked my body for any other injuries.
“Uh... Huh?” I muttered.
For some reason, there were signs of my body having received first aid, though it was a rather clumsy attempt: bandages and ripped cloth tied around my wounds. I turned to my missing left arm; the gaping wound on my elbow was tied by a familiar bandanna. There was no mistaking it. The old, crass bandanna belonged to none other than Fol, and the bits of cloth that were tied around my wounds likely came from his outfit as well.
What’s going on? Did Fol treat me, leave me behind with Faltiana, and vanish? I doubt Faltiana took his outfit to treat me... What’s going on? Why am I in this situation?
I remained wary when Faltiana, all too late, realized that she was naked. She grabbed the fur pelt from me and draped it around her to hide her front, her cheeks flushed pink as she glared at me.
“Hey, stop staring,” she grumbled.
I’m not. And stop making that face—that one where the usually tough heroine shows her embarrassment and bashfulness only to the main character. Don’t think you can seduce me, you lunatic. You killed and insulted me countless times! This coy and reserved act seriously does nothing for me.
“I’m surprised you know my, er, real name,” she said.
“Huh?” I asked.
“You called me ‘Faltiana,’ didn’t you? Did my brother—no, did pops tell you? C’mon, spill it. If you knew, I didn’t need to act like a guy, y’know?”
“Your brother? Your pops? Acting like a dude? What are you on about?”
I stared blankly at her, unable to process her words for a few moments. Wait, now that I think about it, she vaguely resembles Fol...
“Huh?”
Only then did it hit me. Not once did I doubt Fol until now, but on closer inspection, Faltiana’s piercing gaze and her petite frame resembled a familiar guy. She...reminds me of Fol.
“Y-You’re... N-No.” I stammered. “That can’t be...”
“Hey, no need to be that shocked,” Faltiana replied.
I gazed up, unable to fully process my surprise. Yeah, I did think Fol was pretty petite among the burly men, but... He was so young, so I didn’t question it. Also, he clearly looked like a boy, a peon that loved to pull pranks or something. Even now, it seems unbelievable. Maybe it’s some sort of mistake. I grabbed a corner of the fur pelt and pulled it away to check Faltiana’s—Fol’s—body.
“Aaahhh?!” Fol shrieked.
She screamed and quickly shook me away, but I was able to see her body well. She had breasts and lacked male genitalia. Though a bit scrawny, anyone could tell she undoubtedly had the body of a girl.
“Wh-What the hell?!” she cried. “I didn’t sleep naked with you with any sort of intention... I just wanted to warm up your cold body?”
“What?” I asked.
I looked at myself and gave another glance at my surroundings. I’d been washed away by the ocean as I suffered from mana exhaustion, and I must’ve been very weak. Fol had slept with me without wearing anything, as though to keep me warm. I recalled a book that I read in my father’s study—a ship’s log written by a famous adventurer. He got into an accident at sea and reached an uninhabited island where he found a nearby cave. He and the female adventurer got undressed and huddled together for warmth so that they could survive. That’s exactly what happened here, I presume.
As I processed what had happened, I let out a sigh.
“I see now,” I muttered. “It seems I’ve troubled you a great deal.”
“Wh-What gives?” Fol asked. “You don’t need to sound so formal.”
“Yet, I don’t understand...”
“Huh?”
What’s her goal? She hates nobles, doesn’t she? And yet, she literally used her body to save me, a noble. She doesn’t seem old enough to play around with men, but one normally wouldn’t think of sleeping naked with a stranger. While I called her Fol, her real identity was indeed Faltiana, that cruel and merciless wench. Wait, now that I think about it, I haven’t done anything to make her hate me...yet. She’d killed me in my dream, but as it stood, I hadn’t given her a reason to do so. Though even in the tale, she was practically just taking all her anger out on me.
“You hate nobles, don’t you?” I asked. “Why did you go so far to save me? What’s your goal? Are you hoping for money in exchange?”
“Huh? What are you on about?” Fol asked. “Of course I’d save you. Obviously. Sure, I do want some cash, but not like this.”
She looked deadly serious. So you’re not after money? And she made it sound like it was only normal for her to do so. Why’s a mere commoner trying to lecture me using logic?
“‘Obviously’?” I asked.
“You saved me first, didn’t you?” she replied.
Does she mean when I saved her from that beam of the Wicked Whale? That was actually my mistake since I was unable to fully block the whale’s attack. As a noble and the eldest son of House Lightless, I couldn’t stand back and have someone take responsibility for my own folly.
“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but you saved my life,” she said. “And because you defeated that monster, I’m sure that you saved Roguebert too. You’re a hero to me. How could I leave you alone when you were on death’s door?”