Chapter 338: I Won’t Lose You

The buff, which should have worn off long ago, was still active.

That meant Karbaldr had extended the buff’s duration before falling asleep.

‘No way… was that “Cheer up” he said to me actually him using the [Encourage] skill?’

Incredibly, it seemed Reysir had thought Karbaldr’s last words before passing out were just a simple encouragement.

And yet, he himself had been bewildered by that line back in Chapter 335.

If the person who struggled to activate his buff skill while his consciousness was fading ever learned of this, he would be utterly dumbfounded.

*‘Then when did he use the [Encourage] and [Elation] skills?

When he rushed over to save me from the trap?’*

At that time, Karbaldr had swung his whip to snatch and yank out a plant stem with a white bud.

That process had made a loud noise.

Reysir had guessed that Karbaldr used a buff skill then, and that guess was correct.

But—

*‘Kar was very wary of the monster’s [Sprout] skill, but he didn’t know exactly what would grow.

He doesn’t have a skill like mine that identifies all kinds of information…!’*

—This thought was wrong.

Since Karbaldr was a possessed individual, he knew exactly what danger the plant grown by the [Sprout] skill posed.

However, Reysir, unaware of this truth, continued on the wrong track.

*‘Besides, at that time, there was still a monster near me that was cut in half but not dead, right?

So Kar ran to a place of unknown danger to save me.’*

That was also wrong.

He had already identified the nature of the danger and was confident that Reysir, the “original protagonist,” wouldn’t die.

He had acted solely for his own survival and that of his familiar.

*‘Maybe Kar thought he might end up in danger himself.

So even then, he gave me a buff.

Hoping that at least I would survive and escape this place.’*

No.

‘When he inhaled the pollen and his consciousness slowly faded, he might have mistaken it for dying…!’

The one caught in a delusion was Reysir.

But there was no one around to correct his misunderstanding now.

*‘He made me promise to protect him, yet he threw himself in to save me…

What am I going to do with this tsundere cat?’*

The delusion continued.

‘He denied it, but still, Kar definitely sees me as a friend and truly cares for and likes me.’

If the monsters knew Reysir was thinking such things, they might have been so dumbfounded they’d stop attacking.

However, Reysir didn’t voice his thoughts, and according to the original work’s setting, most monsters couldn’t understand human language.

The battle continued.

Even as Reysir entertained such absurd notions, he managed—

Or rather, by doing so, he pushed away negative thoughts and was able to ignite his will, somehow taking down three monsters.

For the record, these three weren’t the ones that joined later, but individuals that had appeared earlier.

Those had previously been exposed to Jormungand’s [Cat’s Vigor (=Dragon Fear)] skill.

Reysir prioritized those three monsters for elimination because he knew that once a target was exposed to that skill, its effect weakened.

“Kroaroraoraoar!!”

Jormungand roared and used the skill, finally halting the battle for a moment.

Seizing this opening, Jormungand handed Reysir another potion—this time, four bottles.

One healing potion to treat injuries, one aether potion to restore consumed aether, and two antidote potions to escape the poisoned state.

Just from the composition of these potions, it was clear what had happened.

The worry Reysir had expressed in the previous chapter had come true.

Pollen that the handkerchief hadn’t fully filtered had seeped into his respiratory system, eventually poisoning both Reysir and Karbaldr.

Karbaldr’s condition was overwhelmingly worse, so Reysir tended to his friend before himself.

Since the existing handkerchief was caked with pollen, he threw it away entirely.

He pried open Karbaldr’s closed lips and carefully poured the antidote potion between them.

The tension in Karbaldr’s furrowed brow and cold sweat eased, a calm settling over his face.

His lips, which had turned purple, quickly regained their natural color.

Seeing this, Reysir sighed in relief, took out his own handkerchief from his inventory, and covered Karbaldr’s nose and mouth again.

This process took some time.

The monsters twitched, showing signs of recovering from their paralysis.

“Kyaaah!

Kroararararar!!”

Jormungand used [Cat’s Vigor (=Dragon Fear)] again.

Only then did Reysir replace his own handkerchief and consume the antidote potion and aether potion.

After that, he picked up the glass bottle containing the healing potion.

But instead of opening its cap and drinking the contents, he tucked it into his inventory.

Having been exposed to [Cat’s Vigor (=Dragon Fear)] twice in a row, the monsters would soon move again.

Opening the bottle cap and downing the small amount of liquid took no time at all, so it wasn’t a matter of insufficient time.

Rather, since the monsters had scattered many seeds for the [Sprout] skill this time, Reysir hadn’t suffered injuries severe enough to hinder his movement.

And since taking healing potions repeatedly with a short interval halves their effectiveness, Reysir decided to hold off on drinking the healing potion for now, saving it for when he might suffer a serious injury later.

That was the main reason.

And “main reason” implies there was also a secondary reason.

‘…I’m sleepy.’

The seeds scattered by the monsters had grown not only poisonous herbs but also sleep-inducing pollen, which both had inhaled.

This had plunged Karbaldr into an even deeper sleep, and Reysir’s eyelids grew heavier, threatening to close.

He needed a stimulus to ward off the drowsiness.

The pain from his injuries served that purpose, so Reysir judged it better to leave them alone.

“Kar, I’ll definitely keep my promise.

I will protect you.

No matter what.”

Taking advantage of Karbaldr’s unconsciousness, Reysir used his nickname freely and steeled his resolve.

Then he lifted Karbaldr once more and stood up, assuming a combat stance.

This time too, Jormungand’s aether spike had pinned one Sid Bloom in place, so Reysir finished it off with his lightning power, now replenished thanks to the potions.

After that—

—shururuk, basarak, seureureureuk.

As if waiting, three more monsters appeared.

The number of monsters, which he had barely reduced to three, had doubled.

He could only rest when the battle ended, but no matter how many enemies he whittled down, they kept increasing, leaving him no chance to rest.

Even Jormungand was exhausted, panting heavily from dodging monster attacks.

Reysir’s condition was far worse.

His physical abilities might be excellent, but carrying and protecting a sleeping person while fighting naturally took its toll.

His breathing was extremely ragged.

Both the arm holding Karbaldr and the arm swinging the spear were trembling violently.

His palm was torn and bleeding again, making it slippery, and his grip strength had weakened, nearly causing him to drop the spear several times.

If Reysir hadn’t used the physical force of aether to bind his hand to the spear, he would have been in real danger.

He was clearly at his limit, and he knew it.

His anxious prediction that the handkerchief couldn’t block all the pollen had also proven correct.

It would be natural for him to feel even stronger anxiety and despair, but Reysir’s fighting spirit refused to break.

*‘I will never give up.

I cannot waste this life Kar saved at the risk of his own.’*

To reiterate, this was a delusion.

‘I haven’t even reclaimed my family’s fief yet…!’

The enemies Reysir had to fight weren’t only tangible monsters.

The intangible sleep demon was also an enemy he had to overcome.

*‘I only have about two months left.

I can’t die in a place like this!’*

To resist the temptations of the sleep demon whispering that closing his eyes would bring relief, Reysir recalled the reasons he had to live.

*‘If I die, the Daudabiner territory will be completely subjugated by the Imperial Family.

Then it will be impossible to move my parents’ graves there.

Someday, that land will be granted to someone from another house, and even its name will change.’*

These thoughts fiercely stoked his will to survive.

Then came the following thought:

‘Come to think of it, the only reason I managed to get a promise from the Imperial Family to return my fief was all thanks to Kar!’

If he lost Karbaldr here, Reysir was sure he wouldn’t be able to rejoice purely when he got his fief back.

His deceased parents would seem to scold him.

He would be crushed by a sense of debt, making even living difficult.

*‘So surviving alone is meaningless.

I have to make sure Kar survives with me…!’*

From that moment, Reysir’s mind was filled with the single-minded determination to survive with Kar.

That alone was enough to defeat the sleep demon and hold onto his will to live.

He had no need for other thoughts.

But even willpower has its limits in overcoming physical exhaustion.

When it became impossible to even lift his feet, he couldn’t stop the creeping negative thoughts.

‘If only one of us can survive, it has to be Kar!’

In Reysir’s mind, Karbaldr was someone who could spread beneficial influence, while he himself was just an ordinary person.

Moreover, if he died, he would die alone, but if Karbaldr died, his familiar would also perish.

That seemed only fair.

‘If Kar disappears, my life will become terribly dull and boring!’

Reysir had only spent about half a year closely with Karbaldr.

Yet he naturally came to the above thought, finding it both surprising and natural.

Thus—

‘Kar is an indispensable person in my life!’

When he reached this conclusion, a sound he hadn’t heard even once since being trapped in the Demonic Realm reached his ears.

—chaenggrang!

The thorny bramble froze, shattered, and ice shards scattered, revealing a familiar figure.

At last, Reysir could rest and fall asleep.