TEOCH 69

The sun was setting. Rehas, who was sitting leaning against the cave wall and trimming arrows, glanced at Rohan’s side profile as he applied sap to his equipment. When Rohan, noticing the gaze, looked up, Rehas nonchalantly feigned preoccupation, and Rohan tried to ignore Rehas’s presence with a slight frown.

Glancing again at him as he began to focus on his work once more, Rehas fell into thought for a moment. Was his suspicion perhaps too much of a leap? Was he making a mountain out of a molehill over an incident that was just a fleeting occurrence? With such thoughts filling his mind, Rehas awkwardly bowed his head and trimmed the tip of an arrowhead.

‘But it’s just so suspicious. To call it a simple misunderstanding…’

A week had already passed since they began their proper training. That meant the incident where the king shed tears while talking about the queen was already a thing of the past.

Fortunately, the king had not brought up the queen’s story again since that day, and the other party members seemed to be forgetting that such a thing had even happened. But Rehas was still bothered by the incident.

‘His eyes looked like he was about to kill someone.’

Of course, he couldn’t say it out loud, but just thinking about that time still left Rehas with an uneasy feeling. The emotion Rohan had shown the moment Tristan mentioned the queen’s name was not like his usual self.

His panting gaze, as if in agony from some unknown passion, as if disgusted by it, looked as painful as if he had been stabbed in the heart. Moreover, even that meager emotion did not last long. The young man’s briefly ignited emotion shriveled up in an instant, as if water had been poured over it.

Rehas, too, had only managed to catch that glimpse by chance; if he had been looking elsewhere at that moment, he might have passed by completely unaware. Perhaps the others hadn’t noticed at all.

‘Should I just pretend not to know and forget about it? It’s just making me needlessly concerned.’

Since that incident, Rehas had started paying a little more attention to Rohan’s every move. Of course, what was truly on his mind was ‘Rohan when he is looking at Tristan.’ Even while putting on a dry, nonchalant expression, the emotions that occasionally tinged his gaze were so intense that, once noticed, he could no longer ignore them.

Because he was glancing over so often, Rohan also seemed to have noticed Rehas’s gaze, but he would try to say something to Rehas several times only to shake his head and swallow his words. It seemed he was doing so out of the calculation that it was better to just ignore it than to stir up trouble unnecessarily.

Because Rohan’s attitude was consistently like that, Rehas couldn’t find a good reason to start a conversation either. In truth, even if he did start a conversation, he was at a loss for what to say.

‘I can’t just ask him outright. Something like, “Do you by any chance harbor strange feelings for His Majesty the King?”’

Of course, this phrase ‘strange feelings’ could be interpreted in various ways. It was because it was difficult to accurately read the type of emotion Rohan held just by observing his actions from the side.

Whether the young man harbored a passionate obsession, or whether he hated and resented the king to the point of murderous intent, was still unknown. Of course, thinking about it with common sense, the latter was much more likely than the former.

‘Let’s not guess. And let’s not imagine either…’

Either way, it was too sensitive a question to ask Rohan directly. Besides, it didn’t seem like anything would change even if he got a direct confirmation from the man himself.

Even if Rehas’s suspicions were true, what could he do? Would anything improve by hearing from the young man’s own mouth that he harbored murderous intent or obsession towards the king? It didn’t seem like the man himself wanted to reveal that fact anyway.

‘For now, let’s just watch. It’ll be better than making the atmosphere needlessly strange.’

Just as Rehas thought this and put down the arrow he was holding, Rohan’s gaze, which had been fiddling with his equipment, met Rehas’s directly. Rehas’s expression hardened out of a guilty conscience, but what came out of Rohan’s mouth was completely different from what he had predicted.

“It seems the gloves have gained a decent property.”

“Hmph hmph, really? Their appearance doesn’t seem to have changed at all.”

“Appearance isn’t what’s important with these things. Anyway, try them on. I think it’s a property that suits you.”

“I just have to put these on?”

“After putting them on, lightly tense both your arms. As if you’re drawing out the power hidden inside the gloves.”

Rohan held out the long, elbow-length gloves to Rehas. After briefly observing his usual sullen and clumsy blank expression, Rehas took the gloves from him. The faint fear that could be read in the young man’s eyes must be just his imagination, so for now, checking what property the gloves had gained came first.

As he put on the gloves as Rohan instructed and tensed both arms, prickly protrusions suddenly began to sprout from inside the gloves. Feeling a sense of foreboding, Rehas immediately tried to take the gloves off, but it was impossible. The shape of the gloves began to change immediately.

“Gah?!”

As the protrusions inside the gloves all swelled up at once, a sharp pain shot through both his arms. Something like tentacles shot out from the protrusions, digging into his arms and tearing through his muscles, and began to expand by sucking up the blood that flowed from the wounds. The gloves, which had originally been a darkish brown, were instantly stained red and swelled up to what seemed to be several times their original size.

No, to be precise, the term ‘swell’ alone was insufficient. The gloves, fused with Rehas’s arms, bound him tightly as if to absorb his muscles and bones, and in the end, using them as nourishment, underwent a tremendous transformation. And then.

“Wh-what in the world is this…?!”

“It was a success. I thought it would suit you well.”

The transformation was complete, but the sharp pain felt in both arms showed no sign of abating. And for good reason; his arms had swollen to nearly twice their usual size, so of course it would hurt.

The gloves Rehas had been wearing on both arms were now gone without a trace. Instead, his arms were swollen as if the muscles and blood vessels would burst, and his skin, as stiff as an animal’s hide, was dyed a dark red. An eerie purple aura lingered around his hands, where the knuckles protruded.

Looking at his arms, transformed as if into a monster’s, Rehas’s eyes shot open. No, whether it suits him or not isn’t the important thing right now, shouldn’t he explain what this is first?!

Rehas stared at Rohan, dumbfounded, but Rohan himself just shrugged with a strangely refreshed expression. It seemed that the young man’s gaze towards the struggling Rehas contained a sense of relief, as if he had just paid back a grudge from the past few days, but Rehas tried to ignore that feeling.

“So, is this something like a parasite? One that enhances my arms?”

“To be precise, it’s a lower-grade version of a parasite. No matter how often you use it, the parasite won’t go berserk, so in the long run, it has fewer side effects. However, the pain when using it is more severe compared to a parasite, so it will be difficult to use it consecutively. You can use it fairly comfortably if you utilize Damian’s ‘Anesthesia’.”

“C-couldn’t you have at least told me beforehand that it would be painful?”

“I forgot to mention it. I apologize.”

At the sight of Rohan tilting his head without a single change in his expression, Rehas let out a light sigh. To conclude that it was intentional was difficult, as the young man himself was insensitive to pain to begin with. Besides, it would be troublesome to get angry over such a petty matter when the gazes of the other companions were focused on them…

In the end, giving up on further protest, Rehas decided to examine the state of his transformed arms. There was a pulling pain in his muscles whenever he moved his arms, but other than that, there was no particular discomfort. Rather, it felt as if a strange, unusual power was enveloping and flowing through his entire arms, and it seemed he could overcome a light pain anytime. Rohan, who was silently watching Rehas, opened his mouth.

“It demonstrates decent power even in that state, but… shall we go outside and try shooting a bow? That will be more powerful.”

A bow? Tilting his head for a moment, Rehas followed Rohan out of the cave. The other companions, who had been watching from the side, also followed to see the gloves’ performance. They showed no suspicion towards Rohan’s attitude and just wore curious expressions.

Rehas scratched his head, feeling like he had become a spectacle. Of course, he too was ready to watch anytime if his other companions had experienced such a thing, but now that it was his turn, it felt quite awkward.

Deciding to finish the experiment as quickly as possible, he nocked the arrow he had just trimmed onto the bowstring, and aiming at a nearby rotten tree, he drew the arrow with all his might. His arms bubbled and swelled, and with a strange sensation as if all the blood in his arms was being drawn to the tip of the arrow, he released the bowstring.

BOOM!

With a tremendous impact that echoed all around, the rotten tree exploded. No, to be more precise, a radius of several meters around the rotten tree had been cleanly blown away, as if erased. On the ground, which had originally been lush with grass and vines, only bluish soil was exposed.

And it didn’t end there. From the spot where the arrow had hit, the eerie aura that had been lingering on Rehas’s arms until just now was slowly spreading out.

However, Rehas himself was in no state to confirm that aura, as he had to sit down and groan from the terrible pain that assailed his entire body.

“Ugh, k-huk…!”

As soon as the aura surrounding his arms disappeared, his arms returned to their original state. At the shock of his swollen arms contracting in an instant, he had to let his mouth hang open. Tears welled up in the corners of his wrinkled eyes.

‘Damn it, you should have told me about this too!’

Rehas thought, grinding his teeth, but this time Rohan also approached with a rather apologetic expression. Leaning on Damian, who had rushed over to support him, he struggled to catch his breath. Only after some time had passed did he turn his gaze to the aura that had settled thickly in the distance.

“Are you alright, Mr. Rehas?”

“I-I never imagined it would hurt this much… But what is that strange fog?”

“It’s the ability imbued in the gloves. To be precise, it’s something like a curse.”

“A curse?”

“Yes. If a monster were hit by that arrow, it would be unable to move properly for a while, and its regeneration speed would also be significantly reduced. Of course, it’s impossible to kill a monster with just that arrow, but it should be possible to at least tie down a powerful monster for a short time.”

“Like a harpy?”

“Yes, like them.”

Rohan, who had approached Rehas, carefully moved his hands and took off the gloves. For something that had caused such immense pain, there was surprisingly not a single wound on either arm, so Rehas, while groaning in pain, looked at his own arms as if fascinated.

It was very painful, but if he could just endure it a little, he seemed to be able to produce a decent amount of combat power. If Damian used the ‘Battle Preparation’ magic to anesthetize him, the pain would be less, so he could use it consecutively. Of course, in that state, the sensation in his fingertips would be dulled, and his accuracy would drop significantly…

As Rehas was thinking this, he suddenly felt someone’s gaze. It was the king. Come to think of it, among the people present here, he was the only one without any decent special ability. He cast a slightly envious gaze, but when his eyes met Rehas’s, he just smiled awkwardly. Rehas, understanding his feelings, gave a light shrug.

“I wish the equipment of the others could also get these kinds of special abilities, but… the probability is what it is, so it doesn’t work out well. The sap on this island is also starting to run out.”

“That is a pity. I, too, should obtain such equipment in order not to be a burden to the others.”

“Your Majesty…”

Rehas noticed a complex emotion flash across Rohan’s eyes for a very brief moment before disappearing. It was an emotion that vanished in an instant, as it always had, but Rehas felt a strange sense of unease. Hmm, how should I put it. That looks a bit ominous…

“Well, it would be good if such an opportunity arises later.”

“…”

“Anyway, once the tree sap on the island is depleted, I think we will really have to leave this island then. We can’t just keep training forever.”

Rohan gave a light shrug and averted his gaze from the king. Rehas, who had been staring at him for a long time, mulled over the fact that the young man had not given the king a proper parasite until now. Of course, the supply of parasites themselves was scarce, but observing the young man’s actions now, it didn’t seem to be just for that reason. It seemed like there might be some other reason…

Rehas became quite curious. What kind of emotion did that young man hold for the king?