TEOCH 99

The next morning, we satisfied our hunger by grilling and eating the eel meat we had gotten yesterday. Throughout the meal, Rikiel was stealthily watching my expression. Feeling needlessly spiteful, I glared at him. Rikiel looked back at me with a displeased expression, but he didn’t get angry.

“There you go, looking at me with that face again. Didn’t I apologize yesterday?”

“The more I chew it over, the angrier I get. Truly, I don’t know what’s inside your head to make you so reckless.”

“I was truly sorry. For some reason, I just felt like it would be okay……”

“When you feel like ‘it would be okay,’ do you just go and shove your body into a demonic beast’s maw first?”

Rikiel feigned ignorance, and while I thought I should stop nagging, I didn’t relax my expression. Honestly, that person deserves to be picked on a little. To suddenly jump into the eel’s mouth while we were hunting it, do you know how freaked out I was?

Of course, the deep-sea demonic beasts have a habit of swallowing large prey and digesting it over a long period, so Rikiel would have been fine for about three days, but there’s no way that person knew that fact and did it. He must have made the decision on his own.

‘So incredibly willful.’

He has died more than once or twice from acting so recklessly……. I let out a deep sigh and chewed and swallowed the eel meat. Well, I couldn’t deny that thanks to that person acting so recklessly, an attack timing opened up for Tristan. Something I realized from yesterday’s event is that no matter how good Tristan’s skills are, they’re useless if he ultimately fails to land an attack. It seemed we needed a countermeasure for demonic beasts that are fast or have strong physical defenses.

‘Not that we have no countermeasures at all, though.’

Thanks to hunting with difficulty yesterday, we were able to obtain swords with quite powerful performance. For now, I took the sword imbued with ‘Magic Distortion,’ because in order to increase the activation probability of Magic Distortion, I had to inflict the maximum number of attacks using ‘Cleave.’ Magic Distortion is fundamentally a probability-based ability, so it was very useful when combined with a skill like Cleave that can attack multiple times.

And I gave Tristan a sword with ‘Sharpness’ and ‘Lifesteal.’ The sword he had before was imbued with a ‘Paralysis’ parasite, but Tristan, with his new skills, no longer needed such an ability.

Instead, I gave him ‘Sharpness’ to increase the probability of piercing the opponent’s physical barrier, and ‘Lifesteal’ to allow him to recover health upon a successful attack. I don’t think it was the best choice, but it couldn’t be helped for now. Right now, Tristan doesn’t have a proper sword, and among the identified parasites, these were the only ones worth giving to Tristan.

While I was at it, I also made one to give to Rikiel. In truth, it was more with the intention of checking the unidentified parasites than to give it to Rikiel, but as it happened, a sword that Rikiel could use came out, so I just handed it over. Rikiel himself was making a very moved face, so I didn’t bother to tell him the truth…….

Anyway, the sword I gave him had ‘Shock Absorption’ and ‘Counterattack.’ It was a decent combination that allowed him to efficiently block the opponent’s attacks using Shock Absorption and even return the damage with Counterattack. Come to think of it, I have ‘Counterattack’ on my side right now, but I just don’t have the time to use it. It means I’ve never been cornered to that extent, so in a way, it’s a relief.

‘Well, even if that’s the case…….’

As I was idly fiddling with the sword at my hip, I inadvertently looked up at Damian. He had gone to bed early yesterday, saying he wasn’t feeling well, and he seemed to be in better condition today. Damian not only had his usual carefree expression but was even exchanging light jokes with Rikiel.

“But Sir Rikiel, why did you think it would be okay?”

“Well, I don’t know either. For some reason, I felt like I could survive even if I got eaten……. Honestly, I’d have no excuse even if Rohan got angry.”

“Wow, even you have an unexpectedly reckless side, Sir Rikiel!”

“And you, on the other hand, have a rude side that doesn’t even need the word ‘unexpectedly’ attached. Am I wrong? Huh?”

“Ow, ow ow ow! I’m sorry! I’m sorry……!”

That person Rikiel seemed to have learned from watching me always pull Damian’s ear. Of course, it didn’t seem like he pulled it really hard, and it looked like he was just pretending to pull it playfully, as Damian’s ear didn’t get very red. Those two are strangely compatible; they are shy at first, but after some time passes, they surprisingly get along and play well. But…….

‘Is he not planning on telling me right now?’

For a very brief moment, I deliberately pretended not to see the darkness that flickered in Damian’s eyes and then vanished. Damian is definitely hiding something. I don’t know if it’s because he thinks it’s not necessary to say, because he’s not sure enough to put it into words, or because he doesn’t want to say it. No matter how I look at it, the current Damian is not his usual self.

‘That person, he might have been affected by the second playthrough…….’

At the thought that flashed through my mind, I felt my heart drop. I wanted to believe it was a ridiculous thought, but the possibility itself was more than enough. Even the stage bosses were affected by the second playthrough, so it’s too naive to believe that the companions would be completely unaffected. Though I still had no idea what form that effect would take.

It’s okay, for now, let’s just watch a little longer. I comforted myself like that and tore my gaze away from Damian. I don’t know why Damian is suddenly acting like that, but that person is not so timid or secretive as to keep his mouth shut even if something really serious has happened. Damian is a rational person, and if he is truly worried about an important issue, he will surely tell us.

Pretending not to have noticed anything, I finished my share of the meal. Fortunately, my companions seemed to have not noticed Damian’s strangeness at all. Except for just one person.

“By the way Damian, did you sleep well yesterday?”

“Me? I slept well, yes.”

“You did? I was worried because you were breaking out in a cold sweat all night while you slept yesterday. I guess it was because you weren’t feeling well.”

“Yes, well. I was in really bad condition yesterday……”

Damian mumbled vaguely and turned his head, but Rehas didn’t seem easily convinced. Of course, Rehas wasn’t an impatient enough person to openly dig for secrets, so he pretended to take a step back while stealthily observing Damian. Damian feigned ignorance of Rehas’s gaze and looked away.

“Did you perhaps have a bad dream or something?”

“A dream?”

“Yes, a dream.”

“Well, I think I might have, but then again, I might not have……. Did I happen to talk in my sleep?”

“How would I know that? I was sleeping too, so how would I know if you talked in your sleep or not.”

Wait, if he doesn’t even know if Damian talked in his sleep or not, why is he prying about the dream? I perked up my ears at Rehas’s words. It wasn’t that I particularly wanted him to uncover Damian’s secret, but rather that I was worried Rehas might touch upon a sensitive part of Damian’s, causing him to shut his mouth even more.

At least the Damian I know is someone who will share his thoughts whenever he deems it necessary, even without being prodded from the side. Of course, I don’t think Rehas is the type of person who pries into people’s inner thoughts to the point of being rude, but…….

“Hmm, a dream, you say?”

“You don’t remember? Then never mind.”

“I feel like I did dream of something.”

“You did?”

“Yes. But, Mr. Rehas.”

Even though he was calling for Rehas, Damian’s gaze rested on me for a very brief moment before falling away. I pretended not to have felt that gaze and just fiddled with my sword. While waiting for what Damian would say.

“I really can’t remember. What dream I had.”

Damian said so and smiled.

Rehas looked at Damian for a moment before nodding his head reluctantly.