Chapter 58

Because of what happened earlier, the atmosphere between Evan and me was a bit stiff.

For me, it was just a little embarrassing…

Above all, since my clothes had dried completely now, there wasn’t really anything to be embarrassed about, so I was walking along the road without a care, but Evan looked like it was tough for him just to walk alongside me.

Was it because he got angry alone just moments ago?

To be honest, I didn’t quite understand it either, but I figured it was only because of his age, so I didn’t feel it was that strange.

In fact, it was hard to believe that Evan’s mental health was in a good state.

After all, the first thing he saw when he arrived at the Academy was my talent show.

Literally, I had shown him my dying moments while scattering red organs all over, so it was no wonder he looked a bit sour every time he saw me.

Honestly, considering I had shown him my dying self multiple times, it was surprising that he treated me normally.

Even Stella, at first, had a mental breakdown for quite a while before she finally pulled herself together, didn’t she?

Now, it seems that she is focusing more on magic research to forget about what happened back then, but at the same time, you could recognize her as strong for having regained her composure almost immediately.

Lastly, who was it…

Was it Albert or something? It seemed like he was struggling quite a bit.

Seeing that he is still in the hospital now, it shows that he was truly one of those kids with outstanding potential to be able to join a party that hunts the Demon King.

Anyway…

We walked for quite some time without even sharing a proper conversation.

Perhaps it was because I had fallen earlier, but with each step I took, I felt like we were gradually going higher.

‘I wonder if Dannes is doing okay…’

With Dannes’s level, I figured it would be quite difficult to break through the golems inside the dungeon and reach the boss.

Of course, he was stronger than Evan, so it wasn’t impossible if he pushed himself, but the probability of dying before even getting there was high.

Dannes likely knew that too, so even if he reached the boss room, he wouldn’t be waiting for us.

If he insisted on coming all this way after being told to go back, he would probably get a serious scolding.

It’s kind of funny for me to say this, but he should value his life a little more.

After deciding what to do in my mind, I wondered how long we had walked.

I could see the end in sight.

“Wow…”

At first, I felt a little despair thinking we had to climb a long way up to reach the boss’s room.

Despairing, for sure, since Dannes disappearing was truly a painful event, it felt somewhat boring compared to facing the boss, which led me to have such thoughts.

Well… this place was definitely more hellish than above.

The golems that swarm out unpredictably, and the traps scattered everywhere.

If I didn’t have Divine Power detection, I would probably have been pierced, crushed, and smashed by every trap one by one.

‘Well… I would like to stomp on them if I could…’

But doing that would mean I would have to show my dying self all the way there.

I’d have to pretend not to notice, so even if Evan stepped on a trap, I wouldn’t be able to say anything to him.

If that happened, it would take much longer, and Evan’s mental health would crash, so sadly I had to notify him that I could detect traps and avoid them.

Thanks to this, it felt somewhat less boring…

Given that Evan was used to dealing with golems, he would slice through one that appeared each time.

Moreover, unlike earlier when I was being attacked from various directions in a wide space, we were now in a narrow corridor, so he was massacring the golems to the point where I didn’t need to help him.

Originally, golems that appear here are supposed to be stronger than before, but since they swarm out from one side in a long passage, if he launched a strong technique, it would take them all out equally in one shot.

Earlier, it felt more difficult to face them because they were coming from all directions on such a wide path.

Well, even if they became stronger, it was still better to fight in a narrow path.

After all, the number of golems he had to face at once would decrease.

There was also the expectation that the impact from his attacks could damage the enemies behind.

However…

‘Something… seems to be filled with emotion…’

With each swing, he was brutally tearing apart the golems that appeared one after another.

Even though my buff was applied and made him stronger, the way he wielded his sword seemed excessively violent, unlike what Divine Power would dictate.

Of course, I can believe he would have enough emotions since they were the enemies that annoyed him earlier, but was he really that angry…?

This is complicated.

‘Is his boiling point lower than I thought…?’

Considering Evan’s personality until now, it didn’t seem like he was the type to get that hot-headed, but maybe that’s just how I feel.

Even in the game, I only saw fragmented information about his personality, so I don’t think he was the type to get angry so easily.

Of course, he did get easily provoked regarding his master.

‘No way?’

Could the golems be insulting his master?

If that’s the case, it would mean they could read his thoughts and provoke him, making them quite terrifying.

‘That can’t be true…’

Even if it had happened before, it wouldn’t be happening now.

Moreover, that kind of enemy was incredibly strong and even better at reading thoughts and dodging attacks.

Anyway…

“The uphill seems to be at its end…”

“Haah… Haah… [R-Really…?]”

I was starting to feel like I might die from exhaustion, but finally!

At last!

With Evan’s words, I mustered a bit more strength and climbed up the hill.

It was a slope that showed just how high we had fallen from.

So tiring…

‘Have we finally arrived?’

I wondered how long it would take, but thankfully it didn’t take as long as I thought.

If it had taken a long time because we had fallen from an even higher place, I would’ve just bitten my tongue and died once.

Wouldn’t that at least let me experience a momentary sense of pleasure?

No matter how good I felt, self-harm is truly a crazy thing, so I don’t do it… But I don’t really have any reasons to be stressed, so I don’t even feel the impulse to self-harm like most people do it for stress relief.

No matter how much pleasure one may feel from pent-up stimulation, doing it myself or doing it in a way that makes others see me as weird doesn’t provide that much pleasure.

The pleasure I feel is a mixed element of both mental and physical, you see.

I don’t even know why that is.

“[Huh… We finally arrived.]”

“Eh… Should I have carried you?”

“[… No, I would have refused.]”

Even though it was hard, it didn’t seem right to be carried…

I shook my head and replied like that.

Then Evan made a strangely regretful face and turned his head away.

What’s with that? Why the regret?

‘It can’t be, right?’

He wouldn’t…

Hmm.

Avoiding preferences, I’d prefer he just didn’t like me…

My appearance aside, my inner self is a dark guy, so I’m not sure if I can fall in love. I’ve lived as a woman for two years, but just because I’ve lived physically as a woman doesn’t mean I’ve lived socially as a woman, and I still think of and act as a man, don’t I?

Well…

‘But earlier, he was kind of cool.’

Even if the outcome would have been the same either way, and even if it meant I would have to feel pain to save myself, I still want to give him a lot of credit for throwing his body for me.

It’s not much, but still.

The way he acted earlier was cool, but it’s hard to turn my heart with just that.

Would there be someone who would fall for that?

Especially since I was a man before.

I only think of him as a commendable guy.

Anyway…

‘Where could he be…?’

I remember that there should be a path leading straight to the boss room upon arriving…

“Hmm?”

What’s this?

‘This familiar smell of blood…’

Well, saying it’s a familiar smell of blood is strange because most blood smells similar, but still.

There shouldn’t be a smell of blood here.

After all, everything wandering about here is a golem, and unless golems produce blood, it’s impossible for there to be a smell of blood.

That said, it couldn’t be the smell coming from Evan or me, as no one had been hurt coming this far. Since I already detected all the traps in the space with my Divine Power, I wouldn’t have gotten caught.