148 147. Intermission.txt (1/2)

A white girl lies on the bed in Rastiara's room.

Beside her, Rastiara, clad in a red mist, accompanies her.

After taking her pulse and body temperature, Rustyala releases the fresh blood magic. Apparently, there is even a doctor in her blood.

''Fufu......''

All the way back from the labyrinth, Rastiara has been using sacred magic and fresh blood magic. His fatigue was leaking out in the form of a sigh.

''Are you alright, Rustyala? Shall I go get Dea: ......?

I decided to at least reduce the burden of the sacred magic and suggested support.

When I looked for her in ”Dimension”, I found that Dia was sleeping in her room again (...).

'No, not Dia. This isn't a normal illness. So I'm going to take care of her some more.

Not normal?　What the hell are the symptoms?

Rustyala speaks slowly after hesitating for a bit.

''This is a symptom unique to the 'Jewelculus'. The contents are empty because you've squeezed all the magic stones in your body to the limit. ...... To put it simply, I'm half dead.

'Because I've squeezed out the magic stone ......?　Then would more magic stones help you recover?

During the course of the healing process, Rastiara asked for some magic stones. It was only then that he finally understood why the girl who vomited blood took out the magic stones from her 'possessions'.

''I think she'll recover for now. But this girl has lost so much blood that she's also suffering from a magic deficiency. Besides, that--

Rustyala was hesitant to tell me all the symptoms.

Grabbing his shoulder, I asked for an explanation.

'Tell me Lastiara, tell me. I don't want to regret not knowing anything.

Unusually, Rastiala looks away for a bit. Then he speaks more slowly.

'Even if you make a full recovery ......, you probably won't have long to live ......

You don't have a long life, you mean a long life?

Rustyala nodded with a divine look on his face.

''My body is too much of a wreck ....... I have no idea why it's so bad ......, even though the 'Magic Stone Human (Jewelculus)' is so short-lived. It doesn't look like it's failing, but this is like ......--

I get impatient with this sudden and serious conversation.

”--Wait, this is the first time I've heard of that. Rustyala is also a 'magic stone human' (Jewelculus), right?

That means it's not just the sleeping girl who is short-lived. My voice trembles as I see the horrible equation.

But soon enough, Rustyala shakes her head.

'No, I'm the 'best of the best' so I'm fine. ...... Yeah, I'm fine.

I mean, are you sure about that?

I was getting skeptical and I couldn't easily believe it. I would make sure that I wasn't just saying it out of strength.

'Unlike everyone else, I don't lie in these situations. Honesty is more like it, you know.

Lastiara laughed absent-mindedly.

I don't think he was unconcerned, but I don't think he was lying. I'll believe the fellow named Rastiara.

Okay, I won't ask anymore. So, how much longer does this boy have to live?

I don't think I'll last six months in this scruffy body.

Only six months ......?

The shortness of his life expectancy made me dizzy.

It's hard to believe that this is the story of a kid who was in a dynamic battle just a few minutes ago.

I have a lot of questions for this kid ....... Somehow help her, Rustyala.

She was responding to Mr. Hein's name. There was no doubt that it was relevant.

'Yes, it is. I have some questions to ask you, too, so I'll do what I can to help. But if I just wake up, I might go on a rampage again. ......

I'm going to borrow a restraining device from the 'Epic Seeker'. If we can tie them up, we can get by.

''As long as I keep it restrained, I guess I'll be fine. I don't think the MP will recover easily due to the magic deficiency and .......

All right, let's get there early and get it--

The two of us will decide on the treatment of the girl in detail.

For the time being, it is confirmed that the girl will be kept on the ship until her condition is settled.

After that, I rush to the Epic Seeker to retrieve the restraining devices. I'm not going to be able to get the locks and fetters that they used to restrain my magic, but they were easy to get for me. The strength of the restraints was a bit worrisome, but if you let numbers do the talking, you can handle it.

Then, deciding to always monitor the girl with Dimension, Rustyala and I went to report to our friends.

◆◆◆◆◆ ...

After finishing the treatment of the white girl, we were on deck when the Reaper first approached us with concern.

''Brother, was that guy okay?''

'Rastiara managed it. In the meantime, I hear he's not going to die anytime soon.

Well, that's good.

The Reaper patted his chest and was relieved.

But for some reason, his body was soaking wet. The cloak he was wearing contained plenty of water and smelled of seawater.

'So, Reaper, what were you doing ......?'

'What?　What do you mean, swimming?

With a look that said, ”What's the matter of course you're asking me?” the Reaper made his way to the fence at the edge of the deck. On top of that fence, Maria was sitting thinly clad.

'They say she's practicing her swimming, Kanami.

'Oh, I see. ......'

I leaned forward and looked under the boat and saw Sera swimming in the sea with her doggy paddle. Unlike the wolf form, the human form of the dog paddle was a bit ridiculous to watch. Then the reaper jumped in and clung to Sera's back.

With a big smile on her face, Sera swam out with Reaper. While I took my eyes off of her for a moment, the Reaper was able to act in the water, even though she was poorly.

''So, is it true that there was an ocean in the labyrinth?''

'Yeah, it's true, layer 35 was completely underwater. We're not going to get any further unless we can swim.

That's ......, that's troubling. ......

I knew it. Maria can't swim either?

'Yes. There were few rivers and lakes, let alone oceans, in my hometown of Fania. ......

Maria turns over, looking apologetic.

The water that had been dripping into her hair drips down. Perhaps she had tried swimming with the Reaper. However, unlike the Reaper, it seems that she couldn't learn to swim easily.

'Then it's no wonder you can't swim. No one can swim at first, so don't worry about it. We'll all have fun if we learn it together.

'Yes ....... Please teach me kindly, Kanami.

Maria laughed serenely.

Apparently, they've decided to have me teach them a lesson.

Then Snow sneaks up behind me.

'I heard it was a fun game: ......!　By the way, I can't swim either - I was born in the mountains and raised in the city!