Ch. 242

“What is that doing over my head?”

[Am I wrong? I can feel you want to kill him.]

Rovenin’s murderous voice and Undaine’s clear voice were in stark contrast.

It was a great relief that Undaine’s voice was only audible to me.

My animosity toward Rovenin was so strong that Undaine was automatically reacting to it, and it would be a disaster if she actually attacked.

It would end up like Undine.

If I were to experience another reverse summoning in my current condition, I might be lying peacefully in a grave by tomorrow morning.

Come to think of it, even if I succeeded in summoning a Spirit, it didn’t mean I could just attack him.

“Hey! Put the sword away, sword!”

[Now, be good, Undaine. You shouldn’t do that. Come here. Quickly!]

[But… you want it, don’t you?]

[I do… you’re right, but not now. It’s dangerous to be near that ignorant guy! Come here quickly!]

Spirits can also suffer fatal wounds.

And if a Spirit is seriously injured, I suffer along with them.

Because while sharing a soul, we are as one.

That’s why it’s common sense to hide a Spirit’s true form with techniques like transparency during combat, but it seemed like that guy would find her even if she was hidden.

A Water Spirit could temporarily transform into rain or clouds, but that was very energy-consuming and had many limitations for close combat like this.

I chose her, but no matter how I looked at it, a Water Spirit was not for combat.

First of all, they were too kind.

[I’m sorry… I thought you wanted it.]

What fault did Undaine have, returning to my side looking so dejected?

It was me who was getting sick of wanting to hit that guy in the back of the head.

Undaine was just a good kid who purely listened to the voice of my heart and wanted to make it come true.

“What was that?”

Rovenin was still acting overly sensitive even after Undaine had left from over his head.

“Nothing?”

“You expect me to believe that?”

“Your hair color must have been fascinating.”

“Do I look like a fool?”

“Yes. And you don’t know this, but Spirits are as pure as babies or animals. They’re also curious and full of love. The fact that they’re even interested in trash like you is proof of that, okay?”

Even though I replied so kindly and gently, Rovenin expressed his deep distrust and antipathy toward me by silently drawing his sword with a sreureung.

Ash, with a feeling that was now all too familiar, naturally stepped between me and Rovenin as if it were his long-standing duty.

The way he rubbed his forehead with a small sigh made it seem like he was suffering from a headache of unknown origin.

“Please! Can’t you not fight even for a moment?”

“If we were going to fight, we would have already. This is just foreplay… or a preparatory movement?”

“If it’s a preparatory movement, that means it’ll start someday!”

“That’s true.”

I smiled lightly and grabbed Ash’s hand, which was tense.

I held his left hand, sticky with blood, with both of mine and looked down at it for a moment; it was in a state where I would have been muttering about the pain every second.

“Undaine.”

[Yes, Master.]

“You know what you have to do, right?”

It wasn’t necessary to hold hands while healing, but I did it deliberately.

As Undaine channeled her healing power, I stroked Ash’s hand carefully as if washing it until the wound disappeared.

The healing power of a Water Spirit always gives an indescribable sense of comfort and fullness at the same time.

Even though it was filled with a pure energy not unlike when priests perform miracles, Rovenin watched me sharply, lest I do something rash.

Even after Ash’s wound had completely disappeared, his eyes were still full of distrust.

He’s so suspicious, it won’t be easy to tame him.

“Move it. How is it?”

I intertwined my fingers with Ash’s and pulled, checking whether the wound had healed well.

“Very… good. Thank you, Geenie.”

“It’s nothing.”

“I’ve heard you can do this, but it’s the first time you’ve actually shown it.”

“Using this makes me very tired. I can’t do it often.”

There are many types of healing Magic, but among them, healing Magic performed with Divine power is a method that is done entirely with the power of God, so there are no side effects and it boasts the most outstanding effect.

On the other hand, the healing Magic used by Mages is a method of accelerating the life force of the subject to promote recovery, so, to put it simply, overuse can shorten one’s lifespan.

Finally, the healing Magic used by us Water Spirit Mages is a method that relies entirely on the power of nature, drawing on the infinite healing power of nature and applying it to people.

There are no serious side effects, but it puts a slight strain on the user.

This is because it plays a mediating role between nature and the injured, who cannot normally be connected, and thus bears a mental and physical burden.

Spirit Magic itself is like that, so it’s nothing new.

After confirming that Ash’s hand was completely healed, I held out my hand to Rovenin.

“You too, hand.”

Okay, I did tell him to put out his hand like I was telling a dog to do it. I did it on purpose, but still, to immediately coat his sword with Sword energy.

He does that all the time.

“What are you trying to do?”

“What else? I’m going to heal you too. Can’t you save some Sword energy!”

“I refuse.”

What a socially inept guy.

To ignore someone’s pure goodwill like this.

It was a trick to subtly grab his hand under the guise of healing him and read his thoughts.

If I was lucky, I might be able to find out his weakness… so it’s not very pure.

“Why don’t you get treated before you regret it? This kind of special service is really rare.”

“You were planning to get paid?”

“Is there anything free in this world?”

In fact, Rovenin seemed to need treatment more urgently than Ash.

Although he had won the fight against the Count, he hadn’t escaped unscathed, and he was giving off a smell of blood that was detectable even to my dull nose.

If I took off those black clothes, there would surely be several thick wounds.

“Geenie…!”

“Ah, I know. I won’t take it.”

There’s no way I could extort money from an injured person in front of Ash.

As if Rovenin had attacked me, Ash quickly put his hand on my forehead in horror.

Wondering what was going on, I grabbed his wrist to make him take his hand away, and thoughts flowed in.

– ‘Are you sick somewhere?’

He was so seriously concerned that I was about to get upset. I pretended not to know his true feelings and asked back.

“What are you doing?”

“Are you really okay?”

“What do you mean?”

“…No, it’s just that you’re doing something unlike yourself….”

“I definitely tried to act like I was trying to get along. As you saw, that guy rejected me.”

Rovenin’s wariness of me was becoming increasingly extreme.

Even now, Ash had stepped in to try to persuade him, but it was as effective as talking to a wall.

It seemed that the best Ash could do was prevent Rovenin from killing me outright.

“Lord Rovenin, one should also know how to accept when someone shows goodwill. Get treated.”

“I refuse.”

“You definitely said something like that before. That you don’t know why people dislike you. Who will open their heart to you if you don’t allow them near? Allow others near you besides me….”

I think the reason he doesn’t have friends is also because of that strange nuance.

At this point, rumors that the two of them were like that in the Imperial Palace must have been circulating.

“…Anyway, since Geenie yielded first, you should also show some sincerity.”

“Why should I?”

“Because I want the two of you to get along.”

It was a ridiculous reason, but there was no reason as likely to work on Rovenin as that.

Ironically, it seemed that my nemesis and I had one thing in common, and that was the beautiful and kind-hearted Imperial Prince in front of us.

Anyone who messes with our Imperial Prince will die.

“I ask you like this. Get treated for my sake. It’s not that difficult, is it?”

“I don’t trust this woman.”

“Lord Rovenin.”

“I don’t even want to consider getting along or not, but that’s something I’ll think about when this woman returns my sword.”

Anyone would think I was dying to heal him.

It wasn’t like I wanted to get along with that guy either. I wouldn’t be happy if I had to aim for his side or rear because a frontal breakthrough seemed difficult.

“Hey.”

“Hey…?”

“I’ve been listening and listening, but you keep blaming me. Let’s make this clear. You’re the one who took your precious heirloom out of the house, right? You’re the one who ran away from home with the heirloom, so why are you yelling at me? If you want to argue, this whole mess is because of you.”

“Are you crazy?”

Now, even if he pointed his sword at me, I would just shrug and scoff.

This was because I had realized that if that guy had been determined to kill me, he would have done so about ten times already.

The fact that I’m still alive gives me some certainty.

The certainty that that guy won’t kill me, at least in front of Ash.