Chapter 11
A person who’s absolutely necessary.
So Isael himself should be that kind of person for Rosette.
Yet Isael couldn’t shake the feeling that he was utterly useless at the moment.
“If only I were a swordsman who could wield Aura…”
If that were the case, he could have easily dealt with the monsters and reached the island.
This was the second time he felt such helplessness—and the second time he felt disgusted with himself.
The first time was, without a doubt, when he saw Beatrice thrown onto the altar.
Isael clenched his fists tightly.
He needed to become someone who could use Aura.
Even if it seemed impossible in a short time, he had to make it happen, somehow, no matter what.
Only then could he become someone necessary for Rosette.
“Haa…”
Isael exhaled softly and lifted his head.
Outside the island, monsters were still attacking each other frantically, fighting to the death, making an uproar.
But somehow, perhaps due to some magic on the island, he could no longer hear their roars or fighting.
The only sounds he could hear were from within the island itself.
All sounds from outside had been completely blocked.
“Hah, Your Highness! Are you hurt?!”
Felix’s alarmed voice was perfectly audible.
Isael turned to him coolly and spoke sharply:
“Don’t worry about it.”
At that moment, Rosette, trying to regain her composure, grimaced and let out a small groan.
“Ugh…”
Isael once again firmly warned Felix.
“If you speak carelessly in front of her, I won’t forgive you.”
“Ah… yes. Understood…”
Felix slumped under the tree, sulking.
Isael ignored him and focused again on Rosette, who was regaining consciousness.
Rosette gasped and sat upright, then fumbled with her bag.
She pulled out a pocket from it, checked carefully that its contents were intact, and muttered:
“Phew… thank goodness.”
Then she quickly grabbed a bean and ate it.
Her hurried, almost frantic movements could only be described as such.
“…Already picking something to eat as soon as you get up?”
Seeing that, Isael couldn’t help but let out a dry laugh.
It was a laugh born of disbelief, yet it was the first time Isael had laughed since entering this tower.
“What are you doing? Replenishing your energy, right? You should eat too.”
I turned sharply to Isael and handed him a bean.
He took it reluctantly but obediently ate it.
‘…Somehow, it feels like he’s strangely following my words well.’
Maybe I’m imagining it.
Even if it’s a trick of the mind, it didn’t matter.
As I ate the bean, I felt my body recover slightly and looked around.
Monsters, fighting as if they wanted to kill each other, surrounded the island.
Yet they showed no interest in the island itself.
In fact, there was no sound from them at all.
As long as I didn’t look outside, I could rest comfortably enough.
‘I need to rest and prepare to cross to the next island.’
Above all, mental preparation was necessary.
After all, getting to this island had been exhausting enough…
The thought of crossing another monster-filled river to reach the next island was horrifying.
‘But I have to. I must.’
I had to get through it.
Just then:
“Rosette, are you feeling okay?”
Felix, who had been slumped in a corner, slowly approached and asked.
I didn’t want to answer.
But I also couldn’t ignore him like before.
After all, he was the one who had brought me to this island.
“A little uneasy, but I’m fine.”
“Ah, then maybe you need to wipe off… oh, there’s nothing to wipe. You’re all wet.”
Listening to that idiotic chatter still felt annoying.
I checked how many beans I had left in my pocket.
Counting precisely, there were 18 left.
‘18… I shouldn’t use all of these on this floor.’
Still, 18.
It seemed like a number that perfectly summed up my current situation.
Anyway, if I could make it safely to the final island even by using all 18, it would be fine.
This floor’s trials were tougher than I expected.
I also needed to start securing food to prevent starving once the beans ran out.
‘I can’t afford to starve to death.’
Luckily, the seven islands on this floor each had different terrain and environments.
Surely, there would be something edible if I looked for it.
‘…But why is it so cold here?’
It had been unusually cold for some time.
I slowly moved closer to Isael.
Isael, who had been fiddling with his sword, flinched and looked at me.
“…Why?”
“It’s just… cold.”
“….”
“Aren’t you cold?”
“Not really.”
I moved close enough to sit right next to him. Isael stared at me as if I were some strange creature.
His gaze was pitiful, but there was nothing I could do.
My clothes were wet, which made me even colder.
But I couldn’t take my clothes off here.
Isael didn’t push me away, perhaps because I looked pitiful, shivering even with my chin trembling.
He just sighed softly and prepared to give me his coat.
“Ah, don’t give me your coat. It’s fine.”
“Fine? Not at all.”
“I said it’s really fine.”
While trying to stop him, I noticed his coat was torn.
It had blood on it, and a slowly healing wound could be seen through the tear.
I widened my eyes and asked:
“What, are you hurt?”
“It’s healing because of what you gave me to eat.”
“No, it’s not about it healing. Why didn’t you tell me you were hurt?”
“….”
I quickly examined the wound.
There were light scratches across his torso, but the wound on his back was particularly bad.
The clothes were most torn there too.
“You should tell me immediately if you’re hurt! Don’t hide it!”
“….”
“From now on, don’t hide anything! You shouldn’t have any secrets from me, got it?”
Isael, looking at me strangely, asked back:
“And you… will you also hide nothing from me?”
I answered immediately:
“Of course!”
Even though I was hiding plenty, I was confident.
Isael couldn’t figure out what I was hiding, nor would he notice.
What mattered was making sure Isael didn’t create any secrets.
Any variable that could hinder our survival in the tower needed to be eliminated.
If Isael made a secret and it caused a situation I couldn’t prepare for, it must never happen.
“We must have no secrets between us. Understand?”
“Yeah, got it.”
I expected him to argue, but Isael nodded without complaint.
“Neither of us hides anything from the other.”
“That’s exactly what I mean.”
“Yes.”
“Promise.”
I quickly extended my pinky finger.
Isael, looking at me like what is this, linked his pinky with mine.
“Promise.”
“Yeah.”
“We’ll never hide anything from each other.”
“Yeah, I got it.”
It felt a bit like he was humoring me, but…
We had made the promise, so I had to trust him to keep it.
I squeezed his pinky once more, then let go.
I firmly tied my bag and stood up.
Isael shook Felix awake from where he had been slumped and brought him along.
Yes, Felix had been lazily lying around, sleeping all this time.
Anyway, we decided not to linger on the first island and immediately move to the next one.
Based on past experience, I felt we could reach the next island faster if Isael and I worked together.
Because I could control the spirits.
Including the spirits, I could essentially handle the workload of two people alone.
‘And the spirits were stronger than I thought.’
The spirits tore through the monsters barehanded.
