26

“What is it?”

“Oh, you’re awake.”

The cave was now bright, illuminated by the sunlight filtering through the cracks in the rocks.

“How long have you been carrying me like this?”

“About two hours?”

If the sun was up, he could have woken me. What’s the point of carrying me around like a piece of luggage? Although, calling it “luggage” might not be entirely accurate—he was holding me with both hands, quite carefully. Still, it didn’t change how I felt about it.

“Put me down.”

“Why?”

“I’m awake now. I can walk on my own.”

“On that foot?”

Delroz gestured toward the ground with a nod. Banteon twisted his body to look at his foot and saw that his ankle was even more swollen than it had been the previous day.

The heat he hadn’t noticed upon waking now throbbed through his foot, a delayed reminder of the injury.

“Clueless as ever. Didn’t even realize your ankle swelled overnight.”

He had thought the bone wasn’t damaged, but the situation seemed worse than he had expected. The emergency medication he had brought must have dissolved when it fell into the water. As much as he hated to admit it, Delroz was right—he had been clueless, letting the injury worsen while he slept.

“You’re too weak for a man.”

“…”

Banteon bit back a retort. There was no point in arguing. Normally, he wouldn’t get hurt, but it seemed like every time he encountered Delroz, he ended up scratched or swollen. In Delroz’s mind, Banteon was probably cemented as a fragile, waterlogged paper doll. Considering the current situation, Banteon couldn’t argue otherwise.

With a small sigh, Banteon acknowledged the pathetic situation.

“The bone isn’t broken, so it should heal in a day or two. Just help me today.”

“Of course. I don’t have the hobby of carrying a stiff man around for days.”

“…”

Even when he agrees, he has a way of saying it. Despite disliking the man, Banteon had initially planned to thank him, but that intention quickly vanished.

Delroz walked across the uneven cave floor without any effort, as if he were walking on flat ground. As they moved forward, a small light appeared in the distance.

Thankfully, before the sun set, they found an exit. After clearing away the stones without causing an avalanche, the bright sunlight and a forested mountain path came into view.

Under the sunlight streaming from all directions, Banteon surveyed the area. They were on a remote mountain path, with no signs of human presence. Though the situation hadn’t changed much, just getting out of the dark cave brought a sense of relief.

Delroz examined the direction of the sunlight and the surrounding plants.

“It looks like we’ve come out on the other side.”

He skillfully brushed away the dense foliage with his rough hands.

“These plants don’t grow on the kingdom’s side. We’ve crossed the mountain range and come out in the middle.”

This continent, once a single vast landmass, was split in two by the rampage of the first Esper. The southern part, once the center of the continent, had turned into an impassable desert. To the east was the sea, and to the west, a towering mountain range.

Before the kingdom was established, the southern kingdoms that had occupied this continent were said to have perished when the desert formed. Occasionally, relics from that ancient civilization were unearthed, but no descendants were ever found.

The mine they had been exploring was on the border between the southern and western regions. They had lost their way in the cave and ended up walking westward.

After carrying Banteon a bit further, Delroz sat him down on a suitable rock and began examining his swollen ankle.

“Can you send a distress signal?”

The emergency flares they had carried were soaked in water and likely wouldn’t work. Their communication devices had been damaged in the fall. The only thing left was some jerky, meant to be rehydrated in water.

But there wasn’t enough for two people to last more than a couple of days.

Delroz shook his head lightly. It seemed his supplies were in no better shape.

He carefully untied the fabric wrapped around Banteon’s ankle. The cloth, damp with moisture, dropped to the ground.

“Ugh…”

A wave of pain surged through him, pain he hadn’t felt until now. His ankle, swollen to the size of a plum, was visibly red and inflamed. As he bent his head to look, a wave of dizziness hit him.

“You’ve got a fever.”

Delroz’s large hand covered half of Banteon’s face. He rummaged through his belt, only to angrily toss it aside.

“All the medicine got wet. This is bad.”

If the fever was setting in, it meant an infection had started. Without painkillers or antibiotics, things would only get worse.

As Banteon’s face turned redder with fever, Delroz’s expression grew darker. They had no blankets or bedrolls due to the unexpected disaster. With a serious expression, Delroz rewrapped Banteon’s ankle in the fabric, tying it several times to keep it immobile, before standing up.

“Let’s start a fire.”

They weren’t far from the mine, which was connected to a monster gate. Though they hadn’t encountered any monsters in the cave, there was no telling when they might appear. Starting a fire could reveal their location.

“It could be dangerous.”

“I’ll handle that.”

Worrying about monsters was pointless. Delroz brushed off Banteon’s concerns as irrelevant. He then skillfully gathered the necessary materials from the surroundings. Soon, sparks flickered to life among the dry leaves and twigs, and the fire began to crackle and burn brightly.

The damp clothes that had become soggy in the humid cave quickly dried in the heat of the fire. Although Banteon’s face turned redder from the fire, the feverish warmth inside him seemed to subside slightly.

As Banteon relaxed, leaning against the rock and letting the warmth ease his tension, Delroz looked at him with a disapproving gaze.

“What is it?”

“Your underclothes must be wet too. Take off your outer clothes.”

“Pardon?”

“There’s no point in just drying the outside.”

To prove his point, Delroz began stripping off his own clothes, exposing his muscular upper body. Without hesitation, he unbuckled his pants, preparing to remove them as well. Banteon frowned, watching Delroz undress so casually in the open.

“Having trouble undressing?”

“No, it’s fine…”

“If you find it difficult to move because of your ankle, just say so. I can help you with that too.”

Banteon fell silent as he watched Delroz, now standing in just his underwear after having discarded his pants. Delroz was right; it made sense that keeping on wet undergarments would make drying the outer clothes pointless. But even so, Banteon was reluctant to start undressing. The thought of being here, in this remote place, stripped down to his underwear and sitting face-to-face with Delroz was not exactly appealing. With some reluctance, Banteon finally removed his jacket and laid it out next to the fire.

His white t-shirt clung to his torso, damp with moisture, and Delroz glanced at him briefly.

“…”

“What is it?”

“Nothing.”

Why was Delroz looking at him like that? It was unnerving, especially considering how many men Delroz must have seen in his life. Banteon wasn’t particularly fond of the scrutiny. Though his frame appeared slim, Banteon’s body was well-toned from consistent training, his muscles defined but not bulky.

When Banteon didn’t proceed to take off his t-shirt, Delroz spoke up, sounding slightly puzzled.

“Take that off too.”

“It’ll dry just fine while I’m wearing it.”

He only had one layer on his upper body, so he figured it would dry quickly enough by the fire. As Banteon tugged at the clingy, semi-transparent fabric of his t-shirt, Delroz’s brow furrowed further.

“It’d be better if you just—”

“Sorry?”

“…Never mind. Do as you like.”

With the upper body sorted, Banteon turned his attention to his lower half. But it proved to be more of a challenge than he had anticipated. Though he had already unbuckled his belt, the pants were tightly secured at the ankle by the fabric he had used to bind his injury, making it difficult to remove them. Any attempt to bend over would put unnecessary strain on his ankle.

He struggled to shift his weight and lift his body, but the fabric beneath him made it impossible to pull his pants down from his seated position.

“Could you help me with this?”

“…”

“Why are you just standing there? You offered to help, didn’t you?”

“Right.”

Delroz, who had seemed hesitant about assisting, approached Banteon with a deep frown. He undid the tight knot around Banteon’s ankle, loosening the fabric, which allowed the pants to slide down more easily. But simply tugging at the bottom of the pants while Banteon was sitting didn’t do the trick.

“They won’t come off if you only pull at the bottom,” Banteon muttered, chastising Delroz as if he didn’t know how to undress someone. Delroz’s frown deepened as he reached for Banteon’s waistband. He then carefully lifted Banteon’s body to help pull the pants down past his hips and off his legs, making sure not to aggravate his injury. Banteon had no choice but to lean into Delroz’s arm for support.

Once the pants were off and past his injured ankle, Delroz immediately stepped back, the tension in his expression reflecting his discomfort.

“This was a bad idea.”

Perhaps Delroz, being a staunchly heterosexual man, found even the slightest physical contact with another man uncomfortable. His face certainly didn’t suggest he was any more at ease.

Thinking about it, Banteon realized that Delroz had been carrying him around all day, which might have led to some pent-up frustration. Just as Banteon wasn’t thrilled about being around Delroz, Delroz likely felt the same way.

Now fully undressed, Banteon leaned back against the rock, trying to get comfortable.

Though they were an unlikely pair, Delroz had been looking out for Banteon in his own way. Despite carrying him and dealing with the inconvenience, Delroz hadn’t shown any visible signs of discomfort.

As the warmth of the fire began to seep into his body, Banteon felt his tension ease, his mind slowly relaxing. He had to admit, Delroz had helped him significantly, even if the man’s harsh words made it difficult to feel truly grateful.

Banteon found himself watching Delroz, who sat across from him, his gaze fixed somewhere else, seemingly lost in thought.