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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: The Scarecrow
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I was wearing a thin layer underneath anyway.
I stopped unbuttoning my shirt and stood up.
“Wh-what the…!”
“What do you mean, ‘what’? Come here.”
I quickly reached out and grabbed something of Helios’s.
Helios, unusually flustered, stumbled backward and fell with a thud.
“Oh dear. Is falling down a hobby of yours?”
“…”
In my hand was the towel Helios had wrapped around his neck.
I used the towel to vigorously dry my face and hair.
‘What’s this? Even his towel is scented?’
It was so unfair, how was any normal person supposed to compete?
A refreshing, forest-like scent emanated from the towel I’d just used.
‘His character stats are overkill.’
With the towel draped over me, I sat on the edge of the bed and yawned.
“You’ll wake up crooked sleeping on the floor.”
“…You could have just asked for the towel.”
“Why, when it was within arm’s reach?”
Helios grumbled under his breath as he got to his feet.
The moment Helios stepped into the puddle of water I had dripped on the floor, an idea struck me.
“An opening.”
“What?”
The properties of the puddle Helios had stepped on changed, and his feet slid right out from under him.
The one thing I hadn’t anticipated, however, was that he would fall toward me.
‘Well, the bed’s behind me.’
I let Helios fall on top of me.
No, actually, since it was my fault this time, I even pulled him closer so he wouldn’t hurt his knees.
‘He’d get hurt if he hit the steel bedframe.’
But because I’d tossed the towel aside as I reached for him…
The moment Helios pushed himself up from on top of me, the fluttering towel landed on his head.
His face was very close.
So close our noses were almost touching.
‘His eyelashes are long.’
I could clearly see his face, frozen in surprise.
‘Pretty.’
It was the first time I’d seen the mole at the corner of his eye up so close. Its placement gave him an esoteric, alluring look that made me want to press it with my fingertip.
I reached a hand toward Helios’s face. He flinched in the shadow cast by the towel.
“Look at that, within arm’s reach again.”
“…”
“The towel.”
I plucked the towel off his head and set it beside me. Helios still didn’t move.
Lying down, I tilted my head and realized something.
“Right, how does it feel looking down on me from above? Are you on top of the world?”
“…I’m not on top of the world.”
For once, Helios’s pale violet eyes looked like burning embers.
I chuckled and placed a hand on his silver-white hair.
“Why, are you satisfied?”
“…What?”
“You seemed to be admiring it. My face.”
Helios jumped back from me in surprise. I could see him rubbing his face over and over.
Seeing how red his ears were, he must have really enjoyed looking down at me.
“Someday, when you’re stronger, you might actually be able to defeat me for real.”
“…”
“Oh, should I lie in the same bed with you then, too? Would that make you feel even better?”
“So what you’re saying, Master, is…”
Helios covered his face with both hands.
“…you say things like that without any self-awareness.”
What’s with him?
“Hurry up and sleep.”
I lay back down. I had already extinguished the lights with my Kia, but Helios remained standing in the same spot for a long time.
“The 25th floor won’t be easy by any means.”
“…Is there anything in your head besides the tower and its floors, Master?”
“…? What else is there supposed to be?”
“…”
Since I could see perfectly well in the dark, I wondered why his cheeks were so red.
* * *
Whether they had awakened before entering Niflheim or after,
it was no simple task for individuals with separately learned abilities to form coordinated attacks or synchronize their movements with others.
‘And yet, it was actually happening.’
I let out a low whistle as I looked down at the scene before me.
“Captain, behind you!”
“Don’t look back, just run!”
“Up ahead—ah, spiderwebs in front!”
Mutant spiders appeared on the 25th floor.
Because of them, the moment you entered, and from the moment the walls rose to divide the sections, the place was filled with webs.
They weren’t just there for atmosphere; their effects were similar to those of ordinary spiderwebs.
They could slow a person down or immobilize them completely.
That meant you had to move while deftly avoiding the silk the spiders spat out.
But since this space spawned an endless number of mutants, there was a limit to how much you could dodge.
Thus, the 25th floor was the point where a party clear became necessary in the truest sense.
‘Unless you were so overwhelmingly powerful you could handle everything on your own, that is.’
I briefly recalled the day I had climbed the 25th floor in the past.
“Team up with a kid? Don’t make me laugh. You want to get us all killed?”
“Send her in alone!”
It was a meaningless memory now. In any case, it was possible to clear the 25th floor alone.
But the safe route was, of course, for people to gather and form a party.
In that sense, Helios was a good captain for this party.
‘He hates bugs, but spiders are okay?’
One person to clump the webs together so they wouldn’t be a hindrance. Another to blow those webs away.
Another to block the spiders from the front, keeping them at a certain distance.
One to disrupt the spiders and keep them from swarming.
And finally, one to eliminate any variables that popped up.
The one clumping the webs was Seth, who used psychokinetic Kia.
The one who sent the clumped webs flying was Helios.
The one who bewildered and disrupted the spiders to keep them from gathering in large numbers was Haira, a mental-type Kia user.
The tank blocking them was Ged, and the damage dealer for eliminating variables was Brett.
Ged took the lead, with Helios behind him and Brett at the very back.
Between Helios and Brett, they placed Haira and Seth, who were relatively lacking in physical ability and stamina.
While striking down every web that Seth clumped together, Helios also appropriately assessed the situation and gave directions.
‘Is this kind of thing innate?’
I watched for a moment, then tilted my head.
‘No…’
No matter how much natural talent one had, you couldn’t be this skilled from the start. Helios had been quite adept even on the 23rd floor, where he’d first been thrown in.
On closer inspection, he showed signs of having been trained.
‘The son of a duke, huh? I guess he really is different.’
They were steadily reducing the number of spiders. Around me, the golden discs were busily zipping about again today.
“Good. You did great today, Siri.”
Whirrrr—.
“Right, Bixby. You’re the best, too.”
After calling out names filled with nostalgia for my old world, I turned my head again.
They were certainly making smooth progress, but…
‘The 25th floor hasn’t even really started yet.’
After some time had passed, I leaped down from the rock wall.
I flew lightly and landed in the center of Helios’s group.
“Uh, huh? Big Bro?”
“…Hahaha, what brings you down here?”
Ged and Brett’s voices overlapped. I could hear Seth and Haira panting for breath.
“What’s wrong?”
I glanced at Helios, who had been fighting quite reliably, then turned my head.
“Now, now, I came down to give you all a beating to keep you on your toes.”
“A beating…? Big Bro, you don’t mean ‘encouragement,’ do you?”
“Ah, should we call it that?”
“What do you mean, ‘call it that’?”
Helios muttered under his breath, but still stood beside me as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
No, why? Shouldn’t he be looking after his comrades instead of standing next to me?
‘Well, he’ll find out once he experiences it.’
The number of spiders began to dwindle. It was a small change, but its meaning was clear.
“Everyone, get ready! The Scarecrow is about to appear!”
The moment Helios shouted.
*Clang!*
“Wh-what the…”
The boss of this floor.
The Scarecrow first appeared in front of Brett. The weapon Brett had made of shadow broke and fell to the floor.
Its durability had run out.
I yanked Brett by his clothes.
“The spider wants to give you a kiss.”
“Ugh, ha, haha. Thanks… Big Bro?”
I’d pulled him just a bit, and a white spiderweb landed on the spot where Brett had been standing.
*Swiiish! Thwack!*
On top of that, a sharp sword flew from somewhere and pierced through the clumped web.
An attack that would have instantly killed Brett had he remained in that spot.
“B-Big Bro. What is that…?”
The sword that had pierced the empty web… the being holding it slowly turned its head.
The entire party held their breath.
“…A person?”
Helios muttered quietly.
I watched the being before me with interest. It was a creature that wore clothes and had a face, just like a person.
‘Hmm, so the 25th floor hasn’t changed either.’
From that last move, I could gauge its approximate abilities.
It seemed to be about as strong as, or slightly stronger than, the one I faced when I cleared this floor.
“This is perfect. None of you have much experience fighting people, right?”
“What are you talking about, B-Big Bro?”
Seth’s eyes widened as he reached out a hand.
But before Seth’s hand could touch me, Helios’s hand naturally caught his wrist.
