Chapter 60
While she was flustered, the real Shy cautiously approached Eki, glancing around. The girl pointed to Eki's left hand, hidden behind her skirt.
"Um, Miss, your hand... is it hurt? I can heal it."
"Ah, this. It's okay, it's not a big deal."
"Still... does it bother you... to be healed?"
"No, not at all."
Eki sighed softly. Then, she pointed to Shy's shoulder. Her slender shoulders were visibly shaking, as if she was exhausted.
"That power isn't something you can use indefinitely, is it? You're already tired. You pay a price in some way, right?"
"Um... it just feels like I've been running for a long time."
"See? Shy, save your strength. Heal me later."
It wasn't her right hand, but her left, and it wasn't an urgent injury. There was no need to make the tired Shy work harder. It wouldn't be too late to ask her after Shy had recovered some strength.
She shook her head firmly and retrieved the Amethyst she had thrown away earlier, putting it back into the scabbard.
Shy looked at Eki's left hand with lingering regret, but she didn't insist any further.
Eki, carrying her sword, glanced at the unconscious old man. Considering he was one of the villagers who had branded Shy as a witch, she didn't feel like taking care of him.
If she had her way, she would just leave him to die inside the Node, but if she really abandoned him, that kind-hearted child would cry. Seeing the mud giants wandering around, it was obvious he would die if left alone.
Eki sighed and approached the old man. Not feeling inclined to treat him well, she kicked him mercilessly.
"Hic."
Shy hiccuped, startled by the force. Eki didn't care and stomped on him with her heel a few more times until he woke up. She stopped when she saw him open his eyes.
"Get up and walk."
"Ugh...? Wh-what is it!"
"If you want to live, follow me on foot. And be grateful to Shy."
The old man was bewildered, unable to grasp the situation. Eki left him with those words and took Shy's hand.
"Let's go, Shy. We need to find that shelter first."
"O-oh, yes!"
Shy glanced at the old man and walked, led by Eki. Eki took a few steps and then turned back.
"Aren't you coming? You might die if you don't follow."
The old man, who had been mesmerized by the bizarre surroundings, jumped up as if struck by a whip. Seeing him move clumsily, Eki started walking again.
This time, she left marks on the tree trunks whenever she reached a fork in the maze.
'Yuriene will be fine in here.'
Aside from worrying about him, she knew his skills. In fact, there was hardly anyone who could threaten him except for herself. He wasn't the Captain of the Azure Knights and a Giosa Owner for nothing. The mud giants or the maze of fire wouldn't be enough to injure or kill him.
'Then, it's better to break the Node without running into him.'
In front of Shy, who knew nothing about swordsmanship, and the villagers, she could reveal her skills appropriately while still hiding that she was a Master. Like now, when she slightly infused Mana into her sword to leave marks on the pillars whenever she reached a fork. But she couldn't do that if she joined Yuriene.
'Let's find the starting point. And if I ask Shy to break the Node with Elgiosa, Yuriene will return safely too.'
She made up her mind. Eki quickened her pace. And soon, she discovered a problem: Shy's stamina.
"I-I'm okay..."
Shy shook her head, gasping for breath. Her face was flushed, and she was covered in sweat. Her eyes were losing focus. The old man following behind was also panting, his tongue hanging out.
It was impossible for the old man and the child to keep wandering through the maze with their stamina. The heat from the flaming leaves and the fires everywhere made them tire even more easily.
[Ugh, this is so annoying. Can't we just kill them and get out?]
The Demon Sword grumbled. Eki ignored it and looked around. It would be better for her to find the starting point alone, leaving Shy behind. Was there anywhere safe, even for a little while?
She needed a safe place in case a mud giant appeared. But there was no such place in the maze. If there wasn't one, she would have to make one.
"Step back for a moment."
Eki went to a place away from Shy and the old man and secretly used her sword energy to cut down a tree. She had guessed something when she was cutting down trees while looking for Shy earlier.
She lightly touched the cut surface of the tree with her already burned left hand.
"As I thought, the heat disappears after cutting it down."
She stomped her feet on the ground a few times and then leaped into the air in an instant. She heard the old man gasp in horror behind her.
Reaching a height that even a mud giant couldn't reach with its arms, she swung Amethyst horizontally in a long arc. At the same time, two trees were cut down, creating a space to sit.
Thanks to the extreme compression of Mana, the faint light that was characteristic of sword energy was almost invisible.
Eki landed gently. The hem of her dress billowed and then settled. She ignored the old man, who was gaping, and turned to Shy, who was dazed, and said,
"I'll lift you up there, so wait there. Don't touch the trees on either side. They're very hot."
"Y-yes, yes..."
She hugged Shy and placed her on the cut tree, then grabbed the old man by the scruff of his neck and threw him onto the tree. As she put the old man down, Eki left a warning.
"You wouldn't touch Shy while I'm gone, would you? I trust you're not that stupid."
The old man, who had witnessed her leap and the sword cutting down trees like iron pillars, turned pale and nodded.
What she had shown was impossible without Mana, but she could gloss over it somehow. Since the witnesses were an ignorant old man and a child, she could insist that they were exaggerating.
"I'll be back."
Eki smiled at Shy, who was looking at her worriedly, and started running through the maze. With no one to protect, her speed increased considerably. Thanks to the marks she had left on the pillars, the area she had to search was gradually narrowing. She encountered mud giants from time to time, but she passed them without engaging.
'They'll be fine when the Node collapses.'
Considering they were all villagers who had tried to kill Shy, she didn't feel like taking care of them. They should be grateful she wasn't killing them. She scoffed as she evaded the giants.
It was impossible to know the passage of time inside the Node, but judging by her hunger, it felt like more than half a day had passed.
After wandering for quite a long time, Eki finally found the shelter. The shelter was surrounded by a circle of burning oil. It was a boundary that someone seemed to have intentionally created.
Moreover, a few injured villagers were lying here and there inside.
'Those people... could it be.'
Eki jumped over the wall of flames and went inside. The people were all unconscious. The injuries, which had been given first aid just enough to keep them from dying, were clearly knife wounds.
'It's Yuriene.'
Yuriene, who had encountered the mud giants, probably went through a similar process as her and realized that there were people inside the giants. So, he had gathered the people here. As soon as she had that thought, she felt a familiar presence.
Eki turned her head towards the source of the presence. Yuriene was approaching, carrying an unconscious young man on his back. He stopped abruptly when he found Eki.
A momentary pause in his breathing, a fleeting expression. Then, his pace quickened as if he were running. Eki didn't run away and waited for him.
Yuriene, who had crossed the flames and reached the front of the shelter, hurriedly put down the young man he was carrying and approached her.
She glanced over him. As expected, he wasn't hurt anywhere. She had thought so, but a sense of relief spread through her, as if she had been unconsciously worried.
On the other hand, Yuriene's face twisted as he examined her. His gaze was fixed on her left hand, which was roughly wrapped in cloth.
Eki felt a pang of regret. She should have asked Shy to heal her, even if it was a bit much.
In her standards, it really wasn't a big injury, so she had left it alone, intending to have it healed later when it was safer.
She hadn't even considered that Yuriene would worry if he saw it. She was his Squire, so it was natural for him to worry, but still.
To be precise, it had been too long since she had been in a battle and considered someone worrying about her.
The goal of resolving the situation or obtaining the Giosa had always been prioritized over her own condition. As long as she didn't die, that was enough.
She had faith in her own skills, but it was also because the years without anyone left to worry about her had been too long.
As she tried to pull her hand back, he grabbed it. His eyes trembled as he saw the fluid seeping through the cloth. She was flustered and pulled her hand away again. She hid her hand in the folds of her dress and smiled.
"It's nothing, Lord."
"...Why, why do you always!"
He raised his voice. Eki widened her eyes in surprise, and Yuriene swallowed the words he was about to say, as if suppressing something surging up. He brushed back his hair that had fallen down with one hand. He took a breath and asked in a lower voice.
"Why did you come into the Node?"
"Pardon?"
"I asked, why did you come into the Node? You should have had plenty of time to escape."
His tone was stiff. The expression he directed at her was also stiff. He was angry. Eki was seeing him angry for the first time. Even when she had greeted him in front of the mountain of corpses, he hadn't been angry.
She stammered an excuse.
"I'm sorry. I tried to avoid it, but somehow..."
It was a lie. She had come in on purpose because she was worried about him and Shy.
Of course, she couldn't tell the truth. A mere Squire, who was just a Military Cadet, worrying about her Master and deliberately entering the Node? What kind of crazy talk was that?
Yuriene stared down at her with his blue eyes. Then, he closed his eyes and opened them again. Whether that had calmed his boiling emotions, his expression became a little calmer.
She glanced at him cautiously and quickly said,
"Lord, I found the Owner of Elgiosa. I left her in a safe place for a while. I have an idea about how to get out of the Node..."
Yuriene was silent. Eki swallowed once and continued. She made up a pre-planned excuse.
