Chapter 74: From Dusk Till Dawn (1)

It was going to be a long journey to Tiaria.

Stout and Daian were relatively close, and if one didn't stop by places like Sista Village on the way, the round trip would take less than a week, but Tiaria was at a distance that would take several weeks even if one took the shortest route.

And in the first place, we weren't going to take the shortest route.

“──Haim Village.”

I planned to stop by various places on the way to Tiaria.

No, I had to.

“First, we're going here.”

As expected, when I pointed to the location of Haim Village on the map, Lily tilted her head and looked somewhat puzzled.

“That’s… in the opposite direction from Tiaria?”

“Yeah, that's right.”

Tiaria was a coastal city at the edge of the Starlight Coast.

So, east of the continent── from Daian's perspective, it was located to the northeast.

On the other hand, ‘Haim Village’, which I pointed to, was a small, remote mountain village located to the northwest from here.

So, it wasn't really ‘on the way’.

It was a place that we didn't necessarily need to stop by to get to Tiaria.

“It'll be a bit of a detour, but there’s a reason we have to go there.”

However.

“I heard a rumor a long time ago that a legendary ‘warrior’ lives in this village.”

If there's a ‘companion’ that can be recruited to the party, the story changes.

“A l-legendary warrior…?!”

At my words, Miki immediately showed an excited reaction.

“Yeah. As a bard, I personally wanted to meet him once.”

“Ah, me too! I want to meet him too!”

“Besides, we’re going to catch the Demon King, right?”

Our current party consists of a bard, a mage, a rogue, a knight, and a cleric.

“Then we'll need at least one legendary warrior, won't we?”

In short, a ‘warrior’ was like the last piece of the puzzle for our party.

“You're going to make him a companion?”

“Well, if possible?”

I deliberately gave an ambiguous answer, but in fact, my will was firm.

It wasn't a matter of if it was possible; I was going to recruit that ‘legendary warrior’ to our party no matter what.

* * *

First, it would take about three days to walk to Haim Village.

Moreover, although Haim Village was a small, remote mountain village, the mountain path that had to be climbed to get there was a place where level 7-8 monsters roamed.

Although it wasn't a big difference, it meant that it was an area where enemies of a higher level than our current level appeared.

However, this also meant that as long as we were still in the Daian region, no very dangerous monsters would appear.

As I said before, Daian was like a boundary line that divided the danger zones.

In fact, today, we didn't have a single battle until it was time to set up camp for the evening.

Thanks to that, we had plenty of time and energy, and Lily, our party's [Cooking] expert, was able to invest a very long time in preparing dinner.

And as a result.

“Ah, um… p-please enjoy your meal!”

Tonight's dinner at the campsite became a luxurious feast, no less than the meal we were treated to in Daian after the incident was settled.

Every time one of Lily's [Cooked] dishes was placed on the temporarily made table, Miki's eyes sparkled and he clapped, and Ibi, as if she couldn't stand it any longer, lightly tapped the table with the fork and knife in her hands and kept smacking her lips.

However.

“……?”

This time… I couldn't be purely impressed like last time.

Looking at the menus being placed on the table one by one, something… something was unusual.

“Eel dish…, oyster dish….”

The vegetables served with them were garlic… and chives…

And even.

“Wh-What is this…?”

An ingredient that even Ibi, who wasn't a picky eater, flinched at for a moment and couldn't believe, appeared.

“……A s-soft-shelled turtle?”

“Well… it was on sale…”

“…A soft-shelled turtle?”

Is this a menu that can come out just because it's on sale?

“Wow─ I'll eat well!”

But Miki, who probably didn't feel any sense of incongruity with this menu composition, began his meal with a cheerful thank you.

“I'll eat well.”

Then Rine, who bowed her head, also began to eat silently as usual.

Even Ibi, who at first tilted her head as if she had noticed something strange, soon brushed it off with a ‘it's probably nothing’ expression and immediately took a sip of her drink.

“…….”

In the end, I, who was left alone (?), stared at the eel I had picked up with my fork for a while.

Although Daian wasn't a port city, since it was close to the Starlight Coast, it wasn't too strange for seafood to be on the menu like this.

“Mmm! It's really delicious today too, Sister Lily!”

“Ah, I'm glad. I was a little worried because there were many dishes I was making for the first time…”

“Especially, I feel like I'm full of energy with every bite!”

“Ah… is, is that so?”

If only all that seafood wasn't, one after another, all ingredients known to be good for… so-called ‘vitality’.

When I quietly looked over at Lily, my eyes met with Lily's, who was already glaring at me.

“…!”

At that, she flinched in surprise and quickly turned her head away, and her ears were so red that they could be seen at a glance even from a distance.

Then, a moment later, my eyes met with Lily's again, who was looking at me.

……It seems I have to wash my neck and wait tonight.

As expected, as soon as dinner was over, Lily came to find me hesitantly.

Then, she cautiously asked if she could come to my tent tonight.

She couldn't finish the rest of her words, probably because she was still shy, but even without her saying it, the meaning was already fully conveyed.

I'm coming to kill you tonight, so wash your neck and wait… was a joke, but in the end, it was a request for blood.

Though I would still have to wash my neck.

Indeed, she must have used a lot of her strength while in Daian, so she might have been holding it in until now.

And she must have finally asked because she felt like she was reaching her limit again.

At that, I gladly nodded and accepted, and.

“G-Good evening, Mr. Yubin.”

As a result, in the middle of the night when everyone was asleep, Lily quietly came to my tent.

But, was it still awkward for her to come while sober?

As soon as Lily greeted me politely, she went to the corner and sat down on her knees demurely.

“…Why are you sitting there?”

When I asked in puzzlement, Lily answered in a shy tone.

“Ah, well… if I get close now, I feel like I’ll pounce on you right away…”

Hearing that, her kneeling legs were indeed fidgeting constantly, so it seemed like she was holding back from getting up right away.

“I don't mind? I was going to give it to you anyway.”

“B-But… then you might think that vitality is my only purpose….”

Isn't that the purpose in the first place?

When I tilted my head, Lily continued.

“I was thinking it would be better to… talk a bit more.”

“Ah─”

Hearing that, I think I understood what she meant.

In short, if she just quickly sucked my blood and got it over with, she might think that she was treating me as just ‘prey’, or more bluntly, as ‘feed’.

At this thought, a smile unconsciously formed on my lips.

“You're certainly diligent.”

Indeed, Lily was that kind of person.

“What?”

“Nothing. Yeah, let's talk a bit more.”

Of course, I would never think that, but if Lily herself was uncomfortable, I wanted to accommodate her as much as possible.

“…….”

“…….”

But even though we said we would talk, there wasn't really anything to talk about.

Since no trigger had been pulled to advance Lily's companion quest, she wouldn't bring up any serious talk about her worries.

So we just had to make small talk to lighten the mood… but thinking about it now, most of the common small talk topics were blocked.

For example, the most common question, ‘What did you do today?’, was strange to ask when we had been together all day.

What did we do, we just kept walking.

Another common question, ‘What did you eat?’, we ate together, and ‘The weather is nice today’, we had already said that several times before the sun went down.

Even Lily, who wanted to talk, couldn't open her mouth and just sat there quietly, so she probably couldn't think of anything to talk about either.

What else do people usually talk about during small talk?

First, the common topics are what we did today (walked together), what we ate today (ate together), the weather today (already said it several times while looking at it together), what else is there…… ah.

“Right, how are you feeling, Lily?”

Right, there’s feelings.

How are you today?

“What? F-Feelings…?”

But Lily, perhaps because the silence was suddenly broken, flinched as soon as she heard my question, and then she ducked her head and answered hesitantly.

“W-Well… for some reason, m-my body feels hot…”

“…Ah, yeah. I see. Sorry.”

Talking about feelings is also a no-go.

From now on, it's absolutely forbidden.

No, and you're answering too honestly…!

I was just trying to make some light small talk, but I ended up asking a strange question (?) in an instant…!

While I was inwardly horrified by the mistake I had unintentionally made, Lily suddenly raised her head as if she had belatedly thought of something to talk about.

“Ah, by the way, how was dinner tonight? Um… I prepared it with foods that are said to be especially good for replenishing vitality…”

Then, when our eyes met, she hastily looked away, just like during the meal.

“When I went to the library, I looked it up diligently….”

“Ah…”

So that's why she went to the library yesterday….

“W-Was it helpful…?”

Fidgeting with her fingertips that were touching, Lily once again glanced at me and checked my reaction.

Whatever it was, Lily had considered the burden on my body that would be drained of vitality.

Whether it was helpful… I honestly didn't know, but I couldn't help but be happy about the sentiment.

“Yeah. Thank you, Lily.”

“Ah… I'm glad.”

When I expressed my gratitude, Lily slowly lowered her gaze.

And, silence once again fell inside the tent.

“…Um, do you want to drink now?”

When I, who found it hard to bear this, cautiously asked, Lily also—whether it was from silence, or desire, I don't know—quietly nodded, as if to hide her heavily flushed face.

Then, she slowly, cautiously approached me.

Lily, who had kneeled in front of me and swallowed hard while staring at me as I slowly lowered my shirt.

“…Th-Thank you for the meal?”

Wanted to show some courtesy, but couldn't figure out what greeting was appropriate, and after pondering, she finally said this.

“E-Enjoy your meal…?”

At that, I also gave an answer that made me wonder ‘Is this right?’, and at that moment.

──Crunch!

Lily's fangs pierced my neck.

“…!”

It was the second, no, third time, but it was still a pain I couldn't get used to.

As soon as the blood entered her, the reins of her reason, which had been holding her back, seemed to have snapped, and Lily, who had begun to roughly explore my neck, pushed her body closer and naturally came to be embraced by me.

At that, instead of embracing her back, I clenched the cloth of the sleeping bag with my two hands that were down.

“Ugh…!”

Just as I thought I had let out a rather loud groan without realizing it.

“Lil──”

──Whoosh!

The entrance to the tent was suddenly pulled open.

Feeling a chilling sensation of blood being drained for a moment, I turned my head to the opened entrance.

There stood Ibi, looking down at Lily, who was still burying her head in my neck as if embracing me, and me, who was offering my neck to Lily.

“……What are you two doing?”