Let's Rest Up

When Azu woke up, she had been laid down outside the Crystal Village.

As she sat up to look around, Elza brought her some water.

*　*　*

"Are you okay?"

"Somehow. I feel a bit nauseous though."

"Then that's good."

*　*　*

I took the cup of water and brought it to my mouth.

I rinsed my mouth with the cold water and spat it out.

*　*　*

After swallowing some water, the nausea subsided considerably.

*　*　*

"What happened?"

"I didn't really want to fight, so we got out of there quickly."

*　*　*

Finn said this while setting down the dead branches she had gathered from nearby.

Alexia lit the branches on fire.

*　*　*

It seemed not much time had passed since I lost consciousness.

*　*　*

"We collected the magic stones too, so take your time and rest easy. We also got some magic items."

"No, I'm fine now."

*　*　*

I tried to stand up as I said that, but my legs wouldn't cooperate.

My backside, which had lifted off the ground, dropped back down.

*　*　*

"See, don't push yourself. Here, I'm returning this."

*　*　*

Alexia patted my shoulder and returned the Sealed Sword Grungaus I had lent her.

I sheathed it while still sitting.

*　*　*

I recalled that final strike.

It had been a tremendous attack.

*　*　*

So much so that I thought perhaps Alexia should be the one wielding this sword.

*　*　*

"Don't make such an anxious face. I'm certainly skilled with swords too, but my role in this party is the mage. The vanguard is you, Azu."

"Um, yes."

*　*　*

I was embarrassed that she'd seen right through me.

It seemed she had known all along and was encouraging me.

In my embarrassment, I pulled the blanket I was wearing up to my mouth.

*　*　*

"Besides, that sword doesn't suit me. Since I can pour in mana without limit, I end up using it at full power. I'd drain all my mana."

"That's just your personality showing."

"Shut up."

*　*　*

Alexia put her hands on her hips and shared her thoughts on the Sealed Sword Grungaus. Finn teased her.

Alexia huffed in response.

*　*　*

The hole that Alexia's strike had made in the Crystal Village was visible from here.

Since it was a labyrinth, it would eventually close up, but it would stay like that for a while.

*　*　*

I couldn't possibly do the same thing.

Even though I thought I had grown stronger, that was only compared to my past self. I was still weak in relative terms.

*　*　*

"Let's eat and rest until you can move again."

"You're right… I'm sorry."

"There's nothing to apologize for."

*　*　*

Finn sat next to me, resting her right elbow on her leg and her chin on her hand while looking at me.

It seemed she was trying to encourage me.

*　*　*

She had a surprisingly kind side.

*　*　*

We placed a pot over the bonfire, added water and barley, and mixed in dried meat.

Tearing up some wild herbs from nearby and mixing them in finished the porridge.

*　*　*

They had probably chosen something easy to digest out of consideration for me.

I received a bowl of it and ate it by sipping with a spoon.

*　*　*

Just eating warm food made me feel like some of my energy had returned.

After finishing what was in my bowl, drowsiness washed over me.

My body probably still needed rest.

*　*　*

"Sleepy? You can sleep a bit more. There's still time before nightfall."

"Then just a little…"

*　*　*

Elza offered her lap as a pillow.

Feeling the soft sensation of her thighs, I drifted off to sleep once more.

*　*　*

When I next woke, my body felt much lighter.

My energy had returned.

*　*　*

Opening my eyes, I found Elza combing through my hair with her fingers.

*　*　*

"Awake? You look well."

"I'm fine now."

*　*　*

I answered and stood up.

This time I stood without wobbling.

*　*　*

Looking around, the sun was getting close to the horizon.

If we dawdled too much, night would fall and we wouldn't be able to enter Spartia.

*　*　*

"I slept too long… Let's move."

"Yes."

*　*　*

They must have prepared to move as soon as I woke up.

Everyone stood up immediately and we began moving.

*　*　*

As the sun began to set and dusk painted the land red, we arrived at Spartia.

A sturdy warrior at the gate gave us a sharp look.

*　*　*

"Um, we can still enter, right?"

"Yeah."

*　*　*

He said curtly, then opened the gate for us.

*　*　*

… I felt like I was being watched rather intensely.

Wondering what that was about, I passed through the gate.

*　*　*

"Will you be participating in the next martial arts tournament?"

"Uh."

*　*　*

I stopped.

Spartian warriors all dressed nearly the same, but now that I thought about it, I felt like I had seen this person before.

*　*　*

… That's right, he was one of the warriors I had fought in the Ocelot Colosseum before.

I remembered it had been a close fight, but I had won.

*　*　*

"I have no plans to."

"I see. If there's a next time, I won't lose."

*　*　*

Having said what he wanted to say, he cut off his gaze and returned to his gatekeeper duties.

Should I say something back?

*　*　*

Alexia mouthed words silently to prompt me.

She seemed to want me to retort.

*　*　*

"Next time, I'll win again."

*　*　*

With that, I entered Spartia.

*　*　*

"'In this nation, the strong obtain everything,' they really do say that. Even the lowest soldiers hate to lose."

"The king did say something like that. Wealth, honor, even this nation itself."

"Apparently the king has never actually lost to an outsider though."

"If things were this simple, my family would have had it much easier."

*　*　*

We returned to the inn and sat down.

We needed to take a bath to wash off the grime, but first came confirming our spoils.

*　*　*

"You're so serious."

*　*　*

Finn said with some exasperation.

But this was important.

*　*　*

We turned out all four of our item bags onto the floor and took everything out to sort.

After sorting through them, we arranged everything by size from smallest to largest.

*　*　*

"There's more than I expected."

"The later half had quite a few big ones."

"True."

*　*　*

Though we'd had fewer battles compared to other labyrinths, we had collected quite a lot of spoils.

Getting magic stones and crystals from the large monsters, along with some magic items, made a big difference.

*　*　*

As for the value, we who rarely exchanged items for money couldn't really tell.

If all this didn't amount to much profit, Master would probably be a bit disappointed, so I could only hope that wasn't the case.