You!

Sitting there helped my strength recover.

The pain in my grabbed left hand seemed to ease a bit too.

But now that my sweat had dried, I was getting terribly cold.

Why was it so cold here?

Sitting still made me feel like my body heat was being drained away. The candlestick's flame was far too weak to warm me.

I wanted to find somewhere with a proper fire.

Water and fire were things I could normally obtain without any trouble, yet here I wasn't even sure if I could get them.

Yohane stood up.

This storage room might be safe, but staying here wouldn't improve the situation.

Hoping it might provide some defense, I pried off a piece of a broken wooden crate. It made for a decent little weapon.

It wasn't much against the terrifying monsters I'd encountered, but having something was far better than nothing.

I quietly opened the door and checked my surroundings by candlelight.

No one seemed to be around.

Relieved, I began moving again.

Walking down the corridor, I heard a howl from outside.

Were there monsters I hadn't encountered yet?

The monsters here weren't like normal monsters, they had a sense of corruption about them.

"Cursed" seemed like the right word.

I explored several rooms but found nothing useful.

I arrived at a large dining hall.

This was… the place where Crown Prince Kelves had invited me for dinner.

But it had fallen into ruin.

The long table was barely intact, but most chairs were broken and the tablecloths were mercilessly torn apart.

I proceeded through the room, careful of fragments of dishes and artwork.

If the layout matched the Imperial castle, there should be a fireplace in the back.

I drew the curtains so I couldn't be seen from outside.

I picked up a fallen candlestick, placed it on the table, and lit it.

The room became considerably brighter. Sure enough, there was a fireplace in the back.

There were no monsters around, and spare candles and firewood remained in the adjacent room.

I'd warm up here for a bit.

I put the candles and firewood I'd found into the fireplace and waited. Eventually, they caught fire.

With crackling sounds, warm air enveloped Yohane.

This might have been the first time I felt any sense of security since arriving here.

Warming my hands over the fireplace made me feel alive again.

Then my stomach growled.

It seemed my appetite had returned now that my thoroughly chilled body had warmed up.

I smiled wryly at how humans could get hungry even at times like this, but it also made me feel a bit better.

My food supplies… I still had some.

Since I might not always have access to fire, I should use up the cheese here.

I pulled a small portable pot from my bag, poured in a little water, and shaved in some smoked meat and cheese.

I almost used the knife that had stabbed that monster. That was close.

When the meat stewed and the cheese melted, a good smell arose.

I added salt for seasoning, then dried noodles to simmer, and it was done.

I ate my fill while struggling with food that was nearly hot enough to burn.

There was a bit too much, so I set the rest aside away from the fire.

After finishing the salty meal, I felt energized.

Then I drank some hot water.

I felt like I could keep going.

In the adjacent room, besides firewood, there was also scrap cloth and oil.

There was a water jar too, but the water inside had gone bad.

I soaked scrap cloth in oil and fashioned a torch.

This would be a much stronger weapon than a wooden stick, and it would illuminate more than a candlestick.

I'd never thought the sound of burning fire could be this reassuring.

If I made it back safely, I'd make an offering to the Fire Elementals.

Having filled my stomach and obtained a new weapon, courage welled up in my fear-filled heart.

But Yohane was just a merchant, not a warrior, not an adventurer.

The courage that had finally welled up was defeated by an even greater sleepiness.

Perhaps the fireplace's warmth had been too soothing for my exhausted body.

I barricaded the door so it couldn't be opened, wrapped myself in the cleanest scrap cloth I could find, and decided to rest.

Sleeping here might be dangerous, but I couldn't imagine leaving the fireplace now.

Maybe because I was so tired, I lost consciousness the moment I lay down.

I woke up some time later.

The fireplace still had a faint flame, and I could feel a bit of heat.

How long had I slept?

The candlestick's light had burned out.

I gently moved the curtain with my right hand and looked outside.

Unfortunately, it was still night outside, under the red moon's light.

Apparently, there was no concept of morning here.

The convenient fantasy that the nightmare would end at dawn vanished.

Even if that weren't the case, daytime would have made it easier to move around outside the castle.

I sat in a chair and sighed. The worst way to wake up.

The food I'd prepared before sleeping was still left.

After eating that, even though it had gone cold, I'd resume exploring.

That's what I was thinking when—

I heard something being dragged.

Yohane hurriedly stood and grabbed the candlestick.

I lit it with the fireplace's remaining embers and thrust the torch in to ignite it.

The sound was heading this way.

Something large and hard being dragged.

Something tried to open the door.

After several attempts, it seemed to realize it was blocked.

Please give up and leave, Yohane prayed to the Creator King.

But his prayer was in vain as the door shook violently.

It was trying to force it open.

With an especially violent shake, the door was blown off along with the shelf blocking it.

Then something entered the dining hall.

From the fireplace, it was far away and dark, so I couldn't see.

It didn't seem very tall, but…

When it noticed me, it leaped and closed the distance in an instant.

"Waaaaah!"

Startled, I closed my eyes and swung the torch while screaming.

But it knocked the torch away.

"Can I eat that?"

Then it said something like that.

The voice was that of a cute young girl.

When I opened my eyes, it was a girl I recognized.

She was…

"What are you doing in a place like this?"

Poking his face out from the darkness was Iefuda, who had harassed me several times before.