EWH Chapter 66

“Is that all?”

At that question, Nathan chuckled briefly, looking a bit troubled.

“…What, is that really all? Why is your reaction so dull? That’s not the kind of response I wanted, Nover!”

Ramiya shouted again, slamming her hands on the table in response to Nathan’s lackluster reaction.

“It’s treasure! Legendary treasure shrouded in mystery! Magical tools said to be made by dragons! Doesn’t your heart race? Don’t you feel an itch to set out on an adventure?”

“Hmm, adventures are nice. Sounds fun…”

Nathan just smiled briefly and responded soullessly to the urgent voice. It seemed he had long since passed the age of getting excited about such things. Nathan suddenly realized why the protagonists and their companions in typical adventure stories never seemed to grow out of their teens.

‘I guess by this age, you don’t have the energy to get excited about such things…’

So he couldn’t give Ramiya the reaction she wanted. Moreover, Nathan already knew all of this. As a result, his reaction was bound to be relatively muted. After all, the story Ramiya just shared was the beginning of the original work.

…In other words, it was the part he knew most intimately, having reread it several times from the beginning after losing track of where he’d left off.

‘Still, hearing it directly from the people involved feels somehow different.’

Although he didn’t make a fuss like they wanted, Nathan was quietly pleased inside. After all, he had been secretly giving up. He had come here suddenly at Azar’s suggestion, but Nathan had assumed it was just Azar’s whim.

He thought their relationship would dissolve like a midsummer night’s dream when the vacation ended. He even thought that if they returned to the academy like this, they might remain just acquaintances who exchanged greetings when they happened to pass by, and that such a position suited him. But an adventure? With me? Really?

Nathan wondered if he was still dazed from the heat, if he had misheard the story to his liking.

Of course, since his initial goal had been to act alongside the protagonist’s group, this situation wasn’t bad. It was rather a good opportunity. However, the reality that suddenly confronted him prevented him from being entirely happy.

“…Well, how should I put this. I’m not in good health, right? So wouldn’t it be a bit much for me to go on an adventure?”

Nathan cautiously spoke up. For now, no matter how he thought about it, this was the problem. Strangely, there were no signs of his health improving. He knew he was prone to nosebleeds, but it seemed to be getting worse over time. Moreover…

‘My wounds aren’t healing well.’

Nathan looked at his palm, still tightly wrapped in bandages, as he clenched and unclenched his fist. It had been several days since he was injured and treated, but the wound on his palm showed no signs of healing. It might be because hands are a specific area that frequently comes into contact with water and moves a lot, but he could tell without asking a doctor that the wound was healing very slowly.

Furthermore, his body was getting heavier. It took longer to wake up than before, and even after a good night’s sleep, he didn’t feel refreshed. Instead, he had a slight headache, and his shoulders felt as heavy as if they were made of stone. Occasionally his arms and legs would go numb, and there were no signs of improvement over time. Since falling ill, his physical condition had only worsened, with no signs of getting better.

‘Even I think this is definitely a bit strange.’

Although he hadn’t specifically asked, even Speni, the doctor, seemed unsure of the reason. Every time he changed the bandages, he would say things like “Why is this, it’s still the same…” with puzzlement. Even changing the medicine didn’t make a difference.

Ramiya responded to Nathan as if it wasn’t a big deal.

“Oh, Nover. Don’t worry! You have three unnecessarily strong humans by your side. We can help you build up your stamina. Besides, we’re not saying we’re leaving right now. There’s not much of the vacation left, right?”

“She’s right, Nathan. Even if we leave, it’ll be after graduation. Our graduation isn’t far off, right? We’re planning to leave after graduation, so there’s still plenty of time. So you don’t need to worry about that until then.”

“We’ve already made all the plans! After graduation…”

Watching them count their chickens before they hatched, without even telling the person in question, Nathan couldn’t help but smile slightly. It was a small comfort, though.

Perhaps if Nathan didn’t know about the future ahead, he might have been as excited and expectant as them. It’s a shame to say this about them, but none of the plans they were happily making now would come to fruition. At least, that’s how Nathan remembered it. Ah, of course, the adventure they wanted was an exception. They would have to wander here and there to the point of getting sick of it, even if they didn’t want to. The problem was that it wouldn’t be entirely pleasant. With the dungeon’s seal breaking upon graduation, there would essentially be no enjoyable adventure like they hoped for.

‘Was it a little less than half a year left?’

He thought he needed to build up his stamina somehow before then. If nothing had changed even as time passed, surely they would change their minds. After all, if he remained in this physical condition in life-threatening situations, he would just be a burden.

“Nathan, are you listening?”

“I’m listening.”

Azar, who had sat down on the floor next to Nathan’s chair at some point, looked up at him and asked. Then he took off the ring he was wearing and handed it to Nathan as if telling him to look at it closely.

“Look at this. Do you see this groove? This Oparts was originally two rings that became one, but unfortunately, we only have one half now. So there are some issues with activating the magic.”

“Ali sold the other half for a pittance two years ago. Really… Nover, don’t you think that’s ridiculous?”

“Wh-what! It could happen, you know?! I was only 15 then! That’s like just being born for humans!”

Watching them bicker like this, Nathan suddenly felt a pang in his heart as he imagined their faces becoming gloomy in the future. If possible, he wanted to fulfill their wishes, but Nathan didn’t have that power.

“Still, we managed to track down the other half after some investigation this time. It’s not certain, but we did. However, it seems we won’t be able to retrieve it ourselves, which has been quite a dilemma.”

“Actually, we were planning to ask Miss Caravan for help with this as a favor after helping her… Well, with my brother suddenly interfering, it became a bit awkward to ask. So, Nathan. Could you help us out?”

Azar asked, resting his head on Nathan’s thigh.

“…What would you like me to do?”

“It’s not much, just ask Miss Caravan if Grayson Caravan plans to go to ‘Merche’. It would be great if you could also ask if she’s heard about a secret auction being held there. That much information should pique any merchant’s interest. Of course, Miss Caravan isn’t a merchant but a magician.”

“Is that all you need?”

“Yes, asking for more would be too shameless of us.”

The round head looked so pattable that Nathan gently stroked the blonde hair spilled over his thigh as he spoke.

“Alright. I’ll ask Berry when I see her.”

He thought he understood. They probably wanted to win the ring at the auction through Grayson Caravan. Assuming these guys would cover the cost, if Nathan asked Berry, she would surely help. After all, Nathan was practically Berry’s lifesaver, so it would be hard for her to refuse his request. If she said it was difficult, then that would be that.

‘I wonder if this will change too?’

In the original work, it was much later when Azar retrieved the other half of the ring. So originally, Azar would have given up on the secret auction. But this time, with their involvement with Grayson Caravan, perhaps this would change as well.

“Nathan, there’s no rush. You don’t need to worry too much about it.”

“Even without the other half, there’s no major issue in using the one we have now.”

“But it would be better if we found it quickly…”

“Ali.”

“Alright, alright…”

As the two cautioned Ali, he grumbled softly in agreement. After that, a few more trivial conversations followed, and then suddenly, as Nathan turned his head, he saw Basent entering the garden. Basent looked around once and then came straight to where they were. As everyone’s attention turned to him, Basent gave a short bow and called out to Nathan.

“Lord Nover, Miss Caravan has arrived at the mansion. What would you like to do?”

“Berry’s here?”

Speak of the devil – they had just been talking about Berry, and now she appeared. Recalling their recent conversation, Nathan gently pushed Azar’s head away and stood up. His nosebleed had also just stopped.

“…This is perfect timing.”

“If it’s alright with you, I’ll show her to the reception room.”

“Please do.”

Nathan briefly said goodbye to the three and followed Basent into the mansion. As soon as he entered, he ran into Leonard, who was neatly dressed. Leonard, carrying luggage in both hands, tried to approach Nathan, wagging his tail slightly as soon as he saw him. Nathan felt a bit overwhelmed by this.

“My savior…”

“Later, we’ll talk later!”

So he pushed Basent’s back and hurried his steps as if escaping. After walking quietly for a while, Basent finally spoke up when the reception room came into view.

“Um, Lord Nover. It’s not my place to interfere, but don’t you think he might get hurt if you keep running away like this?”

“…Haha, I suppose so. I’m not doing it on purpose, you know. It’s just too overwhelming when he calls me his savior…”

“If it’s alright with you later, why don’t you try having a conversation with him?”

“Hmm, maybe I should.”

Nathan nodded awkwardly in agreement and then entered the reception room. Berry, who had been waiting for Nathan inside, greeted him warmly.