“…So prickly.”
Leaving Isael, who looked utterly disgusted, alone, I quickly sank into my own thoughts.
How can I make Isael, not Leonard, become the owner of the Holy Sword?
I pondered that for quite a while, then leaned against the wall and closed my eyes.
But the moment I did, Isael asked,
“…Don’t tell me you’re sleeping?”
How did he know I was about to sleep? What is he, a ghost?
“I can’t believe this. In a situation where a monster could jump out at any moment, you can sleep?”
“……”
“Hey.”
“I’m not sleeping.”
I even bothered to answer, but Isael didn’t believe me at all.
“You can’t sleep.”
“I said I’m not. And I told you already—there are no monsters on this floor.”
“……”
“There’s nothing here. You just have to endure the darkness.”
At least, there weren’t any on the fourth floor.
More precisely, only the fourth floor was like this.
Which meant this was the last floor where we could rest like this.
So we had to rest while we could.
“Don’t sleep.”
“I said I’m not sleeping.”
Then why do you keep talking to me, you brat…?
Even after that, Isael kept pestering me, telling me not to sleep.
If I didn’t respond, he’d ask if I’d fallen asleep, so I had no choice but to answer every single time.
In the end, I didn’t get a wink of sleep.
After the darkness receded, the first thing I did was check whether the flower I had planted was still intact.
It was.
“Good.”
As I muttered in satisfaction, Isael looked at me like I was strange.
That ungrateful jerk didn’t even realize I was helping him immensely right now, and he still gave me that look…
Ugh, whatever. No point explaining.
I parked Isael beside me and began practicing how to control my power in earnest.
The fruit I had eaten contained the power of the restless spirits who had died unjustly in this tower.
And in my opinion, it worked similarly to controlling a summoned creature tamed with mana.
Because whoever ate the fruit gained the ability to summon those spirits and control them.
If I can summon all the spirits that died in this tower and move them as I wish…
If I could properly master this ability, reaching the ninth underground floor wouldn’t be a problem.
I stared intently at the ground at my feet, focusing my mind and drawing out all the mana in my body.
I kept telling myself over and over that I now possessed the power to summon the wandering spirits in this tower—that I was someone who could use that power.
After some time—
Before my eyes, on the ground I was staring at, black smoke began to gather.
And as that smoke slowly started to clump together, it felt like it was taking on some kind of form.
That was when—
“I hear a groaning sound from somewhere.”
Isael interrupted.
In that instant, my concentration shattered. I immediately turned to him.
This guy—he can’t even help, and now he’s interfering?
“Hey, I told you to stay quiet.”
“Wait.”
“……”
“Listen.”
Isael scanned the surroundings with a serious expression.
It seemed he really had heard something.
Just in case, I also focused and listened carefully.
“…I don’t hear anything.”
“Don’t you see anything with your ability?”
“Nothing in particular.”
Honestly, I don’t have any kind of clairvoyance, so if you can’t see it, neither can I.
Still, I pretended to examine the surroundings closely.
All I could see was a vast space filled with smoke.
“And even if there is something, we shouldn’t leave this area.”
“What do you mean?”
Isael frowned and asked.
Even in the darkness, beneath his jet-black hair, his red eyes filled with doubt were clearly visible.
I replied seriously,
“Why do you think I planted this flower here?”
“Well…”
“‘Well’?”
“I just thought… you were doing something weird again.”
“……”
This guy…?
“This flower prevents us from falling into hallucinations!”
“Ah. I see.”
As I snapped, Isael just shrugged casually.
But I couldn’t let it go.
“It seems like you’ve started hearing things, so wait a moment.”
“What?”
Maybe the flower alone couldn’t completely block the demon’s power.
That shouldn’t be the case, but still…
I couldn’t ignore even the slightest possibility.
And just in case, I had prepared something else.
I quickly rummaged through my bag and pulled out a handful of roots I had gathered on the third floor.
They were a bit wilted, but their effect should still be fine.
Without hesitation, I stuffed one into my mouth and chewed it down.
Taking care of Isael was one thing, but I had to survive first.
As I swallowed and looked up, Isael was staring at me in shock.
“What did you just pick up and eat…?”
“Open your mouth.”
Time for the stimulant.
“What? What are you suddenly talking about?”
“I said open your mouth.”
Of course, Isael resisted.
“What are you trying to make me eat?”
“It’s a stimulant. Just eat it.”
“…I’m good.”
Well, I’m not.
What am I supposed to do if you fall into hallucinations?
“What do you mean you’re good? You have to eat it.”
“I said I don’t need it.”
“I said you do!”
He looked like he suspected I was trying to poison him.
Talking won’t work.
“Eat it!”
As I tried to shove the root into his mouth, Isael struggled fiercely.
“What are you doing?!”
“You have to eat it!”
“You eat it yourself!”
“I already did!”
“Then eat more!”
“I ate it just in case! You’re the one hearing things, so you have to eat it!”
There was no way I could overpower him.
Even if we were the same age, I was a girl and he was a boy.
There was a basic difference in strength, and on top of that, I was injured.
…Wait.
Ah, right. I’m an injured girl.
“Ugh…!”
I clutched my side where the wound was and collapsed as if in pain.
Isael hesitated.
“What, did your wound open up? That’s why you shouldn’t—mmph!”
Never let your guard down, idiot.
The moment Isael bent down to check on me—
I grabbed his chin and shoved the root straight into his mouth.
Then I clamped both hands over his jaw.
“Mmph!”
“Swallow it. I won’t let go until you do.”
“Mmph!”
“Hurry and swallow.”
This time, he didn’t try to throw me off.
It seemed my earlier act had gotten to him.
After struggling a bit, he realized I wouldn’t back down and finally gave in.
Victory was mine.
Gulp.
Only after confirming the movement of his throat did I let him go.
“See? If you’d just listened earlier, this wouldn’t have happened.”
“……”
Wiping his lips with the back of his hand, Isael glared at me like he wanted to kill me.
His red eyes were blazing with hostility.
Seriously, what an ungrateful guy…
“Anyway, you won’t hear things anymore now.”
You don’t know it, but I just saved you.
After I force-fed him the root,
Isael very obviously tried to keep his distance from me.
Physically, that is.
“Hey, you can’t stay too far away.”
“This distance is fine.”
“……”
“You can still see me, right?”
Whenever I tried to get even a little closer, he’d flinch and step back.
What’s wrong with him, seriously?
“Ugh…”
Sighing, I decided to focus on what I needed to do.
I need to learn how to use this ability properly as soon as possible.
Summoning spirits by focusing mana.
Now, I could at least form something vaguely human-shaped.
But I needed to be able to create multiple of them…