Ch.1131Could You Give Me Some Water?

I had a strange dream—well, at this point I’m not even sure if it was really my dream, but anyway, this Dynamax wolf appeared in this dream-like something and laughed mockingly at me with a booming voice.

It went on and on about how I couldn’t properly utilize what I had, how ridiculous I looked being stuck and stagnant, bound by restrictions.

I was somewhat bewildered at first by this unexpected encounter, but as I continued listening, I just found it absurd.

The nerve of this thing, chained up itself, criticizing others for being bound.

【 Is҈̙̯͎̖̫́̽̃͜͡ that҉̡̜̙̳̜̄̏͂͝ what҉̨͈̣̆́̀̉́͡ you think? 】

What? You can read my thoughts too?

Vanirgand suddenly stopped laughing and lifted its massive front paw, taking one step toward me.

A terrible roar, a shockwave like a storm.

The rocky mountains and ravines shook violently and collapsed, and waves of lava surged like a tsunami.

【 Still҈̧̛͉̮͚͐͊̉̍? 】

The beast roared like that, showcasing its power by causing disaster with just a single step.

Fragments of broken and shattered chains poured down like heavy rain with its roar, and streaks of pure white light shattered and scattered like dust.

【 Behold҈̧͖̦͐̀̓̒̕! The҈̡̛͚̪͍̅̄̑́ heavenly chains҈̟͔͑̐̊̃́͢͞ that imprisoned҈̡̗͍͋̽́̔͡ me have reached҉̣̙͊͛̐͒͢͝ their limit, and the҈̛͚̯̄̆̃̄̄͜ reins of chaos҈̡̱̘҇̉̅̾̀̚ that held҈̨̙̖͇̬̎̓͂́͡ me back҈͖͇͊͊̊͊́͜͝ are also waiting҈͖̘̪̀̃͜͠ for the moment҉̡̠̪̬̣̒͂̿̎͝ to be unleashed҈̢͈͇͂̅̽́͡! 】

Not all restraints had been destroyed, but the number of remaining chains was visibly less than half of what had been there before.

Even those looked thin enough to break at any moment, with tiny cracks covering each link of the chains.

【 The time of liberation҉̧̣̩͉̜҇̍̃ is҉̧͕̬̮̯̒͂͗̄͒̕ at hand҈͈̫͍̲̔̎͢͞, and on the day҉͍̠̲̪̦҇͐̒͛̃͜ when the pure white҈̛̩̩̯̌̎͜ veil in the sky disappears҉̧̦̘̣̱̳҇̀͆̔, the evil star҈̨͓͓͎͋͗̏͊͝ of murder Karma will devour҈̱͙̠̠̌͋̆͢͡ you҉͍͕҇̆̌̓͜ all! 】

A ferocious howling echoed like thunder.

A grandiose and verbose packaging of the vulgar threat that it would descend to the ground and wreak havoc like a mad dog when Heaven’s Wall was completely destroyed.

“…You’re acting just like you look. Your dog talk is quite exquisite.”

I had no intention of tolerating such vulgar threats, so with a scoff, I stretched my right hand to the side and grasped the hilt of Durandal that had been summoned in mid-air.

【 You dare҈̖̮̣͗̈́͒̒͢͞ raise҈̛̱̝͚̊̑̏̈͜ Elpinel’s fang҉̧̣͍̎̎͡ against҈̡͈̬҇͊̚ me҈̡̛͎̠͙͗̃̃? Against҈̥͓̱͍͓́̐̋͛͗͢͞ ME? In this situation҉̡̦͖̿͒̑̓̓͡? …Are you҈̧̲̪͑͐͠ sane? 】

Vanirgand burst into laughter.

Its growling laughter shook the air like thunder, as if finding me ridiculous and absurd.

My clothes fluttered wildly in the storm-like headwind, and my skin tingled from the suffocating killing intent contained within.

“A beating is the remedy for a mad dog. Isn’t that right?”

Of course, I wasn’t about to back down out of fear.

I released my divine form, raising the cross star and halo, and pointed the gleaming golden blade toward the beast.

【 Truly҉̨̰̖̭͂̊͊̏̉͡ foolish҈̛͚̳̿̀̊͢ͅ. Foolish, pathetic҈͎͚̟̱̳̆͛͂̓͜͠, and҉̡̖̝͂̑͊͝ recklessly҈̢̟̦̰́̈́͝ audacious҉̡̯̙͉̣̐̓́̄͗͠ to a҈̢̪̲͑̄͡ laughable degree҉̳̫̭̅̽̍͢͠! 】

“Thanks for the high praise, you oversized son of a bitch!”

I charged toward it with a fierce smile, like a comet racing across the night sky, like a falling meteor trailing a tail of golden afterglow.

The swung greatsword tore through space, carving a massive arc trajectory, and a crimson mist surged like a tsunami, covering the sky.

The howl of the chained wolf echoed, shattering starlight.

—-

I got my ass kicked.

That Vanirgand was insanely strong.

—-

“Ughh…”

With a quiet groan, I lifted my heavy eyelids to see the blurry ceiling of the infirmary with its tough waterproof canvas stretched across it.

…Is this finally me actually waking up?

Feeling the soft bed cushion against my entire body, it seemed I had at least safely escaped from that hell.

“Unni! Are you conscious?!”

A familiar voice came from right beside me as soon as I opened my eyes.

I painfully turned my head, which wasn’t moving well, to look to the side, and saw the face of a familiar pink-haired girl.

Teary eyes, pupils filled with joy and surprise.

A wet towel in her hand that she had reflexively brought to cover her mouth in surprise, exuding a sweet peach scent soaked with sweat.

“Lena…?”

“Yes, Unni! It’s Lena!”

Lena, a healing priest of the Church of Saulite and my medical sister, lowered her hand from her mouth naturally and smiled brightly.

Had she been nursing me all this time?

The face before me showed fatigue that couldn’t be hidden even by her smile of joy, and her slightly disheveled nun’s habit gave off a faint smell of sweat that hadn’t been washed away.

She must have been too busy taking care of me to look after herself. Should I call her admirable or thank her?

Anyway, thanks to such care, my body was perfectly fine except for some stiffness in my legs.

Although my depleted energy hadn’t fully recovered yet, so while nothing hurt, my whole body felt limp and I couldn’t put any strength into my limbs.

“I was so worried…! They said you were just sleeping, but when you didn’t wake up for days and days…”

“Uh… days…?”

“Two weeks. You were asleep for a full two weeks. Even after returning to the holy city, you kept…”

Two weeks. That was longer than I expected.

I had figured I wouldn’t wake up right away, but I thought I’d be up and about after three days or so…

…I never imagined I’d be lying unconscious and sleeping like the dead for two whole weeks.

No wonder my throat felt so parched. Had I gone two weeks without drinking or eating anything?

Now that I realized it, thirst and hunger seemed to be rushing in with terrifying force.

“Lena… could I have some water…?”

“I was so worried—oh, yes! Water, you mean? Here it is!”

Feeling I needed to moisten my throat before I could speak properly, I asked Lena for a bottle of water. She hurriedly ran to the opposite side of the bed, soaked a clean towel thoroughly with water, and put it to my lips.

“…?”

What’s this? I’m pretty sure I asked for water, not a towel.

Am I supposed to suck on this?

I think I’ve heard somewhere that this is how they provide water to critically ill patients who can’t swallow… though I’m not sure.

I’m not a doctor, so I wouldn’t remember such details precisely.

Anyway…

“Ptooey.”

I spat out the wet towel that had entered my mouth without hesitation.

“Oh, um…?”

“Water… please…”

I asked for water again to Lena, who seemed confused by my action.

Who has time to suck on this thing? I said water, not a towel. Water.

I may not have strength in my body, but I’m not so critically ill that I can’t swallow a sip of water, you know?

“Oh, ah, yes! What was I thinking, you don’t need this anymore!”

It seemed Lena’s putting the wet towel in my mouth was just a mistake born of habit, as she immediately removed the towel and brought over a water bottle.

“Here, drink this, Unni!”

“Hmm…”

Yes, this time she definitely brought what I wanted—a clean bottle filled with water…

‘…I don’t think I can hold it.’

I wanted to grab it and gulp it down, but unfortunately, I couldn’t put any strength into my arms.

I might be able to move them somehow, but I was certain I’d drop the bottle the moment I took it, soaking my legs.

…No choice then. It’s a bit embarrassing, but I’ll have to ask Lena for a little more help.

“Haschal Unni?”

“…Feed me.”

Instead of taking the bottle, I blushed slightly and muttered my request in a small voice, almost like I was sulking.

Our relationship had become almost like real sisters, and I’d shown her all sorts of embarrassing things already, so there was no real need to feel shy about such a request…

But well, human emotions don’t always work so rationally, do they?

Once you start thinking something is embarrassing, you actually start feeling embarrassed—that’s how the human heart works. I was no exception.

“Ah, um, oh… I’ll do that!”

Perhaps because my feelings were clearly visible, Lena also stammered and showed signs of being flustered in various ways.

“First, let’s adjust your position…”

Still, her experience as a healing priest hadn’t gone anywhere, as she naturally slipped her hand under my back to help me sit halfway up.

– Rustle.

As I barely managed to raise my upper body and lean against the headboard, the silk blanket covering me slid down smoothly, revealing my firm yet smooth half-naked body.

“Oh…”

Come to think of it, judging by the situation, she must have been in the middle of washing my body when I woke up?

Since she couldn’t wash my body with clothes on, she would have removed all my clothes beforehand. Mm, mm. That makes sense.

“……”

“……”

…No wonder I felt so exposed. I was lying on the bed completely naked without a stitch of clothing.

“Um, ahem… water first.”

…Well, whatever. It’s not like it’s the first time she’s seen my body, and we’ve bathed together almost every day.

If there had been someone else—especially someone of a different gender than my current self—I might have instinctively burned their eyes out, but… there’s only Lena here, right?

So I can put on clothes later.

Let’s drink some water first.

“Ah—”

I reflexively turned my gaze away from my chest area and looked at Lena, slightly raising my head and opening my mouth with an “ah.”

“Um… don’t drink too quickly or you might choke, so slowly, slowly…”

Lena, who had come close enough that I could feel her breath on my skin, carefully tilted the water bottle she had brought to my lips, letting a thin stream of water flow in.

I drank that stream without spilling a single drop, like a traveler who had discovered an oasis after wandering through a desert.

“Whew…”

Ah, now I feel a bit more alive.

Like raindrops seeping into dry earth, a sweetness that seemed to moisten everything from the tip of my tongue to the marrow of my bones.

My thirst was completely quenched only after I had finished drinking five bottles of water without leaving a drop.

—-

“By the way, Unni. What kind of dream were you having?”

After I had finished all the water and taken care of my hunger by eating the meal Lena had prepared for herself, she suddenly tilted her head as if something had just occurred to her while helping me into a silk nightgown.

“Hm? Why, was I talking in my sleep?”

“Yes. You were frowning and groaning, twitching your fingertips while moaning… and sometimes even cursing a bit. At first, I thought you were in pain.”

I certainly made the most of my sleep-talking.

Well, I could guess the reason. It must have been that, that. That bastard Vanirgand.

“…I did have a bit of a nightmare.”

“What kind of dream was it?”

What kind of dream, she asks. Well…

“…A dog dream?”

That was my honest impression.

Wolves and dogs aren’t that different when you think about it, right? A wolf on a leash is just a dog, what else would it be?

So the nightmare I had should be called a dog dream.

Even if that dog was massive enough to stomp a dragon to death and was a monster that could collapse mountains with a single roar.