Ch.245[Episode 245] Greedy Things

Sir Dominic and Unryu Hime followed aaaa’s guidance as they walked.

Sir Dominic, having followed aaaa continuously, felt little anxiety, but Hime was different.

Having experienced separation from the group due to an unknown incident, Hime was anxious about possibly getting separated again.

After fidgeting for quite some time, Hime hesitantly gathered her courage and spoke to Sir Dominic.

“Um, Sir Dominic.”

“…? What is it?”

Hime’s voice was as faint as a mosquito’s buzz, but since the distance between them was quite close, Sir Dominic could hear her voice clearly enough.

“Well, I’m feeling anxious, so…”

Hime lost her courage again as soon as she looked at Sir Dominic’s face.

What if Sir Dominic refuses my request?

What if he thinks negatively of me after hearing what I have to say?

Having just gone through all sorts of incidents and still feeling the aftereffects of anxiety, Hime’s mind was already assuming Sir Dominic would refuse.

“…?”

Sir Dominic looked at Hime strangely.

She had called out to him but suddenly clamped her mouth shut without saying anything further, which was certainly strange enough.

When Sir Dominic looked at her with confusion, Hime felt her heart sink.

At that moment, Hime squeezed her eyes shut.

She felt like she couldn’t possibly look Sir Dominic in the face.

This won’t do.

That’s what Hime thought.

How long would she continue to be so indecisive?

Hime opened her eyes wide again with firm resolve.

Come to think of it, that’s how it had been.

Until now, Hime thought she had been brave enough to speak to Sir Dominic, but each time she was interrupted for unknown reasons.

But at this moment, Hime thought about it differently.

It wasn’t that she had courage but was interrupted; rather, she lacked the courage to persist when faced with interruptions.

What she needed now was more desperate courage.

Having reached that conclusion, Hime summoned courage that could be called reckless and blurted out:

“Um, could you link arms with m-!”

Was it because she was too nervous? Or was it because her enthusiasm and courage were too much?

Hime made the mistake of biting her tongue at that crucial moment.

Sir Dominic, startled by Hime suddenly shouting and then biting her tongue, asked:

“Are you alright?”

“I’m fwine.”

Hime spoke with a lisp because her tongue hurt so much.

Hime blamed the world once again.

How is it that whenever she tries to muster courage, she gets interrupted as if by some ghost?

Even her own body was interfering to the point where it wouldn’t move properly?

But Hime soon shook her head and set aside her complaints about the world.

And instead of complaints, she filled herself with courage again and called out to Sir Dominic.

“Since I don’t want to get separated like before, could you hold my hand?”

Hime had perfectly succeeded in conveying what she wanted to Sir Dominic.

It was so perfect that Hime momentarily felt dazed by what she had done.

Of course, what Hime wanted had been downgraded from linking arms to holding hands, but it was still a big step forward for her.

It might be a trivial matter for someone like Sir Dominic, but for Hime, this was nothing short of a giant leap.

Of course, whether Sir Dominic would accept this proposal was an entirely different matter, but it was already amazing that Hime had properly conveyed her request to Sir Dominic.

Sir Dominic glanced briefly at aaaa walking ahead, then looked back at Hime.

Hime felt both dazed by what she had accomplished and so embarrassed she could die.

“Alright.”

Hime jerked her head up at Sir Dominic’s response.

Sir Dominic was extending his right hand toward Hime, his gaze fixed on her.

He was clearly offering his right hand because he was holding his shield in his left.

Of course, the fact that Hime was on Sir Dominic’s right side also played a part.

Hime unconsciously looked into Sir Dominic’s two eyes… no, his one eye, which was as deep as two lakes combined.

Hime couldn’t believe the current situation.

Sir Dominic… really accepted my proposal?

Hime had been so convinced she would be rejected that she hadn’t even considered what would happen if Sir Dominic accepted.

Naturally, Hime’s brain froze at Sir Dominic’s acceptance.

“What are you doing? You asked me to hold your hand, yet you’re leaving mine hanging awkwardly?”

“…Ah! No! I’ll hold it! I will!”

Sir Dominic was still extending his right hand to Hime.

As her thoughts began flowing again at Sir Dominic’s words, Hime was filled with immense joy.

Though she didn’t express it outwardly, Hime was already thrilled at the thought of finally making progress.

It’s always the first step that’s difficult; after that, one can rely on momentum.

Hime thought that since she had taken that difficult first step, everything afterward would go smoothly.

Of course, given Hime’s personality, further progress wouldn’t be easy either, but at least for now, Hime felt confident enough to believe she could do anything.

“Can, can I really hold it? Is it really okay?”

Hime kept asking Sir Dominic for permission as if she couldn’t believe the situation.

Sir Dominic looked at Hime strangely.

“Of course you can. I just accepted, didn’t I?”

Unlike Hime, Sir Dominic didn’t think much of holding hands.

From the beginning, Sir Dominic didn’t have any particular thoughts about holding hands now.

He simply saw it as a safety measure to prevent them from getting separated again while escaping the dungeon.

Therefore, he didn’t feel the excitement or heart-fluttering sensation toward the opposite sex like Hime did.

It was truly a situation where the temperature of emotions between Sir Dominic and Hime showed a stark difference.

Regardless, Hime awkwardly took Sir Dominic’s hand.

“This way, we won’t get separated from each other. That was a good suggestion, Lady Hime.”

Sir Dominic complimented Hime.

In reality, Sir Dominic had only thought about following aaaa ahead, and hadn’t considered holding hands to prevent separation like Hime had.

Of course, Sir Dominic could have thought of it if he had enough leisure, but he was already struggling to keep up with aaaa due to his slow movement speed.

That’s why he didn’t hold back on praising Hime for such a good suggestion.

“We won’t get… separated…?”

However, Sir Dominic’s compliment seemed to sound a bit different to Hime.

Hime only heard the first part of what Sir Dominic said and became too excited.

To say they won’t get separated—how romantic!

Obviously, in the sentence Sir Dominic spoke, what he meant to convey was “that was a good suggestion,” but Hime, completely infatuated, misinterpreted his words.

“It’s quite an eyesore, but we’ll soon arrive at the first junction. There, we’ll cross over using the wall-breaking bug I showed you earlier, then cross the Void Stepping Stones, and the exit will appear right after.”

Aaaa had been watching Sir Dominic and Hime flirting from the front all this time.

Muttering something about the sorrows of being single, aaaa soon came to a stop.

As aaaa had said, they had reached the first junction.

“Once we break through here, we’re almost there. However, there’s a reason why this route isn’t popular for speed runs. You’ll find out soon enough.”

After saying that, aaaa repeatedly sat down and stood up against the wall.

“The wall is a bit thicker here, so some additional movements are needed.”

Aaaa then began swaying their upper body left and right while repeatedly sitting and standing.

It was truly an eerie movement, but through those eerie movements, aaaa was able to pass through the wall as if being absorbed.

“Now it’s your turn! Come on over!”

“My goodness, what on earth is that? Passing through walls like a ghost!”

Although Sir Dominic had already seen and experienced this bug once, Hime was seeing it for the first time and was utterly shocked.

Sir Dominic had accepted it as part of Gacha Land, but even Hime, who was born and raised in the bizarre Gacha Land, was startled by this bug.

“How fascinating…”

Hime touched the wall that aaaa had just passed through.

A stone wall built with hard stones.

There were gaps between them, but they were far too small for a person to pass through.

Hime tried to imitate what aaaa had just done.

Having seen something so fascinating, she wanted to try it right away.

Hime sat down and stood up while swaying her upper body left and right.

Her tail swayed up and down, and her ears twitched left and right.

After rubbing against the wall for dozens of seconds, Hime was finally able to pass through.

“Whew. That was truly a rare experience…”

Hime seemed to find this strange phenomenon amusing as she touched her flushed face.

“Now that everyone has crossed over, let’s move on to the next part.”

After confirming that Sir Dominic and Hime had safely crossed the wall, aaaa stretched out an arm to point to the next course.

“Those are the Void Stepping Stones.”

Sir Dominic turned his gaze in the direction aaaa was pointing.

Sir Dominic’s brow twitched slightly as he looked at what was called the Void Stepping Stones.

“Are you saying we have to cross that now?”

Sir Dominic asked aaaa in disbelief.

“Of course. But it’s less difficult than it looks.”

Aaaa nodded in response to Sir Dominic’s question.

Sir Dominic turned his head back to the Void Stepping Stones after aaaa’s confirmation.

There was a dark void of unknown depth, small rocks floating in that void, and void monkeys throwing something at those rocks.