Ch.285Chapter 285: Footsteps, Again

Hmm, I made the right call to stop.

If I had focused solely on escaping in my haste…

The droplets of blood from Imperfectio’s wound would have gently stained the obsidian floor, clearly revealing our escape route to our pursuers.

Judging by the small amount of blood, the wound on Imperfectio’s right hand didn’t appear too serious.

But it would be unfortunate to be caught by trackers because of bloodstains from such a minor injury.

“Take off your gauntlet. I need to treat the wound directly on your skin to stop the bleeding.”

I made a brief but essential request to provide medical care to Imperfectio.

“…”

Though silent, Imperfectio complied and removed the gauntlet, allowing me to proceed with the treatment smoothly.

Even as I focused on stopping the bleeding, my attention occasionally drifted to the fallen Adorator.

Thanks to Imperfectio’s powerful strike—so intense that I had involuntarily closed my eyes—Adorator’s consciousness had sunk into an abyss darker and deeper than the obsidian filling this palace.

Still, as long as we remained in this obsidian palace where twisted divinity surged as a source of power, I couldn’t rule out the possibility of Adorator regaining consciousness at any moment.

Though our primary goal was to escape this obsidian palace as quickly as possible…

It was only natural to remain vigilant about an Adorator who might regain consciousness at any moment.

Fortunately, Imperfectio’s strike must have been exceptionally powerful because…

“…”

Adorator showed no signs of waking.

His unfocused eyes remained wide open, not even blinking.

His body showed no movement despite lying on the ice-cold floor.

Anyone would agree this was an impressive state of unconsciousness.

Well… I suppose I can afford to divert my attention until the bleeding stops.

With that assessment, I turned my gaze away from the unconscious Adorator and back to Imperfectio’s right hand, which I was treating.

Apart from the skin being slightly torn from excessive impact causing bleeding, her right hand was in fairly good condition.

It was much better than I had expected—I’d worried there might be broken bones when the gauntlet came off.

Breaking an obsidian wall with a gauntleted bare hand was one thing, but to knock out an Adorator—who I suspected might possess invulnerable powers that even holy swords couldn’t scratch—with just five strikes, while sustaining only minor injuries…

Where did Desire find such a powerful agent?

Though I should consider her an enemy given my position, I wasn’t so narrow-minded that I couldn’t acknowledge the objective strength of someone who wasn’t hostile toward me and was even helping me escape.

“What impressive fists you have. I expected you could break obsidian, but I never thought you could subdue an Adorator so easily with just those.”

While expressing my admiration for Imperfectio’s strength that I had witnessed firsthand,

I completed the final step of the treatment.

Rip-!!

I tore the hem of my uniform to wrap around the small wound on her fist.

The bleeding treatment was complete.

Though her blood was staining my uniform slightly, the fact that no droplets were falling to the floor suggested the bleeding would stop completely after a short while.

Who would have thought the Imperial Knights’ uniform—magically treated to resist stains even in fierce battles—would serve such a purpose?

I felt my heart grow heavy as I recalled countless others who had fallen on battlefields without proper treatment before my regression, but…

[Don’t dwell too much on events from times that cannot be changed.]

Thanks to Paphnir’s unusually sensible words, I quickly regained my composure.

Since the bleeding would stop soon as I mentioned earlier,

I thought I might use that brief time to satisfy my curiosity about why she was helping me, but…

“…”

Though Imperfectio would usually offer brief responses when I spoke, her lips remained sealed after entrusting her right hand to me, making it awkward to start a conversation.

Actually, it was almost a relief that she was just silent because…

She kept her head bowed low, as if not wanting me to see her, despite her eyes already being concealed by her helmet.

What’s going on with her? Is she so uncomfortable with my hands touching hers that she won’t speak?

[…I don’t think that’s it.]

Paphnir’s subtle mocking echoed in my mind, seemingly contradicting my thoughts.

‘Please stop making strange comments that interfere with the treatment.’

I tried to cut him off before he could continue, but…

[Strange comments? You’re the one saying strange things. From my perspective, that woman is just embarrassed right now.]

I knew that responding to Paphnir’s teasing would only invite more confusing remarks, so…

‘…’

I maintained complete silence.

[Look at you, staying quiet because you have nothing to say. It’s basic courtesy to respond when an elder speaks to you, boy.]

Ignoring Paphnir’s odd invocation of elder privileges, I carefully observed the healing process of Imperfectio’s right hand wound.

As expected, Imperfectio’s right hand recovered quickly once the treatment was complete. The bleeding that had slightly stained the torn piece of my uniform was visibly stopping.

I had been prepared to infuse my ki to maximize her natural healing if necessary, but I was relieved that wouldn’t be needed.

However, separate from my relief about the successful treatment…

“…”

I was beginning to wonder why Imperfectio still kept her head bowed and remained silent.

“Um…”

Still keeping her head down, Imperfectio briefly began to speak.

“This might sound unnecessary, but… my hand would have healed on its own. You could have just stopped me to prevent blood droplets from scattering…”

I felt relieved upon hearing that my medical treatment had been unnecessary.

It might seem strange to feel relief at being told my efforts weren’t needed rather than receiving thanks, but…

[…Why exactly are you relieved about that?]

‘I was worried there might be something wrong elsewhere besides her right fist that prevented her from speaking, but she’s talking normally now, so I’m relieved.’

[There’s something odd about what you’re finding relief in.]

‘I expected to be scolded for doing something unnecessary, but this is better than that.’

As my conversation with Paphnir revealed, I was simply relieved that my concern about other potential injuries had been unfounded.

[Huh… what a dull fellow you are.]

Paphnir sighed with something close to disappointment at my response.

‘I wasn’t doing it to receive thanks anyway.’

I calmly accepted Imperfectio’s response, as I had simply done what was necessary for our smooth escape and was satisfied that she was alright.

I had half-expected to hear the same cold tone she had used just before subduing Adorator—”You’re doing something unnecessary!!”—but I didn’t. That alone was more than satisfactory.

Anyway, as time passed, the blood on Imperfectio’s right hand completely stopped—whether due to my treatment or her natural healing abilities.

Judging by how she suddenly lifted her head and put some distance between us, it seemed we could continue our journey.

However, unlike me who was ready to move immediately,

Imperfectio raised her left hand to head height, apparently intending to do something else before we proceeded.

“…Cleaning up.”

She was about to do what she herself called “cleaning up.”

Crunch-!!

As Imperfectio’s raised left hand clenched tightly,

Shaaak-!!

Dark red lines shot up from the obsidian floor where Adorator had fallen and bound his body.

She restrained him thoroughly enough that he wouldn’t be able to move normally even if he regained consciousness.

“No matter how well we cover our tracks, trackers of this caliber might still follow us, so this much effort is necessary…”

There was a strange satisfaction in Imperfectio’s quiet voice as she spoke to herself.

I was curious about what gave her that satisfaction and almost opened my mouth to ask, but…

“Well then… let’s go.”

Imperfectio’s voice stopped me as she turned away immediately after confirming Adorator was properly bound.

And so, our journey to escape the demon realm continued.

Though our travels had been awkward when we first left the underground prison…

“…I hadn’t thought about blood leaving traces. Next time there’s an obsidian wall to break, I’ll use my left hand instead.”

The awkwardness had largely dissipated thanks to Imperfectio, who even promised to be careful not to leave unnecessary traces in forming our escape route.

I had thought it would be fortunate enough just to avoid being scolded, but she even went so far as to say she would be careful to prevent time-wasting treatments like this one.

Looking at Imperfectio’s back as she muttered in a barely audible voice while we walked,

I thought that even if Desire’s machinations led to us becoming enemies someday,

I too should restrain myself to merely subduing her—just as she had done when we first met.

#

Right after Kal’s simple medical treatment(?),

To provide the escape route for Kal as she had promised,

Step, step

Imperfectio walked endlessly.

Step, step, step, step

…Actually, she was moving at a pace that seemed too quick to be called walking.

It was an unavoidable pace.

Despite wearing a helmet that covered her entire face except her mouth,

She feared her expression would betray her through her lips if she merely recalled what had just happened to her.

She was walking so quickly to prevent the only person currently by her side from noticing.

“…If we go a little further, we’ll reach the foothills of the mountain range that marks the edge of this territory.”

She spoke with a voice that was at least somewhat controlled, unlike her expression.

But the stronger her desire grew to hide her flustered expression from him,

“…”

The more persistent the burning sensation became in her right hand where Kal’s touch had lingered.

Thump, thump-

Her heartbeat was so clear that she worried he might hear it if she didn’t maintain some distance.

It was strange.

When she had delivered those emotion-filled blows to Adorator who had upset her earlier,

The impact had been evenly distributed across her right hand, causing micro-fractures in her skin and even drawing blood.

Yet she had barely felt any pain then, unlike now when all that had happened was a simple physical contact intended to stop minor bleeding.

Why was her heart beating so irregularly, constricting her chest?

From Kal’s touch—gruff-looking yet surprisingly gentle as he treated her wound—

Had she recalled someone from her memories whom she could no longer remember?

‘No…’

Imperfectio silently denied this to herself, continuing to walk steadily without even shaking her head, trying to forget the warmth that had settled in her hand.

‘Don’t be greedy. I shouldn’t…’

She also tried to resist the temptation to equate the man walking behind her with someone from her memories, despite this small incident.

No matter how similar his appearance or how alike the kindness he carried in his heart,

The man behind her was simultaneously the same as someone who now existed only in her memories and yet not that person at all.

‘This is right…’

She continued walking endlessly while organizing these thoughts in her mind, but

Despite her efforts not to recall,

“…”

As Imperfectio covered her still-warm right hand with her left, memories of someone who looked exactly like the man behind her kept surfacing in her mind without her conscious intent.

These memories began as wonderfully warm recollections,

But as time passed, the warmth diminished, ultimately ending as ashes not even amounting to a handful.