Chapter 3

“Let me check your temperature.”

I pressed the back of my hand against the man’s forehead, pulled it away, and asked.

“You don’t have much of a fever. How is your stomach? Do you think you can eat something?”

It was past my shift, but I was willing to boil some simple soup for him. The man stared blankly at me, and only after a long moment did he finally let me hear his voice.

“I thought it was a dream.”

“What was? That you’re still alive?”

Adding that his wounds had been quite severe, I brought the medicine box I had left on the shelf and sat on the edge of the bed.

“Do you think you can move?”

The man groaned and wiggled his body. I told him he didn’t have to force it if it was difficult, but he didn’t even reply and hauled himself up. Thinking he was a stubborn one, I opened the medicine container. It was better for me if he sat up so I could change the bandages easily.

“You said not to call a doctor, right? So I treated you myself, even if it’s lacking.”

I tried to make conversation while applying more medicine and wrapping the bandages again, but the man didn’t reply this time either. He just stared straight at me. He didn’t seem to have a very friendly personality.

“What would you like for a meal?”

Only after I asked about food one more time did he reply that he would eat. However, once I actually brought the food, he couldn’t easily lift the utensils. Thinking it would take forever for him to eat, I took the spoon from his hand and fed him the soup.

The man looked clearly awkward, but he didn’t reject the kindness. Later, as I was about to leave the room with the empty dishes, the man asked.

“What’s your name?”

“Call me Iel.”

“Iel…”

The man murmured the name I had given him lightly, then asked another question.

“Aren’t you curious about my name?”

I wasn’t particularly curious. He wasn’t a villager, and he was just a traveler passing through anyway. There was no real reason I needed to know, but I had enough sense not to spit that out bluntly. Furthermore, I knew that squeezing out interest where there was none was part of social life.

“What is it?”

The man lowered his eyes slightly, then locked his gaze with mine again.

“Felix. Call me Fel.”

It had already been ten days since the man named Felix stayed at the inn. Now, looking quite a bit lighter on his feet, he came outside and greeted me.

“Hello, Iel.”

“Hello, Fel.”

Contrary to the impression he gave at first, the man often struck up conversations with me. Gesturing with his chin toward the basket filled with firewood, he asked.

“Want me to carry that for you?”

“I’m fine.”

Inn chores were my job to begin with, and above all, he was still a patient. It was too early to be relieved just because he looked fine on the outside. I refused, citing that he should focus on his recovery, and while he didn’t insist further, he followed me around closely instead.

At other times, I would have brushed it off without much thought. Travelers resting for a while sometimes do meaningless things out of boredom. They might find a temporary lover or intentionally take an interest in things they usually wouldn’t.

However, this time I was a bit worried because I had used my divine power to heal him. My first suspicion wasn’t that he was simply trying to alleviate boredom, but that he might have noticed something and was trying to close the distance to test me.

I remembered the voice of my “master,” who would have sneered that I shouldn’t have used my power in the first place if I was going to be this anxious, but I forced myself to make excuses, telling myself that I was honorable for doing what a human should do.

Even while I was putting firewood into the fireplace in the first-floor hall, Felix stood quietly behind me. Because of my suspicion and anxiety, his gaze felt like it was piercing my back, and I felt so uncomfortable that I tensed my shoulders for no reason.

Should I ask him his business and get rid of him? But from experience, naive responses only gave the other party an excuse. And once you feel you don’t dislike that, you’re the one being toyed with from that moment on.

While I was lost in thought, placing the firewood into the fire one by one, the basket became empty. Feeling the warm heat gradually spreading through the air, I lifted the basket and stood up. When I turned around, I made eye contact immediately—as if he had been watching me the whole time.

“You seem to recover faster than the average person, but wouldn’t it be better to rest in bed a bit more?”

I asked, masking my discomfort as concern. Felix rolled his eyes slightly, then grinned and locked eyes with me again.

“Like you said, I recover quickly. The time for lying down to get better has passed, and moving around a little is actually better for recovery now. In my experience.”

“I see.”

I responded listlessly and walked away. This time, too, Felix followed behind me, and I decided to just let him be. I figured he’d stop if I didn’t react.

Felix watched me from a few steps behind when I did chores, and sat at the bar watching when I cooked or served, yet he managed to keep a line where he wouldn’t interfere with my work. Since I had dealt with quite a few people who couldn’t do that, this was a very decent situation. Regardless, when I finally left him alone until I finished work, it was Felix who reacted first.

“You seem used to this, huh?”

As I wrapped a scarf around my neck and glanced his way, Felix stood with his arms crossed, his voice sounding a bit dissatisfied.

“A guy following you around all day.”

“Yes, a little.”

It was a familiar situation. It meant I was an easy target for drifters to try their luck with, but he seemed to take it as some sort of confidence, as his lips curled.

“I guess you aren’t exactly naive, then. But you have zero reaction—does that mean I’m not your type?”

That wasn’t it. Like the drifters, I found this life just as boring, so if it weren’t for the issue with my divine power, I might have snatched him up immediately. A temporary romantic relationship was perfect for killing time.

Although it had already been several years since I got married, I had never slept with my husband, the Count. He seemed to want to keep me pure, perhaps thinking it might affect the success of the summoning. It was the same after the summoning was partially successful. Not only was it not a complete success, but he wanted me to remain pure because I was technically the property of a god.

However, since I started being sent out into the world, I had flaunted my loss of purity by having free-spirited relationships and one-night stands with a variety of people. I don’t know the exact reason—whether it was self-destruction or a sense of defiance. Back then, I just wanted to, and now I enjoy it for different reasons.

My current “master” was rooting its energy into various corners of this world through my body. When the time came, the master’s kin would be born through those roots. As entities adapted to this world. Through them, it would begin to shake the influence of the main god who held full power over this world, and if successful, it would be able to drain the main god’s strength significantly before the war.

For that, only my constitution was needed; there was nothing special I had to do. As long as I didn’t leave the designated area, the master didn’t care what I did, so this life beyond the Count’s reach was far more livable than life in the castle. Especially the fact that I could meet men to my heart’s content without being forced to remain pure.

However, I thought I should consider it a bit this time. It was better to avoid dangerous bridges, if possible.

“You’re still a patient, you know.”

When I replied with a smile, Felix opened his mouth as if to say it was ridiculous.

“Do I look that weak to you?”

“It’s more a matter of my conscience.”

I shrugged, saying how could I possibly think of jumping on a patient who had suffered such serious wounds, no matter the circumstances. At my playfulness, Felix’s expression became even more absurd. It was a joke meant to hide my true thoughts and also to elicit such a reaction, but seeing him respond exactly as I expected made me feel somewhat cheerful. I didn’t hide that feeling, and let it out with a small laugh. His expression softened slightly.

“Then have a good night, Fel.”

Leaving him speechless, I turned around and exited the inn. It was snowing lightly outside. It looked like it would be quite cold tonight.

How long on earth am I supposed to stay here? I hate the cold. Especially the snowy scenery, which reminds me of the even more boring northern castle. Thinking I wished the master would hurry up and send me somewhere warm, I looked up at the sky for a moment, when suddenly the door burst open.

“Iel.”

It was Felix. He spoke in an urgent voice, then immediately strode toward me, closing the distance. The heat from another person, radiating toward me without warning, made my insides tremble slightly. Perhaps out of surprise, or perhaps out of a vague anticipation.

A large hand cupped my face and pulled me in. As our faces drew close, after a moment of exploration, he lowered his eyelids and pressed his lips against mine. The flesh that pushed in without hesitation tangled with mine, heavy and insistent.