“Yuri-chan, wake up, it’s time to get up.”
“Mmm…”
She felt like she heard someone calling her, a voice that sounded quite familiar, and honestly, a bit annoying.
She blinked her sleepy eyes open, and the first thing she saw was a pair of crimson eyes blinking at her.
The little Evil God, white-haired and red-eyed, was leaning in close, practically pressing her whole face against Yuri’s. If Yuri had a physical body right now, she probably would have felt that warm breath against her cheek.
“Aiya, you’re finally awake. If it wasn’t for the fact you were still breathing, I would’ve thought you were dead already.”
Dead, huh.
Rubbing her drowsy eyes, she lifted her head to the sky. The sun was shining bright, probably about eight or nine in the morning. So she’d just napped for a bit, right? This girl, was she that eager for her to die so she could take over her body?
“I just took a short nap, that’s all.”
“Short nap?”
At that word, Iris couldn’t help but let out a snort of laughter.
“Yuri-chan, oh Yuri-chan, you really are muddle-headed.”
Eh?
“You’ve been asleep for a whole day, you know! You just fought the Abyss here, and then without a single bit of preparation, you slept for an entire day—tsk tsk… Yuri-chan, you’re really too carefree.”
She’d been asleep for an entire day?
Looks like she used up even more energy that night than she thought. First, she’d exhausted herself fighting the Abyssal monsters. After that, while running on empty, she faced the gargoyle. Even though she’d gained a new power, her body had already been pushed to its limit.
As for why she could keep using her power after that, she probably overdrew on her own life force.
So, once everything was over, she collapsed and fell fast asleep—out for a whole day.
Propping herself up with a tree behind her, she found her body stiff, probably from sleeping in the same position all day. Yet, even after all that sleep, she still felt weary. Looks like she’d need some proper rest after this.
If Iris hadn’t woken her, she might’ve slept another half a day.
But sleeping outside in the wild like this, so defenseless—this was a first.
Was it just because of exhaustion, or… did she, somewhere deep down, feel that even sleeping so defenselessly, there was nothing she needed to worry about?
Her gaze drifted instinctively to the little Evil God at her side.
Maybe that was it.
“I guess there’s nothing for me to worry about. After all, if any real danger comes, you’ll handle it for me, right?”
“Huh?”
At her words, the little Evil God shrieked like a white cat whose tail had just been stepped on.
“W-w-what are you saying? I never agreed to help you! Besides, it’d be better for me if you died!”
“Oh? Then wouldn’t it have been better if you’d just watched me get smashed into ‘Yuri-chan’ by the gargoyle?”
“Th-that’s… that’s different.”
“And how is that different? Dead is dead—whether I’m smashed into ‘Yuri-chan’, eaten by a monster in my sleep, or run into another Abyssal beast. What’s the difference?”
She was curious. Wasn’t her death the best possible outcome for Iris?
Then why go through the trouble of forcing her to pay a price and giving her the power to strike back?
“In any case, it’s different!” Iris puffed up, floating into the air, hands on her hips. “And don’t think I’ll just help you so easily!”
“You can’t really say that for sure.”
“Huh?”
Seeing Iris’s pouting face, she hadn’t meant to tease her.
After spending some time together, Yuri had realized Iris was surprisingly easy to coax. As long as you went along with her, she’d usually help out a little.
But so far, their time together had been too short. There was still a lot she didn’t know.
Especially when it came to taking over her body—Iris’s behavior was odd.
If Iris really wanted her body, there had been plenty of chances to make a move, but most of the time, she did nothing. The only time she made a move, it was to trade for a part of Yuri’s body.
If it were Yuri, facing certain death, she wouldn’t settle for such a small gain.
Strange.
But after all, Iris was an outsider, an Evil God. Maybe her way of thinking was just different from normal people. Maybe she only did these things out of some twisted sense of amusement?
She’d have to keep watching. Still, there was something Iris was right about.
She was still far from strong enough.
If she were just a little stronger, maybe she wouldn’t have ended up in such a desperate situation.
From now on, she’d probably face even more dangerous challenges. How many more times could she strike a bargain with Iris?
She had to find a way to get stronger.
It was about time to head back to Anvil City.
Before leaving, Yuri carefully cleaned up the battlefield. She found several Silvermoon Wolf magic cores tainted with the Abyss’s aura, and her long sword that had been knocked away. Seeing it again, her feelings were complicated. It had brought her misfortune, but not only misfortune.
“Tsk tsk… You really can’t let it go, huh. I don’t know what’s so good about that thing.”
“Maybe, at just the right moment, bad luck and bad luck cancel out.”
Yuri replied quietly, hanging the long sword, now a pendant, back around her neck.
She came to where the Wolf King had died, but found no corpse.
Infected by the Abyss, the Wolf King’s body had crumbled to ash, leaving behind only a magic core crystal tainted with the Abyss. Compared to an ordinary Silvermoon Wolf’s core, the Wolf King’s was much bigger, its inner energy purer and richer.
Who would’ve thought—hunter and prey, and they’d end up like this.
“What, feeling sad?”
“No.”
“Eh… Such a serious face, but you’re still being stubborn.”
Stubborn? Maybe.
Staring at the crystal in her hand, a mix of emotions welled up inside Yuri. She opened her mouth, but said nothing.
“Well, at least in the end, you helped your animal friend find release. Who knows, maybe it’ll thank you.”
Yuri didn’t reply. She just nodded softly and put the magic core into her cloth pouch.
Once she’d gathered her things, Yuri looked up, stepping out toward the warm morning sun, heading for home.
No matter what came next, she would carry everything from that night forward, struggling on, alive.
The moment the doors of the Adventurers’ Guild were pushed open, the once-boisterous guild fell into a sudden hush.
Everyone inside stared in disbelief at the figure stepping through the doorway—a black-haired girl, her clothes stained with dried blood and dirt, looking as though she’d just survived a fierce battle.
The girl’s expression was calm, her gray-blue eyes showing no sign of emotion.
Clang.
A crisp sound of metal hitting the ground shattered the silence in the guild.
“Hey, hey, is that her? The Silver-ranked adventurer who took the Silvermoon Wolf King subjugation quest?”
“Huh? How’d she come back alive?”
“I thought she was dead for sure. That’s an Abyss nest, after all.”
“I bet she chickened out, hid outside for two days, and now she’s here to withdraw the quest at the counter.”
All at once, whispers spread through the guild.
“Yuri-chan, looks like they’re all talking about you.”
“Are they?”
Yuri didn’t care about any of it. She strode straight up to the counter and, under the receptionist’s stunned gaze, dumped all the magic cores from her bag onto the counter.
Seeing the Abyss-tainted magic cores, the receptionist’s face turned pale with shock. She looked at the frail girl before her in utter disbelief.
“Hello, I’m here to submit the quest.”