The torrential rain pulled a curtain of water over the Black Forest, and thunder exploded overhead, shaking the rock walls until gravel rained down continuously.
‘Well, it looks like we can’t go back for now.’
Celia glanced outside the cave. Visibility was less than a few meters, and the muddy ground had already turned into a rushing stream.
Forcing their way through such conditions with an injured person would be no different from suicide.
“Keep the umbrella steady, and don’t let the rain drift in,” Celia ordered Iris.
She then checked on Elent, who was leaning against the rock wall.
The light of the Healing spell had been sustained for ten minutes.
Under the influence of the Saint Celery, the external wounds on Elent’s body scabbed and healed, and even his broken leg bones completed their initial reconnection.
However, Elent’s complexion did not improve. His body began to tremble violently, and his teeth chattered with a clack-clack sound.
A fine layer of white frost formed on his eyebrows and hair.
This was Cold Poison.
To harvest those three stalks of Ice Spirit Grass, Elent had clearly soaked in the frigid pond water for too long.
Coupled with the low temperatures of the storm, the chill had already seeped into his bone marrow.
Celia reached inside Elent’s clothes; his skin felt like a cold iron plate.
If this chill wasn’t forced out, even if the external injuries healed, his internal organs would be damaged by the frost.
“Iris, start a fire,” Celia said.
“Lady Witch, I can’t.” A weak purple flame flickered in Iris’s hand. “The air is too damp, and the wood is wet. My mana is almost depleted.”
The small flame swayed twice in the damp wind before flickering out. The temperature inside the cave dropped again.
Elent wasn’t just shivering; his breathing began to grow faint and intermittent.
Conventional external heat sources were useless now. It had to be done from the inside out, using a stronger heat source to guide the Saint Celery.
Celia shifted her gaze to herself. Her bulky Priestess Habit was halfway soaked by the rain, clinging to her body with a cold, sticky feeling.
But as a Cleric, Saint Celery mana with its own warmth flowed through her body.
“Iris.”
“Present!”
“Turn around and watch the entrance. No matter what sound you hear, you are absolutely forbidden from looking back.”
“Yes!” Although Iris was full of doubt and fear, her body reacted faster than her brain.
She immediately turned her back and stared at the curtain of rain outside, wishing she could even block her ears.
Deep within the narrow cave, only Celia and the unconscious Elent remained.
Celia took a deep breath, her fingers resting on the buttons of her soaked collar. One, two. The heavy, wet outer garment slid off, pooling at her waist. Next was Elent’s.
Celia nimbly unfastened the severely damaged leather armor and stripped away the soaked linen shirt underneath.
The male physique was exposed to the air, his muscle lines distinct and covered in various scars, both old and new. Currently, this body was convulsing uncontrollably.
“Lucky you, dummy,” Celia whispered, then leaned down.
There was no barrier. The Young Girl’s warm, soft skin pressed directly against the young man’s cold chest.
The moment they touched, a bone-chilling coldness drilled straight into her heart along the contact point, making Celia shudder.
However, Celia did not retreat. Instead, she opened her arms and embraced Elent’s neck, pressing her body even tighter against him to increase the contact area as much as possible.
Activating the Saint Celery, Celia poured the scalding Saint Celery into his body. A glow lit up the gap where they were pressed together, illuminating the dim cave.
A current of heat surged. Celia felt as if she were holding a piece of melting ice.
The chill was being transmitted continuously, attempting to freeze her mana, only to be scattered by the even more turbulent Saint Celery.
Elent’s trembling gradually subsided. With the transfer of body heat, his previously purple lips slowly regained their color, and his stiff muscles began to relax.
Celia rested her forehead against the crook of Elent’s shoulder, panting heavily.
This high-intensity mana output, combined with the loss of her own body heat, made her feel dizzy.
Just as she was about to pull away slightly, a pair of large hands suddenly gripped her waist.
The warm source in her arms locked onto her with incredible force, almost as if he wanted to rub Celia into his very flesh and blood.
“Mph!”
Celia let out a muffled groan as the pressure on her chest became painful.
She tried to struggle and push away this guy who was taking a mile after being given an inch.
“Don’t go…” an indistinct mumble sounded in her ear.
Elent’s head was buried in the crook of Celia’s neck, his hot breath puffing against her sensitive skin with a fragile plea. “Priestess… still here… waiting…”
Celia’s pushing hands froze in midair. It was just a phrase spoken in an unconscious dream.
There were no grand words or vows to save the world. In this life-or-death moment of blurred consciousness, all this dummy was thinking about was her.
Celia’s fingers lingered in the air for a moment before slowly descending onto Elent’s back. Her fingertips touched the new scar he had received while protecting the herbs.
“Truly a hopeless dummy.”
Celia stopped struggling and adjusted her position, resting her head on Elent’s shoulder and letting him hold her like a large doll.
Deep in the storm-tossed Black Forest, within the small space of the cave, two bodies huddled close together, their body heat blending and their breathing syncing.
At the cave entrance, Iris stared intently at the rain, her body as stiff as iron.
The sound of rustling clothes, heavy breathing, and the movement of entangled limbs coming from behind her were exceptionally clear, even amidst the thunder and rain.
‘As I thought. That man has been sucked dry. Is the final soul-extraction ritual taking place right now?’
Iris hugged herself sorrowfully. ‘Tomorrow morning, there will probably be nothing left here but a withered corpse.’
After some time, the rain outside lessened slightly. The light inside the cave had faded.
Celia was exhausted. The excessive consumption of mana made her eyelids heavy.
Since this dummy’s body temperature had returned to normal and he had turned into a warm furnace, there was no need to push him away.
‘I’ll just treat him as a free human heater — one with a hugging function, at that.’
Celia nuzzled into Elent’s embrace, found a comfortable position, and closed her eyes.
In the last second before her consciousness fell into darkness, Celia thought dazedly: ‘When I wake up tomorrow, I’ll definitely make this guy compensate me properly.’
Well I hope so.