Genius 32

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Chapter 32. A Survival For Two

Hermes and Katia successfully escaped from the prison. They ran for a while, but even for Hermes, maintaining bloodline magic while running for a long time was difficult. Moreover, staying near a large town was risky due to the possibility of pursuit.

"Katia-sama, I'm sorry, but we'll camp here tonight. It's not the best environment, but I'll improve it as soon as possible."

"...I understand."

Though she lacked energy, Katia nodded relatively clearly. Hermes immediately set her down, gathered some twigs nearby, and ignited them with magic to make a campfire. Then, he took iron bars and cloth from their belongings to create a makeshift tent. He laid down cloth inside and lightly tilled the ground below. It wouldn't compare to a duke's bed but would provide decent sleeping conditions.

Next was food. Hermes took out cooking utensils and ingredients, poured water from the canteen into a pot, and began heating it.

"You seem skilled at this."

Katia, who had been quietly warming herself by the fire, peered over with a slightly surprised and interested expression.

"Yes, to some extent. It wasn't uncommon for me to stay overnight in remote areas while conquering dungeons under my master Rose's guidance."

He had spent five years with his master, accumulating combat experience and delving into many dungeons to learn magic. During that time, he also acquired some survival skills and served his master with ingeniously prepared meals. Reflecting on the past, he continued cooking.

The base flavor was reliable dried meat. However, it would have too much gaminess and roughness if used alone. Hermes combined herbs he had discovered to eliminate the unpleasant aspects and added dried vegetables. That added depth to the flavor and was well-received by his master.

After seasoning with salt and other spices to taste, he added a small amount of relatively inexpensive but flavorful spices as accents. Soon, a pleasant aroma wafted from the soup, and he served it to Katia.

"Wow... You're really good at cooking. Our chef at home would appreciate this."

"T-Thank you."

However, he needed to be more confident that his simple cooking, emphasizing preservation and convenience, would suit Katia, who got accustomed to the dishes prepared by the first-class cooks of the Duke's household.

Katia took a sip of the soup, widened her eyes, and praised it with an astonished voice.

He had managed to make something palatable. And now that Katia seemed to have calmed down, he settled down and began to discuss their current situation.

"Now, Katia-sama. You've been wrongfully accused by Prince Aster. As a result, you get pursued."

"...Yes."

"But their methods are hasty and sloppy. Given enough time, they'll make a mistake, and the Duke is doing everything he can to find it. So, until then, protecting you and evading pursuers is my intention and the duty assigned to me by the Duke."

Therefore, it was best to avoid attracting attention as much as possible during this escape. Aster was royalty, and if he decided to use his power fully, the scope of the investigation would be immense. Their actions were quite limited, but Hermes was confident in his abilities. He was skilled in survival techniques and, if necessary, could rely on various powerful bloodline magics to escape without being caught easily.

"Please rest assured. It may inconvenience you for a while, but the Duke will definitely prove your innocence. So, please bear with it until then."

"Yes, but... I..."

However, Katia's gaze wandered, indicating her hesitation.

It wasn't unreasonable. She had fled this far to avoid her death. But the crucial question she held remained unanswered.

So he said, "I think you should rest now, Katia."

"Huh?"

He advised her so. Since they were alone, he reverted to his old tone.

"When your body is tired, your mind tends to dwell on negative thoughts. It's called psychosomatic, if I remember correctly, according to Master."

During such times, thoughts tend to lean excessively negative, and rational judgment is often lost.

"So, it's best to rest without thinking about anything. It's okay, you don't have to find an answer."

"...Yeah."

Katia nodded obediently and crawled into the tent he had prepared.

"How about it? I don't think it's very comfortable, but can you sleep?"

"I think... I'll be okay."

"Got it. Then, I'll extinguish the light."

After confirming that she had crawled into the blanket, he waved his hand over the campfire.

They would probably intensify the search by morning. It was best to rest early to distance themselves as much as possible before that happened.

As he thought about extinguishing the campfire, something happened.

"Huh!?"

Inside the tent, Katia seemed to jump up in surprise.

"E-El!? What? What's happening!?"

"W-What's wrong, Katia-sama?"

"A-Are you... are you there!?"

"I am, but...?"

"If you're there, come here, quickly!"

What could it be? There were no signs of monsters around, and he had already confirmed that there were no pests inside the tent.

Thinking this, he entered the tent and asked her.

Then Katia approached. She reached out as if feeling around and her fingertips touched Hermes's arm.

"! ...Herm, right?"

"It's me, but..."

"Hh!!"

Then, at that moment—Katia hugged him.

"!?"

Taken aback by the sudden close contact and the soft, warm sensation, Hermes froze in surprise.

As her hair grazed his nose, emitting a faint fragrance, Katia, with a tearful voice, said, "Herm! I... I can't see anything, nothing!!"

Ah, he finally understood.

She wasn't used to it. The real, pure darkness.

Katia had lived her whole life in the royal capital. Even at night, there were magical lights from street lamps and guards, providing light almost everywhere, ensuring some degree of visibility.

But this forest at night was different.

There were no light sources. Moonlight and starlight were blocked by the trees and couldn't reach here. Hence, a pitch-black darkness, so intense that nothing could be seen even with eyes open, had formed, something rarely encountered in the royal capital.

"Are you... are you okay!? Maybe my eyes!?"

"N-No, you're okay. Just wait a moment..."

As Hermes was somewhat accustomed to it, he could vaguely grasp the surroundings. But for Katia, who was suddenly unable to see, it must have been like her eyes had been taken away. He tried to calm her panic by attempting to light the campfire again, but as he reached out, Katia hugged him even tighter to stop him.

"...Um. I can't move..."

"N-No... don't leave me..."

"No, I'm just going to light the fire..."

"I-I'm scared... please..."

"...Fine."

With even more force, Katia clung to him. Apparently, this night darkness was terrifying for her. It was getting dangerous to stay like this.

Unable to help it, Hermes, in the position of being hugged, created a fireball with generalized magic and released it from behind him through the gap in the tent to light up the area. He made it curve and land on the campfire to restore the light source, demonstrating an unnecessarily technical use of magic.

"Ah..."

"See, it's not that your eyes went crazy..."

And naturally, as the light returned, the two found themselves nearby, making eye contact. Hermes couldn't help but hold his breath at Katia's beautiful yet anxious expression, stirred by her protective instincts.

But the next moment.

"Ah...!"

As the light returned, Katia, regaining her sanity, blushed intensely and quickly released her hold, squatting where she was.

"I-I'd rather you kill me!!"

"Let's not joke about that now..."

However, leaving the fire while resting posed various risks like spreading fire. But not lighting anything was impossible for Katia, who wasn't accustomed to the darkness of the night. As a compromise.

"Is this amount of light okay?"

"Y-Yes..."

Until Katia fell asleep, Hermes lightly illuminated the surroundings with magic.

It was kept just bright enough to allow them to see in the dark but not so bright as to attract the attention of creatures nearby. And in addition to that.

"...What's wrong? If you want to laugh, go ahead!"

Hermes looked at his left hand, opposite to using magic.

At the end of it were Katia's slender fingertips peeking out from the blanket.

In essence, it was her request for him to hold her hand until she fell asleep.

"No, I won't laugh, but... Is this okay?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well... People said that when a girl falls asleep, it's not very calming to be watched by someone of the opposite sex..."

"...What, that's so..."

It was a belated question given the circumstances they were in. Katia expressed mild exasperation.

"It's fine. It's too late for that now. Besides, with you. I'd actually feel more at ease."

"Huh..."

At her rare moment of pure dependency, even Hermes, who was usually relatively assertive, felt a slight flutter in his heart.

But then she continued.

"And... right now, I'm scared."

"Scared?"

"I feel like I might lose myself if I'm alone... and dissolve into the darkness... So..."

"!"

Hermes tightened his grip on her hand with renewed determination and a murmur.

"You're probably not wrong, and I'm here. Come on, just rest. Otherwise, I won't be able to dispel the magic."

"...Yeah. Thank you."

With a slight wry smile, Katia's eyelids slowly closed.

(Really.)

What words, what experiences could have caused her to become like this, who had been so steadfast? He hadn't asked about what happened to her before she was captured. He couldn't in the circumstances.

But he could guess. Katia had been harshly denied what she had done before, and she was losing sight of herself.

"...I can't forgive..."

With a small resolve, as he murmured...

The calm sound of her breathing could be heard from beside him.