Dante’s body was covered in wounds. His back was scratched, his arms were scratched, and his legs were…

Just looking at the injuries made one’s face crumple involuntarily.

He must have gotten them while carrying me down the cliff.

The worst was the long cut on his left arm. Blood was dripping from the open wound. But it was strange. If he fell from the cliff, why was it a clean cut and not a tear?

Ah, could it be…

“Did you get hurt while fighting earlier?”

Somehow, right after the battle with the monster ended, when I tried to check his body, he seemed to be oddly favoring his left shoulder. I thought it was just my imagination, but I guess not.

Moreover, now that I looked, his palms were also all tattered.

“…Liar.”

He promised he wouldn’t get hurt. He said he was perfectly fine without a single injury.

I clenched my teeth tightly.

If I didn’t, it felt like either a scream or tears would come out, or something would come out anyway.

Get a grip. Crying now won’t help anything.

I strongly reassured myself and looked around.

“The kitten is…”

Ah. There it is.

After glancing around a few times, I spotted the collapsed baby beast a short distance away.

I quickly approached and checked its condition. Fortunately, while it still showed signs of dehydration, there seemed to be no external injuries. Thank goodness.

Phew. That’s a relief for now.

Among the three of us, Dante is the only one injured.

…I wonder if I should consider this fortunate or not.

I laid the baby beast, no, let’s just call it a kitten.

I laid the kitten next to Dante, then took out a handkerchief from my pocket. More precisely, I took out the medicinal herbs wrapped in the handkerchief.

Earlier, when Dante was engaged in a fierce battle with the monster…

I found these herbs while hiding in the bushes, holding my breath. I kept them just in case they might be useful for Dante after the fight, but I forgot about them since he said he wasn’t injured.

After gathering the herbs that had now found a use, I alternately looked at the collapsed Dante.

“It seems a bit insufficient.”

It definitely seems insufficient.

The amount of herbs was absurdly small compared to the affected areas. Moreover, I was worried about the kitten who was barely breathing.

I hope it doesn’t die before we get home.

We need something to eat or more medicinal herbs…

The sun was setting before I knew it. Cursing the shorter autumn days compared to summer, I got up to find the necessary items.

Just as Dante saved me, I was the only one who could save him now.

Dante opened his eyes just before the sun had completely set.

Although the sun still remained, the moon revealed itself much more clearly.

“Ugh.”

Groaning a single word, he opened his eyes and sat up in no time.

The cliff. And Serpina.

The words that came to mind in succession made him hurriedly scan his surroundings.

“…Serpina?”

However, only the mewling, sleeping baby beast was beside him, and Serpina was nowhere to be found.

His heart sank with a thud.

He remembered properly wrapping his arms around her and sliding down the cliff, but he also remembered hitting a rock halfway down.

He somehow corrected his posture to reduce the impact, but he couldn’t prevent his whole body from being scraped.

And, and…

‘I don’t remember.’

Apparently, he lost consciousness around that time.

If he let go of Serpina right before falling…

The thought of Serpina possibly being flung somewhere made his blood run cold.

Damn it. He should have stayed conscious until the end.

He stood up unsteadily. His whole body ached, but there was no time to pay attention to it.

Finding Serpina as soon as possible was the top priority.

It would be troublesome if the sun completely set.

The darker it got, the harder it would be to find a person, and if the temperature dropped further at night, someone injured and unconscious could be in danger of losing their life.

So he had to find her quickly.

No matter what, he had to find her. Somehow, using whatever means necessary, he had to find Serpina…

“Dante?”

It seems that fear sometimes paralyzes the five senses.

What stopped his vision from fading away without him realizing it was Serpina’s voice.

Dante’s gaze, which had been directed at the void, slowly turned towards where the voice came from.

“Ser…pina.”

It’s really Serpina.

It’s truly Serpina.

Seeing Dante’s blank face, Serpina approached him with a worried frown.

“If you’re awake, stay still. Why are you moving…”

But her words were cut off there.

It was because Dante, who had approached with a face that looked like he was about to cry, collapsed and embraced Serpina in his arms.

“Huh.”

Feeling him hugging her with all his might, Serpina lost her words and just blinked.

What, what on earth is this…!

However, the surprise was short-lived.

She felt the man’s body, which was holding her tightly as if it would break, trembling uncontrollably.

“…Dante?”

“I’m so glad you’re safe. Truly glad. I thought I had lost you…”

It was an immense upheaval that was hard to believe coming from Dante, who always maintained composure and calmness.

Serpina blankly rested her head against his chest, then wriggled her hands out and wrapped them around Dante’s waist.

She wanted to pat his back, but she barely remembered that his back was completely scraped, so she changed the destination to his waist.

Like that, the two silently embraced each other for a long time.

As if they wouldn’t allow even an inch of gap, as if they would never let go of each other again.

The quiet embrace continued until the sun finally set and pitch-black darkness dyed the sky.

Ah, it’s already night.

I rubbed my cold nose bridge and then glared at the uncooperative night sky.

It seems we’re done for getting out of here today.

There’s nothing more foolish than wandering through an unfamiliar mountain in the middle of the night.

But by now, Barhan must have noticed that something’s wrong with us.

He’ll send a rescue team or come looking for us by tomorrow at the latest.

Rubbing my arms in the chilly weather that came with the night, I gathered the dry branches I had collected.

Next to them, I neatly arranged the medicinal herbs, a cup of water I had collected in large leaves, tree fruits, and edible mushrooms.

This should be enough to get through the night without any shortage.

Now, the only thing left is to start a fire…

“Phew.”

Starting a fire was no easy task.

I had been trying since before Dante woke up, but somehow I never succeeded.

This is serious. Fire is essential since it’s cold and I’m worried about wild animals.

I exerted patience once again, placed a long branch vertically on a flat branch, and rubbed my hands more diligently than a fly.

Hmm. Another failure.

The branches remained silent, as if smoke would appear or not, as if the smell of burning would emerge or not.

Forget fire, only my palms were burning.

Strange. The book said to do it like this.

…But what’s this smell?

As I was seriously pondering what the problem was, a smell similar to something burning wafted from somewhere.

Turning my head, my eyes met Dante’s, who had just lit a dry leaf.

“We have fire.”

“…Yes.”

I quietly looked down at my hands. My reddened hands were pitiable to the point of being unfair.

Tsk. Someone tried so hard that their hands were peeling, but failed, yet how did he do it in one go…!

“I have a lot of camping experience. It’s always difficult at first for everyone.”

The consolation was quite reasonable.

Pouting my lips, I took the branches and approached the fire.

Dante naturally took them and made the fire bigger.

Before long, a perfect form of a campfire that you would only see in photos was completed.

“Ah, it’s warm.”

I rubbed my hands in front of it and thawed my body.

I didn’t notice while walking around, but it seems my body was quite frozen.

I rubbed my cold nose bridge again and adjusted my tattered cloak.

“You used that cloak instead of bandages?”

Dante asked, alternately looking at the strips of cloth wrapped around his body and my tattered cloak.

I nodded.

“That’s right.”

Fortunately, I found herbs that are good for hemostasis and disinfecting wounds…

I needed something to grind them and wrap around the affected areas. That’s when my cloak caught my eye.

After shaking off as much dust as possible until my arms fell off, I borrowed Dante’s sword and was able to make it into a shape similar to bandages.

“You must be cold.”

“Is being cold a big deal next to someone whose whole body is tattered? Achoo!”

I spoke confidently, but a sneeze followed.

“At least cover yourself with my cloak.”

“No. The patient should be the one covering up.”

I refused, waving my hand, then picked up the kitten and hugged it tightly to my chest.

Hmm. Warm.

“This is enough for me.”

Meow.

The kitten, after letting out a single defiant meow, glanced up at me and obediently licked its paws.

It seems to be regaining some energy now.

Thank goodness.

It was worth forcibly feeding it water and tree fruits.

“Is that really enough for you?”