Though she understood the situation and his condition from yesterday, the overwhelming sadness was something she couldn’t control on her own.

“Sha?”

However, when Ren’s worried eyes and voice met hers again, her sad emotions couldn’t last long. The immense hand that firmly held her completely melted away yesterday’s hardships.

So, what could she do?

“…My leg hurts.”

Shar-tee weakly murmured towards Ren.

With a single strong hand, Ren immediately assumed a position to massage her leg. However, Shar-tee giggled softly and stopped his touch.

Wearing pants that covered her burn scars, there was no way those would be revealed. What she wanted wasn’t a massage.

“Ren, your hand is injured. My leg hurts too, so let’s stay here for one more day before moving.”

“Ah.”

Nodding, Ren found Shar-tee’s bag.

“Then, it’s better if I hold the crystal. You look a bit pale.”

Ren rummaged through the bag, but aside from the crystal that could be inserted into the lighting, he couldn’t find any other crystals.
Then suddenly, she turned her head and looked around.

“…….,”

Ren’s eyes, reflecting the faint sunlight, shook greatly as they discovered a glittering stone.

On the ground lay the essential red crystal for winter trekking, which the two of them had found useful until now, shattered and discarded. The two split crystals looked like ordinary stones.

Observing Ren’s frozen complexion, Shar-tee cautiously spoke up.

“It seems the durability of the crystal is quite weak.”

Ren couldn’t even think about picking up the two broken crystals.

Shar-tee, watching Ren’s static response, also refrained from saying anything. She, too, was momentarily lost for words upon discovering the two broken crystals.

Crystals, by nature, were inscribed with various mana formulas on ordinary stones, and by infusing mana, they easily didn’t break or shatter.

‘If we hadn’t avoided it yesterday, it could have been a big problem.’

Remembering Ren wielding such strong force to break the crystal, Shar-tee’s body shivered.

Seeing his face, Ren’s expression became even darker with anxiety and worry.

At that moment, Ren hurriedly covered Shar-tee with all the blankets. Then, finding Shar-tee’s robe in a mess, he clenched his fist.

‘Not completely forgetting everything, huh? …But why can’t he remember my confession?’

Was it not memorable enough?

Shar-tee, soothing her aching heart, quietly observed Ren wrapped in a fluffy blanket.

Through Ren’s confusion, she felt his self-blame.

“Ren, we can buy crystals again.”

“…….,”

Shar-tee tried to console Ren, but it didn’t seem to have much effect.

He already knew that buying a crystal wasn’t something you could do with just one or two coins.

“…As soon as we get home, we should sell that thing.”

“Huh?”

“That item. It would be better to buy crystals with that.”

He was talking about the buried sword.

Facing Ren’s daring gaze as if he were going to empty his emergency funds, Shar-tee chuckled softly.

“I have enough money to buy one crystal. Besides, there’s money left from selling the potion to the apothecary. Don’t worry.”

“Isn’t that money for renovating the winter shelter?”

Besides that, they had to purchase the scarce food supply.

Every change of season meant expenses. Especially in the harsh winter when self-sufficiency was difficult, their pockets quickly emptied.

“It’s okay. If I work harder, we can earn money together.”

“……Alright.”

Ren, who seemed to be about to say something, closed his mouth and just nodded.

Ren’s face, dwelling on helplessness, was full of powerlessness.

In truth, Shar-tee hadn’t thought deeply about it, and she was equally embarrassed. The situation of being unable to use the crystal, which emitted warmth during winter trekking, was critical.

‘Ren must know that too.’

The cave at least blocked the wind, so they could endure a long night even without a fire. However, there was no guarantee they could find a cave to spend the night in the future.

Yet, because of the guilt, they couldn’t avoid not meeting each other’s eyes for long.
“I think we need a change of mood.”

Since yesterday, there was an elusive way to lighten his overall downcast mood.

“Of course, the potion recipe sold like hotcakes at the apothecary. I couldn’t sell it because there was a shortage of potions.”

Suddenly, she recalled the mentioned general store.

More precisely, the words of the general store owner, who mentioned that there was not enough demand to sell the potion she made for a high price, crossed her mind.

“He bought it from me for three times the price, so maybe he’ll raise the price when selling it elsewhere?”

However, the general store owner had shown confidence that he wouldn’t sell it because there was not enough quantity.

Although she hadn’t realized it yet, Shar-tee also had some pride in the fact that the potion she made was effective.

“Ren, is there a village just across one mountain?”

“…There was a small village on the map.”

“Maybe we can sell crystals there?”

“If we leave now, we can arrive by tomorrow morning.”

Even if Ren had to run with a broken leg, he was determined to cross the mountain in a day.

After a day of heavy rain, the cave was filled with moisture, and even the air felt damp.

Given Ren’s already low spirits, he didn’t want to keep Shar-tee in such a place for long.

“No. You have to stay here today.”

Shar-tee firmly held Ren’s hand.

“Why?”

“Ren, and me too, we need to rest today. This is coming from a doctor.”

Ren’s eye corners tightened.

“Besides, look at the state of our clothes. If we go to the village like this, we might be mistaken for runaway slaves, don’t you think?”

“Sha, no one sees you that way… but, I might look like that.”

Seeing Ren seriously inspecting his clothes, Shar-tee let out a small laugh.

Both of them, whether it was their heads, bodies, or clothes, were completely disheveled to the point where it was ambiguous who was worse off.

“Let’s find a stream in the middle of crossing a mountain tomorrow and wash up.”

“Okay.”

Ren took out water from the luggage, wrung a towel, and wiped Shar-tee’s hands, neck, and forehead.

Shar-tee felt embarrassed and nervously wiggled her fingers at his concentrated touch.

“Oh, even if it’s stuffy tomorrow, we have to reapply the bandages.”

While wiping off the dried mud on Shar-tee’s fingernails, Ren’s hands stopped for a moment.

At the unnatural reaction, Shar-tee fumbled through her pocket. As soon as she grasped the silver ring, Shar-tee tightly closed her eyes.

‘… I’ve been showing my face all along!’

Feeling relieved that Ren’s condition had improved, she had blacked out the existence of the silver ring.

Shar-tee twisted her face in various ways. Should she cover her face with a blanket now? Hesitating, she opened her eyes again.

Just then, Ren, who had finished wiping his hands, met eyes with her.

“It’s also on your cheek.”

In response to Ren’s indifferent touch, Shar-tee loosened her grip on the blanket from the hand she had clenched before.

“Ren…”

At Shar-tee’s hesitant reaction, Ren paused for a moment while removing the towel.

“Isn’t it strange…?”
“Is there something strange?”

Having seen her a few times, he had become familiar with her face in the meantime.

Shar-tee felt embarrassed that she had been trembling and glancing around alone.

“Well, just…”

“It sounds good, why?”

“…?”

Shar-tee tilted her head in confusion.

Isn’t it good to look at?

While trying to bring out the question lingering in her mind, Ren wiped off the mud on her cheek again.

As Shar-tee tried to avoid eye contact by chewing on her lips in the proximity, Ren playfully poked her cheek with his index finger.

“I don’t mind either way, but… I think your voice suits you better now, Sha.”

It reminds me of spring.