* * *
Pulling my hood lower over my face, I pointed toward the forest.
“There. That’s where the monster’s lair is.”
“Shall we go immediately?”
“No reason to delay.”
A horse was already saddled nearby.
I could fly, but that would mean carrying Ateol, and there was no need to waste magic and risk provoking the monster.
As we rode at full speed, my gauge continued to drop—clink, clink.
Another inconsistency.
Shouldn’t being near Ateol prevent it from depleting?
Or did it depend on the situation?
Seriously, when will that last 1% fill up?
I shot a glare at Ateol, who was riding beside me.
Sensing my stare, he turned immediately, offering a polite smile.
A very practiced one, at that.
I should be focusing on monster hunting, but my mind was clearly elsewhere.
“You’re the one dealing with the monster. Got it?”
“Understood.”
Ateol’s sword hung at his waist.
It was the same blade he had wielded the day he killed me.
A chill ran down my spine, but I forced myself to look away.
The fortress gates, which had been tightly shut, swung open soundlessly at my approach.
Moments like this made it feel as though every door in the world was an automatic one—admittedly, not a bad feeling.
Beyond the walls, we soon entered a dense forest.
The midnight woods were eerie, but since Ateol seemed utterly unfazed, I tried not to show any discomfort.
Thinking that I was probably creepier than the forest itself made it easier.
Even ghosts would flee at the sight of me.
I checked my gauge again.
Exactly half.
A slight dizziness began to creep in.
Any more depletion would be dangerous.
From now on, I could only do what my past self—one month into this reincarnation—was capable of.
If it were me back then…
I would have clutched the reins tightly, unfamiliar with riding.
I straightened my posture, keeping my knees firm and my back slightly bent, just as I had read in books.
Ateol shot me a puzzled glance.
I had no choice—if he had a gauge, too, he’d understand.
But he never would.
Then, as we entered a more heavily wooded area, an overwhelming sense of unease crawled up my spine.
Ateol turned to me at the same time I noticed it—
Something thick, slimy, and massive shot out from the darkness, coiling tightly around me and yanking me away in an instant.
Ateol’s face rapidly shrank into the distance. His expression?
If I had to put it into words: “???????????????”
Even a hundred question marks wouldn’t be enough.
I reached out to grasp what had seized me.
It was rough in some places, impossibly slick in others, and soon enough, I could see it clearly—
A bundle of thick, writhing tentacles.
Some were as wide as my torso, while others were the size of Ateol’s forearm or my wrist.
They curled around me, probing with their slimy touch, tightening with an unsettling intent.
And—these things definitely had a purpose.
Even for an R-19-rated game, this was way too much.
I thrashed wildly, screaming at the top of my lungs.
“Ateol!”
Using magic to get rid of it all at once was an option, but my gauge was running low.
After the ordeal last time, I didn’t want to deplete it any further unless absolutely necessary.
Besides, it wasn’t like I had no other alternatives.
Ateol was already on the move.
Since the tentacles were connected to the main body, finding it wasn’t difficult.
Ateol swiftly leaped from his horse and slashed at the base of the tentacle that had me restrained.
However, even after being severed from the main body, the tentacle didn’t lose its strength.
Like a freshly chopped octopus, it continued to writhe and constrict around me.
And to make matters worse, it was inching toward a completely absurd area.
“Argh! Do something about this!”
Ateol shot me a brief glance, his expression twisting in obvious displeasure before he crouched down, scanning the surroundings.
Moments later, he dashed toward a specific point.
The relentless thrashing of the tentacles made my head spin. I was getting motion sickness.
To top it off, the tentacles began sticking together again, keeping me suspended midair.
One particularly thick tentacle slithered close to my lips.
Just the faintest brush against my skin sent shivers down my spine.
Instinctively, I conjured a small flame, scorching its tip.
The tentacles reacted immediately, thrashing wildly as if their nerves were all connected.
Yet, despite their apparent pain, they refused to let me go.
Should I be impressed by their sheer tenacity?
The thought of describing them as “mentally strong” made me question my own sanity.
Just as I was about to cradle my head in frustration, the tentacles suddenly froze.
Curious, I craned my neck to see what was happening—Ateol had driven his sword deep into a section of the creature.
Without hesitation, he twisted the blade and dragged it sideways, slicing through it cleanly.
Even in the darkness, his flowing blond hair and the billowing red velvet cape were visible, illuminated by the power seeping from his sword.
Ah, so he could already wield sword energy at this point.
I had assumed he was still in training, merely sensing his magic.
From the point where Ateol’s sword had pierced through, his magic ignited like blue flames, spreading rapidly.
The tentacle restraining me flailed in agony, writhing violently before finally releasing me.
As I lightly landed on the ground, Ateol stepped forward and caught me in his arms.
“…You didn’t have to catch me.”
“I know.”
The slick residue from the tentacles had also splattered onto Ateol.
I quickly leaped from his arms and shrugged off my robe.
As I turned it inside out to wear it again, I felt an intense gaze from the side.
It wasn’t from the horses—it had to be Ateol.
“What are you staring at?”
“Hmm. It’s a shame I can’t show you a mirror right now.”
“I must look like a mess. I know.”
“Rather than just a mess…”
He trailed off, an unusual hesitation in his voice, before abruptly changing the subject.
“Do you think that creature will revive?”
“Hmm… No, it’s completely dead. It won’t come back, and I understand now why no one noticed it before. Its tentacles moved quickly to explore the village, but the main body remained hidden.”
I had sensed its magic before it approached, yet I never saw its tentacles.
That meant it was skilled at concealing itself.
It must have scouted the village unnoticed, then snatched people one by one when it deemed it safe.
The main body was large and solid, like a hardened shell.
Ateol had precisely pinpointed its weak spot and struck without hesitation.
“Do you plan on revealing that you can wield sword energy?”
“Now that it’s come to this, there’s no reason to hide it.”
“True…”
He had been capable of using sword energy for a while but chose to keep it hidden.
The reason was likely the same as why he had cultivated the image of a lazy, good-for-nothing prince who locked himself away in his palace—to avoid attracting attention.
It was yet another testament to how calculating and cautious he was.
I reversed my robe and put it back on, reattaching the ornaments to make it look as if nothing had changed.
Just in case, I used a bit of magic to form a barrier around the monster’s remains before heading toward the village.
Since I had already warned the gatekeeper not to leave under any circumstances, I simply opened the gate myself and stepped inside.
The village remained eerily silent.
Yet, it was clear not many were asleep.
It was the kind of fearful quiet that accompanied war—the tension of not knowing when the enemy might strike.
Of course, the enemy was already dead, but until the lord made an official announcement in the morning, they wouldn’t be at ease.
The lord’s manor was brightly illuminated.
* * *
