Hero...

—Though Rhett seems so fragile, becoming a hero somehow feels strangely fitting for him.

A vivid memory surfaced unbidden—a childhood friend, her smile unrestrained and brimming with admiration.

Rista... Tch.

Clicking my tongue softly, I stopped myself from uttering her name.

"You're making a pretty scary face, nya. Is everything okay, Renee-nya?"

Lost in the whirlpool of memories, I didn't notice how far gone I was until it was already too late.

"...!"

Her face was far too close.

Although her messy hair framed a dirt-smudged face—likely unwashed for who knows how long—her wide, unblinking eyes sparkled like gemstones. Her breath, so near it brushed my ears, seemed to echo as those gemlike eyes gazed directly into mine. And in her eyes, I saw the blush spreading across my own face.

"Don't—don't come so close! Cough, cough!"

A sudden fit of coughing broke my thoughts. I quickly turned away, lowering my face toward the ground as I hacked into the dirt.

"Renee-nya! Are you alright, nya?"

"D-Don't come any closer."

She moved as if to approach me, but my instinctive reaction was to step back and throw up a hand to stop her.

Calm down… calm down. Sure, it's been a long time since I've been this close to a woman, but now's definitely not the time for those kinds of thoughts.

Never forget... The betrayal of those you saved.

No one is truly trustworthy. It's all just fleeting alignments of mutual interest.

—Rhett!

For a moment, a short-haired woman's face flashed through my mind, her voice calling my name. But I shook my head, shoving her image and her voice aside.

Tia... No. Enough.

I wasn't in the human world anymore. Here, the only person I could rely on was myself.

"That's enough. Today's lesson ends here. Go back. Cough, cough!"

"Renee... nya…"

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She seemed as if she wanted to say more, but she couldn't defy my orders. She knew all too well what happened to those who disobeyed—even if all she wanted was to help me.

"Alright then, I'll head back now... nya."

At last, she began to walk away.

"Oh, and I'll take Renee-nya's litter box with me, nya."

"Absolutely not!"

Without it, relieving myself would become a serious issue.

"Hehe, nya."

Hands clasped behind her back, she turned to glance at me with a mischievous grin.

This girl...

Watching her leave, I grumbled internally, but at the same time, I felt my own mood lighten a little.

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Yet my body wouldn't let me forget the dire reality.

Doubling over in the corner, I struggled to endure the sickness relentlessly tormenting me.

The worst-case scenario had finally come to pass.

The warehouse's poor conditions, combined with the two sickly prisoners, had inevitably caught up with me—even though I had chosen her, one of the healthier ones to teach me. It was unavoidable.

Still, in a twisted sense, this timing was almost fortunate. At least, I had learned the common tongue and basic information about this world before succumbing.

"Cough, cough, cough!"

My head throbbed, my throat was parched, and my body burned with fever.

"This is... really bad…"

I tried to get up, but my body refused to cooperate, lying limp as if in protest.

There's no time to be lying here like this. I still need to figure out the habits of the merfolk, why the warehouse is getting colder, and the location of my suitcase... There's so much left to do...

"I... can't... stay like this..."

My heavy eyelids began to close. No matter how hard my lips struggled to form words, my eyes had already severed my connection to reality.