It was an odd sensation. He could feel the cold tongues of the wind brushing against his bare skin. Yet, he felt extremely warm. This was the best sleep he had in a while. His head was resting against something soft. He tried to move just a little bit but felt extreme pain all over his body.

Why was he so sore? He only took a short nap. The fight the prior day was nothing really. It barely qualified for a warm-up. As his eyes opened up, it felt like he was staring at the figure of an angel. What's with this softness...it feels better than the beds in Sei'O.

Though, in contrast, the beds for the guardsmen weren't anything that soft. His eyes opened up fully and focused to see that he was resting on Oreilia's lap. She was also asleep so she didn't realize Rel's eyes surveying her. Judging by the faint semblance of light outside, it was only just beginning to transition into morning.

He wasn't quite sure what he was doing here, or why he was resting on her lap, but he decided to go back to sleep. If he got up, he might end up disturbing everyone. Besides... this was kind of comfortable.

His eyes slowly shut and he faded back into sleep. It was so much easier to fall asleep like this. While in his deep slumber, he wasn't visited by his comrades in the past.

"Hey. I know you're awake. You're drooling on me..." Oreilia pinched his cheek. Rel instantly woke up with a grimace. "Oi. Don't you know not to disturb a man's peaceful sleep."

"Well, glad to see you're doing better. I decided to stay up and watch over you...in case you start acting oddly."

"Eh? What do you mean? I wasn't acting off at all, muscle lady." Oreilia held the need to complain and simply closed her eyes. "Musc-...ahem. You should've seen yourself last night. You were teetering between the lines of life and death."

"Eh? Really??" Rel's eyes widened and he shot up from her lap. It seems he was genuinely unaware of what had transpired last night. "I just remember feeling very tired..and falling asleep." He surveyed his surroundings. "When did all these tents come about...? Where are we?"

He tried to stand but instantly fell back over. His muscles were entirely incapable at the moment. He felt soreness throughout every inch of his body. He was helpless to move. He tried getting up again, only to lose balance and fall over.

Oreilia caught him before he could fall again. "Don't push yourself so much."

"Ugh. why can't I move so well? Is this your doin', lady?" Rel shuddered to think what kind of lady would entice him to sleep on her lap and then instantly sap him of all energy. She seemed like the type capable of doing such a thing.

Oreilia glared at Rel, which quickly switched to a pained expression because she realized she was the cause of it. "...You were bitten."

"Eh?" He lifted his hand to see the bite-mark had closed up. "This? It's just a slight wound I got from being reckless."

He noticed the guilty look she had on her face. He scratched his head. "I got it when one of the heads jumped up from the ground and bit onto me."

"It wasn't any big deal. It just got me by surprise that a head could move on its own, that's all." He smiled and placed his hands in his pockets.

Oreilia also smiled and nodded. "I see.." So even now, he was lying about how he received the wound. He didn't want her to feel guilty. Rel was truly considerate of others.

"The inscriptions are coursing through you. It's not safe for you to be doing too much. So please...don't push yourself too hard."

Rel's face grew serious. Even if he didn't know what exactly occurred, he understood the severity of the situation.

"If it's alright, I'd suggest we take you back to Luxe-Sei'O. One of the mages there can treat you, and you can return after you've fully heal-"

"Not a chance. I'm not going to delay the mission. No matter who this magician is... I'm not going to die from something like this."

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"B-but.. aren't you being a bit brash? This your life at stake here! You can't just act like it's a game."

"Aren't you... aren't you in the least bit concerned about your life?"

The reply that Rel said afterward was one that haunted her. Mainly because she could sense the conviction in those words. "No."

"What do you mean no?"

"This isn't my first, or second, or third run-in with death. I'll survive."

"You can't just confidently walk your way through life banking on the fact that you'll live."

"Heh. That's the only way I know how to live."

In truth, despite all of her training, Oreilia had never seen live, dangerous combat. She knew nothing about putting her life on the line or walking between life and death. In all her fights, they were well-crafted training routines.

Even now, the first real fight she had was one that was devastatingly one-sided. In contrast, for Rel- no, for any of the plague children, their life had been to fight since day one. They understood more-so than others how cruel life could be to those who cower instead of fight.

"So...I refuse. You guys can try to drag me away if you have to, but I will fight to remain in this mission."

"Why are you so hardheaded. Just don't get in the way, grey boy."

Rel smirked and got up again. Though his body was wanting to toss him over, he strained himself and forced himself to remain standing. "Heh...I can do it. I can walk."

Suddenly something hit him over the head, hard and knocked him back to the ground. What in the world was that? He rolled over to see the magician girl, Ineiru standing behind him.

"D-don't strain yourself. Your aura was depleted to critical levels and is just now barely above the level needed for you to retain consciousness. Keep using energy like that, and you will die."

Rel's face went blue. "A-aye." He clutched his head. Man, for someone so cute and shy, she sure turns cold when it comes to this sort of stuff...

She sighed and took out her pot. The tree from earlier was surprisingly still burning. Zephise and Aren emerged from their tents just a few moments later.

She threw the pan on the flame and performed a basic water spell. The water filled the pan and began to boil. At that point, she reached into her bag and pulled out a couple of ingredients. They were various herbs, spices, and vegetables.

The way she stirred them in the pot made her look like your typical witch story. Rel almost snickered at the observation. The plants barely soaked in the pot for more than 2 minutes before she pulled turned off the fire and brought out the food. "Alright done."

They looked at the pot full of vegetables and herbs, and spices. Nothing in there looked appetizing. She handed everyone a bowl. Rel was the first to try one. Upon taking a sip of the soup his tongue burned with a vengeance. How could he have betrayed it so?

He instantly spat out the food. "Guah!! what is that shit!?"

She instantly blushed. "Y-..you like it?"

"What part of that reaction made me look like I liked it!"

Zephise tried to consume some, and Rel grabbed his hand. His expression was harrowing. It was that of a man who had just tasted hell and wanted not for the others to undergo the same fate.

Ineiru's waited patiently for Zephise and Aren to give it a try. Zephise, looking at the horrified Rel, and back to the blushing Ineiru was faced with a hard decision. "I-I'm sorry Rel... I just can't betray a face like that!" He silently apologized and slurped the entire bowl down in one go.

His eyes teared up and he had to practically punch the rest down in order to eat it. What manner of disgusting food was this.

Aren was the last to eat it. He had observed the reactions of the rest of them and knew right away what he was in for. He cleverly took the soup and poured it into his wooden backpack. "I- I generally don't eat in the morning. I'll save the soup for later."

"A-Aren--You sly dog!" Rel could clearly see the soup spilling out from between the crevices. Who stores soup like that?!

She smiled and nodded "Mhh. I think you'll like it as well."

"HOW COULD SHE FALL FOR THAT?!" This girl isn't normal! She might look innocent and cute, but she truly is a witch! what kind of demon cooks like that!

When it was Oreilia's turn to eat, she simply declined. She had tried her food before."I already ate earlier this morning. But thank you." Her stomach was clearly growling louder than anyone here. If Rel hadn't heard it earlier already, he'd have mistaken it for an enemy attack.

Ineiru smiled, clutching onto her staff. "Mh..Rel. I know its still hot, but you have to finish your food. Y-you especially. It's made with ingredients that rapidly replenish aura. You'll regain strength faster."

Rel gulped. His eyes shifted around, looking for any help from the others, but they'd all closed their eyes and abandoned him to his fate. Everyone but Oreilia looked away from him. She held a smirk on her face that could only suggest trouble.

"He's feeling a bit weak right now. I'll feed it to him."

You devil! Both of you! "Mh. Aye..- Enjoy." The witch got up and went to retrieve a couple of things from her tent. When she came out, she had to stabilize Rel yet again. It seemed eating the food had put him into shock.

Later that day, Ineiru returned the earth to its normal form and the tree turned to ashes, drifting away in the wind. It was as if they were never there.

They all mounted their horse and continued their mission in high spirits. The food certainly did the trick. They felt more energetic than ever.

The next village that awaits them. They could only expect the worst.