[ Day 22 ]

‘He should wake up now, right?’

Staring into Damian’s sleeping face, Iris sighed at her impatience. She had really become a completely different person over the last few weeks.

‘How long will this last?’

At first, Iris felt powerless due to her current state, but it wasn’t like she wanted to wander this death trap on her own. Once she contemplated that thought, she saw nothing but a dark dead end.

‘Is it too much to want this to continue?’

However, as time passed with Damian’s company, the gloomy spirit that enveloped Iris seemed to dissipate little by little.

Unlike the defeatist that she had become after a life of despair, Damian was like a brightly lit lamp that kept on burning even as water was being poured into it.

Starting by accepting her helplessness, Iris eventually started to enjoy her current life. She might have been reduced to a mere observer. However, what was it that dictated the life of an observer to be a bad one?

Someone else might be jealous if they were in her shoes, but for Iris who had spent her life trying to no avail, seeing someone succeeding in her place wasn’t so bad either.

Although his suffering wasn’t stretched over years like hers, what he went through during the first week was like a concentrated dose. The fact that Damian held on through what would have guaranteed her collapse made him worthy of his current success.

In two short weeks, he reached the Peak Stage of an Apprentice Knight, an achievement comparable to Iris’ peers in the Duke’s house, and something they could only grasp after dictating their whole childhood to the blade.

Even if Damian insisted that this was only possible thanks to her talents, Iris didn’t feel that this diminished the value of his achievement. Nonetheless, this was just one of many impressive things he did.

“Don’t you get tired from waking up so early, Iris?”

{Hahah, it’s an old habit of mine. Even though I became like this, I can’t seem to give it up.}

Seeing that Damian had finally woken up, Iris turned out in embarrassment. In reality, she had become completely capable of controlling her sleep cycle ever since she became like this. She just didn’t want to miss any part of their journey.

“Sounds tough, but don’t worry, you will surely return to your body very soon!”

‘Do I really have to?’

Although Damian couldn’t see it, Iris had a disappointed expression on her face. She wasn’t sure what the end of this journey would be like, but she knew that if anyone could reach it, it had to be Damian.

However, a very big part of her didn’t even want to think about it, that was how much Iris was enjoying her current life!

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‘It’s really impressive.’

After Damian finished his breakfast and warmed up, the Goblin marathon started just like any day. Watching him effortlessly dance around a dozen of these evil creatures, Iris could barely her amazement.

She had been watching Damian do this every day, but that was precisely why Iris found this to be so amazing.

Just two weeks ago, Damian was still struggling to keep the shortsword within his grip. Now, however, he was handling it with such skill that didn’t make sense.

In fact, the current Damian even had the leisure to use one of the Goblins’ knives in his second hand… Although he was just starting to get a grip over this fighting style.

‘He can probably survive here forever.’

Lastly, after fighting Goblins over and over, Damian had grown so used to their habits that he could even take them on bare-handed. Finishing them off still posed a challenge, but as long as haste wasn’t a requirement, a good old chokehold did the trick.

At this point, Iris thought that Damian could single-handedly claim the title of a Goblin exterminator, but then again, it wasn’t like anyone was competing with him.

All in all, only one thing was certain.

‘I couldn’t ask for a better companion.’

While one would argue that she hadn’t tried the company of other ‘helpers’, as Damian described his identity, Iris was satisfied with the hand she was dealt.

He wasn’t an eloquent speaker, nor was he a sweet talker. The speech that the two of them exchanged was simple and direct. It was even redundant or awkward sometimes.

However, this was how Iris came to understand Damian’s sincerity. Rather than someone who treated her well with hidden intentions, Damian spoke his mind without filters.

Although he tried to act tough at the start, Iris was now aware that he only did that to make her feel less guilty about his risky stunts. After all, who would worry about someone who berated them for their advice?

‘Intuitively thoughtful.’

Naturally, for Iris who understood that, this only managed to work in reverse, making her feel even more indebted to Damian, especially when he had to endure the pain of the advancement twice in her place!

These weren’t the actions of someone who was trying to curry favor or coerce her to do his bidding. Damian was someone who actually cared.

If there was something that Iris was displeased about was the unlikeliness for things to last as they were for long.

While the last two weeks might have seemed like boring days full of nothing but blood and strict routines, such instances were what brought comfort to Iris’ heart.

The neverending bloodshed left her disoriented at the start, but just like Damian endured being beaten down to adapt, Iris had likewise taken to embracing these moments. After all, they were crucial parts of her and Damian’s journey!

‘...Right.’

Lost in such thoughts, Iris looked back at the running Damian. The sense of alienation that she felt from seeing her own body moving around was long gone.

The more time she spent with him, the more Iris became aware of Damian’s true presence. Voice slips, face flashes… After experiencing a multitude of such instances, she could now see Damian’s real face as long as she focused well enough!

Shshshhh!

However, surprise was evident on Damian’s face as soon as it appeared in Iris’ vision, by the point she expanded her focus on the entire scene, she realized that he had made a sudden stop.

“Oh?”

An irregular wide opening stood right in front of Damian, inviting him to go through it.

Just like Damian’s expression suggested, Iris also had no idea where that thing led, but she could instinctively tell that they were on the verge of a big turning point!