“How did you save her so fast?” I couldn’t help but ask this question. I was really curious. Even with a map, with the Goblins all over the Dungeon, those Players shouldn’t be able to save the silly Goddess in less than a day, right?

Zero chortled to my question. “No, silly, it is not that we save her so fast, it’s just that you sleep too long. You sleep, well, more than a day.”

“...no wonder I’m starving.” That was my only response to his answer. No, I believed him. If I wanted to, I could sleep two days straight. Or perhaps more, as when I was a Dungeon Master, time was irrelevant to me, so I didn’t know how long I took a nap. So, when I didn’t feel so good, it was not a miracle for me to sleep more than a day.

“So, you are really starving, huh? Idiot, you should have told me so.” Zero pinched my cheek. It hurts, you know?

“Ugh, sorry, I couldn’t think at all... no, more importantly, um, well, thank you...”

I didn’t know why I was so embarrassed when saying my gratitude that my voice became softer. Uh, it must be because of my sickness. Yeah, I must feel really weak so my voice became extremely soft, even softer than a whisper. That must be it.

Zero stared at me for a few seconds. He looked stupid when he did that. He cleared his throat abruptly and pinched my cheek again. Also, this time, he pushed me back to the bed.

“Don’t worry about it. You should sleep again. A good kid should sleep a lot so you’ll be healthy soon.” He said with a tone as if he were my big brother. Well, not that I had a big brother though. Also...

“Who is the kid?” I glared at him, but he only chuckled and rubbed my head roughly. He was really annoying!

“Now, now, do you need some herbs so you can make a potion to cure yourself? I can help you find some herbs while hunting the Goblins.” Zero said.

I glared at him and combed my hair. He messed my hair after all. Annoying. As for herbs for me... when I was a Dungeon Master, I never caught a cold, so I never made a cold medicine. Though I was sure I had some recipes for cold medicine, I didn’t know the efficacy of said medicines. Well, perhaps a supplement medicine to increase my vitality could help me fight the sickness?

“...I don’t know the herbs growing in this area. Well, don’t worry about me, like I said, after some rest, I would be alright. You should just go and raise your level so you can fight the Hobgoblins or even the Goblin General soon.” I replied casually.

“Mm, I’m going to do just that. I’ll be back soon. Oh, also, Briana is going to fight again. We also acquired a number of Golems, probably it reaches forty or fifty by now. Don’t worry, we are going to win this war. Also, one more thing...” Zero paused, shook his head and continued, “...no, I’ll tell you later after we win this war.”

Mm?

“Did you just raise a death flag?” I asked curiously. Saying that you would tell something after the war was over was definitely a death flag, wasn’t it? However, he was a Player, so even if he died, it wouldn’t be a problem.

Zero grinned meaningfully. It was as if he was winning a game. Though I didn’t know why I felt that way. “As expected, you know that terms, huh? Well, I’ll tell you about it later. For now, you should sleep again. I’ll be back.”

He rubbed my head for the last time and exited through the door while humming. I didn’t know why but it felt... annoying. Seriously, he made me think that he knew my secret. He didn’t draw something on my face when I was sleeping, right? No? Or he didn’t kiss me when I was sleeping, right? I wished that was not the case though...

Well, for now, I should heed his advice and continued sleeping again. I hoped the silly Goddess and the silent God wouldn’t make another silly mistake that forced me to take action again.

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...

I woke up again. This time, I sensed no presence of other people in my room. In other words, I was alone. It seemed that the annoying guy didn’t visit me again, or perhaps, I woke up just when he didn’t visit me.

My body felt... not too good, but it was not as bad as before. If before I felt sick, really sick, now I just felt my body was a bit heavy. Not because I became fat, alright? I just felt like I didn’t have a lot of energy to move around like usual. But it was better than feeling sick.

I wiped my forehead. My fever had gone down a lot. My headache had subsided as well. Well, now that I woke up feeling not so bad, my stomach roared, asking for some sustenance. Should I go to that tavern with the ex-Adventurer cook again?

Nah, no way. I didn’t want to overeat again. Fortunately, as I pondered over whether I should go or not, I saw some fruits on the table beside me. Whoever brought the fruits for me, I was really grateful for you. After eating some fruits, I slept again.

...

Sometimes, I woke up alone in my room. The other times, the silly Goddess and the silent God were with me. Most of the time, especially at night, the annoying Zero was with me. I slipped in and out of my slumber, so I didn’t know how much time had passed. But every time I woke up, I heard the situation of the war with the Goblins and it was, well, good news.

The Players had gained hundreds of Golems, though most of the Golems were just Iron Golems and Stone Golems, it was an advantage against the Goblins. Also, reinforcements were coming, whether from the Players or from the soldiers. Well, the soldiers were guarding the town and none of them entered the Dungeon though, so, most of the attackers came from the Players.

In my opinion, however, the Goblins were acting weird. I didn’t know why but I had a bad feeling about it. Like, my intuition was telling me that something was wrong, but I couldn’t point out which part was wrong. Perhaps the fact that it was too easy that caused me to feel uncomfortable. Yeah, if the Goblins were led by a Goblin Emperor, they should have a plan or something in their mind. If they weren’t led by a Goblin Emperor... no, it was not possible. How could they have a lot of Goblin Generals without a Goblin King, at least?

When I told the silly Goddess about it, she only laughed it off and said that she would be careful. She wouldn’t take an unnecessary risk like before, so it should be alright. The silent God agreed with her, so I couldn’t force them to change the plan.

Zero, however, was different. When I told him about my intuition, he told me, “Well, I also have a bad feeling about it. You know, I always feel like they are watching me from the dark whenever we go into the Dungeon—”

“Maybe they are really watching you!” I interrupted him. “I mean, Goblins are not stupid, you know it, right? Especially when they have a leader like right now. If they don’t react even though we attacked them, it must be because they are planning on something. Maybe they are watching us and learn how to control the Golems! Yeah, that must be it! They know there are a lot of Golems inside that Dungeon, and they also know the Players are somehow able to control the Golems, so they must think about how to prevent us to control the Golems. Or if they don’t prevent us, they must think about how to use the Golems for themselves!”

When I mentioned this to Zero, his expression turned serious. He supported his chin with his hand and frowned, contemplating my deduction. I also tried to think from a different angle, but my brain was still mushy so I could only think that kind of angle. I couldn’t think another objective the Goblins might have.

“If what you said is correct, then won’t it be a huge problem for us? Just imagine if the Goblins can control the Mithril Golem or Adamantite Golem if there’s any.” Zero muttered.

I shook my head. “Ah, don’t worry about that. Even if they find some Mithril or Adamantite, no, I believe they found them already, but they won’t be able to control those Golems. Those Golems are, well, different. They are unlike the mass-produced Golems, so the method to control them is different. I didn’t tell you the method to control those stronger Golems because, well, they could be dangerous... ouch, ouch, wat ware wou wooiinnng (what are you doing)?”

I jerked my head when he pinched my cheek. He really liked pinching my cheek it seemed. And also, it hurt a lot. He only stopped when he saw tears forming up in the corner of my eyes. Even then, his hands were still on my cheeks, threatening to pinch them again.

“Are you a normal girl? No, let me rephrase it. You and the other two are not normal people, aren’t you? Even then, you are more abnormal than the other two. Since we met, I thought the three of you are weird. When I learned their name, I already had my suspicion. And after seeing Briana was sealed in the ice, it confirmed my suspicion. Now, you are the easiest amongst the three of you, so I will ask you. If I kill you right here right now, will the game end as well, Fey, no, Fanarie?”

I was surprised when he asked that last question. It took me a few seconds to remember that I shouldn’t look at the other’s eyes when lying, so I rolled my eyes and didn’t look at him directly.

“N-no, what are you talking about? Fanarie? And you want to kill me? Cough, well, why would you do that... ouch, ouch, stwop pwulling mwai cweeksss!” I tried to push him, but he was too strong.

“You know, the reason why I’m talking to you rather than to the other two is that you are easy to read. Like, when I asked you that question, your eyes widened in surprise, you looked away and tried to lie. So, look at me and try to lie, if you can.” He grinned mockingly as he rubbed my cheeks. Not gently.

“I’m not Fanarwieeee... stwop iwttttt...” He pinched my cheeks again. At that moment, the door to my room was opened and I saw the silly Goddess on the door. It was hope! That silly Goddess had extraordinary strength, so she should be able to pull this annoying man from me, right?

“Si—Mmgghhh!!!”

Zero abruptly kissed me when I opened my mouth to ask for help from the silly Goddess. What was he doing!? He would cause a lot of misunderstandings if he kissed me like this, wouldn’t he!? No, he must be doing it intentionally!

“Eh, ah... Sorry, Fey, I didn’t know you are... ah, sorry for disturbing you two!” The silly Goddess’ face flushed and she was stuttering. She immediately slammed the door and I could hear her running down the corridor. Seriously, she must have a misunderstanding now! I was attacked! It was not that we were in that kind of relationship!

Agh, now, I’m getting angry!

I tried to conjure Smokeless Breath from my mouth. Zero jerked back when he noticed that I was trying to conjure the Smokeless Breath. He closed my mouth with his hand, and the smoke that couldn’t come out of my mouth returned to my lungs, causing me to cough vehemently. He grinned and pinched my cheeks again.

“Well, look at what you make me to do.”