A Dangerous Swim
Rudell and Leje returned to find the camp even more bustling than before they left.
"You're back."
"Welcome back."
"W-Welcome back!!"
Three people greeted them as soon as they spotted the returning duo.
Rudell and Leje nodded and unpacked their belongings.
"Seems you found something."
"More or less."
The Cult's appearance, and the ritual they were performing... There was much to discuss, but now wasn't the time.
"I think we should rest for today. There are too many eyes watching."
"I agree."
Loose lips sink ships. With so many ears around, it was wise to postpone the discussion until the next day.
"Ugh…!! I reek of blood…"
Meanwhile, Leje, having finished organizing her gear, stretched with a tired groan and wrinkled her nose.
Being covered in blood was an unavoidable fate for her, specializing in close combat.
"Th-There's a s-small pond nearby… Y-You could wash there…"
"Really? That's great. I'll go wash up."
Her face brightened at the prospect of cleaning herself, and Leje stood up.
"You're going alone?"
"Huh? Of course, alone. Is there a problem…?"
Leje tilted her head at Rudell's question, as if asking why he would even ask such an obvious thing.
However, only for a moment.
Her eyes sparkled as she looked at him, and Rudell felt a shiver down his spine at her gaze.
"Don't tell me… you want to see me naked?"
"Wh-What!? Th-That's not it at all!?"
Rudell exclaimed in a flustered voice at her words.
His concern stemmed from the dangers of the forest.
Monsters, and even the Cult, were roaming around. In such a situation, the unexpected could happen at any time.
"Rudellheit Weinstein. You're more devious than you look."
"G-Good heavens…!!"
"N-No! It's a misunderstanding!"
With even The Saintess of the Gaia Church and Silfier chiming in, Rudell hurriedly waved his hands in denial.
A giggle escaped Leje's lips as she watched him…
"Just kidding. I'd feel safer with you watching over me. Let's go together."
"A-Alright…"
Somehow, it felt like the number of people teasing him had increased… Feeling inexplicably tired, Rudell stood up and headed into the forest with Leje.
* * *
-Splash
Amidst the gentle sounds of water, Rudell stood behind a nearby tree, scanning the surroundings.
"Rudell. You there?"
"Yeah. I'm here."
"Just in case, you're not looking, right?"
"I'm not looking!!"
Rudell shouted at her voice, and Leje giggled and resumed washing.
"Honestly…"
Rudell muttered, turning his back to her.
Normally, one would be self-conscious about having a man nearby in such a situation, but she seemed completely unconcerned.
"Eek!?"
"Another prank?"
"Hehe. Got me?"
She even played a rather perilous prank on him without hesitation.
Rudell felt his pride slightly stung. Of course, there wasn't much he could do about it.
"Brr… It's cold. I think I'll catch a cold."
"They say fools don't catch colds, so you might be alright."
"Ugh! Just you wait!"
Taking a warm bath in this wilderness was a luxury. Leje knew this, so despite her grumbling, she didn't come out of the water.
Then…
"Gah!?"
"Another prank?"
Rudell responded indifferently to Leje's indescribable cry.
"N-No, not this time! Something just brushed against my leg!!"
"Just some underwater plants, maybe?"
"I-Is that so…?"
Leje sounded dubious at Rudell's words, but continued washing.
Honestly, trying to scare me… With a short sigh, Rudell continued to monitor the surroundings.
A short while passed.
"Leje?"
Noticing the splashing sounds had stopped, Rudell called out to her with a puzzled voice.
However, there was no reply. Feeling uneasy, Rudell still didn't turn around.
"If you're playing another prank, it's not working. Come out and get dressed before you catch a cold."
How many times had he fallen for her pranks? He wouldn't have enough fingers and toes to count them all.
However…
"Leje?"
Several minutes passed without a sound.
A small sense of unease began to rise in Rudell's chest.
Even though she loved pranks, she would have reacted by now.
The unease grew, and a dreadful thought crept into his mind.
"Hmm…"
A groan escaped Rudell's lips.
After a short sigh, he turned around.
"Ugh, fine, I'll look! Happy now?! Come out already, it's not fu...?"
Rudell couldn't help but stop mid-sentence.
Because…
"Leje…?"
The pond before him was completely empty.
"Leje!?"
Finally grasping the situation, Rudell rushed towards the pond with hurried steps.
"Leje!? Where are you!? Leje!!"
Desperate cries escaped his lips as he splashed into the water, but Leje was nowhere to be seen.
His mind went blank. As Rudell struggled to find any trace of her, unable to do anything, something happened.
-Gurgle!!
"…!?"
Bubbles rose to the surface of the pond. Rudell hurriedly gathered his mana, creating a glowing orb.
The bright light illuminated the bottom of the pond, and Rudell's eyes fell upon a small hand protruding from the pond's floor.
"…Leje!!"
Seeing this, Rudell hurriedly drew upon his mana.
The water in the pond began to swirl under his power, rising into the air and forming a giant sphere.
"Hold on!"
In the now exposed pond bed, Rudell grabbed the hand sticking out.
However, it seemed she was buried quite deep, as Leje's hand wouldn't budge.
Rudell dug at the mud with his hands, then used magic once more. Like the water, the mud obeyed his will, revealing Leje's buried form.
"Leje! Wake up! Leje!!"
Rudell slapped her cheeks and shouted, seeing her seemingly unconscious.
But she didn't open her eyes. Rudell placed his ear against her mouth.
"She's not breathing…!!"
It seemed she had been buried for quite some time, as Leje wasn't breathing.
Looking at her, Rudell recalled memories from his first life and began compressing her chest.
"Ninety-eight… Ninety-nine… One hundred…!!"
After the hundredth compression, Rudell squeezed his eyes shut and pressed his lips against hers.
A warm sensation on his lips. Of course, Rudell didn't have time to dwell on such things.
He breathed air into her, repeating the process several times before resuming chest compressions.
Then…
"Cough…!! *gasp*…!!"
With a harsh cough, water poured from Leje's mouth.
"Ugh…"
"Leje!!"
She then let out a low groan and looked at Rudell.
"Rudell…?"
"It's alright. Just rest for now."
Rudell covered her body with his robe as she spoke in a confused voice.
Standing up, he looked at the giant sphere of water swirling above.
"…"
The mana emanating from the water droplet indicated it was no ordinary water.
[Heeheeheehee!!]
"A Nixie…"
A woman's form appeared on the surface of the water sphere, accompanied by innocent laughter.
Seeing this, Rudell gritted his teeth.
Its true identity was a being commonly known as a fairy.
Specifically, a malicious water fairy known as a Nixie, which buried humans who unknowingly entered its territory at the bottom of ponds.
"You picked the wrong person to mess with today."
[Heehee!!]
The Nixie's expression changed as if it finally realized its mistake, but Rudell had no intention of stopping.
The air around him began to heat up, and the wet pond bed instantly dried, emitting steam.
[Hee…? Heeh!! Heeeeee-!!]
The Nixie, seeming to understand the situation, patted the surface of the circular water as if pleading to be released.
However, the water was already under Rudell's control, and he had no intention of freeing the Nixie.
"You messed with the wrong person."
With those final words, a blazing pillar of fire erupted, engulfing the water sphere containing the Nixie.
[Heeeeeeeee-!!!]
The Nixie's shriek echoed from within the pillar of fire. When the flames subsided, nothing remained.
"Phew…"
A short sigh escaped Rudell's lips as he watched.
He felt slightly dizzy, perhaps from overexerting his mana.
Still, it's all good as long as Leje is safe.
Thinking this, Rudell turned around.
And…
"D-Don't look this way!!"
"Whoa!?"
Rudell quickly averted his gaze at Leje's urgent cry.
Due to the urgency of the situation, he had overlooked it, but she wasn't wearing a single stitch of clothing.
She was completely naked.
"Geez… How did things end up like this…!!"
"I-I'll get your clothes."
Leaving her grumbling behind, Rudell retrieved her clothes.
"Get dressed quickly. You'll catch a cold."
"Th-Thank you…"
Leje spoke in an embarrassed voice to Rudell, who handed her the clothes while looking away.
With rustling sounds, Leje took the clothes and got dressed…
"S-So, shall we go back now?"
"That would be best…"
An awkward atmosphere hung between them as they made their way back to camp.
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