Arnold returned to Tanaera’s side after he finished his business with the merchant.

“Ohhh, something smells nice.” Arnold caught the scent of something delicious when he neared their camping spot.

Tanaera was busy stirring the pot that was sitting over an open flame.

Arnold tried to dip his finger in the stew to have a taste but his hand was slapped away.

“Wait. Don’t ever do that again while I’m cooking.”

“Tch, fine.” He threw down the sack on his back. It was filled with the magic items he got earlier. The potions were in his magic bag. Keeping it in a sack was way too careless since they can break if the sack falls or he accidentally hits something hard with the sack.

The merchant said that he wouldn’t have more potions in stock since it’ll take a while to get the potions from Yorm.

Arnold looked around and noticed that he couldn’t spot the monsters that Tanaera mentioned before.

“They lost interest and went away. I’m sure they’re just waiting for us to come out so that they can attack us.” Tanaera replied with her back still facing Arnold.

“I’ll have to deal with them later. I was going to stand watch anyway.”

“Shouldn’t you be getting some sleep? I’ve never seen you close your eyes for more than a few hours.”

“…Letting your guard down inside a dungeon will be your downfall. I’ll only sleep if we take breaks along the way.”

“Our breaks normally aren’t that long. Do you want me to cast a [Sleep] spell on you? I can also give you some oil that relaxes your muscles.”

“I don’t trust you enough to let you play with my mind, Witch.”

“I was only trying to help. Oh, whatever.” Tanaera shrugged.

Some muscle relaxing oil actually sounded great, especially since Arnold felt like his muscles were stiffer than usual.

He moved his head around for a bit and heard a crack. His back also made a cracking sound when he bent slightly backwards.

“Oh, poor boy. See? That’s what happens when you don’t lay down. Sitting against rocks while sleeping isn’t exactly comfy, is it?”

“Ugh.” He was on edge up until now but the tension was gone. Every bone in his body was screaming to relax.

He hadn’t used his sleeping bag ever since he entered the dungeon. Just like Tanaera said, he had been napping against trees or rocks. Sleeping at night was out of the question since he has to watch over Rafaela.

His exhaustion was lifted by the shrine for the duration that he’s here but it did nothing to heal his aching body.

“Take off your coat and shirt,” Tanaera put down the ladle and approached Arnold, “You need to be in top condition to fight, especially since you have two maidens to protect.”

“I’m not protecting you. You’re just coming along with me because you can help me fight against opponents stronger than me. You should be able to protect yourself anyway.”

“A mage needs time to chant their spells, especially powerful spells. I can’t protect myself while chanting either so someone has to be the vanguard. And that’s you. If you can hold back enemies then I can attack from behind you.”

A jar suddenly appeared in Tanaera’s hand. Inside it was brown liquid.

“What’s that?”

“It’s the oil I mentioned earlier. Geez, take off your coat and shirt already.”

“….” Arnold did as she said.

“Wow~ Not just a handsome face but a well-built body. If only your attitude wasn’t so trashy then you might’ve been a ten.”

“Get it over with.”

Tanaera circled around him to face his back, “Well, well, this is a surprise. You barely have any hair on your upper body. I can’t smell your body odor either. I’ve grown sick of seeing grown men with hairy upper bodies and inhaling their choking body odor. The chief and his men bathe only once a week. Can you believe I had to share a room with that barbarian?”

Tanaera opened the jar and scooped some of the oil into her hands. Arnold felt a warm touch on his back when she began smearing the oil on him.

“Were you really engaged to that guy? How old are you anyway?”

“I’m probably in my 20s. I stopped counting when I ended up in this place.”

“I see.”

“I promised to marry the chief if he can defeat the Naridian Kingdom in battle. That was his condition to letting me stay with them. For your information, I’m a virgin. I’ve seen penises since the barbarians aren’t exactly considerate of others. They walk around butt naked on their bathing days. They looked really grotesque. I don’t think I want to have one inside me if they smell as bad as the chief and his men.”

“You don’t seem to have common sense, huh…”

“Eh? What?”

“Girls don’t just openly talk about guys like that.”

“But men talk about it all the time. They even talk about women’s privates. If they can do it, why can’t I?”

“…Just forget it.”

Tanaera finished smearing Arnold’s upper body.

“I’m not feeling any different.”

Tanaera suddenly put her finger on Arnold’s back. Her mana seemed to spread on his body like electricity in water.

“Have a nice rest.” He heard her gentle voice as he drifted off to sleep.

He thought to himself, “She tricked me!” but his mind quickly went blank as his visions darkened.

….

…

“…..” Arnold opened his eyes. It felt like his body was twice as heavy as before since he fell asleep so suddenly. “Ugh?”

His groggy mind couldn’t register where he was. Was he laying in the same spot? He couldn’t tell yet since the light of the sun was blinding.

‘Dammit, did that witch get away?’ He rubbed his eyes and opened them again. He noticed that he was still inside the shrine.

“Look who decided to wake up. I didn’t expect you to fall asleep that easily,” a familiar voice came from his side, “Most people I’ve used this on sit absentmindedly for a few minutes—kind of like zombies. But you fell asleep in mere seconds. It’s obvious that you were tired.”

“….” Arnold looked towards his left.

A young woman with milky white skin was busy wiping her upper body with a wet piece of cloth. She picked up a small vial and threw the contents onto her hand. She began smearing her arms with the soapy liquid.

A sweet fragrance lingered.

“…I thought you tricked me.”

“There isn’t a place for me to go back to so I have no choice but to travel with you.”

“…Can’t you sit somewhere secluded to wash yourself?” Arnold slowly got up after his body recovered, “You have no shred of decency as a woman, you know.”

“I’ve lived a life that didn’t grant me something like that. Why should I care who sees my body anyway? The barbarians have seen it as well. Do you want to touch?”

“No.”

“Then there’s no problem, is there? Or maybe you want something more? Like raping me and taking my virginity. Maybe hit me a few times if I resist?”

‘…That seems oddly specific…’

“…I’m not that kind of person.”

Tanaera chuckled.

“Hmm~? A certain person called Lauran would disagree~”

“….”

He noticed her reproachful eyes. It’s like she was looking at trash.

‘She used dark magic to read my mind!? How is that possible!?’

Reading another person’s mind was one of the hardest things to master in magic. Few arcane mages could do this. Even fewer dark magicians. They’re usually employed by royal courts or the military to gather intel from prisoners and enemies. You’d need an innate talent to do this if you’re a magician.

Arnold only knew of one dark magic user that could do this.

Elizabeth.

“Dammit, you little—”

“I wanted to know who you are. Why are you so strong despite being so young? What’s your story? I was able to find out that you’re the son of a very influential duke. He’s one of the emperor’s subordinates, right? That must mean he’s really strong. It’s no wonder his son became this strong as well. Ah, but what a difficult childhood you had. You constantly had to look over your shoulder. The duke’s son changed a lot having experienced so much danger in his life. He was always a sweet boy who helped others but he turned into a bad boy. It probably felt reaaal nice raping a girl whose life you ruined, huh? I mean, you did it over and over again. Everyday for two years.”

“How much do you know…?” Arnold’s eyes narrowed.

“Don‘t worry. I know that it’s wrong to look into other people’s memories so I limited myself to what I wanted to see. It was just curiosity. That must mean I have some decency, right? Huhuhu.” Tanaera smirked as she spread her legs, “Look at that beautiful flower. Don’t you want to turn it into a flappy, dark piece of flesh using your tool?”

“You suck at this seducing game, Tanaera.” Arnold stood up after getting the feeling in his body back, “You really have no decency.”

“Wha!? No reaction!?”

“So you think that I’ll be lured by obvious scheme to turn me into your slave? Don’t get cocky. I don’t differentiate between men or women when they try and trick me. Just know that.”

Arnold grabbed his coat that was nearby.

“Tch.” Tanaera closed her legs and picked up a towel. She began wiping her body down.

“Is the food done? I hope you didn’t poison it.”

“Am I that untrustworthy that you’d think I’d do that!?”

“Well, yeah.”

“Humph! If you don’t want to eat my food then make your own!”

Arnold decided to ignore the screaming Tanaera. He went towards the open flame where the pot was on earlier. There were three wooden bowls that were filled with stew.

Arnold took a deep breath and exhaled. He grabbed a spoon to begin eating.

He could feel Tanaera’s gaze from the side.

“I’ve never seen a man get so happy over a cooked meal.” Tanaera laughed.

“….” Arnold quietly savored the taste.

“How is it?” she walked up to him and asked.

“…It tastes good…”

“Huhu, I’m glad you like it. Chef Tanaera will make us some excellent cuisine during our journey!”

Tanaera also sat down. Luckily she had a towel wrapped around her body. She grabbed a bowl and began eating as well.

The two ate in complete silence.