"That's bad."
Swoosh!, swoosh!, swoosh!
At that moment, seeing the critical situation, Valeriane was the first to move and quickly created three spears above her, which immediately flew toward the spiders, piercing them with precision and killing them instantly.
"That certainly doesn't look like an affinity. Now that I look at it more closely, metal magic is more grayish, while yours is platinum. Besides, those spears are too powerful for the time it takes you to create them. But more importantly,little knigth, aren't you too strong? You've already taken out six."
"They're not that strong."
"No, they definitely are. Well, whatever. As long as they're not targeting me, it's fine... hmm. By the way, Cazzy, it's not that I'm jealous or anything, but... how long are you going to carry that little angel around?"
Changing the subject seemed to be Luna's specialty, because suddenly, for no reason, she pointed to Ellys, who had been silent all this time and was being carried by Cassian as if it were normal.
Cassian hadn't even paid attention to that fact. Rather, he was wondering what had happened to the martial artist woman.
He wondered if a spider had eaten her, but even though they were large, they weren't big enough to devour her whole so quickly.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Lys, you were so light that I overlooked it."
It was only when Naelune mentioned it that he reacted and remembered that he was holding her. Since there seemed to be no danger anymore, it wasn't necessary to continue carrying her.
"...No problem... Cass, thanks for helping me earlier."
"Oh, little angel, even with those bandages, I could see a little disappointment there. Why would that be? Maybe you wanted to feel those great muscles longer too! Did I ruin the experience for you?"
"N-no, I just—"
"Huh!? Lys, are you also one of those muscle-obsessed pervs...?"
"No! I'm not!!"
"Hey, me neither. Mine is pure and genuine curiosity, nothing more, nothing less... and well, that little knigth ruined my chance to observe closely and satisfy my curiosity."
"Wait... does that mean you really didn't need help? You have to take the situation seriously."
"That's not what's important right now, little knigth What's important is that if I can't enjoy those muscles squeezing me... no one else will. Ahem, I mean examine, yes, examine!"
"jee~"
"Cazzy, I'm serious. Why are you laughing? The first part was just a paraphrasing mistake."
"Haha~"
"~It's the first time Cass has laughed..."
"uh!?,little angel, why are you looking at me like that all of a sudden? What did I do? Oh! So you're really mad at me for ruining your experience earlier?"
"No!"
"Hee~ Well, you seem like you want to attack me. Well, no matter how angry you are, you're not intimidating at all. You just look cute... those puffed-up cheeks mainly make me want to squeeze them."
"Oh! Luna, you're right... hmm... actually, it does feel good to do that."
"C-Caassh... w-why...? J-just a lil' b-bit..."
In fact, Cassian, upon hearing what Naelune said and looking at Ellys, thought it was true, so he went straight over to check it out by stretching her cheeks, since they were really soft and pleasant to squeeze.
Ellys seemed to want to complain a little, but she didn't stop him, and seeing that Cassian seemed interested, she let him continue.
"Can I too?"
"Nof!"
"Tsk, little angel, you really are very mean. But on the other hand, Cazzy, why did you laugh earlier?"
"It's just that you really look like a friend of mine from my world... except for a few things. You're like two peas in a pod."
"눈_눈 Hmm... you know, for some reason I don't like the sound of that. And even more so because when you said 'except', it seemed like you looked at my chest, or was it just my imagination... oh! It seems you didn't do your job well, little kingth."
Naelune seemed to be very aware of her surroundings. Suddenly, she seemed to notice something and pointed in the direction of the martial artist, drawing everyone's attention back to that spot.
..
They hadn't noticed, but while they were talking and had stopped paying attention to the man who had been cornered by the two spiders, shortly afterwards, he fell and began to convulse, foaming at the mouth.
The woman Cassian had thought had been devoured by the spiders suddenly appeared at his side.
She had been in despair, not knowing what to do about the man's situation... until she looked at Cassian's group, who were calmly chatting.
With no other options, and seeing that the man's life was in danger, she picked him up and headed toward them.
Only when they were a few meters away did Naelune notice this and turn her attention to them. Seeing them approach, the others also turned their gaze.
The woman hesitated, but showed it to the man, who indeed appeared to be on the verge of death, as the spider bites were clearly poisonous.
"Why? They're not supposed to be poisonous."
The first to be shocked was Valeriane, who was familiar with this type of spider, and as far as she knew, ones should not be poisonous. That's why she thought everything was resolved when she saved the man and calmly stopped paying attention to him.
Now she didn't know what to do. And she was bad at any kind of magic, let alone healing magic, which is one of the most complicated, so she looked at the only one who seemed capable of helping the man.
"..."
On the other hand, Ellys stared at the woman and the man for a few moments. She didn't mention it to Valeriane, and Naelune didn't know because she had arrived late, but Cassian did know that those two had stayed on the sidelines, even though Ellys had asked them for help.
In fact, Cassian wouldn't blame her if she did nothing. Nor would he say anything to encourage her; those two were strangers, and it was entirely up to her.
She had to make her own decision...
But it was only a moment before Ellys stepped forward and approached the man.
"Expulsio Toxica... Lux Vitae."
She cast a spell. A soft, faint white light covered him, and the blackness, as well as the convulsions and foam at his mouth, disappeared.
Then she seemed to cast another, and a faint light, this time green, enveloped him. Even the bite wounds, which a moment ago had been oozing black blood, began to close.
She decided to heal him despite what had happened, and she didn't seem to hesitate too much.
..
.
"I really appreciate it. You are my benefactor, and you have saved my life. From now on, I swear I will repay this favor."
After a minute, the man regained consciousness and stood up abruptly. Noticing that he was with Cassian's group, and seeing Valeriane—recognizing her as his savior—he immediately knelt down and thanked her.
"This... you're welcome. It is my duty as a knight to help those in need."
"Ooh! So, really, little knight, you were a knight."
"Huh? Then why did you call her 'little knight' if you didn't know she was a knight?"
Cassian questioned Naelune, who seemed genuinely surprised that Valeriane was a knight.
It was true that Valeriane had never said so, but from her armor and sword, he had also associated her with one, and with Naelune's constant "little knight," the idea solidified even more, to the point that he was not surprised when she confirmed it. What did surprise him was that Naelune was surprised.
"Well, I only called her that because of the way she acted and looked, you know? I had never spoken to humans before, and knights are their thing. I only called her that because she wore armor like in picture books. I honestly thought that only old men could be knights."
"So all this time you were being sarcastic?"
"Well... yes. I wanted to tease her a little, because she acts like an old man. Apparently, age and gender don't matter."
"I... I am an angel."
"...Obviously, I know you're an angel, little angel. Hmm... but, Cazzy, just to confirm: you are human, right? Ahem, I'm saying this because I don't know if there are other races in other worlds. It's just in case I've been misunderstanding you until now."
"Well, as far as I know, there are only humans in my world, so I'm human... I think?"
"Hey, what was that insecurity at the end? You don't sound convincing at all. Oh, by the way, little angel, aren't you going to say anything?"
"Huh? Me? Hmm... well... Cass is a human... I think?"
"What?! Why are you doubting it too? Now you're making me doubt it too! No, rather, what I meant was, look how the little knigth is stealing all the credit! And gaining a loyal servant!"
"I'm not taking credit! You're welcome! He keeps calling me benefactor this and benefactor that, and talking about heaven and earth, and he won't let me explain that Miss Ellys was the one who helped him with the poison."
At that moment, Valeriane, who heard Naelune, wanted to defend herself. She was really struggling to stop this man who remained kneeling, thanking her over and over again without stopping.
She wasn't looking for his gratitude, but the man was very insistent. And as Naelune said, he even seemed about to swear allegiance to her.
"Huh?! Oh, yes... the poison... that's why I... So I have another benefactor...?! Ah! It's you! Me!! I'm so sorry!!"
But, upon hearing Valeriane's complaint to Naelune, the man realized that someone else had also helped him.
When he saw who it was, after a moment of surprise, he jumped up, did a somersault, and fell to his knees in front of Ellys again, begging for forgiveness.
"Words cannot express how much I appreciate what you did for me. I'm sorry I didn't come to your aid when I needed it, and for that I offer my sincere apologies. Even so, you chose to save me, a favor I can never forget or fully repay. I am deeply grateful, and I will carry this debt for as long as I live."
"This... I just—"
"From now on, I will repay this great favor twenty times over... no, a hundred times if necessary. You may do with me as you wish. If you order me to throw myself into the fire, I will do so without hesitation. If I must carry stones until my bones break, I will do so with gratitude."
"No, you don't have to—"
"You are my benefactor from now on. Even if the sky falls or the earth swallows me, I will never look away again!"
"I-I... Cass, help me..."
"Huh? Me?"
Ellys now understood what Valeriane meant by not letting him speak. The man wouldn't stop talking, and in fact, it was now she who was winning over a loyal servant.
He was so intense that Ellys felt pressured to the point that she backed away and hid behind Cassian, who was just watching as a spectator from the side, not expecting to be involved in the drama.
"He's not listening to me..."
"Sir Cassian, could you also tell him that there's no need to thank me? He didn't listen to me either."
"But why me? Haaah~ well... you, the martial artist, stop offering your life. None of them want it."
Cassian wondered why he had to do it if he had nothing to do with the matter, but he still owed Valeriane, and he could do her this small favor. He knew how it would end, so as always, he was efficiently blunt.