HEO 100

What would be the right way to ask someone whose face looks different from yesterday, especially when you have to carefully consider the tragic situation they’re currently in?

At the very least, Wolf hadn’t learned anything about this particular combination in any book. Besides, there was a good chance that Silver’s face-changing ability was a closely guarded secret. Even setting that aside, Silver was the type to suddenly bare his fangs at the slightest provocation.

Ugh, whatever! I’ll just do it my way!

“Hey.”

Wolf spoke casually. In military terms, it was a “surprise attack.”

“Look, I just couldn’t hold back. I know this isn’t the right thing to do while your precious bug friend is seriously injured, but…”

He mixed in a hint of concern. Just in case the ambush failed, so he could quickly say “Sorry” and make a clean getaway.

“I don’t know how to put this, but…”

Wolf rubbed his knee with his fingertips. He was genuinely at a loss for how to broach the subject.

“Unless my eyes are playing tricks on me, this is quite a predicament…”

Wolf glanced at Silver. Silver was staring at his insect friend.

Okay, he doesn’t look angry.

“So, your face right now is different from the one I know.”

Now that he’d said it, it sounded so absurd that he couldn’t help but laugh. Wolf shrugged and spread his hands.

“I was wondering if a witch or wizard had put a curse on you that makes your face change every other day. It’s a silly idea, but if I don’t come up with some kind of explanation, I have no way of making sense of the bizarre phenomenon right in front of me.”

There was no reply. Nor did a dagger fly at him. At least that meant his face-changing ability wasn’t a secret.

Alright, time to go all in!

“It’s not just that your appearance changed because of your hairstyle or how you’re feeling. It’s much more than that. It’s like the ​unauthorized copy​face of a completely different person. If I were to write down just how shocked I was, it would fill this entire land of Stoll and then some. So, it doesn’t have to be right now, but if you feel better later, I’d be happy if you could explain this strange phenomenon to me…”

“Different?”

Silver’s voice cut him off. Wolf flinched. To be honest, he hadn’t expected an answer. He’d been certain his question would pass right through Silver’s ears like a breeze.

“What’s different?”

Silver’s tone was low and calm. Wolf turned his face away and cleared his throat.

“First of all, you don’t have a single burn scar. Your skin is as clear as a pearl. And… you might not want to hear this as a man, but you have an incredibly pretty face. I don’t know how old you are, but your face looks like a beautiful young man’s… Ah, no, I definitely don’t mean you look delicate…”

“Your eyes must have wandered off on their own.”

“Huh?”

Wolf immediately pulled his shoulders back.

“What did you just say?”

“I said your eyes ran away without your permission. My face is the one covered in burn scars. You’re seeing things.”

“I don’t… think so…”

Wolf closed his eyes, then opened them again. Silver’s face hadn’t changed. The clean jawline, the curve of his thick eyelashes, the faint shadow beneath his cheekbones, everything was exactly the same. He was still beautiful.

“Don’t be flustered. It’s only natural.”

Silver’s voice was calm. He sounded like a teacher explaining addition to a particularly slow student.

“You’ve only just recovered from a fever. Yesterday, you were doing hard labor in the kitchen all day. Today, you were running around in the rain and fighting. And just a little while ago, you left the lodging and wandered around in the rain for a long time before coming back. Hallucinations are a perfectly reasonable result.”

“I’m not sick.”

Even as he said that, Wolf pretended to brush his hair over his shoulder and touched his forehead with his fingertips. He didn’t have a fever.

This bastard! If you’re going to deny it, at least deny it properly!

Wolf put on a serious face and glared at Silver.

“Stop talking nonsense. I’m perfectly fine and healthy.”

“Wait a minute. Are you seriously saying you don’t even realize you’re sick?”

“I told you, I’m not sick.”

“Don’t you remember what you said to me when you came back from going out earlier? You said, ‘I’m freezing to death. I’m shivering.’”

“I don’t remember. Because I never said that to you in the first place!”

“Hmph… You’re in worse shape than I thought. At this rate, you might kick the bucket before my bug friend does.”

“Hey? Listen!”

“Put a blanket over yourself. [stolen content]The floor is shaking all the way over here because you’re shivering so hard.”

“……”

Wofl started to doubt himself. Even after listening carefully, Silver’s voice sounded sincere.

“I’m not shivering. My mind is clear.”

Wolf brushed his hair back again and touched his forehead. He didn’t have a fever.

Shit, I almost fell for it!

“Stop joking around! Don’t treat me like I’m sick!”

“I wish this were a joke too.”

Silver sighed.

“I didn’t really want to say this, but you’re in a state Read onof delirium right now. Your mind has gone haywire.”

It was getting more and more like a quagmire. Hallucinations and body spasms were bad enough, but delirium? You’re the one who’s crazy here!

“Stop talking nonsense. I don’t have a fever!”

“Of course not, you’re hypothermic. Memory loss, mental confusion, and delirium are classic symptoms of severe hypothermia. That’s why you’ve been wandering around half-naked. Your pants are paper-thin too.”

“Don’t try to pull the wool over my eyes. I’m not falling for it.”

“Think about it logically. Can a person’s face change overnight? How could something like that happen? Isn’t it obvious who’s in the wrong? Go ahead, try to refute what I’m saying if you can.”

He couldn’t refute it. Silver was definitely the one lying, but damn it, a logical rebuttal was impossible. On top of that, Silver’s tone remained consistently firm. Over three years on the battlefield, Wolf had encountered countless swindlers and learned to spot the signs of a lie. Shifty eyes. A throat swallowing nervously. Fingers fidgeting with something.

He couldn’t detect a single one of those signs in Silver. Far from lying, he seemed to be calmly stating the facts as they were. As if he were saying that fire is hot, the sea is vast, and the people of Stoll are stupid.

But. But!

“If I had hypothermia, I wouldn’t even be able to talk to you.”

“You know what? You just said this: ‘If I hypothermi, I won be abl to talllk yaa.’ I only understood it because it’s me.”

“Don’t make fun of me.”

“What did you say?”

Suddenly, Silver glanced at Wolf. His startled expression made Wolf jump in surprise as well.

“You… what did you…?”

“What? I told you not to make fun of me.”

“Really? So you’re actually King Bronze-Billed Hawk?”

“……What are you doing right now?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Bronze-Billed Hawk is an old man. I’ve seen his face [Read on]with my own eyes. Twice. His face was so scarred I could barely see his eyes.”

“Wait. Hey.”

“Alright, I’ll call you ‘Your Majesty,’ so calm down. Since you’re sick, I’ll cut you some slack.”

Silver shook his head and looked away. Wolf opened his mouth, then closed it again. If he’d acted on impulse, he would have flown into a rage and thrown a punch. But this was Silver.

Had he ever seen Silver joke around? No.

Did Silver look like the type to spout nonsense? No.

Quite the opposite. Silver was like a wounded, brooding beast. Whenever he opened his mouth, only cynical, twisted words came out. A darkness like the deep shadows of noon lay over him. He was a Thunder with a powerful charisma.

…….

…….

So, is the one who’s wrong… me…?

“Just cover yourself with a blanket and get some sleep. You look worse than when you were fighting for your life with a fever the other day.”

“Really?”

“Yes. You look serious.”

Finally, Wolf skipped the pretense of brushing his hair aside and touched his forehead. It was cold. But it was definitely not hypothermia.

“I… seem fine…”

Even to Wolf’s own ears, his voice sounded lacking in confidence.

“Believe that if you want to. Just go to sleep.”

Silver replied, his gaze fixed solely on the mantis fairy.

“Want to make a bet? Whether my face will still look pretty when you wake up after a good night’s sleep. If I have a face full of burn scars, you’ll get three smacks on ​unauthorized copy​the head. Of course, I’ll win this bet.”

“Hey.”

“Shut your mouth now. My mood is already terrible because of my bug friend. If you say another word, I might just shut you up with my fist. And let me tell you one more thing: I’m not exactly a merciful sort.”

With the wounded beast barking orders at him, there was nothing he could do. Wolf lay down on the bed without a word and pulled the blanket up to his chin. He stared at the ceiling for a long while before closing his eyes.

Let’s think this through. Am I really sick?

Right after the fever had subsided, I was forced into grueling labor while half-naked. The next day, I was running around in the rain, still half-naked. After that, I worked in front of the blazing kitchen stove, and then got soaked in the rain again.