HEO 93

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁣⁣⁣⁠⁣⁣⁠⁠⁣⁠⁠⁠⁠⁣⁣⁣⁣⁠⁠⁣⁠⁣⁣ ⁣⁠⁣⁣⁠⁠⁠⁠⁣⁠⁣⁠⁠⁣⁠⁣⁠⁣⁠⁣⁣⁣⁠⁣⁣⁣⁣⁠⁠⁣⁣⁣⁠Wolf opened his eyes.

It was similar to when he had discovered a thin crack in the hull without even realizing when it had appeared. His mind abruptly cleared.

The room was dark. The fire had died down, casting only a dim red glow on the nearby wall. The sound of rain, which had been loud just before he fell asleep, was now soft. Everything was as calm as a faded rural landscape painting. Except for one thing.

Silver’s breathing, coming from beside him. It sounded wrong. Irregular and rapid. The kind of sound made when air passes through a swollen throat.

Wolf sat up immediately and looked down at Silver. He was gasping for breath, the blanket kicked down to his ankles. Even in the dim darkness, the pale color of his face stood out. Only then did a memory surfarce.

〔The human presumed to be a Thunder did stop by here briefly.〕

〔After you showed signs of fever, 5 hours and 23 minutes ago.〕

This guy had been outside for a full eighteen hours? Out in that downpour?

Only now did he understand why Silver was the only one in the kitchen who hadn’t taken off his robe, and why he’d headed to the new recruits’ quarters out of the blue. He must have already been feeling unwell back then. Enough to grit his teeth and put up with that noisy woodpecker of a colleague and decide to stay in the quarters.

You lunatic! No matter how twisted your temper is, this is going too far!

Wolf placed his hand on Silver’s forehead. A high fever ragez beneath his palm.

“Hey.”

He shook his shoulder and called out softly. Silver’s head jerked to one side. His tightly closed eyelids twitched. Incomprehensible mutterings spilled from his lips. He was unconscious.

And then there were his clothes. Soaked through, they clung tightly to his body.

Did this idiot really think a roof to shelter from the rain and a single blanket would be enough to get him back on his feet?

Wolf hurriedly got up and headed for the hearth. He added charcoal and stirred the ashes. The fire quickly reignited, and warmth gradually spread.

Returning to the bed, Wolf undid the laces on Silver’s shirt. Soaked with rainwater, the laces were stiff as tendons. Silver pushed Wolf’s hand away and shook his head.

“Stay still.”

Wolf muttered as he worked his hands.

“Just go along with it for once.”

He managed to untie the knot. He pulled the shirt, which clung tightly to his skin, up to his chest. His collarbone, briefly revealed by the firelight, was soon swallowed by the darkness. Silver’s body was firmer than it looked. Beneath his skin, hot as heated iron, fine muscles lay densely packed.

As he pulled off the shirt, his fingertips brushed against Silver’s shoulder. Wolf paused, caught off guard by a sudden, odd sensation. The cramped room. Just the two of them. And the hot flesh touching his fingertips. Perhaps because of this combination, the first aid seemed to have taken on a tone quite different from its original purpose. It was so out of the blue that he couldn’t even manage a chuckle.

Focus.

He tossed the shirt toward the fireplace. Silver’s pale upper body was now fully exposed. Wolf’s gaze fixed on Silver’s side. Though cleverly disguised by a unauthorized copyconstellation-shaped tattoo, there was a mole there.

〔Marker. A mole forms on the side after age 10. The shape of the mole varies, making it difficult to distinguish from ordinary Stolls based on appearance alone.〕

With his overwhelming brute strength and the mole on his side, it was certain. Silver was a Thunder. Unlike him, who survived by sheer luck, maybe Silver had escaped that hellish den of evil spirits solely by his own strength? But then…

Now that he thought about it, it was perplexing. That was because, apart from his face, there were no burn scars anywhere else. From below his chin, his skin was as white and smooth as a snowfield. It was almost unnaturally clean. Had someone plunged Silver’s face into boiling oil as an act of revenge? But even in that case, oil droplets would naturally have splattered elsewhere…

Enough. This isn’t the time for such thoughts. Next, the pants.

Wolf slipped his hand under Silver’s waist and carefully pulled the garment down. Silver twisted his body, arching his back.

“Cooperate. I’m your caregiver.”

The pants clung to his skin and wouldn’t come off easily. To make matters worse, Silver even tensed his legs to resist. Wolf suppressed his anger and pulled the pants down. The fabric caught on his ankles and finally slipped free.

He pulled the blanket up to cover Silver’s neck and layered his own blanket on top of it. He took a dry cloth from the shelf and wiped Silver’s body from under the blanket. The cloth quickly became damp with warm moisture.

He soaked the cloth in rainwater, wrung it out, and placed it on Silver’s forehead. He repeated the process. Each time, the cloth warmed up in no time.

This isn’t enough.

Wolf stood up abruptly. He pulled a dagger from Silver’s robe, which lay on the floor.

“I’m borrowing this.”

Without waiting for a reply, he kicked the door and stepped outside. The rain, which had grown even heavier in the meantime, pelted his entire body. Black fog filled the air all around.

Wolf walked on, brushing the hair clinging to his face out of the way.

“Hey.”

〔What?〕

“You know the symptoms…high fever, chills, unconsciousness. What’s the fastest remedy I can find on this drug-infested island?”

〔Willow bark tea is recommended for feverish illnesses.〕

〔Peel the bark from a willow branch. The inner bark is most effective. Boil a handful in water until the liquid darkens, then strain and administer.〕

〔Keep the patient warm. Encourage fluid intake. Heavy sweating is a good sign.〕

“What about his throat? He can’t breathe properly.”

〔Boil water and have the patient inhale the steam. The steam will open his airways. Add dried thyme or mint to the water.〕

“Willow bark. Steam. Thyme.”

〔Kitchen storeroom. The thyme is in a sack hanging from a beam. The storeroom key is in the gap beneath the entrance. You’ll have to find the [visit our site]willow bark yourself. The hill behind the kitchen.〕

“I’m glad I took the tour of the island facilities.”

Wolf ran quickly. Rain poured down from the sky, the ground, and the roofs, it was relentless. The trees on the hill behind the mess hall hung limply like drunken old men in a tavern.

Wolf found a willow tree in no time. A subtle, bitter scent, distinct even in the rain, gave away its location. He used the dagger to peel back a forearm-length strip of inner bark from the willow and made his way down the hill.

The area around the communal kitchen was quiet. Perhaps everyone was too busy getting high; not a single guard was on duty. The hearth in the mess hall lay dormant, still holding embers.

Wolf started by reigniting the fire in the hearth. He filled a pot with rainwater, placed it on the stove, and added the willow bark. As the water boiled, the liquid turned a pale yellow. While the tea steeped, he ransacked the kitchen’s storeroom. He gathered everything Flea had mentioned, without missing a thing. While he was at it, he grabbed some cups and honey as well.

When he returned to the kitchen after his little theft, the willow bark tea had turned a deep brown. He slightly burned his finger while straining the tea through a linen cloth, but in the end, he managed to get everything.

Wolf slung the teapot over one arm and tucked the small pot of thyme and the cups under his other arm as he ran through the darkness.

“Hey. Are you alive?”

He asked as he pushed open the door to the quarters with his shoulder. The fire was still burning. Silver also signaled his survival with a ragged breath.

Wolf set the pot of thyme tea on a shelf near the hearth. He grabbed the teapot and cups, sat down on the bed, and supported Silver’s upper body with one arm. The body heat seeping into his forearm was still hot. Silver’s head touched Wolf’s chest, which was soaked through with rainwater. A deep shadow fell across his ruined face.

Wolf pulled Silver’s head into his embrace. Silver’s hair brushed softly against Wolf’s forearm.

“Drink.”

Wolf poured willow bark tea into a cup and held it out to Silver. The tea slipped past Silver’s lips. A trickle of tea ran down his chin. Just as Wolf lowered the cup, a hoarse voice suddenly rang out

“You’re still running around naked…”

“Huh?”

Wolf looked up. At some point, a blue glow had been seeping through the slits in Silver’s lowered eyelids, filtering through his thick lashes.

“If you keep doing that, you’ll catch… a fever… next time you might really die…”

“Mind your own business.”

Wolf chuckled and brought the cup to Silver’s lips. Silver swallowed a little tea, coughed, and swallowed some more. He barely managed to finish the cup before speaking again.

“You almost died… You should worry about yourself…”

“I am.”

Wolf replied as he poured tea into the cup.

“You’re my problem right now. I’m working on it. So, uh.”

Suddenly, Silver slid sideways. Slowly, like a leaf drifting across a calm surface of water. The strands visit our siteof hair that had been resting on Wolf’s forearm just moments ago also slid down. Wolf quickly set down the cup and embraced Silver.

The flickering light from the brazier suddenly swept across Silver’s face. The next moment, Wolf rubbed his eyes in disbelief.

What… what is this?

The burn scars were gone from Silver’s face. They hadn’t faded or been obscured by the darkness. They had literally vanished without a trace.

He looked like a silver coin that had rolled out of a puddle of dirty water. That face, appearing out of nowhere, was flawlessly beautiful. There was no trace of the distorted flesh, the melted sagging, or the twisted cheeks. Only smooth, pale skin, a haughtily arched nose, and a sharp jawline dominated Wolf’s vision. Even the tattoo, which had looked like charcoal smeared haphazardly, had transformed into a sharp, ring-shaped design.

The strength drained from Wolf’s hands. His heart pounded. He had been certain that after witnessing Red Eagle transform into a parrot, nothing would surprise him anymore, but he was completely wrong. A storm of confusion swept over him.

What is this? What the hell is this?!