Chirp chirp.
The blue magpie's call woke me up.
Summer, who had fainted last night during her fifth creampie, was sleeping soundly in my arms.
I carefully got out of bed so as not to wake her.
I washed up behind the cabin and brought a bucket of hot, steaming water.
I got dressed and fed firewood to the dying fire in the fireplace.
I boiled water for tea, sliced bread, and fried it in a pan with sausages.
Soon, the cabin warmed up and filled with a delicious smell.
Opening the small window, fresh morning air came in.
Summer was sleeping with one side of her face buried in the pillow.
[...What should I do. I can't get up, I'm so embarrassed.]
To be precise, she was pretending to sleep.
I dampened a towel with the hot water I brought.
Wringing out the water, I said.
“Summer. I know you're not asleep. Get up.”
Summer groggily opened her eyes from under the blanket.
I'll be back in a bit. Use this to wipe your body and get dressed.
And while you're at it, it'd be great if you could clean the bed with magic too.
Leaving Summer, who was hugging the blanket tightly and blushing, I went outside.
I pulled weeds in the garden and added firewood to the bonfire in front of the cabin to pass the time.
After what seemed like enough time, I went back into the cabin.
Summer, fully dressed, was sitting quietly at the table.
The bed, which had been stained with semen everywhere, was clean and tidy.
I went to the round table and sat down.
The breakfast for two that I had prepared on the table smelled good before I left.
“Eat.”
“...”
“Why. Not hungry?”
I asked, spearing a sausage with my fork.
“Yesterday... I...”
“You fainted. During the fifth creampie.”
“...”
Summer looked silently at the bread, salad, and sausages.
[I thought I'd be in a lot of pain after waking up, but my body feels refreshed. Why is this? Is this normal?]
“I'm going to the dungeon in the morning. Are you coming with me?”
Summer perked up and lifted her head.
“Yes. No. For now, Erwin might have come back during the night—”
“Right. You mean to go to Lion Castle first?”
“Yes.”
“No morning classes?”
“...”
She nodded silently.
She must have just woken up and wiped her face roughly with a towel.
Looking at Summer's pink hair and lovely face, I couldn't help but think she was like a human candy.
In the morning sunlight, her baby-like skin seemed to glow on her face.
“You might not feel like eating, but it's better to fill your stomach. You never know what might happen in the dungeon, so we should be fully prepared.”
“...Yes.”
[Right. Because I might see Erwin today.]
Summer picked up her fork.
We ate breakfast quietly.
###########################
Neither Erwin nor that guy Calvin had returned.
We walked side by side on the forest path.
Summer spoke to me.
“Yesterday...”
“Huh?”
“Yesterday... did I do something wrong?”
“What? What wrong?”
“Ah, no. I was wondering if I did something wrong yesterday and you weren't satisfied... and if... we do it again... I shouldn't make the same mistake...”
Summer rambled on.
I chuckled.
“Were you worried about it?”
“I fainted yesterday... and... I'm sorry.”
“It's fine. It's normal for the first time.”
I stopped.
Summer stopped with me.
I unfolded the map and showed it to her.
“There's a way to start from entrance 2 and go in one by one, or we could check other entrances and start from any place with unusual traces.”
“The latter seems like a good method too.”
“Right. Then let's check from 10 onwards. There was no trace of Erwin in dungeon 1, and the closest entrances here are 1 and 10.”
Probably Erwin and Calvin came here, and one of them did this...”
At this rate, any marks we make would get erased.
If you'd noticed earlier, you'd probably have gotten lost.
...That's right.
I took out some bread, tore off about a quarter, and tossed it to the floor with a thud.
Burn that.
Fire Ball.
Thump.
A small fireball scorched the bread piece.
A burnt smell filled the air.
If you leave markers as we go, I can find my way back.
I led the way again.
Summer followed, watching our rear.
At the fork, I caught a scent.
This way doesn't smell like much, but over here there's something off. Odds are, it's where the smell is coming from.
...Is it a rotten smell?
No. More like a nasty secretion smell.
Summer looked slightly relieved.
We advanced toward the smell, burning bread at every fork.
We ran into monsters like cobolts along the way. Summer's magic was strong enough to take each one down in one shot.
I grabbed a cobolt that suddenly appeared behind Summer and hurled it straight into the wall.
Thud-
Summer glanced back at me with wide eyes.
Got it.
...I didn't see it in time. Thank you.
But.
??
Summer looked up at me with innocent eyes.
She seemed like a cute rabbit.
Aren't you my age?
She hesitated, then spoke.
...Yeah.
Yeah. Let's go.
I smirked and led the way.
Yeah.
Summer scurried after me.
After a few more forks, we reached a large cavern.
What the. Damn it.
A curse slipped out of my mouth.
I'd seen it in the .
Dozens of cocoons of various sizes filled the cavern.
I cut into one small cocoon with my dagger.
A rabbit, asleep in some fluid, oozed out.
I felt for the rabbit's heart.
It's not dead. Just asleep.
Summer snatched the dagger from my hand and tore into the surrounding cocoons.
Erwin. Erwin!
I tried to calm her down.
Summer. Calm down. Let's deal with these first and then find him.
Above us, a giant spider dangled.
Summer glared at it.
Destio!
Zing-
A laser shot from her wand tip and sliced the spider in half.
Swish-
The spider's head fell and shattered on the floor.
Summer swayed.
I quickly caught her.
She blinked.
Haa. Haa. Mana... used it all... quickly... the cocoon... Erwin...
Summer fainted in my arms.
I'd heard that draining mana rapidly causes symptoms like this.
Sigh. What's with that love.
I laid Summer down and cut open the cocoons one by one.
The rabbits woke up, got to their feet, and scurried away.
###########################
Calabat Lion Castle. Infirmary.
Ugh...
Summer tossed and turned, then opened her eyes.
Summer. Are you awake?
Erwin came over quickly.
Summer smiled weakly.
...Erwin.
Erwin took her hand.
Thanks, Summer. You saved me.
I was sitting on an empty bed.
Actually, Erwin probably would have escaped the cocoon on his own even without being saved.
'He'd have come back after catching that giant spider and saving his friend.'
In the novel, they escape after being trapped together with Summer.
Maybe that's how it went.
Summer sat up.
She made eye contact with me, then turned to Erwin.
...Calvin?
He's sleeping over there. They say he'll wake up soon after recovering.
The infirmary nurse came over and checked Summer's condition.
The laser magic Summer used in anger apparently took a lot out of her.
Naira and Celine rushed into the infirmary.
They saw me and approached with relieved expressions.
Naira looked me over.
Ian. Are you okay?
Student Council President.
I nodded.
Celine, with a stern face, met my eyes and then went to Summer.
You two. Are you okay?
Yes.
Summer smiled weakly.
Celine looked at Erwin with a severe expression.
Erwin. You and Calvin had better prepare yourselves. Do you know how many died because of you?
...I'm sorry.
Celine glanced my way and said.
Did you say thank you?
...Yes. I thanked him.
Summer Melody's smile, which had been constant, faded.
It seemed she recalled a promise she had to keep.
I got up from the bed and approached Summer Melody.
You feeling okay?
...Yeah.
That's good. Rest up.
Naira spoke from beside me.
Summer Melody. Seriously. You almost caused a big problem.
Sorry...
Get proper treatment. Got it?
Yeah.
I left the infirmary with Naira.
Take a few days to rest properly.
Celine said that to Summer Melody and hurriedly followed me.