Chapter 84: Medea Lily's Lap Pillow
[After receiving the gathering location of the Vorpal Chicken from Kotomine Kirei, you immediately set off to hunt.]
[However, this deserted island is far larger than imagined. You struggle forward through the central region of the island, filled with jagged rocks and dense weeds, only feeling the blazing sun overhead almost drying you out…]
[Please perform a Luck Check.]
A die falls.
[The result is D, check successful.]
[You are very fortunate—along the way you encounter no unexpected incidents and do not go the wrong direction.]
[After trekking for a full three hours, there is not much time left before the competition deadline.]
Deserted island, one o'clock in the afternoon.
The scorching, dazzling sunlight burns the three of them. Even with dense forests providing cover, the heat is still hard to endure. As they pass through mountain paths that are practically devoid of human footprints, they frequently hear all kinds of monster roars—wyverns, demonic monkeys, chimeras. The scene overflows with vitality, as if countless forms of life are competing to grow, vividly unfolding before their eyes.
They will soon reach the habitat of the Vorpal Chicken.
[The monster group is very close. Please perform an Endurance Check.]
Another die falls.
[The result is B, check failed.]
[Due to many consecutive days without sleep and long-distance travel in hot weather, your stamina is nearly depleted.]
[It is best to rest as soon as possible; otherwise, your stats will continue to decrease…]
Seeing this prompt, Eikou didn't dare force himself any further and hurriedly spoke to Caenis walking ahead.
"…How about we stop and rest for a bit?"
As a warrior who had experienced many battlefields, Caenis was still fine, but Eikou and Medea were clearly at their limits. Sweat drenched them, their heads spinning as if they were about to suffer heatstroke.
"Huh? We've only walked a little and you two already can't take it? That's way too weak."
Caenis looked at the two behind her, constantly complaining, frowned, and her beast ears stood up irritably.
"Come on, Medea is a caster, and I haven't slept properly for several days straight…"
Eikou couldn't help yawning. "We probably really do need to rest a bit."
Consider it conserving strength for the high-intensity battle ahead; otherwise, both he and Medea would be exhausted to the point of collapse. Resting now wasn't laziness—it was tactical consideration.
"Haah, you two really are…"
Seeing the two of them drenched in sweat and struggling, Caenis could only agree.
"Then let's rest here for half an hour."
The dark-skinned female warrior pulled out her spear, preparing to use it like a fishing harpoon. "The sea is right next to us. I'll conveniently spear a few sea fish and bring them back. You two get the fire started first—later we'll grill the fish and eat!"
"Caenis, today you…"
Eikou looked at her with some suspicion.
"Why do I feel like you're unusually easy to talk to today, even a bit friendly?"
"What do you mean by that? Am I usually that hard to approach?"
Caenis shot him a glance. "Watch how you speak."
"Sorry."
After saying that, Caenis picked up her spear with great enthusiasm and ran straight toward the beach.
As for Medea Lily, she immediately used Magecraft to start a campfire, ready to wait for Caenis to bring back skewered sea fish.
"Call me when it's time to eat."
Seeing that there was nothing left for him to do, Eikou directly found a patch of soft grass and lay down to sleep.
What he needed to do now was to seize every second to rest!
After all, no one could guarantee whether he would be able to sleep peacefully tonight—what if some lonely girl decided to launch a midnight raid?
"Um… Lord Eikou…"
Just as Eikou was about to close his eyes and rest, he suddenly heard a timid voice calling out beside him.
"What is it, Medea?"
He slightly tilted his head to look at the Greek witch beside him, and an extremely bad premonition suddenly rose in his heart.
He saw the young witch lower her head shyly, her slender fingers lightly touching each other. Her pale violet eyes carried an affectionate gaze as they quietly observed him.
Because the weather was too hot, Medea Lily's youthful and pure face was already covered with glistening beads of sweat, flushed red from the heat, looking just like a dewy apple—fresh and soft.
"..."
Only now did Eikou suddenly realize his oversight. He hurriedly turned his head to look toward Caenis, only to discover that she had already disappeared without a trace.
This is bad—Caenis is gone, and now it's just me and Medea here!
In fact, ever since they first set foot on the island, Eikou had noticed that her not-so-innocent gaze had been firmly glued to his back. It was just that Caenis had been present at the time, making it inconvenient for Medea to act right away, causing him to let his guard down and overlook this detail.
[PS: You sense that her affection toward you is increasing…]
[Hint: You can now invite her out at any time, take another step forward to raise affection, and unlock more play styles.]
"What the hell, why does it have to keep emphasizing over and over again that I should invite her out!"
In the end, she's Jason's wife! If I invite her out, what kind of play style am I even unlocking?! And in this deep forest and mountains, how are you even supposed to go on a date—no matter how you think about it, it's weird, okay?!
If possible, he really didn't want to get involved with someone else's wife, especially a Greek woman that even her own husband was afraid of!
Cold sweat poured down Eikou's face.
"Um… sleeping here might not be very comfortable for you, Lord Eikou. How about… you sleep on my lap?"
Medea gently patted her thighs and smiled softly at him, signaling that he could rest his head there anytime.
"T-that won't do…"
Eikou felt a bit embarrassed and hurriedly shook his head. "There's no need to trouble you, I'm fine lying like this!"
"..."
Medea Lily kept smiling and took a step closer to him.
Hey, hey—are you completely ignoring my refusal?!
"You don't need to be polite. Just lean on me."
Medea smiled sweetly and leaned in close. She lightly knelt down, gently patting her thighs, signaling him to hurry up.
"This really isn't okay, it's kind of embarrassing…"
Eikou nervously jumped to his feet, hurriedly shaking his head in refusal.
Seeing him repeatedly reject her, Medea showed a troubled expression tinged with sadness.
"Lord Eikou, you always avoid me. Could it be… that you dislike me…?"
"N-no, that's not it at all!"
Eikou hurriedly explained. "It's just that I'm the type who's a bit shy about close contact."
"I see. Then all the more reason for us to care about and understand each other better～"
Medea smiled with a pure and adorable expression. She gently wrapped her arms around his neck, carrying a refreshing, pleasant fragrance, trying to let him rest his head on her lap.
She had already gone this far—if he refused again, it would really be too awkward.
Eikou's face heated up involuntarily.
"If… it's just a lap pillow, then it should be fine, right…"
Wait, what am I even saying?!
Once he agreed to this request, she would definitely make even more excessive and improper demands next—and in the end, he would probably go along with them anyway!
Damn it, even though I clearly know this might be a trap, I know it very well—so why am I always so bad at refusing other people's requests?!