Chapter 18: 17

EDIT: Huge improvement in the chapter thanks to the editing by pant. Future chapters may show similar improvements also.

As my suspicion increased my petting slowly came to a halt. My palm laid still on his head. I was concerned that my curse would act up but my worries seemed needless. He seemed to be acting quite normal thus far. For all I knew he might be a boy after all.

I wasn’t sure as to how I could verify my suspicions but we likely weren’t going to meet again regardless. The existence of a hero is pretty far from a transmigrator like me. We are special in our own regard but only the hero is shackled with a lot of responsibilities. 

Who knows how heavy of a burden he’s carrying. Though he had yet to become a hero, I could sympathize with the problems he has to face. 

We stay like this for about a minute. None of us budged from our positions. Before I decided to separate from him, I noticed that he was already dozing off to sleep again. I was wondering if I should wake him up since the broth was going to go to waste.

I ended up deciding against it. His eyes were completely shut now, with a soft snore coming out of his mouth. I carried him back to the bed but for some reason, his hands were not budging from my clothes. When I tried to pry those hands away, I couldn’t help but notice the calluses on his hands. 

They were proof of his hard work and training. It made me feel a bit more respectful towards him. Shrugging away those thoughts I got back to removing his hands but whenever I tried to do so he made a tense and uneasy expression. This proved to be troubling for me as I didn’t want to wake him up.

In the end, I had decided to go to bed beside him. His expression seemed to be a lot calmer now. The possibility of him being a girl was still present in my mind, but I didn’t take it too much into consideration due to the lack of attraction he had shown to me as of yet. I just hope he isn’t too troubled by the fact that I slept next to him.

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I slowly awoke from my sleep. It felt like I had slept like a pig; these past few years I wasn’t able to sleep properly at all. My whole body felt refreshed. I wished I could continue to sleep but I needed to take care of the hero candidate first.

My eyes slowly budge open as I see a face staring at me. His eyes were wide open and stuck gawking directly at my face. I realized his arm was wrapped around my waist. We continue gawking at each other in confusion.

As if he had a late realization his face slowly grew flustered.

“Why are you sleeping next to me!” he asks in embarrassment and confusion. I couldn’t help but think how cute he looked right now. If it was possible I would’ve really liked to pat his head right now.

“Umm… you wouldn’t let go of me so I decided to sleep here.”

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His eyes were continued to blankly stare at my partially revealed face. I waited for him to snap back to reality which doesn’t take long.

“Sorry…” he says upon realizing his own blunder, not trying to find excuses for it.

It seemed that he was a bit of an absentminded person. “No it’s alright, want to eat breakfast?” I asked which he responded to with an energetic nod. Seeing his reaction I couldn’t help but let out a chuckle and used the opportunity to pat his head. He lowered his head and made a pouting expression. It seems he doesn’t like being treated like a child. Maybe I should refrain from headpatting after all?

Both of us get up and walk back to the campfire. I relit it using some spare dry wood I had gotten last time. The hero candidate asked whether he should help but I dismissed his worries with a smile. A cosy environment is created with both us sitting next to the fire. Morning campfires aren’t bad at all. 

The boy seemed to also be enjoying the atmosphere based on the joyous smile on his face. I quickly fixed up some mushroom stew using some ingredients I still had left in my bag. Both of us were feeling ravenous after not eating last night.

When the cooking was finished I gave the boy his own serving. He starts off slow but steadily quickened his pace, gulping down the soup within a matter of seconds. I used the chance to introduce myself. “Hello, I am Riela, what is your name?” I ask in a friendly manner.

He stops for a second from gulping down the whole stew before glancing back at me. “My name is… Adrian… Thank you for saving me.” Adrian said in a slightly uncomfortable tone. “Sorry I am not really good at talking to new people…” He continues. He starts blushing which I found oddly cute. I wonder if I could pinch his cheeks.

“Would you mind explaining what happened in the dungeon? Didn’t you go in with your party?” Upon hearing my question he makes a troubled face. “Yes, my party did come with me. We were moving at a steady pace and everything was going fine… But around the higher floors I managed to trigger a trap which happened to separate…” As he was speaking his voice trails off while recounting the events.

His eyes grew teary as he started having hiccups and slight bouts of hyperventilation. I quickly drew closer and hugged him to calm him down as it was rather effective last time. He accepts my embrace as he leans on my shoulder. Quickly he starts calming down again as I start patting on his head.

“It’s alright, no one will harm you anymore. If anything were to happen I’ll protect you. You must’ve been through a lot right?” I reassure him with comforting words which ended up with him bawling on my shoulder with all his might. As if having an emotional catharsis he cries and cries. Despite being the same age as me the hero candidate was still a kid.

My shoulder became covered with tears and snot but I didn’t pay much attention to it. My first and foremost objective was to comfort this child. After long-lasting weepings, he finally calms down. “Thank you,” he says. I could feel the sincerity in his words.

It might be just me but I felt a bit overprotective when taking care of Adrian. I really wanted to support this kid. He interrupts my thoughts by asking a sudden request. “Can we... stay like this for a while.” I didn’t answer but I hadn’t budged either. He took it as an affirmative and starts using my shoulder to support his head. I was reminded of a similar scene in my head with Seris. It felt strangely coincidental...

I had almost forgotten about the fact that he might be a girl which made me worried about whether I should get involved with him. Though throughout our interactions the curse had never once seemed to have taken effect, which convinced me that it is unlikely for him to be affected by it.

Even if Adrian were to be a girl, as long the curse didn’t affect him I would like to carry out a cordial relationship with him. Though in the end, it was just a short-lived dream of mine as I knew he was a dragon meant to soar high in the skies. We were worlds apart but as of now, he was right beside my shoulder.

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