Chương 351: Medical Attention

Vale remained frozen above Nym, one hand braced against the ground beside her as he stared into her emerald eyes with an expression even he could not understand. His mind had become a battlefield. His heart pounded violently against his ribs while emotions he could no longer distinguish crashed into one another without restraint. Anger. Hatred. Disgust. Grief. Betrayal. Every painful feeling he could imagine surged through him at once, threatening to drown out reason itself.

'Why...?' His thoughts trembled beneath everything he was feeling.

'Why do I still think she's beautiful?' His heartbeat echoed louder with every passing second, each pulse striking harder than the last until it almost hurt. Nym was the first to break eye contact. The confidence that had once bordered on arrogance had long since disappeared, leaving only quiet guilt and lingering regret behind. Her gaze lowered toward the countless scratches covering his face, and when she finally spoke, her voice was barely more than a whisper.

"Your face..." She hesitated before quietly finishing,"... It's all torn up." She couldn't even bring herself to look directly at him anymore. Vale continued staring at her for several long moments before her words finally reached him. Almost absentmindedly, he lifted a hand to his cheek, his fingertips brushing across the dozens of shallow cuts left behind by the forest's thorns.

"... Yeah." It was the only response he could manage. Silence settled between them once more. Neither moved. Neither seemed capable of figuring out how. Fortunately, someone else solved the problem for them. A large hand suddenly caught Vale by the back of his collar and lifted him off the ground with effortless ease. Vale offered no resistance. Even as Korin carried him backward with one arm, his distant gaze remained fixed on Nym.

She slowly pushed herself upright before kneeling to gather the scattered bundle of firewood she had dropped across the clearing. She carefully avoided looking at him, though she couldn't quite stop herself from stealing one glance in his direction before quietly turning away and making her way back toward camp, only a short distance away. Korin watched her disappear before looking down at the boy still hanging limply from his grip. He waved a hand in front of Vale's face.

"Hey. I know you're probably in some kind of trance right now... But come back to reality already." Vale blinked once, then again, his eyes slowly regaining focus. He rubbed the bridge of his nose before forcing a bright, slightly awkward smile onto his face.

"Sorry, I completely zoned out." Korin didn't respond immediately. Instead, he studied Vale for several long seconds, clearly weighing whether or not he should voice what was on his mind. Eventually, he let out a quiet sigh.

"Just don't let those feelings get in the way." His tone had become noticeably more serious.

"Dying out here is a lot easier than you seem to realize." Vale gave a quiet scoff, though there was little humor behind it.

"Trust me. When it comes to dying i know more than anyone else you know" Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. There was enough confidence behind those words that Korin wisely chose not to press the subject any further. The group resumed their walk toward camp in silence, Shade following several paces behind while dragging the enormous reptilian carcass through the undergrowth with one hand as though it weighed little more than a sack of grain.

The tents soon came into view. Outside them, Nova knelt beside a neatly stacked pile of firewood. Or rather... What should have become a fire. Instead, only a thin ribbon of smoke lazily drifted upward while the ground around her bore the evidence of countless failed attempts. She looked utterly defeated, as though she were only moments away from bursting into tears. When she noticed Vale and Korin returning, she looked up hopefully, strands of golden hair swaying gently in the afternoon breeze.

"... I..."

"I'm sorry..."

"I can't get the fire started." Before anyone had the chance to answer, her eyes landed squarely on Vale's face. Her entire expression changed.

"W-What happened to your face?!" She hurried toward him so quickly that she nearly stumbled over her own feet.

"How do you even get cut by this many thorns?!" Without waiting for an answer, she gently cupped his face and turned his head from side to side, carefully inspecting every scratch while her fingertips brushed lightly across his cheeks. Vale stood perfectly still, looking increasingly uncomfortable the longer the examination continued. Korin chuckled.

"He was busy running away from something. I don't think he even noticed the thorns." He scratched the back of his head.

"At least, I think that's what happened. Don't quote me." Vale laughed quietly.

"Actually... You're probably right."

"I honestly didn't realize my face was covered in cuts until you pointed it out." He looked back down at Nova.

"Anyway. You can fix this, right?" Nova nodded so quickly her hair bounced.

"Yes!" She dug through her satchel.

"First, I need to disinfect everything. And then I'll wrap your face in bandages so the cuts heal properly." Vale blinked.

"Wait. What?" Before he could object, Nova had already guided him onto a nearby wooden bench beside the smoking campfire. She retrieved a small glass bottle from her bag and uncorked it with practiced ease. Vale started resisting heavily.

"Now hold on just a sec-" Nova calmly stuffed a folded cloth into his mouth.

"This might sting a little." Vale's eyes widened in absolute horror.

'A little?!' The soaked cloth touched his face. Pain detonated across every cut at once. His entire face felt as though molten metal had been poured directly into each wound. His eyes nearly bulged from their sockets as a strangled scream escaped around the cloth. He reached up to stop her. Unfortunately... Two separate hands caught his wrists before he got anywhere. Shade restrained one arm. Korin held the other.

"Seriously?" Korin sighed.

"You survived a first trial that sounded like literal hell... And you can't handle a little disinfectant?" Vale responded with an utterly incomprehensible stream of furious muffled noises.

"Yeah, yeah. Just bear with it." Nova ignored the protests entirely, concentrating as she carefully cleaned each scratch before finally setting the bottle aside. A moment later, she grabbed a fresh roll of bandages. Vale saw them. Pure despair filled his eyes.

"No..." Despite his increasingly desperate attempts to escape, Nova wrapped the bandages around his face with remarkable efficiency. Barely two minutes later, every visible cut had been neatly covered. She stepped back proudly and wiped the sweat from her forehead.

"Done!" Beaming with satisfaction, she removed the cloth from Vale's mouth before leaning closer once again.

"Does anything still hurt?" Vale slowly clenched his jaw until his teeth audibly ground together.

"... The only thing..."

"Hm?" Nova tilted her head innocently.

"What was that?" Vale inhaled deeply before unleashing every ounce of frustration he had been suppressing.

"THIS WAS THE ONE THING I DIDN'T WANT TO HAPPEN!" The entire campsite fell silent. Nova recoiled several steps, her eyes watering almost immediately.

"I-I'm sorry..." She looked only seconds away from crying. Vale froze. His anger evaporated just as quickly as it had appeared. Looking at the frightened girl, he let out a slow breath before rubbing the back of his heavily bandaged head.

"No. Sorry, that wasn't fair. You were just trying to help."

"That one's on me." He rose from the bench, dusted himself off, and offered her a small apologetic smile before extending one hand toward her.

"Thanks. I do appreciate it." Nova hesitated only briefly before taking his hand with both of hers.

"I-It was my pleasure." Vale noticed the nervousness still lingering in her expression. For several moments, he remained silent, debating whether he should ask the question that had been lingering in the back of his mind ever since the expedition began. Eventually, curiosity won.

"Hey, Nova." She looked up.

"Yeah?" Vale hesitated for only a moment before quietly asking,"You like Eskar, don't you?"