"...up—!"
"...ake up—!"
"Wake up!!!" Roy yelled, shaking Rem's shoulders.
'What..?'
Confused, Rem got up dizzily.
"What happened..?" Rem asked, rubbing her head.
Seeing that Rem has finally woken up, Roy stopped shaking Rem's shoulders. Roy was kneeling next to Rem's right while Cynric, the dagger, was next to Rem's left.
"The explosion made the underground place collapse. The huge creature's attack created an enormous hole below where we were standing previously. We ended up jumping down to not get crushed by any of the rocks or let it get a direct hit on us. Although we didn't bump into the creature yet, we definitely fell into the water. There's a deep lake behind you. That was where we fell into. Since I jumped inside the hole first, you were the one who blocked all the rocks that fell into the hole for me...! After falling into the water, you were unconscious and I got you out of the water." Roy explained, feeling guilty.
Roy and Rem have a life contract between the two of them. When one dies, the other will die as well. However, the injuries one person gets will not be transferred to the other person, vis versa.
"I see... Don't worry about it." Rem replied.
"I'm so glad you're okay..." Roy mumbled before sighing in relief.
He was sincerely worried about Rem. While Rem was unconscious, he could somewhat feel her emotions. It was something Roy never experienced before, so he couldn't quite distinguish between which emotion is which.
"Hm? Can you repeat that..?" Rem raised her brow.
Although she heard what Roy said clearly, she still asked Roy. After all, a little teasing usually never hurts.
"I-I said you should at least give me a reward for helping you get out of the water!!!" Roy said loudly, embarrassed.
"Oh? But that wasn't what I heard you say before. Plus, I blocked the rocks for you and you got me out of the water. Aren't we even?" Rem asked, holding back her laughter.
"I mean..." Roy didn't know what to say.
"Haha, I'm just kidding. You can have as many jerkies as you want after we get back, capisce?" Rem patted Roy's head.
"Kay..." Roy mumbled.
"Now stop mumbling. Cheer up, alright?
"Yeah." Roy nodded.
Ever since Rem's evolution after gaining the trust from the seven spirits, Rem grew a few inches taller. Rem only just realized that she grew taller.
'I think I'm probably around 5,6 now. How would I know if my height changed? I never looked at myself in the mirror or water for ages!'
Rem glanced at Roy.
'When Roy's in his human form, he looks like he's around 5,3. Now that I think about it, I can call him my cousin, can't I? He's shorter and younger than me.' Rem thought.
「Master, are you alright?」
'Ah, yes. I'm completely fine. Thanks for worrying about me.'
「I was worried because before when you were unconscious, I couldn't speak or interact with you. I also couldn't sense your presence. It was as if you disappeared suddenly...」
'That's what happened before too, correct?'
「Yes.」
'Hm...'
Rem couldn't think of any reason why this happened.
"Shouldn't we find a way of getting out of this place?" Roy asked.
"Yes, you're right." Rem stood up, looking at her surroundings carefully.
'It seems like we're in some kind of cave. A very large one. 003, show me the map of this cavern.'
{Noted.}
A blue screen appeared in front of Rem. The map shows Rem where they were and every living thing that's larger than a bear. Rem could now interact with the map. There's a list at the bottom of the map where Rem could cross out everything she doesn't want to show on the map.
'The creature from before... It's not being shown on the map..!'
{That's because it's not a living thing. The creature was created and it doesn't have the properties of a living being.}
'Tell me more about that creature; the creature that looks like a huge green lizard reptile thing.'
{I can't tell you much about it but one thing is for sure. Someday, it'll become stronger than you. It can become a huge threat to everyone. With your current powers, you can kill it but you can't track it. It's not a living being so you can't feel its presence either.}
'Urgh, how troublesome! To add to this, why is this cave so huge??! I can destroy the rock from above and create a barrier to protect us from the falling rocks but the problem is... I don't have enough mana. After waking up, all my mana is gone. I only have a few thousand left. However, that's not enough...'
「Master, I have mana. You can use my mana!」
'Wait, you have mana???'
{Souls have a portion of their mana from the body they lived in before. You're the one who summoned it. You can use this soul's mana and some of its powers. Not to mention that you can use Roy's mana as well. After all, you created a life contract with him.}
'I thought I can only use some of the skills from Roy... I never knew you can do that!'
{Before you couldn't. Now you can.}
'I see. Well, thanks for telling me.'
{No problem.}
'Cynric, if you don't mind, can I use some of your mana?'
「Of course, Master.」
'Thank you.'
"Roy, I'll be using your mana. Is that fine?" Rem asked, facing Roy.
"For what? To get us out of here?" Roy studied Rem carefully.
"Don't worry. I promise I won't overuse your mana."
"I want more jerkies!" Roy stated.
"All right, all right."
Roy grinned to himself happily.
"Come closer. I'll be protecting you by using a barrier." Rem said, all ready to destroy the rock above them.
"Karasu! We'll meet you up at the surface."
"Got it." Karasu nodded, going through the rocks, flying towards the surface.
Rem created a barrier for her and Roy. She then destroyed the rocks above them and carried Roy using her martial arts, jumping from rock to rock to get back to the surface. The consumption of mana Rem used was far more than she intended but they git back to the surface safe and sound.
"Finally some fresh air!" Rem breathed in, enjoying the fresh, clean air.
"Please put me down..." Roy said quietly, red as a tomato.
"Yeah, yeah." Rem let go of Roy.
"Ouch! You know, you didn't have to drop me like that!" Roy complained, sitting on the ground.
"Pfttt..! Haha!" Rem laughed and smiled after seeing Roy's reaction.
"Grrr!!!" Roy got up, glaring at Rem.
"Ha... It's time for us to go. We have to report back to Nor. It's already morning! We spent way too long on this mission."
"I hope you get in trouble," Roy said, still angry at Rem.
"Let's see about that."