"Water?" Elara tilted her head. "There's no water here."
However, it appeared that the boy, still lying on the ground with a pale face, either didn't hear or didn't accept Elara's answer, as his dry lips continued to mumble and whine.
"Water... water...!"
Elara remained patient and calmly repeated her response, "There's no water here."
"Water.. water.. water!"
"Hey--" Elara was on the brink of screaming in annoyance as the boy in front of her persisted in whining non-stop, but she halted when she noticed something.
Raising her eyebrows, Elara noticed that, aside from the dirty and torn black robe worn by the boy in front of her, she had been overly fixated on his handsome face. Upon closer inspection, the boy's complexion was pallid, as if devoid of blood, and his lips were dry and chapped.
'What could have happened to this boy to leave him in such a state...?'
Spontaneously, Elara scanned her surroundings, completely covered by tall and lush trees, finding no traces of other people or anything strange that could explain the boy's disheveled state.
'Did he wander lost for days, pushing into the 'that' forest...?' Elara pondered, calmly assessing the boy's situation.
"..."
"I need water... please...." The boy's voice started to soften and plead as if begging for his request to be fulfilled by Elara.
Observing the shift in his whining tone to begging, Elara felt a wavering sympathy, tempted to promptly bring him the water he requested due to both compassion and his handsome face.
Swoosh~
However, aided by the chilly breeze that helped maintain her composure, Elara remembered her primary goal of entering the first layer of the forest to locate the 'orange tree' that had stirred the villagers.
'I'll leave a note and a sign for him, ensuring he can find his way out of the forest safely,' Elara thought, nodding to herself.
'At least he can still talk, so maybe he can get up on his own once he realizes the situation later,'
However, the boy's whimpering grew louder as Elara prepared to leave the place, leaving him behind.
"Water... Water... I WANT WATER!!!!!!!!!"
The young boy continued to cry out loudly as if his parched throat was not an issue. His cries became louder and echoed throughout this unfamiliar, dense forest.
"..." Elara became increasingly disturbed by the noise and silently stared at the handsome boy who was getting louder.
'So noisy,' Elara thought, growing irritated by the inexplicable turn of events.
"Can you please be quiet for a moment?" Elara muttered, sighing wearily.
"..."
Strangely, the boy in front of her suddenly obeyed her words when Elara spontaneously complained and asked him to be quiet.
The boy abruptly stopped whining, and it became silent around them.
"..."
Elara just stayed quiet, her eyes fixed on the handsome boy's face. His expressive face with bright blue eyes momentarily captivated Elara, again.
!!
'Uwah, so handsome!' Elara thought.
Even though she was still confused by the mysterious boy's behavior from the beginning, she hoped he wouldn't start whining again.
'Am I really willing to leave someone like this in the middle of the dangerous forest like this?' Elara began to feel uncomfortable as the thought of leaving without helping him crossed her mind.
'He's probably not just an ordinary person, considering he dared to come here alone, especially into the deepest part of Galatea's territory,' Elara concluded after quietly examining the shabby but expensive-looking clothes.
Many people daringly infiltrated Galatea's territory in search of fortune, such as finding the elemental spirit that matched their affinities for contracting.
'But he came in alone?'
Until now, Elara knew that what she had seen lately in Galatea's territory was just the outermost part, relatively normal.
However, once entering the Eternal Forest, anyone would realize the drastic difference between the outskirts of Galatea and the villages area within, which were not even part of the actual Galatea territory.
Because the Eternal Forest consists of six layers, each known for its distinct and perilous geographical locations before finally reaching the real Galatea territory.
'Maybe he entered with his guards, then something happened, and now he's running away...?' That was the only thing Elara could guess based on the current situation.
The problem was that there was one thing that made Elara wonder.
'Instead of running away from here and returning to his place, why is he begging for water?'
Recently, thanks to information from merchants, Elara learned that this world boasted various types of magical tools, often considered trump cards possessed by determined nobles entering Galatea's territory, currently in 'sacred territory' mode.
Among these tools was a teleportation scroll, exorbitantly priced and almost equivalent to two elite mansions. Typically, nobles regarded this magical tool as obligatory and crucial, ensuring they could swiftly relocate to a predetermined location marked by the costly teleportation scroll in case of danger.
Elara was convinced that the handsome boy must possess such a tool or at the very least, other equally important magical items. However, perplexingly, he remained in the same location instead of utilizing his magical tools to depart.
'Why is he still here instead of leaving?' Elara wondered, contemplating the mystery.
Elara couldn't ignore it.
So, Elara sighed again before opening her mouth.
"Hey, do you need my help?"
"..." There was no response except for the pleading eyes directed at her. Seeing this response, Elara could only nod in silence.
"All right, I'll help you."
Elara extended her hands and touched the handsome boy's face, which was still red from being slapped several times to wake him up.
In the silence, a gust of wind began to rustle around them.
Slowly, Elara retrieved the water bottle she had kept and directed it toward the corner of the boy's lips.
"Gulp, gulp."
Having emptied the bottle, Elara gazed at the boy with a calm expression.
The young boy's face, which had initially been weak and helpless, slowly regained its strength, and his pleading expression had turned into a calm and serious one. Elara felt relieved to see this change, even though she still felt something was off.
"Are you okay now?" Elara asked gently, trying to make sure that the boy was okay.
After removing her hands from the boy's face, Elara took a few steps back from him.
"..."
"You've already depleted my supply of drinking water, yet it seems insufficient for you," Elara remarked, her words met with the boy's silent scrutiny as his blue eyes analyzed her.
A palpable change in the aura surrounding the boy made Elara nervous, prompting her to almost hold her breath. Previously resembling a weak and helpless puppy relying on its mother, the boy, now somewhat revived from his thirst, appeared like a wary teenage dog, cautious of his surroundings.
'Nevertheless, I can't simply abandon him after offering a bit of water like this...'
Elara took a discreet deep breath, unprepared for an encounter of this nature.
"Do you know where the nearest water source is? We're in a forest that has never been traversed by the locals, so I have no idea where the nearest water source is. If you don't know either, then it's better to return because my house is relatively close to this forest. But the problem now is that I can't go back just like that because I have important business."
"..." The boy continued to remain silent as if contemplating Elara's words.
Elara, attempting a friendly smile, saw her expression slowly wrinkling as the boy in front of her remained unresponsive to her lengthy words. Eventually, she decided to ignore it.
'Whatever, the important thing is that I have offered him help!'
Suddenly, as if sensing Elara's upset heart, the boy finally spoke in a calming voice.
"I also have important business around this place, so I can't possibly go to your house just to get water."
'Just to get water?! Huh, who was the one who kept whining for water from the start?!!!' Elara felt annoyed inside. Fortunately, thanks to the calm voice and handsome face of the boy, her emotions calmed down enough for Elara to regain control.
Even so, Elara wouldn't let him off lightly. Having been kind enough to help him, she decided to pretend to be angry.
However, the next words from this handsome boy instantly changed Elara's expression and feelings.
"But I know the nearest water source."
"Really?!" Elara asked, surprised to hear this.
She had never heard of a water source in the middle of the forest, especially in the Eternal Forest!
Although Elara was pleased to hear this valuable information, she remained composed.
"Where is it? Is it close? I have to head in that direction, so I hope the water source you mentioned isn't in the opposite direction," Elara said, pointing straight ahead.
The boy nodded. "It's in that direction too."
"Is that so? That's fortunate. Let's go then," Elara said as she stood up, brushing off her dirty clothes from the ground.
Elara looked at the boy trying to get up but failing, as his body appeared weak.
"... Do you still feel thirsty?" Elara asked, this time purely out of pity.
Consequently, she reflexively reached out her hand toward the boy, who was still struggling to get up from his lying position.
The boy simply stared at Elara's small outstretched hand with an expression that Elara couldn't quite decipher.
"..."
Elara sighed. She forcibly pulled one of the boy's hands.
"Come on, hurry up. I'm in a rush."
The boy, who had initially seemed lost without any clear reason, suddenly snapped into awareness upon hearing Elara's indifferent tone. He made a strong effort to support himself and stand up with her assistance.
However, it was in vain. Elara's assistance, due to her petite and short stature, didn't help him at all.
Thud!
Elara stumbled and fell. Her unfortunate butt once again met the hard and rough ground, causing her to wince softly.
"Auch! It hurts!"
"... Are you okay?"
Elara rolled her eyes and tried to hide her blushing face due to embarrassment. "No ... and be quiet. Don't protest. I've helped you as much as I can."
"I'm not protesting," the boy replied calmly. "In fact, I'm grateful for your help," he continued, smiling.
'Grateful?'
As Elara turned to look at him, thinking he had also fallen to the ground as she did, she was surprised to find that he was already standing upright without any difficulty.
"... Huh?! Why am I the only one who fell to the ground?!!!!!!!" Elara exclaimed with theatrical emotion, and to her surprise, the black-haired boy with handsome blue eyes responded with a subtle, secret smile, savoring Elara's charming display of frustration.