"Are we going after them then?"
"...Should we? We lost our only way out, and there are probably humans stuck somewhere inside the nest. If they are here, they are probably investigating this, and we can get help from them."
"Well... That is if we can find them."
"That's where you come in. Because you have unfair talent that let's you distinguish colurs like nobody's business, you will lead us follow these scars on the wall Noah!"
Corvin opened his arms wide with a wide smile.
"Don't act like you are giving me a divine purpose, I am just leading the way. There is nothing fun about it."
"What? Why? Don't you enjoy choosing where to go?"
"I don't like thinking much, I am just forced to do it. I'd rather follow your lead."
"Well, you have the unfair eyes, so it is only fair that you lead the way."
"Sigh~, I get it. I will lead the way. Let's first find a room we can camp inside."
After saying that, Noah turned towards the girls to call them, but Clair was nowhere to be seen.
"Wait... Where is Clair, Amy- When did you set that thing up?!"
Amy lifted her had from the small campfire with a makeshift extractor on it.
"Huh? Just now... I thought we had time for me to check what some of the mushrooms I gathered did... Was I wrong?"
"Didn't you already do that?"
"No... It's not that easy, you know. I have to wait for everything, I could only check about five of them before."
"Then... How did you make that poison? You said it was really really strong."
"Well... I started testing from the most poisonous looking mushrooms..."
"Why?"
"Ah... I-I like making poison..?"
Amy averted her eyes with a blush on her face.
"Corvin..."
"Hm?"
"Why is she acting like that? Isn't that the reaction you would expect from a girl after discovering something cute as a hobby? Like flowers or cats?"
"I was just thinking about that... funny eh?"
"Hey! I can hear you! And what's wrong with my hobbies?!"
"Noah, shall we look for Clair?"
"Yeah... We should."
"Don't just ignore me!"
Noah and Corvin walked away from Amy while rethinking about employing her. Just as they were walking deeper into the corridor, they heard a scream from the entrance of the corridor.
"AAAAHH!! HELP!"
Noah and Corvin stared at each other with eyes devoid of emotion and faces completely empty of energy.
"..."
"Corvin..."
"Yeah?"
"That was Clair, wasn't it?"
"...Yeah..."
"What is she doing back in that room?"
"No... How is she there in the first place? Didn't the platform break apart?"
"How should I know?"
"HELP ME!!"
"Should we help her?"
"I guess we should..."
"Right... It would be rude to not help her right?"
"Right..."
Noah and Corvin walked towards the entrance of the corridor. They looked outside, to see Clair holding on to a ledge of stone on the wall, with an armful of the slightly shiny beeswax that made up the honeycombs inside the room.
"Hey! You are here! Help me! I am going to fall down!"
Corvin helped Clair get back to the corridor with his magic. Clair put the wax she collected into her bag and sat down to her spot back again. After Noah and Corvin watched her sit down, Corvin patted Noah on the shoulder and whispered 'I am leaving this to you.' and walked towards Amy to watch what she was doing.
"A~h, that was a good harvest!"
"Clair."
"Hm? What happened Noah?"
"What were you doing?"
"Hm? Just collecting some interesting ingredient!"
"Are you an idiot!?"
"Hey!"
Noah took a step towards Clair. She pushed herself towards the wall more, but didn't have anymore room to retreat because she was already leaning on the wall.
"Why are you shouting?! Why are you almost falling down?!"
"He-hey Noah? I-I was just collecting-"
"Why are you collecting that thing?!"
Noah took another step. Clair was cornered more.
"Hey! You know, I am an alchemist! I can use that thing as an ingredient!"
"Why didn't you tell me before doing it?!"
"Why do I have to ask for permission?!"
Noah cornered Clair into the wall more.
"I didn't ask for a permission! I just want you to stop worrying me!"
Noah took another step forward. They were close enough for their breaths to mix into each other now.
"Am I a child!? Why are you worrying about me?!"
"It's beacuse!-"
Noah exhaled deeply and opened his mouth. With a calm and quieter voice this time.
"-It's because I like you, okay? So when I see you even in the slightest danger, I feel like I am going to pass out from worry, okay?"
After hearing that, Clair turned meeky, and started playing with the tip of her blood red ponytail. She couldn't look into Noah's eyes, whose face was just a singe breath away from her face while looking into her eyes. She felt like his serious gaze was piercing her whole body, and she couldn't handle it anymore, so she raised the white flag. So, with a tiny, barely audible voice, she answered Noah.
"I-I get it... I won't worry you anymore... so... can you step away for a bit? You are too close..."
With that, Noah suddenly became aware of how close he was to her, and quickly took a step away with a completely red face.
"O-Oh... I am sorry. I didn't realize..."
While the two were in their own world, Corvin and Amy, who packed their bags already and were ready to walk were watching them in amazement.
"Wow... Really, wow..."
"So, this is what happened back then, huh?"
"...How cute, isn't it Amy?"
"It is... But-"
Amy nudged Corvin with her elbow and whispered into his ears.
"I don't think they had their first kiss yet, it's appearent from their reaction to how close they were."
"! Right! If they had, they wouldn't be acting like that... So Noah lied to me about that?"
"Look at how much he is in love... Maybe he saw a dream about it and thought it was real?"
"Pfft... That would be funny..."
Just then, someone in front of them talked.
"Hey! We can hear you, you know that, right? Your voice echoes in the corridors."
""Ah...""