Chapter 26: The Worst Poison Blossoms
A weird sense of helplessness sprouted within Nith when he opened his eyes.
'I imagine having no legs or eyes would be worse,' Nith thought as he glanced at his inept arms, the reason for feeling so bizarre that morning.
It was the day after their return home.
He woke up naked because his current state prevented him from taking a proper bath and dressing himself. Last night, he had banged the shower's knob with his forehead to turn the water on and off.
He needed Kyouka's help for everyday tasks, which surely would lead to some comical developments.
How did people without arms live? Nith wondered.
'This is the price I paid for going beyond my limits… and in the end, I had to be saved by someone else.' Nith would have rated their journey to the low-danger zone ten out of ten if not for Famine's aid.
She didn't even come to help him but to snatch Gula's swords. Her interaction with Nith and Kyouka happened solely because the last boss was an existence related to the danger zone, someone with limited potential.
Things turned out much better once she learned about his origins.
Nith obtained a new title and even a weapon.
'She gave me a title and a weapon. Not someone the current me can really deal with… I needed sacrifices and lots of half-corpses to defeat third grades. That much was only possible because of Kyouka and her potions. I must fix my arms first.'
Opening his status, Nith checked his titles.
[The Player(???), Serqet's Vanquisher(SSS), Venom Virtuoso(SSS), Calamity(F), Famine's Spear(S)]
[Famine's Spear(S)—a title given by Famine, an existence from between the worlds, to a worthy individual who can wield the strongest weapon she crafted to confront Gula—the spear. This title is a sign of friendship between Famine and the individual. You have received a single skill from it—The Spear of Starvation(S).]
BANG!
Someone knocked on the door.
Who else could it be but Kyouka? Nith shouted for her to enter after wrapping his lower body in the blanket.
Wearing her witch-like alchemist robes, Kyouka walked in. "Morning, Nith. Your special privilege of having me as more than a friend is now over… but I knew you wouldn't be able to function like a human, so here I am! You also can't work like this, so we must discuss our store's future."
Nith didn't react to her words. He just fixed his eyes on her face.
'This bitch… coming here and acting like nothing happened despite getting a title related to me, and a pretty intimate one at that,' Nith inwardly sighed. "How about we talk about your title, Venom Virtuoso's Soulmate?"
Kyouka's face and ears reddened instantly.
Nith deadpanned. "You're so easy."
"Shut up!"
"You probably get turned on when I call you a bitch."
"Can't expect anything better from your dirty mouth!"
"Really? And here I thought about signing marriage papers for the company tax discount."
Kyouka's eyes sparkled. She clasped her hands and looked at Nith as though he were her greatest treasure, smiling from ear to ear.
"If only I could hold a pen," Nith smirked.
The dream that was about to become reality shattered in an instant. That said, Kyouka's expression didn't crumble as much. The lovely curve of her lips remained as she drew closer to help him dress.
She took his black shirt off the chair… and whipped his face with it. "You're not getting away!"
"Fucking—"
"Stop fidgeting!" Kyouka ordered, scooping up his arm and putting it into his shirt before going for the other one and finally draping him in his shirt.
The rest of his clothes waited in the closet, to which Kyouka happily skipped over. Nith stared at her back, his expression twisted.
When Kyouka stood by his bed with his briefs and pants, Nith spat, "This damn love is really the worst poison. I can't believe I wanted to put my life on the line for a silly bitch like you."
"And I actually stood up to that monument for you. I could have taken him up on his offer and left the danger zone alone," Kyouka retorted, throwing Nith's clothes onto the bed and waiting for him to sit at the bed's edge.
"Our relationship will surely bite us later. We're both from shitty noble families, and my past life will come back to haunt me," Nith spoke in a tone Kyouka was familiar with, one he used when he unconsciously wanted someone to turn away and give up on him.
She stared at him with her arms crossed. "Yes, yes. You done? I'll help you put on your briefs through the blanket. Fine?"
"I thought you'd use this occasion to sneak a peek," Nith replied, bewildered.
Kyouka chuckled. "Now that you've confessed to me in your not-so-honest way, there's no need to force things!"
"So you admit you were forcing."
"About time you admit you've been enjoying it."
"…Yeah, I did."
Kyouka looked meaningfully into Nith's eyes, and he did the same. Their stare carried much more weight, for it was no longer an exchange between friends but a couple.
Thus, the worst poison blossomed even more in their hearts.