Survival in the darkness

"Grrrrr... rrr.....".

The animal's sound was heavy and dominating, extremely frightening.

Nara was very scared, she hugged Paul tightly until her body trembled. After a while, Paul, who was still slightly conscious, could sense it. With what little strength he had left, he moved his hand to return Nara's embrace and gave her a gentle, reassuring pat.

"...it's okay," Paul whispered very softly, as he completely lost consciousness afterward.

Nara was momentarily stunned upon hearing Paul's words. She had been genuinely terrified earlier and thought that this might be the end of her life in this second existence. But upon hearing Paul's voice, she felt that she wasn't facing this alone.

Nara checked on Paul briefly and made sure he hadn't lost his life, just unconsciousness. She hugged Paul's unconscious body even tighter, channeling all the fear she felt. She tried her best not to make a sound.

...

After a considerable amount of time, she realized that the outside sound had disappeared. It was completely silent now, except for the sounds of insects conversing with each other. However, as Nara peered through the small gap she had left for ventilation, she noticed that evening had turned into night, and she could see the creature curled up not far away. Asleep.

Nara reflexively covered her mouth to stay silent. She was still very afraid of the creature. As quietly as possible, she crawled back into the hole.

They clearly couldn't leave right now. She took out a light stone from her magical space to tend to Paul's wounds for the night.

Her position was clearly uncomfortable; she could only move in a crawling position. So, she crawled backward and accidentally ended up lying on top of Paul's body as she passed by. This sent a surge of excitement through her as she had fantasized about Paul's alluring body but now had a direct physical connection.

Nara closed her eyes, trying to suppress her emotions. Now, she had to focus on healing Paul. Nothing else mattered.

After taking a deep breath, Nara removed Paul's clothing and examined his injuries. His body was indeed handsome, but unfortunately, it was covered in bruises and large scratches, particularly on his left chest.

It wasn't worse than her patient from yesterday, but it seemed the scratches were slightly infected. This was evident from Paul's elevated body temperature.

...

I retrieved the remaining mint leaf extract from my magical space, but just as I was about to give it to him, I suddenly remembered that I didn't know whether Paul had internal injuries or not.

Administering the remedy without knowing could be dangerous. It would be better to use healing magic first before giving him the potion.

'Heal.'

I touched Paul's body and began mending the wounds. Darn it, I must have been careless when examining him earlier. One of the arteries directly connected to Paul's brain was nearly severed. That was the main reason he lost consciousness and lost a lot of blood.

But it wasn't a major issue. It just needed to be mended briefly. After finishing, Paul's face looked redder, but the wound on his shoulder still needed attention. I fetched alcohol from my space and cleaned it before healing the wound.

...

Everything was done.

My energy was depleted, and I felt like I was at the lowest point I had ever experienced. I was incredibly exhausted. I took a bottle of water from my space and drank it greedily.

After that, I laid my body down on top of Paul's and fell into a deep sleep. I wanted to find a different position, but my fatigue was overwhelming. My mana had been drained after the earlier fight and healing Paul. I was completely spent.

Paul would surely understand. After convincing myself, I drifted into a peaceful sleep.

...

Ding dong...

The doorbell chimed, waking me up from my slumber. I quickly got up from the sofa and rushed to the door.

The GrabFood delivery must have arrived.

I had all the orders in my hands. I had ordered pizza, crispy chicken from McDonald's, French fries, bubble tea, seblak (spicy dish), meatball soup, and much more.

Without wasting any time, I opened the pizza box and took the first slice. Slowly, I brought it closer to my mouth and took a big bite of the special cheese pizza.

Hakm..

"Ah, it hurts... Lady Nara, it hurts."

~~~Hmm, what's so crunchy???

I finally opened my eyes, blinking a few times as I tried to comprehend the situation.

After treating Paul and feeling exhausted, I must have lost consciousness.

And now...

Everything was dark.

I couldn't see anything, just hearing someone's heavy breathing.

"Hmm... Duke..." I tried to confirm if the person was Paul.

"Ah... yes... Lady..." Paul attempted to reply, his breath heavy. He sounded utterly exhausted.

I paused for a moment, realizing that I was lying on my back, my head in someone's lap. It wasn't something I intentionally did; Paul must have positioned himself that way. My heart raced uncontrollably.

"Paul... Wh-Where are we?" I interrupted Paul's explanation, surprised.

"I don't really know... Maybe... for about 3 or 4 days," he replied, his breathing still labored. It seemed he was extremely tired.

I was shocked by his answer. "Hah... What? Did I run out of mana that badly?"

"Of course... Someone could even lose their life," Paul answered as he chewed on his fourth piece of bread.

I couldn't believe it. I had never anticipated this. Mana could determine someone's life like this?

"Hic... Hic..."

I was snapped out of my thoughts by Paul's hiccup.

"Take it slow... There's still plenty," I said, handing him another bottle of water.

...

Paul was currently sleeping, at my suggestion. He must be exhausted; I felt sorry for him. He had been carrying me and crawling through this narrow hole for days. He must be incredibly weary.

I sat with my legs bent, facing the opposite side of the hole, so my legs couldn't stretch out. I wanted to stay vigilant and watch both directions of the hole.

Paul slept with his head resting on my thigh. He was sweaty, and his half-naked body glistened.

'Oh God, not this again.'

I felt really restless at this moment. There was nothing to distract me, and my mind kept wandering inappropriately.

'Just once... it wouldn't hurt, right?' that thought kept crossing my mind. But I tried to bury it deep down.

I reached out my hand, inching closer to Paul, then pulled it back. 'Enough, Nara. You need to stop here. Or you'll ruin everything like before.'

Closing my eyes and taking a deep breath, I tried to discipline myself.

...

Paul had been sleeping for a long time, maybe around 5 hours. How much longer would he sleep? I began to grumble; I was so bored now.

It seemed Paul was too exhausted. He was sleeping soundly. He was unaware that his head was now resting on my lap. It wasn't something I intentionally did; Paul himself must have shifted his position. My heart was pounding wildly.

...