I Have Become The Heroes’ Rival

The trip was delayed due to Felix’s sudden illness. It was an urgent time right now, but I thought it was for the better.

Since he was that sick, he was forced to take a rest. I felt sorry for saying this since he seemed to be suffering to the point where he preferred death, but I was glad he could take a rest.

“This is for you.”

Felix handed me a pile of material as soon as he woke up.

I looked down at the parchment in my arms with a puzzled face.

There were so many documents that he had to place the rest on the desk in front of me. Most of the materials were faded and worn out.

“What’s this?”

“It’s a record I’ve been working on since childhood.”

I scanned through the contents written in very neat handwriting. From how to obtain the ingredients to what to pay attention to while handling and making potions – it was clearly organized.

It felt like I was inheriting a set of notes from my senior who ranked first in the whole school.

“Whoa, thank you so much……”

“It’ll only accumulate dust if I leave it alone.”

Felix, who still looked weary and sick, added that he hoped that it would help.

The area under his eyes appeared severely dark, indicating that he probably didn’t sleep well.

But at that moment, a question came to mind.

I was already excited because it looked really useful, but why did he hand over all these materials to me all of a sudden?

‘Felix said he’d teach me how to make potions himself……..’

I looked up at him with that kind of look. Felix cleverly avoided my gaze and stared into the air as he responded.

“I’m sorry to say this since I suggested it first, but I don’t think I can teach you.”

Well. I was a little disappointed, but I suppose that these materials would be enough for self-study, and it would be enough for him to look at the results and give me advice occasionally.

“Did something happen?”

“…….I’m sorry.”

No, I wasn’t asking you to apologize.

That’s when I noticed his chest didn’t move at all – it was like he was holding his breath.

If it were an ordinary person, they would have been gasping for oxygen by now. The power of the devil had increased his lung capacity as well.

I was deeply impressed, but I couldn’t figure out what was wrong with him all of a sudden. We were good until Felix fell sick! Why did he abruptly return to this point?!

“If possible, let’s avoid being alone together.”

Felix crumpled his face like a sheet of paper and then disappeared without saying goodbye.

It felt like someone had hit my head with a hammer. This time it was my turn to forget to breathe due to the shock.

* * *

“It’s a train jointly developed by sorcerers and alchemists. Now that I see it in person, it’s better than I thought. I should buy it.”

“Are you sure?”

I had to stop Claudia from the very beginning of the trip.

Most of the time, I would say, ‘Oh my, Chloe, do whatever you want.’

However, if I left her alone, she would have bought all the things we encountered while traveling to the island.

No matter how rich a person, you had to spend money to get the market economy to move, but I believed we had already contributed too much to the economy.

‘I think you’re too excited right now…….’

I wondered if Claudia’s condition was okay like this.

Of course, it didn’t matter since she was adorable.

“We’ll only take the train a few times anyway, so do you really need to buy it? It’s not good to waste things.”

“Okay…….”

That’s what I said, but I couldn’t stop her from paying the lease. It was neither a luxury room, a first-class cabin, nor a VIP room. No, she rented out the entire train.

Well, it wasn’t actually a poor choice since there was a risk that someone would notice that Claudia was heading somewhere far away and that Felix was alive.

I still wasn’t used to this bourgeois spending, but I had to admit it was awfully comfortable.

In fact, when it came to fantasy novels, weren’t there dreams of adventures, a little adversity, and companionship?

Subjugating the monsters you bump into while crossing the mountains range, saving your comrades from death, camping by a burning bonfire, and standing guard.

Of course, those were just aspects of a typical fantasy.

‘Traveling is unconditionally a package tour.’

Even when I was young, I didn’t want to suffer through hardship.

I fell into a fantasy world, and I thought I had a lucky fate of not needing to suffer and being able to enjoy exhilarating trips.

However, in order to catch the spirit, we had no choice but to go through the hardships the moment we arrived on the island.

“It’s like going on an adventure or an expedition!”

Claudia flapped her arms like a child.

In a sense, it was an exploration. We had to scour the forest to find the spirits.

“It’s my first time traveling out of town without a tourist pamphlet. There are no hotels, no travel agents, no specialty products or luxury goods. It’s inconvenient, but we only have a train and a ship!”

She burst into exclamations of excitement and admiration.

It sounded like a diamond spoon’s¹ whining, but I surprisingly found it very likable.

But at this point, no matter how it was wrapped, wasn’t it hard to call this a trip? From the moment we arrived on the island, I had a hunch that the gates of hell would open…….

I rested my chin as I gazed at the panoramic view outside the fast-moving window.

The inside of the train was cool because it was air-conditioned, but the moment we stepped out, our bodies would burn and melt.

‘It’s like the end of the world.’

I understood Cedric’s saying that the world was like hell in a different sense.

There was no global warming here, but there something was wrong with the weather. Was God angry?

The scorching sunlight made my eyes sting. When the train passed through the green rice fields, it seemed like I could hear cicadas crying from somewhere.

“I’m going to take a nap.”

Claudia, who had been running around saying that it was her first time traveling on a trip like this, must have suddenly got bored of the same scenery.

She stretched while yawning repeatedly and went into the bedroom to sleep.

I also felt a little tired and blinked languidly. In the train filled with silence, only the intermittent rattling of the railroad tracks rang out from time to time.

Then Felix, who was sitting across me, quietly closed the book he was reading.

There were fine wrinkles between his eyes.

“Irene.”

He called out my name softly and turned his head for a moment. Then he swallowed his saliva and made a (guttural) sound in his throat, and he slowly covered his mouth and nose with his palms.

It wasn’t the first time Felix did that in front of me. Sometimes he would swallow his breath, close his eyes and then suddenly kick me out of the room.

At first, I was shocked that I might smell or something. However, now that I was used to it, I wondered if it was hard to resist the desire.

‘Well, it’s better than hurting yourself while trying to resist it somehow.’

It was a random thought, but he had pretty big and beautiful hands. It covered most of his face. Or perhaps it was because his face was small.

He asked as if absentmindedly lost in thought.

“……What did you eat?”

‘What did I eat? Are you asking whether or not I’ve eaten?‘

We had breakfast together at the Chamberlain mansion earlier.

I blinked with a curious face.

He continued while obscuring the end of his speech with a hesitating voice.

“Like candy…….”

Judging by his pale, weary face, he looked like he had an upset stomach.

“No?”

Now that he mentioned it, I suddenly wanted to eat it.

Candy……. I saw a compartment filled with snacks on the train as I passed by, so maybe I should bring it.

“Do I smell sweet?”

As I responded without much thought, Felix’s expression worsened even more.

“I’ll stay in the other compartment.”

Felix jumped out of his seat. I unknowingly grabbed the hem of his robe. Very hastily.

I was surprised at what I did. It was almost like a conditional reflex. Every time he avoided me, I secretly wished that he didn’t leave.

It had only been a few minutes since Felix thought it would be better to avoid me than to hurt himself by somehow suppressing his desire.

I pretended to be composed and tolerant, but I personally realized that it was not the case.

‘I don’t want you to leave.’

I was as selfish as a child. The questions of how long he intended to avoid me rose to the end of my throat.

The transparent sweat droplets from his forehead fell along his smooth jawline and onto the back of my hand.

Immersed in thought, I let my eyes slowly trace the trajectory of the flow.

I slowly lifted my head to examine Felix’s complexion. Even though the compartment was air-conditioned, his forehead was covered with cold sweat.

* * *

^{1. This plays on the word “silver spoon”. If someone is described as a “silver spoon” it means that has a wealthy or privileged background. The author labels Claudia as a diamond spoon since her family owns diamond mines.↩}