“Gasp!”
Had it felt as though I were being sucked somewhere? I instinctively drew in a breath. Air as cold as a sheet of ice plunged deep into my lungs, jolting me fully awake. My eyelids rose, and my ears began doing their job again.
“S-Sir!”
[Oh, you’re awake.]
“Ugh…….”
I feel like I just woke up after sleeping for twenty-four hours straight…….
I forced my unbearably stiff body upright. Every muscle in me felt rigid, as if my body had briefly changed its material into stone.
“S-Sir. A-Are you all…….”
[Then I’m going over there. I want to see if they’re putting the heart back together properly.]
“Ah, ah. Yes.”
Still, after moving around a few times, I felt as though I was loosening up a little. I lightly stretched my body from side to side and worked my tongue.
“I’m… I’m fine.”
Even my voice has gone hoarse… Just how long was I lying there?
My throat felt completely dried out, and I instinctively searched for water. Yet no matter how much I groped around with my hands, all I could find was the sleeping bag laid beneath me and the hard floor.
Only then did I realize that I was inside some ice cave.
“Ah, would you like some water?”
“…Thanks. But what happened?”
Fortunately, the perceptive Deathbringer handed me some water. The waterskin somehow looked suspiciously like one that had been inside my subspace bracelet, but I decided not to dwell on it.
It must have been difficult to light a fire here, so raiding…