"I'm Not, I Didn't."

Chapter 44: "No, I'm not. I didn't."

Not long after, the sky was completely bright.

Sunlight poured down from the horizon, illuminating the land and making the vegetation in the Mangal Mountain Range appear as if draped in a golden veil, looking exceptionally beautiful.

However, within this beautiful nature, considerable danger was undoubtedly hidden.

The monsters that were active during the day began to stir at this time, with fierce roars echoing from every corner of the mountain range.

Nevertheless, the members of Vivian's team arrived at their destination without any risk or obstruction.

"Alright, we're here."

Vivian, walking at the forefront, stopped and informed her companions behind her.

Everyone felt as if a tense nerve had been released, sighing with relief to varying degrees.

"Did we finally arrive?"

Merika panted wearily, her face a mask of misery.

"Are you alright, Merika?"

Lumya supported Merika, her face full of concern.

"You should work out more, Merika."

Tier stood behind the two girls, as if covering their rear, and said calmly.

"But, I'm a mage."

Merika's cheeks puffed out immediately.

To reach their destination before the monsters became active, Vivian's team had undertaken a rather strenuous forced march along the way.

In such conditions, regardless of the others, Merika quickly became breathless and almost unable to move.

According to the information Vivian had previously revealed, this elf maiden was a pure mage. Her magic power increased significantly upon leveling up, but her physical abilities seemed no different from any ordinary girl.

Given this, it was naturally very difficult to make this delicate and beautiful elf maiden rush through the mountains. If Lumya hadn't been supporting her all along, even carrying Merika for a distance, the group likely wouldn't have been able to reach their destination at this time.

However...

What a deceptive appearance.

Shien, following at the very back of the team, cast his gaze towards Lumya, who was supporting Merika with a worried expression.

She looks so weak, yet she can keep pace with everyone and even carried someone without getting flushed or out of breath.

Shien wasn't surprised by Vivian and Tier's performance.

After all, it was obvious that these two were of a high level, and unlike Merika, they weren't mages. His impression of them had always been that of strong women, so their performance was entirely normal.

But Lumya's performance couldn't compare to theirs at all. Since yesterday, she had been like a delicate and timid pendant, either clinging to Tier or Merika, as if she had "I'm weak, please don't bully me" written all over her face. To have such an unexpected performance made Shien feel that he had misjudged her.

Of course, Merika's performance also surprised Shien a little.

"Isn't there any magic that can enhance physical abilities?"

Shien asked, more out of curiosity.

While asking, Shien didn't really expect an answer from Merika; he just wanted Vivian to explain it to him.

After all, in this team, besides Vivian, everyone else was wary of him.

However, something unexpected happened.

"Body enhancement falls under the category of support magic. I haven't learned the [Magic: Support] skill, so I can't use it," Merika said indignantly, still pouting. "I've mastered fire and ice magic, so I've only trained in the [Magic: Fire] and [Magic: Ice] skills. I haven't learned any support magic at all."

As soon as she said this, the surroundings fell silent.

Shien was stunned, his face full of surprise.

Vivian, Tier, and Lumya also froze for a moment, looking at Merika with astonishment.

Merika only then came to her senses, realizing her attitude from just now. A hint of panic began to color her indignant cheeks.

"N-no, that's not... I..."

Merika seemed at a loss, stammering as she spoke.

Seeing this, Shien scratched his face and said with an awkward, rather than polite, smile.

"Thank you for the explanation."

Shien had, in a way, given Merika an out.

"N-no problem..."

Merika's pretty face began to turn red.

The previously quiet atmosphere suddenly became a bit awkward.

It wasn't until a moment later that Vivian broke the subtle tension.

"Let's collect the spring water first," Vivian said, looking at Merika with a hint of amusement. "Merika, can I ask you to do it?"

"Yes, yes!"

Merika immediately ran forward as if a great weight had been lifted.

"Wait, wait! Merika! Be careful of monsters!"

Lumya quickly chased after her.

"Honestly..."

Tier muttered something under her breath and then followed, seemingly intending to protect Lumya and Merika.

The scene was suddenly left with only Shien and Vivian.

"How is it?" Vivian said teasingly, "Merika is cute, isn't she?"

"Cute?" Shien immediately shot Vivian a glare. "She just said a few words, what does that have to do with being cute or not?"

Shien almost let out a curse and ruined his honest guy image.

"Isn't that great?" Vivian, unfazed by Shien's sudden change in wording, said as if to herself, "At least, this lets you know that they don't actually dislike you as much as you think."

"Perhaps that's true," Shien muttered. "But that's just Merika, isn't it?"

What about Tier and Lumya? One was still cold and taciturn, the other shy and timid. Neither showed any inclination to interact with Shien, right?

"Is that so?" Vivian said meaningfully. "Perhaps someone has actually let down their guard around you, but you just don't know it yet?"

With those words, Vivian left Shien behind and walked towards her companions.

"Someone else?"

Shien looked utterly bewildered.

Is that even a thing?

How come I don't know about this?

I haven't done anything special, have I?

Could this be some cliché "invisible conquest" scenario with suffocating development?

"Please, no..."

Shien wasn't happy about this at all.

If that were the case, wouldn't all the complaints he had when he saw similar novel plots come back to haunt him?

Would he become one of those protagonists who are constantly praised by others, a dense, passively conquering type?

Gosh, this is going to be the death of me, the death of me...

"It's not me, I didn't do anything, don't spread rumors."

Shien said as if explaining to someone.

"What are you doing? Hurry up and come here!"

At this moment, Vivian's voice called out from ahead.

"Coming!"

Shien immediately perked up and ran over.