"You lit the lamp after all, Su'er?" Couronne's voice was a surprised question.
Though the mineral light source defied science, they still called it "lighting."
To avoid waste, Couronne, with her beautiful red hair, turned and walked to the corner of the wall to empty the water from the tray she carried. In the opposite corner of the cave, a small tributary of the dark river flowed through a tiny gap, revealing the quietly moving water.
Even if housing a patient in such a humid place went against the rules, even if it provided convenient water access, this was still the best-ventilated spot in the entire settlement—and, of course, the farthest from the other inhabitants and closest to the outside world.
Without answering Couronne, Su'er simply raised a finger, pointing silently to his cheek, or more accurately, to the mask covering his face.
Truth be told, his reaction was a bit rude, but no one here would concern themselves with such trivialities.
Not in any meaningful way.
"I know, I know~, honestly, Su'er is always so strict…," Couronne sighed exaggeratedly, then reluctantly pulled the mask, which had been around her neck, up to cover her mouth and nose.
Her acting was over-the-top, but Su'er didn't need to guess why she did it.
"There's no choice. A large-scale infection when we're short-staffed would be more troublesome, so please, be more vigilant," Su'er, still on the stone bed, shifted to the side, leaving space for Couronne as she approached.
A position far from the patient.
Perhaps from not speaking for too long, his voice seemed a little hoarse, but as the sentence ended, the hoarseness vanished.
A slightly childish voice, after all, this man with a scar on his forehead was only seventeen years old.
"I've told you countless times, Su'er, don't interrupt me! This is *my* place to speak, *my* job to remind you!" The red-haired girl's face was full of dissatisfaction. It was clear she wanted to scold the man beside her loudly, but she abandoned the idea out of consideration for the patient's need for rest.
What a good woman.
"If anyone needs to avoid infection, it's you, Su'er, right? If you suddenly fall ill, the camp will panic, even Riku will panic! So you should rest properly!" Though she didn't intend to raise her voice, Couronne still whispered into Su'er's ear.
Su'er's lips beneath the thin cloth curled slightly.
He was skeptical about the girl's claim that Riku would panic, but there was no need to voice it.
"...Did you rest at all!"
His voice suddenly grew louder, and Su'er felt that if he didn't say something, Couronne might just pull his ears.
"Ah, don't worry. I just took a short break in the darkness. Seriously, don't worry." Su'er gave a firm answer. To prevent the red-haired girl from asking further, he simply brought up another topic. "Credo's condition seems to be getting better gradually—you see, at least now he can sleep peacefully like this." Though this strategy was simple, its effect was immediate. She harbored a motherly affection for everyone in the camp—please forgive Su'er for using such an adjective to describe a young and beautiful girl, but she truly possessed such a firm and profound heart, caring for every single person in this settlement. That's not quite right. At this point, a girl of her age could even be considered a little old. After all, certain responsibilities had long been at the forefront of what existing humans could and must do.
"Really? It's getting better… That's wonderful." Clearly distracted by Su'er's words, Couronne moved the tray with the light source closer to Credo, then felt visibly relieved upon seeing his peaceful sleeping face.
In fact, Credo, lying in thick animal skins with a cold cloth soaked in dark river water on his forehead, had initially suffered from only the simplest cold. But this minor ailment had gradually worsened into fever, coma, and other symptoms, almost claiming his life.
In such an era, in such a world, even such a small disease was enough to take anyone's life.
Such a thing would have been almost impossible in the world Su'er remembered, but here, despite knowing many things, he could ultimately do only a few: place the patient in a well-ventilated area, separate the patient's belongings from normal people, tightly wrap the patient in any insulating materials he could find to induce sweating, constantly apply cold compresses to the patient's forehead with cold water-soaked cloth to cool him down, and feed him more boiled, lukewarm water...
That was all.
The rest depended on God's will—if there truly was a God.
This was all he could do now.
Even the few herbs available in the colony for treating colds had been used up the day before yesterday.
*Pah.*
Hitting his forehead hard, Su'er cleared the **mental clutter**, but his inexplicable and strange behavior undoubtedly drew a half-reproachful look from Couronne beside him.
"...Let's not talk about this anymore." To avoid being called an "idiot" or "fool" by the girl, Su'er immediately stood up and patted non-existent dust from his body as if nothing had happened. "Is there something important that made you come here suddenly? I remember I told you not to get close to this cave unless absolutely necessary?"
His tone grew more serious as he finished, his sharp eyes fixed directly on Couronne, who sat before him.
"Ah... indeed," Couronne's eyes wandered slightly, clearly reluctant. She still couldn't meet Su'er's gaze, so she could only lower her head and answer softly, "Riku and Lenny are ready... waiting for you to come over."
The hand that had been patting away dust paused for a second.
"Really? It's already this time," Su'er sighed inexplicably. To be honest, he was almost losing track of time in this dark cave, his mind perpetually surrounded only by the incessant dripping of water.
Just like this stupid world, it was enough to drive any normal person insane.