Soft, rhythmic breathing filled the small space.
"......It’s morning."
Having successfully completed their Wyvern hunt, Rest and Yuri had decided to make camp for the night, as darkness had already fallen by the time they finished.
They hadn't brought tents with them. More accurately, Libery, their guide, had been the one carrying the heavy gear. Rest and Yuri only had the bare essentials—their own food, water, and minimal supplies.
Rest had used his magic once again to construct a dome-like shelter out of the earth. Inside, he and Yuri had huddled together for warmth as they slept.
The mountains grew treacherous and cold at night, but they had stayed warm by using just enough fire magic to keep the air pleasant without consuming all the oxygen. Between that and Yuri’s high body temperature acting as a human hot water bottle, they had managed to avoid freezing.
"Munya... I can't eat another bite..."
"What a cliché thing to say in your sleep... I can't even move."
Yuri was clinging to Rest, restraining him as if she were hugging a giant stuffed animal.
He could feel soft, plush sensations being pressed against him from every angle, but any sense of pleasure was currently being outweighed by the sheer discomfort of being held in what felt like a professional submission hold.
"Yuri! Yuri, wake up! It's morning!"
"Munya munya..."
"We're having food! It's time for breakfast!"
"Food!?"
The moment she heard the word 'food,' Yuri bolted upright. She was incredibly easy to motivate.
"Good morning... Now that you're awake, please release me."
"Hmm? Oh, right. You were nice and warm, Rest."
"Well, thanks for that."
"Come to think of it, I felt something hard pressed against my thigh. It didn't feel like a bone, so what was it exactly...?"
"Forget about it!"
It was a simple male physiological phenomenon. Rest shouted his response, his face flushing a deep crimson.
"More importantly... let's eat! Once we're finished, we're heading back down the mountain immediately!"
He spoke curtly to hide his embarrassment. If they dawdled, they risked another encounter with a Wyvern. If the rest of the flock found them hauling away the corpse of one of their own, things would get messy very quickly.
(Fighting them off might be easy enough, but I wouldn't be able to carry any more back even if I killed them...)
"Breakfast will be something simple. We're moving out as soon as we're done."
As they stepped out of the dome they had shared, they saw another mound of earth standing right beside it. Rest dismantled the mound to reveal the Wyvern carcass; he had buried their prize in the soil to ensure no other monsters would scavenge it during the night.
"Good, it’s still safe. I'll re-apply the ice magic just in case."
After thoroughly refreshing the preservation spells to prevent decomposition, they ate a quick breakfast and began their withdrawal. Rest and Yuri worked in tandem to transport the beast.
Hauling a five-ton carcass was no small feat, but Rest was a master mage, and Yuri possessed a level of physical strength that defied explanation. Rest used his [Floating] magic to keep the Wyvern aloft, then tied a rope to the creature for Yuri to pull.
"Heave-ho, heave-ho!"
"Are you doing okay? Do you need a break?"
"I'm fine! What about you, Rest? Are you alright maintaining that magic for so long?"
"I'll be okay... It looks like we'll make much better time going down than we did coming up."
Since the path had already been cleared, their descent was rapid. While they encountered a few monsters along the way, they were all low-level threats that Rest could dispatch with a single spell. Whether they were being cautious or simply elsewhere, they didn't spot a single Wyvern in the sky all day.
"Rest, I can see the foothills!"
"Yeah... that was more of an ordeal than I expected. I suppose that's only natural for a Sub-dragon."
A single Wyvern was manageable, but dealing with an entire colony concentrated in one area was a headache.
"With this, we should have the meat for the main course sorted out..."
"Do you need other ingredients too?"
"Well, the Marquis Rosemary House is probably gathering a lot of supplies for us, so it’s not strictly necessary... but since we have the time, it might be nice to find some fish, quality alcohol, or rare vegetables for the appetizers."
He didn't need to gather every single component of a full-course meal himself like a character in a gourmet manga, but he still wanted to secure a few more delicacies if possible.
"I see... Oh, look! The village!"
The village at the base of the mountain finally came into view. It seemed they had managed to return safely.
"Alright... let's show our faces in the village, get a proper meal, and then head—"
"O dear Travelers. May your souls be taken peacefully into the heavens..."
"""May they be taken into the heavens..."""
"............Huh?"
Rest stopped in his tracks. Something was profoundly wrong. The residents were gathered in the village square, praying with intense, single-minded devotion.
"Salvation for those who lost their lives on the mountain... may the souls of the Climber Rest and the Climber Yuri find eternal peace..."
"""May they find peace..."""
Apparently, a funeral was in progress. On an altar set up in the square stood two effigies shaped like a man and a woman—likely part of a local funeral tradition.
"No way... is that a funeral for us?"
"Ugh... I'm so sorry. If only I had stopped you, this wouldn't have happened..."
Rest's face twitched. In this village, it seemed that when people went missing on the mountain, the locals performed this ritual to see them off. Even Libery was among the mourners, offering prayers with tears streaming down her face.
He considered his options, but they couldn't exactly just sneak past. Rest and Yuri stepped forward, revealing themselves to the crowd.
"Er, excuse me... we're actually alive, you know?"
"""HYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"""
The moment the villagers saw their faces, a collective shriek erupted. Looking as though they had truly seen ghosts, the crowd descended into a panicked frenzy, screaming and shouting in terror.