Mark was still kneeling beside Alice with one hand on the ground to keep from losing his balance.
’The continuous mana use is taking its toll,’ Mark thought as he felt the ground beneath his knees seem to shift almost imperceptibly.
Mark let out a quiet sigh as he tried to maintain his balance without making it too obvious how bad he was feeling.
And then he felt a hand settle on his shoulder.
’Huh?’
It was Rose, standing behind him with Mark’s clothes folded in one hand.
Mark hadn’t heard her approach.
He didn’t know if it was because Rose moved silently by nature or because his head was too foggy to register sounds properly.
Most likely both.
"Please get dressed, Master," Rose said, looking at him with a concern she was trying to hide. "You could catch a cold."
Mark looked at the clothes in Rose’s hand, then at himself.
’Ah, right... I’m still naked.’
When he stood up he was careful not to make any sudden movents, knowing that any abrupt change in position could make the dizziness worse.
"Thanks," Mark said as he took the clothes and dressed quickly.
Just having clothes on already made a difference.
The cold night air stopped hitting his skin directly and Mark felt his body gradually stop shaking.
He hadn’t realized how cold he was until he wasn’t anymore.
While finishing buttoning his shirt, Mark looked at Rose, who was still completely naked.
Rose didn’t seem to have the slightest intention of getting dressed, her expression one of total naturalness, as if being naked outdoors were sothing she did every day.
"What about you?" Mark asked, raising an eyebrow as he finished adjusting his clothes. "Don’t you plan on getting dressed?"
Rose looked at him with a confused expression, then a smile ford on her lips.
"Don’t you like what you see, Master?" Rose said in an openly provocative tone.
And as she said it, she moved her body deliberately.
She turned her hips to one side, ran a hand slowly along her waist, and tilted her head with that half smile that made the question sound less like a question and more like an invitation.
Seeing Rose’s obvious provocation, Mark laughed lightly, though deep down he knew it wasn’t entirely a provocation.
Rose, seeing her Master’s reaction, seed satisfied.
"I’ll get dressed after taking a bath in the stream," Rose said calmly, nodding in the direction where the sound of running water could be heard in the distance. "I need to clean up a bit."
"Now that you ntion it, I should do the sa," Mark replied, running a hand through his hair. "After everything today, a bath wouldn’t hurt at all."
"Are you looking for another round, Master?" Rose asked, that half smile back on her face.
"I’d love that," Mark replied with complete honesty and not a trace of embarrassnt. "But first I need to take care of Alice."
Alice was still unconscious on the grass, in exactly the sa position as before.
Her body was too damaged from everything that had happened, and if Mark didn’t channel more mana into her, Alice could stay in that state for days. Or worse.
Mark finished adjusting his clothes and prepared to crouch beside Alice again.
But the mont he crouched down, the dizziness ca back, and this ti it ca back hard.
"What the—"
Mark’s legs gave out and his body lurched to one side. For a second Mark was certain he was going to end up collapsed on the ground next to Alice.
Fortunately, before that could happen, a hand grabbed his arm firmly.
Rose had caught him.
"Master," Rose said in a serious tone. "You should rest... you’re pushing yourself too hard."
Mark heard her as the dizziness slowly faded, though not completely, it was still there, reminding him that his body was reaching a limit it shouldn’t be crossing.
"But weren’t you the one who scolded earlier for wanting to rest?" Mark said with so amusent, rembering Rose’s comnt from that morning.
Rose fell silent and her expression shifted again, this ti not to one of calm or provocation.
Her lips pushed outward, her brows drew slightly together, and her face took on an expression Mark could only describe as a pout.
"That was that and this is this... hmph," Rose said in a tone that was trying to sound firm and serious, but which the pout on her face completely contradicted.
Seeing her act like that Mark couldn’t help but laugh, the image of Rose with that annoyed expression was sothing he hadn’t expected to see and found genuinely funny.
Rose, realizing her reaction had produced exactly the opposite of what she intended, turned her head to one side.
"Don’t laugh... idiot," Rose muttered without looking at him.
"Sorry, sorry," Mark said, still laughing.
Mark steadied himself with Rose’s help, and when he had fully recovered his balance, he stepped closer to her.
"Whether I like it or not, I need to try to get Alice to recover," Mark said in a calr tone. "At least enough for her to be able to walk."
Mark lowered his gaze to where Alice lay.
"If she can’t move on her own when we need to leave, we’re going to have a problem... we can’t stay in this place forever and we can’t carry her indefinitely."
Rose said nothing and simply listened in silence.
"I wish there were so other way to give her all the mana she needs without depending on ," Mark said quietly, more to himself than to Rose.
And the mont those words left his mouth, sothing passed through his mind.
It appeared all at once, without warning, as if his brain had been working on the answer in the background and had finally found it.
Vorax.
Mark rembered what had happened in the Demon Lord’s dungeon.
Vorax had absorbed a large amount of mana from the demoness, so much that the sli’s body had beco saturated with it.
And if that mana could be used on Alice, he wouldn’t have to keep wearing himself out.
"It could work...," Mark muttered.
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