Home/I Saved the Villain and Fell Asleep/ch 20

Chapter 20

"Kali, what do you want to do in the future?"

"...I don't know. I've never thought about anything other than surviving."

Kali's voice trembled. I wanted to peek at his face to see if he was crying, but I held back—if I did, flames might flare up.

Looking at his pitifully shaking shoulders, I raised my voice with exaggerated enthusiasm.

"Then let's start with this!"

"What?"

"Stamina training!!"

Kali lifted his head. His eyes were red-rimmed, but inside them, his gaze was staring at me as if he were fed up.

"Our Duke said it: to do anything, you need power, money, and strength! Since you don't have anything yet, let's build up your strength first! Now, recruit Kali! Get up from your spot at once!"

"You're really strange. Are you even my age?"

"Excuse me! I'm a whole year older—what do you mean 'same age'? Call me noona, you little squirt!"

"A one-year gap doesn't make you a noona."

"Recruit Kali! Disobeying orders is a serious crime! Are you going to get up or not?"

"Fine, just drop that weird tone."

Does that mean he agreed?

Welcome to hellish Spartan mountain training, recruit Kali!

I'll show you why Sier calls me a runaway squirrel! U-haha!

Every single day, I dragged the exhausted Kali through the mountains.

Running through the mountains was on a completely different level from running on flat ground. Kali, who used to collapse in under ten minutes, had now grown to the point where he could run for thirty minutes.

"Bibi!"

When I called his name, Bibi, who had been running in the distance, dashed over in an instant. On the very first day we started playing tag, Bibi had appeared from somewhere and began running at the same speed as me.

Kali, caught off guard, ended up having to chase both me and Bibi—and I constantly provoked him, pushing his stamina higher.

"Let's run to the valley!"

After running through the mountains for a while, we'd practice magic at the valley instead of the lake. The valley had varying depths, making it a great spot to sit on rocks and splash around, and we could watch Bibi doggy-paddle—I loved it.

When we came to the valley, Bibi always arrived first, followed by Kali.

"You seem to be sweating less today?"

"Shut up."

Grumbling, Kali walked into the valley and splashed water all over himself. It must have been hot.

Ah. If I were in short sleeves and shorts, I'd just take off my shoes and go in, but my frilly skirt would get heavy if it got wet, so I gave up.

After washing his face, Kali shook his head to flick off the water. The droplets clinging to his face sparkled in the sunlight.

That kid... now that his skinny cheeks had filled out, his handsomeness was already showing. Don't have an ugly growth spurt—just grow up like that. Just like that.

"Grr, Bibi!"

Bibi, who'd fallen into the water once, came out and shook himself dry beside Kali. As Bibi stuck out his tongue cutely, Kali patted his head and picked up a pebble.

"Kali!"

"No."

"I haven't even asked yet!"

"No. Don't. Go away."

"What's the problem? Huh? While you're training, you can throw stones at me, and I can train too! It's good for both of us—kill two birds with one stone! What's wrong with that?!"

Lately, Kali had been practicing wrapping pebbles in flames and throwing them into the valley. He wanted to make fireballs like Kaelen made wind balls, but unlike his intentions, honest torch-shaped flames kept coming out instead.

"More weird talk..."

"Ah, just try it once! Just once!"

Since he wasn't saying no outright, he was clearly considering it.

I quickly summoned my club and swung it through the air. I'd gotten so used to it that no matter what came flying from any direction, I could hit most things.

"KaliKaliKali!!"

"Shut up."

"Come on! I'm ready! Ready to hit a home run!!"

I took my stance far away, and Kali let out a big sigh before picking up a small pebble.

That was a signal that he'd throw it!

"Just toss it casually! I'll hit it myself!"

After fiddling with the stone, Kali wrapped it in mana, and a bright red flame clung to the ugly pebble. My eyes sparkled as I swung my club left and right.

"Just once" was just the start—I planned to hit one and then ask him to keep throwing. It's great arm exercise too, right? Huh?

Kali took a stance to throw. It was a clumsy posture, but as long as it flew well, that was fine. But maybe I was too relaxed.

Just as Kali was about to throw, a flock of birds suddenly took flight with a fluttering sound. Kali, who still had the habit of being alert at loud noises, gasped sharply.

"Oh no."

The stone left Kali's hand—and caught fire. Not a light coating of flames, but a full blaze. A roaring one.

"Hariella!!!!"

For the first time, Kali called my name. He always used to just say "hey." If he's going to call me that... it's only right to respond!!

I put all my strength into the hand gripping the club and swung. I could feel the intense heat hitting my skin.

It was the first time I'd faced Kali's immense mana so closely. Not just in size—it was deep and dense, as if it would burn everything to ash.

"Ugh."

In the end, I couldn't fully deflect it—I only managed to send it off to the side. The flame that landed on the gravel didn't go out and blazed fiercely.

Kali's expression was urgent as he ran toward me. I stretched both hands out to him and quickly shouted.

"I'm fine! Totally fine! Not a single strand of hair got singed!"

"You...!!"

He acted aloof, but seeing him startled and worried that I might be hurt made me happy. I stepped closer and leaned my face toward him, as if to show him there really wasn't a single burn.

"See? Totally fine, right? Did you think you could hurt me with your magic? Not a chance! You're at least ten years too early!"

I smiled and deliberately spoke in a teasing way.

"Whew..."

Kali let out a sigh of relief and clutched his forehead. Just as I was thinking I should put out that blazing fire, a white fluffball suddenly darted past my feet.

"Bibi?!"

Bibi was heading toward where the fireball had fallen. Worried he might get too close out of curiosity, I called his name loudly, but he was already there.

"Bibi, no! It's hot—come here!"

He always came when called, so I naturally assumed he'd listen. But Bibi, whimpering and restless in front of the fireball, looked back and forth between us and the flame.

"Grrr."

What Bibi did next left both of us speechless, staring blankly at him. We rubbed our eyes several times at the unbelievable sight.

"Ka-Kali. What am I seeing right now?"

"Bibi is..."

"Bibi is!!"

"My... fire."

"Your fire!!!"

"Is eating it..."

He was eating it.

Even smacking his lips while doing so.

Blue eyes and a white fluffball. It was definitely the Bibi I knew.

Every time Bibi opened his mouth and bit into the flames, the fire shrank. Bibi wagged his tail vigorously and buried his nose in the fireball.

There was no smell of burning fur, and not a single speck of soot on his white coat.

"Kali, have you ever seen Bibi eat? Do you feed him?"

"I've seen the maids feed him."

Having devoured all the flames, Bibi came running back with excited barks. Kali lifted him up as Bibi placed his paws on his knees and tilted his head.

We put our heads together and examined Bibi's face closely.

"Not a single burn mark."

"Bibi, open your mouth. Open."

As if he understood, Bibi opened his mouth wide. Between his rice-grain-sized teeth, I could see red gums—no burns. Bibi's wet tongue licked my hand.

"An ordinary puppy... he's not!"

"Fire..."

"He even seemed to enjoy it. Look at this guy, still smacking his lips."

Kali created a candle-sized flame at his fingertip. When he brought it close to Bibi's mouth, Bibi wagged his tail enthusiastically and swallowed the flame in one bite.

"Bibi, is it tasty?"

"Woof!!"

"Oh, really... Good, as long as it's tasty. Our kid says it's tasty."

It must have been because of Kali's fire magic that Bibi followed him in the first place. Could he smell it?

I gently tapped Bibi's moist black nose with my finger. I'd never heard of an animal that could use magic.

Kali hugged Bibi tightly with both hands—Bibi had eaten his fire and was licking his chops without a scratch. Bibi licked Kali's face all over, as if it were a giant piece of candy.

"Weird."

"What is?"

"You. And Bibi too."

"It's not weird—it means Bibi and I are stronger than you! Your magic can't even touch me! You'll have to work harder!"

At my boastful shout, Kali laughed. It was a quiet, breathy laugh, but it was the first relaxed smile I'd ever seen from him.

Kali, who feared that his uncontrollable magic might hurt someone, visibly softened every time I said things like this.

I could tell him anytime.

That his magic would never hurt me.

Back   Next