It took all of Maxi's courage to tell him how she felt.
Despite this, Riftan didn't respond for a long time.
When she looked up, her eyes filled with hesitation, she saw him staring at her with an intense gaze.
He looked down at the coin resting on his chest a second later.
She stiffened, worried he might try to pick her up again, but all he did was touch her before reaching down to caress one of her many bruises.
Much to his mortification, his stomach chose that moment to growl.
Riftan's face darkened as he stroked the bruise on his side.
“I can’t say I’m happy about it all, not even as a lie.”
Maxi backed away.
In an instant, the fire that burned in his eyes went out, leaving only a cold void.
“This is the second time you almost died before my eyes,” he said slowly.
"And now you're hungry and cold, covered in bruises in a dirty cave.
I didn't want to do that to you here, of all places."
Maxi felt his face heat up.
For a moment, she felt irresponsible and foolish for seducing him under the present circumstances.
His irritation was understandable.
After her rescue efforts had led them to this terrible situation, all she had done was prattle on about how happy she was.
“I-I just…”
Her actions may have been poorly thought out, but in that moment, she desperately needed his warmth.
I was about to say that when he rummaged through his bag for the bag of food.
He held the remaining cheese and half a loaf of bread.
“You should eat something first.”
Maxi looked silently at the hard bread.
It was only then that more practical concerns began to fill his head.
How long would the snowstorm last?
There was no way of knowing when they would be able to reunite with the others.
Hunting was impossible in this desolate land, and the only food inside her bag was the lunch she had prepared for the day: a loaf of bread, pieces of cheese, and a palm-sized piece of bacon.
It wasn't even close to enough to sustain two people for days.
“I-I’m not that hungry.”
Riftan narrowed his eyes at her blatant lie.
Taking a dagger from his sword belt on the ground, he cut off a small piece of bread and brought it to his lips.
"Eat, even if you don't have an appetite.
You won't be able to replenish your energy if you get hungry."
"You eat first.
I-I'll eat later too."
Riftan's face contorted into a frown.
"Stop this nonsense.
I can go without food for days, but not you."
Although she glared at him, she couldn't resist his stubborn insistence.
He opened his mouth, accepting the bread.
It was hard and crumbly, and looked like it was chewing on sawdust.
She shook her head after three bites.
“I-I’ve eaten enough.”
Riftan frowned and looked at her.
Evidently concluding that it would be best to conserve the provisions, he placed the remaining bread into the bag with a heavy sigh.
Soon, the combination of food in his stomach“albeit just a few pieces“and the accumulated fatigue brought another wave of drowsiness.
She laid her head on his chest and began to fall asleep.
Holding her in his arms, Riftan lay down on the clothes scattered on the floor.
He made sure to cover her completely with his remaining clothes.
Lying on him, Maxi fell into a light sleep.
Even as he dozed, Maxi felt the desire rising in Riftan.
He moved her legs away from her lower body and began to lightly pat her back.
Knowing how difficult this was for him, she tried hard not to excite him further.
The snow continued to fall with no sign of stopping, and it was difficult to calculate the passage of time.
Riftan had dressed twice to clear the snow from the cave entrance, and they were already on their fourth magic stone.
He patted her clothes hanging on the chain and handed her a dry nightshirt.
Since her thick woolen tunic and pants were still damp, she endured the biting cold wearing only her thin nightshirt and a spare pair of socks.
The only warmth came from being snuggled in Riftan's arms.Hunger started to bother her after a while.
To stretch her rations as far as possible, she made bread soup by boiling snow, the last piece of bread, slices of bacon, and a handful of mandrake leaves in a bottle.
When the meal was ready, she stubbornly offered half of it to Riftan.
“I told you I don’t want to eat,” he growled.
“I won’t eat… unless you eat,” Maxi replied, her face expressing a stubborn expression.
She changed tactics when her eyes glowed dangerously.
“You haven’t eaten anything since we got here,” he pleaded.
“At least eat some.”
"I've already been on water for two weeks.
Nothing is going to happen to me just because I didn't eat for a few days, so stop worrying for nothing.
Eat.
I need you to hold on until we find the others."
Maxi bit his lip.
"Then why not a few spoonfuls?
I...
really won't eat if you don't.
Like you said, I doubt a few days without food will kill me."
Riftan's expression went blank.
Sensing danger, Maxi swallowed hard.
He looked like he was about to force the food down her throat.
Then, apparently changing his mind, he accepted the bottle with a sigh.
He poured half the soup into his own container and swallowed it.
Although it was a meager portion, Maxi sighed in relief.
Now he had at least a little sustenance.
She swallowed her own portion of watery soup, which tasted mostly bitter from the mandrake leaf.
Despite being hungry, the food did not go down easily.
She remembered the pheasant pie that Anatol's cook baked for them during the winter.
His mind began to wander with daydreams of golden pastries filled with fatty pheasants hunted by the knights, roast suckling pigs stuffed with apples, potatoes with freshly squeezed milk, thick stews and soft, buttery bread.
Riftan stood up.
“I’m going to look outside for a moment.”
After checking the dryness of his cloak hanging on the chain, he threw it over himself and picked up his sword.
Maxi quickly slurped the watery soup and stood up after him.
“I’ll go with you.”
"I'll just take a look around the entrance.
Wait here," he said firmly before exiting the cave.
Maxi crouched in front of the fire and looked longingly at it.
The flames were now half their original size.
Drake stones, being less mana efficient than fire stones, only lasted for a short period of time.
Their current supply of two wouldn't last half a day.
Without food or heat, they would not only have to endure the cold, but they would also no longer be able to melt the snow for water.
Maxi bit his lip.
If the snowstorm showed no signs of letting up, the others would likely risk danger to look for them.
Could there be a way for her to contact them?
She mentally went through all the spells she knew.
Sending a flare to show them their location was an option, but it was unwise considering their fragile skills with fire magic.
It would be unwise to use the small amount of mana she had managed to recover when the next few days were so uncertain.
And in the worst case, a flare could attract monsters.
There was also a wind-based spell she had heard about that allowed long-distance communication.
To use it, however, both parties had to form a contract with a wind spirit.
After looking thoughtfully at the fire, Maxi took out a quill and a piece of paper from her bag.
Would it be possible to create a land ownership spell of the same type?
Lines furrowed her forehead as she began to formulate possible runes.
“The wind has died down,” said Riftan as he entered the cave.
“We could explore the surroundings.”
After a blank stare, Maxi's face lit up with a smile as she belatedly realized he had said "we." He was probably too eager to leave her alone in a place where he couldn't reach her immediately.
Whatever the case, Riftan being the first to suggest they do something together was a rare occurrence.
Maxi started to get dressed happily.
Fortunately, all of his clothes except his robe were dry.
She wore her wool tunic over two shirts, then pulled her thick leather pants over her leggings.
Finally, she put on her long boots and coat.Riftan had already finished adjusting her armor when she finished packing up.
“Are you ready?”
When she nodded, he crouched down and left the cave first.
Maxi ran after him, sticking his head out into the pale, snow-covered world.
Although thick snowflakes still danced in swirls, the wind had actually calmed down.
Pulling his hood over his head, Maxi scanned the bright white hill that glowed and burned his eyes.
The snow piled up to his knees, and misty clouds obscured the sky.
Even so, it was blinding after the darkness of the cave.
“Stay close to me.”
With that, Riftan began to advance through the snow, clearing a path for her.
Maxi looked up and timidly followed behind him.
The rock face was so high that the top was difficult to see.
How far had they fallen?
She couldn't even estimate the current distance from where they had landed.
At the time, his only concern was finding shelter from the snowstorm.
Suddenly, she became anxious.
What if the expedition team thought they were dead and gave up the search?
She shook her head, pushing the thoughts out of her mind.
That was impossible.
The others wouldn't give up on them so easily.
She gathered her energy and marched after Riftan.
Hunger and cold soon became present.
In an effort to bulk up the bread soup, she had added as much water as possible.
The resulting soup didn't take long to digest.
Holding her growling stomach, she looked at Riftan's back.
He was certainly much hungrier than she was.
In his estimation, they had spent around two or three days in the cave.
The only things he had consumed in that time were water and a measly portion of soup.
Despite this, their legs showed no signs of exhaustion as they trudged through the snow.
His tenacity moved her with both admiration and pity.
It made her realize that he could have lived a much harder life than she had ever imagined.
Didn't he say he had already gone without eating for fifteen days?
Such impoverishment would not have been possible after his ordination as a knight.
Even low-ranking knights led richer lives than most common people.
So was he referring to the time before?
She felt like asking him to tell her everything about his past.
Although he knew everything about Maximilian Calypse, after their reunion she had gone out of her way to show him how she felt.
Riftan, however, only showed emotions that were convenient for him.
She fought the urge to grab him and force a confession of her innermost thoughts.
It was neither the time nor the place.
Pushing the confusing thoughts out of her mind, she focused on moving through the snow.
The piercing cold bit through his thick socks with every step, and the icy air pricked his numb nose and mouth.
Covering her face with her gloved hands, she watched their path.
To the left was a steep rock wall that seemed to go on forever.
A gentle hill gleamed with snow to the right, its crest shrouded in thick fog.
Although it was difficult to see, a dark shadow seemed to hover within.
Maxi assumed it was a mountain or some other rock face beyond.
They were trapped in a maze of snow, ice and rock.
She looked at the desolate landscape with distant eyes.
Suddenly, Riftan pulled her towards him and drew his sword.
"Be ready to cast a barrier.
Something is heading our way."
Maxi jumped and looked up.
Indeed, something was rushing towards him amidst a flurry of snow.
Riftan was about to swing his sword when Maxi hurriedly stopped him.
"W-Wait, don't hurt her!
It's a fairy!"