After getting injected with the Gene suppressor, Emery could feel his energy being drained out of his body. He felt so weak that he could not even stand properly. Even now, he could still feel his energy slowly leaving him. He tried to open a [Spatial Gate], but to no avail.
This allowed him to understand the condition he was currently in. Emery knew there was really nothing he could do at the moment, so after thinking about it for a brief moment, he decided to move a little to lean on an unburned tree.
All along, the white-haired girl stood next to him unmoving like a statue, watching him without a word out of her mouth. Not even a curse.
Silence filled the air as the two looked each other in the eye.
Seeing that the girl was not going to leave anytime soon, Emery spoke first.
"Silva, thank you for your help, but I'm fine now. Don't worry, you can leave."
The girl was stunned when she heard him, but she quickly harrumphed.
"Huh! If I leave you now and you end up dead, I'm worried many will hold me responsible."
Looking at her expression, it was clear she was unhappy about it.
The girl's illogical reason still left him speechless. Unable to find the words to respond, Emery only wryly smiled in the end.
"All right then, suit yourself."
Well, at least she's back to her usual self, Emery thought.
Just a few minutes later Emery cast [Nature's Blessing] to heal his body back to normal, the sky began to darken. In the end, the girl walked away. She probably got bored of doing nothing but waiting.
Even so, Emery was not bothered by the matter. Once again, he began to check his body's condition. It was great he could use his Shaman Transformation again, but it appeared the synergic power between his dark core and the corruption was too strong.
Emery was still unable to control it well, but he believed that soon enough, he would be able to lengthen the duration of his Shaman Transformation.
Not long after, Emery sensed Silva was moving towards him. From the looks of it, the girl previously left to take some broken wood branches.
To his surprise, the girl began to create a fireplace.
After she was done making it, Silva then sat just a few meters next to him. She silently sat while looking at the fireplace she made, but she felt that Emery's gaze was on her for a while, she turned to meet his eyes.
"Just a fire to make sure no animal would come. And… it will be dark soon, so nothing weird about it, okay!"
She hurriedly looked back at the fire burning in front of her.
Emery nodded, took a deep breath and continued channeling his spirit force to all the meridians of his body.
The air was once again filled with silence. Only the occasional crackles of the fire and the blowing wind accompanied them.
At this moment, Silva suddenly spoke.
"So… Do you agree with her? Do you also think that we should try fighting the Beholder?"
His meridian inspection was interrupted, but Emery did not mind it. After thinking about it for a second, he said, "If there's a good way to defeat it, I believe we should give it a try."
Upon hearing his response, Silva fell silent for a second.
"Actually, I know a way… but it's not going to be easy," she nervously said.
Emery only nodded in response. It was not that he did not want to hear it, but he still needed to concentrate on his recovery.
The girl continued, "It's just… too much of a risk, you know… I understand where you're coming from, but I still think waiting for help is the right choice."
"...All right, sounds fair enough," Emery shortly answered. He still needed to focus on healing himself, so he did not really wish to make long conversations.
However, Silva, being more talkative than usual, continued to speak again.
"I mean… it's not like we're really… really in a hurry, so… I don't think there's a need for us to take such a risk..."
Emery took a deep breath and turned toward her.
"Well, there's the spirit soul we need to bring to the alliance," He reminded her.
"Ah… yes… there's that, of course... but what I mean is… it's not like there's anyone waiting for us to return right away... right?"
Silva asked this question for affirmation, but it actually made Emery think about Klea. The girl thought he would return in a few days, but it had been a month already. With this thought, Emery turned his gaze toward Silva.
"Actually, I do have someone waiting for me. And yes, if there is a way to get back earlier, I will definitely take it… I don't want to make her worry."
Her voice faded as she said those words.
Emery's answer made her fall silent. This time, the girl did not say a word for an entire hour, until Emery fully healed himself.
Now that he had recovered, Emery quickly stood up.
"I am fully healed, thank you for waiting with me."
Silva still did not say a word. She did not even want to make eye contact with him.
"All right then," Emery shrugged.
With nothing else to do, he turned his palm and started casting [Spatial Gate]. His destination was the shore where the ship was.
Before the gate opened, however, the girl behind him suddenly jumped at him.
Emery was shocked for a second. The girl quickly wrapped her arms around him and held him tight.
"Silva, what's… what's going on?" Emery's hand froze in place.
The girl only hid her face in his back, while her arms hugged him even tighter. Although she did not say a word, Emery could feel that something was wrong, so he let her be.
The situation quickly turned awkward for him. It was only after a while that the girl finally spoke.
"Emery… you fool… can't you be less gullible…?"
Emery could barely hear her, but he could feel that both her hands and her voice were slightly trembling.
This sentence stunned him. He had so many questions to ask, but he found himself unable to say a word. In the end, he kept silent and waited for her to finish her words.
"It's… it's true, you know… what that annoying girl said.''
Her slightly loosened arms around him tightened again.
"I… I like it here… It's so peaceful... no obligations, no care for anything…"
There was a long pause, but after a long sigh, she finally gathered her courage.
"But the reason I like it so much… is because you are here…"
"Emery, I like to be around you.... I wish to be by your side for as long as I can…."