Only I Am A Reader

"Huh? Did we actually get separated?"

"Seems to be that way… What should we do?"

Finding themselves alone in the familiar Gate structure, Clara and the porter looked around in confusion. Things didn't look good either, both of them knew how useless they would be in combat.

In fact, Porter felt like he was even more useless this time. There was no harvest to carry yet, so his role wasn't that obvious. Still, since he carried the whole team's supplies, they were now left with the basics that each one had on his person. Of course…

'Let's focus on surviving first.'

Porter barely cared about the perils of others compared to his own survival. His so-called heroic ideals were just for show. In reality, nothing mattered more than himself.

"Should we move around and search for Aurora?"

Waiting around for everyone's Hero was an option. However, the thought of being left behind lingered in Porter's head. He trusted Aurora to always save and protect him, but that was only when he was within her sight!

What if they missed each other and she ended up clearing the Gate as usual? Wouldn't they be stuck forever if they remained in the same spot?

"Right."

Luckily, Clara also shared the same opinion. Porter didn't want to leave her behind either. Her ability was practically his only chance at surviving the unknown.

"But first, give me some of that."

Before she attempted to move forward, Clara grabbed one of the bags attached to Porter, took out a calorie bar, and munched it to nothing.

Porter wasn't that surprised about it as almost everyone on the team knew about Clara's eating disorder. She didn't seem to gain any weight due to it, so she never tried to do anything about it.

[ Challenge 4: Kill the only monster. ]

It didn't take them more than a short walk before the two were introduced to their first task. A clue should have been something refreshing, but it only kept building up the dread in the pair's hearts.

Although having to deal with a single monster was better than a group of them, the two preferred to deal with nothing.

Their ideal situation was to walk a certain distance before chancing upon the rest of the team and reuniting with Aurora, but the task's appearance stressed that they might have to fight sooner rather than later.

"Did you hear that?"

"Yeah. Do you think we can avoid it?"

"Of course, just stay close to me and we can always rely on my bubble."

Considering that he still had some fighting strength compared to her, Clara didn't plan to exploit her ability's importance to control Porter.

After all, if the monster turned out to be a weak one, she could rely on Porter to beat it down while she saved her bubble for a more dangerous situation.

In a way, Porter was like a baseball bat that she picked from the side of the road. Clara didn't completely rely on him, but she still planned to use it for the first few swings.

Naturally, the priority of her bubble's use was still her safety, she wasn't going to use it to save someone else in a situation like this… Unless it was convenient to do so.

"Rawwwwr!"

Unfortunately, the time to decide everything came far too quickly than both of them expected. Although the terrifying lion roar reached them first, they quickly saw the monster itself.

It didn't look like something that Porter could deal with. Just being in the same area as it made the pair smell the scent of imminent death.

"Run!"

Porter grabbed Clara's hand and sprinted. His ability didn't boost his speed to insane levels, but if there was something that he was confident in, it was his stamina.

As long as they could keep a distance, he could keep running for days. While eventually running into Aurora wasn't a very likely possibility, Porter planned to cling to that hope!

"...Porter, this won't work! It has almost got me!"

The claw swings kept reaching out, growing closer and closer each step. Porter was practically carrying her using her right arm, but her slightly dangling legs were just about to undergo a very serious surgery.

"Why don't-"

In such a situation where keeping a distance appeared impossible, the only option left in Porter's mind was Clara's bubble. Unfortunately for him…

"It's too focused on me. I won't be able to make the bubble in time, not when I'm stressed like this."

Was there really no other option? Was it time to give up and receive their dues? Many thoughts flooded Porter's mind as he found himself helpless.

Screaming at Clara's sorry excuses crossed his mind, but it wasn't like he could force her to do it even if she was lying. She was essentially risking her life as well.

"D-don't worry. There is still a way! If you grab the monster's attention before dropping me at some point, I can gather my focus to prepare the bubble. I will definitely wait for you to run back before releasing it, so please!"

The words that left Clara's mouth sounded absolutely crazy. Still, in Porter's moment of clarity, he decided to do one thing he usually didn't, trusting someone other than Aurora.

"Alright, I will do it! Prepare yourself."

To begin with, it was hard to tell whether Porter could maneuver back to Clara, but rather than being next, he thought that he might as well try it!

Picking up a rock from the ground, he threw it back at the monster before increasing his speed to the maximum.

'Did it work?'

At one moment, he slowed down to let Clara down before running ahead. To Porter's relief, the monster did follow him instead. In the end, he really did have a chance!

"Sorry!"

What happened next, however, completely crushed the hope that rose in his heart. As soon as Clara landed on the ground, her signature bubble rose around her. She didn't even wait before stabbing him in the back.

"How-"

With his mind taking this much shock, Porter's body couldn't even keep running, allowing the lion-faced monster to tear his upper half apart.

"No!"

He was no longer there to listen, but that didn't stop Clara from mumbling words of blame.

"You weren't supposed to die immediately like this! My bubble couldn't possibly last long if this ignorant beast kept attacking the bubble. You were supposed to run and take him away from here."

'That should be right about it… I think?'

Having done the exact same thing that he believed the porter to have done, Leo smiled at the pretend victim behind the bubble. Perhaps she also deserved to receive the porter's share of the lesson.