Chapter 179: A Moment of Peace.

After rescuing Aria,

Jake moved through the tunnels for a long time after that.

And Aria stayed quiet against his chest, her arms remaining around his neck.

Every so often her fingers tightened when a distant drip or echo reached them, but she did not speak.

And soon, Jake managed to find a secluded cave.

After checking there was nothing inside and everything was safe, he finally went in before putting Aria down.

Aria seemed slightly reluctant at the sudden warmth escaping her, but she didn’t resist.

After that, he returned to erase his footprints.

He then used a nearby rock to seal most of the entrance, leaving only a small gap for air.

Once satisfied, he walked back towards Aria, who was already looking in his direction.

The chamber was small and dry, with a low ceiling.

Faint crystal veins in the rock gave just enough light to see by.

Jake sat down across from her and finally let his shoulders drop as he sighed after finally finding some break.

Strangely, his Instinct no longer had that sharpness in it, and all there was was peaceful silence, as if whatever happened after the roar caused all the danger in this strange place to go away.

"Haa... This should hold for a while," he said while glancing at the sealed entrance.

"And even if anything comes down that tunnel and finds this cave, it won’t see us right away, and we would have bought time to react."

Aria pulled his coat tighter around herself and nodded.

"You... really thought of everything Sir Jake.

Jake smiled, shaking his head. "I just don’t want to get caught sitting out in the open. Also, there’s no need to be so formal; just call me Jake."

Plus... he also wanted her to rest.

Even without asking, he could tell how rough she had been.

Her breathing was still uneven, and her hands had not fully stopped shaking.

Jake sat down against the wall.

Then he looked at her and lowered his voice.

"I’m sorry. I couldn’t go back for the others."

There might be more surviving maids out there right now, but... he wasn’t confident in facing whatever monster had released that roar.

He gripped his fist at this frustration.

Seeing Jake’s face, Aria shook her head at once.

"...Don’t be sad. They’re already dead."

At those words, Jake’s brows pulled together.

"All of them?"

Aria’s fingers tightened on the coat as her voice came out small.

"Yes... all three maids who came here with me. I saw it. They didn’t make it."

The cave went quiet again.

Jake did not answer right away as a complicated feeling settled in his chest.

Part of him was sad.

Those girls had been pulled into this the same way he and Aria had.

And... another part of him was relieved.

If they were already dead, he did not have to run back into those tunnels on a blind search and might get himself killed.

At this thought, he couldn’t help but swallow the bitter taste in his mouth.

He was not a saint, nor was he a legendary hero.

He was merely a human who also desired to survive.

"...I see."

That was all Jake could manage to say.

Aria did not say any more.

The two of them sat in the dim light of the crystal veins, listening to the faint air slipping through the sealed entrance.

Jake could not help feeling awkward now that it was just the two of them.

Then a memory from before surfaced.

’...Come to think of it, what was that? Why did she suddenly reveal her chest?’

The image flashed through his mind before he could push it away.

He remembered the heavy coat slipping from her shoulders... and that sudden, breathtakingly alluring sight.

Recalling the contrast of her pale, flawless skin against the dark dirt of the tunnels, and the full, heavy curve of her breasts, Jake felt his throat go completely dry.

He swallowed hard, as a sudden, primal spike of desire stirring deep in his lower stomach.

He fiercely shook his head.

’What the hell am I thinking? She’s traumatized. This isn’t the time or the place for this...’

To distract himself, he focused back on Aria, only to notice her shoulders trembling in a rhythm.

Jake frowned, initially attributing it to lingering fear.

However, upon closer observation, he noticed her shoulders were hunched, her fingers gripped her coat tightly, and her lips had lost some color.

To him, the cave felt fine.

After all the upgrades to his stats, the cold barely registered with his powerful body.

But Aria was different.

She was exhausted, barely dressed, and sitting on stone.

Jake clicked his tongue sharply under his breath, cursing his own thick-headedness for not realizing it sooner.

He scanned the barren cave.

But there was no wood to burn, no dry cloth to pad the floor, and no flint to spark a fire.

Even if he had one, smoke in a sealed cave was a bad idea.

Jake exhaled with a sigh.

’...I can’t make a fire here.’

But he couldn’t just sit here and watch her shiver until hypothermia set in.

Then, a sudden realization clicked in his mind.

’Oh. Why didn’t I think of that?’

Jake sat up straighter, shifting his weight forward, and raised his right palm into the space between them.

Aria noticed the movement and blinked, staring at him with a confused look, as if she was wondering what he was doing.

Slowly, a faint, golden glow began to gather at the center of his palm.

The particles coalesced, spinning rapidly until a brilliant orb of pure light formed just above his palm.

It started small, the size of a marble, before steadily expanding into a warm, ambient sphere.

The moment the light stabilized, a wave of genuine, radiant heat bloomed outward, instantly cutting through the damp, biting chill of the cavern air.

Aria’s eyes widened.

"...Light?"

Jake kept his hand perfectly steady, a soft, reassuring smile breaking across his face.

"It’s a skill of mine. Come closer, Aria. I know you’re freezing."

Aria paused for just a moment before moving closer to him.

However, she didn’t stop where he thought she would.

Instead of just sitting near the light, she continued to slide forward until her side was pressed firmly against his, their shoulders completely touching.

She squeezed close enough that the direct heat from the magical orb washed over her front, while Jake’s natural, radiating body heat enveloped her.

Jake’s breath hitched at the sudden closeness.

He could feel the soft, delicate curve of her shoulder pressing firmly into his rigid muscle, the scent of her hair filling his nose.

This time, there was no mistaking it.

"..."

He wasn’t some dense, oblivious protagonist who couldn’t read a woman’s body language.

As the heat soaked through the coat, Aria’s trembling finally began to ease, her muscles relaxing against him.

"...It’s so warm," she whispered, her eyes closing as she leaned her head lightly against his shoulder.