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“Never have I thought of you as stupid; I swear on my life,” Mathew said, stopping in his tracks to turn around and look at Nadia. His eyes were all serious, despite the joking tone the girl used a moment earlier.

“Don’t worry,” Nadia laughed out, only to reach out and pat Mathew’s shoulder. “I was just joking around; you don’t need to take it so seriously,” she added with a smile before catching Mathew’s hand with her own and leading him towards the hole.

“Sorry about that, then,” Mathew whispered while hanging his head low. “I just have so much on my head… I didn’t want to spare even a single chance of you taking it seriously,” he added despite his voice weakening with every word he said.

Mathew then trembled on his lips, nearly slipping while making a simple step.

‘Huh?’ the young man shrugged, shocked by the sudden development of his exhaustion. ‘No, it’s not development,’ he thought as he swallowed a gulp of saliva. ‘I guess all my exhaustion is truly catching up with me.’

It was the worst timing possible. Or rather, it would be as long as Mathew’s negative guess would end up correct.

“Something wrong?” Nadia asked when she turned around to slip into the hole in the wall, allowing her to steal a glance at Mathew’s face.

“I’m just a little tired, that’s all,” Mathew replied while putting a small smile on his lips, hoping to hide the real state of his body.

‘I need to push myself just a little bit harder,’ he thought, gritting his teeth as he forced his body to stabilize and then followed after the girl.

‘If we really end up fighting… this might prove to be pretty troublesome,’ Mathew thought as he moved down the ladder.

His arms grew hotter and hotter to the point where his muscles felt as if they were on fire. Holding his own weight quickly turned out to be quite a challenge, especially when he had to constantly move down only to then kill his momentum to grab another step of the ladder.

“Just a little bit further, dear,” Nadia called out, somehow noticing Mathew’s state in the complete darkness of the shaft.

“Thanks,” Mathew gave a weak response, focusing all of his remaining strength on his movements instead.

“We are here,” Nadia said a moment later, only to squeeze herself out of the hole before helping her partner do the same.

“What do we do now?” the girl asked when Mathew finally got out of the hole and rested his back against the wall.

“For now, I need a short rest,” the young man announced.

‘There is no point in playing tough,’ Mathew realized when the true weight of his exhaustion finally struck. ‘Even breathing is fucking hard right now,’ he thought while trying to calm himself down.

“Now I’m sure,” Nadia said, her voice turning surprisingly cold.

Mathew raised his eyes to look at the girl, confused by the sudden change in her mood.

‘Wasn’t she playful just a moment ago?’ he thought, unable to see through the unexpected development.

“You don’t even know why I’m mad,” she commented, only to then lock her arms over her shoulder. Her eyes were now fully cold as she seized Mathew from the top of his head to the bottom of his feet.

“How could I know?” Mathew slowly raised his head up to look Nadia directly on the face, hoping to find some clues there.

Yet, even when he did just like he planned, he couldn’t see a thing besides the coldness in the girl’s eyes.

“Aaah, this is going to be damn bothersome,” Nadia whined before taking a step forward… And then slammed her hands against the wall on both sides of Mathew’s head.

‘Is this the legendary kabedon?’ Mathew thought, recalling the scenes from anime and manga alike where a thing like this happened. He could only vaguely recall it given how female romances weren’t Mathew’s forte.

Nadia slammed her hands against the wall, pinning Mathew in place. Due to the extremely short distance between the two, the young man could now fully appreciate both the girl’s faint fragrance and her loosely covered curves…

Mathew’s desperate plea… Actually worked. Or rather, his body was so tired that outside of the little tingle, it could not fork out the energy necessary to put him in the mood.

“I’m extremely disappointed with you, Mathew,” Nadia slowly uttered her words while making sure to put a huge emphasis on her husband’s name.

“Can you at least tell me what did I do wrong?” Mathew asked weakly. ‘This isn’t the time nor the place for a couple’s quarrel!’ he thought, desperate to find a way to placate the girl.

They didn’t know whether Mathew’s plan regarding merchants worked. And right now, it was of utmost importance.

“You are pushing yourself too damn hard!” Nadia finally explained what bothered her. She then lowered her head and rested her forehead against Mathew’s solar plexus. “It pains me to watch it; I don’t want you to overexert yourself!” she said, raising her face and looking Mathew directly in the eyes.

‘Damn,’ Mathew gulped down his saliva as he looked in the girl’s teary eyes, ‘she is going to squeeze my heart out!’

The extreme exhaustion mixed with sensory overdose caused by the girl now both assaulted Mathews’s mind and body alike.

He pressed his back against the wall a bit harder, unable to keep himself on his feet.

“I understand,” Mathew finally whispered, hardly able to make his voice any louder. “And I’m sorry for making you worry,” he added, raising his hand to the girl’s cheek only to wipe a single tear off her face with his thumb.

Mathew took a deep breath while hanging his head to the back. He closed his eyes for a moment, holding the breath in, only to then release it in a long sigh.

“But we can’t stop. Not now,” Mathew said and shook his head. “Not yet. Not when we are just a step away from creating that damned fortress!”