"You got burned… It must've been hot. Does it hurt?"
Dominic looked far more pained than Shiao Yi did as he gently placed his hand over the burn. A soft red light glowed and the burn suddenly disappeared. No matter how many times Shiao Yi saw it, the phenomenon never ceased to feel strange and a little magical. The fact that this healing only worked on him felt oddly wasteful.
To someone like him, who used to treated as a mere mobile weapon, a burn like this couldn't even count as a real injury.
"It's dangerous to get too close to the magic circle. Let's search the old camp. There might be something they left behind that was related to that magic circle."
Nodding at Dominic' words, Shiao Yi stood up and tried to put his jacket back on. But it had been badly scorched, and the fabric has been tore apart and fell to the ground in pieces. The fabric was made from rough natural fibers, so he couldn't really be surprised. At least his pants were built for space combat. It was resistant to both heat and impact.
"You can wear my clothes."
Dominic started to take off his own clothes, but Shiao Yi quickly stopped him in a panic. That man's chiseled, muscular body was too much for his eyes. Shiao Yi didn't need his own insecurities to be triggered even more. Was the difference between them really just meat? Was it the amount of meat he ate?
While sulking and quietly analyzing the reason for their physical difference, Dominic rummaged through the wreckage of the lodgings and found some old clothing. He shook the dust off it and draped it over Shiao Yi.
The sunlight was warm and the air wasn't cold. Honestly, Shiao Yi thought being shirtless felt more comfortable than putting on some random old shirt worn by who-knows-who. Bare skin was fine.
Was that not acceptable? Apparently not. Dominic was glaring at him with a sharp look that said everything, even without telepathy. "Wear it. Cover yourself." His eyes were practically shouting it.
Shiao Yi sighed. "I'm not a woman, you know... My skin's not so soft that I need to hide it from the sun. A bit of a tan looks healthier anyway…"
...Wait—why was Dominic picking him up again? Weren't they supposed to be looking for documents? The kind of official-looking ones that they could use to be submited as evidence?
Wouldn't it be much faster if they split up and searched it separately?
"Shiao, can you read?" Dominic asked.
"Of course I can read! At least… uh…"
Oh, right. Of course. The written language in this world was different too.
"Yeah, I guess I can't. But I'll work on learning it…"
"I'm not good at organizing things. You use your powers to find any buried documents and then I'll read them. That way, we'll be more efficient."
"I understand. I'll cooperate with you. But… is it really necessary for you to carry me like this? Won't you get tired, Dominic?"
"It's fine. I want to do this. You don't need to worry about it, Shiao."
Shiao Yi wasn't convinced. Was that really the issue here? Somehow, he was certain it wasn't.
And what scared him even more was how he was gradually getting used to being carried around like this.
They focused their search on what looked like it used to be the commander's quarters.
While using his telekinesis, Shiao Yi cleared away the collapsed roof and broken columns and lifting the debris that had fallen into a chaotic pile. the pieces of wood, the broken furniture, the scattered personal effects—all floated in the air as he carefully sifted through them, looking for any documents or blueprints.
"Hmm. This is it. There's even a schematic drawing of the magic circle's construction layout. And here—this one is an official order issued by headquarters. With this much evidence, we'll be able to press Dalmasca hard, maybe even force their hand."
After leaving the ruined building, Shiao Yi turned his gaze westward. Being carried in Dominic' arms raised his eye level, letting him notice things he hadn't seen before.
This area had probably been cleared of forest, and now rough, open land stretched outward. Beyond it, he could see low hills, and further still, mountains and more forest.
To the south of the hills, the land remained barren, while the north seemed to turn into mountain forest. No houses were visible. It was likely that this place, even for Dalmasca, was on the far eastern border. The nearest town must be quite far away. There were mountains too, so the access routes to this place must be limited.
Shiao Yi's eyes stayed fixed on the landscape ahead. Dominic seemed to understand what he was thinking just by looking at his face.
"The capital of Dalmasca lies far to the southwest from here. If their army is coming, they'll probably take the road that runs south of those hills. If you travel for a day or two by horse, there's a slightly larger village. We'll need to send agents into that village to observe troop movements."
Then Dominic looked down at Shiao Yi. Why was he always giving him that soft, gentle look? It made Shiao Yi flushed every time. Couldn't he be more careful with those eyes?
"We've got what we came for. Shall we head back to the fortress?"
"Yeah. Alright. Then, put me down."
"But I can teleport just fine while holding you like this, right? We just need physical contact, if I recall correctly."
So he really doesn't plan to put me down, Shiao Yi thought.
Maybe it was because of what happened with the vines earlier—Dominic had become even more overprotective since then. He wanted to believe it was just his imagination, but the feeling was hard to shake.
With no other choice, Shiao Yi teleported them both directly into Dominic' room.
Being carried like this, where else could he even go?