"—Huh?"
I woke up.
I suddenly sat up.
...Why am I still alive?
Not only that, I didn't even feel any pain.
I had been prepared for death, but not only was I alive, there were no signs of injury at all.
Then I noticed the white-haired girl sleeping against me.
It was Snow.
W-What is going on here?
What situation is this...?
"Mm..."
It seemed like my movement woke Snow up.
"Yūma!"
As soon as she noticed I was awake, she quickly sat up.
"I'm glad, it looks like I was able to heal you properly."
"Heal me...? You healed me? What about the boss?"
Snow silently pointed in a certain direction.
There, in the center of a wide space, was the golem standing still.
It didn't look like it had been defeated...
What's going on here?
"...You were lucky. You got blasted all the way to a Rest Area. I've never seen such a coincidence before. I thought for sure you were dead."
A Rest Area.
A safe zone within the dungeon where monsters don't come near.
...So when the boss appeared and the terrain changed, I got blasted straight into a Rest Area.
The terrain change created a wall that hid it from view, but when I was thrown, I became the trigger for revealing it.
...This is some insane luck.
"...Sorry, Snow. I just couldn't leave you behind and run..."
"We'll talk about that later. For now, we need to figure out how to get out of this situation."
"Get out of this...?"
The Rest Area was like a small room.
However, the only entrance was the wall that the golem had destroyed when it blasted me away.
In other words, if we went through that, the golem would catch us again.
We'd be back to square one.
"...What if we both dash out together? Maybe we can make it?"
"Maybe, but even then, there's only a tiny chance both of us would survive."
"Then that's all we have. Worst-case scenario, I'll be the decoy—"
Snow immediately placed her hand over my mouth.
"No. You can't die. You're the one who can't die."
I grabbed Snow's hand, pulling it away.
"...I won't leave you behind, Snow."
"I know... But now that we're in the Rest Area... there's one way, just one way, that both of us can survive."
"What is it? What do I need to do? I'll do anything."
For some reason, Snow's face turned red, and she glared at me sharply.
W-Why is she glaring at me?
"Make the official contract. If we do that, I'll be able to use my real power as long as your magic can support it."
"Magic...? I don't have any magic."
After all, I'm just a normal college student.
"That's impossible. Once you enter the dungeon, your magic awakens from its dormant state. So you do have magic now. In fact, you probably have far more than the average person. A normal person would run out of magic in a second, but with your magic, you should be able to defeat that golem."
"I don't really get it, but... if that's all it takes, I'll do it! Let's do the official contract right now! How do we do it?"
I grabbed both of Snow's shoulders.
The way for both of us to survive.
There was no way I'd back out now.
"...Hoo..."
Snow let out a deep breath.
"...I'm too embarrassed to explain it with words. Close your eyes. Don't open them. Don't."
"If you say it like that, I'll probably think you're joking..."
"No! Don't open your eyes!!"
Snow yelled at me, her face bright red.
She was serious about this.
"W-Whoa, okay. I'll close my eyes."
I did as she told me, closing my eyes, when something cool—probably Snow's hand—was placed gently on my face.
Ah, so it's going to be the forehead tap, huh?
But just as I was starting to relax—
Something soft touched my lips.
I couldn't keep my eyes shut with this happening, so I slightly opened my eyelids.
Right there, just inches from me, was Snow's face, eyes closed.
And her lips were touching mine.
I didn't need to think any further.
It was Snow's lips.
I hadn't noticed before, but her eyelashes were white.
They were long and beautiful.
She didn't even need makeup, did she?
But I couldn't think straight.
What was happening?
My mind and body were completely frozen as I stood there, unable to move, when I felt something... connect between us.
After a while, Snow pulled away, and at that moment, I quickly shut my eyes.
From a little distance away, I heard Snow's embarrassed voice.
"That's enough... Did you open your eyes?"
"No way."
I quickly denied it.
Snow glared at me for a while, then sighed.
"...So, is the official contract done now?"
"Of course not. If it were that easy, we would've done it on the way here. That was just the preparation."
"I see..."
Well, that makes sense.
"Close your eyes... but that's impossible now, isn't it? Ah, why do I have to be dressed like this... Well, I guess it's necessary for the official contract..."
Muttering to herself, Snow seemed to make up her mind and suddenly lifted up her dress.
"Wha—!? What are you doing!?"
I instinctively looked away, but in the process, I saw her smooth, pale skin, a cute belly button, and, of course, her underwear, which should've been hidden by her dress.
"W-Wait, are you... getting all seductive before death—"
Thwack!
A sharp, icy pebble hit my forehead.
It hurt quite a bit.
"Of course not! I'm drawing a magic circle directly on my skin. The source of magic is usually blood, but for this, we need to focus the magic on the belly button. By starting from there, we'll officially make the contract."
"So, you want me to draw on your belly button?"
"...Exactly."
I see, so that's why.
With regular clothes, I could've just lifted the top, but since she's wearing a dress, I have to lift the whole thing to expose her stomach.
And since I'm drawing a magic circle, I can't even afford to close my eyes.
"...I'll try not to look too much."
"Of course you shouldn't! Anyway, hurry up! If I keep standing here like this, it's going to look like I'm some kind of pervert!"
Snow shouted, looking completely embarrassed.
She had a point.
Wait a second.
"You want me to draw it, but all I have are a mechanical pencil and a pen..."
"If you use those, it'll hurt! You're using your fingers!"
"Do you have a design in mind?"
"You should already have it in your head!"
She said that, and suddenly, I realized something.
For some reason, I already knew exactly what I needed to draw.
It was a strange feeling, almost like my body already understood it.
"...Really... you want me to hurry up..."
Snow, who had been all embarrassed and angry earlier, had now quieted down, her tone almost pained.
It seemed like she was struggling.
I placed my finger on Snow's stomach, trying to follow the design that had popped into my head.
Each time I moved my finger, Snow would groan in discomfort.
I tried to move quickly to finish, but—
"Wait... it's too fast... go slower..."
"I got it."
Apparently, going too fast wasn't good either.
I tried my best to focus and not let my mind wander, carefully taking around three minutes to finish the drawing.
"I-I'm done."
As soon as I said that, Snow collapsed on the spot.
"Ha... Kuh... Huff..."
It seemed like she was struggling to catch her breath.
It looked like the "official contract" was far more painful than I had imagined.
Now I understand why this couldn't be done on the way here.
In a dungeon, where monsters could attack at any moment, I'd never be able to do something like this without risking our lives.
"Are you okay? You seemed to be in a lot of pain."
I extended my hand to her, and Snow grabbed it, staggering to her feet.
"...I'm fine. It doesn't really hurt."
"...I see."
She was probably trying to avoid worrying me.
Her cheeks were still red, so there must have been some pain left.
"...Now, both of us will be able to survive. All that's left is to defeat the boss and go home."
"Yeah."
It might have been a small detail, but her saying "both of us" first, instead of me, was a clear sign of how kind Snow was.
"What are you laughing at?"
Snow puffed out her cheeks and lightly nudged my side.
The despair we had felt before the official contract was already gone.
And then, soon after, I would witness Snow's true powers as a spirit.