[Eat ’Ice Cream’ with your wife!]

Please, tell me I am seeing things.

What kind of nonsense timing is this?

Viora can barely walk and the system is telling me to take her out and feed her ice cream.

I would have done it otherwise. But it will make her suffer, so I am not gonna do it.

Ding!

[Penalty on Failure: Host and Wife’s movement speed reduced by 80% for 48 hours.]

WHAT??

Speed reduction? I have never heard of something like that.

Usually, the penalties are about inflicting pain on the host or something else, but this kind of thing feels new.

Also, it isn’t only me. Viora is included too.

That leaves me with only one option; take Viora with me and buy ice cream.

But she can’t walk properly, so how am I going to achieve that? Should I sneak her out on a wheelchair?

’No,’ I subconsciously shook my head. ’That is too risky.’

Then what?

I began to think about different ways of sneaking Viora out of the hospital until a thought occurred to me.

’The quest never explicitly said I had to take her outside...’

That means I can bring the ice cream here instead of bringing Viora to the cafeteria.

"Viora," coming to a conclusion, I called her and stopped helping her walk. "How about this? You sit here and I will go buy ice cream for both of us."

I will just go and come back in the blink of an eye.

Well, that was what I was intending to do, but Viora held my arm with a much stronger grip than before.

"No!" she denied. "I can’t let you leave me again."

Confused by her sudden reaction, I tilted my head slightly. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

"But I am just going to get the ice cream I promised."

"You said you were here to take me with you," she began, and her hand on my arm trembled slightly as I felt her nails trying to dig into my skin.

They also must have grown longer because of the mutation.

"Urg," I let out a pained sound, and hearing it, her grip loosened slightly.

"I don’t know anything. Whatever happens, I am going with you. Even if I have to crawl out of here."

Her words were too different from how she usually acted.

It surprised the hell out of me.

For a second, I felt like I had accidentally awakened something dangerous.

"Hah," I sighed. "Alright, we will go as soon as you can walk properly without my help."

I know that isn’t gonna happen in just five hours, but who knows what will happen? She had just undergone evolution, so maybe her body was adapting faster than normal.

If not, I will just go and bring the ice cream in the final hour of the quest.

"Alright," she chimed.

For the next few minutes, I helped her walk around the room.

After four or five rounds, I let her walk on her own, and surprisingly, she remembered every place I had guided her to and stepped only in those exact spots.

It made me wonder if the mutation, evolution, or whatever this was, had increased her senses and awareness too.

Because whenever there was a small sound that even my ears couldn’t pick up, she reacted to it.

"It’s been so long since I last walked."

Around fifteen minutes had now passed.

She had gotten the gist of walking.

At first, she wobbled, tripped, and almost fell, but now she was walking a lot better.

Moreover, she seemed to enjoy it, even if it was just in circles.

I guess it is enough.

We should start planning how to get out of the hospital without getting caught by anyone.

"It is enough," I grabbed Viora by the arm and guided her back to her bed. "Sit on the bed while I think of something."

Then, I began thinking of a few ideas that had at least a slight chance of succeeding.

However, every single one carried risks I didn’t want to take.

My first thought was to get a wheelchair and dash out of here, but it was too obvious.

That way, the guards and nurses would definitely notice us.

The next idea was to get permission from a nurse or doctor, but that was impossible.

After thinking through all the bad ideas, I decided on getting her out just like any normal person.

If only she didn’t have the horns, then I would have followed the normal discharge process.

But now, everyone would get suspicious, and even the Association could get involved.

That would only increase my workload, and it definitely wouldn’t be good for Viora either.

So, I will just cover her head so no one can see her horns and walk out as if I am simply taking her out for a bit.

As long as we don’t run into someone who recognizes either me or Viora, everything should be fine.

I grabbed a towel from inside the side table and walked up to Viora.

"Viora, I am going to cover your head, so stay still."

She was sitting on the bed, swinging her legs aimlessly and her expression was also filled with joy.

"Are you trying to hide my horns?" she asked while smiling.

She knows?

That isn’t strange since a whole day has passed since they grew on her head.

"So, you knew?" I said as I began wrapping the towel around her head. "Don’t you have anything to ask me?"

"No." She declined with enthusiasm.

"I believe you will tell me yourself when you feel like it. I will just wait for that time to come. And I believe it is because of these horns that I was able recover."

She isn’t wrong.

The horns are part of it... somewhat.

But I could never have imagined she would be this cool with it.

After hiding her horns perfectly, I helped her stand up.

Then, with her hand in mine, we began walking toward the door.

"Shall we?" I asked.

"Of course," she tilted her head, closed her eyes, and gave me a smile.