Chapter 20
Arin looked at his hand. It was slightly redder than the rest of his skin—a burn scar. She reached out and gently touched the painful-looking scar. The hands that had never managed to touch on the deserted island finally met.
Deneb interlaced his fingers with hers, gripping her hand tightly. The intertwined shape pleased him greatly. He slowly began to infuse his mana into Arin’s body. The mana flowing through her was thick and intense.
What he found inside Arin’s body was a complete mess. The sight of her broken mana circle reminded him of himself, and he frowned.
“It’s torn apart terribly.”
He wrapped an arm around her slender waist and helped her up. With no strength in her body, Arin had no choice but to lean into Deneb’s embrace to stand.
Even though the electricity flowing from Arin’s body pierced through him, Deneb didn’t flinch or show any pain.
“Arin.”
His deep, low voice tickled her eardrums. Though she felt like her heart was about to burst, Deneb’s voice rang out clearly in her ears.
“Remember what you learned.”
“Ugh… Ah.”
“I’ll breathe mana into you. Hold onto it—don’t let it leak out.”
Then, Deneb’s lips claimed hers.
He slowly shared his mana-laced breath with her. Some of the mana settled into her mana circle, while the rest dispersed into the air. As her circle filled with mana, the pain eased, and Arin clung to it as though it were an oasis in the desert.
She swallowed the breath that flowed into her mouth without hesitation. Though it felt like her body would burst like an overinflated balloon, accepting his breath brought her peace.
She wrapped her arms around Deneb’s neck, pulling him closer, wanting more of the sweet breath. His moist lips claimed the inside of her mouth with an intensity that rivaled her own desire.
Before she knew it, Arin could control her body enough to cancel her electric magic. The crackling stopped, and wet sounds echoed softly through the room.
Deneb lowered his gaze slightly, watching Arin panting in his arms. Her furrowed brow and flushed cheeks were irresistibly lovely. The sight of her craving him so desperately made his fingers tingle with heat.
Once her mana circle stabilized, Arin gently pulled herself away, her body trembling. She laughed softly at his intense gaze. The strange sense of calm that settled over her caused her vision to flicker to black, like a fuse blowing.
As she collapsed into his arms, Deneb caught her firmly. Cradling her like a princess, he walked over to Yellow.
“What happened?”
[Overlord! They bullied us! That dummy got slapped and went ‘waah!’]
At Yellow’s explanation, Deneb looked at Arin’s cheek and the corner of her mouth. He had thought the wound was from her biting herself in pain, but now that he looked again, it was clearly the mark of a slap. His face twisted like a crumpled piece of paper.
“How dare they…”
At Deneb’s rising fury, Yellow clapped internally.
‘As expected of our leader. Let’s punish them. Wipe them all out!’
“Hey, did you hear the news about the village of Bruton that the bandits built?”
“What now?”
“A mercenary passing through said the place burned down completely—not a single survivor left.”
“That’s terrible.”
“What’s scarier is the forest around it was untouched. Just the village was burned without a trace. People think it might be the work of an alchemist. Be careful if you’re heading that way.”
Hearing the gossip from behind, Arin put down the spoon she had just picked up. Her conscience was pricked, since the story wasn’t entirely unrelated to her.
Of course, Arin hadn’t killed anyone. When she woke up, she had already left Bruton village far behind.
When she woke up in a bed at an inn on the road to the Altair duchy, Deneb didn’t ask her anything. He simply escorted her to eat, saying they should get some food.
In the inn’s dining room, where she heard that gossip, Arin pieced it together. It had to be Deneb who had sent the villagers of Bruton to hell.
“Eat more.”
That was Deneb’s response when Arin set her spoon down.
“Maybe because I just woke up, I don’t feel very hungry…”
When she declined, Deneb’s expression turned displeased. Listening quietly nearby, Lemain quickly interjected.
“If you don’t have an appetite, should I order you something else?”
“Lema—no, Lemain, seriously. Please just speak comfortably with me.”
Lemain motioned with his face for Arin to take the hint, but she pretended not to understand.
Arin treated Deneb casually, while Lemain regarded him as a superior. Arin knew that because of her, the hierarchy had become tangled. That’s why she originally addressed Deneb formally, thinking it would be better for everyone.
“I’ll speak formally to Lord Deneb. It’ll be simpler, right?”
But she was the only one who thought it was simple.
Feeling a line being drawn, Deneb suddenly gave Lemain a threatening look. Lemain broke out in a cold sweat and tried to dissuade Arin.
As Arin recalled all this, she realized that going to the Duke’s estate would make things even more awkward.
‘I don’t care. Whatever.’
She decided to be shameless about it. It’s always more uncomfortable to be stuck in the middle than to be the source of the mess. So, Arin chose to just pretend the mess didn’t exist.
‘If anyone’s uncomfortable, it should be them, not me. Hmph!’
After finishing her meal and returning to her room, Arin lay down on the bed. Ahd and Yellow nestled beside her with their warm little bodies.
“Arin doesn’t hurt anymore, right?”
“I’m fine now. Thank you for worrying.”
[I’ll fight from now on. If you’re ever in danger, hide behind me!]
Seeing the tiny ones fussing over her made Arin smile softly. The three were snuggling when Deneb’s presence was suddenly felt—unrestrained and bold. As expected, he entered the room without knocking, as if it were his own.
“What the—don’t you know how to knock? This is my room!”
“What are you talking about? This is my room.”
“What…? Then where am I supposed to sleep?”
“Why ask something so obvious? Of course, you’ll sleep here. Don’t you remember saying we shouldn’t be apart in case of danger?”
Arin clutched her head.
“That was on the deserted island… This place isn’t dangerous.”
“You don’t know that.”
“……”
“Everything is dangerous.”
“What even…”
Arin was speechless. Deneb sat at the edge of the bed where she had been lying.
“You have the same symptoms as me. If your mana circle collapses again, can you handle it alone? You’ll need me, won’t you?”
Deneb gently covered Arin’s eyes with his hand.
“Stop talking and sleep. I’ll stay with you.”
Soothed by his calm voice, Arin momentarily agreed.
‘Get it together. Don’t fall for that ridiculous logic.’
She slowly removed his hand covering her eyes. His hand moved easily, as if guided by her will.
“No, this isn’t right.”
“Tsk.”
‘That tongue click—one day I’ll do the same back to him.’
She had heard that flawed logic is the strongest weapon. In that sense, Deneb was the strongest of all. In the end, Arin had no choice but to close her eyes on the bed in his room. She didn’t know when she fell asleep, but the warmth of Ahd and Yellow nestled against her side helped her drift into a deep slumber.
Once Arin was asleep, Deneb sat leaning against the wall across from the bed. Sitting about five meters away, his posture was no different from how he had been on the deserted island.
He slowly looked over her face—her gently closed eyelids, her petite nose, her soft lips. With a small smile, Deneb brushed his fingers over his own lips.
The next morning,
A refreshed Arin sat up, holding her head.
‘Just because I slept in a similar environment to the island, I passed out so easily.’
To top it off, she suddenly came up with a brilliant idea—something she hadn’t even thought of yesterday.
“Am I stupid!?”
[Oh, you just figured that out? You really are stupid.]
Arin glared at Yellow with narrowed eyes, annoyed at his agreement.
[She’s glaring at me! I feed her, protect her, and now she acts all grown-up and scolds me. I’m too heartbroken to live. Waaah.]
Yellow still refused to admit that Arin had become stronger than him. Since she couldn’t hunt animals like he could, he convinced himself they were equals. He was a master of self-justification.
“Yellow, waaah waaah!”
Beside him, Ahd, resting his butt down comfortably, mimicked his cry and patted Yellow on the back.
[What are you touching? Now that Dummy’s ignoring me, even the lowest rank thinks he can touch me. Waaah waaah.]
“Yellow, do you want food? Are you crying because you’re hungry?”
The two didn’t communicate at all—they were talking past each other. To calm them down, Arin took some jerky from her system inventory.
At the sound of rustling, they both reacted like Pavlov’s dogs. Ahd ran over and clung to her leg. Yellow wagged his tail and stared up at her.
“Eat and calm down.”
She tore the jerky and handed one piece to each of them. Yellow munched happily as always. Ahd, on the other hand, stared at his jerky, then approached Yellow and tore his in half.
“Thanks for helping last time. This is a gift!”
[Oh, unlike someone, you know how to respect your seniors.]
That someone was Arin.
[Little one, I’ll cherish you!]
Yellow stuck out his tongue and groomed Ahd’s head thoroughly. The famous feline grooming—his head gleamed with saliva. Only after shaping Ahd’s hair into a round cap with his paws did Yellow smile with satisfaction.
[If you want to be cherished too, Dummy, try being nice.]
At that, Arin decidedly no longer wanted to be cherished.
