Kaniel clung to Taeyon unconsciously while trembling, pressing close so the cold couldn’t seep through the gaps.
“…I need to raise your body temperature first.”
Taeyon said seriously.
Since he had rushed into the pursuit with only his sword the moment he realized Kaniel had disappeared, he had nothing with him right now. If he’d known it would come to this, he would have at least brought a cloak.
“I am c-cold, but I’m okay. I can bear it.”
Goosebumps rose all over Kaniel’s skin as he spoke bravely. To Taeyon’s eyes, it didn’t look like he could endure it at all.
After all, humans lacked fur.
“Let’s find a place to rest.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to just walk together?”
“What?”
“If we just stay still somewhere, I really feel like I’ll freeze to death. We need to walk or run to generate body heat…”
Kaniel insisted while his jaw chattered. It looked like if he made him walk, he’d freeze solid before long.
Taeyon pulled him even closer.
“I’ll find a place out of the wind and light a campfire for you, so just hold on a little longer.”
“Hngh…”
Kaniel groaned and nodded as if he didn’t even have the strength to answer anymore.
Taeyon covered Kaniel as much as possible with his clothes and started running. He’d camped around this area before, and he’d definitely seen a cave then. A cave near a stream.
Had it been about fifteen minutes since he ran following the smell of water and stone? Taeyon found the cave he’d been aiming for. Though it smelled a bit like wild beasts, it seemed desolate, as if it had been abandoned long ago.
Taeyon sat Kaniel on a rock inside and took off his shirt. Seeing his gesture of trying to put it on him, Kaniel waved his hands.
“Y-you don’t have to go this far, I’m o-okay!”
“I have to.”
“Really. I actually feel a bit hot.”
“……”
If that were true, it was actually more dangerous. It meant some part of his body had broken down and was perceiving cold as heat. If this state continued, he really might freeze to death.
“Put it on, Kaniel.”
Taeyon rather forcefully dressed Kaniel in his shirt and even buttoned it up for him. Since the two of them differed so much in build, the shirt came down almost to his knees. The sleeves also hung far below his arms.
However, there was no way a single thin shirt could warm Kaniel. Taeyon rubbed Kaniel’s bright red, frozen cheeks with both hands to warm them, then spoke with a face that couldn’t hide his worry.
“I’ll go gather firewood, so just hold on a little longer.”
“Y-yes…”
As Kaniel, who had turned red from the sudden contact, nodded while curled up, Taeyon turned around with a look of reluctance to leave.
Soon Taeyon looked back again and asked.
“What’s wrong?”
“What is?”
“…This.”
Kaniel lowered his gaze in the direction the finger was pointing and realized he was clutching Taeyon’s trouser hem, then quickly withdrew his hand in surprise.
Why did I do that?
“W-without thinking! It’s nothing. Go ahead.”
After a moment of silence, Taeyon gently stroked Kaniel’s head and turned around again. This time Kaniel didn’t hold onto him. However, he couldn’t stop his hand from reaching out again unconsciously.
Kaniel became aware of his hand’s movement and hesitantly curled up again. His body trembled. It was cold, but more than that, he felt anxious.
It felt like someone would jump out from outside the cave at any moment. Kaniel hugged his own body with a pale face.
“No. It’s okay. It’ll be okay…”
He’d clearly seen him fly off in a different direction earlier. Having lured so many demonic beasts there, there was no way he’d come back this way. He might try to stage another kidnapping later, but that was for the future.
Right now, at least for now, he was safe.
Kaniel tried to shake off the unpleasant anxiety and deliberately complained out loud.
“Even if he was going to kidnap me, why did he have to bring me to a place like this…”
There was east, west, and south, but why did he have to come to this unbearably cold direction? If it had been south, even if it was hot, at least he wouldn’t have to worry about freezing to death like now.
In the south, if worst came to worst, there was the method of riding on Taeyon’s back in animal form and moving quickly. He didn’t know if Taeyon would give him a ride, but… anyway, he could have done that. But here, the cold wind cut through flesh so sharply that even if he rode on Taeyon’s back and ran, he’d obviously turn into a block of ice in no time.
Ah, it’s so cold…
Since he was inside the cave, the wind blew a bit less, but it was damp instead, making the temperature feel even lower.
When would Taeyon come?
Kaniel buried his face in his knees and closed his eyes.
“Kaniel. Kaniel! Snap out of it, Kaniel!”
“Huh, wh-what…?”
“You can’t sleep. Keep your eyes open.”
Had he fallen asleep? Kaniel tried to gather his dazed mind and nodded at his words. Taeyon piled branches right in front of him and dropped a small lightning bolt to light them.
The branches seemed to burn slowly at first, then the fire quickly spread and emitted heat.
“Come on, hold out your hands. Your feet too.”
When Kaniel held out his hands and feet toward the firewood as instructed, Taeyon took off his shoes and socks and started massaging them.
“Wh-what are you doing!”
“Stay still.”
“I’m okay. Really okay!”
“I told you to stay still.”
Kaniel, looking almost ready to cry, curled his toes. Taeyon meticulously massaged even those toes while adding warmth.
‘Thank goodness I washed earlier…’
Kaniel felt pathetic for having such thoughts, but he couldn’t escape them.
Perhaps because of embarrassment, his body quickly heated up.
“Are you a bit better?”
“Yes. I think I’ll live…”
“That’s a relief.”
“Thank you…”
“That’s what I should be saying.”
“Why would you thank me, Taeyon?”
I’m the one receiving all the help. Kaniel looked up at Taeyon in bewilderment. Taeyon looked at Kaniel for a moment, then shook his head.
“I’ll tell you later. When I’m more certain.”
“About what?”
“I said I’ll tell you later.”
Making me curious for no reason. Kaniel pouted his lips in dissatisfaction, then was startled by himself. He must not be in his right mind from being cold and sleepy. What childish behavior.
Get it together. Get it together and think about whether there’s any way to handle this situation with magic…
Kaniel, who had been thinking that far, suddenly raised his hand. Taeyon, whose gaze moved reflexively, discovered something and pulled Kaniel’s hand toward him slightly, pointing at the unfamiliar object.
“What’s this?”
“It’s supposedly a magic-sealing bracelet. I can’t use magic because of it.”
“Magic?”
Taeyon examined the bracelet with a serious expression. He’d been able to move away from Kaniel earlier because he thought Kaniel could use Protective Barrier magic, but that actually wasn’t the case. Didn’t that mean it could have ended badly?
Strangely, the bracelet showed no seams at all. If the bracelet had been put on, there must surely be a way to remove it.
“Can I try cutting it with a sword?”
“Mm. Yes, that’s fine.”
Kaniel hesitated a bit before giving permission. It was scary, but he was confident that if it was Taeyon, he’d be careful not to let him get hurt.
However, making his courage meaningless, even when Taeyon raised his longsword and struck the bracelet, not a single scratch appeared on it. It seemed to be made of quite a durable material.
Well, since it was a bracelet made to render the kidnapped person defenseless, it would be about as strong as handcuffs used to restrain criminals. Come to think of it, it was only shaped like a bracelet—its function was exactly the same as the handcuffs for criminals used on the Floating Island.
Though he felt uneasy, Kaniel smiled toward Taeyon, who’d been making a serious expression the whole time.
“It can’t be helped. But if we go to a village and find somewhere like a smithy, couldn’t they remove it there?”
“That’s troublesome.”
“Troublesome? Why?”
“I was going to go hunting in a bit… If it’s like this, Kaniel, I can’t leave you behind.”
Only after hearing the word hunting did he realize he was hungry. Come to think of it, he’d been about to eat after bathing in the lake earlier, but he’d been kidnapped in between. Of course he was hungry.
“I can wait alone.”
“No.”
Taeyon, who decisively rejected the idea, fell into contemplation.
It was a situation where he couldn’t take him along nor leave him behind. If he just had a cloak, he could wrap Kaniel up and carry him while running.
That was when it happened.
What sounded like small footsteps gradually drew closer. Realizing that the sound of flapping wings was mixed in between the footsteps, Taeyon turned around and raised his sword.
What soon revealed itself was a white cat with wings. At first he wondered if it was a monster, but as soon as it made eye contact with Taeyon, its body swelled and became enormous. He could feel a heavy presence. That was a demonic beast. And a fairly strong one at that.
“Kaniel, go further inside.”
“Y-yes.”
Just as Kaniel, who answered fumblingly, was hesitantly backing away—
“Stop. Come here.”
Along with a delicate voice, a woman appeared. When a woman with faded blonde hair and purple eyes held out her hand, the demonic beast became small like when he’d first seen it. The demonic beast meowed and rubbed its head against the woman’s shin, showing affection.
A demonic beast that followed a beastkin?
Taeyon’s face contorted at the nonsensical combination.
