“Do you want to remove this bracelet?”
“Ah, yes. Someone forced it on me, so I have no choice but to wear it. I was going to go to a smithy or somewhere later and ask them to remove it.”
“I see. Then let’s remove it now.”
How? Before he could even question it, the woman brought a needle and inserted it into a part of the bracelet. Then, moving it minutely and rattling it a few times, she unfastened the bracelet.
“Wow! Thank you.”
Kaniel expressed his gratitude with eyes wide open.
As soon as the bracelet was removed, he reconnected with the mana that had been cut off the entire time. Along with a refreshing sensation, like floodgates opening on a blocked dam to release water, came an intensely thrilling sense of liberation. The hair all over his body stood on end and his heart pounded so hard he was nearly breathless.
He wanted to move his mana right away and try using magic. Even the most trivial magic, like wetting a single drop of water on his fingertip, would be fine. The fact that he wasn’t alone with Taeyon right now couldn’t be more regrettable.
As Kaniel’s expression brightened, the woman also smiled gently.
“It’s just a trivial skill.”
“But how did you know you could remove it like that?”
“I used to open a lot of locks when I was young.”
The woman, who answered teasingly with vocabulary that stimulated the imagination, stood up from her seat.
“I’ll prepare a meal now.”
“Um, my name is Kaniel.”
The woman, who had been silent for a moment at the sudden introduction, answered.
“Please call me Effolin.”
This time, Kaniel’s gaze moved to Taeyon. Unable to resist that expectant face, Taeyon eventually joined in the introductions.
“Taeyon.”
* * *
Kaniel and Taeyon’s sleeping place became in front of the living room fireplace. It wasn’t that the cabin didn’t have a guest room, but the only places with a fireplace were the owner’s bedroom and the living room.
Since the warmth of the fireplace didn’t reach far, the two finished preparing for bed lying closely together.
‘It’s c-cold, so there’s no choice, right…?’
Kaniel stole a glance at Taeyon’s sharp jawline, then turned over to lie down using Taeyon’s arm as a pillow. Though there had been several occasions when he’d been held in Taeyon’s arms due to various unavoidable circumstances until now, he couldn’t get used to this close distance at all.
Perhaps it was because he’d rarely been close to people during his childhood.
Conversely, Taeyon might have spent his childhood mingling with many people. Seeing how he reached out without hesitation, it seemed that way. And his beastkin trait of being a wolf added to that feeling. The feeling that he had many siblings and grew up tumbling around with each other.
Sometimes he wanted to argue. Whether it was proper behavior to fiddle with someone else’s hands and feet like this. However, if he threw out such a question and Taeyon really did become more proper, he felt like he’d be very disappointed, so he always ended up holding back.
While Kaniel was having such useless thoughts and blankly watching the firelight dance, Taeyon was fiercely staring at the defenseless nape and shoulders of Kaniel, who had turned his back to him.
‘Why, when I don’t even need tuning right now…?’
It was because surprisingly primal desires kept surging up. He wanted to mount Kaniel and bite that nape. He wanted him to hold his head. He wanted him to stroke his head. No, if possible, he wanted him to embrace his whole body and gently stroke his back.
Such wolf pup-like desires.
Taeyon’s vision swam. He’d thought the other ability users who acted like idiots in front of their Tuners were pathetic, but he was one step away from becoming like that himself.
He thought the desire to serve was understandable. He was in a position where he needed to look good to Kaniel, and taking care of Kaniel was rewarding work. He didn’t dislike it at all, nor did it displease him.
However, wanting to act like a wolf pup like this was a different matter altogether. He even thought he’d rather lick Kaniel’s feet.
Because Kaniel’s feet were small and cute.
“Taeyon.”
“…Mm.”
Taeyon could barely produce a calm voice.
“We were on our way to Oblyad Castle.”
“We were.”
“Are we farther away now, or closer?”
Taeyon, who’d been recalling his memories for a moment, answered while pulling the blanket that had slipped down from Kaniel’s tossing and turning back up to below his chin.
“It seems we’re a bit farther away.”
“The journey isn’t going smoothly. I’m sorry. Because of me…”
Kaniel said dejectedly.
“I knew the surface was a dangerous place, but I didn’t know it would be dangerous like this. Ah… I really thought it was the end this time.”
“Did you think I wouldn’t come looking for you?”
“More than that, I thought you couldn’t come. Even now I’m curious. How did you find me? That Winged Tribe member flew away to escape.”
“Your scent.”
“…Do I smell?”
At the anxious question, Taeyon let out a low laugh. That breath touched his ear, making Kaniel unconsciously flinch his shoulders.
“I’m talking about the body scent everyone has. Just as trees have a tree smell and grass has a grass smell, you have your smell too.”
“It’s not a strange smell, is it?”
“Right. It’s not. Rather…”
Taeyon, who pulled Kaniel’s wrist to smell it, continued playfully. Kaniel thought the feeling of his nose touching his skin somehow felt strangely sensual.
His back trembled with an unknown tension, and his breathing became short. Bells rang in his head warning him of danger.
“It’s a good smell.”
Unable to endure the trembling any longer, Kaniel unconsciously jerked his hand away. Then, startled by himself, he tried to pull back, but because of the position where his back was leaning against Taeyon’s chest, he ended up nestled even deeper into his embrace.
His face burning red, Kaniel pulled the blanket up to below his neck and closed his eyes.
“I-I’m going to sleep.”
While listening to the low laughter flowing gently from above, Kaniel’s eyes trembled.
Taeyon, who had been enjoying that sight, suddenly thought of the woman who was the owner of this cabin. Was her name Effolin?
It was definitely a name he’d heard somewhere…
* * *
When Kaniel woke up, he was alone in the blankets. Taeyon had already finished preparing, sitting on the sofa in what he always called a neat and proper appearance, and Effolin was clattering around in the kitchen.
Feeling embarrassed that he’d been lying down drooling while everyone else was moving around diligently, Kaniel quickly got up, folded the blanket, and washed his face.
Fortunately, despite yesterday’s hardship, he hadn’t caught a cold.
“It’ll take some time.”
Saying that, Effolin, who had set down sliced pieces of meat for the cat demonic beast’s meal, went back into the kitchen. In this house, it seemed the cat demonic beast’s meal came before the people’s.
Meanwhile, Taeyon was looking at the cat demonic beast uncomfortably. Although Effolin had said she had perfect control over the cat demonic beast, he couldn’t trust it. Demonic beasts were terrible monsters that brought death and targeted Sealed Lands…
“How cute…”
Taeyon glanced at Kaniel, who was watching the cat with a grinning smile, then pretended to look at the decorations above the fireplace while slightly blocking the space between them. Because that cat demonic beast might rampage at any moment.
Above the fireplace were various objects like a pendant and wooden animal figurines, but among them, there was one that caught Taeyon’s attention. A dagger with a curved blade. Oblyad’s daggers usually had straight blades. That shape was unique to the castle of bears in the distant lands…
“There. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t rummage through someone else’s house.”
At the sharp criticism, Taeyon withdrew the hand he’d extended toward the dagger.
“Sorry. It was an unusual dagger, so I was interested.”
“…I received it as a gift.”
“I see.”
Effolin placed a large stew pot in the center of the table and put two round loaves of bread at each seat.
“I’ll enjoy the meal. Effolin, thank you for preparing the food.”
“Please eat plenty.”
With Effolin’s faint smile as the last, all three people sat at the table.
Kaniel dipped his bread in the stew and ate while asking what he’d been curious about since yesterday.
“By the way, Effolin, isn’t it hard living alone in a place like this? It’s cold and there’s nothing around.”
“There’s everything I need. Food is abundant, and there are many trees. There’s a pond nearby, so it’s good for getting water too.”
“But… aren’t you lonely by yourself?”
The careful question contained various meanings. As if noticing that, Effolin gave a bitter smile. People always wondered about the circumstances when there was a woman living alone in the forest.
“Actually, there were originally two of us. We settled here for him to recuperate since he had a problem with his body…”
At that moment, the cat demonic beast finished its meal and meowed while clinging to Effolin’s lap. Effolin hesitated as if she’d talked too much unnecessarily, then lifted the cat demonic beast onto her lap and shook her head.
“Let’s stop my story here.”
‘That person’ was no longer in the cabin.
Whether it was because he’d left Effolin, or because he’d died, it had been a rude question to ask. Kaniel couldn’t bring himself to speak anymore and silently focused on his meal.
Instead, it was Taeyon who started the conversation.
