For God, who had complained in an aggrieved tone about being threatened last time, to sympathize. Young Ruvlian must have looked quite pitiful.
I released my other arm that had been hugging the child and straightened my knees. The eye levels that had been equal diverged, and the warm body heat disappeared. It wasn’t even that long that I’d been holding him, but it felt strangely empty.
“Rian.”
I lowered my gaze at the beautiful, tender voice calling me. Small lips were about to open or not. The child’s lips fumbled before making a sound, but it was too small to hear well. Perhaps knowing that even he thought it wouldn’t be heard, he squeezed his eyes shut and spoke again as if shouting loudly.
“Let’s get married later!”
“What?”
“Huh……”
[Wow…..]
For a moment, groans like exclamations flowed from everyone except young Ruvlian. I was the same. Earlier I had many things I wanted to say but couldn’t, so I lost my words, but now I just lost them. My words were completely blocked.
So right now…… did he just propose to me? When he just told me not to date myself? Of course, he wouldn’t have known that the big Celton was himself, but that was the gist of it.
[Isn’t this that? A proposal to get married right away instead of dating?]
Looking at young Ruvlian whose whole face had turned red, God’s words suddenly brought up a buried memory. Ruvlian often said he liked me, but he never confessed to date. And on the day he beheaded the Demon King, he told Deadrian, who was asking about future plans, that he would follow me around and propose.
To think it connected like this. I was dumbfounded.
“You just met me today for the first time.”
There were many other things that were dumbfounding. As I just said, young Ruvlian and I met for the first time today, and excluding names, we were strangers who knew nothing about each other. Only I unilaterally knew a lot.
“So what?”
Instead, a look came back asking what the problem with that was. He seemed to genuinely think that way. What on earth do you teach a child for them to propose to a stranger before even being wary? I glared at Scalane with a dumbfounded look, and he was making an expression of a headache coming on.
“Is the duration we’ve known each other important? Because you’re ……! So it can be like that.”
The word ‘good’ was almost treated as omitted. Young Ruvlian tapped the ground with one foot as if urging me to quickly accept his proposal. It was clearly revealed that he thought the fact that not even half a day had passed since we met really had no meaning.
“Is it because we’re both guys? There are regions where same-sex marriage is possible. I’ll obtain status there.”
Seeing me unable to continue speaking, young Ruvlian tilted his head before declaring confidently. At the same time, I detected Mana moving. The target of the magic seemed to be young Ruvlian as the Mana moved toward the child. I dispelled it with a single hand gesture before a magic circle could even form.
Scalane, the owner of the Mana, clicked his tongue upon seeing the fluffy child.
“He needs to get hit with water at least to come to his senses, but this side blocked it.”
“I’m serious right now, so don’t interfere!”
“My disciple. If you claimed to have something in that head of yours, prove it a little. A sudden proposal? A prooooposal? Has this one really lost his mind? I don’t expect you to mature even when you become an adult! But as a request, please come to your senses!”
It was a scolding full of sincerity. The moment young Ruvlian’s mouth was about to open, the gently blowing wind fiercely spread out from one center. Sharp wind blew as if drawing a round circle. Then immense Mana was felt.
The gust subsided and one person’s silhouette appeared. Hair and eyes of the color I love most. And an illusion magic layered over them.
“I’m here, Rian.”
Ruvlian, whose body was completely stained with blood, said with affection while raising the corners of his eyes fully. However, that smiling appearance didn’t properly enter my eyes. I urgently scanned his wounds with my eyes. Even at a glance, there were many injured places here and there.
The moment I tried to approach Ruvlian, a tiny hand grabbed my clothes. Soon a sharp-toned, low voice came from below.
“That guy? Big Celton?”
[Wow. He’s jealous of himself……]
I agreed with God’s voice that only I could hear. When I looked at Ruvlian, he wasn’t feeling embarrassed about being jealous of his younger self. He’d definitely become much more shameless than when he was young.
Young Ruvlian glared at his future self. In response, Ruvlian leisurely arrived before me as if finding it laughable. That sight reminded me of the confrontation between Parallel World Ruvlian and Ruvlian. It was to the level where I wondered if it was a characteristic of Ruvlians to regard their past as trivial as they aged.
“Hmm. Well, leaving aside the surname Celton. It’s Ihyun.”
Ruvlian, who bent his knees and matched eye level, grinned. The child’s eyes contorted sharply.
“Ugh. Even the name is weird.”
“Hmm. Is that so?”
At his younger self’s words, Ruvlian asked back ambiguously. A nuance faintly emanated as if saying he’d regret it. Young Ruvlian seemed to notice that too and narrowed his brow even more.
One side picking a fight and the other side biting every bait thrown. The conversation between the same person with only the flow of time different seemed like it wouldn’t end. I first spoke to Ruvlian to treat the wounds all over.
“Ru, no, Ihyun.”
“You have to call me Hyun, Rian. We agreed to that.”
Drawing out his words endearingly, he gently smiled with his eyes. I knew he was trying not to get scolded for being injured. However, as always, even knowing, I just let it pass. I couldn’t beat him. Losing was always my role.
“……I get it, so be quiet.”
“Yees.”
I grabbed the arm of Ruvlian, who was pretending to be fine despite using magic to not feel pain. Then I poured out Divine Power. Since this wasn’t my world, my strength doubled, making healing even easier.
Where flesh had fallen off, it filled in, and broken bones connected. When I spread Divine Power thinly to look over his body, there were no remaining wounds. There didn’t seem to be internal injuries, but just in case, I parted my pressed lips.
“You don’t have internal injuries, right?”
“No, I don’t.”
The treatment was all done. I tried to raise my upper body that had been bent to hold the arm of Ruvlian who was crouched on bent knees, when he, who had been in my shadow, looked up at me and opened his mouth.
“Thank you.”
Then he buries his cheek in my hand that had been close to his arm and smiles gently. Beneath his smoothly curved eyes, ocean-like pupils that sparkled finely when hit by sunlight stood out. After staring as if entranced at the eyes that shone alone even in the dark shade, I abruptly came to my senses at the blood on Ruvlian’s clothes.
“Why didn’t you use Clean magic? Is your Mana insufficient?”
As if recalling something, at my words, Ruvlian’s eyes rounded. Joy gradually rose on his bewildered face that didn’t expect me to say such a thing. His red lips curved in a smooth arc, and pronounced aegyo-sal formed. His golden eyelashes fluttered up and down over his eyes folding into crescents.
“Yees. It’s insufficient. You’re going to give me Mana, right? Then could you use Clean magic first, Rian?”
It’s a question with completely transparent intentions. Since he can’t hug me because of the clothes, his plan would be to immediately pull the held hand once clean. Having been subjected to so many schemes, I couldn’t not know.
There was a high possibility of getting caught up if I answered. Pretending not to hear the request to use Clean magic first, I transmitted Mana all at once through my hand touching Ruvlian’s cheek as a conduit.
Knowing I’d be caught once the transmission ended, I tried to pull my hand out immediately, but whether he also predicted my action, he put strength into the large hand covering mine and pulled it toward himself. Since I couldn’t beat Ruvlian with pure strength, as a natural sequence, I ended up being held by him.
Unlike expected, there was no fishy scent of blood. Rather, a familiar body scent was detected. Not knowing when he used magic, Ruvlian’s clothes were pure white. Not a single bloodstain remained. It was the fastest magic casting speed I’d seen so far.
Ruvlian’s arm skillfully wrapped around my waist. With our faces close, I tried to pull my body back, but he pulled me in a bit more to hold me and rubbed his head against my shoulder. Skin and hair tickled my skin. Occasionally, a soft sensation and hot breath touched me. Small laughter also flowed into my ear. It was an endearing gesture that clearly showed he had no intention of letting go.
After consideration, since he must have been exhausted from fighting Parallel World Ruvlian, I decided to postpone pushing him away. It was a conclusion I couldn’t say had no personal feelings involved.
While looking at Ruvlian who was quietly rubbing against me like a canine animal while being held, God called me.
[Sihyeon.]
‘Yeah.’
[Over there, look over there.]
God only conveyed a voice without form. Because of that, I couldn’t know the direction of where “there” was, but as soon as I turned my head, I realized from young Ruvlian’s indescribably contorted face visible that what God meant was the child’s direction.
As if he hadn’t blinked even once, tears were flowing from bloodshot eyes. As if waiting until I looked at him, only then did he close his eyes. Tears flowed down his cheeks.
I could express my feelings upon seeing that scene in one phrase.
I’m going crazy. Really going crazy.
I had forgotten his existence because of Ruvlian. But to think he wouldn’t blink even once until I looked at him. If God hadn’t spoken to me, I couldn’t predict how long he would have stayed like that.
The sprout had been unusual from childhood. Ruvlian and young Ruvlian both weren’t in their right minds. The craziest was Parallel World Ruvlian, but these two weren’t to be underestimated either. By the time he reached Parallel World Ruvlian’s age, it seemed like he’d be even more insane.
