In the meantime, Kalcion, who finished his work, stood up.
“I’ll go wash up, so wait a minute.”
“What? Why won’t you wash up when there is water?”
“The water is cold there.”
It was a touching reason. Selina hurriedly followed him, who was about to disappear through the bushes with only his sword and canteen.
“I am afraid to be alone.”
“It’s right next by…”
Embarrassed that she got afraid and followed him, there was a stream of water trickling down her as she walked through the bush. Kalcion seemed to have managed to notice the stream of water flowing almost silently.
“….”
Selina was a bit embarrassed, but she did a great job of acting like a person who'd be scared to death if he was more than one step away.
Kalcion cast a quick glance at the person squatting beside him before resigning himself to the situation. As he removed his coat, he laid it over a nearby rock before proceeding to wash himself.
The undulating water failed to cleanse him as effectively as a shower would, prompting him to cup his hands together and immerse himself in the meager flow. With patience, he endured the lengthy wait, akin to the trickle from a broken faucet.
Selina couldn't help but roll up her arms and step out.
“It will be faster if I help.”
He meekly stepped aside.
Heeding his warning, she gathered the icy water that numbed her fingertips and playfully splashed it onto the nape of his neck. The touch alone sent a chill through her own head, yet he appeared unperturbed by the water cascading down his back.
“Isn’t it cold?”
“This is cool enough.”
A normal man would have laughed at it for being a bluff, but Kalcion seemed to really mean it. Still, she wanted to make it a little less cold, so Selina rubbed his back vigorously with the palm of her hand.
The cold water quickly became lukewarm at the two’s body temperature.
“You’ll get tired. You can stop.”
“It’s fun to do.”
It wasn't just any ordinary back—it resembled a meticulously dissected specimen, each segment neatly delineated like a parched rice field. The allure of this intriguing body extended beyond its visual appeal, inviting tactile exploration. It was a body that evoked genuine smiles from those who beheld it.
“I can do it here.”
Kalcion gasped when Selina’s touch started digging into his side and then held back her weak hand.
Similar to how there are no specific exercises solely targeting belly fat, there were no isolated areas of the body exclusively worked on one side. Just like his well-built back, his sides exuded strength. It was only natural that after experiencing the firmness of his sides, one would be tempted to explore his abdominal muscles as well.
“It’s better to have four hands.”
“….”
Kalcion quickly gave up.
Excited that she must have gotten his permission, Selina smiled excitedly as she rubbed her abs with the palm of her hand before she regained her senses for a moment. It seemed so perverted. She hurriedly captured her expression and looked up at Kalcion, then their eyes met.
…She’d been caught.
“Do you like it?”
“….”
Even if he was going to ask a question, why would he ask that? He was rather making fun of her. If he asked her if she liked it, she'd say yes.
“It’s great.”
If she denied it, she rather lose. Selina proudly raised her head and admitted.
Then, Kalcion narrowed his eyes and gave a threadlike smile. When a threadlike smile came to mind upon his cool features, sometimes it was hard to tell if he was really laughing or teasing. Like right now.
“If you like it, I can give it as much as you like. Feel free to touch it.”
“So, you're afraid I won't be able to touch you?”
“I know full well that you can’t be like that.”
It was not that she hated it, but for some reason, Selina became grumpy for no reason, feeling like she had been exposed to the bottom. With the palm of her hand, she rubbed his abs like she was doing real laundry.
Whenever Kalcion giggled, his abs flexed and pushed her palms out.
“Heey.”
She lost.
The more she insisted, the more her embarrassment grew. Selina grumbled and tried to get her hands off him. However, Kalcion grabbed her wrist and stopped it.
“Don't stop. It’s because I’m happy to be the object of your desire.”
“….”
“I’m happy that I couldn’t control my laughter.”
Selina took a small breath.
His smile radiated like the moon in the sky, yet when she heard those words, her heart plummeted like a falling raindrop. Unbeknownst to her, as much as he expressed his desire to see Selina's body, he also yearned to become the subject of her affection.
Once again, Selina belatedly realized that her heart seemed to be a one-way street, while longing for it to be a two-way path. Her haste to acknowledge her own feelings caused her to overlook his desires, as she turned away from his heart to focus on her own.
Her heart was stabbed.
She was infinitely sorry. It became a lingering regret for not giving as much as not receiving.
Selina's hand cupped Kalcion's cheek.
“You are pretty.”
“Me?”
Perhaps he had never heard of it since birth, Kalcion raised his eyebrows in amazement. She nodded her head with serious eyes.
“Yes, you are very pretty and beautiful. If things weren't like that when we first met, I would have thought you were pretty.”
“What is pretty?”
It was funny how the person who must have looked the prettiest in the world asked where he was pretty.
“Well, first of all, this shiny hair is pretty. This kind of hair is a color that cannot be obtained naturally unless you intentionally bleach and dye it where I live.”
“Really?”
“Yes. So it was amazing every time I saw it.”
She ran her fingers through his hair and brushed his forehead, exposed through the wet hair.
“Your forehead is pretty, too.”
“And?”
“The eyes are as pretty as a lake. Your nose is pretty because it's straight, and your lips are neat and pretty.”
He grabbed her hand as she traced his face and pressed his lips. Kalcion's face, with his lips buried in her palm, was as beautiful as a work of art.
Looking at him, her chest swelled with admiration. As he tempted her, she slipped her fingers between his and interlocked them. Their palms tickled. The long, hard fingers of Kalcion squeezed the back of Selina's hand.
“How pretty am I in your eyes?”
“Very much, the best in the world. Oh, this world and that world together.”
Kalcion laughed, satisfied with Selina's answer. He was unbearably pretty when the already pretty person even smiled with his eyes.
“Then, Selina.”
“Yes.”
“Then you're not going to abandon me, who is so pretty, are you?”
Selina was dazed for a moment, unable to believe what she had heard.
“…What?”
Are the words that came out of Kalcion's mouth true? Words that she could not even imagine coming out of his mouth, that she would have to kneel in insolence just to imagine it, dripped into reality.
“What, what do you mean abandon?”
Selina stammered with an answer.
As she was aware that this was the devastating blow he had been orchestrating, Selina struggled to think clearly as her mind reeled from the impact. The thought of abandoning him felt akin to committing an act of treachery, while staying by his side seemed like the only option, despite the turmoil.
It was a tempting word to stay… but could this truly be categorized as mere flirtation? It felt more similar to violence, an insidious threat with a knife pressed against her throat.
Kalcion gazed down at the shattered figure of Selina, a triumphant smile playing on his lips. It was the expression of a victorious general, instinctively sensing his imminent conquest.
* * *
Kalcion was frighteningly reckless, and the schedule proceeded steadily as scheduled.
The higher the altitude, the less oxygen she had and the less her stamina was. In a mindless state, she struggled with altitude sickness, cold, and exhaustion, and eventually, she succeeded in crossing the mountain.
As she crossed the ice caps and glaciers, she saw the corpse of a beast buried in ice.
Seeing that, she wondered if she was making a really big mistake. She regretted it hundreds of times. However, with Kalcion ahead of her and pushing through the blizzard, she was able to hold out.
By the time she got over the top, she was almost piggybacked.
It wasn't just a single mountain obstructing her path. Just as she managed to overcome one, another imposing peak emerged before her. And so it went, a relentless succession of mountains obstructing her way.
And she crossed the last mountain.
Before her, an entirely new world unfurled before her.
Bizarre rock formations, lush foliage, and sprawling flower fields comparable to soft carpets greeted her gaze. And there, amidst this surreal setting, were the creatures that called it home. Despite having crossed the last mountain, she found it perplexing that no beast sought to attack her. Instead, they had all congregated here, in great numbers.
Not merely one or two, but thousands, even tens of thousands of beasts, each bearing a striking resemblance to the others, had gathered and roamed together as if united in purpose.
She came to go back home, but she ended up in hell.
“….”
Even if Kalcion was powerful, he couldn't defeat all the beasts that were teeming like rats.
“What should I do?”
“Let’s set a hiding spot and hide our presence so we can pass it.”
It wasn't far from here to the entrance. The beasts here weren’t running wild, so if they did well, they should be able to fool the beasts’ eyes safely. Selina checked the map again and again, fighting the tight tension.
But her worries didn’t last.
“…Is it gentle?”
“…Right.”
Surprisingly, the beasts did not attack first.
She felt strange as she passed between the beasts, who looked back at the two passing by with curious eyes but did not attack them.
“Everything is so different over one mountain range.”
As they ventured into the territory beyond the mountain range, they encountered a handful of beasts that immediately launched fierce attacks. It seemed as though these creatures were always driven by a relentless frenzy.
However, observing their seemingly gentle demeanor now, she couldn't help but feel a sense of pity for the label ‘beast.’
They just looked like odd-looking animals.
“It must be that the starving individuals come over the mountains in search of prey, so this must have been the case when there was enough prey.”
Kalcion said as if to reaffirm what he originally knew.
“Is this also in the record left by Songtulek?”
“Although not specifically described. Songtullek didn't go back and forth that often either.”
So, even when she was preparing her belongings, she was able to proceed step by step without hesitation. Thanks to the gentle beasts, it became much easier to move in the right direction. She had anticipated encountering numerous mountains along the way, but to her surprise, luck was on her side.
However, as Selina reached the anticipated turning point sooner than expected, she rediscovered the fundamental laws of life.
Yes. Things couldn’t be solved easily.
This 𝓬ontent is taken from f(r)eeweb(n)ovel.𝒄𝒐𝙢