Chapter: 199
Thinking too hard could lead to bigger accidents, so Lian quickly leaned back. Jess also sat up. Unlike her usual self, she didn’t pounce at him. She just stared at Lian with a blank expression.
“Um… Jess?”
“…”
“Erm… well…”
In fact, Lian had come to apologize to Jess. Even if it was unintentional, his rash actions had caused her to suffer through her heat, and he wanted to make amends and alleviate the awkwardness between them.
‘Seeing her face makes it hard to speak…’
Was it embarrassment?
Partly true, but that wasn’t all of it.
‘Why can’t I get the words out?’
He was definitely trying to apologize for the pheromones, but for some reason, he didn’t want to. It felt awkward, as if he should be apologizing for something that wasn’t his fault.
When considering the situation, it was hard to label Lian as the one at fault. If anything, it was more of a mistake.
Lian’s inability to speak wasn’t due to indignation or discomfort.
‘Ah, could it be…?’
Since shedding his former self, his clear thinking led him to an easy conclusion.
Applying pheromones to someone was essentially a mark saying “you’re mine,” and Lian regretted leaving such a mark on Jess.
He didn’t want to pretend the “I’m sorry” would erase that mark. His honest feelings made his face flush red.
As he fidgeted, not knowing where to look, Jess, who had been quietly observing him, opened her mouth first.
“I’m sorry.”
“Uh…?”
“Sorry for marking you with pheromones…”
Jess lowered her gaze and chewed at her lip. Then she apologized for running away without saying anything.
“No, that’s… it’s not your fault, Jess! I’m the one who marked you without asking!”
Lian waved his hands, flustered by Jess’s earnest apology. Jess shook her head, insisting again that it was her fault, and Lian continued to assert that she hadn’t done anything wrong.
As they bickered back and forth about whose fault it was, they eventually burst into laughter. As the tension faded, Lian noticed something that hadn’t been visible before.
‘Huh? When did we get this close?’
Somehow, they had moved so close that their shoulders were touching. The corners of their lips, which had been bent awkwardly, relaxed, and Jess’s head rested gently on Lian’s shoulder.
“Sniff sniff…”
With her eyes slightly closed, her delicately curved nose twitched. Simultaneously, her large, red ears drooped down before perkily elevating.
As their faces drew nearer, Lian felt his face heat up as he tried to edge back.
“Um, Jess—whoah?!”
Plop.
It was a beast’s instinct to pounce on fleeing prey, and Jess tackled Lian like a ferocious predator. Startled, Lian reacted with a tightly coiled body, and Jess landed on top of him.
“Sniff sniff…”
Jess buried her nose into the nape of Lian’s neck. Her breath spread over his skin, and her red hair brushed lightly against his face.
‘Why, why does she smell so good?’
The campsite environment wasn’t exactly pristine. With everything frozen around, it would’ve been hard for anyone to wash up. Jess likely hadn’t had a proper bath either, yet an inexplicable scent wafted about.
She had been cleaned up with the chief’s authority, not wanting Lian to see her grime, but she couldn’t have had the luxury of using fragrant soap.
Just as Lian became aware that the scent tickling his nose felt familiar, Jess pulled back slightly, gazing down at him from above.
The cute smile she usually wore had transformed into an alluring grin that fit her mature form quite well.
“I’m sorry for marking you without permission, but… I don’t regret it.”
Her eyes curved in a way that stirred Lian’s breath, and with her dangling hands, his heart raced. Just as he was about to fall for her blatant seduction…
Whoosh!
“…?!”
Suddenly, Lian felt his body lift, and his view began to blur back and forth. Blinking once, he found himself standing outside the tent.
Disoriented, Lian looked awkwardly at the flapping tent entrance. Through the slightly parted fabric, Jess’s eyes blinked slowly. She rolled her eyes and said.
“I don’t think I can hold back any longer if we stay like this.”
“…!”
Without needing further explanation, Lian instantly understood what Jess meant. He started sputtering as if he were a broken machine, but eventually gathered himself and fumbled for words.
“Um, Jess, that… thank you for—”
His mind went blank trying to respond to Jess’s confession as she leaned closer, and suddenly, her finger shot out, pressing against Lian’s lips.
“You don’t need to answer.”
“Uh…?”
“Whatever answer you give, the result will be the same.”
With that, Jess smiled sweetly, her eyes curving even more. In an instant, her finger dropped away, and the fabric before him fluttered, concealing Jess once more. Lian stared blankly at the tent entrance, like someone entranced, before abruptly snapped back to reality, shaking from the chill and hurried back to his accommodation.
“Ugh…”
Inside the tent left behind, Jess perked up her ears and tail, trembling with excitement. Then, like a cat that had just been startled, she began rolling around inside the tent, fur fluffing up.
“Eek…!”
Overwhelmed by a sudden wave of embarrassment, Jess continued to tumble around the tent for a while.
*
The next day, Lian looked on at the campsite being swiftly packed up.
‘I thought we’d leave soon, but… I didn’t expect it to be this fast.’
Considering the size of their group, Lian had anticipated they would take a while to prepare for departure, yet they were all getting ready to leave as soon as dawn broke.
With a bewildered look on his face, a bear beastman cheerfully explained to Lian why they could be ready so quickly.
“Thanks to yesterday’s hunt, we have an abundance of food now!”
While having a light conversation, the campsite was tidied up in no time, and all preparations were complete. Lian was about to follow his party when he was loaded onto a palanquin.
Again, let me emphasize, it was a palanquin, not a carriage.
“No, I can’t believe this…”
“The speed of the beastfolk is faster than a carriage. Can your partner really run faster than a horse?”
“Umm… probably not?”
“If it’s uncomfortable, you can just ride on my back—”
“Haha, this feels pretty nice actually. Yep, super cozy and satisfying.”
The bear beastman shrugged and shut the door of the palanquin. Lian felt like a bride being carried off to a wedding while four beastfolk lifted the palanquin.
“We’re off!”
With a rumbling shout, the beastfolk started sprinting like mad. It seemed the claim that they could run faster than a carriage was no lie, as the scenery sped past beyond the slightly opened palanquin door. It felt like riding a train or a car.
‘It’s not shaking as much as I thought it would, huh?’
Worried he’d be bouncing around like a bouncy ball, the palanquin moved somewhat steadily, despite the jolts.
With that, Lian’s party set out toward the Empire.
*
In the early morning, amidst a deep fog, tension filled the air of the battlefield. The sun slowly rose, revealing soldiers clad in black armor.
With bleary eyes, the soldiers advanced forward, wielding their swords and shields. Driven mad by dark magic, they craved nothing but blood and death like zombies.
Behind them, soldiers armed with spears and bows stood in formation, and a loud trumpet blared over the battlefield.
“Ugh!”
“Everyone, cover your ears! Set up the mage unit barrier!”
The chilling trumpet sound disoriented the Empire’s soldiers. As the commander quickly issued orders, the wizards cast protective spells to shield their minds.
The battlefield became engulfed in flames, and black smoke billowed into the sky. The enemies, more akin to zombies, surged forward, driven only by their lust for slaughter through dark magic. Soldiers, drenched in sweat and blood, began to fight fiercely, but they were gradually being pushed back.
At that moment, as the heat of battle intensified, a knight clad in brilliant armor suddenly appeared through the dust and smoke. The knight, holding a chillingly radiant sword, surged toward the center of the battlefield.
“Step aside.”
“G-gah?!”
Startled by the sudden husky female voice from behind, a soldier turned around, eyes wide. Although the face was obscured by the helmet’s visor, he instantly recognized who it was.
“Aah…!”
The soldier couldn’t even form a proper word and gasped out a cry filled with hope. As he stepped aside, Noah, looking every bit the knight, charged forward.
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