Chapter 201: Molting (3)

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It was different from magic.

The very presence a person exudes—their aura. Or perhaps their sheer existence. It was so vast and overwhelming that it pressed down on the surrounding space.

To the point where breathing became difficult. To the point where lesser beings couldn’t endure it. “On a completely different level” was the most fitting description.

How could such a small body radiate such an aura? What could that harmless face possibly be hiding? There was no need to explain why the Holy City kept a close watch on her.

It was when Natasha was staring with a hardened expression that Sugar suddenly withdrew her aura and crouched down in front of the unconscious monster. She picked up a random stick and poked at it a few times before cleanly snapping off one of its pincers. Her face was oddly serious.

She dangled the pincer—as big as her own face—playfully in front of Natasha.

“Hey.”

“…”

What was the intention behind this? Why was she calling out to her?

In the air thick with tension and wariness—

“Do you think these are safe to eat?”

…Well, that sure killed the mood.

Natasha let out a deep sigh.

Sugar’s face brightened as if to ask, “Why the sigh?”

“…Steaming them tastes better. Grilling them dries out the juices.”

“Whoa.”

A new lesson learned.

Soon, the bubbling sound of boiling water echoed through the mountains.

.

.

.

“I got suddenly kidnapped before I could eat lunch.”

Sugar grumbled, and Natasha snapped back, “What kidnapping? You got in willingly.”

No reply came—just the sound of Sugar chewing the springy crab meat.

Currently, the crab’s shell was being used as a makeshift pot to boil water. The pincers were tossed in, quickly turning a bright red as they cooked.

The taste? Well, it tasted like crab.

Tasted like damn good crab.

“This is delicious…”

“Not bad, right?”

“Wonder how many people this monster killed?”

“Ugh. Way to ruin the appetite.”

As they ate while exchanging pointless chatter, a sudden curiosity struck, and Sugar asked without thinking:

“Not scared?”

She deliberately left out the subject. It wasn’t a serious question—whether this woman feared her or not didn’t matter anyway.

Natasha glanced at her subtly.

After staring for a long moment, she reached out.

Pinch—

“Ow!!”

Her cheek was pinched.

“So that’s how it feels… You’re really soft…”

“What the hell?!”

“It’s not like it’ll wear off.”

As if she’d been wanting to do that for a while, Natasha pulled her hand back and nodded in satisfaction.

Sugar glared daggers at her.

“And… scared of what? I already knew the higher-ups were rigid. Watching you would be pointless anyway. They’d be better off focusing on vulnerable areas like this.”

“…A holy knight can say things like that?”

“I’m off-duty right now. Who’s gonna stop me?”

Natasha’s easygoing tone left Sugar speechless.

“You’re just a jealous woman with thick thighs. The Holy City’s in danger? Ha. Even if the world were ending, you’d probably close your eyes thinking about your childhood friend.”

Had she seen that? Sugar opened her mouth to retort but stayed silent.

“Why would I be scared of you? You’re the size of an acorn. Barely even visible.”

The subtle personal attacks kept coming. But in the end, she was saying she wasn’t afraid. Maybe it was her way of showing consideration while still protecting her pride.

‘…Ah.’

That’s when it hit her.

The reason for the discomfort she’d felt around Natasha. It wasn’t just jealousy—it was something else.

She had wanted this woman to be purely evil. But she wasn’t. And because she couldn’t hate her outright, it was frustrating.

That subtle consideration and selflessness.

The moment she realized it, the irritation grew worse. She hated how petty she was being.

And, it seemed, the feeling was mutual.

“…You can have the rest. Someone your size must need a lot of food.”

“You should eat more and grow taller.”

They exchanged words as if everything was normal, but neither of them smiled.

.

.

.

After the quick meal, they stood up.

“The air’s warm… I can hear water in the distance.”

With their stomachs full, the two ventured deeper into the mountains. They had to figure out where the monsters were coming from—and wipe them out at the source.

“Those monsters earlier—they weren’t the type you’d find in the mountains. More like something from the sea, or at least a river… Maybe a valley?”

Sugar tried piecing it together. But the humid, warm air here felt slightly different.

This world had so many types of monsters. Even if she had encountered the original work in her past life, it wasn’t possible to know every single one. Besides, her memories were already fading.

While Sugar was lost in thought, Natasha chimed in.

“No… those things don’t live in cold water.”

“Cold water?”

It didn’t take long for them to figure it out.

The further they went, the thicker the steam became. The distinct scent of hot water lingered in the air. When they cautiously picked up their pace, they spotted a massive pool ahead.

A hot spring. An open-air bath in the middle of the mountains.

And right in the center, crab-like monsters were swarming.

“Oh… king crab hot pot…”

“Get ready.”

“Since when was there a hot spring here?”

“According to a herb gatherer’s account… there was a loud noise in the mountains one day. After that, the air became humid, and crab-like monsters started appearing. Probably an underground spring burst open that day.”

“And those crabs followed the water flow?”

“Most likely.”

The hulking figure in the middle of the spring was undoubtedly the boss. It was far larger than the others. The moment it spotted the two, it shot a high-pressure water jet—three times thicker than the ones from its underlings.

A tree behind them snapped instantly.

Both of them grimaced.

The boss stood in the hot spring like a stationary turret, surrounded by its minions. For humans, mobility was limited—getting close wouldn’t be easy.

‘Then we just drain the water.’

Simple enough. Sugar immediately began chanting the “Explosion” spell. But Natasha, who had been adjusting her sword stance beside her, suddenly let out an “Ah…” and hesitated.

The chant came to an abrupt halt.

“What? Why?”

“That spell you were chanting—it’s ‘Explosion,’ right?”

Having fought alongside mages before, she must have recognized it.

“Yeah. To carve a path through the water. Why? Spit it out.”

The crabs were closing in fast—this wasn’t the time for hesitation. Sugar’s nerves were fraying.

“Well… is there another way?”

“Get to the point.”

“…I… kinda wanted to take a dip in the hot spring… after this…”

In this situation?

With a crab hot pot?

A hot spring dip?

What was she even getting shy about?

‘This one’s not normal either.’

With a sigh, Sugar reluctantly switched spells. She could just blast the crabs directly, but the water would dampen the effect.

Instead, she pointed ahead, signaling Natasha to clear a path. Natasha gave a grateful “Thanks” and stepped forward.

Using the smaller crabs as stepping stones, she nimbly dashed across the water, deflecting incoming jets with her sword. She steadily carved a way forward.

Sugar followed closely behind.

Then—a sudden water jet shot from the side.

“Sugar!”

Natasha’s eyes widened in alarm.

—Splish!

But in one fluid motion, Sugar whipped out a knife and sliced through the water jet without breaking her chant. No hesitation, no wasted movement.

Natasha gaped, about to question how that was even possible, but she quickly refocused.

The boss was right in front of them.

With a sluggish motion, it raised its pincer—then swung down at Natasha with terrifying speed.

Sugar yanked her aside just in time. The pincer slammed into the ground, sending a violent wave of hot spring water surging outward.

Natasha expected complaints—”You got me soaked,” “No consideration at all,” things like that.

But this white-haired woman was serious when it counted. Deadly serious.

Even in the chaos, she didn’t blink. Even in an awkward stance, her focus remained solely on the boss. In a calm voice, she uttered the trigger word:

“Freeze.”

Frost spread across the boss’s body. Despite the hot spring’s steam, it froze solid in an instant. That long chant hadn’t been for nothing.

Natasha didn’t miss her chance. Kicking off the ground, she shot forward like an arrow, sending up a spray of water—

—and drove her mana-infused sword straight into the frozen shell with all her might.

Crack—!

The impact sent fractures spiderwebbing across its body. With a series of crunching sounds, the boss shattered into pieces.

The knight’s blade had cleaved through it cleanly.

***************

Sugar’s thoughts for the day:

Not the worst. Surprisingly, not bad at all.

At least when it came to her relationship with Natasha.

If things stayed like this, it might be tolerable. Even if she was drowning in emotions she wanted to vomit out, she could endure this much.

For Sugar, who was in a more stable mental state than ever, it was manageable. Surprising? She hadn’t even pulled her knife outside of fighting monsters. That’s how stable she was.

‘Riley wants me. Wants my body. We’re closer than ever. So even if a woman like you prances around in front of me, it’s fine— That’s what she told herself.’

‘…Huh?’

Wait. Something felt off. Like her focus had slipped slightly.

A flicker of doubt crossed her mind, but she quickly shook her head.

Sugar was an expert at pretending not to see things. At ignoring her own feelings like they didn’t exist. This time was no different.

And yet, Sugar was merciless to her enemies but lenient to her allies. Natasha was a blurry line between enemy and ally—technically an enemy, but…

At the very least, she was the childhood friend of someone Sugar treasured. If she openly antagonized Natasha, it would put that childhood friend in an awkward position. So, she decided to tolerate her as much as possible.

This is all for Riley’s sake. For him, I can endure this much.

Heh. She felt oddly satisfied, as if she’d matured in some way.

‘So it’s fine.’

She kept reassuring herself, and soon, it really did feel fine.

How laughable.

Nothing about her core had changed. Was she being too optimistic in her judgment?

“Cleaning up after the monsters is harder than actually killing them…”

Because this knight insisted on soaking in the hot spring no matter what, Sugar helped.

They piled up the smaller monsters’ corpses, dragged out the shattered remains of the boss, and even refreshed the water dirtied by bodily fluids.

Drenched in sweat (or maybe hot spring water), they worked until sunset.

Now, soaking in the open-air bath under the twilight sky—it felt almost romantic.

Of course, Sugar had no intention of bathing.

“Aren’t you going to wash up? Your clothes are soaked anyway, so just take them off.”

“No thanks… I’ll wash up when we get back.”

“You’re such a prude. There’s a hot spring right here. You’re just gonna sit there and watch?”

When Sugar silently shook her head, Natasha smirked—a smile laced with mockery.

“Ah. I see… You’re embarrassed.”

Teasingly, she pulled off her top in one swift motion, her chest bouncing free.

Sugar sighed and pressed a hand to her forehead.

“Listen… I’ve been around, and trust me, that’s not the issue.”

“Oh, really?”

Natasha’s sarcastic tone made Sugar glare, but her eyes still flickered downward.

Well. Hm. Quite.

Even from a woman’s perspective, she had to admit—Natasha was well-endowed, shapely.

But Sugar wasn’t flustered.

After all, R-R-Riley had said he liked her chest. Said it was soft and nice to touch. Had groped it endlessly.

“Ehehe…”

A weird chuckle escaped her. Natasha frowned, understandably creeped out by Sugar staring at her chest and laughing.

“Ugh… What’s wrong with you? Just take your clothes off already.”

“Why are you so insistent on bathing together?”

“We’ve got a hot spring right here. Our clothes are soaked. It’s the perfect chance to wash up while drying them. It’s not like we’re not both girls.”

Natasha spoke as if the answer was obvious. Sugar exhaled.

“I’ve got… some marks. I’d rather not show them.”

“Hah. Then it’s even less of a problem. I don’t care about scars, tattoos, or warts.”

The issue was that it wasn’t scars, tattoos, or warts.

Sugar’s reluctance to undress was partly to protect Natasha’s sanity.

Scratching her head, Sugar reconsidered.

Well… maybe it’s fine.

Natasha was the one who insisted. Sugar had already refused enough.

It would be a lie to say she wasn’t looking forward to this. A big part of her wanted to flaunt her superiority.

Until now, she’d taken it lightly.

She’d never had friends who called her out. Or friends who dared to provoke her. Everyone had coddled Sugar, so she’d grown careless.

That’s why she undressed without much thought, unbuttoning her damp, clinging blouse.

Natasha’s gaze naturally drifted—then froze in shock. Her mouth fell open, eyebrows shooting up.

Because the marks from Sugar’s recent romp with her childhood friend were still fresh. Red bruises dotted her collarbone and chest, unmistakable.

A smug sense of victory flickered in Sugar’s mind.

The shame was there, but beneath it—a bitter, intoxicating thrill.

Even if they’d built a decent rapport today, even if she’d resolved to keep things civil, some lines needed to be drawn clearly.

So, when she revealed herself, anticipating a reaction—

The response she got was not what she expected.

“Wait… you two… you were just fuck buddies?”

“…What?”

Sugar’s eyes widened.

What did she just say?

“You said you weren’t dating… that you weren’t lovers. But looking at that…”

Sugar had assumed Natasha would either fly into a rage or be left speechless.

But instead—

What?

The words that followed were something Sugar had never considered.

No, maybe she had considered them—and chose to ignore them.

“This is just a friends-with-benefits thing, isn’t it?”

The denial Sugar had always spat out reflexively now coiled around her throat like a noose.