Anomaly (1)

The shell of the Jakerocco gave a visual stimulus that might feel repulsive at first glance.

Although the Jakerocco had the outward appearance of a scorpion, like the dark brown six-legged insects Yona could commonly see before coming to this world, at least its shell was exactly that shape.

The shell, a deep brown nearly black, was glossy and smooth to the touch, almost like—

“Hey, it feels just like touching your head.”

Yona teased Alec with a mischievous expression while brushing the Jakerocco’s shell, making a rustling sound.

Alec quietly looked at Yona for a moment, then pulled down the veil she was wearing over her head.

“Not anymore, really.”

“Hey, hey!”

The veil suddenly covered her eyes.

This caused Yona to struggle, and because the Jakerocco was moving at a fairly fast speed, she soon lost her balance.

“Ah, ah— Careful, be careful.”

Yona was about to fall over after struggling and finally losing her balance.

Alec reflexively reached out his hand.

And where that hand touched—

Alec felt the heavy weight that more than filled his hand, and the incredibly soft squishiness.

“Oh my…”

With Amira’s soft exclamation, it felt like the world had stopped.

“…Uh, Yona…? Are, are you okay…?”

Yona had stiffened, her back straight.

Alec looked at Yona like this and briefly wondered how he should respond, but soon spoke to her as if nothing had happened.

Yona was still insisting she was a man, so he thought she probably wouldn’t react much.

Even when she showed her naked back after showering, there was no reaction then.

Even when she showed her full naked body, and even when Alec almost pounced on her, she didn’t have much of a reaction, right?

So, it should be fine— Alec thought.

But when Yona’s head turned awkwardly towards Alec, making a creaking sound, he thought something had gone wrong.

His hand was still grasping Yona’s huge breast, and Yona’s face had turned as red as it could possibly be, glaring at Alec.

“…Let go.”

“Just, just a moment. You need to sit up straight first…”

“I got it, so let go, you baldy.”

Yona’s voice was chilling.

And even then, Alec’s hand hadn’t left Yona’s breast, and it was only after Yona finally hit Alec’s head that he slowly removed his hand.

‘…Is he crazy, really.’

Yona grumbled inwardly, trying hard to ignore Alec’s touch that she could still feel on her chest.

Even so, how could he grab so tightly?

‘He didn’t do it when I told him to grope, that crazy bastard.’

Right after escaping from that underground dungeon, which now felt like a very long time ago, Yona had offered her chest to Alec, telling him to grope as much as he wanted. But Alec had refused.

‘I don’t know what I was thinking…’

Yona puffed her cheeks while watching Alec rummaging through his backpack as if looking for something.

Something felt very unsatisfactory.

‘That bastard, really…’

Still, seeing how he couldn’t take his hand off her chest, it seems he does have sexual desire.

Moreover, seeing him stealing glances at her chest even now makes her even more furious.

‘I don’t know if he’s acting like a man or not…’

“Ah, found it.”

“What did you find, you bastard.”

Yona couldn’t speak nicely.

Seeing Alec grinning makes her feel like she’s about to burst with anger.

“This, try eating this.”

What Alec held out was a small container.

The container, painted in a light brown color typical of wood, looked cheap enough to be seen anywhere, and Alec smiled as he opened the lid.

“What is this?”

Inside the container were dark brown fruits.

They were shriveled up, probably from being dried, with a dimple on top where the stem had been removed, and were about the size of a finger joint.

“They’re called dates, and they’re supposed to be delicious. I tried one and it was good. You should try one too.”

“Dates—”

Amira suddenly interjected as Yona was looking into the container.

Her pink hair swayed gently, and Amira’s eyes lit up as she flicked her tongue.

“Dates— These are really famous— How did you get these—”

Her eyes sparkled with gluttony.

Although there seemed to be no malice, her eagerness to eat these dates was obvious to anyone.

“I bought them at that night market, do you know about them, Princess Amira?”

Alec asked, slightly moving the container away.

If he hadn’t, it seemed like Amira would have stuck her hand into the container right away.

“Of course— These are fruits that grow in the southern part of the Katus Empire— My goodness, to think they were in Lukasia too—”

Sure enough, Amira reached out her hand towards the container.

In contrast, Yona was preoccupied with looking at the dried fruits—the dates—rolling around in the container.

Instinctively, Alec grabbed Amira’s wrist as it stretched towards the container.

Alec’s hand overlapped on that healthy-looking brown-skinned wrist, and only then did Yona look up and alternately gaze at Alec and Amira.

“I’m sorry, Princess. This won’t do.”

Alec said firmly, shaking his head.

Moving the hand holding the container far away, Alec, still holding Amira’s wrist, continued speaking.

“I got these for our Saint. It’s fine if the Saint eats first and then gives some to you, Princess, but you can’t eat them first.”

“Oh my—”

Amira’s eyes widened, then curved like crescent moons as she smiled.

As Alec released her wrist, Amira quickly pulled her hand back and looked back and forth between Yona and Alec.

“My goodness— To have such a dependable knight— Saint-nim, I’m so envious—”

Amira’s red eyes sparkled as if stars had appeared in them.

With a constant soft hissing sound and her forked tongue flicking, Amira spoke in a voice dripping with honey.

As if she was really envious—

“I’m really so envious, Saint-nim— How reliable he must be—”

“…Uh, yeah, that… that’s right…?”

Yona lowered her gaze and took the container Alec was holding out.

She took out one of the dates rolling around in the container with a clattering sound and popped it into her mouth.

At first, it felt like the texture of a dried persimmon.

And then came a rush of exquisite sweetness.

It was delicious.

The sweetness that Yona had always sought was present in this date.

“It’s good, right?”

“Uh, yeah… it’s delicious…”

Without realizing it, Yona’s eyes were wide open.

The violent sweetness flooding her mouth.

With the storm of sweetness stimulating her palate, her mouth watered, and Yona unconsciously ate one and then took out another to eat.

Yona particularly loves sweetness.

Alec knew this well, so when he was roaming the night market with Kaiyak and James, he bought these when he heard they were sweet fruits.

They were incredibly expensive, costing three silver coins for this small container.

Even so, he didn’t regret it at all.

The sight of Yona nibbling on the dates with such an ecstatic expression was so satisfying to Alec that he wouldn’t want to exchange it even for three thousand gold coins, let alone three silver coins.

Night.

The night on the prairie wasn’t bad at all.

They could have slept right on the Jakerocco’s shell, but the Jakerocco, being a living creature, needed rest too.

They had traveled much faster than they would have by carriage.

“Doesn’t it remind you of old times?”

Despite it being winter, it was a warm night like spring.

Yona, lying down on her unrolled sleeping bag, nodded at Alec’s whisper from right beside her.

Since Rubina had been taken by Alebiang, lying alone in a sleeping bag felt somewhat empty.

The stars visible in the sky were truly clear, and the clouds in the night sky were floating by, threatening to cover the moon.

“Old times…”

Yona muttered.

Old times, even though it hadn’t been more than a few months.

But it’s hard to understand why it feels so distant.

When they were living as adventurers, this was everyday life.

Even after returning to Evian, they often stayed in cheap inns.

“I do miss the stew a bit though. The stew they served at that inn, it had almost no vegetables and lots of meat, which was really nice.”

Alec tried hard to suppress his laughter at Yona’s words.

What innkeeper in the world would put plenty of meat instead of vegetables in a stew?

It was always Alec’s job to remove the bell peppers and carrots from Yona’s portion of stew.

And he would scoop out meat from his own stew and give it to Yona.

It seems Yona didn’t know about this.

But it didn’t matter.

He hadn’t done it hoping for recognition, nor did he want to show off.

“When all this is over, will you go back to Evian and be an adventurer again?”

Yona fell silent at Alec’s question.

When all this is over— he says.

Although her determination to burn down the entire Celestine Church had faded considerably, now she wasn’t even sure what the purpose of this journey was.

For now, she was just hunting archdukes.

And she had resolved to use that power to live a peaceful life without being threatened by anyone.

When the archduke hunting is over, just as Alec had said, maybe go to some remote part of the continent and live with Alec—

“Living together wouldn’t be bad—”

“Wait.”

Cutting off Yona’s words abruptly, Alec sat up in his sleeping bag.

His eyes were unusual, and as he looked around, he reached for the hammer he had placed at the head of his sleeping bag.

It wasn’t just Alec.

Kaiyak over there, James, and even Sekti—

They all rose, gripping their weapons with an ominous air.