Chapter 32 : Come here

[Treya, wake up.]

I feel a hand gently shaking my body.

It’s a slender, warm hand. The owner was obvious to anyone.

I deliberately slapped that hand away curtly and sat up. Teperi didn’t show much reaction to it.

“Is it my turn already?”

[Yeah, it turned out that way, hehe.]

Teperi furrowed her eyebrows into the shape of the number eight (八) and gave a silly smile.

“I envy you. You get to sleep continuously from now on. They say the person in the middle of the night watch is the most tired.”

I forced a smile, pretending everything was normal, and spat out words I didn’t mean.

Teperi awkwardly crawled into her sleeping bag, and I got up from my sleeping spot with a face no different than usual.

The campfire I had made before sleeping was still burning brightly. Looking at the blazing flames made my head feel numb, and nonsense came out.

“The fire is still warm.”

[Well, fire is always warm as long as it’s lit.]

“Ah, right. I must have been talking nonsense because I’m sleepy.”

As if I had misspoken, I snorted, “Hmph,” and covered my eyes with both hands. My mouth, exposed because my face wasn’t fully covered, was smiling, showing teeth.

“I’m just going out for a second.”

[Where are you going?]

“Bathroom. Go ahead and sleep.”

Teperi’s ‘good night’ greeting followed me from behind. I wordlessly gave her a dismissive wave and shot up from my spot. The corners of my mouth, which had been smiling just moments ago, rapidly became expressionless.

The campfire created deep shadows. The flickering shadow projected on the wall grew smaller and fainter with each step I took.

‘It’s raining.’

Outside the campsite, just as I had vaguely sensed while closing my eyes, rain was pattering down from the sky.

It was a light drizzle, not even amounting to a shower, but the early spring rain was enough to soak my clothes damply.

“Hoo.”

I sighed and slowly lifted my feet, taking steps. The rain-soaked earth muffled even the sound of trudging.

An umbrella. Right, I need an umbrella. I didn’t want to lament my fate while being drenched in rain like some tragic heroine.

Rain is the tears of the sky. What is it crying about? I hope it wasn’t looking at me.

I drew a rectangle with my finger. Very, very wide. Enough to cover my entire body.

A moment later, a translucent film formed above my head, blocking the falling rain.

‘Should I walk a little?’

Even in spring, the forest at night is chilly. Especially when it happens to be raining.

Faint puffs of breath came out with each exhale, but I didn’t feel cold at all.

Rather, my insides felt like they were burning up, driving me crazy. Nausea welled up, and my vision blurred, just like when mana runs out.

Even with my eyes closed, the image of the light motes flying around the narrow cave vividly comes to mind.

Teperi’s magic was cruelly beautiful.

‘Fck, like an idiot, like a f*cking dog.’

I intended to walk slowly, like taking a stroll, but before I knew it, I was running frantically.

My already dirty shoes became covered in mud. I was out of breath, my legs tangled, and my knees ached.

Treya’s body is inherently weak and frail. It was only natural to feel nauseous after running at full speed when already feeling unwell.

“Ugh, wek, wek, keck…”

Watching Teperi’s magic earlier, I had an intuition. At this rate, she would catch up to me in a year and a half.

And after that, naturally, there would be no chance. While I take one step, she would take dozens.

Magic was the realm of talent, not effort.

‘Sixty years.’

That was the period I had purely trained only in magic.

Cognitive acceleration magic, usable to the extent that it doesn’t interfere with other magic. The maximum rate was sixfold.

I can confidently say I’ve worked harder than anyone else.

It took 60 years to hone this damn untalented body to its current level.

A long, long time for a person to be born, grow up, marry, and die. What one person achieved through a lifetime of dedication, another child caught up to in the time it takes to learn to walk.

‘It itches.’

My lip, perhaps scabbed over, had been itching like crazy since earlier. I tried to pick at it with my fingernail, but my hand kept trembling, causing me to miss repeatedly.

“It’s okay, still, it’s okay for now.”

Strictly speaking, her magic was less refined than mine.

If I had to rank her level, it was similar to mine at the 25-year mark, calculated by time.

That’s good. It means she’s far behind me. She hasn’t even caught up to half of my progress, right?

“So, for now…”

Thump, my back hit the tree behind me. My trembling legs couldn’t support my weight and gave out helplessly. My body slid down the tree, using it as a backrest, until I was in a crouching position.

The rain grew slightly stronger than before. Droplets plopped onto the ground.

My vision blurred as warm rain flowed onto the back of my hand.

“Heuk…!”

I know it too.

I know acting jealous like this is pathetic. I know very well that crying wretchedly outside in the rain is unsightly.

But, reason and emotion don’t always align, do they?

It’s probably natural to feel miserable when something you’ve strived for your entire life is easily shattered by someone else.

“Kkeuk, Fuuuuuck! Heuu…”

My voice was buried by the rain, unheard by anyone. That was a good thing.

It seems I wandered further out than I thought. The way back was longer than I expected.

Perhaps because my head had cooled down, I felt ashamed of what happened earlier. It’s all because of these damn hormones.

‘Cold…’

Walking in the rain was a mistake. Getting wet might feel good at the moment, but regret follows quickly.

I had changed into spare clothes beforehand, but they weren’t completely dry yet, sending chills down my spine. I hope I don’t catch a cold.

Still, entering the cave we used as a campsite, the enclosed space seemed to retain some warmth. The campfire had already died out, with only embers barely remaining.

Teperi was sleeping, hugging her blanket. Fortunately, she didn’t seem cold.

Looking at her face, perhaps because my head had cooled, I felt slightly different emotions than before.

I was still incredibly resentful, but hearing that she did it for my sake, I also felt a tiny bit of gratitude. Is this what they call a love-hate relationship?

“You’re finally back.”

“Whoa!”

Amiterre was leaning against the cave wall, covered in a blanket, her eyes closed. When I reacted with surprise, she slightly opened her bright yellow eyes.

“You scared me! If you’re awake, you should say something.”

Instead of responding to my words, Amiterre tilted her chin up and looked at my face. Feeling somewhat embarrassed, I quickly turned my head away.

“Your eyes are red.”

“…My eyes are originally red.”

“Not your irises, I’m talking about the area around your eyes. It’s red around your eyes.”

Sometimes she’s really like a ghost. Is this how parents feel when they instantly notice a child is lying?

Instead of admitting the fact, I snorted.

“How would you know? It’s dark in here.”

“It’s dark in here because you didn’t manage the campfire. Even though it was your night watch.”

At those words, I pressed my lips together firmly.

I really had no excuse for that. The person on watch leaving their post without permission and not returning – it was clearly my mistake.

“Sorry.”

I apologized hesitantly, my face flushed. The awkward atmosphere in the room subsided a little after I rekindled the fire. It feels warm. My chilled body feels like it’s warming up again.

Amiterre removed the blanket she was wrapped in and said to me.

“Come here.”

“Why?”

Suddenly telling me to come here. I hesitated, slowly approaching her side.

I knelt down to face her. Only then were we at eye level.

“Well done.”

“What? Keuheup!”

Amiterre suddenly moved closer and hugged me with both arms.

So tightly it was suffocating.

‘S-suffocating…!’

Because we were hugging while sitting, our skin touched from my neck to my chest. My nape was bare, and I could smell a soft, skin scent.

Thanks to that, my face was buried in her chest, making it impossible to breathe. I struggled, but she showed no intention of letting me go.

Seriously, why is she so strong? Only much later, just as I was about to suffocate, did she release me. Due to the rebound, I fell backward, landing on my butt.

“Keck, cough, cough.”

Good grief, I’d heard that beastkin were open-minded because they have heat cycles. It seems that’s quite different from my common sense.

Of course, her embrace was warm and soft, but I tousled all my front hair struggling because I couldn’t breathe. My appearance, gasping roughly for air, was certainly not pleasant to look at.

Amiterre stood up, leaving me collapsed on the ground. It seemed like she was intentionally avoiding showing her face.

“That look is pitiful, so don’t do it again.”

Somehow, I feel incredibly tired. Indeed, being stuck with the middle night watch shift is not something one should do.

As I staggered back to my sleeping spot, she added one more thing behind my back.

“And if you’re going to pretend to sleep, you should do it properly. Practice peeking through slitted eyes or something.”

I was about to let her words pass by because I was tired, but the sound that caught my attention snapped me awake.

“What, you knew? Then why did you hit my forehead, you dog b…!”

“I hit you once because you were being so annoying and foolish. Think of it as punishment for yesterday’s events.”

“What kind of nonsense is that?”

She didn’t listen to the rest of my words and went outside. Going out during the night watch is something she does too.

Although I grumbled as I tried to sleep, the corners of my lips were slightly turned upwards.