episode_0050

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When Eve came to, she wasn’t on hard rock or rough grass.

She was lying on a soft bed.

The feel of the soft blanket against her bare skin was pleasant, a welcome change from the damp, sticky clothes and stuffy leather armor.

“I really… came back alive…”

The blurry tomorrow she had seen yesterday had truly become today.

Even when he carried her across the dark forest path and they spotted the village lights.

Even when she went to the priest and had her injured limbs treated.

Even until the moment she closed her eyes, seeing his face back at the inn.

She couldn’t let go of the tension.

Because she wasn’t sure tomorrow would come.

But now, she had awakened alive.

Breathing in the familiar musty air of the old inn.

Reaching out her hand towards the window where the fresh morning breeze blew.

The beating of her heart spoke.

That the ending was still far away.

That the curtain hadn’t fallen yet.

“Ah…”

Sunlight streamed through her fingers and soaked into her sky-blue hair.

Clutching tightly the proof of being alive—her own life she thought she’d lost, the warmth of her flowing blood.

Eve finally wept tears of relief.

How long had it been since she allowed herself to cry freely?

The tears, intense and hot from being held back for so long, gently caressed her cheeks.

Unlike her body, which had cooled slightly while she slept soundly, her face, bathed in sunlight, felt warm.

Though her side felt chilly from a breeze blowing from somewhere.

Now Eve was not alone.

Knock-knock—

The man who promised to share “tomorrow” had come to her inn room.

-Awake?

Eve, who had been so immersed in the joy of life that she almost forgot the man she’d spent the whole night with.

Her surprised, girlish voice slipped out.

“Uh- uhm…! You came early…”

She hurriedly got out of bed and tried to go to the door.

Then.

Swish- thud-

The lightly draped blanket slipped down her smooth body.

Her snow-white skin was revealed in the room.

Her full breasts and nipples, slightly covered by her hair.

The mound of her thighs, free of a single hair.

Only after grasping the doorknob did Eve realize that she was naked.

“H- Huah—!”

In her extreme embarrassment, she inadvertently pulled the handle and fell backward.

A minor accident occurred.

She had met the man in her completely natural, unclothed state.

“Oh- ah, sorry…!!” “Euaaaa— Don’t look—!”

Crash-

Luckily, the man closed his eyes and closed the door, handling the situation gentlemanly, preventing anything further from happening.

Back alone in her old inn room, Eve sat huddled for a long time, legs drawn up and clutching her chest.

Having realized it made no difference whether she covered herself or not.

… … …

“…You saw.” “I didn’t, really.” “You saw everything—! Humph…!”

The man couldn’t help but repeat the same thing.

The breasts, which looked much larger and softer than he had imagined from the feel of their bodies when they kissed.

Her skin, whiter than usual, and her deeply indented navel.

A glimpse of the woman’s previously unseen crevice as she had fallen.

Anyway, he hadn’t seen anything at all.

What one wants to hear gets stronger the more one hears it.

What one doesn’t want to hear gets weaker the more one hears it.

So Eve disliked the man for repeating only that he hadn’t seen anything.

But his hand, gripping her arm, felt bigger, rougher, and stronger than yesterday.

His appearance seemed more dependable today than usual.

She decided to calm down a bit.

To believe the obvious lie.

And actually, it didn’t matter if it was a lie.

“Still, I’m glad… that you were the first to see my body…” “Eh- what?” “Nothing—!”

Eve spun around and quickened her pace.

Date or whatever, who cares.

Just because he’s somewhat good-looking? She thought he was an experienced adventurer, but he caused her so much trouble on what apparently was his first trip.

She thought that since he had many female companions around him, he would treat her well. but when she actually met him, he completely ignored her feelings.

She walked grumbling, her lips jutting out.

But she found the man following her incredibly endearing.

They had already overcome a life-threatening ordeal together.

She could cast off the life she had lived up until now, the life bound by a great destiny and the expectations of countless people.

She felt she could live a new life with him.

That she wanted to be by his side, as his soul mate, until death, even if it cost her everything.

Her fluttering heart spoke to her.

“If you’re sorry—” “Yes…?” “If you’re sorry… then buy this for me.”

Eve, suppressing the rising heat, pointed at the sugar skewers at a street stall, and gave him a mischievous smile.

It didn’t really matter what it was.

She just wanted to fill this new life, which had just begun, with her experiences with him.

Anything was good as long as they were together.

“What’s this… Tang-hu-lu?” “Have you ever tried it? It’s the first time I’ve seen it.” “No— ugh, why is it so sweet…” “Pffft—!”

In the peaceful capital city.

Their laughter spread through the streets where countless people walked.

Though in that wide street, there were merchants who foresaw a desperate life.

A young student who returned to do manual labor after failing the academy entrance exam.

And a homeless person who couldn’t be sure if they would have a tomorrow.

Eve knew.

Things in the world don’t always go as one wishes.

She had also borne the heavy burden of being hailed as a hero, and she had also lost her family, the pillar of her life, and didn’t know what she was living for anymore.

But when you open your eyes in the morning, you have to live through the day.

No matter how ugly, hateful, or hellish it might be.

If the heart beats, one must move forward.

And then, you can meet people like him.

Leaning comfortably on his shoulders, like the sunlight always beside her.

Sharing sometimes foolish conversations, like the wind that occasionally blows.

Looking at only each other, like stars shining unchangingly in the night sky.

Finding a love stronger than destiny, a love that could allow them both to live even if they were the only two people in the world.

She was grateful.

That destiny had tormented her only enough to keep her alive.

That the world had driven her to the brink of despair, to make her stronger.

She firmly believed that it was because of that she had obtained such a happy everyday life.

That she could sit across from him in a cafe terrace, overlooking the bustling capital city, and share a whipped-cream-topped ice cream.

She stretched out her hand quietly towards the man’s face, a face that had become more foreign to her in his absence.

“Wait, turn your head.” “Why suddenly…” “Don’t talk back, quickly—!”

The man tilted his head and slowly offered his cheek.

Eve slowly leaned in and licked the cream from the side of his lips.

Chuurut—

“Hey, wait—”

Surprised by the soft touch of her tongue, the man quickly turned his head to look at Eve.

Underneath the late afternoon sunset.

They gazed into each other’s eyes from a distance of mere inches.

It was only natural that their lips should seek each other.

Embracing each other’s faces, mixing their tongues with the remaining cream, their kiss deepened until their saliva, colored by the sunset, stretched out long.

“The woman’s going to make an advance…?” “What kind of advance…”

Humph, it can’t be helped.

I’ll just let you off this once.

Eve, her body flushed with the warm evening breeze,

Her cheeks flushed, she softly conveyed her heart.

“I lo—”

… … …

“—ve…”

When she opened her eyes again, he was gone.

The uncomfortably soft bed and pillows, the cool breeze.

Pajamas buttoned up to the neck.

Even her roommate sleeping soundly right next to her.

She was in the academy dormitory.

This was reality.

A cold reality after losing him, a reality so many hours removed from the happy memories.

That a short spell of warmth and fullness, both physically and spiritually, and even an illusion of closeness to her soul had only been a moment of fantasy.

A vain dream, she realized.

“Hoo- hoo- hoo- hoik…”

Tears flowed endlessly.

Pale and cold compared to the happy tears she had shed.

Why did I have that dream?

If there’s a god, maybe she had made a terrible mistake.

Otherwise, there was no reason for such pain.

She felt intense resentment.

He had promised to stay forever, but he had so easily passed away.

That was even more painful than the dream.

She clutched the pillow so hard that her fingernails left marks, and her body trembled helplessly.

No, that’s not right.

“It’s okay…I haven’t forgotten you yet…!”

Despair towards the world changed into anger, then to a vicious determination.

Eve had already obtained the strength to achieve everything she desired.

Only there were so many things she had to sacrifice for it.

And she needed nothing but that man.

No, just one more thing.

The fact that she loved him, that one thing she must never lose in the eternity of time.

“Thank you for giving me strength again…”

Now the warmth of his skin, touch of his lips, the taste of their mingled saliva were already fading.

Perhaps… even his face and name.

She could no longer remember them properly.

But she was sure that she would recognize him just by his existence if she ever met him again.

Because their eternal promise was engraved on each other’s souls.

Eve wiped her tears carelessly with the back of her hand and got out of bed.

She washed her body roughly, without any tenderness,

She dressed in simple clothes, without any feeling.

Today too, with an expressionless face, she went out to meet Nari.

With a dream with a strong fragrance–a dream that she would meet him again someday–

Carefully buried deep in her heart.