WNC 426

I covered the child’s lower lip with my own lips.

The startled child let out a small gasp. I took Ruben’s restless left wrist and placed it on my shoulder. His hand was burning hot, unlike Ruben. When had he developed such a fever? As I covered and toyed with his fingertips, the child wrapped his arms around me and clung to my neck.

I licked his soft, thin lips. I delved in as if parting wet petals. A sweet scent wafted without a drop of holy oil. I licked the tip of his timidly withdrawn tongue, and as our tongues slid and intertwined, I couldn’t hold back and gripped the child’s waist, pulling him tightly towards me.

I thought I was adept at handling my own body, but that wasn’t the case. The heat, writhing with pleasure, didn’t know where to escape, surging from my trembling chest to my tightening lower abdomen and back again.

Did he hold stars on the tip of his tongue? Every touch brought a sparkle before my eyes.

Perhaps he had plucked and swallowed the sun when I wasn’t looking. His lips were so hot they burned.

Ruben’s cheeks were flushed red like they’d been dyed with flower petals. His dark, dense eyelashes were wet, glistening like morning dew. The child’s curved waist clung perfectly to my grasp. How could a person melt so softly? It was unbelievable.

The child, already pressed tightly against me, squirmed, wanting to burrow even closer.

Since we were lying on our sides, he seemed unsure where to place his arms, so I rose without hesitation. Our lips remained connected.

I held Ruben’s shoulder and rolled him onto his back, then knelt between his spread legs. I pulled the child onto my thighs. We embraced deeply, our chests fitting together without a gap.

I couldn’t tell if the frantic pounding was mine or Ruben’s. It was that loud.

I licked and swallowed the honeyed liquid pooled in the child’s mouth. I rubbed against his retreating tongue. After a moment of being lost in it, I pulled back slightly, sensing the child couldn’t breathe properly. With a soft smack, our lips parted. Reluctantly, I pressed my lips down on his several times.

“Hic, mmm, ha…”

“…Mm?”

“…No, no…”

Ruben parted his lips to speak, but as soon as our eyes met, he closed them tightly again.

This was the first time I’d seen Ruben look so startled. Even after seeing him so often, I could find new expressions on him every day; it was incredibly thrilling. As my head, which had been tilted for deeper penetration, straightened, our noses touched.

I wasn’t someone whose breathing would become ragged just from holding it for a moment. Yet, I was breathless. The child’s eyes narrowed, then blinked like falling starlight, before opening wide again.

Ruben’s body, pressed against my lower abdomen, was hot and firm. More so than usual.

Knowing I had noticed, Ruben, flushed crimson, pushed against my chest. His broad shoulders sank into the bed as his three-tiered hair spread out like a blooming flower on the sheets.

I let him escape as much as he wanted to. But with my arms like pillars pinning him down, he was like a bird in a cage, no matter how much he flapped his wings. Swallowing my burning breath, I lowered my head once more. I nuzzled his cheek with my nose and pressed my lips to his.

I whispered hotly into his ear. My voice was pleading without my realizing it.

“…Is one time enough?”

“…Just.”

The child, barely managing a single syllable, began to pant. Had I seemed threatening? I withdrew my arms that had held Ruben captive. I sat up and caught my breath. I swept my disheveled hair back, cooling the heat on my cheeks. Even then, I couldn’t tear my gaze from Ruben.

Ruben’s lips were slightly swollen. They were already a beautiful color, but after being persistently licked and sucked, they were plump, and I lost my composure. What was this on his already handsome face? I burned with the desire to lick his teeth, which occasionally showed white between his lips.

If I acted greedily, Ruben wouldn’t have the strength to push me away.

I waited patiently for his next words.

After a long moment of thought, Ruben carefully wrapped his arms around my waist. He lifted his hips slightly and settled back onto my thighs. The rustling sound of our clothes rubbing together tickled my ears.

“…Just, just one more time…”

“One more time?”

“…Mm…”

“Alright, let’s do that.”

I was just reflecting on my rough behavior, having lost myself. I gripped the hollow behind his waist to keep him from slipping, and as our lips met gently, this time the child offered his tongue into my mouth. I gladly accepted and swallowed.

And so, the second kiss… was softer, more careful, and deeper than the first. As we rubbed and moved against each other, we breathed slowly, and I allowed the child to caress my shoulders and forearms.

Ruben wanted a third, fourth, and fifth time, so I complied.

I unconsciously squeezed his waist a few times, as if tickling him. Each time Ruben flinched and twisted, I was startled too, but I couldn’t let go of my desire to be closer.

Still, I didn’t let my hands go below Ruben’s waist. I couldn’t break my vow, no matter how much I feared Ruben meeting someone else. I had the desire to delve deeper into Ruben’s heart, but I couldn’t take him before marriage.

Perhaps because he felt the same way, or perhaps because he knew how I would act, Ruben didn’t press for more. Though it was only right, a greedy desire kept arising, and I harbored the vain hope that Ruben would want me more, only to scold myself repeatedly.

“…Hngh, ha, wait… Wait, Mika.”

“…Yes?”

“Your hand… your hand.”

“…Mm.”

In the midst of our playful intimacy, Ruben suddenly opened my hand and examined it. He stared at my intact palm for a long time, then pressed his lips firmly between my fingers. Only then did I realize what he was checking.

My hands, which had been resting on Ruben’s waist and near his ribs, were intact, with no nail marks or bloodstains. His breath tickled me, so I waited a moment before gently gripping his cheek.

“…It’s fine.”

“This time, you didn’t hold back?”

“…As if.”

Seeing my smiling face, the child, who had been sulking, pulled my head into his embrace.

I went along willingly. I buried my face in his chest and hugged him deeply. The sound of his heart beating like a drum against my chest was loud. He was so cute I wanted to bite him, but biting fingertips was different from biting his chest. I couldn’t carelessly nip, so I held back.

Ruben, covered in Clean Magic, didn’t smell of holy oil. Instead, a soft, fleshy scent and a gentle fragrance lingered. I thought, even if it wasn’t a floral scent, this was nice too, but then I stopped myself, thinking it was too lewd.

Even after holding back so many times, by the time the attendant brought breakfast, I wasn’t hungry at all from having “devoured” Ruben so much. Ruben clung to me, begging not to eat, but I refused because the child needed to take his medicine.

Then Ruben pouted, asking for one more kiss after taking his medicine. “Okay, let’s do that,” I promised, interlocking fingers. If Ruben wanted it, I would kiss him until I wore myself out, but he acted as if he were asking for something grand, which was endearingly cute.

❖ ❖ ❖

After lunch, I summoned everyone to Ruben’s room.

“Everyone” was only seven people: Marianne, Boulder, Benjamin, Samantha, Bailey, myself, and Ruben.

Of us, only I was perched on Ruben’s bed. Benjamin and two knights stood around the wall, while Marianne and Mage Boulder pulled up chairs. We all looked down at the quill pens and ink bottle-shaped artifacts placed on the floor.

Ruben asked in a gentle tone, “So, have you examined it?”

“I’ve looked at it. But I only looked. This… the lid wouldn’t open.”

“The lid?”

“Yes. There’s a seam here, so it’s definitely meant to open, but… there’s no Magic Circle or spell formula on it.”

“No magic was detected either. No, rather, magic doesn’t work on it. I tried to open it with magic, but the stone just greedily swallowed the Mana.”

It was a bottle that even Benjamin’s strength couldn’t open. I was puzzled, as I had assumed magic was involved, and Marianne and Boulder couldn’t do anything either. After pondering for a while, Ruben looked at me.

“Mika… you said you felt Divine Power from inside it.”

“I’m not sure if it was Divine Power. It was a shining energy, but…”

“Will Michael Ernhardt try it?”

Is there any need for further deliberation?

“Yes. I will try.”

As I stood up, Samantha and Bailey immediately approached the bed.

It was better to have people ready to protect Ruben in case of any unforeseen events. Marianne and Boulder also retreated towards Benjamin. After waiting for everyone to draw their swords and staffs and assume a defensive posture, I placed my hand on the bottle’s lid.

I twisted it clockwise, as if opening an ink bottle.

Click.

It moved easily, as if waiting, without me applying much force. We all tensed. We prepared to block whatever energy emerged, whether good or bad, and acted a little more leisurely.

After turning the lid one full rotation and lifting it slightly,

Click. Click.

The stone quill pen stood up on its own.

Now I drew my sword too. The quill pen, which had been hovering in the air, knocked the lid I had placed on the bottle and plunged itself deep into it. Then, it began drawing lines on the wall opposite where our party was positioned.

“Michael Ernhardt.”

I watched without a wasted breath.

Surprisingly, it was the elegant script commonly used in the Sierran Empire. Rather than ink, it glowed with a soft light, as if a Magic Circle used by wizards had been beautifully sculpted into the form of letters.

“I possess the answer you seek.”

The answer I seek.

Did the Thousand-Faced Devil truly cross over from where I lived? What is the Ninth God aiming for? What can and cannot I do for Ruben? What do the gods expect of me, and what will I gain if I achieve it?

The many questions that flashed through my mind in rapid succession confused me. The quill pen did not stop.

“I will wait at the Lake of Memories.”

“Time is short,”

“Hurry.”

The pen, drawing an elegant period in the air, fell to the floor with a thud and rolled away. The letters etched in the air did not disappear. “Michael Ernhardt. I possess the answer you seek. I will wait at the Lake of Memories. Time is short, so hurry.” I read it several times, but the meaning was as clear as it appeared.

Marianne poked the tip of her staff into the open jar and pulled it out, then laughed hollowly.

“…It’s empty.”

Mage Boulder, watching her, thrust his fist into the jar. He pushed it in up to his shoulder, sweeping the inside, and his hand also came out empty. His eyes gleamed, almost flashing. Boulder asked in a loud voice, “Is this a device prepared in advance to deliver that message? When, and by whom?”

No one could answer.

Ruben buried his face in his large hands and let out a deep, profound sigh that seemed to make the floor sink.